Late night ramblings

It's late. I'm awake, can't sleep. I've been watching tv but got tired of it - I can only watch for so long before my eyes get all funky and dried out. My sweet Big Girl has kindly shared her germs, and my throat's bugging me. Plus my ears itch, deep inside my ears close to my throat - do you ever get that? Drives me nuts.

It rained a lot today. So the kids spent too much time indoors, cooped up, slightly hyper. Hopefully I can take them out for some fresh air tomorrow.

I'm loving PaperbackSwap again - I have several books to mail off in the morning, and then soon I'll get the credits to request more books to read. Not sure what I'll request next - so many books, it's hard to decide. I have an extensive list, which keeps growing longer and longer, of books I want to read over at goodreads. And, well, honestly I have plenty of books I could read here in my house - but that won't stop me from requesting more to add to my to-read collection. I've been indulging in a lot of fantasy, sci-fi-type stuff lately, which is fun and engaging without being too demanding (in the way that I can't help myself when I read works by authors I studied seriously in grad school), and I've been working through a few behavioral-type books dealing with kids and relationships, too. Any books I shouldn't miss? Let me know in the comments.

I watched Hanging Up earlier today - I DVRed it when it was on a few days back - and was reminded, through the relationship between Meg Ryan's character and her father, played by Walter Matthau (love him), that you can't make people be who you want or need them to be. No matter how desperately you wish a relationship or a person were something better, or more meaningful, or supportive, whatever, you cannot force other people to be who you want them to be, or who you think they should be. I know this is true, of course, but sometimes it's still incredibly frustrating. The movie's cheesy. Decent casting, but a somewhat frivolous plot that was resolved a little too neatly, and yet it still made me tear up. I'm an easy crier. Anyway, I've been reminding myself frequently of late, in the middle of frustrations, that I can only control myself. It's hard for me to make peace with that concept.

Delightfully fun reading

I picked up a copy of Dead Until Dark several weeks ago, but I haven't had the chance to read it until recently. I finished it this evening and really enjoyed it: fun, fast-paced, and not too formulaic. I may even pick up the second book in the series, Living Dead in Dallas, tomorrow - Hubs will grumble about me reading and "shutting out the whole family" but since I don't buy into his whining on that topic, I'll just keep reading anyway. ;) I like the combination of naivete and experience in the main character, Sookie Stackhouse, and I think there are currently eight titles in the series, with a ninth due for publication next year. For those of you lucky enough to have HBO, these are the novels on which the show True Blood is based. I'm very interested to see the television series, but I'll wait for it to come to DVD.

On Alan Rickman

As the postscript on my last entry suggested, I will watch just about any movie if Alan Rickman is in it. I'm not sure when my fascination with Alan Rickman began. It's not a silly-woman-swooning-over-Brad-Pitt thing (although Mr. Pitt's just super as eye candy, tyvw, as is his woman - but that's another story). But I just love to watch Alan Rickman perform, in any role. It's as if I know it's him, and he's an amazing actor, and yet I almost always suspend myself totally and believe him in the role, as the character. And, well, his performance as Snape just really appealed to me on certain levels, in ways that I wish I could act sometimes as a teacher. While at the same time I got a lot of vulnerability from his depiction of Snape, too. Well, anyway, I could wax on for hours about Alan Rickman as Snape.

I enjoyed him in Dogma and Love Actually, endured Galaxy Quest for him, and loved Michael Collins, which you should see if you haven't (said the nerdy Irish-lit-loving woman), but I think my favorite is Sense and Sensibility. It's got Emma Thompson as a bonus, and I'm a big fan of hers, too (oh - The Remains of the Day!). Sense and Sensibility is a perfect storm for me - Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, AND Jane Austen. Good times, good times.

If you haven't seen Sense and Sensibility, that's your homework. Seriously. Alan Rickman's performance as Colonel Brandon was exquisite - he captured the emotional tenor of his character so well, and was an excellent casting choice. And after you finish that, you can come back and tell me how much you enjoyed the movie.

Mmmmm, books! Yummy!

I'm still sick, as I mentioned in my post last week, but whilst laying about feeling like crap, I have devoured all four of the books in Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series. I think I'll take Avitable's suggestion and grab a copy of The Host on my next trip to Wallyworld, since my book buying options are so limited in this town. I really enjoyed the series - not perfect, but very engaging. I got kind of annoyed with Bella and Edward at times. But I'll post a more coherent review when I have less sinus pain and more mental strength to pull my thoughts together.

