What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

Whew -- this book, in some ways, took a lot out of me!  The basic premise -- Alice Love, after a blow to the head, loses all memories of the last 10 years.  This means she wakes up believing she is 29 years old, newly pregnant, and so in love with her husband.  The reality?  She is 39, has three children, and is in the midst of divorce. 

My divorce, after 10 years of marriage, has only been final a few months.  Thus my own life experiences gave this book some depth and power it might not have had for a different reader.

A quote from the end of the book:

It was good to remember that for every horrible memory from her marriage, there was also a happy one.  She wanted to see it clearly, to understand that it wasn't all black, or all white.  It was a million colors.  And yes, ultimately it hadn't worked out, but that was okay.  Just  because a marriage ended didn't mean that it hadn't been happy at times.  (page 401)

Today let joy slow the clock

"Today my friends, we each have one day less, every one of us.  And joy is the only thing that slows the clock."

~from The Scarlet Ruse by John D. MacDonald, quoted in Tolstoy and the Purple Chair by Nina Sankovitch

Quote It Saturday -- Feeling Things for Other People -- Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver

Welcome to Quote It Saturday, hosted by Freda.

Add as many quotes as you wish, from whomever you wish. It can even be lyrics to a song.

"I'm very sorry to hear you are tired," she said . . . 

"What does that mean?  What does it mean to say you're sorry?"

Liesl groped for words to describe it.  "It means -- it means what it means.  It means I feel bad.  It means that I wish I could make you untired" . . . 

"But why should you wish anything for me?"

"It's an expression," Liesl said.  Then she thought hard for a minute.  "People need other people to feel things for them," she said.  It gets lonely to feel things all by yourself."

~page 39, Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by A Few More Pages. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence, or two, of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading.                         

The bedroom is strange.  Unfamiliar.

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice. Check out the rules and join in the fun.

Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
Turn to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog. Post a link along with your post back to this blog.

"But why was I working as a secretary?" I said.

"It was the only job you could get.  Times were hard."

This book was somewhat less tense than I was expecting and yet, somehow, more brutal at the same time.   The basic premise -- Christine wakes up each morning with no memories of the last 20-30 years of her life.  Her husband Is her touchstone, reintroducing himself to her each morning and giving her the details of her own life, reorienting her.  But she's not always sure she can trust what she's been told.  Creepy.

Dewey's Read-a-thon -- End of Event Meme

Which hour was most daunting for you?
Well, this was such a different read-a-thon for me -- Since I didn't have any pledges based on quantity, and since I was needed at work, and since my boss is sick and I didn't also want to get sick, I hardly pushed myself, only reading for five hours, 45 minutes, and 42 seconds.  So there wasn't really a daunting hour for me...

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
 Hmmm..  Let's see . . . How about Blackout by Connie Willis, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, Across the Universe by Beth Revis, and How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown.

How many books did you read?

I only finished one this year!

What were the names of the books you read?
I read The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle and I am on page 190 of Liesl and Poby Lauren Oliver -- so a total of 615 pages read.

Which book did you enjoy most?

They were both good reads.  Usually, I try to read a mix of fiction, non-fiction, children's lit, YA, etc.  This year I only got to YA and children's lit -- a non-fiction, What It Is Like to Go to War,  was next on the pile. 

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again?
Extremely -- I can only hope my schedule cooperates.

Hour 18

I'm having a lovely evening here, enjoying my books and my solitude and my music and my comfy clothes. 

I finished The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle.  There was a pit in my stomach by the end, aching for the main character's loss & pain, and appreciating her braveness, and wanting to hug and spend time with everyone I love. 

Now I'm 135 pages into Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver.   The illustrations are gorgeous.

My body is sore and I think I need to either get back under the covers or put on a sweatshirt. 

Mid-Event Survey

Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now?
I'm reading The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle.

2. How many books have you read so far?
Haven't finished any books, on page 365 of TBOA
 
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
Just settling in to reading after needing to miss the bulk of the day so far.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
I was really needed at work (and I love my job) so I allowed myself (for first time) to not do so.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
See above.  :)  I have no regrets.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
That I have no regrets about the above.  :)

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Nope.  I love it and I love the variety of people who participate.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
I'd like to collect more pledges next year!

9. Are you getting tired yet?
Nope!  But I know I'll get there.  Well, maybe I'm a tiny bit tired, actually.....

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
Just taking breaks to stretch & put on chapstick/lotion.

