Robert Jordan, the author of the Wheel of Time series, has died.
I think this means that we will never know the end of the story! ugh.
As some of you know, my biggest complaint about these books is that the first one is great and hooks you into the storyline, and then the rest of them seemed poorly edited. In general, they dragged on for too long. Sometimes I wondered if he was avoiding having to write the ending.
Well, anyway, I thought I'd pass along the news since I think at least 3 of you have read them too.
Posted by danielle at 01:49 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
This is a spot where I thought we could discuss the book in our comments.
That way, if you don't want to read the 'spoilers' until after you've finished the book, you just don't look at the comments. Then, when you finish, you can read them and comment to your heart's content.
Posted by danielle at 06:25 PM | Comments (13) | TrackBack
I actually drove to a nearby Borders at just before midnight to be in a store with all of the excitement and to pick up the new Harry Potter book. Well, little did I know what a crazy amount of people had the same intention. I knew it would be big, but not THAT big.
They had a wristband system where they would call people to get in line when their wristband color was called. They were on the third color and when asked how long each color takes, they told me 1 to 1.5 hours per color. ugh. I promptly went back home to sleep and picked up the book, as originally planned, at Target this morning for $17.49.
NOW - no more delaying - MUST READ.
Posted by danielle at 01:01 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
This is it! The long anticipated final book in the Harry Potter series comes out tonight at midnight.
I'll be picking up my copy in the morning from Target. I will be under a media black-out until I finish reading it, because I don't want to accidentally hear any plot details. So, if I seem like I'm hiding in a cave for a while, that is because I will be. ;-)
I've been debating about reading it particularly slow in order to stretch it out and make it last longer, but I imagine I'll be reading at a medium to slow pace instead. I just want to be sure that I'm not reading so fast that I lose the magic of it. And after waiting all of this time, I want it to last for more than just a couple days.
And if you haven't guessed by now. I still haven't taken close up pictures of the flowers on my deck.
I do have a far away shot that I took when I was testing out some camera settings and then when I was testing the flickr uploader software.
If you look at the large view, you can see it better.
Unfortunately, at this moment the hibiscus wasn't blooming. But it has just been a wealth of blooms lately. Its been really really gorgeous.
Well, I'll be seeing you later. For those of you who read Harry Potter - enjoy the magic!
Posted by danielle at 09:47 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
I recently read my favorite author's most recent book in the Wilderness series, Queen of Swords by Sara Donati. I love this series of historical romance. The stories are set in colonial America in New York. I've blogged about them before as one of the five books I'd take with me if I were stuck on a deserted island. I also recently got Amber hooked on them or at least on the first one.
This time, I actually took the time to get an autographed copy. It meant that I needed to order to book from Sara's hometown so that she could sign it before they shipped it to me, but it was well worth the shipping cost. I've been wanting an autographed copy.
I don't want to say too much about the story, because I could give away details to the family and friends who come here who read the books too, like Mom, Texas Seestor, SeaQueen, Jenski, and Amber.
But I did want to show off part of the beautiful map in the front of the book. It isn't really necessary to understand the story (unlike some books where you are flipping back to the map constantly) but it sets a nice ambience for the story.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story. I'd say it is as good as the first one, or Lake in the Clouds (which is my second favorite so far). This one probably comes in as my third favorite.
If you are ever looking for an action packed story that includes a woman rebelling from her father's idea of how her life should be lived, history, and enough romance to make for a happy ending (instead of a depressing one like all those books on Oprah's list or those other popular lists), pick up Into the Wilderness, the first in the series.
Happy Friday, everyone!
Posted by danielle at 10:24 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
In case you were wondering what kinds of things I did or thought or felt over Christmas, I'll do a recap.
The morning of Christmas Eve, I felt really really glad to realize that I had the day OFF and the next day too. I enjoyed lingering over tea, reading blogs, and reading my book. This would be the book that started off with all the dead chickens on Plow Monday, which is a terrible way to remember a book - but I fear it will always be 'the dead chicken book' to HB and thus to me. All weekend, he asked me if the chickens had come back to life yet.
