Tripping Toward Lucidity: Estella's Revenge

A Disappointing Sedaris? YES!

2009-12-30T11:55:00.002-06:00

I LOVE David Sedaris, but alas, this post is not lovely. When we were shopping for the kids' Christmas presents recently, I happened upon a copy of Holidays on Ice on a buy one, get one free table and decided I would splurge. I've been on a pretty strict no-book-buying jag this year, and I've done very well. What better excuse to buy a book, right?

When I got this little puppy home, I started reading "SantaLand Diaries" and I was in love with it. Pure, aching, laugh til I want to puke, David Sedaris love. I loaned it to a student for a couple of weeks because she was doing a research paper on Sedaris, and when I got it back I finished the still-wonderful "SantaLand Diaries," and then I read....the rest.

Well, some of the rest.

This is not all Sedaris's funny haha essays we're all used to; there's also fiction intermingled with the essays. I just have to say, not such a fan of the fiction. It's funny, but it's not the essence o'Sedaris that I adore so much. In short, I skimmed the majority of the book and tossed it lackadaisically when I was done. Tossed, I say. Lackadaisically.

So it seems a lackluster book will finish off my reading for the year. I doubt I'll stuff another book under my ever-growing belt before the first day of 2010, and I can't say I'm terribly hurt to wave g'bye and farewell to 2009's reading.

The 2010 Challenge Post

2009-12-30T11:27:00.009-06:00

I should preface this post by saying that it's more for personal convenience than anything. I've posted about most of these challenges already, but this is the longer-than-I-expected list of challenges I plan to undertake in the new year. Instead of keeping track of them in detail on my sidebar (a mess!), I'm going to link this post on my sidebar and update my stats here. Muuuuch easier!

Feel free to gawk, comment, or harangue!

Level of Participation: 20 Essays

Level of Participation: Expert = 10+

Level 1: 4 books, at least 2 written during 1837 - 1901. The other books may be Neo-Victorian or non-fiction.

1.
2.
3.
4

1. Young Adult:
2. T.B.R.
3. Shiny & New
4. Bad Bloggers
5. Charity
6. New in 2010
7. Older Than You
8. Win! Win!
9. Who Are You Again?
10. Up to You!

1. A book with a food in the title:
2. A book with a body of water in the title:
3. A book with a title (queen, president) in the title:
4. A book with a plant in the title:
5. A book with a place name (city, country) in the title:
6. A book with a music term in the title:

**I'm shooting for one (Mrs. Dalloway), but I may attempt two.

Jan. 15th: Mrs. Dalloway
Jan. 29th: To the Lighthouse
Feb. 12th: Orlando
Feb. 26th: The Waves

Best Books Read in 2009

2009-12-26T09:24:00.009-06:00

In the past I've always done a Top 10 list for my end-of-year recap. I've written several times this year how things have seemed lackluster or my reading hasn't been as impressive as previous years, so I decided to break my favorites down into categories as opposed to a grand Top 10 list. What I found is that my reading was very, very different this year than in years past. Perhaps that's why I feel dissatisfied. I'm experiencing a shift in tastes! While I've always posted a list populated by novels in past years, this year the favorites weigh heavily on the side of non-fiction, graphic/illustrated books, and adolescent fiction. There is only one literary fiction novel in the bunch. Holy crapoli! Without further ado:

Best Children's/Adolescent/Teen Fiction Read in 2009:

Lyddie, by Katherine Paterson
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
The Hunt for the Seventh, by Christine Morton-Shaw
Pretty Dead, by Francesca Lia Block
Elsewhere, by Gabrielle Zevin

Best Graphic Novels/Illustrated Books Read in 2009

The Arrival, by Shaun Tan
Tales from Outer Suburbia, by Shaun Tan
Embroideries, by Marjane Satrapi
Life Sucks, by Jessica Abel

Best Non-Fiction Read in 2009:

The Joy of Pregnancy, by Tori Kropp
The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy, by Vicki Iovine
It Sucked and Then I Cried, by Heather B. Armstrong
Julie and Julia, by Julie Powell
Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader, by Anne Fadiman

Best (and One of Only Two) Contemporary Fiction Novel Read in 2009:

The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield

Only one NOVEL! I only really read TWO the whole year! No wonder I felt so out of place. I don't know if this indicates a shift in my tastes, a complete lack of patience or what, but it's really weird. However, I can't complain too darn much since I had so many winners in other areas. As you can see, I had a great year in teen/adolescent reading. My love for Gabrielle Zevin continues to grow, and I'm bound and determined to get back around to Suzanne Collins sooner than later.

On the graphic novel/illustrated book front, Shaun Tan is a clear winner. I totally love his style and quirkiness, and I can't wait to get more of his work in my hands.

Finally, pregnancy books are in the lead in non-fiction, and that's not surprising at all. Foodie books continue to be a growing favorite, and I have many more cool offerings on my shelves for 2010.

So there it is! My 2009 reading in a nutshell. I've reviewed almost all of these books and linked them in my sidebar, so please check 'em out if you're so inclined. Here's wishing all of you a great reading year in 2010, and I'm going to make a concerted effort to dive back into novels at some point. I miss 'em!

Merry Christmas!!!

2009-12-25T18:48:00.003-06:00

A very merry Christmas to all of my bloggy peeps out there! We've had a busy week at the Chuck-n-Andi household. Early in the week we spent time making goodies for the holidays, packing up gift bags for friends, and last night we hosted a Christmas Eve meal at our house. We had pulled Cuban pork, mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, rolls, salad, and a huuuuge Italian creme cake (not to mention all the chocolate we made). We had a chance to reconnect with some dear friends we haven't seen in a while, and everyone had a great time.

We stayed up until almost 4am getting everything situated for the kids' Christmas morning extravaganza. We wrapped, we tied, we tagged. Everyone had a wonderful time opening gifts, and my mom came out this afternoon for more gift giving. She's hosting a late-afternoon snack/dinner tomorrow for my side of the family that includes lots of munchies, appetizers, finger foods, and other yummies. I'm always excited about that.

The kids had a great time hanging out with us and my mom, and they adored their gifts. The stars of Rocketgirl's Christmas are a new digital camera and a BOAT LOAD of scrapbooking stuff to get her started, a sterling silver James Avery necklace, and a boom box to play her iPod through. Rocketboy is enjoying a new skateboard, a cool remote-control race car, and his first iPod. They had lots of other cool gifts: books, bookmarks, art supplies, and some gift cards thrown into the mix. Chuck is also anticipating some gift card shopping, playing with his new olive oil sprayer, and he has some new clothes to wear. He and I will be exchanging most of our gifts for New Years since we blew most of our respective wad on the kiddos for Christmas.