Dewey's Read-a-Thon Introduction Meme

So I'm super late at this, as I needed to go into to work and ended up being there for a large chunk of the day.

 1)Where are you reading from today?
Denver CO, all at my apartment, in the living room, the bathtub, and the bed.

2)Three random facts about me…
I've never gotten my driver's license, I love garlic, I miss my grandparents all the time.

3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
10 -- but I would've been happy if I'd done four.

4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?
At this point, I'd be pleased to completely finish two books and have started a third, we'll see.

5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?
Change location, drink lots of water, wash your face to wake up, and put on music you love.

Dewey's Read-a-Thon Starting Post -- Hour 2

Well, this year I've not gotten any pledges for quantity -- hours, minutes, pages read.  (My mom did pledge $30 for me to read a Waylon Jennings biography, but that will be after the read-a-thon is over, since I couldn't get it from the library in time.) 

Because of that, I'm allowing myself to be more laidback than I have been in the past.  I just woke up, an hour after the official start time.  I'm going to get some granola and yogurt and start reading The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle, a YA book that's been making the rounds on the book blogs I frequent.    We'll see how the rest of the day goes.   I'll probably need to go over to work for at least a short time, but I'm looking forward to still reading a ton.

Cleaning out my camera -- Attempts at taking pictures of myself, The Comfort Cafe, Lauren & Kolya, Colleen, my stack o' books for tomorrow's read-a-thon

Me!

Book Beginnings and Friday 56 -- The Familiars: Secrets of the Crown by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by A Few More Pages. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence, or two, of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading.    

Aldwyn had often wondered what it would be like to have wings.  As the wind blew through his whiskers and his claws dug into the linen collar of Jack's tunic, he was beginning to get a pretty good idea.

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice. Check out the rules and join in the fun.

Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
Turn to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog. Post a link along with your post back to this blog.

 

The librarian walked back to her seat behind the front desk, stepping right past a trio of the slimy bookworms that had found their way back inside during her absence.  Aldwyn fount it curious that now she ignored them, seeing how quick she had been to retrieve her broom before. Perhaps the exhausting day of research had taken its toll on her, as well.

Fiona and I are just finishing this one up.  It's the second in the Familiars series.  The authors have created several surprising twists in Secrets of the Crown, just as they did in The Familiars.  It's fun when something happens that I was not at all anticipating.  From the front book flap:

When every bit of human magic disappears from Vastia, it falls on the familiars -- Aldwyn the telekinetic cat, Skylar, the know-it-all blue jay, and Gilbert the gullible tree frog -- to find the Crown of the Snow Leopard, an ancient relic that can reverse the curse.

Teaser Tuesdays -- Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB @ Should Be Reading. To participate, all you have to do is the following:

• Grab your current/upcoming read
• Open to a random page
• Share 2-3 "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!

 "Young Farringdon is an undergraduate of  -- New College, I think it is -- who was engaged to Cattermole when they both came up, but is now engaged to Flaxman."

"Is he, indeed?"

"Mainly, I understand, or partly, in consequences of that letter."

~page 77, Gaudy Night, by Dorothy L. Sayers

Another fun mystery from Sayers.  I enjoyed it, though I did have trouble keeping straight the many different female characters -- probably partially because I'm not clear on the way the Oxfordian academic hierarchy worked in 1935.  :)

The Luminist by David Rocklin

Photography comprises the bright, tensile thread in the sweep of The Luminist, drawing tight a narrative that shifts between the prejudices and passions of Victorian England and those of colonial Ceylon.  It binds the destinies of Catherine Colebrook, the proper wife of a fading diplomat, who rebels against every convention to chase the romance of science through her lens, and Eligius, an Indian teenager thrust into servitude after his father is killed demanding native rights. (from the front book flap)

By the time I picked up David Rocklin's The Luminist, I'd forgotten the main gist of the plot and setting, so I didn't know what to expect.  It's historical fiction, set in Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka) in the first half of the 19th century and is loosely based on the life of Julia Margaret Cameron, a British photographer.

I've never thought about what the early, still-just-exploring, don't-even-really-have-a-name-for-it-yet days of photography must have been like for the pioneers in the field.  I enjoyed learning more about it, and learning about it all in the context of Ceylon in the same time period.  I found the ending extremely satisfying -- certainly didn't tie up all loose ends, but left one with a sense of hope for redemption and completion.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

This book has been making the rounds among avid readers of young adult fiction.  From Amazon:

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her.

