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Ice and books
Dec. 26th, 2009 05:42 pmEek, I took DH up to campus today so he could go over some last minute things for his upcoming interviews and I could drop off some library material that was due today. I made it all the way up the hill to his office and even dropped him off--and then managed to slide off the road. His building is on top of a hill, and as I tried to--very carefully-negotiate a turn over the road that hello, nobody bothered to plow or salt!--I ended up sliding down the path of least resistance, over solid ice, toward a light pole. I managed to stop the car about six feet in front of it, but there was nothing I could do to get out of there. Plus, I had PMB in the car. I called DH to come back out, and right then a police car saw me and stopped, and together they pushed on the car while I drove forwards, and then we were able to slide down the obstacle-free ice until reaching a spot with traction. I was breaking out in a sweat that I'd not only hit the light pole, but crush my husband and the cop in the process, though. Next time, DH is walking if he wants to go up there when the roads are bad, and I'm just going to take the library fine. I just hope the roads are clear tomorrow--I have to do a lot of driving.
I hope everyone had a nice Christmas! We did. The kids said a lot of thank yous, which is always nice, and we all just hung out together, built a fire in the wood stove, ate chocolate and turkey (not together), read books, did legos, repaired pocket doors (that was DH), etc. The kids went out to play in the snow in the afternoon. It was a great day!
Some books I've read over the holiday:
The Seeing Stone, by Kevin Crossley-Holland. This is a reread. I found a used copy half off, and bought it. I love how Kevin Crossley-Holland puts you in the middle ages and makes you feel what the characters are feeling. DH says he recognizes his name from scholarly works as well. This is a great Christmas read, not that it's about Christmas, but it's the kind of book to read when it's snowing outside and you can hole up with a blanket and chocolate. The fourth book of this series, Gatty's Tale/Crossing to Paradise, is one of my favorite medieval novels ever.
Vergiftete Muffins, by Renate Ahrens. I'm reading this aloud to my 8-year-old daughter. Sometimes you buy books off the internet sight-unseen and are disappointed, but we quite like this one. It's bilingual--not side by side, but switching back and forth through the story between English and German. The main characters are a brother and sister from Germany, and the narration and their dialogue is in German. But they have friends who are South African and speak English, so their dialogue is English. Plus, they are all spending the summer in London, where they encounter a mystery, and so all the Brits speak English as well. I have no idea how pedagogically sound this is (it's for German kids learning English), but it's very accurate as far as what kids of varying nationalities do when they get together. Plus, it's a good way to refresh German without cramming it down a person's throat.
The Dark Divine, by Bree Despain. This is the book that magically turned up on my doorstep the day before my birthday. It was an ARC send directly from the publisher. How did they find me? A mystery, but a very nice one! I'm still not sure what the cover has to do with the book, although it's very eye-catching. The book itself is an urban fantasy couched within a pastor's family and friends, mixed with a prodigal son story. Bree did an especially nice job of showing the rigid, unforgiving older son. While a complete story, I'm guessing there's a sequel to this in the works, as the ending opened several new questions.
And today, this showed up, courtesy of my sister (thank you! :):
I first read this before Jackie even had an agent, so I was dying to see how it turned out post-editor. Lovely! One of the things I love about Jackie's writing is the sense of relationship between characters (not just romantic--she does friends and groups of friends very well also). The ending seems more open-ended than in the version I read; does this mean some day there will be a sequel?
Up next: Hinter Verzauberten Fenster, by Cornelia Funke, Ring of Fire, by PD Baccalario (DH pointed out how extremely difficult it is to find a book I haven't read yet! I agree, but I actually haven't read this one, although I think I remember seeing it in Publishers Marketplace), and the third Alcatraz book by Brandon Sanderson.
I hope everyone had a nice Christmas! We did. The kids said a lot of thank yous, which is always nice, and we all just hung out together, built a fire in the wood stove, ate chocolate and turkey (not together), read books, did legos, repaired pocket doors (that was DH), etc. The kids went out to play in the snow in the afternoon. It was a great day!
Some books I've read over the holiday:
The Seeing Stone, by Kevin Crossley-Holland. This is a reread. I found a used copy half off, and bought it. I love how Kevin Crossley-Holland puts you in the middle ages and makes you feel what the characters are feeling. DH says he recognizes his name from scholarly works as well. This is a great Christmas read, not that it's about Christmas, but it's the kind of book to read when it's snowing outside and you can hole up with a blanket and chocolate. The fourth book of this series, Gatty's Tale/Crossing to Paradise, is one of my favorite medieval novels ever. Vergiftete Muffins, by Renate Ahrens. I'm reading this aloud to my 8-year-old daughter. Sometimes you buy books off the internet sight-unseen and are disappointed, but we quite like this one. It's bilingual--not side by side, but switching back and forth through the story between English and German. The main characters are a brother and sister from Germany, and the narration and their dialogue is in German. But they have friends who are South African and speak English, so their dialogue is English. Plus, they are all spending the summer in London, where they encounter a mystery, and so all the Brits speak English as well. I have no idea how pedagogically sound this is (it's for German kids learning English), but it's very accurate as far as what kids of varying nationalities do when they get together. Plus, it's a good way to refresh German without cramming it down a person's throat. The Dark Divine, by Bree Despain. This is the book that magically turned up on my doorstep the day before my birthday. It was an ARC send directly from the publisher. How did they find me? A mystery, but a very nice one! I'm still not sure what the cover has to do with the book, although it's very eye-catching. The book itself is an urban fantasy couched within a pastor's family and friends, mixed with a prodigal son story. Bree did an especially nice job of showing the rigid, unforgiving older son. While a complete story, I'm guessing there's a sequel to this in the works, as the ending opened several new questions.And today, this showed up, courtesy of my sister (thank you! :):
I first read this before Jackie even had an agent, so I was dying to see how it turned out post-editor. Lovely! One of the things I love about Jackie's writing is the sense of relationship between characters (not just romantic--she does friends and groups of friends very well also). The ending seems more open-ended than in the version I read; does this mean some day there will be a sequel? Up next: Hinter Verzauberten Fenster, by Cornelia Funke, Ring of Fire, by PD Baccalario (DH pointed out how extremely difficult it is to find a book I haven't read yet! I agree, but I actually haven't read this one, although I think I remember seeing it in Publishers Marketplace), and the third Alcatraz book by Brandon Sanderson.