In a suprising turn of events, I somehow ended up with a beautiful (bountiful) pile of gifts: two gorgeous sweaters, some silk jammies, some body moisturizing products to curb the pregnancy itches, and the most surprising of surprises:

A Barnes & Noble Nook eReader!!! I've been lusting after the Kindle for years, and when I got wind of the Nook I started investigating. It seems like a really cool product, measures up to the Kindle nicely (better in some areas), and when I laid my paws on it at my local B&N I really decided I liked it. It's backordered, so mine won't be shipped until January 4th, but I cannot WAIT to start my Nook reading. I suspect the first book I'll download (the first one on my wishlist) is The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. I've heard nothing but good things about it, but the library is all backed up and it's affordable in e-book format, so what better way to go right??

I'm so excited I can hardly wait. I screeched when I read the card where Chuck broke the news of my gift. He, my mom, and his mom all chipped in to buy it for me.

Perhaps the best Christmas blessing of them all is the one we received earlier in the week, and it's nothing I can lay my hands on. Chuck has been out of work for almost a year (10 months) after being laid off in February. The market for graphic designers has been horrible in our area thanks to the lagging economy, so we've been getting by on my salary and the work he can bring in through our home-based printing business. Luckily, he interviewed for a job recently and we found out Wednesday that he's hired!!!! He'll be doing production design which may be a little boring for him right now, but the pay is good, he'll have full benefits, he'll work 2 blocks from our house, and the atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming. Even better, it's a great job for him while he's working through his Bachelor's in graphic design, which should open more challenging and exciting doors for him down the road. He starts January 18th, so he's got some time to enjoy his freedom a bit longer.

We could not be happier. It's been a WONDERFUL first Christmas together for our growing family, and I hope you all have had as delightful a week, and a holiday, as we have.

Blog Tour: Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat?

2009-12-22T00:02:00.004-06:00

In the beginning it was hard for me to imagine how I would review Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat? The Essential Guide to Loving Your Body Before and After Baby. I'm not usually much of a self-help kind of reader, and that's probably the category this book would fall into--along with non-fiction books on health issues.

When I first started reading the book, I had a realization. A positive one, in fact: I'm not really that worried about how my body will change after pregnancy. I've always been chunky, and while I'm healthy, I also don't put much stock in whether I look like the American ideal of beauty. Kissing my "old figure" goodbye is not really a concern since I've never had a particularly media-ideal figure to begin with. I don't want to give the idea that I'm immune to insecurity; that's certainly not the case. I think the authors did make me realize that maybe at my current age and maturity level, I'm worried about issues I consider more important than my weight and shape. That feels like a healthy realization especially since I was monstrously insecure as a younger woman.

As I got further into this book, I realized that there's plenty here for me in my current situation and mindset. Writers Claire Mysko and Magali Amadei approach not only insecurity, but common physical concerns that run through pregnant women everywhere: how will sex change? how will we bounce back after delivery? what are the physical pros and cons of breastfeeding?

There are also a lot of really fun topics covered in this book...advice about how to shop for pregnancy and maintain a personal sense of self and style. There are also darker, but very informative and necessary, chapters on eating disorders, celebrity mothers, and the role of the media in making women feel insecure about their bodies in everyday life, not to mention after giving birth. Most of us just can't afford those darn trainers to get us back in shape in six weeks, and we don't have the luxury of an airbrusher to rid us of our imperfections.

While I was initially a little bit doubtful of what this book had to offer me personally, I found it a very informative, fun read. It's also an important book since women do so often feel horribly insecure about their bodies. Needlessly horrible! Mysko and Amadei write a lot about honoring what your body has done. We carry babies, for heaven's sake! We make life! We should give ourselves a break when it comes to dieting, working out after the birth of a child, and putting too much pressure on ourselves to be physically perfect.

Mysko and Amadei are doing good work here, and it's my pleasure to be the first stop on their blog tour. Thanks to TLC for approaching me about this book and to the publisher for providing a review copy.

On the Go...

2009-12-21T09:18:00.005-06:00

"On the go" is just a saying. You can bet I'm spending my first full day of freedom with my butt planted on the couch or in bed READING! Because I CAN! I have three books on the go right now, and holy cannoli, they have absolutely nothing in common.

Does this Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat: The Essential Guide to Loving Your Body Before and After Baby, by Claire Mysko and Magali Amadei. This one is for a blog tour that will be rolling through tomorrow. I laid off pregnancy books for a while after I read a shortish stack of them in the beginning months. It's easy to get overwhelmed that way, I find. However, it was time for another one, and when Lisa from TLC Book Tours offered, I jumped on the book wagon. I'm almost done with this one (will polish it off when I get this post done), and you'll find out the verdict tomorrow!

Holidays on Ice, by David Sedaris. Chuck has discovered the wonderfulness of Sedaris. When we went on a day trip to Arkansas a while back, I subjected him to the audio version of Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, and he's been a fan ever since. I'll probably read aloud some of this slim volume to him in coming evenings, though my voice certainly pales in comparison to Sedaris's own whiny cuteness. I'm only about halfway through the first story, "SantaLand Diaries," because I started reading it, and then I ended up loaning it out to a VERY trustworthy student who did her course research paper on Sedaris. It came back to me in good shape, so now I can finish it up, and that's exactly what I plan to do before Christmas.

Emma, by Jane Austen. Somehow the Gwyneth Paltrow/Jeremy "Yum Yum" Northam film adaptation became one of my favorite movies when I was a teenager. I can't even tell you how many times I watched it over and over and over again through the years. My mom gave me a copy of the book for Christmas back then--when I was about 17--and it's been sitting on my shelves ever since. I know, I know! I'm a horrible daughter and reader. I got to Austen's Pride ande Prejudice first, and it's taken me this long to clear out space enough in my heart to read another one of her works, though how anyone could ever compete with Darcy, I don't know. We'll have to see if Mr. Knightly is as cute in the book as Northam's big nose was in the movie.

Most of you have probably already realized that I'm something of a contemporary lit lover. I have to be in just the right mood to read anything remotely flowery or "old." At least in the last year or so that's been the case. Upon revisiting Austen, though, I'm not sure why I put her off for so long after P&P. Her stuff is really so very funny and readable, and I just love her. I am making it one of my goals to get back to more classics reading this year since I've only felt so-so about 2009's books under my belt. The gaping hole of classic lit is really bothering me since it often leaves me feeling intellectually nourished and challenged in a way that other books don't.

So what are you reading today? Tomorrow? Trying to stamp out before the holiday rush?