Anyway, I will tell you that the book had quite a few twists and turns and a female character with courage, backbone, a strong sense of justice, and a willingness to put aside her own needs for the greater good of her country. Of course, since it was really a love story, albeit a complicated one, she eventually realized that putting her own needs aside for the good of the country was only worthwhile for a year or two, and eventually found a way to rule the country and have a husband too. This was a book by Laura Kinsale. I've read another of her books that was very striking that I own. I'll have to request some more of her books at the library.
I had proposed the idea to HB that since I was taking the day OFF, we should (finally) go see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. And we did! Dolby Digital sound, unfortunately no one is projecting it digitally anymore, because it has been too long since it came out.
It has been a while since I read the book, which is nice, because I'd forgotten just enough that I didn't sit there thinking "Oh, this was better in the book." or "Oh, this is such an odd way to do this scene." etc.
I enjoyed it. Sometimes, when I read novels, I have trouble imagining the largeness of a scene. For those of you who know what I'm talking about - the opening scene with the World Cup for Quidditch is the one I'm thinking of. I never would've imagined a stadium so large or a field so large.
The same is true for the dragon scenes. I don't remember envisioning Harry's chase to be that elaborate. And the Yule ball! I would've loved to have seen more of the ball.
End result: I enjoyed it a lot.
We went out for supper, as a holiday treat that I thoroughly enjoyed and I got to do something artsy that day, as you likely know. ;-)
The church service filled me with a lot of remembrances of years past. Years growing up and going to my aunt's church for Christmas Eve (we always spent Christmas at my Grandma and Grandpa's), driving to and from church listening to whatever radio station was playing Christmas music and singing along, looking for houses with cool lights. The singing of Oh Come All Ye Faithful and ending with the passing of the candlelight and Silent Night... and wishing we could sing more than just a few verses. The service never feeling quite like I expect it to be, but nice, all the same.
Christmas was again another day to sleep in and linger over breakfast. This time with cinnamon rolls though. It was a day of presents, and talking to family on the phone and wishing we could all be together, but making the most of our conversations on the phone instead. I received some wonderful gifts of books and music and clothes and tea and chocolate and things for our home that help make our house feel like a lovely home and a DVD of an Alison Krauss concert that made me realize how Funny she can be! And what great music she sings. And you've seen most of my photography experiments for the day in my post yesterday.
We had our traditional Christmas meal, which for us is:
olives & carrots to nibble on while waiting for the food to get done
dill pickle doobers - you wouldn't believe me, if I told you.
ham
mashed potato casserole (i.e cream cheese and sour cream mixed in)
green bean casserole
cranberry relish & pineapple tidbits in cherry - raspberry jello
-----
Tangent: I called the grocery every day from Tuesday to Friday to get the relish. Thank goodness they finally got it in! I bought 4 containers so that I can have it consistently from now until Feb. I love it THAT much.
-----
yum. It was fantastic.
I was sad at the end of the day, knowing I'd be back at work today.
But it sure was nice to have 2 days off!
Posted by danielle at 10:08 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
I saw this over at Ern's blog. Evidently, even though I'm a wee bit late, Sept 24th-Oct 1 was banned book week. Squirl participated at her blog too.
The American Library Association has compiled a list of the 100 most frequently challenged books from 1990-2000.
Evidently, they don't use the word 'banned'.
The idea is to bold the books that you have read. The ones that I think I've read but I'm not entirely positive, I've chosen to italicize.
1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
19. Sex by Madonna
20. Earth's Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
24. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
28. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
30. The Goats by Brock Cole
31. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
32. Blubber by Judy Blume
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
34. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
36. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
37. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
40. What's Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
48. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
55. Cujo by Stephen King
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
61. What's Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
63. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women's Fantasies by Nancy Friday
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
77. Carrie by Stephen King
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
79. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
80. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
81. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
82. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
86. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
87. Private Parts by Howard Stern
88. Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford
89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99. The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
Can you believe I haven't read a book called The Chocolate War? And the Sleeping Beauty Trilogy? Of course, Anne Rice kinda creeps me out. I read her sister's books instead, Alice Borchardt.
I also think it is interesting how many of these have won Newberry book awards. I looked at some of them on Amazon to see if they were the ones that I'd remembered and a lot of them had won an award. When I was a child, if I saw that sticker on a book, I'd check it out from the library, regardless of if the story originally looked interesting to me or not.
I suppose winning the award is part of what brings them to the attention of people and sets them up as a target, so to speak. Interesting, to see which ones get challenged, isn't it?
