The Shambling Guide to New York City

2013, Books in Bed, Favorites, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

When TW started reading The Shambling Guide to New York City I noticed the author name on the book and I thought to myself, “that name is familiar, have we read other books that she’s written?” and then I promptly forgot about it until I started reading the book.

Then, all the way through it I wondered WHY that name was so familiar but I didn’t do anything to figure it out. I just kept reading and enjoying the book. A lot.

When I finished, I looked at the back cover. Huh. The books aren’t super familiar but… podcaster. Duh.

Mur Lafferty spoke at BlogHer many years ago and she wrote the Dear Daughter post that I really really like.

Duh.

If you like zombies and vampires and other demons as well strong female characters — read this one (and look for more Shambling Guides in the future… I will be.)

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We Don’t Like Change, The Dogs and I

1 Comment / Animal Issues, Daily Dose, Family Funk, Personality /

When Buster joined our family, it threw the Skeeter poodle into a tizzy. At night, when TW said “Off” and turned off the light, Skeeter poodle couldn’t figure out what to do because Buster butt was on HER bed by the door.

It didn’t matter that there was a perfectly nice dog bed by the bathroom door. That. Was. Her. Spot.

So I tried switching the dog beds. No go. She didn’t just want her spot or her bed, she wanted HER BED IN HER SPOT and Buster butt had somehow claimed that for himself.

Then we bought new dog beds on Black Friday because the dog beds we had were in BAD shape. I threw the old dog beds into the office and into the family room and TW carefully rearranged the bedroom furniture so that all dog beds were in one place and none of them were in Skeeter’s old spot by the door.

None of the dogs are thrilled with this. None of them want to sleep on the new fancy dog beds. I keep finding Skeeter laying on her old bed in the office (at least until we caught her tearing her old dog bed apart yesterday. Sigh.)

The only real success we’ve had with the new dog beds is the fancy pink dog bed for Lola’s crate. But even that hasn’t been foolproof. I put her old crate liners into Buster’s crate and every now and then Lola gets confused and tries to go into Buster’s crate because THAT IS WHERE HER (old) BED IS.

It’s all crazy making stuff around here, I swear.

But then again. I’m kind of the same way.

After sleeping on a mattress on the floor in SC for a year, I had a hard time adjusting to a real bed. (TW still teases me about complaining that the bed was too close to the ceiling.)

When TW makes me a new quilt, I long for my old quilt for weeks (months, even.)

Change sucks. Even if that change brings fancy new beds or quilts.

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Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

2013, Books in Bed, Cybil Challenge, Fiction, Young Adult /

I had planned to read Me and Earl and the Dying Girl last because it’s the book I’d meant to read before it actually hit the Cybils shortlist. But, Boy21 is still on my holds list and the other one I haven’t read isn’t available at my library and I’m either going to have to buy it or be content with not reading all of the books on the shortlist…

So, I read it ALMOST last and enjoyed it.

I was afraid I’d see too many similarities with The Fault in Our Stars but it’s not that book AT ALL. Not at all. Yea, a girl dies and these are teens and that’s pretty much the only similarity. I liked Earl an awful lot and I totally groked Greg. This one might make a better movie than a book… I can really see this as a film.

Good book, not the best — but good. Very good. I wasn’t disappointed at all.

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Bellman & Black

2013, Books in Bed, Fiction /

(Just a note for myself: Finished in November and counted in November’s reading count.)

I spent a lot of time looking for a new book from the author of The Thirteenth Tale because that book was awesome. Right about the time I gave up on ever seeing a new book from her, I discovered Bellman & Black and reserved it right away. And then I forgot about it until I realized it was due back to the library and couldn’t be renewed. I hate it when that happens.

It wasn’t as good as The Thirteenth Tale but it wasn’t horrible. Rooks can be creepy, under the right circumstances — but whatever you do, don’t hit one with a damn slingshot, ‘k?

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Reading In November

2013, Books in Bed, Reading Lists /

It was a rough month for reading — or for anything, really. Shouldn’t have been since I had a whole ass ton of time off of work (and mostly didn’t work) but there you go. I can’t read when my schedule is effed up. Hmph. Still, it wasn’t too bad. I stayed focused on getting the Cybils read, since I was so behind and really running out of time to finish that challenge.

Here’s how it panned out.

Total books read: 26

2 audio books
13 Middle Grade & YA fiction(12 were Cybil)
8 Non-fiction (6 were Cybil)
1 Graphic Novel (a Cybil book)
2 Fiction (adult)

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Come On Skeeter! Come on Lola!

