Welcome to Book Heaven

Welcome to Book Heaven

I love books. I've been an avid reader since I was little because my parents instilled a love for the written word in me at a young age. Being a book lover, I also love places where there are a lot of books... and that is one of the reasons that I love going to 2nd & Charles in Hoover.

It is like pre-read book Heaven! (I think "pre-read" sounds better than "used book.") There are rows and rows and rows of shelves packed with books. It's hit or miss what you'll find, but sometimes you might just stumble across a diamond in the rough.

This was the Star Trek section on my 1st 2nd&C visit. Nerd Nirvana!

I love their Star Trek section because, lets face it, if I can combine my love of books with my love of Star Trek, I'm going to think it's awesome!! The section used to be ginormous, but they've shrunk it down recently. (I'm hoping those books found good homes, and that they didn't just purge the non-sellers!) There are a bunch of older books that aren't available in e-format and that you just can't find at the bookstore.

And the best part is the price. Most of them are under $3! I could buy them all...but Jackie would kill me I don't have enough bookshelves.

Here's one of the Animorphs books.

So where do they get all of these books? You can sell them your pre-read books! (You can also cash in on old electronics, video games, records, and movies.) I found a box of old books that I had in middle school, so I took them up there Friday. The books were the Animorph series. (It was about a bunch of teenagers that get the ability to morph into any animal that they touch... and they fought aliens.) I had more than 40 of the books!

When you take your items in to sell, they give you a number and you have to wait while they evaluate what you brought in. Then, when your number pops up on the screen, they'll tell you how much they'll give you and if there were any books that they wouldn't take. The girl at the counter said they could give me $16 and some change if I wanted the cash, but if I wanted store credit, I'd get almost $29! Hello, store credit!

I'm sure you're asking yourself how Jackie and I spent our windfall. Well, I picked a Star Trek book (just 1) and 2 Hallmark Christmas ornaments that were on clearance for $1 (they are never that cheap--NEVER! My Hallmark Christmas ornament obsession is worthy of its own blog post. Maybe next Christmas, since I've already packed them away this year.) Jackie wanted to get some Golden Books. Even though we don't have kids (or any on the way), we want to go ahead and start building a library for any Future Finkleas that may come along. We picked out a ton of Golden Books that were in great condition. (Some had never been opened; you could tell because the spines were so stiff.) Jackie keeps a list of our growing library in her phone so we don't buy the same book twice.

Even with all of our books and my 2 ornaments, we only spent $24. (That means I've still got a little store credit left so I can buy more Star Trek books to buy Golden Books with.)

On our way back to the car, we stopped by the free bins outside. (Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention that there are free books in bins on the sidewalk outside! Free, I tell you! Free!) We dropped in a few random books that we had that we tried to sell with my impressive Animorphs collection, and we poked around to see if there were any good books that the book vultures (I've had people wait and watch me unload books from my car; they were old text books from our department) hadn't picked over already. And there, in all of its current-news-cycle relevancy, was a sad, sad book looking up at me:

Sorry, Lance.

Ever since my co-authored text book went on sale last year, I've wondered what it must be like for an author to see their book in the bargain bin at Walmart...but to be in the free bin on the sidewalk outside of a pre-read book store--that was a low I never imagined.

So, dear readers, if you're ever at the 2nd and Charles in Hoover and you see a copy of Fundamentals of Media Effects (2nd edition) in the free book bin, please pick it up and take it home. Spare me the pain of seeing it myself. (Of course, if you do find a copy, be sure to read the last four chapters. They're the ones I wrote all by myself. You'll love them!) If you would like to own your own copy of our book (and you can't find one in the free bin) you can purchase it online: click here! As of this writing, Amazon says it has 3 left in stock--and you can get it gift wrapped! ;)

What great books have you read lately, readers? Hit the comments to let me know!

The Finkleas Hit the Road: Florence & Charleston, South Carolina

I know I've been pretty bad about blogging lately, but between the end of the semester craziness and traveling out of town (and state), I've been a little busy. But Bruce's Blog is back!!!

Bruce's Blog is back...and (hopefully) better than ever!

Two weeks ago, Jackie was gone on an audit for an entire week. While I knew I would miss her, I had the opportunity to hit the road with my parents and brother to go visit our family in South Carolina. I was really excited because I hadn't seen this part of my family (my dad's side) since my wedding. I really didn't get to spend much time with them then because, well, my wedding day was hectic to say the least!

It has been a long time since I'd gone on a trip with my parents and brother, and I realized that it could be our last "original" Finklea vacation.

The trip would also give me the opportunity to finally finish reading The Shack, which I had started last year when Jackie and I were on our honeymoon. My aunt had loaned me the book, and I figured it would be great to read it while we were on the road so that I could give it back when I saw her. When I stopped reading it last year, I only had about 40 pages to the end, but school stuff took over. While I could remember some of the plot, I knew I should just start over. I'm so glad I did. While I don't agree with all of the things in the book, I do appreciate the way that it emphasizes the personal relationship with the Trinity.

OK, back to the vacation... We got to spend some great time with my Uncle Allen and Aunt Coleen. We also got to see my cousin Casey, her husband Bradley, and their two kids. We really enjoyed getting to spend time with them.

Because we didn't get to do Thanksgiving with that side of the family last year, my aunt planned to have Thanksgiving dinner Tuesday night. We had the most delicious turkey! She used a brine solution that gave it such a good flavor. Thanksgiving in May is a wonderful idea!

