I was introduced to Billy Collins' poetry in college. He spoke at our campus, and I missed it. But a friend raved so much that I picked up one of his books.

I remember opening "Sailing Alone Around the Room," a compilation of his works, to the first poem, titled "Another Reason Why I Don't Keep a Gun in the House."

It opens:

"The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark
that he barks every time they leave the house.
They must switch him on on their way out."

I've been a fan every since.

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After a lot of reading surrounding the Battle of Thermopylae and the Greco-Persian wars in general (see this previous post), I decided to check out one of the earliest sources.

So, I picked up “The Histories” by Greek historian Herodotus, specifically the Penguin Classics edition edited by Aubrey de Selincourt.

Herodotus was a historian when historians didn’t really exist, making for plenty of claims that simply aren’t true or are heatedly debated (thank goodness for notes) (and yes, I really do page back to check each note). His intentions are also debated, some modern historians arguing he knowingly fabricated parts of his “Histories”; others believing incorrect information merely came from faulty sources.

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Fred Rosenmiller made the news recently for his donation of scores of valuable bottles, a vintage vehicle and other items to the York County Heritage Trust.

It might not be as well know that he and other bottle collectors wrote the book on bottles, York County bottles: "Bottles & Jugs".

Posted in Book news Book review Nonfiction Recommended

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On Friday night, I finally got to watch "The Kite Runner" on DVD.

I loved Khaled Hosseini's book when I read it several years ago, so I was anxious to see how the movie would turn out.

The verdict: the book was far more moving.

Posted in At the movies

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