I didn't find myself as thrilled with this one as others seem to be.   The idea of society being divided by virtues -- and especially the virtues that Roth imagined -- is intriguing and I liked the basic message(s) of the book.  Most likely, it was just a case of too much hype before I picked it up.  (I'll be honest, the same thing happened to me with the movie version of The Princess Bride -- scandalous, I know.)  I will probably still continue with the series.

Hooray!! Dewey's Read-a-Thon coming up on October 22nd!

All pledges made to me will go directly to the school my daughter attends, Alpine Valley (http://www.alpinevalleyschool.com/ ). It has been such a lovely place for her to be (after visiting AVS for the first time she said, "Well,if I go to school that is where I'm
going to go.") and I know they will find a good use for whatever money I raise.(for more about the Sudbury model see: http://www.sudval.org/ )

For more info about Dewey's Read-a-Thon see:  http://24hourreadathon.com/

I'd like to offer three different ways to pledge and let each donor choose.

* pledge by minutes read (e.g. a quarter for each minute I read)
* pledge by books read (e.g. $15 for each book completed during the challenge)
* pledge by pages read (e.g. a dime for each page read)


Let me know if you have any questions or comments. Also, if there is a book you'd like to insist I read during the challenge, you can ensure it happens for the low, low rate of $20 a book. :) This is your chance, folks, to preach, to what may or may not be the choir, about your favorite book(s). Don't let the door of opportunity slam shut on your toes!

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

An entire book, the story of a relationship, told in dictionary entries.  Good stuff.  Fun stuff.  Heart-rending, easy-to-identify-with stuff. 

A few entries:

commonplace, adj.
It swings both ways, really.

I'll see your hat on the table and I'll feel such longing for you, even if you're only in the other room.  If I know you aren't looking, I'll hold the green wool up to my face, inhale that echo of your shampoo and the cold air from outside.

But then I'll walk into the bathroom and find you've forgotten to put the cap back on the toothpaste again, and it will be this splinter that I just keep stepping on. 

only, adj.
That's the dilemma, isn't it?  When you're single, there's the sadness and joy of only me.  And when you're paired, there's the sadness and joy of only you.

recant, v.
I want to take back at least half of the "I love you"s, because I didn't mean them as much as the other ones.  I want to take back the book of artsy photos I gave you, because you didn't get it and said it was hipster trash.  I want to take back what I said about you being an emotional zombie.  I want to take back the time I called you "honey" in front of your sister and you looked like I had just shown you pictures of us having sex.  I want to take the wineglass I broke when I was mad, because it was a nice wineglass and the argument would have ended anyway.  I want to take back the time we had sex in a rent-a-car, not because I feel bad about the people who got the car after us, but because it was massively uncomfortable.  I want to take back the trust I had while you were away in Austin.  I want to take back the time I said you were a genius, because I was being sarcastic and I should have just said you'd hurt my feelings.  I want to take back the secrets I told you so I can decide how whether to tell them to you again.  I want to take back the piece of me that lies in you, to see if I truly miss it.  I want to take back at least half the "I love you"s, because it feels safer that way.

Paying attention to what new experiences bring

When one is freshly informed, has a serendipitous experience, one's mood is changed, one's heart is changed.  That is why taking time to see, hear, be present to images and language that arise from new experiences have the power to change from one way to another.

~  Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women Who Run with the Wolves

A Year by the Sea: Thoughts of an Unfinished Woman by Joan Anderson

A Year by the Sea was recommended to me by the founder/executive director of a wonderfully amazing cafe I frequent.  I'd spoken with her a bit about the transitions in my own life, about my divorce and the changes it was bringing to my life.  She is in a period of transition in her own marriage, not sure yet of what it will look like by the time it's all played out, and Joan Anderson's book has been meaningful to her.  (In fact, when I told her I'd picked it up, she said she was thinking of re-reading it.)

When Anderson's sons move out of the house and her husband gets a job in another state, she surprises herself by deciding not to join him, instead taking up residence in the family cottage on Cape Cod.  She doesn't know what this decision will bring, she simply knows that something must change.  I liked this book and have some tidbits to share.


