A mosaic of Aarons

I recommend: _Girl in Landscape_ by Jonathan Lethe

I enjoyed this book, which focused on the alienation of a girl whose mom dies and who travels to an alien planet. The alien planet is rather gentle, the inhabitants are inoffensive....it's the humans who are dangerous. Elements like the giraffe-like "household deer", tiny creatures who climb walls and tend to hide in shadows are charming. There's also a theme of sexual awakening, but handled rather well, I thought. I mean, there's some scary stuff here -- a tough older guy and a young girl...but emotionally the girl holds her own.

Nicknames I've Used For My Son

In my own mind, I'm this stoic, dignified person who would never use sappy pet names for my loved ones. Certainly I've never succumbed to the temptation to call my wife snookums.

Nonetheless, here are the names I've called my son so far:

• Scooby-doo
• Scooby
• Booby-scoo
• Boo
• Bug
• Buddy
• Bud
  

By the time he's 20 I'll be calling him Irene and he'll be subsidizing my therapy.