Wow.

I finished reading Twilight. Good thing I picked up copies of New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn so I can keep going!

As expected, Hubs was very jealous of my close relationship with a book this afternoon. He thought my sinuses and I should be doing something more "productive." Whatever.

more animals

Currently reading...

I finally broke down. I've wanted to read it for many weeks, but I knew that, if I started, I would probably be hooked and have a hard time putting it down. So I didn't buy a copy until Friday. And now, this afternoon, since I'm sick anyway, I'm going to start reading it. Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)

Rosemary Wells' McDuff books

Big Girl and I went to the bookstore at the local dirt mall on Friday, and we picked up some new books for her and her brother to enjoy. Both of them are big fans of Rosemary Wells' McDuff series, which depicts the adventures of a cute white West Highland terrier named McDuff and his owners, Lucy and Fred. The illustrations are fun and well-executed, and the stories are accessible and cute. Both kids really love the McDuff character, and each story has a light-hearted message that we can discuss together. Big Girl likes to examine all of the details in Susan Jeffers' illustrations and discuss them, while Two prefers to focus on the "doggie" and read the stories again and again.

Books!

Today was payday, and so Big Girl and I went book shopping. First we went by the library and checked out a few, and then we went to the lame bookstore at the local dirt mall, which had a pretty pitiful collection, and finally we hit up the Wal-Mart, since my efforts to locate a copy of Twilight had been unsuccessful at the previous two locations (checked out at the library, natch). I've wanted to read it forever, and now I have my own copy. I'll likely read it this weekend, unless Hubs throws one of his you-love-your-books-more-than-me fits. Yeah, he gets jealous of books. Considering how I get wrapped up in books to the exclusion of all else, I kind of understand, but I still get really annoyed when he does this.

Big Girl has a couple of new McDuff books (he's a cute little white terrier) from the dirt mall bookstore, plus some interesting reads for the weekend. She checked out a book about building a barn for her brother to enjoy as well, thoughtful sister that she is. I only checked out one book - Mary Roach's Stiff, which I've wanted to read for a while - as pretty much everything else I looked for was checked out or not even in the library's collection. The library here is both a wonderful resource and woefully underfunded. Huge circulation numbers, but serious holes in the collection. It makes me sad. I'm on the board of directors, but since I'm not independently wealthy and prepared to fund serious solutions, I fear that any fix will be a long time coming.

Little Golden Books

I'm a big fan of Little Golden Books, in part because I remember loving them so much as a child. And now I love to get them for my kids! Unfortunately, sometimes they don't seem to be as well-made as the ones I remember, so that, combined with my kids' rough treatment of some books, can be problematic. But If you get the books that combine several stories in a single volume, the construction tends to be better, in my experience. With that in mind, I recommend:

• 65 Years of Little Golden Books, which includes The Poky Little Puppy, Tootle, The Saggy Baggy Elephant, Tawny Scrawny Lion, Scuffy the Tugboat, and The Shy Little Kitten.
  
  
• Little Golden Book Boxed Set Classic Collection (no repeats from the one above!)
  
  
• Sleepytime Tales, including The Poky Little Puppy, Baby Dear, The Color Kittens, Good Night Little Bear, The Wonderful House, The Friendly Book, The Three Bears, The Sailor Dog, The Boy and the Tigers, I Can Fly, The Sleepy Book, and How The Turtle Got Its Shell
  
  
• Little Golden Book Collection: Farm Tales
  
  
• Little Golden Book Collection: Animal Tales
  
  
• Little Golden Book Collection: Inspirational Tales, which includes Prayers for Children, with lovely old-fashioned illustrations
  
  
• A Family Treasury of Little Golden Books: 46 Best-Loved Stories
  
  
• Butterfly Kisses, a sweet story about a father and daughter that Big Girl just loves.

Yeah, yeah. It's Friday, but I think I was sufficiently vague about posting book recs on or around Thursday...

Book o' the week, better late than never

Yes, I know yesterday was Thursday. Big Girl has a pretty good handle on the days of the week now, so we talk about what day it is and what activities are scheduled for that day every morning. And today? Friday. Yesterday I should have posted a book post, but things got crazy. To make up for it, I'll post about multiple books!

