For Word Lovers

Annie fairly bounced out of the library bookstore wearing a big grin. "The Devil's Dictionary! For a dollar! I've been looking for this."

I had no idea what she was talking about. Annie is our family literature fiend, with hundreds of books packed into her little bedroom. She explained that The Devil's Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce, is a sarcastic, witty collection of word definitions, like this:

battle: n. A method of untying with the teeth of a political knot that would not yield to the tongue.

egotist: n. A person of low taste, more interested in himself than in me.

It's a delicious, irreverent read and because it's no longer covered by copyright law, the entire thing is available online at: The Devil's Dictionary.

Enjoy.

Kinky Reading

Craig and I rarely read the same books - his tastes run toward crime drama - Carl Hiassen, Robin Cook; I prefer biography, adventure travel and whatever is new from David Sedaris. Lately, though, we've both been in the mood to laugh -- so we've been doing some Kinky Friedman swapping.

No - not THAT kind of swapping. Book swapping.

Kinky Friedman is a novelist, musician, former Texas gubernatorial candidate, a cowboy, and a first-rate storyteller.

He's stayed in the White House, traveled with Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker and Bob Dylan, worked for the Peace Corps in Borneo. His band, "Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys," have had some pretty wild, irreverent tunes on their playlist, including "They're Not Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore."

If you're looking for some diversion from the dire economic news, I highly recommend grabbing a Kinky Friedman book - and a cigar, if that's your pleasure - and spend some time laughing with the Last Jewish Cowboy.

From Texas Hold 'Em:

"Through it all, the Jewboys believed that the purpose of art is not merely to reflect a culture but to subvert it. We also believed, just as passionately, that some things are too important to be taken seriously."

Many of his books are available at the Redding Library -- and more of them WILL be available, when Craig and I are done swapping.

Good stuff at the Kinky Friedman website.