obligatory joke about reading while in the can

Travelling Commode in form of Large Book…. an unusual example of the use of the book form to disguise travelling personal furniture, probably for use on the military field.”

Revolting Librarians Redux fundraiser ends tomorrow

Thanks to everyone who has played along and bid on the four copies of Revolting Librarians Redux that KR and I have on ebay as a fundraiser for the EFF. The auction closes tomorrow and has already raised $80+ which may be a drop in the bucket but I’ll be happy to send them a nice thank you note from the librarians for all the work they’ve done and continue to do. update: thanks everyone, the books got a bunch of bids and went for $21/each. $84 to the EFF!

using your author superpowers for good (causes)

This September, Neil Gaiman and other authors you may have heard of — John Grisham, Stephen King, Dorothy Allison — are having an unusual auction. If you’re the high bidder on these eBay auctions, these authors will put your name, or the name of your choosing I assume, in their upcoming books as specified. All the proceeds go to benefit the First Amendment Project. The auction page is fun reading, this is what King is offering…

“One (and only one) character name in a novel called CELL, which is now in work and which will appear in either 2006 or 2007. Buyer should be aware that CELL is a violent piece of work, which comes complete with zombies set in motion by bad cell phone signals that destroy the human brain. Like cheap whiskey, it’s very nasty and extremely satisfying. Character can be male or female, but a buyer who wants to die must in this case be female. In any case, I’ll require physical description of auction winner, including any nickname (can be made up, I don’t give a rip).”