*grief is the partner of change (p. 18)

*"'How are you doing?' he asks, a benign and yet loaded question.  If I say fine, and he is not fine, there will be hell to pay.  I'm finding that unhappy people despise hearing good news from the contented ones." (p. 40)

*"I suffer less pain alone, it seems, than in the presence of an indifferent partner."  (p. 48)

*"I've no choice now but to fall in love as soon as possible -- not with a man but with my immediate life and eventually myself.  I'm free to make my own decisions and equally free to take the consequences."  (p. 49)

*"To arrive where you are, to get there from where you are not, You must go by a way wherein there is no ecstasy."  (p. 61, quoted from Eliot's Four Quartets (East Coker))

*"Figuring we get to experience only seventy or eighty Christmases in a lifetime, I am determined to enjoy this one my way, no matter who is or isn't around.  I read somewhere that the Frenchwoman's role is to please others, but to please herself in the process!  This concept is new for me, that my own joy is my responsibility.  Only I can receive it, and, likewise, only I can allow others to take it away . . . I've had my fill of bleak midwinters and now set my sights on joy."  (p.72)

*" [speaking of monks who were trained to treat liturgical objects with respect] . . . I couldn't help but imagine what my world might be like if I looked at the human beings I was closest to as holy and treated them with that same sense of respect."  (p. 74-5)

*"How many people have I clung to or let cling to me long after it ceased to be a healthy thing to do?  Part of the freedom I feel today comes from letting go."  (p. 112)

*"It occurs to me that I will continue to know my children less if they think I want them to be more.  Seeking perfection is a terrible thing when it robs you of the truth.  I wonder if role-playing and being careful are the chief causes of loneliness."  (p. 143)

Live the questions

Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart

and try to love the questions themselves.  

Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be 

given you because you would not be able 

to live them.  And the point is to live everything.  

Live the questions now.  Perhaps you will then 

gradually, without noticing it, live along some

distant day into the answers.

~Rainer Maria Rilke, Letter to a Young Poet

Clearly, I need to read more Rilke.

The God's Wife by Lynn Voedisch

From the back cover:
Up until recently, Egyptians were the freest civilized women on Earth.  They were free to own land, marry, divorce, and live independent lives.  Of these emancipated souls, one woman in several dynasties, the God's Wife of Amun, was the freest of all.  Ceremonially married to the highest god of the time, Amun, she stood second to Pharaoh in power.

Sixteen-year-old Neferet has been thrust into the role of God's Wife by her bossy mother, the Pharaoh's wife.  Unprepared for such a high office, Neferet is not skilled in the diplomacy the job needs, nor does she know anything about "pleasing" the god's icon.  Political vipers assail her head on and sexual approaches surround her.

In the 21st century, a young dancer stretches to create the perfect shapes that recall the mood of ancient Egypt.  Rebecca Kirk, chosen to play a woman in a dance production of Aida, is so immersed in he role that she often falls into trances, smelling the breeze off the Nile, feeling the desert sun on her cheeks, hearing the call of priests at Karnak temple.  It isn't long before she begins to sense that in these trances she's communicating with an Egyptian woman from the distant past.

As their worlds, separated by thousands of years, begin to grow together, Neferet starts to see Rebecca's face in the dark of the night.  When someone evil begins to plot against her reign as God's Wife, she draws on Rebecca's strength.  Rebecca, in turn, hears Neferet's voice and sees her eyes in a theater mirror when her own world is at risk of falling apart.

What is pulling their worlds together?  Is it magic or science?  And, more important, what does it mean to these two remarkable women?


As she wrote The God's Wife, Lynn Voedisch did lots of research into ancient Egypt and the practice of electing a God's Wife.  Then she took the places where there were unknowns or some ambiguity and created a story within that space. 


I'm always drawn to and intrigued by the idea of parallel universes and that was probably my favorite part of this book -- thinking about the Egypt of 4,000 years ago existing parallel to Chicago in the 21st century. 


I was surprised by the ending of the book, by the way Rebecca chose to solve Neferet's problem.  I'm not sure what I think of her decision and I'm curious about how her friends and family would've interpreted it.  I imagine this book would especially appeal to readers with an interest in dance.



3.5/5 stars

Theme Thursday -- Sound -- What Language Is by John McWhorter

Hosted by Reading Between the Pages

Rules:

*A theme will be posted each week on Thursday
*Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading that features the theme
*Post it and don't forget to mention the author and title of the book
*Event is open for the whole week
*Link back to Reading Between the Pages

This week's theme is sound/music.  