Daily Dose, Pet Peeves, Pets /

As I’ve mentioned before, Lola sleeps in her crate in the kitchen – most nights, sort of.

She usually goes right in, all by herself, a good hour before we’re ready to lock her in for the night. Once she’s had her evening cookie and is locked in, six nights out of seven she’ll stay there for exactly four hours and then she’ll bark to be let out.

When it was warm and she barked to be let out, I thought she wanted to go OUTSIDE so I’d get up and take her out. Now that it’s cold, she doesn’t want anything to do with going outside — she wants to go in our room, so I let her in and she lays down on a dog bed and goes to sleep.

Until sunrise. Within two minutes of official sunrise, she’s on the bed licking my face. So — I get up. When it was warm, she got up with me. Now that it’s cold, as soon as I get out of bed, she jumps into my spot and stays there til TW gets up (which can be up to two hours later!)

So yea, Lola sleeps in her crate except when she doesn’t and she forces me out of bed long before I’m ready to get out of bed — most days.

Last night, Lola did not bark to be let out of her crate. I woke up at sunrise myself and realizes there was no Lola. So I rolled over and was just going back to sleep when what do I hear?

Come on Skeeter! Come on Lola!

TW was calling the dogs IN HER SLEEP.

And then what happened? Lola barked to be let out of her damn crate.

So I let her out of her damn crate and what happened?

She jumped on the bed and licked my face so I would get up and she could have MY spot. AGAIN.

I might have pictured someone (or several someones) dead… and thought that on the moon, this would never happen… silly, Merricat. Hmph.

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Little Blue Car

4 Comments / Daily Dose, Family Funk, Kid Talk /

I’m very very thankful for TW’s little blue car. It has carried Christopher safely to Charleston and back again. I will admit to being worried. It’s an old car with a lot of miles and has not been well taken care of since we moved to Chicagoland.

TW wasn’t worried, even when I reminded her that the little blue car didn’t make it to Charleston a few years ago when they attempted the same trip. I guess she knew something I didn’t, it was her car after all.

That little blue Subaru Forester is a great car. I miss it but I’m glad it’s taking care of Chris.

(Pst! I did it — not only did I post for the entire month, I’ve posted at least one post a day about things or people I’m thankful for. Yippee! Now I can go back to being my normal, bitchy self?)

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Three Cybil YA Fiction Books

1 Comment / 2013, Books in Bed, Cybil Challenge, Favorites, Young Adult /

I’m caught up with book blogging — and with reading the books from the Cybil short list. Thankfully since December is almost here giving me just a few very busy weeks to read three books. I can do this. Assuming those books are on my shelf… I should check, shouldn’t I?

Anyway, about these three. Some surprises, good surprises.

I expected to like The Theory of Everything. I like YA problem books and I’d seen some good reviews of this one. It was good. I liked the drawn journal type entries (the theories) — those were well done. Smart. I liked the happy ending where everyone cried. (And when I say happy I don’t really mean happy happy.)

The Storyteller. Oy. German. A lot of people die. And we’re supposed to maybe be confused by who was doing the killing. We’re also supposed to feel sympathy for the killer (which I did) and I think we’re also supposed to like Anna but I did not. Not one little bit. Which made it hard for me to really care about the rest of the characters as much as I should have.

Last but not least, the book I thought would be toward the bottom of my favorites list is now squarely in the top quarter – Endagndered. I didn’t expect to like Endangered nearly as much as I did. But I couldn’t help it. I liked Sophie and Otto (who is a bonobo). There were moments when I wanted to hate the book because NO WAY Sophie could have managed those things. NO WAY IN HELL. But I couldn’t help it — I liked her anyway and I cheered every time she made it past another obstacle.

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Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World

2013, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge, Non-Fiction, Women, Young Adult /

The last of the Cybils non-fiction about Temple Grandin. I was a little surprised since it seemed like Temple Grandin was every where a few years ago and I thought I’d probably be bored with this. I wasn’t. And, TW especially liked it, though that shouldn’t surprise anyone — Moo!

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Marie Antoinette, Serial KIller

2 Comments / 2013, Books in Bed, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

Another book I saw something about, in October, and since I was getting a little tired of Cybils, I decided I should go ahead and read Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer. It looked amusing and fast — and it was both of those. It also made me kind of glad to hear RJ’s French club isn’t going to France. When Marie Antoinette is pissed off, she’s really pissed off. Not that you can really blame her, right?

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