Emissary

2009, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

Every “new year” I go back through my reading list for the previous year and try and reserve books in series that we started but haven’t been able to keep up with for one reason or another. I also click into my “favorites” category and look for books written by authors who I really enjoyed the year before.

One of the series we didn’t keep up with was the Percheron Saga by Fiona McIntosh. I think the problem was that our library in Florida only had the first book and I never made the time to ILL the next book.

Well, thank goodness for our new library system (damn I love living here!) because Emissary was excellent.

It took me awhile to remember all of the characters but within the first 50 pages, I was deep into the story again and could barely put the book down. Goddesses, demons, dwarfs, odalisques, eunuchs – what’s not to love?

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I Know It’s Over

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Cybil Challenge, Fiction, Queer, Young Adult /

I think I need to take a break from the Cybil YA books, they’re all going to pale in comparison to Disreputable History etc… Take I Know It’s Over, for example.

Damn good YA relationship book. No pulled punches on the abortion issue and a fairly good job with the gay issue. But, I was bored and I think it’s because I kept thinking “it’s nowhere near as good as Disreputable History….” I bet if I head read it before Disreputable History… I’d be raving about how good this book was.

But I’m not.

So no more Cybils YA for me for awhile. Middle grade fiction and graphic novels, here I come!

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My two favorite Cybils

3 Comments / 2009, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge, Favorites, Feminism, Fiction, Young Adult /

When TW was reading The Disreputable History of Frankie Ladnau-Banks she made it sound like just another coming of age story… turns out, it’s a hell of a lot more than that. It’s not even just another girl dates one boy but likes another, boarding school, coming of age story.

This little book is one of the best pieces of YA I’ve ever read. Ever. But, then again, it speaks to the feminist in me.

I see that my behavior disrupted the smooth running of your patriarchal establishment.

Heh.

I’m buying it. A couple of copies actually. Maybe one of our girls will develop just a little bit more “Frankie Landau-Banks-ness” if they read it.

After I finished DHoFLB, I picked up the middle grade, Diamond Willow written by Helen Frost (whose Printz Honor book, Keesha’s House, I loved.) I was a little worried about it because it’s prose… written in diamond shape…with bolded words that tell another mini story.

I worried for nothing.

I loved this book. Totally different from Keesha’s House.

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Thank you Terralina (and BlogHerCon)

Daily Dose /

I’m a Lubriderm fragrance free sort of woman.

For years and years, a large bottle of Lubriderm could be found wherever I was – wherever I spent the most time. Next to the chair I rocked my babies. Next to my side of the bed. Next to my computer. It’s the only skincare thing I really use and the only product (besides Aveda Rosemary Mint shampoo) that I’m really loyal to.

But, I’m also practical and thrifty.

So when my big bottle of Lubriderm was empty, a few weeks before we moved, I didn’t replace it. We had a ton of travel sized bottles of various types of lotion – picked up at a drugstore while on a trip, because I forgot to bring a small travel sized bottle with us or carried home from a hotel. I figured I’d just use those until we moved.

I’ve been digging through the drawers in the bathroom, pulling out a new mini bottle of some relatively non-offensive smelling lotion and just making do with those. And it’s been fine. A pain in the ass to dig around to find a new bottle every few days but I’m thrifty and I should use this stuff instead of wasting it.

I’ve dug into the pockets of all of our suitcases, searching for lost and hidden bottles of lotion and I was pretty sure the only thing left was lotion I will not use – the Aveda Rosemary Mint lotion and the Holiday Inn Garden Botanika version of Mint lotion. I do not like either one of those. They burn. Oh, and also Avon Silicone Glove that my ex MIL gave to TW. I hate that stuff. It makes me feel like I have, well, a silicone glove on whichever part of my body I use that stuff. I am not into gloves. Or silicone.

The other day, I was desperate for lotion. It’s cold and dry here and my entire body feels cold and dry. So I went back to the bathroom and searched and searched and searched and I hit paydirt.

terralina-002.jpgTerralina Body Lotion – small travel size, a bit of BlogHer Con swag from 07, I believe. Thank BlogHer. Thank Gina. Thank God. I totally needed that. And, I like it.

The only question I have about it is this… is it supposed to be a little bit yellowy creamy color or is that what happens when you use really old body lotion product? Whatever. I don’t care. Terralina has saved my life this week.

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Based on the Movie

2009, Books in Bed, Fiction /

I found Based on the Movie sitting on the “just back” shelf at the library and I tossed it in my bag just because I liked the name.

It started slowly – I read a chapter and it almost put me to sleep. When I picked it back up the next night, I thought I was going to have to fight my way through it but 25 pages later I was hooked. And laughing. I’m glad I’m not in the movie business, just sayin’.

I don’t really love how it ended, but I don’t hate how it ended, either. And, I’m not sure what kind of ending I’d have preferred. There was just something a little unsatisfying about it.

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WTF with the large/extra large shirts?

2 Comments / Melissa Ferrick, Sights & Sounds /





I laughed out loud at Melissa talking about Olivia vacations that aren’t cruises, in case you “don’t like boats”. hahahaha (I also cursed her out loud, I’m not bitter not at all.)

And what’s with the Large/Xtra large tshirts? I might be a little bigger than Melissa but I’m not THAT much bigger and I’m guessing those shirts are not gonna fit me. Damn it. I really want the Heartbeat shirt, it’s very “Threadless-like”. Maybe they shrink?

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Jellaby

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

Jellaby is the graphic novel that Liz picked up rather than finishing Into the Volcano. She finished it pretty quickly and when I asked her about it, she never even mentioned the boy who was a primary character in the book. She talked about the girl and the really scary man (that really scary man was something she mentioned quite a bit, I’m surprised she didn’t dream about him herself!)

Anyway, I read it – and yes indeed, there is a scary man. There’s also a couple of weird kids and a weird purple monster and a dysfunctional mom and bullies at school and wow, that’s a lot of stuff happening in a really short graphic novel that has fewer words than a lot of graphic novels I’ve read.

It’s a busy little book and it ended with a cliffhanger, so now I have to go and get the next Jellaby book for Liz – but not for me, I don’t care enough to read anymore of them and besides, she’ll tell me what happens.

PS. Liz still says Chiggers is the best graphic novel we’ve read this year.

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