What you will be when you can't help it

Notable books read last week:

The Peach Keeper, by Sarah Addison Allen:  In all fairness, this doesn't come out for another month, so I haven't read it yet.  But I am placing it on my list in anticipation of how delightful it will surely be.  I am being efficient, do you see?  You may not recognize it on me, as I am hardly ever so.  This is a new leaf I've turned over, apparently.  I predict it will last exactly five minutes.  Perhaps two.

Arthur and George, by Julian Barnes:   This one is based on a true story, something I normally shun unless it is of a more academic caliber.  But I couldn't resist a late-Victorian era story featuring the brilliant author of Sherlock Holmes as a main character.  Especially one that has created so much buzz, so to speak.  It was wonderful getting to know the enigmatic Arthur and George, and the added twist of a real-life mystery made it even better.

Faceless Killers, by Henning Mankell:   It seems I was on a mystery kick last week.  Faceless Killers is the first in a series centered around Kurt Wallander, a policeman who is flawed, to say the least.  I'm really quite excited to read the rest of this series.  It is gritty and real and frightening.  And Wallander is quite relatable, for an idle and somewhat louche reprobate.

The Beauty Myth, by Naomi Wolf:  Being non-fiction, this one should have been precluded from my list.  However, I am recommending it because I feel it has an important point for not only women, but men as well.  She talks about how the images on t.v., magazines, and even pornography are detrimental to woman, as well as to the men who love looking at these images.  I don't agree with everything she says, and some things are said purely for shock-value and probably aren't true, but the message of this book is one we, in our western culture, need to hear and take to heart.  This is going to be required reading for Lily once she is old enough.

Wyrd Sisters, by Terry Pratchett:  I actually didn't discover the wonderful and wacky world of Terry Pratchett until a guy I dated in college gave me one of his books to read (I know, how did I live so long in such ignorance?).  I've read (and loved) most of the Discworld series.  This irreverent parody of Macbeth was no less delightful and satisfying.  If you are, as I once was, a Pratchett virgin, you should definitely take a peek.  He's brilliant.  Don't worry too much about reading the Discworld books in order, as most of them can be read as stand-alone books.


Last week was a good one for reading, as it was overcast, cold and grey.  I made it through eight of the books on my list.  And as an added accomplishment, I only added three new books to my list (ha!).  I am now over 300 for the year.  I think any books I add from here on out will go on my 2012 reading list, otherwise I'll never reach my goal.

Lily also found several new books to love and devour.  Her favorite last week was Silverlicious, by Victoria Kann. 

She loves the Pinkalicious books and has been dying for this new one to be released.  Last Tuesday she came into my room after waking up and said "Mooooommmmy, guess what we get to do today?  We get to get Silverlicious!"

She also got Where The Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak.  Lily, for all her girliness, really has a thing for monsters, ghosts and all things that go bump in the night.  So when she saw the stuffed monsters from the book, she became obsessed, badgering me to buy her the movie and the book.  I told her she could get them if she saves up enough of her allowance money (she gets allowance for cleaning her room and helping me in the kitchen).  So after a month of saving, she had enough for the book (I ended up buying her the movie as well, because apparently I am an easy mark for her "sad face").  She loves it.  I swear she's read that thing about a hundred times in the past week.  She watched the movie once, but said she liked the book better.  That's my girl.  Her favorite part of the book is when the King of the Wild Things gets lonely and wants someone who loves him most.  She always stops me and says, "That's his mommy!"  (ps: she looks like she's wearing makeup in that picture, for some reason, but I promise she isn't.  I do not put makeup on my child!)

Last week was a quiet one.  I hate being stuck inside, as does Lily, so after five days of bad weather, I thought we'd both be going quite mad.  But with a couple trips to the bookstore and one to the library, we ended up having quite a lovely week snuggling together and reading.  Still, I am grateful that this week is supposed to be lovely, weather-wise.  Today, I think we may take another trip to the beach.