Quickly I'll mention that Borders gave me back my borrowing priveleges. The first two books I checked out were Steve Oualline's How Not to Program in C++: 111 Broken Programs and 3 Working Ones, or Why Does 2+2=5986. It was fun for a C newbie like me, although a lot of the data structure sections were beyond what I've learned so far. Cute intercalary anecdotes, too. I also brought home Lonely Planet's Central America on a Shoestring to plan my trip for this summer. When those were due, I checked out Let's Go's Central America 2003, which I'll use to revise my plan and decide which Central America guide to take along. Another book that has been begging me to read it is Graham Greene's Quiet American, recently made into a movie. About the time of the film's release, I read an article in the New York Times that described this book as a staple for war journalists. Sounds like an adventure book. In the meantime, my current "project" book is El Club Dumas by Arturo Perez Reverte. If the author sounds familiar, then you follow my reading habits too closely. Also, you may have heard of his books, as several have been translated into English. I asked Julie to bring me a book when she came to visit Shirley and me in Tianjin, and she brought me his Flanders Panel. I enjoyed that book a lot, it deals with the Old European arts scene and its associated high culture and intrigue. Since I'm attempting to learn myself that kind of high-brow snootyness, it came in very handy. If you noticed from the title, I'm reading El Club Dumas in Spanish. Progress is slow, but the language is beautiful and the atmosphere projected by the book is, to me at least, more authentic. As a postscript, I just noticed that Amazon retails this Spanish import for $16.95, while the La Habra Borders special orders team was able to find it for about seven dollars. Sweet! To quote one of the great films of our time, "[brick-and-mortar bookstores], although slow and dangerous behind the wheel can still serve a purpose."