Red Velvet Cookies

2009-12-18T10:46:00.004-06:00

I mentioned in a previous post that we've been cooking like maniacs around here for the holidays. One of popular to-go/catering establishments near our house advertises Red Velvet Cookies during the holidays, and being the cheap-skate that I am, I didn't want to pay $15 for two dozen. I did a quick Google search and found the EASIEST COOKIE RECIPE ON EARTH.

Red Velvet Cookies

One box of Red Velvet cake mix
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
2 eggs

Mix all the ingredients together with a very strong spoon because DENSE is an understatement. I used our Kitchenaid stand mixer after the first batch. Roll small balls of dough, squish slightly, and lay them out on your baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes at 375 degrees.

I dipped my cookies in granulated sugar before baking because they have a really pretty crackle about them and it makes for a crunchy outside and soft, chewy middle. The picture are NOT my cookies, but mine looked very similar, so there!

I've been giving these away at work in little holiday packages, and they seem to be a big hit with everyone (including the Rockets). The color is beautiful, and they bake perfectly if you're using a nice, thick baking sheet. We also decided to expand our cake mix cookie experience. We tried the same recipe with a lemon cake mix, and they were delicious, too. I glazed them with a powdered sugar/lemon glaze and, need I say more, they're already gone!

Enjoy this easy recipe from our lazy household to yours!

Freeeedom!

2009-12-18T09:16:00.003-06:00

Today is the first official day of my holiday break!!! I'm especially excited and thankful for it this year since I started my sort of off-kilter teaching job. The college I teach for on a full-time basis is an accelerated program, so we run on a 10-week term schedule, and there are five of those terms per year. Most of the time we only get a day or two off between terms, and the most vacation days within any given term is usually one or two. I know, I know, it's far less like academia and far more like a real job than I've ever done. Anyway, December is our long break, so I have from today until January 4th to soak up my fill of reading, family time, mindless TV, and SOLITUDE!

Don't think I'm not going to take advantage!

So I bet you're wondering what my reading plans look like. We bookworms are all alike that way.

I had originally planned to re-read all of the books I teach. The bulk of my schedule is filled with freshman composition courses and fundamental (college catch-up) courses, but I do teach a Children's Lit class online on the side, and we read a ton of juvenile novels--some of which I haven't cracked the spine on in a couple of years.

Some of those books, like Lois Lowry's The Giver or Gene Yang's American Born Chinese, I've read so many times I don't need to revisit yet. Others, like Deborah Ellis's Parvanah's Journey or Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, are getting a wee tad fuzzy. The latter two choices are high on my Christmas must-read list so I can make up some new tests and quizzes and discussion questions and stuff. Oh, and while I'm thinking about it, I really need to re-read The Watson's Go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis, too. Can't forget that one!

I'm also teaching the Early American Lit course online that I mentioned earlier, and I'm going to dive back into The Scarlet Letter and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. I'll have a lot more short reading to do for that class as we work through the specific authors and literary periods by week, so I'll certainly get a refresher in those as well.

What else do I have planned for the holidays? Truffles, cookies, ham, and lots of deviled eggs. And blogging. Lots of blogging and blog reading. It's good to be back, lovelies!

Threaten me with a good time!

Early American Lit! Oh My!

2009-12-14T20:26:00.003-06:00

Emily Dickinson doesn't look like she's having nearly as much fun as my family at the moment. While I'm taking a minute to blog, the kids are rolling up red velvet cookies, glazing lemon cookies, and coating truffles in milk and white chocolate. The baby and I are so hyped up on sugar, he's bouncing off the proverbial walls.

I announced on Twitter a while ago that I'm teaching an Early American Literature class online for the Spring semester. I rarely get to add a new class to my repertoire. Community and career-college profs are generally slaves to freshman composition, but I have a crop of new stuff to wallow in in the coming months.

Admittedly, early American lit is sooooo not my thing. I'm much more of a contemporary girl, but I've done my fair bit of studying the old stuff, too. And I should mentioned that I've liked quite a few select authors from before 1865. When I found out I'd be teaching this class, I went mining the internets for inspiration and to jog my memory in regards to what I should teach. Alas, here is the reading list (authors) for the course:

Anne Bradstreet
Mary Rowlandson
Jonathan Edwards
Benjamin Franklin
Washington Irving
Edgar Allen Poe
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Henry David Thoreau
Emily Dickinson
Frederick Douglass
Harriet Jacobs/Linda Brent

We'll be reading short selections and excerpts from these authors' most famous works. I also wanted to them to read two longer selections, so I've chosen The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne, and one of my favorite books of all time, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs (also named Linda Brent). I would've preferred something a little more unexpected than Scarlet Letter, but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what else to choose at the moment. I need to brush up on my House of the Seven Gables if I want to use it in the future.

I'm working up my plans and written lectures and all that good stuff, and I'm actually really excited to hear what my students have to say about this good stuff. I suspect Poe will be a fave, as will Slave Girl.

I can't believe it's been a week since I blogged. End-of-semester grading is killin' me. 'Nuff said.

I'll be back to the blogosphere soon. See ya!

Outdoor Plumbing

2009-12-07T20:38:00.003-06:00

I got off of work at 1:00 this afternoon, and Chuck and I headed out to the hospital for our second ultrasound. THE ultrasound. I was boiling over with excitement and actually led us to and sat in the wrong office suite for a few minutes before I realized the mistake. Ooops!

When we finally found the right office, Chuck and I sat laughing at really bad Tiger Woods jokes; again, we were so excited we were giddy.

When we got to the ultrasound room and all settled we got to see the heartbeat and the brain (huzzah!), spine, fingers, toes, the whole nine yards.

Then......

As the doctor put it, the outdoor plumbing. Clear as day. 100% sure it's a boy.

I thought that might be the case since we've only really had girl names picked out. Looks like we'll be starting from scratch now. Names in the running Aidan, Thane, and Chuck is still pulling for Titus (Mama says no).

When we left the office, we went to Target and bought a baby comforter, some receiving blankets (all covered in owls), and other items in lovely shades of neutral. We put all of these items in a neutral baby bag and put a blue plaid blanket and a Run DMC onesie (that would be Chuck's pick) on the bottom of the stack in the bag. When we finally finished torturing Rocketgirl and Rocketboy we let them each pull out one item a piece until they uncovered the telling items. Then we all screeched together and watched the DVD of the ultrasound.

So fun! Pictures to come...

Hello, Secret Santa!!!

2009-12-02T14:05:00.005-06:00

Today was my early day at school, so I taught from 7am to 11 and was finally able to break away from the office, stop off for an H1N1 shot on the way home, and I arrived around 12:30 with half a carload of groceries. Chuck came out to help me with the bags and happened to say, "You have a Secret Santa box by the door!"

