Our great thanks to this week's sponsor, Georgetown University Press, publisher of Careers in International Affairs, Eighth Edition about which the following:

"I wish I had this book when I started my career. It is full of sound advice on how to build your vision and serve others in the process." —Allan E. Goodman, President & CEO, Institute of International Education

They had to put up with our uneven publishing schedule this week, thanks to my aforementioned flu. Help us make it up to them by buying a zillion copies of their books.

Unshelved is made possible this week by HarperCollins, publishers of The Lace Reader and The Art of Racing in the Rain. I haven't read The Lace Reader, but let me extend my personal recommendation for Racing in the Rain, which is my must-read novel of the summer. I've been handing out copies left and right to my friends and family. It's the moving story of a family going through difficult times, seen through the eyes of their dog, Enzo. And once you've met Enzo, you will never forget him. I was surprised but pleased to see this book in my local Starbucks. That warms my heart, as the author Garth Stein (a friend of a friend) is a local Seattle boy. Starbucks - Unshelved - Garth Stein, three Seattle institutions, coming together for the very first time!

The drawing for Sunday's Book Club The Day My Butt Went Psycho is pretty funny, but out of deference to our more conservative readers I hid the really good parts under word balloons. The unexpurgated version is here.

As followed of my Twitter feed already know, I spent most of last week fighting a monster flu, and I'm still wrestling with it. This is why strips have been coming out even more randomly than normal. Hope to be back to normal by end of day. Thank you for your patience.