A Mercy

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Fiction, Women /

I am a Toni Morrison fan. A pretty big Toni Morrison fan. I don’t re-read books very often but I’ve read Song of Solomon, Beloved and The Bluest Eye several times each. Which really just means I am sorry to say that I did not love A Mercy.

I didn’t hate it. It’s impossible for me to hate anything Morrison writes but I didn’t love it. I didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t even really like it. I am glad I read it, that’s about the best I can say for it.

I should have just re-read Song of Solomon or The Bluest Eye.

A Mercy Read More »

Two more Cybils

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Comics & Graphic Novels, Fiction, Poetry, Young Adult /

Imaginary Menagerie – wow. The pictures are fabulous. The poetry is a little ho-hum but not bad. What TW and I wonder about is how many small children have had this book read to them and then had nightmares. Hobgoblins and Trolls and the like are scary creatures and both the images and the poetry don’t soften them up any. I’ve never read The Yellow Elephant but I’m reserving it at the library now.

A graphic novel, There’s a Wolf at the Door was not bad – Liz liked it but not as much as Rapunzel’s Revenge or Jellaby. It was a little “young”, a little lightly drawn, and the wolf’s clothes reminded me of the ringmaster at the Flea Circus we saw yesterday. I kept getting distracted by that.

Two more Cybils Read More »

When Madeline Was Young

2009, Books in Bed, Fiction /

It’s been a long time since I read a book by Jane Hamilton and after reading When Madeline Was Young I’m trying to remember if I really liked Map of the World or Book of Ruth. Were they as ODD as When Madeline Was Young? Or as slow?

I didn’t hate this book, it was just…slow and weird. And kind of amusing since the Macivers lived in our neck of Chicagoland.

Would YOU take care of your new husband’s ex wife who had been in an accident that left her with brain damage causing her to be perpetually 7 years old? My answer is heck no.

When Madeline Was Young Read More »

Taste and enjoy your happy time

4 Comments / Coffee & Tea, Daily Dose /

When we went to the Super H Mart on Wednesday (Sorry Val!) we found all sorts of interesting things. One of the interesting things we purchased was Premium Olive Vinegar Tea.

We bough this specifically because we were amused by the English description on the front of the box:

Taste and enjoy your happy time

Huh. Olive vinegar tea = happy time? How could we resist?

Inside of the box are little single serving sleeves, just like the single serving Crystal Light sleeves, but these contain LIQUID.

When TW made the first cup, I sniffed it and… it smells like Easter!

I made myself a cup and it was like… drinking Easter!

It didn’t necessarily make me feel like I was having happy time but I like Easter pretty well so I guess I wasn’t having “unhappy” time. On the other hand, TW got the giggles. I have absolutely no idea why she got the giggles while drinking her happy time olive vinegar tea but giggle she did. Nonstop. I fell asleep and she was still giggling.

No false advertising for these folks.

Taste and enjoy your happy time Read More »

The Host

2 Comments / 2009, Books in Bed, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

I swore I was not going to read The Host. I was sure I wasn’t going to read it. I never put it on the library list. I had no intention of buying it. Even if RJ showed up at the house with it, raving about “souls” instead of vampires, I was NOT going to read it.

But I read it.

TW found it on the shelf at the library and she read it first. Even as she read it, I swore I was not going to read it.

But I read it.

All 500 something pages of it. It was heavy.

It was also pretty darn good. Darn it.

I even liked the ending which I did not think I was going to like. Darn it.

The Host Read More »

What I Was

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Fiction, Young Adult /

While I waited for Liz to pick out some graphic novels, I noticed What I Was sitting on the “new” YA fiction shelf. I dropped it into my book bag, sort of expecting it to be a sequel or a prequel to How I Live Now – a book I really liked.

TW started reading it and informed me that this was not a sequel or a prequel or in any way related to that book. Huh. OK. And then, she didn’t say much more about it…

So I picked it up without any real expectations and I was loving it. Super surprised by the “boy” love story.

And then… the end came and… I don’t want to screw this book up for anyone reading this who might be interested in the book… it’s well worth reading, it is. Meg Rosoff is an excellent writer and creates fantastic characters. I should just leave it at that. And if you want to discuss my thoughts (and TW’s as it turns out) about the book, I’m happy to engage via email… because again, I really don’t want to color anyone’s reading of the book.

Just read it and find out for yourself….

What I Was Read More »