I have Nanny Ogg's Cookbook. I was surprised th t has makeable recipes rather than being just innuendo and magic.

And something called Kafka's Soup: A Complete History of World Literature in 14 Recipes that is a compilation of recipes done in the style of various authors. Tarragon Eggs a la Jane Austen, Coq au Vin a la Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the eponymous Quick Miso Soup. I haven't actually made anything out of it, but it's entertaining.

I also had a Nancy Drew cookbook

I think I had that one! I got a lot of my old childhood cookbooks back from my mom last year, but that one isn't among them. Hmm...

Now That I've Learned About Foreshadowing, I'm Going To Use It In All Of My Stories.

By John Grisham.

book rental service?

Um...I MIGHT be wrong...but isn't that what we old folks call a "library?"

Heh. I think that's why that screenshot made it to a site called "failblog". [link] That site is hilarious.

Poisonwood- Oh for goodness sakes the army ants just showed up. I guess in a novel about an extended stay in Africa it was sort of ineveitable but first Indy 4 and now this? Is the universe trying to tell me to face my fear?

I think the original lending libraries were rental services. They were seen as dangerous because they exposed the lower classes to ambitions beyond their station, and dangerous to all because they exposed the all classes to longings beyond propriety. 21st century librarians proudly carry on that tradition.

Quick question, Buffistas - my dad asked me about a Balzac quote, and none of us can remember where it's from, and I'm uncaffeined (yet) so Google fails me.

"To live in the presence of great truths and eternal laws, to be led by permanent ideals--that is what keeps a man patient when the world ignores him, and calm and unspoiled when the world praises him."

Does any of you know where it's from?

There's a controversy brewing in UK children's publishing -

[link]