I have many things to be happy about today:
1) There's a whole lineup of good shows on NBC tonight (my favorite new show this season, by the way, is Community).
2) Tomorrow, Keith and I will be making our first homemade stew in the crockpot, and it'll be so nice to have that ready and waiting for us when we get home tomorrow night!
3) Tomorrow I'm also baking my first pumpkin pie of the season. I can't wait!
4) My parents are coming to visit this weekend!
5) The reason they're coming to visit is that my mom and I are going to see New Moon on Saturday and, despite my intense dislike of the first one and my apprehension for the second, I'm excited (maybe it's because I haven't actually been out to see a movie in some time).
6) Today I started listening to Christmas music. Not just any Christmas music, but Kristin Chenoweth's Christmas CD, which makes me extra happy.
7) Keith has graciously conceded to allow me to set up our Christmas decorations this Sunday, because we're going to be traveling a lot throughout the month of December, and I want to be able to enjoy my decorations just as much as I would if we were hosting Christmas at my house.
8) And finally, December is right around the corner, which means traveling, less work, vacation, family, Christmas, and the coming arrival of 2010, which I am very much looking forward to!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
The Magician's Elephant
The Magician's Elephant tells the story of Peter Augustus Duchene and his search for the truth: is his sister alive or dead? He asks a fortune teller this question, and is startled by the answer: "Follow the elephant." But there are no elephants in the town of Baltese; that is, until the magician conjures one that falls through the ceiling of the opera house.
DiCamillo writes in lyrical prose (some of these sentences are absolutely beautiful) and introduces us to colorful characters that each play a special role in helping Peter find the truth.
This book is nothing short of beautiful; the prose, the illustrations (by Yoko Tanaka), and the story are gorgeous. I was bold enough to turn to my husband when I finished reading last night (in one sitting, I might add) and say, "Our kids will read this book someday." And how do I know that? Because I'm going to read it to them.
(I just added this to my Fall Into Reading challenge post - because I can, that's why - and, even though I read it yesterday, I'm still counting it for Monday's What Are You Reading challenge because I was expecting to read it today, but it was so good I finished it all in one go.)
Thursday, November 12, 2009
I Won Something!
Did you know that many bloggers have regular giveaways? And that I never win any? Well guess what! All that has changed, and today I learned that I and one other person won a couple of bookmarks from the ever-gracious Jennifer at Literate Housewife! Which is actually kind of awesome, considering I used to collect bookmarks (I wonder whatever happened to that construction paper-decorated tin can and all those Garfield bookmarks). Check out her site; she's on a personal mission to "discover" Neil Gaiman this month by reading his works - a great mission, if you ask me.
Random memory: the first time I won anything (at least that I can remember) was the first year that I participated in the Summer Reading Program at ACPL as a kid. Back then they drew weekly prizes, and I was the very first person to win a prize for participating (I think I won a t-shirt, but I could be completely wrong). As a kid, I thought that was the coolest thing ever, and not much has changed since then. Thanks, Jennifer!
Random memory: the first time I won anything (at least that I can remember) was the first year that I participated in the Summer Reading Program at ACPL as a kid. Back then they drew weekly prizes, and I was the very first person to win a prize for participating (I think I won a t-shirt, but I could be completely wrong). As a kid, I thought that was the coolest thing ever, and not much has changed since then. Thanks, Jennifer!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Gone With the Wind
That's right, we're going old school today: a review of a book I read a looooooong time ago. :-)
Gone With the Wind is classic on all counts. Margaret Mitchell captures everything that is romance, Southern, and timeless.
I read this book many years ago - I think the summer before my freshman year of high school. I absolutely loved it, and it immediately became my favorite book (and should have been my first clue that I would one day major in English Literature). That fall, our English teacher asked us on the first day of class to write a little about ourselves, including our favorite book. Of course I put Gone With the Wind. At the end of the year, our teacher handed us back our questionnaires, I guess as a way to show how we'd changed (although this was never expressly said). I was very interested in knowing what my teacher had thought about my favorite book being an "adult" book - nothing childish here! And lo and behold she had written a comment: "I assume you mean the movie."
