I am a big fan of David Liss’s work, especially A Conspiracy of Paper, a historical mystery set during the the world’s first stock market crash, which will give some insight into what happened nearly 300 years ago, wrapped up in a story of pugilism and prostitution.

And then, once you’ve finished A Conspiracy of Paper, you can read The Coffee Trader (the introduction of coffee to the commodities exchanges in Amsterdam in the mid 17th Century) and A Spectacle of Corruption (about the machinations involved in an early 18th Century British national election) … all are timely novels to read in the current political and economic climate … a little history to put current events into perspective.

David Liss’s new book, The Whiskey Rebels is finally available.

Synopsis from Publisher’s Weekly:

Set in and around Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and New York City in the years after the Revolutionary War, this clever thriller from Liss (The Ethical Assassin) follows the adventures of Ethan Saunders, once a valiant spy for General Washington, who’s fallen on hard times by war’s end. Suspected of treason, Ethan has lost the love of his life, Cynthia, who’s married the fiendish Jacob Pearson, an entrepreneur who managed to prosper during the British occupation of Philadelphia.

At Cynthia’s urging, Ethan agrees to go looking for the missing Jacob, prompted in large part by a desire to redeem his reputation. Meanwhile, the so-called whiskey rebels on the western frontier are trying to bring down the hated Alexander Hamilton and his Bank of the United States.

The courageous Ethan is a likable rogue, and even though Ethan spends too much time delving into the complications of 18th-century finance, he can be counted on when the chips are down and the odds against him soar.

Oddly (at least to me), the only novel Liss has written that I didn’t enjoy was the one mentioned in the Publisher’s Weekly synopsis. The Ethical Assassin was certainly well-written, but the darkly comic novel was set in modern times; it wasn’t what I really expected from Liss, and while I tried to give the book a chance, it never really grabbed me. I have yet to finish it. Perhaps I’ll give it another chance after finishing The Whiskey Rebels

Picked up my copy of The Whiskey Rebels last night, and am already thoroughly engrossed.

Campagnolo: 75 Years of Cycling Passion
by Paolo Facchinetti & Guido Rubino. Pre-order it now from Amazon.com.

I think I’m about to have an orgasm.

Got my copy of merkley???’s (that’s lowercase merkley followed by three question marks) new book 111??? today …

111??? is a large, heavy coffee table book, limited to 1111 copies, featuring 111 photos of 111 women posing nude in their 222 favorite shoes on 111 sofas flanked by 222 lamps in San Francisco; and it’s one of the most amazing collections I’ve seen in a long time …

One of the photos is of pal-of-pal Cyan, co-founder of Zivity.com, who is pal of pal Cianna, who are collectively two of the Sexiest Geeks Alive.

I’ve got copy #600 …

A taste (reprinted without permission, but it’s also the cover of the book, so I feel justified):

I have a lot of pride in the company that I work for, even though I sometimes get really frustrated by my job.

And of course, being the obsessive sort that I am, I have to learn everything I can about the history of my firm … which means that even though I lived it (well, as much as any low-level employee can), I had to pick up a copy of Patricia Beard’s Blue Blood & Mutiny: The Fight for the Soul of Morgan Stanley, which details the 2005 ouster of Phil Purcell as Chairman and CEO, and John Mack’s triumphant return to the company he helped create by co-orchestrating the merger between Morgan Stanley (of which he was president at the time) and Purcell’s Dean Witter Discover.

But to understand any of this, it’s best to get a deeper knowledge of the culture of the firm by reading Ron Chernow’s The House of Morgan and Jean Strouse’s Morgan: American Financier.

When it really comes down to it, what is the difference between a scribbler and a scribe?

As I’m sure many of my readers have noticed, I have a fascination with words … with reading them, with typing them, and with writing them … and what better way to write than with a really nice pen, preferably a fountain pen?

I recently picked up a pair of Waterman Harmonie pens; a fountain pen and a roller-ball pen … and I’ve owned another set of Waterman Le Man writing instruments with a Waterman “Ideal” leather case for several years, although all the pieces could use a little servicing … the set includes a fountain pen, ballpoint, and mechanical pencil … black lacquer with 23k gold trim and an 18k two-tone gold nib.

I believe these pieces to be from the mid-1980s … I’ve seen the fountain pen alone sell on eBay for anywhere from $150 to about $500 depending on condition; and some models made of metal for upwards of $1000.

And of course, with a good pen, one must need some good paper or a good journal in which to write; and what better than the world-famous Moleskine, used by the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Bruce Chatwin?

Now I just need to stop reading the Grrrlie Chronicles, so I can convince myself that I actually am capable of putting words together again. Although, that’s not going to happen. Marit’s ability to tell a story is far too good to simply stop reading.

And since I want to get to Carnegie Hall, the only thing I can do is practice, practice, practice … keep writing, keep typing, and the words will come.

So I get to the aiport about 12:30 to catch my 2:30 flight to Columbus (changing planes at O’Hare), only to find out that American Airlines is having massive delays with flights coming in and out of Chicago (hmmm … why am I not surprised); and that there’s no way I’ll make my connecting flight.

So they rebook me on the directly flight from SLC to Columbus on Delta. This, of course, was the flight I wanted to take to begin with, but the tickets were “too expensive” for my company to pay for them.

So for once I’m actually grateful for delays; even though it does mean I get to sit in the airport for another couple of hours before I can get on my flight.

Ah well; at least I can get cocktails (and food, of course) at the lounge, and make the company pay for them!

I just hope I don’t run into similar “problems” on my way back on Friday, since I’ve got to get up early on Saturday morning for the final Utah Cyclocross race of the season up at Fort Buenaventura, in Ogden.

It’s hard to believe the season is almost over; it seems like just a couple weeks ago that it started … and for me, while I haven’t been racing much, this has been one of the best seasons ever.

I’ve met loads of fabulous new people who are just as addicted to the spectacle (and fun) of cyclocross; and think I’ve started to develop a few good friendships with people. I just hope that the relationships survive the end of the season, and that these people remain an integral part of my social circle, rather than just being “cyclocross friends” whom I only see for 10 weeks of the year.

Got my copy of The GPPReader from The Guerilla Poetics Project today.

Thus far, I’m really diggin’ it.