Quick bedtime post

Still refreshing on horseshoe crab details - hope I can see Dr. Carl in May @ Green Eggs and Sand this year. (And hoping the population is strong again this year.)

Sabriel as read by Tim Curry - gifted, gifted performer

Ankle Deep by Angela Thirkell. How many times have I now marveled over how modern her books are in topic and writing?

On the web: lots and lots of play-dough recipes for the library National Library Week cookie cutter workshop.

(And read all the Twilight books as well as Midnight Sun since last post.)

Still open and recently closed...

Melting Stones by Tamora Pierce

Part of the Circle series, which seems I read so long ago. The irony of this book is that Mt. Redoubt continues to puff and blow. I loved images of being inside the crystaline structure of the different minerals. A book rockhounds will enjoy. YA

Hand of Isis by Jo Graham

I'm still reeling from the pedigree charts, but it's somewhat more clear and I remember some things from I, Claudius. I know how the story is supposed to end, so why am I surprised that I have tears running down my cheeks? The characters are well-written, it may help explain history, and it also falls into Sue Lange's category of "what women once did." How historically accurate? Unknown without research, but truly enjoyable.

Getting up to date

Many Angela Thirkell novels later, I have also been reading: 

Dingo by Charles de Lint. YA but I'd put in J. Fantastic cover, interesting premise, but felt like it had been cut short.

If You Are Reading This It's Too Late, by Pseunonymous Bosch. Not high on my list to finish, but enjoyed the protagonists enough that I eventually will.

Women Who Wrote the War fascinating account of the earliest female war correspondents.

The Annotated Frankenstein by Leonard Wolf. Footnotes become as interesting as the story.

Against the Clock Illustrator 9.0 and Photoshop 5.0.

Princess Ben. Not bad. Enjoyed her tower scenes.

ST Deep Space 9 Season 4 - must have missed most of this season. It's nice to find new episodes.

Inspiral Carpets - Revenge of the Goldfish. Named for Sandy Skoglund's installation piece. I'm impressed. I haven't listened to a disc I've enjoyed as much for quite some time. Lyrics may be a little shallow and not certain that music would receive great marks from professionals, but the big point is I ENJOYED IT and didn't turn it off!

White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison. Old friends in a new scenario - will wait quietly for next volume.

Farley Mowat and the Mammoth Finders

A few months ago a patron donated a complete set of Farley Mowat books. They're yellowed, but otherwise in great shape. I'm starting with fiction, Lost in the Barrens, but will happily switch to nonfiction.

California paleontologists are to be given a mammoth task of excavating the most complete fossil environment of its era to date. What an incredible time to be in that field! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29266903/

Book Reader

Anglophile at Heart

My previous reports on two books from the Barsetshire collection by Angela Thirkell were mixed: loved Wild Strawberries, was bored by Peace Breaks Out. The Old Bank House tipped the scale in the direction of a favorite author. I want to say that the writing is cheerful, spirited, with witty dialogue and dialects. It's the equivalent of a wonderfully soft teddy bear on a chilly, windy day (sort of like the last few days in Reading, PA.) It's also full of wonderful words. I'm looking up word definitions in a fiction book! How odd is that? Mostly the strange words are British-isms, but there are also many, many literary allusions and references to products and historical events. Knowing that I'm going to devour these nebulous references and play wiki-detective, I started searching Amazon and half.com. What a surprise! I'm lucky that the trio of books were on the shelf at SMU because prices per book were rather shocking for old novels, but not unsurprising for out of OOPs. Finding several for between $.75 and $1, I scarfed them up for future enjoyment and possible resale. Also check out the Angela Thirkell Society page http://www.angelathirkell.org/index.htm for book synopses, the cast of characters and a shopping guide to make certain you won't miss a single volume!

Stop by the library, or watch from home Feb 13 - 16