Sooooo excited! I ripped into that puppy as quickly as I could, and the lovely picture to the left is the Christmas feast. Click to make it bigger...with that much adorableness in one place, it's totally worth it.

Secret Santa was very generous and kind and here's what he?/she? sent:

A beautiful goldish/copper owl Christmas ornament
A package of delightful owl notecards and a packet of homemade stickers from Etsy (http://luckyroni.etsy.com)
A beautiful package of multi-colored "A" notecards
An "A" photo bookmark to match
A lovely copy of Joyce Carol Oates's short stories, Wild Nights! subtitled "Stories About the Last Days of Poe, Dickinson, Twain, James, and Hemingway." I heard about this one on an NPR radio podcast ages ago, and I'm so thrilled to have a copy of it in my hot little hands.

Now, the question remains: who are you, Secret Santa??!!! Show yourself in all your bookish glory. Thank you sooooo very much for your gifts. You truly made my day (it was a stinker until I got home).

Now I've got to get off my tookus and send out my gift to my Secret Santa recipient. I've been searching for just the right items.

Update: The Secret Santa is.....*drum roll*....the lovely and talented Meg from WriteMeg! Thank you soooo very much, Meg! I can't thank you enough. Your gifts were very thoughtful and I can't wait to get home from work and pet 'em.

2010 Reading Challenges

2009-12-02T09:28:00.007-06:00

I'm always the first to admit that I'm a HORRIBLE challenge participant--even in the challenges I host personally. Does that ever stop me from joining?? Oh heck no! Especially when a brand new flock of goodies show up for the new year.

I've found that the best challenges, or the ones that suit me best, are ongoing or really random. I don't do very well if a theme constricts me. With that in mind, I've chosen a few of the new crop to undertake in 2010 along with my usual standby challenges (RIP, Once Upon a Time, so on).

The first challenge added to my list is TwentyTen Challenge hosted by Bart's Bookshelf. This one is charmingly odd as there are 10 categories requiring the participant to read two books from each for a total of 20 for the year. The categories:

YA
TBR
Shiny and New
Bad Bloggers
Charity
New in 2010
Older Than You
Win! Win!
Who Are You Again?
Up to You

I figure I can shoehorn oodles of my books into one category or another, so this sounds perfect.

Next on the list is Beth Fish Reads and the What's in a Name 3 Challenge. This is another one with wide open choices. Participants read a book from each of the following categories in 2010.

-A book with a food in the title: Clockwork Orange, Grapes of Wrath, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
-A book with a body of water in the title: A River Runs through It, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, The Lake House
-A book with a title (queen, president) in the title: The Murder of King Tut, The Count of Monte Cristo, Lady Susan
-A book with a plant in the title: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Wind in the Willows, The Name of the Rose
-A book with a place name (city, country) in the title: Out of Africa; London; Between, Georgia
-A book with a music term in the title: Song of Solomon, Ragtime, The Piano Teacher

I love these categories and am already brainstorming books I can read in each group.

Finally, maybe the challenge I'm most excited about--and certainly one of the shortest--is Woolf in Winter. Frances from Nonsuch Book has the invitation post, and there's a schedule posted on her site. Basically four lovely blogging ladies will be leading discussion of four of Woolf's novels over the course of January and February. The novels: Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, Orlando, and The Waves.

I know I'm in for Mrs. Dalloway, but I'm not sure I'll get around to all four. I'll shoot for two if not more.

So that's it! I'm not making up projected lists of books yet (aside from Woolf in Winter) because I'm so fickle that there's really no telling what I'll read. I'm looking forward to giving these a try, though, and who knows...maybe I'll join even more challenges in 2010! Wish me luck!

What challenges have you joined? Which are you most excited about?

Back with The Thirteenth Tale!

2009-12-01T11:15:00.004-06:00

What a crazy holiday weekend. I actually had to go back to work to get some rest. Thursday Chuck and I hosted a big holiday to-do for our family and some of our friends. The food was plentiful, the house was clean (just in the nick of time), and we had a nice time. I fell into a turkey coma immediately afterward and woke up in time for our brood to head off to my mom's house on Friday for another feast. Mom's feast was heavily attended, delicious, and a lot of fun too.

I thought that would be the end of it. I expected a relaxing Saturday and Sunday, but much to my surprise we were back on the run. Chuck needed to do a large journal assignment for his art history class (early art history), and there happened to be an Egyptian exhibit in LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS. Yes, you read that correctly. We hopped out of bed at 6am on Saturday and hit the road to Little Rock. We tooled around the museum, took copious notes for his project, and then we drove all the way home. I'm panting just thinking about it.

Finally, on Sunday, we loaded up the kids, checked out Thanksgiving Square in downtown Dallas (a potential wedding site), went to the Dallas Museum of Art to finish up his project, and got home in time for me to grade papers and go to bed.

In short, no rest was had for this pregnant goose. I did, however, have the afternoon off after a doc appointment yesterday. Woohoo! I got to finish up Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale, but I'll get to that in just a minute. The family is currently biting our collective nails waiting for next Monday's ultrasound appointment. We'll finally be finding out if the Lil Bug is a boy or a girl.

But enough about holiday craziness. On to the books!

I think I could very well be the VERY LAST PERSON in the book blogosphere to read this book, and now I can't figure out why I waited so darn long. I've had it on my shelves for well over a year now after I found a clearance copy at Half-Price books for a whopping $3.00. I plunked it down on my RIP IV challenge pile, but I never got around to it.

I complained here recently that I've had a very ho-hum reading year so far. While there have been good books in the bunch, generally I haven't felt as fulfilled or wowed by my reading as I usually do. It was a desperate attempt to love a book that brought me to The Thirteenth Tale, and WHOA, did it deliver!

I won't waste your time with a blurb because I genuinely feel like almost everybody already knows what this book is about. If you don't, just read it blindly--you won't be sorry. I adored it for so many reasons, I hardly know where to start. I feel a bulleted listed coming on:

The characters were vivid and evolved nicely! Margaret Lee was mousy and unassuming at the beginning of the novel, but she grew to be a really interesting, multi-faceted character.
I loved to dislike Vida Winter. She was a perfectly written lovable/hateable character. I found her amusing, infuriating, and enigmatic throughout the book.
It was atmospheric! And I'm a real sucker for atmosphere. Any book that can make me feel as if I've been deposited on the moors is a winner.
Twisted! Need I say more?? I almost got whiplash from this story.
It's a novel for book lovers. All of Margaret's thoughts on reading in the early part of the book were delicious. I don't think I've written down that many quotable passages in years. And all of the references to Jane Eyre, The Woman in White, Wuthering Heights were excellent, too.