 

Did you ever wonder why Ned is the nickname for Edward, Nellie for Ellen, and Nan for Ann?  After all, if someone's name is Maria and you come to be fond of her, your impulse is not to start calling her N'Maria -- and speakers of Old and Middle English were no sillier than we are.  In itself, even Ned for Ed seems a little goofy -- "Hey there, Ed, Eddie boy, good ol' . . . .Nnnnned!!!"  Why??? Today, if we have a friend named Aisha, the last thing we would start saying is "Ooh , here comes my . . . Nnnaisha!"  What was it with early Brits and n?  

 

The answer is a "mistake".  Just as in German, my is mein, in Old English, my was min [long i].  You would say, in modern parlance, mine book, mine cat.  And, you would often say, in affection, mine Ed, mine Ellen. As min changed to my, people started heaing the old n as the first sound in the names: mine Ed became my Ned.  The result was new versions of these names starting with n, used as nicknames -- i.e., names you use in affection, as people used to in saying mine Ed.

 

I'm thrilled to hear this explained, as I've often wondered about this exact thing.  I wonder if Sarah/Sallie has a similar explanation?

Sunday Stealing

I stole this meme from Bev over at My Reader's Block.  Seemed like a fun thing to do this Sunday morning.
 
 
A. Age: 35

B. Bed size: Queen

C. Chore that you hate: vacuuming -- I don't like the noise and my body doesn't like the heaviness of the vacuum.

D. Dogs: I've not owned one as an adult.  I like dogs but I'm not willing to commit to the work of having one -- I'd be happy to live with one, though, if someone else in the house did more than 1/2 of the work involved.

E. Essential start to your day: Hmmm...  I'm not sure -- I don't actually have much of a morning routine, something that I simply always do.  I guess I always brush my teeth before I leave the house.  And I prefer to wake up on my own, w/o a noisy alarm -- not that I need to sleep in -- I woke up on my own this morning around 6:30.

F. Favorite color: black, purple, blue, grey

G. Gold or Silver: Silver -- in fact, I've been thinking I need to give away all my gold stuff, because I really, really prefer silver.

H. Height: 5'5?

I. Instruments you play: none -- I tried the trumpet for a short while in middle school -- i wanted to do flute, but couldn't even get a sound out of it, so they gave me the trumpet instead.  I can't really read music, even.

J. Job title: I wonder what my job title is....   I work at a natural family living-ish store -- cloth diapers, breastfeeding stuff, babywearing gear, wooden toys, organic clothing 

K. Kids: Fiona, who was 7 1/2 yesterday.

L. Live: I've lived in Denver for 5 years now.  I grew up in Indiana -- both places feel like home to me, though perhaps in slightly different ways.

M. Mother's name: Joan, Joni, or Joanie, depending on her whim at a given moment.  :)

N. Nicknames: Bufomander, Buf (w/ one f, thank you very much), Bu, Buffalo, La Loca

O. Overnight hospital stays: a few nights in high school for random stomach issues

P. Pet peeve: when people do that waving their hand in the front of your face thing -- really?  I can't unfocus my eyes w/o you being obnoxious?  I really, really, hate it.  It feels invasive.  I mean, I guess it's one thing if we've been talking together and then I zone out -- but I'm talking about when we've not even been interacting and somehow it disturbs you that I'm sitting and thinking.  Well.  I guess that's my soapbox for the day.  :)

I used to really hate it when dishwater was left to get cold and then you had to reach through the yucky water to unplug it.  Not only does this no longer bother me, but I now do it -- mostly in a conserving water kind of thing. 

Q. Quote from a movie: I could be the Walrus, I'd still have to bum rides off people.  (Who knows what this one is from?)

R. Right or left handed: Right

S. Siblings:  Seth, 3 1/2 years younger than me.

T. Time you wake up:  Usually between 6 and 8. 

U. Underwear: Cotton or another natural fiber -- I need to get rid of all the underwear I have that is too big but haven't done it yet.

V. Vegetable you hate: Hmmm..  I don't know if there are any I truly hate, but lima beans are probably my least favorite -- though I think they could be cooked in ways I'd like.

W. What makes you run late: moving, intentionally, at a relaxed speed until I suddenly realize it's actually time to get going

X. X-Rays you've had: several after being hit by a car -- no broken bones.  Other than that, only at the dentist

Y. Yummy food that you make: brownies, spinach artichoke dip, macaroni & cheese, swisschard or other greens.



Z.  Zoo animal:  I love watching jellyfish.

Book Beginnings and Friday 56 -- The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by A Few More Pages. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence, or two, of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading.                                           

In the drowsy heat of the summer afternoon the Red House was taking its siesta.  There was a lazy murmur of bees in the flower borders, a gentle cooing of pigeons in the tops of the elms. 

