(no subject)

I'm rewarding myself for finishing this round of revisions by spending $$ (actually, €€) over at Amazon.de. I can get some (but not all, and I don't know why) English-language books over here without paying postage from America. I have no idea how it works, but it's sure an improvement from how things used to be. Now if only it would work the other way, when I'm back in the States, wanting German books. Anyhow, I just finished Eighth Grade Bites (The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod), by Heather Brewer from Verla's. Good thing I read it before Son #1 found out; I couldn't wrest it from his fingers once he got it. Boy vampire book for the Percy Jackson set. Now I've got The Alchemyst: the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, by Michael Scott. Clearly capitalizing on Harry Potter's success, but it was long (if I'm buying sight-unseen, I want my money's worth). I'm hoping I like it better than Endymion Spring, which was nice, but I never found the deeper level of realness that I am always looking for in a book. I'm also waiting for The Professor's Daughter, by somebody Sfar. It's a graphic novel set in Victorian England, and involves a mummy. Please nobody hit me, but I've tried to like manga and it doesn't do anything for me. I like the idea of graphic novels, but I don't care for the manga look. I think it's like jazz. There's nothing wrong with it, but I just have never been able to access the heart of it. Maybe some day...

Then there are the library books I still have to finish. I wish my German was better.

And completely unrelated, but consider registering at a blood marrow bank. My daughter goes to kindergarten with a girl who has leukemia. So does her little brother. Their bone marrow is not compatible, and while they're tested all their known relatives, everyone in the town their family is from, and had a huge local drive recently, they still haven't been able to find any compatible donors. Now they're looking outside of Germany. Testing is easy, and if you end up being compatible, the donation process is supposed to be fairly quick. They anesthetize you and remove a small bit of bone marrow from your hip. You have a small bruise, and all your marrow is completely replaced within two weeks. And it could save a life.