That comment still irks me. Didn't I prove myself an avid, educated reader in her class? Wasn't it obvious that I knew the difference between the phrase "favorite book" and "favorite movie?" At that time, I hadn't even seen the movie (and even now I still think the book is better, and not that much longer). How dare she insult my intelligence and reading prowess! Needless to say, she wasn't my favorite (or best) teacher to begin with, but it still bothers me and I wish I would've gone up to her and corrected her mistake, but I didn't and really, what would it have gained me?
Gone With the Wind is still one of my all-time favorite books. And even though I don't have the patience at this time in my life to sit down and read it through word-for-word again, I often will long to just cozy up for a few hours and lose myself in Scarlett's world. Everything about this work screams "perfect" to me: the writing, the setting, the characters, the colorful descriptions. I fell in love with Rhett right alongside Scarlett (even if she didn't realize that's what it was) and I was devastated when she lost everything she had (more than once). She's the character you want to hate, but you can't help loving her for her determination and flair.
5 out of 5 stars, obviously, and maybe I'll even throw a sixth one in there for good measure.
Gone With the Wind is classic on all counts. Margaret Mitchell captures everything that is romance, Southern, and timeless.I read this book many years ago - I think the summer before my freshman year of high school. I absolutely loved it, and it immediately became my favorite book (and should have been my first clue that I would one day major in English Literature). That fall, our English teacher asked us on the first day of class to write a little about ourselves, including our favorite book. Of course I put Gone With the Wind. At the end of the year, our teacher handed us back our questionnaires, I guess as a way to show how we'd changed (although this was never expressly said). I was very interested in knowing what my teacher had thought about my favorite book being an "adult" book - nothing childish here! And lo and behold she had written a comment: "I assume you mean the movie."
That comment still irks me. Didn't I prove myself an avid, educated reader in her class? Wasn't it obvious that I knew the difference between the phrase "favorite book" and "favorite movie?" At that time, I hadn't even seen the movie (and even now I still think the book is better, and not that much longer). How dare she insult my intelligence and reading prowess! Needless to say, she wasn't my favorite (or best) teacher to begin with, but it still bothers me and I wish I would've gone up to her and corrected her mistake, but I didn't and really, what would it have gained me?
Gone With the Wind is still one of my all-time favorite books. And even though I don't have the patience at this time in my life to sit down and read it through word-for-word again, I often will long to just cozy up for a few hours and lose myself in Scarlett's world. Everything about this work screams "perfect" to me: the writing, the setting, the characters, the colorful descriptions. I fell in love with Rhett right alongside Scarlett (even if she didn't realize that's what it was) and I was devastated when she lost everything she had (more than once). She's the character you want to hate, but you can't help loving her for her determination and flair.
5 out of 5 stars, obviously, and maybe I'll even throw a sixth one in there for good measure.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Too Slow?
There are 65 books on my wishlist at Borders. And I'm sure, if I put more time and effort into it, I could easily double that number. Knowing that, the rate in which I can complete a book seems way too slow. This is actually something I've been thinking about recently, having been a part of my first reading challenge and checking out the blogs and reviews of the rest of those participating. There's something I've noticed: while I used to think I was a fairly fast reader (nothing compared to my mother, but still faster than the average Joe), I have nothing on these people. They read a book a week at least! How is that possible? These women have jobs just like me (or they're stay-at-home moms with toddlers which I think is even harder) and somehow they are tearing through their reading lists.
I read at every opportunity throughout the day - in the morning if I have extra time, on my breaks at work, walking to the gym during my lunch break - and, granted, once I get home the reading does tend to stop abruptly, but still. Is that really the culprit, or am I not as fast a reader as I thought I was? Normally I wouldn't care, but my wishlist is sort of overwhelming me and I'm wondering how I'm ever going to have the time to read everything I want to (and since we all know I'm not a patient person, I would prefer to read them all right now).
