Books
-
Ten Things I Learned This Christmas
This is our first proper Christmas back in the States, and I have been looking forward to it all year. Back to our old traditions, opening boxes of decorations unseen for four years, house nearly back to sorts….and yet, nothing has really gone the way I pictured it. The house is decorated, but not quite to the degree I thought it would be. Our traditions? Some have stayed, but we are clearly in need of new ones as old ones have disappeared due to circumstances. The kids? Not so tiny any more. The Elf on the Shelf that has been so much fun in past years felt just a teeny…
-
What I’m Reading Wednesday: Shadow of Night
I’ve just finished “Shadow of Night” by Deborah Harkness and already I’m impatient for the third book in the All Souls Trilogy to be released – I want to know what happens next with historian Diana and scientist (and vampire) Matthew. I’m impatient like that. Shadow of Night picks up right where “A Discovery of Witches” leaves off (and if you haven’t read the first book, stop right here and go read it – I don’t want to spoil anything for you) with Diana and Matthew ready to time walk elsewhere in history so that Diana can find a witch to teach her (she’s avoided using her powers and so…
-
What I’m Reading Wednesday: Port Mortuary and Red Mist
Let me preface these reviews with the statement that I am a long-time Patricia Cornwell fan. I read and re-read her Kay Scarpetta novels. Heck, I eschewed product samples (you know, the ones you get in the Sunday paper or in magazines or in the mail) for years after reading Unnatural Exposure for fear of product tampering. When I was supposed to be moving to Richmond, Virginia in the late ’90s, my mom was freaking out because all her knowledge of Richmond came from Kay Scarpetta novels. But somewhere along the line, the writing in the series changed as did the characters’ personalities, and…
-
What I’m Reading Wednesday: Angelmaker
I’ve just finished reading Nick Harkaway’s second novel, Angelmaker, and I don’t know how to begin to describe it. Let’s start by saying it was a fantastically entertaining read. Normally, I’m a bit hesitant when I see a book described as “absurdist” as quite often this is a misnomer, and what you actually get is something a bit surreal. This is not true for this book, albeit the cast of characters includes an octogenarian secret agent (retired), an evil dictator (who surely must be older than dirt), a serial killer, a community of Undertakers, a monastic society of former-creator/inventors-now-turned-evil-bodyguards (or something) called the “Ruskinites”, and a gnarly, near-toothless pug with…
-
What I’m Reading Wednesday: The Summer Reading List
I may get around to reading 50 Shades of Grey (when I can borrow it from a friend), but honestly, I have TOO many good books lined up on both my Kindle app for my iPad and on my bookshelf (and coffee table…and nightstand) to spare the time on it. This is my (incomplete) summer reading list, and the 15 reasons why I’m (probably the ONLY person) not currently reading Fifty Shades of Grey: Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway: an absurdist comedy about Joe Spork, a mild-mannered clockmaker (son of an infamous mobster), Edie, a retired octogenarian secret agent, and their race to save the world from a 1950’s doomsday device that…
-
Lessons I’ve Learned From My Father
My father is a very wise man. I have learned many lessons from him over the years, and I’m sure he has a few more gems left to impart. My dad is a bit of a perfectionist. When I bought a loft bed from a fellow student during my sophomore year at university and needed a ladder to go with it, he made me one. It was stained, varnished, and perfectly angled so to lie flat and sturdy on the floor. The loft frame itself was constructed of raw timbers and bolts; it was akin to putting Mercedes hub caps on a Gremlin. When I admonished him for the overkill,…
-
At Hay Festival – Joanne Harris on Writing and Voodoo
To me, books are their own type of magic, transporting us to someplace else. When I hear an author talk about formulas, and how books just don’t happen, write themselves, open themselves to you, I find myself a bit disappointment. Joanne Harris does not disappoint. She was at the Hay Festival to talk about her newest book, “Peaches for Monsieur le Curé”, the third book in the “Chocolat” series. She was funny and personable, and a delight to listen to. Talking with Paul Blezard, he commented that Vianne was a character that has always haunted him and wondered if she visits Harris as well. “The difference between writing and madness….is…
-
Hay Festival – Cressida Cowell on Imagination and Dragons
One of my current favorite children’s authors is Cressida Cowell; I’d say she probably tops Boo’s list, too, as he has powered through most of the books in her “How to Train Your Dragon” series. We were pretty chuffed that she returned to Hay Festival this year. With her typical uncontainable energy and thoughts flying off on tangents about as quickly as the words could tumble out of her mouth, she practically bounced around the stage as she talked about the importance of imagination, her sources of inspiration…and lying. Similar to her talk in 2010, she started off describing her summer holidays as a child on a remote island off…
-
Hay Festival…Off and Raining…erm…Running!
As the 25th anniversary of the Hay Festival arrived, so did the rain. I’m not surprised, and I wonder why everyone else is. It is as much a part of the tradition as the Telegraph bags (even if they aren’t the Guardian – they are MUCH nicer than last years, thankyouverymuch), sitting on the lawn with a book (or at the edge of the walkway, given the weather), craning for a glimpse of the famous and infamous (and maybe even sitting behind one at supper) and cleaning glitter off the back of your jacket from where some child (likely mine) bumped into you after joyfully creating a masterpiece in an event…
-
So Why Can’t She Remember to Turn Off Her Bedroom Light?
The other day, as I was loading up the dishwasher I noticed Pea gazing at me thoughtfully. “Mummy…” she began. I put the last plate in the drawer and turned to listen to her. She had “the look” on her face – the one she wears when she has contemplating something and I was curious to know where this conversation would take us – we’ve had some doozies lately. “Mummy”, she continued, “I was watching TV and it said that Fairy Platinum cleans your dishes to make them shine and it even cleans the hidden bits on the inside.” I stared at her blankly. What the…? She continued: “Mummy, do…
