The dearth of posting this week has been due to my all-too-short summer vacation. I've been doing some home-improvement projects. Nothing major, because I'm not exactly a whiz with power tools. I've done some painting, spackling and general cleaning. Hopefully, it will make the place a little more inviting when I return to my $4 gasoline-imposed weekly work exile.

I've also completed a run through a bunch of fun Dean Koontz books. The Odd Thomas series is written in the first person -- a technique I often dislike, but Koontz capably pulls it off. The books are quick, fun and I encourage you to pick them up. They chronicle the exploits of Odd Thomas -- Odd is his real first name -- a young man from a dysfunctional family (explaining the name) who works as a fry cook and has an interesting power -- like Haley Joel Osment, he sees dead people. However, for Odd, the dead don't speak.

According to the books, I'm sorry to say, Elvis is dead -- and he haunts Odd. (For the first three books, to be replaced by Old Blue Eyes in the fourth.)

Odd is an everyman, blessed and cursed by his strange power. Other than his strange abilities, he has no other special skills that enable him to avert catastrophe after catastrophe -- unless you count his ability to make amazing pancakes. He must use intuition and luck to succeed.

He's a wonderful character, and it's easy to see why Koontz would write four novels featuring him.

Further blogging will occur as events warrant.