Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Update on a Boring Life

Well, I'm back, but have little report.  I've been in deep reading mode lately.  It is hot, really hot, as Robin Williams said in Good Morning, Vietnam -- "hot enough to do a little crotch pot cooking" --  Miserably, undeniably hot, and humid.

Nothing has interested me much lately, so I pick up a book and begin reading.  Clean the house?  Yes, beautifully, then ignore it completely for the next few days.  Have a brief episode of healthy cooking for my husband, but surrender when he refuses to alter his habits.

We kept Bryce Eleanor last weekend, which was a joy.  Mostly.  I read Rian's report this morning of Riley (the dog) and his "sweet pee" accidents.  Bryce Eleanor had a couple of "sweet pee" incidents this weekend.  I'd say, "Do you need to tee tee?"  She'd say, "No!"  Then within a few minutes pee all over the place.  Good Lord - that kid has a huge bladder!

She is only 2 and a half, and she rarely has accidents.  Mmmmm...that leaves the possibility of deliberate quite open.  Whatever!  Or I could blame myself for acquiescing to her frequent requests for apple juice....  When she looks up with that smile and says please, I find it easy to comply.  After cleaning up a couple of gallons of pee, however, I hardened my heart and abandoned the completely doting grandmother in favor of Sweet Reason.

We read lots of books.  She loves to read and the books were scattered all over the house.  She is so funny now, because I hold the book and turn the pages, and she tells the story.  Her stories sometimes coincide with the text, but not always.  If I do manage to get in a few lines of text, she likes to echo certain phrases.  The funniest of her repetitions come from the book A Dignity of Dragons: Collective Nouns for Magical Beasts (with beautiful, beautiful illustrations).  Hearing her repeat "a slinking of were-jaguars" or "a tangle of gorgons" makes my silly heart swell; she tries to imitate my words, but can't quite manage and has no idea of their meanings.  Still she seems to love the sound of  phrases such as "a grace of unicorns" as much as the illustrations.

I need to go to the bank and to the library.  Actually, I shouldn't go IN the library, I should just put my books in the deposit box and avoid going in, but I won't.  I have 6 books left to review and really shouldn't be getting any more until they are done, but I'm weak.

You can check my book blog for recent reviews; still to be reviewed are the new Elizabeth George, a couple by Steig Larsson, Alan Bradley's newest Flavia mystery, one by W.E.B. Griffin, and an ARC that I wasn't that impressed with.  The George, Larsson, and Bradley books are all good reads.

O.K. -- I guess I've droned on long enough.  Have a great day (and if you've read some good books lately, please share)!
Stinker
Sweet Edgar.

7 comments:

  1. I read the last of the Larsson books...such a sad thing he is gone. Then I read the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society book, cuz I had just been to Guernsey (loved both the place and the book!) Then it was Eat, Pray, Love...am going to the movie on Friday afternoon when it opens for a girls' day out with my cousin. Am currently reading New York by the author of London...Rutherfurd...so far I mostly like it...but I am spoiled by paperbacks...this one and the last Larsson are hardbacks and giGANtic to maneuver...haha! Hey! I need your new snail mail addy...I have something I picked up for you and don't know where to send it cuz all I have is the old one...=-) =-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I feel such a curmudgeon, but I don't get the love of the Larsson books. I did finish the first, but although the locked room style mystery was interesting, I thought it was too long, and the thematic stuff was too heavy handed. I have no interest in reading the others at all.

    I've been rereading favorites. (This may be part of summer laziness, as well as a good thing to do while traveling.) I reread Jane Austin's Persuasion, two favorites by Guy Gavriel Kay, and The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye, which I found in a used bookstore in Australia. I didn't remember anything about that book except the dramatic rescue from the funeral pyre and that I had loved it, but I've been thoroughly enjoying it. In view of current events, it's especially interesting to read about 19th century Afghanistan and what is now Pakistan.

    I also read Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, and want to read his new book soon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Debby - I loved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society! After I read it I watched the BBC series Island at War via Netflix. Also very, very good. Still haven't gotten around to Eat, Pray, Love!

    Kay - The Larsson books really are love/hate. I didn't like the sexual aspect so much, but have found that in almost all mysteries by Swedish authors.

    Rereading favorites is always a comfort, and you can't go wrong with Austin. I find the same things funny on every reread and admire her anew each time.

    I've never read Far Pavilions (for shame), maybe it's time I do. I've never read Cloud Atlas either, but I loved Black Swan Green, and have heard good things about The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet recently.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've just finished The Handbook for Lightning Survivors and enjoyed it thoroughly.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks, ACey! I checked out the
    Amazon reviews and added this one to my list!

    ReplyDelete

Good to hear from you!