Books read: 2009.

This post is mainly for archiving purposes. Of course, feel free to comment on it if you wish. The most recent book read is listed first, with the current book in bold. Projected future reads are listed in italics.

Note: I'll be discontinuing these lists now that 2009 is done. My full reading list is available over at LibraryThing.

The Sword of the Lictor by Gene Wolfe
The Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe
The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe
Exodus From the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe
Calde of the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe
Lake of the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe
Nightside the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe
The Tower of Fear by Glen Cook
There Are Doors by Gene Wolfe
Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch
The Terror by Dan Simmons
Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake
Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
The Ten Thousand by Paul Kearney
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake
Return of the Crimson Guard by Ian C. Esslemont
Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days by Alastair Reynolds
Judge by Karen Traviss
Ally by Karen Traviss
Matriarch by Karen Traviss
The World Before by Karen Traviss
Crossing the Line by Karen Traviss
City of Pearl by Karen Traviss
Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno
Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover
Labyrinth of Evil by James Luceno
Shardik by Richard Adams
Prince of Chaos by Roger Zelazny
Knight of Shadows by Roger Zelazny
Sign of Chaos by Roger Zelazny
Blood of Amber by Roger Zelazny
Trumps of Doom by Roger Zelazny
The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian by Robert E. Howard
Rhialto the Marvellous by Jack Vance
Faith & Doubt by John Ortberg
Cugel's Saga by Jack Vance
The Eyes of the Overworld by Jack Vance
The Dying Earth by Jack Vance
The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny
The Hand of Oberon by Roger Zelazny
Sign of the Unicorn by Roger Zelazny
The Guns of Avalon by Roger Zelazny
Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny
Transformers by Alan Dean Foster
Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday by Alan Dean Foster
The Wizard by Gene Wolfe
The Knight by Gene Wolfe
Legend by David Gemmell
Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor by Matthew Stover
The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett
The Urth of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe

Books read: 2008

Awesome lamburger recipe.

A few weeks ago at the grocery store, I picked up a pound of ground lamb on a whim. I've always loved lamb, and thought it might be interesting to try a "lamburger". While the rest of my family ate plain ol' hamburgers last night, I fried up a couple of lamburgers. The first thing I did was go online to Superior Farms' website, to see what their seasoning suggestions were. Armed with a couple of ideas, I went to work.

They were DELICIOUS. This is basically what I did:

Season ground lamb with:

• salt & pepper
  
• Worcestershire sauce
  
• garlic powder
  
• thyme

(and I would have tried adding some rosemary had we had any)

Form into patties and fry (or grill) until cooked through.

Serve on a bun and top with:

• a slice of colby-jack cheese, and
  
• a tossed salad of shredded lettuce, finely-diced tomatoes, and buttermilk ranch dressing.

They were absolutely fantastic, especially with the buttermilk ranch. For my first burger, I did the normal slice of tomato and a couple leaves of lettuce, but that got messy quick. When I got to the second one, I just took a scoop of the salad we had made and threw it on top. It was perfect.

In the end, neither Sarah nor the kids liked the taste, which was sad, but that just meant more for me.

Thirty-first birthday haul.

Another year, another "This is what I got for my birthday, thanks everyone!" post.

This is what I got for my birthday:

From my wife, Lane & Sarah, Matt & Becca, Tara, and my parents:
     A new grill!
From my kids:
     TMBG's "Here Comes Science" CD/DVD
From Matt Armstead:
     the Catan Dice Game
From Marc Baker:
     2 Wii wheels and Weird Al's "Poodle Hat" CD
With birthday money from Grandpa & Grandma Hawks: Books!
     Bitter Gold Hearts by Glen Cook
     A Cruel Wind by Glen Cook
     The Tower of Fear by Glen Cook
     Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen by Alan Dean Foster
     Free Live Free by Gene Wolfe
     Litany of the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe
     There Are Doors by Gene Wolfe

Thanks, everyone!

Two items of note.

The first is regarding my new website. Yes, that's right. Stop checking this blog and head to saltmanz.com instead. Why? Because all of my posts to this blog show up on that site. As well as my Facebook posts, LiveJournal entries, Del.icio.us bookmarks, LibraryThing activity, et cetera. Amazing, yes? There's still some minor layout issues for me to finish up, but the site's been fully functional for some time now.

Secondly, my birthday is coming up, and for anyone wondering about my wishlists, they are always available at this link.

Another new chorus.

Wednesday morning I woke up with a song stuck in my head. One that didn't exist before that moment. As I slooowly moved toward consciousness, I sang it in my mind over and over, but the words dropped away line by line. By the time I was actually awake, all that was left was the first line, and, miraculously, the entire melody. That morning's shower time was spent filling in the words again. It was a love song, as the first line makes apparent, but not until I had re-written it did I realize that it was about a new baby:

You are so much more beautiful
     Than I've ever dreamed
And I can't imagine
     Why you've been given to me
And I can't stop thinking
     Of all the things that we'll see
With you here right now
     It's so hard to believe
That you're here right now
     Is so hard to believe