Gush much? Yep, and I don't even care. I LOVED IT! Heather, thank you for prodding me to read this one constantly. ;)

In the spirit of yummy gothic books perfectly suited for winter, I checked out The Woman in White from my library. Now I can't wait to figure out what all the hooplah is about! Bring it on, Wilkie!

Itching!

2009-11-24T14:46:00.007-06:00

Itching to read, that is. I was baffled last week when I received a little pink slip in our mailbox announcing that we had packages because the mailbox was full. Heh?? Our mailbox NEVER gets that full. In fact, lately, it's been downright barren.

When Chuck came home yesterday with the announcement that "the mailbox was full of books" and that's why they'd left us a pink slip, well then I was ecstatic. Now I'm itching to read the following--not to mention the delicious Thirteenth Tale that I'm still chugging away on at night before bed.

Mr. Langshaw's Square Piano: The Story of the First Pianos and How They Caused a Cultural Revolution, by Madeline Goold. I mentioned recently, on my review of A World Without Ice, that I'm always leery of books about really random topics (like ice or salt or colors), and it's sort of the same concept here. How random?? But deliciously so. Don't you love that cover?? The one up top, see?

Keeping the Feast, by Paula Butturini. This one is for a TLC Blog tour that will be swinging through. It's a memoir about the newly married Paula and John. While reporting on an uprising in Romania John is shot. The two eventually return to their beloved Rome, and the book is about a number of things, but largely about the healing power of food and cooking--and all the rituals associated with it. I briefly picked the book up yesterday while I was waiting on some laundry to finish up, and I was immediately sucked in. I can't wait to gobble down the rest.

Hourglass, by Claudia Gray. This is the third in the Evernight series. While I generally claim to be vampired out, I will most likely give Gray another shot to impress me. I loved the first book, Evernight, but I was only sort of "meh" about the second one, Stargazer. Rocketgirl finished it recently, and she's been trying to get me to finish it ever since. She promises there's a twist I'll love at the end. When I showed her this magnificent nugget yesterday she said, "How do you DO this??" Meaning get books from publishers ahead of time. I explained, and now she wants to start reviewing too. I don't know if our shelves can handle it!!! Sadly, it'll be awhile before a review lands here. The book releases in March 2010. *sigh*

Finally, French Milk, by Lucy Knisley. I've had my eye on this book FOREVER. It's definitely made its way around the blogosphere a few times, and I'm finally getting my grubby little paws on it. I won the mini-challenge hosted by Nymeth during Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon, and I could not be more excited. Thanks, Nymeth!

Those are the books stacked on my nightstand at the moment. What about yours?

My Pants Are Too Small

2009-11-24T13:57:00.003-06:00

Really. My pants are getting too small. My first pair of "must buy bigger because I'm preggers" pants are getting too freakin' small. I see an elastic panel in my future.

So I didn't mean to be gone for almost a week. It's been hell-week because I've had midterms to grade, papers to catch up on in online classes, and now that we're done with midterm, the session is almost over at my full-time gig. I've been in and out of meetings and up to my neck in paperwork. By the time I get home at night I just want to pig out and sleep.

Yesterday I experienced my first serious craving. Chuck loves the A1 Thick and Hearty Burger from Whataburger. If you're on the east coast of the U.S. you probably have no idea what I'm talking about (I never saw one when I lived in NC). It's a delicious chain, and this is one of their specialty burgers that is "going away" after December 21st of this year.

I've scoffed at this burger originally because, let's face it, it's a heart attack in a sack. Two patties, cheese, grilled onions, and A1 sauce. However, I made the mistake of taking a bite of Chuck's burger on Sunday. That opened Pandora's box of cravings apparently because I actually made him go out of his way on an errand yesterday just to pick one up for myself. It was greasy, bigger than my head, and DELICIOUS. I ate the whole thing without (much) remorse, and loved every finger-lickin' minute of it.

Until today when I found the nutrition facts online. Ouch! No more of those. But it was fun while it lasted.

I really do have bookish things to say, so I'll be back shortly. Like in half an hour.

Engaged!

2009-11-18T23:54:00.002-06:00

Sunday was a busy day. I spent a good chunk of the afternoon grading papers, and it continued into the evening. Chuck was upstairs in the office working on a research paper for most of the afternoon, but he came down to visit a couple of times and asked for proofreading advice.

We always have plenty to talk about, and we were lounging on the bed talking talking baby stuff. A discussion was underway about the research that says the baby may be able to hear us talking at this point. In a fit of pure genius, Chuck started yelling into my belly button (the quickest route to the baby, he says). I can only describe the voice as a Mrs. Doubtfire type of intonation. Very special coming from a man that looks like a bouncer.

After his conversation with the baby we were talking some more and laughing, and I don't really even know how it happened. All of a sudden he was asking me to marry him and getting teary. At first, until I saw the teariness, I thought he was kidding. When he actually asked me to marry him I said, "Sure!" Then I said something akin to, "Oh my God, you're serious!" To this point I've been thoroughly convinced that he never wanted to marry again after his first wife. I was wrong!!!! Delightfully, wonderfully wrong.

He says he had a whole scenario planned out and he has a ring he wants to buy for me other than the birthday ring he gave me last week. Something in the moment prompted him to toss his plans out the window on a Sunday afternoon, lounging on the bed, talking, and yelling at our unborn child. It's very us. A perfect proposal.

No date yet. We're scoping out locations and restaurants to cater (all the important stuff, ya know). So far we've tossed around the idea of some local Japanese gardens for the ceremony, one of our fave restaurants for the reception, and it's nearly a sure thing that Bronwen Weber will do the cake. If ya haven't seen her before, she's on the Food Network's cake challenge show all the time. She's so cool! And talented! And she answers her own phone!

We're having a blast, and I'm a lucky, lucky girl and very excited. :)

Blog Tour: A World Without Ice

2009-11-15T23:09:00.006-06:00

Henry Pollack is an exceptional scientist. He is part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former vice president Al Gore. To my delight, he is also a talented writer.

It's been a long while since I read a science book, and given my ongoing interest in climate change and green living, A World Without Ice seemed like the book tour for me to be a part of. It usually takes me a good while to read non-fiction offerings, but because of a busy work schedule, I couldn't really dig into this book until Friday night. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to finish, but I actually gulped it down with no problem--a testament to Pollack's careful and clever writing.