My 94-year-old great great aunt lives in Charleston, so we took a day trip to visit her. She took us to a great little restaurant called Dean Walker & Family Seafood. Of course, everyone knew Aunt Margaret when we walked in the door. "You have to try the onion rings," she said, right after we were seated. It was only a few moments later that Dean's wife brings us a platter stacked high with with onion rings. "On the house," she said. I took one bite and knew that it was the best onion ring I'd ever eaten. We all agreed that they were the most delicious onion rings we'd ever had. I also enjoyed my fried shrimp.

After that, we went back to Margaret's house and sat out on her porch, which overlooks the Intercoastal Waterway. Aunt Margaret is one of the best cooks I know, and she had made a pecan pie based on a recipe she got back during the time that sugar was rationed during WWII.

We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on the porch talking, laughing, and swapping old family stories. Of course I'd heard almost all of the stories before, but part of the fun for me is seeing other enjoy telling them.

I hope that I get to take Jackie up there soon to visit with everyone.

Well, that's about it for this entry. I promise to blog more this summer. We've got a lot of stuff going on this summer, and I'm really excited to share it with y'all.

I wish blogging was really this easy!

I just thought this one was funny!

Life's a Beach... Oh, and I Passed My Master's Comps!!!

Every elevator should have a Beach button!

Jackie and I had been pretty burned out the past couple of weeks, and we were in desperate need of a getaway. Luckily, Jackie's mom had a coroners' conference at Orange Beach, and she invited us to tag along for the weekend.

This is what I imagined a coroners' conference at the beach to look like.

We packed up and left Friday morning. We made it all the way to the Mickey D's a little over a mile from the apartment and stopped for breakfast. From there, we headed to Prattville for a mandatory Bass Pro/Lane Bryant stop. We finally arrived at the Perdido Beach Resort in the mid-afternoon. After a little switch-a-roo with our rooms, we settled in and were able to start enjoying ourselves. (For the record, we really liked the hotel. The pool was great. The jacuzzi was heavenly. The gym was surprisingly nice. Our room was huge and had a comfy bed. The pizza at the pizzeria/ice cream parlor was delicious! We really had a great time!)

Pulling in to the resort!

We had arrived!

View from our room.

While this weekend was a (much needed) vacation, it was also a working weekend for me. I had to read a book for one of my classes. It was called How Sex Changed, and it was a history of transgendered people in America...not the best book to read while relaxing on the beach, but I'd rather read it at the beach than at home!

This was one strange book!

We enjoyed some great seafood while we were down there. I love shrimp! I got grilled shrimp at The Steamer the first night and a fried shrimp po'boy at The Shrimp Basket, and it was all delicious!!! We also got to go to Lambert's Cafe the last night we were there. It had been years since I'd been there. It was SO yummy, but I made the mistake of eating a whole roll before my food came, so I wasn't able to eat much of it. (However, I did enjoy the leftovers later that night while Shannon, Jackie, and I watched Independence Day.)

Me and my gal.

Ahoy, matey!! Me and Jackie as pirates!

My wing plate at Lambert's

Frozen custard!!!

I also went to the gym while we were there...gotta burn of some of those seafood calories! I was able to use an elliptical that looked out at the beach. It could definitely get used to working out with that view!

View from the elliptical while I was working out.

Jackie and I also hoped to strike it rich while we were there. We drove over to Florida (which was really just across the bridge) to buy scratch-offs and a lotto ticket. We won $15 on the scratch-offs, but we struck out on the lotto. I'm hoping we'll have better luck in Vegas this coming weekend!

Florida is on the other side of the bridge

Our unlucky lotto ticket

Posing with some of our scratch-off winnings!

Diana, Jeff, Jackie, and I also went out on the pier the night after we ate at The Shrimp Basket. It was fun to watch folks reel in their catches, and we also saw a sting ray in the water. We also went crabbing our last night there, but we couldn't find any. I was so bummed.

Before going on the pier

Jackie on the pier

Me on the pier

About to go crabbing!!

All we found was this giant sand turtle

Here are some more random pix from the trip:

Jackie in the "Big Momma" chair

Toes in the water, tush in the sand...

Jackie is rolled up like a burrito to take a nap.

She got cold.

The starfish versions of me and Jackie

Souvenir shopping

Trying on a hair hat

More hair hats

Freaky looking cat statue at Alvin's Island

Dad always told me I looked like the milkman.

I was really not looking forward to coming home Monday because I knew that I had to defend my Master's comps today. I was really nervous about it. The comps are one of the big steps I have to take in the expedited program at Alabama. It was a make-or-break situation.

It involved me sitting at a conference table with three of my professors discussing my answers that I'd written almost 2 months ago. I was so afraid that they would rip me apart, but they were really helpful and nice. They pointed out weak spots in my answers and gave suggestions on how to improve them. I also had to answer some of their questions on the fly. I know I rambled a lot, but I was praying that some part of what I was saying was making sense. When we had gone over all three answers, Dr. Zhou asked me to step out while they deliberated.

I walked out into the hallway and started looking at a bulletin board. Less than a minute later, Dr. Zhou stepped out and told me to come back in. I didn't have a good feeling. I thought that they probably said Nope, Nope, Nope...which of course would take less than a minute to do.

I nervously took my seat, and Dr. Zhou said, "You know, in a court case a short jury deliberation can be a good or bad thing....and for you, this is a good thing. Congratulations!" I was SO relieved! I can never thank Drs. Zhou

Several people have told me that getting your Ph.D. is really about jumping through all the hoops. While that sounds easy enough, they don't tell you that the hoops are all on fire. I'm just glad this one didn't catch me on fire...but I'm definitely feeling the heat from the next hoops.

This is what it feels like jumping through a flaming hoop for grad school.