Posted by danielle at 08:29 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Texas sister took this pic of Mom at Christmas, pretending to be scared of the storyline in Jude Deveraux's book Always
I don't know if you have ever heard the phrase "The family that prays together, stays together."
Well, in our family, we joke about how our version of that phrase appears to be "The family that reads together, stays together."
No, it doesn't rhyme quite so nicely, but it certainly fits.
The Family That Reads Together: Kick off your shoes and pull up a chair to read a good book
Here we are at breakfast on vacation in St. Croix, and look! books and reading material are all over the place.
I asked my mom once why she thinks Texas sister (my only sister) and I became such avid readers. Of course, my mom is an extremely avid reader and I assumed we'd gotten it from her, but I was curious to hear what she thought.
Well, she told me how she and my dad always read to us a lot when we were little. That is, I'm sure, the main reason we got so interested in reading books. However, she also mentioned that she read all of the time, and we pretty much wanted to do whatever she did.
Makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?
I remember living in southern Indiana, back when I could only read very simple children's books. I remember that we would drive out of our little rural farm town and into The City to go to the City Library. That library seemed soooo huge. Mom would send us off into the appropriate children's section so that we could pick out as many books as we wanted; perhaps there was a limit (?) but I don't remember ever having to put a book back, so probably not. And I remember how I'd stand there for what felt like forever and come up with maybe one or two books. I'd get so frustrated, because I couldn't find any books that I liked.
At some point, Mom would come over to check on me, and I'd be all upset. And she'd calmly scan the shelves and pull out one book after the other saying "Oh, I bet you'd like this one and this one." And she'd hand me books with witches or fairies or princesses or little cuddly animals. And I'd get so excited, because, of course, they were all Exactly What I Wanted To Read. And I could barely wait to get home so that I could read them all.
We'd end up with this HUGE bag of books, and we'd laugh how they'd probably last us, oh, a week or two, and then we'd be back again.
Tangent about the library
This City Library in southern Indiana was also the first place I ever saw baby rodents. Texas sister and I vividly remember when the hamster (I think?) had a litter and how the pups were all red/pink and squirmy/gross looking. eeew. but a fascinating kind of ewww to a couple of little girls.
End tangent
As I've gotten older it is easy to recognize that the love for reading that my mom (and dad) instilled in me has gotten me where I am today as far as my education and schooling goes. And I thank you for that, Mom and Dad.
It is pretty rare to find Texas Sister or I without a book, particularly when we have some free time.
Texas sister reading a book while on vacation in St. Croix
Of course, since I am usually the one taking pictures, I don't have a picture of me reading while on vacation.
But I laugh, because here is Texas Sister on a different vacation, and what is she doing?
Yup, reading. (and looking pretty happy with that drink in her hand too, eh?)
I probably shouldn't comment on her enjoying a nice frosty beverage, because that would be like the pot calling the kettle black.
HB and I holding our nice frosty beverages at Dugan's restaurant in St. Croix
And of course, who do you think Texas sister and I get that love of frosty beverages from? mmm?
Yup, Mom too. *grin*
As for my dad, you are more likely to find my dad having a conversation with someone than reading. But he usually has some reading material nearby. (yes, I get my gift of gab from him)
Dad's feet are on the right. Note the magazine underneath the binoculars and hat. He is too busy talking to Texas sister's fiance (feet on the left) to be reading his magazine. ;-)
As you might imagine, Texas sister and I were attracted to men who love books too.
Texas sister took this pic of her fiance with a book
Pic I took of HB at breakfast in St. Croix.
Note the Janet Evanovich book in the foreground. And in the background, the pool, banana tree, and ocean. Gorgeous way to spend breakfast, eh?
Over the years, Mom has found a whole slew of authors that I've become hooked on as well (um, we'll save the detail for a future post).
In fact, she is the one who introduced me to The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly.
It is fitting, is it not, that it is a book that has a title involving tea and flowers? Mom also got me hooked on chocolate, but that is also a story for another time.
Thank you, Mom, for introducing me to the joy that can be discovered among the pages of a good book.
I love you...
....and I'm sending a BIG HUG across the miles to you, today, and everyday.
Posted by danielle at 04:04 PM | Comments (15) | TrackBack
I was tagged by Ladybug (who was tagged by Susie, who was tagged by Bucky Four-Eyes.