This book is exactly what it says. It's a detailed look at the importance of ice on Earth. I expected the entire book to focus on global warming and climate change, but it took until approximately page 100 to really get to that. Pollack spends a great deal of time chronicling various voyages to the Arctic and Antarctic to create a contrast between the past and today's warming trends and the continual disappearance of ice. These historical bits were actually some of my very favorite parts of the book as I always enjoy tales of explorers and seafarers charting new courses.

Once the environmental discussion really kicked up in Chapter 4: Warming Up, I was impressed with Pollack's combination of thorough detail and easy-to-follow descriptions of scientific processes. It's a fine line to walk, but he did it beautifully throughout the book. I felt as if I learned a lot at my level of understanding without having a scientist write "down" to me. This was especially apparent when Pollack set up a variety of points that global warming skeptics use to attack or mislead the public to believe that global warming and the disappearance of ice are myths. He systematically attacks each of these arguments with convincing science and common sense. It's good, for a believer like me who is genuinely concerned about these issues, to have a step-by-step explanation of how and why the Earth is warming and ice is receding in direct response to skeptics.

I always have my doubts when I run across seemingly obscure non-fiction books. Whole tomes about salt, for instance, or the color yellow. There was a moment, before I started reading, that I doubted anyone could pull off a whole book about ice, but Henry Pollack does more than pull it off--he excels at it. If you're at all interested in science, the environment, animals, nature, or geopolitics, this is a great book to try.

You can learn more at http://www.worldwithoutice.com

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for the book and the opportunity to join this tour.

The Sunday Salon - Or What's Shakin' at Chez Andi

2009-11-15T08:24:00.006-06:00

Hey folks! It's another Sunday of early mornin' blogging at my place. Chuck was up until 3am working on a research paper, and I was sacked out wayyyy earlier than that, so I woke up with Daisy at 7:am, and here I am.

We had a belated birthday gathering with the kids, a group of my friends, and Chuck's-now-my friends at Celebration Restaurant in Dallas last night. If you ever stop to go to a restaurant link that I've posted, I beg of you, go to this one. It's a home cooking restaurant in a renovated home and once you order, you can have "seconds" of almost anything on the menu. My meal was walnut crusted chicken with honey Dijon sauce, and the first thing out of my mouth when I tasted it was, "Oh my God, it's Chick-fil-a on crack!" Delicious. Freakin' awesome delicious. So anyway, I dipped into the served-family-style mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas, fried okra and other yummies. I even got to try the locally made mozzarella they were featuring for one of the first courses. Awesome! Oh, and my "seconds"--fried catfish. Because I am that country and I'm OK with it! In addition to the great food, I now love Celebration even more because they buy locally and seasonally. Extra brownie points for being socially responsible!

But on to books. I have several real-life responsibilities to take care of today: assloads of grading to do, and some administrative tasks for my online classes. I'll be teaching a section of American Lit (before 1865) next semester, so I need to choose some books for that class as well. So far I'm leaning toward Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Linda Brent, for sure. As for the other books...hell if I know. That's what I need to figure out today. I figure I'll have three required texts and have them read a bevvy of short works and excerpts online. Save 'em some cash.

I'm also scrambling to finish up a book that will be appearing here tomorrow on blog tour: A World Without Ice, by Henry Pollack, PhD. It's an amazing book! Very intriguing, and it's been entirely too long since I've read a book from the sciences. Given my interest in green living and all, this was a perfect blog tour choice, so I'm looking forward to polishing it off and posting my review this evening.

I took a huuuuge pile of books back to the library this week, but of course I could never come home empty handed, now could I? What kind of obsessive compulsive book nut would I be? I only grabbed three:

Through a Pale Door, by Brian Ray - Blurb: Sarah West takes a temporary job at her father's South Carolina steel mill the summer before college, hoping for relief from the chaos of her psychotic and often institutionalized mother. But from the first day of June to the waning days of August, relief is the last thing Sarah finds. Soon after she moves into her separated father's house, tragic news about her mother arrives.
The haunting funeral coincides with Sarah's first love affair. Her lover is a fellow mill worker, a teenage vigilante muralist named Edgewood who lives in an abandoned jail on the outskirts of town. Sarah and Edgewood share artistic gifts but hesitate at the door between adolescence and adulthood. While Edgewood struggles to develop confidence in his work, Sarah finds her own artistic endeavors haunted by grim yet compelling memories of growing up under the rule of an inexplicably deranged artist on one side and an oddly aloof, workaholic entrepreneur on the other.

Pygmy, by Chuck Palahniuk - Blurb: "Begins here first account of operative me, agent number 67 on arrival midwestern American airport greater _____ area. Flight _____. Date _____. Priority mission top success to complete. Code name: Operation Havoc."
Thus speaks Pygmy, one of a handful of young adults from a totalitarian state sent to the United States, disguised as exchange students, to live with typical American families and blend in, all the while planning an unspecified act of massive terrorism. Palahniuk depicts Midwestern life through the eyes of this thoroughly indoctrinated little killer, who hates us with a passion, in this cunning double-edged satire of an American xenophobia that might, in fact, be completely justified. For Pygmy and his fellow operatives are cooking up something big, something truly awful, that will bring this big dumb country and its fat dumb inhabitants to their knees.

The Knife of Never Letting Go, by Patrick Ness - I do really need a blurb? Here's one anyway: Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him — something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.

I have no idea which ones I'll actually get around to reading. I'm definitely shooting for The Knife of Never Letting Go because of all the recommendations. I'm also intrigued by Through a Pale Door, so Pygmy will probably end up losing out. Palahniuk and I have a rocky relationship these days, but I might surprise myself.

Have a great Sunday everyone, and I'll see you later with that review!

Mini Reviews: Elsewhere and Ex Libris

2009-11-14T08:19:00.004-06:00

Good Saturday morning everyone! Thanks to the recent read-a-thon and all the pregnancy happenings and the birthday goings-on, I actually still have a backlog of books that need to be reviewed. It's a shrinking backlog, but this rarely ever happens as I don't read fast enough to have the reviews stack up. It's kind of a nice feeling; one that I'm going to obliterate right now as I review my final read-a-thon leftovers.

Anne Fadiman's essays, Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader, have been on my wishlist for years. My old library didn't have a copy, so I was tickled to find that my new one does! *kisses the feet of the new library*

It's a slim little book as most of you probably know. I feel like I'm the last book-nerd on earth to get hold of this one. It's a rare thing that I dislike a book about books, though it does happen on occasion. Happily, I sucked this one down without much problem. Powell's has a succinct overview:

Anne Fadiman is — by her own admission — the sort of person who learned about sex from her father's copy of Fanny Hill, whose husband buys her 19 pounds of dusty books for her birthday, and who once found herself poring over her roommate's 1974 Toyota Corolla manual because it was the only written material in the apartment that she had not read at least twice.