I don't really expect there to be an answer, other than to just keep truckin' and look forward to all the good books yet to come.
I read at every opportunity throughout the day - in the morning if I have extra time, on my breaks at work, walking to the gym during my lunch break - and, granted, once I get home the reading does tend to stop abruptly, but still. Is that really the culprit, or am I not as fast a reader as I thought I was? Normally I wouldn't care, but my wishlist is sort of overwhelming me and I'm wondering how I'm ever going to have the time to read everything I want to (and since we all know I'm not a patient person, I would prefer to read them all right now).
I don't really expect there to be an answer, other than to just keep truckin' and look forward to all the good books yet to come.
Friday, October 30, 2009
For My Library Friends
I love the punchline. Be sure to check out Unshelved for more entertainment via the library system! Happy Friday!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
The Time Traveler's Wife
Oh. My. God.
That was my first thought when I finally closed this book. This is one of the best works of recent adult fiction I have read. And while I may have slight objections or questions to parts, it is, as a whole, one of the best books of the decade (I say that having not read even close to most of the books written this decade - forgive me).
Audrey Niffenegger tells the love story between a man and a woman, Henry and Clare. This would be nothing new or exciting if it didn't have one key element: Henry is a time traveler. He will disappear at random and end up in a completely different place in a completely different time. This is how he meets Clare, when she is six years old and he is 36. Throughout Clare's childhood Henry is somewhat of a mythical creature. Always appearing, but never giving her details as to when he comes from or their future together. When she meets him in the present, he is only eight years older than her, and they begin their all-consuming love affair, accompanied by moments of anguish when they are separated by Henry's time traveling (which Niffenegger explains as a genetic disorder). Throughout, Henry is searching for a way to stop time traveling, to be kept firmly in the present with the ones he loves. But is that possible?
Niffenegger created a believable world with very human characters. I felt for Clare when she had no idea where Henry had gone or when he would be back. I felt for Henry when he was transported to unknown times and places, often finding himself in danger. And I felt for them both when they weren't sure if they would be able to have a baby due to Henry's genes. There is depth to the characters and, because of that, the originality of the story, and the flow of the writing, I am counting this among one of my favorite books.
5 out of 5 stars. This is a story I could read again and again, and it has made me appreciate what I have. Contemporary fiction rarely brings out such true, raw emotion, and I applaud Audrey Niffenegger and look forward to reading her second novel, Her Fearful Symmetry.
That was my first thought when I finally closed this book. This is one of the best works of recent adult fiction I have read. And while I may have slight objections or questions to parts, it is, as a whole, one of the best books of the decade (I say that having not read even close to most of the books written this decade - forgive me).Audrey Niffenegger tells the love story between a man and a woman, Henry and Clare. This would be nothing new or exciting if it didn't have one key element: Henry is a time traveler. He will disappear at random and end up in a completely different place in a completely different time. This is how he meets Clare, when she is six years old and he is 36. Throughout Clare's childhood Henry is somewhat of a mythical creature. Always appearing, but never giving her details as to when he comes from or their future together. When she meets him in the present, he is only eight years older than her, and they begin their all-consuming love affair, accompanied by moments of anguish when they are separated by Henry's time traveling (which Niffenegger explains as a genetic disorder). Throughout, Henry is searching for a way to stop time traveling, to be kept firmly in the present with the ones he loves. But is that possible?
Niffenegger created a believable world with very human characters. I felt for Clare when she had no idea where Henry had gone or when he would be back. I felt for Henry when he was transported to unknown times and places, often finding himself in danger. And I felt for them both when they weren't sure if they would be able to have a baby due to Henry's genes. There is depth to the characters and, because of that, the originality of the story, and the flow of the writing, I am counting this among one of my favorite books.
5 out of 5 stars. This is a story I could read again and again, and it has made me appreciate what I have. Contemporary fiction rarely brings out such true, raw emotion, and I applaud Audrey Niffenegger and look forward to reading her second novel, Her Fearful Symmetry.
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