1. What book would I like to be?
Heck if I know. I looked around Amazon for a book focusing on life balance, tea, and chocolate, but you know, it just doesn't appear to exist. The life balance ones look far too kooky.
I did find one called "Tea and Chocolates" and one called "Coffee, Tea, Chocolate, and the Brain". Those will have to suffice. I can be a brain (be brainy) and have my tea and chocolate too.
2.Have I ever had a crush on a fictional character?
I think one of my first loves was The Man In Black (i.e. Westley) in The Princess Bride by William Goldman.
How can you resist the wry humor of a strong, male romantic lead in a book/movie with this on the back?
(note how the Girlie is inching her way into the photo)
3.What is the last book I bought?
Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie
It wasn't quite as good as Faking It or Welcome to Temptation, but a good read.
4. What is the last book I read?
Same as 3 above; I tend to read them as fast as I buy them.
5.What am I currently reading?
The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland. I haven't gotten very far in it yet, so I'll have to post something about it when I finish. It is a historical novel about Emily Carr, who was an artist (painter).
6. What 5 books would I take with me if I were stranded on an island?
I have decided to treat this question as, which books am I willing to read over and over again (and have read over and over again), and not which books would actually help me survive on a deserted island.
1. Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati. I've gotten a number of friends hooked on her books. If you like movies like The Patriot or The Last of the Mohicans, you'll love this story. If you like reading Diana Gabaldon's books and wish someone else wrote as well as Gabaldon, well, you can find her equal in Sara Donati. This book has humor, history, romance, drama, excellent characters, and beautiful storytelling.
2. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I made the mistake of starting this series the week before finals in college. It was all I could do to not keep "taking a break" from studying to read "just a little bit more" of Outlander. Thank goodness she'd only published 2 books at that time.
3. Lady of the Forest by Jennifer Roberson. I don't know how many versions of Robin Hood I've read, but this is my favorite, and I re-read it every few years.
4. The Stars for a Light, the Cheney Duvall, M.D. series by Lynn Morris and Gilbert Morris (a father, daughter writing team). I started this series because it reminded me of Dr. Quinn (the TV show) in that a woman becomes a doctor in an era when women doctors were few and far between.
5. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've read A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux. Doesn't it look well read? It is next to some very strong contenders who didn't quite make the top 5 cut. Born of the Sun by Joan Wolf, the For the Roses series by Julie Garwood, and Jewels of the Sun by Nora Roberts (first one in the Irish Trilogy).
7. What 3 people am I going to tag and ask to answer these questions and why?
La Pixiatrix - she is the first person from the dooce comment board who reached out a hand to me via email. We bounced ideas off of each other back when we were planning our blogs and she has been supportive of my blog and photography. I'm also really curious what her answers will be to some of these questions.
Part-timer - she has such a fun-loving spirit about her. She has been supportive of me and I think she will see this as a fun blog post.
Amanda B. - she also has been supportive of my blog and has sent me emails of encouragement and friendship. I'm curious to hear her answers.
Posted by danielle at 08:59 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
So, I'm sitting here on my couch on a holiday, attempting to be 'good' and do some work that I brought home for the weekend.
And everytime I go to get a drink of water or a sip of tea, I see this stack of books.
They taunt me.
"Danielle? Danielle? Just stop working for a little while and come read me. Come on, you can do it. Oooooooonly for a few minutes and then you can put me back down."
"yeah, right." I say. "I know your tricks. Just a few minutes and then I'm sucked in. And then I'll feel guilty at lunchtime when I still haven't gotten my work done. Be quiet."
"Oh, but you know you reeeeeeeeeeally want to read me right now" says the Jennifer Crusie book. "You've already read some of those other ones, in these stacks, but you
just
can't
wait
to reeeeeeeeeeeeead me. I know it!"
"yessssssssssss," I hiss at it. "But I am near the end of Crazy for You and that one comes first. So, jes shadup already."
"But don't I look cute with my blue cover and shoes with cherries on them?"
"Oh, but you don't know what is on the shelf below you, do you? Faking It has a much cooler lime-green cover and it was Hi-LAR-ious, so you have tough standards to live up to."
"Oh, well, in that case, I'll just leave you be."
"Thankyouverymuch"
Posted by danielle at 09:41 AM | Comments (3)