This review may be misleading in its squattiness. I found a TON of stuff in the book that I wanted to remember. Quotes I liked, long passages of bookish worship that need to live in my journal. Alas, I had to return it to the library in a fit of post-read-a-thon purging to keep from accumulating a mountain of library fines. I marked passages in pencil, so I can only hope to find them there when I recheck the book to snatch out all the good bits I loved.

On the other side of the coin, Fadiman is wicked smart (not that it's a bad thing), but I found her pretentious and annoying in spots, though my love of her bookish nature won out in the end.

My final book for the read-a-thon was probably my very favorite. I've only read one other Gabrielle Zevin novel, Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, also a previous read-a-thon undertaking. While I enjoyed Amnesiac, I LOVED Elsewhere.

In this deilghtful novel death is a begining, a new start. Liz is killed in a hit a run accident and her 'life' takes a very unexpected turn. At nearly sixteen she knows she will never get married, never have children, and perhaps never fall in love. But in "Elsewhere" all things carry on almost as they did on earth except that the inhabitants get younger, dogs and humans can communicate (at last) new relationships are formed and old ones sadly interrupted on earth are renewed.

It's hard to explain what I like about Zevin's writing so much. It's just so...inviting! It's very easy to sink into her stories and her characters are sustainably quirky. I enjoyed her take on "heaven" after death, and I was happy that a main character--gone far too young--still had a chance to mature emotionally in the afterlife as she got younger and approached a rebirth.

Maybe the best way to describe Gabrielle Zevin's novels is vivid. Vivid characters, shiny details, and wonderful premises. I think I only have one of her books left: Margarettown. I can't wait to read it, but I wish she'd hurry up and write more!

And as I'm looking at her website: http://www.memoirsofa.com I see that she has a new novel for adults, The Hole We're In, coming out in March 2010. Hurray!

Birthday Bliss!

2009-11-11T17:21:00.006-06:00

My 29th birthday has come and gone, and I lived to tell about it! I'm still feeling horrid thanks to this wretched cold, but I've had a great time, and my family spoiled me rotten. Rottener than I've ever been spoiled. Pile o'presents to your left.

I had to work until 6:00 last night, and Chuck was in school until around 8:00, so I met him at Razzoo's, the site of our first date, around 8:15. I had a coupon for a free birthday meal, and while I attempted to branch out, I stuck to my usual, favorite: Crawdaddies Two Ways. It's a plate of fried crawfish tails, a heaping bowl of crawfish etouffee with fries and hush puppies. So much for that low sodium thing.

When I got home this heaping pile of presents was staring at me from our dining room table. In the boxes and bags:

From Chuck

Twilight Woods and Vanilla Bean Noel lotions and body creams from Bath and Body Works. There was also a little jar of Vanilla Bean Noel scented oil and a Japanese Cherry Blossom Body Cream.
A collection of rosemary-scented bath products (bubble bath, soap, bath salts, etc.)
PJs with the CUTEST little owls all over them. Unfortunately my baby belly is getting too big for the jammies to accommodate it.
A novelty collection of Christmas-scented shower gels (gingerbread, sugarplum, cookie, winter frost, and more).
A Lane Bryant gift card
A BEAUTIFUL diamond and white gold ring. It's not an engagement, but it is gorgeous and beautiful, and it's an "upgrade" from the brushed nickel ring Chuck gave me the first week we were dating. I'll post a pic of this one later.
A black coat for work
A body pillow for comfy sleeping

From Rocketgirl:

A $25 Barnes & Noble Gift Card

From Rocketboy:

A $15 iTunes gift card
A BEAUTIFUL red/orange gerbera daisy plant for my office desk

From Chuck's mom:

Some wrappy towel turbans for my multitude of curly hair for after showering
A 50's-style air popcorn popper
A massager
A snuggly wrappy blanket thing. It's not a Snuggie--much nicer. It can be a throw, a blanket, or it zip and buttons up to have sleeves and be a blanket/housecoat contraption

My mom:

Adorable jammies
Lunch at a Japanese restaurant (to be redeemed any time)
A mystery gift that I haven't gotten to open yet

From Chuck again.....

The most BEAUTIFUL cherry blossom birthday cake ever. Yes, he made it all. It's red velvet covered in white and fudge fondant with cream cheese frosting inside between the layers. He piped the trunk and branches of the tree with fudge buttercream and made the flowers out of gum paste so they dried hard. He piped the blue river on top of the bottom tier and the top of the cake is a zen garden made of light brown sugar. The rocks along the river and outlining the zen garden are made of licorice.

He spent a huge hunk of time building it yesterday, and he did an amazing job. He only does stuff like this for special occasions, and he's getting REALLY good at all the fondant/gum paste work. Click to see a bigger picture because it's SOOOO worth it!

So, like I said, I am totally spoiled rotten. I have a tendency to see things I like and say, "I love that, but I won't get it." So he made sure that I got a ton of what I've seen and liked in recent months.

I hate to rush, but I'm off to work for the second time today. I'll be back with books shortly! Oh, and I'll post a pic of the ring by it self sometime soon. It's too good not to share.

Happy Birthday to Meeeee!

2009-11-10T10:25:00.003-06:00

Yes, you read that right. I'm saying happy birthday to myself. I turn 29 today, and this morning Chuck asked if I feel old, to which I replied, "Nope, just snotty." I have my normal birthday cold, I have to work late, and I have to wait until about 9:00 tonight for presents.

Am I bummed though? Heck no! It's a good day (aside from the cold I have), and I brought my newest book acquisition, David Sedaris's Holidays on Ice to work with me.

If you hear me wheezing with laughter in the back corner of the classroom or conference room, just ignore it.

I'll check in later. Back to work! I hope y'all have a great day.

Pre-Birthday Madness!

2009-11-07T17:27:00.004-06:00

So my birthday is coming up on November 10th. The big 2-9. Since the actual birthday is on a Tuesday, Chuck decided to take me out for a celebratory lunch today, and we did a bit of running around. I think we're also planning a birthday get together next weekend, but I'll report on the later.

We started our day at the Clay Pit in Addison. It's one of my favorite Indian restaurants, and they have a sizeable buffet on Saturday and Sunday. Chuck wasn't too fond of it since the spicy food isn't really his bag, but to this native Texan, Indian food is almost as good as Tex-Mex. *wink wink*

A pre-birthday weekend always requires books, and we happened to stumble upon the Addison Bookworm Bash. It's a charity book sale that benefits the Addison Senior Adult Services. Of course, I found a few goodies:

Deception, by Philip Roth - I collect all of Roth's books, and I rarely see a used copy of this one lying around. Hardcover, too. Woot!
The Kitchen God's Wife, by Amy Tan - I have so many other copies of Amy Tan's stuff, so I figured why not add one more!
The Optimist's Daughter, by Eudora Welty - I've never read Welty, but I want to. This one seemed a good place to start.
A Natural History of the Senses, by Diane Ackerman - I'm all about the non-fiction, and this one sounds great. Can't wait to find out if I'm right.