If you are a big nerd like me, you may be quite fond of the Fox television series Bones. Hubs mocks me sometimes for my love of Bones (two-hour season premiere Wednesday at 8:00 Eastern!), and yet I still keep watching. I don't take crap from a guy who watches each episode of Top Gear multiple times, because he falls asleep and misses parts, and yet pronounces it an excellent and captivating show. Seriously. The man doesn't even have a well-developed appreciation of Jane Austen adaptations. But I digress.

Bones is based upon Kathy Reichs' Temperance Brennan character, although in all of the novels I've read so far, Temperance is older than she is in the series. The first of Reichs' novels that I read was Bones to Ashes. I picked it up just before my carpal tunnel surgery, so I would have something to read while I was in pre-op, to keep my mind off of the procedure. This is actually the tenth novel in the series, so it's not an ideal starting point, but I think it's quite possible to enjoy these novels out of order. Reichs provides sufficient context so that you aren't confused, without being too heavy-handed about it.

I enjoy Reichs' writing style - she has a dry wit, and she's technical and precise in her writing without being inaccessible to anyone who's not highly versed in the vocabulary of forensic anthropology. The novels are, at heart, mysteries, and yet the perspective - tracking behind a forensic anthropologist who is a well-developed and nuanced character - is somewhat refreshing. Reichs writes out of her own experiences and thus seems to me to offer a rather authentic viewpoint. Brennan uncovers some evidence and does some investigating, but she doesn't typically move beyond what one would expect from someone in her professional capacity. She has the knowledge of someone who has helped (and that's the key word) law enforcement for many years, and yet she is very much a scientist.

The humor of Reichs' writing is different from that of the tv series Bones. On the show, Bones herself sometimes becomes the butt of the joke due to her lack of certain knowledge. The idea is that she doesn't get certain jokes or pop culture references or allusions because she's too wrapped up in the scientific realm to pay attention to the "real world." Reichs' novels, however, don't seem to go for those easy laughs. The Tempe Brennan of her novels is emotionally awkward at times, and yet she also has more dimension and depth than the show sometimes attributes to her. They are, fundamentally, two different characters. The tv writers give their character a different background and different circumstances, and the influences that have shaped the Tempe of the novels are quite different. I didn't expect this when I picked up the novel, but it's not surprising and for the purposes of the novels, Reichs' choices work better.

Since reading Bones to Ashes before and after surgery, I've read several more Temperance Brennan novels. Monday Mourning was the last one I read, and before that, Fatal Voyage and Grave Secrets. I've picked up a copy of Bare Bones to read next. If you enjoy mysteries or crime stories, I encourage you to check out the series, and let me know if you enjoy it.

New plan...

I've been a bit disorganized and lackadaisical in my approach to blogging, and so I've decided to develop a plan, a schedule, as it were (I had a professor in college who used to say "as it were" all the time and it cracked me up). So, I'm going to incorporate a couple of regularly scheduled features into my blogging, in addition to my random stream-of-consciousness posts. Once a week, generally on Tuesdays, I'm going to start posting a recipe. And on Thursdays, I'll post about a book, either one I've read/am reading/want to read, or one that I like for the younger set. Since things are getting increaingly hectic IRL, and I'm trying to impose a little more order to that chaos, I'll bring a little more order to this place too. Feedback welcomed!

Glimpse of peace

After a long, trying day at home with the kids, I was rather frazzled and anxious. Two is in the midst of a particularly frustrating phase that involves challenging - nay, ignoring my authority. And Big Girl insists that she doesn't need naps anymore and yet becomes completely intolerable, short-fused, and whiny when I am unable to get her to take one. Hubs arrived home to find his daughter in time out and his son receiving a lecture on the wisdom of keeping one's hands out of a dirty diaper. Blech.

Starbucks had some sort of special today, whereby you received a stamp on your receipt for a purchase during the morning, which entitled you to buy a grande cold beverage in the afternoon for only $2. Hubs handed over his receipt and a few small bills and told me to go out and have a break. Sometimes he's a saint.

