Reading materials

This year, September 25 marks the beginning of Banned Book Week.  I plan to read something from the list.  How about you?

You can leaarn more here:
http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/index.cfm

Book Notes

We see many readers, at the library, who take an authors' complete work off the shelf and read it straight through. 
Not my  cup of tea.

There are others who read only the new book by whomever, then we don't see them again until he/she writes another new one.
No comment....

There are a handful of authors that I actually look forward to reading.  Last night I finished Laurie King's newest book about the improbable (but oddly believable) relationship between Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes.  She presents Holmes, and his processes in a way that, while paying homage to Conan Doyle, is a successful extension of the attributes of a wellknown literary character.  Not an easy thing to do.  Do you remember the pathetic attempts to catch the spirit of Rhett and Scarlett, and the DeWinters.....The characters are well developed, the plots  interesting.  The Beekeeper's Apprentice is the first of this series. 

The recent weeks have also seen a new Martha Grimes, Elizabeth George and the last Robert Parker western. At least I assume it to be the last, although we've seen, on a  fairly regular basis, that death does not mean a person won't publish again...

Later this summer I'll pick up the new Daniel Silva.  In between, there are more than enough good books out there to keep me busy.  In spite of the perennial warning not to judge a book by its cover, there are many times that it is the cover that catches my eye, more than an author's name or genre.  Other than an irrational (and fairly consistent)avoidance of book club books (snobbery, according to some) my taste is eclectic, satisfying whatever mood happens to strike. 

What's on your summer reading list??




                       

it's official

the last of my textbooks arrived today! classes begin january 11 with a spot reserved for me in macroeconomics, intro to ethics, english comp, and library foundations.
















i'll admit to a few butterflies.....

today

i'm giving you an old colorado picture because i didn't take any pictures this past weekend and i know many people who really need a picture in every post....

for the last 5 (?? how is that possible??) years we have spent the 3rd weekend of september hiking in colorado with our daughter, son-in-law and eventually our grandson. due to aidan starting school this year we rearranged and went to wyoming in july. charlie and i did head north to the kahl's for the funeral of a dear woman, a family friend, on saturday.

left here before 7am friday. left there around 9am sunday.
i saw aidan's school. chuckled at the continuing saga of a boy who desperately wants to sleep with a dog who just as desperately doesn't....
visited with some old friends and enjoyed the companionship of family. but i missed seeing the aspens and elk.
we are home today with slashing rain, a north wind and 50 degrees. tim is in lincoln 'til thursday afternoon. we slept in this morning, i've already cleaned the freezer and bagged some pasta sauce. i have tomatoes simmering to go into the freezer after while, a closet project waiting for me and the siren song of several neglected books thrumming in the background.
when i realized tim was going to be gone i marked these dates to do the seasonal closet assessment. i've been looking forward to it. it needs to be done and i was excited to tackle the project. but who wants to spend a shivery day getting in and out of clothes for several hours?? so i'm modifying my plans. garments will be sorted and piled. adjectives applied and decisions made. there are things i don't need to try on to know that ,yes, this time they are going. i will take my dog, blankie and book and do some serious couch time. isn't that what rainy days are for??

on a happier note

on a happier note - one of the mystery plants has been identified. i have lovely aliums in 2 places.
the snowball bushes have never looked healthier.tim and i both took it easy this weekend. the wind had stopped blowing, the sun was shining but not hot. i sat outside and did some reading. he watched golf. we walked charlie, went for a bike ride. loafed, napped, enjoyed.

the alium are lovely. i have iris blooming and the anemone are about to open with columbine not far behind them.

caboose

one last entry to finish this train of thought....



i am (as naphtali once pointed out to me)somewhat of a snob when it comes to my reading material. i avoid book club selections. i do in fact judge books by their covers. i couldn't tell you what is one the best-seller list from anyone's paper. every now and then, in an un-looked-for place, i'll stumble across an article dealing with favorite books of ...someone and i'll file away any interesting titles. certain patrons will come in to the library and ask if we can get a particular book from another library for them. you run it through the system, find that there are 27 libraries in the country that own it and i can hardly resist taking a look when it comes in! (i have one home now!) so gatsby was on my list. the concrete blonde, mr bridge, mrs bridge, and of course (on my son-in-law's recommendation) atlas shrugged along with a handful of others that i'd like to work my way through in the next couple months. just in time for the summer reading lists to be posted.

this book

this book inspired a new project and secured a rescue from the goodwill.


i've always enjoyed topiaries and this book provided the nudge i needed to try one.

















these pictures reinforced an idea that took hold the other day - i need a reliable backdrop for staging some of my pictures.



i have 2 different ivies started and they're both doing fine.

books for a lazy saturday morning

books.
old.
new.
temporary. permanent.
classics.bestsellers.

books that were given to me. books that have been snagged from the library. checked out from our local library. shared from another library. picked up second hand.

books for me, for children, for guests, for reference, for the sheer pleasure of owning them.

books that have been judged by their covers.
books that have been recommended. books that will never be read. books that will become lifelong friends.

and i will continue to bring them home. some i will pass along to others who will give them new homes and uses. some, i'm sorry to say, will end up at the goodwill to take their chances waiting for the right owner to claim them.

green thumb

tim has become the plant guy at work. he has repotted and protected a variety of left-over funeral plants from root bind and well meaning staff. he waters, trims, tends. yesterday he brought home this small basket containg 7 separate plants.





after a quick hunt for empty pots they were split, potted and ready to go. tim will be in omaha for most of the week so i've promised not to kill them while he's gone.


i finished the reader last night and have to say that it ranks right up there with kite runner for disappointing protagonist.

movie material??

i generally don't read sets/series back to back but made an exception with appaloosa and resolution. someone at work had commented on the scarcity of dialogue in appaloosa, wondering how it could be made into a movie. so i decided to read it. if you happen to like your cowboy (pictures) long, lean and taciturn this could work just fine. it will be interesting to see what they've done with it.