We also took a little trip to the local Barnes & Noble to check out the new Nook e-reader, but they won't have any available to play with until November 30th. Boo! Chuck wants to buy me an e-reader for Christmas and we've been looking at both the Nook and Kindle. I've played with the Kindle plenty of times, but it looks like the Nook has some good stuff going for it, too.

I've been eyeing a copy of The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman for ages. I even started reading it at Borders when I was out and about one day. I finally decided to spring for a copy since my library doesn't have it, and I gifted it to myself for my birthday.

What are you reading? Do I need to add it to my stacks?

Whoa! The Woes are Better.

2009-11-05T12:18:00.002-06:00

I've endured a lifestyle overhaul in the last three days! I've cut out all the sodium I possibly can, I've been drinking water like it's going out of style, and I've been watching my blood sugar just for the hell of it.

I went back to the doc this morning, and my blood pressure was high at the office, but it was normal when I've taken it at home. Since I cut out salt three days ago, I've lost NINE POUNDS. I am not even kidding. I mean I know sodium makes us retain crazy amounts of water, but NINE POUNDS in THREE DAYS. That's just insanity. My blood sugar is awesome and the babe is great. All is right in my world, thankyouverymuch!

Now I can stop stressing about stressing. And I fully intend to keep pampering myself because it's working. I read more, I lounge more, I exercise and get myself away from my obligations, and to hell with the laundry (or teenage room organization) when I'm too tired to do it.

Coming up...a return to books. I'll be reviewing some past due Read-a-Thon books and I'll check in with my opinions on The Thirteenth Tale.

Pregnancy Woes

2009-11-03T10:14:00.002-06:00

Welp, it may be a bit quiet over here for a bit. We'll see. I went in for my monthly visit to the OB yesterday, and my blood pressure was higher than normal and I had protein in my urine. Basically, they're worried that I'm having these problems this early (16 weeks), and I've been instructed to de-stress, cut out salt, drink more water, meditate. Calm the hell down, basically. Things have been a bit stressful 'round my house and work, and I suspect that would be the culprit along with a few other things. I'm monitoring my blood pressure at home (and work...plenty of medical assisting students around), and I go back early on Thursday for my doc to check up on me again.

In my defense, I was REALLY upset when I went to the doc's office yesterday because of a blow up with a certain family member (not Chuck) that happened half an hour before I had my appointment. Now let's just hope everything comes down and stays down, because as of this morning it was still high.

Obviously, I'm stressed that I'm stressed. Does that make sense? New mom syndrome dictates that we worry (slightly) about everything anyway, but this issue just bumped things up a notch. So, if you pray, send those. If you do good thoughts, send those, too. Virtual hugs are always appreciated.

I'll keep y'all posted.

The Sunday Salon - A Backlog of Reviews

2009-11-01T09:52:00.005-06:00

I haven't been Sunday Salonning in a very long time thanks to more RIP'ish things going on, but today I'm back, and for once in my life (this NEVER happens), I have a backlog of books I need to review. A big thanks to the 24 Hour Read-a-Thon for that. I usually don't read four books a month these days, nevermind four in a day! I'm going to bask in this feeling for a moment. Just wait....

...still basking...

OK, thanks for that. Now on to some mini-reviews.

This time every year (actually, several weeks ago), Harper Collins sends me a delicious box of Halloweeny books. This year the box included some of my seasonal faves: Pretty Dead, by Francesca Lia Block, and the collection of short short stories I enjoyed, Half-Minute Horrors.

My favorite part is always the picture books they include, and I was a little sad to only receive two this year. Though, honestly, I can't complain too much because they were both fun.

The first was Dear Vampa, by Ross Collins. Every year I seem to find a new favorite illustrator in the Halloween books, and this year's trophy goes to Collins. The cover is a great representation of the book at large. It's about a vampire family--the Pires--horrified when their new neighbors, the Wolfsons, move in. The book starts with the youngest Pire writing a letter to his grandfather at:

The Ruined Abbey

Lugosi Lane

Transylvania

Dear Vampa,

Sorry for not writing for so long, but we've been having some trouble with our new neighbors.

The Wolfsons spend time out in the sunlight, lock their windows at night, and even complain when mother Pire has a chorus of friends over for a midnight sing-a-long! How dare they! When the Pires come to the end of their rope and move back to Transylvania, the Wolfsons--a family of werewolves--stand at their window and lament the loss of their good neighbors.

Cute book! The best part: the pictures! The Pires are all drawn in black, white, and red pen and ink while the Wolfsons are drawn in full, bright colors. The style is great and makes for a really fun read.

The next picture book is Mystery Vine, by Cathryn Falwell. It's about a family who cares for a garden all year and watches a "mystery" vine grow up slowly after all the other plants have died off. As it turns out, it's a pumpkin vine! This is not so much a Halloween book as a fall book that could easily carry over to Thanksgiving. It even has recipes in the back for things like toasted pumpkin seeds and Pumpkin Apple Bread. It also contains a section of gardening tips for kids. While the illustrations were pretty lackluster, the book was cute, and it's interactive thanks to the end material.

On that note, I should mention that I fulfilled my goal for this years RIP IV Challenge! I hadn't expected to read YA and children's titles almost exclusively, but as it turns out, they were a ton of fun, and I couldn't be happier with my RIP reads:

The Hunt for the Seventh, by Christine Morton-Shaw
Pretty Dead, by Francesca Lia Block
Half-Minute Horrors
Life Sucks, by Jessica Abel

**All reviews linked on my sidebar.

I also undertook to read and blog about RIP short stories every Sunday. While I got waylaid doing that, I still read enough that it could've been a story for every week! I still need to polish off Joe Hill's book, 20th Century Ghosts and I'll let y'all know when I manage to do that. *waving at my hulking library pile*

Thanks again to Carl for always hosting an awesome challenge! He is the master in my opinion.

Have a great Sunday, everyone! I'll be back tomorrow with short reviews of The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam and Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader.

Oh, and if I get to read any more today after all the work I need to finish, it will be The Thirteenth Tale, most likely. I also started Paul Auster's Oracle Night which has me rapt. It's about time something grabbed me by the hair!