In a brief, relaxing respite, I acquired a grande mocha frappuccino with whipped cream on top (so indulgent), then visited the library to check out a couple of new books, and finally visited the grocery store. At my final stop, I found two fantastic deals that thrilled me, in a way that just confirmed to me that I am a big nerd who loves to find bargains: whole chickens, reduced as they neared their sell-by dates, which Hubs will smoke this weekend, plus some delicious Bertolli frozen meals on clearance. Sadly, the store probably won't carry that particular variety in the future, but for now, we have a nice stash of chicken with linguine and zucchini in a tomato sauce in the freezer, and several chickens and a couple of beef pot roasts as well. After I pick up my cheap Kellogg's cereal at Walgreens this week, I'll have a good stash for breakfast, too. Hubs is pleased with the meat stockpile. I just need some fresh fruits and vegetables for the kids and me, since we aren't as invested in the carnivore lifestyle that Hubs enjoys. I was only gone for about an hour, but it was fabulous.

Book Review: The Book Thief

I picked up a copy of The Book Thief at the library earlier this week. It's been on my to-read list at GoodReads for a while, after I spotted it on a friend's list and read the description. What attracted me most to the novel was the narratorial premise: Death tells this story. I was really curious to see how Zusak would handle this. So when I walked into the library, the book was on a table displayed with other nominees for the Georgia Peach Book Award (Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) won the award this year).

At first I wasn't fully engaged in the book. I confess that I initially hesitated, when I determined that the book was set in Nazi Germany. I didn't want to get wrapped up in a book that would just leave me weeping at the end, and I didn't want to read something that just rehashed a lot of concepts I had seen earlier about living through war. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl is all well and good, but I didn't want to read a postmodern retelling of the same kind of story. Fortunately The Book Thief stands on its own, both in terms of its plot and its interaction with the wartime setting.

The heroine and namesake of the novel is a young girl who, early in the book, is sent to live with a foster family on the outskirts of Munich prior to the outbreak of World War II. I'm vehemently opposed to spoilers, so I'll try not to give away too much. The novel is interesting in the way that books figure so centrally into identity formation. The title character, Liesel, grows up in that she develops her own identity out of learning to read, and then her sense of purpose comes from the books she possesses and subsequently her creation of her own text, her own story, which is the basis of Death's narration. Death doesn't hang around spying on Liesel the whole time, although he is, as is lamentably expected in war, around frequently to collect souls.

At first I didn't understand how having Death as the narrator actually added anything to the novel. It seemed quirky, even like a gimmick, because Zusak didn't fully explore the ramifications of that choice until later in the novel. Death has an interesting style, very postmodern with bits from other texts pieced together into his own observations and excerpts from Liesel's life story. But his observations about color, and the ways in which he tries to focus on the scene instead of the individuals mourning a death, offer an effective indirect commentary. The ways in which he tries to focus on something other than the metaphorical elephant in the room - for him, the actual death and its impact on others, and for the Germans, the deplorable treatment of Jews and the atrocities committed against anyone who opposed Hitler - work nicely to communicate the outrage without coming across as didactic or pedantic.

The thread of the novel that appealed most to me, that got me hooked and fully engaged, was the shift from book consumption to book creation. When Liesel and another character, a young Jewish man named Max who hides in the basement, begin creating their own texts and expressing their own experiences and moreover sharing these texts with each other, it's not unbelievably poetic or elegant. The way in which Zusak depicts these tellings seems believably honest. And also? Liesel's foster father, who is a true father to her, is just fabulous. I wanted to know him, or someone like him, or to think that I could be like him. To step out of a life of ordinariness, unobtrustiveness, and do something great, commit to believing in the humanity of all people, despite the danger - I wish and hope that I have that kind of courage and beauty within myself.

So in the end, The Book Thief made me cry. But it was a good kind of cry, and let's just say the conclusion is satisfying. Despite the award, this isn't just a teen book. I read an article recently (I'll have to track it down and link to it here) about the ways in which the lines between youg adult and adult fiction are breaking down for the better, and The Book Thief is a good example of this. It took me a while to feel connected with this novel, but I am quite glad that I held on and kept reading. It was worth it.

En route to my crib

I finally decided what to get with the nice Amazon gift certificate that my BIL gave me for my birthday. It will be on the way whenever they get their act together and send it out. I think Amazon deliberately waits a little while before sending out your order if you pick free shipping, just because they don't want to reward your cheapness and they really want you to pay more to get it in a timely fashion. Anyway, I got some books from my wish list - some totally fun, non-work, non-dissertation books - plus a cd and a dvd set. I shall provide linkies!











I already have some excellent books to read, so it may be a while before I get to these, but that's okay since Amazon will take their sweet time. I'm trying to finish Paula Spencer so I can figure out how to use it in my project, and then read some fun stuff.