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice. Check out the rules and join in the fun.

Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
Turn to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog. Post a link along with your post back to this blog.

"Now then," he said, "let's go through Cayley's mind carefully, and see what we get."

Cayley had been in the hall when Robert was shown into the office.  The servant goes off to look for Mark, and Cayley goes on with his book.

How fun and random is it that A. A. Milne (author of Winnie the Pooh) wrote a murder mystery?  I learned about it from Bev and thought I'd better pick it up.  It was fun -- very stereotypical British murder mystery.

The Mark of Perillius by Atonus L. Perry

From the back cover:

Sinexia is a bastard world that never should have existed.  Its birth was an accident.  Born of war and anointed with savagery, its lands were conquered by magicians, monsters, and creatures that some would revere as gods or demons.  Just as Earth holds Sinexia's Origin, Sinexia holds the fate of the Earth.  The Sinexia series chronicles the events that bind Earth and Sinexia.  Read them and become engrossed in the tales of honor, love, despair, and action that cycle in a ring of creation and cataclysm.  The Mark of Perillius follows the adventures of a young orphan who inherits the powers and abilities of his fabled ancestor.  He is taken from the only normalcy he has ever known and tossed into a world of mystery and magic.  Once there, he must learn to master his new-found abilities while encountering a host of rich characters, places of wonder, and dire situations. 


The orphan's name is Emberillius.  He begins his journey as a sixteen-year-old young boy.  He must spend nine long years in Sinexia if he is to have any chance at all of saving the Earth from an impending catastrophe.  It is during this time that he learns about love, war, hate, responsibility, life, death, good, evil, and sacrifice as he matures into a man.  Through the trails of life an orphan is forged into a hero.


I was sent The Mark of Perillius to review.  In many ways, it was a book I found myself trudging through -- in fact, at one point I put it down and was going to actually let myself stop, but a day or two later I picked it up and finished reading.   The book had a lot of the things that turn me into a persnickety reader and keep me from concentrating on the story -- poor paragraph divisions, inconsistent capitalization & verb tense agreement, poor spelling (lose instead of loose, etc.), and awkward phrasing.

Let me try to get beyond these issues and say some positive things about the book.  The Mark of Perillius is one of those saga-ish, quest-y tales that is complex enough that there is are character bios, a Sinexian glossary, an explanation of the Sinexian week, a list of mage classifications -- and more --  at the back of the book.  The author says that he often desires more action in the books he reads and that desire motivated him to write this series.  For those with the same preference, The Mark of Perillius may be a book for you.  I, on the other hand, tend to skim J.K. Rowling's Quidditch scenes, so I may not be Perry's target audience in this regard.  :)

One last note -- I can't decide how I feel about Perry's treatment of women in this book.   There are certainly some strong and powerful female characters but at the same time, there was something about the way that women were occasionally talked about/portrayed that didn't sit well with me....

Book Beginnings & Friday 56 -- Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by A Few More Pages. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence, or two, of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading.  

Moscow can be a cold, hard place in winter.  But the big old house on Tverskoy Boulevard had always seemed immune to these particular facts, the way it had seemed immune to many things throughout the years.

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice. Check out the rules and join in the fun.

Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
Turn to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog. Post a link along with your post back to this blog.

Page 56 is blank & page 57 starts a new section entitled:

2 days before the emerald arrives

Somewhere in Austria

This is the second in Ally Carter's Heist Society series.  I know they are frequently compared to Ocean's Eleven but the comparison is spot on -- this one had a little less of that ridiculous (but potentially wonderful) kind of streamlined hijinks, but still a fun book. 

A photo tour of my new apartment

A friend asked me a for a photo tour of my apartment and it was a good motivator to try doing some more tidying on this day off work when Fiona is with her dad.  (I'm writing this on Labor Day.)

It has been good to spend this first month settling in, trying to make the apartment what we want it to be (we've definitely got more work to do, but it's fun), and getting to know our neighborhood and community.

Fiona is just starting to settle into the school year and I am feeling very suited to my job (which is not to say I don't make ridiculous mistakes sometimes).  It's lovely to have a school that Fiona loves and a boss who simply laughs at my mistakes and then tells me how to fix them.

So, pictures:

Let's hear it for the purple wall!  <3

All the purple is the living room.  This window looks out on the coffeeshop's little patio.  (We share a wall w/ a coffeeshop.)

This doorway leads to our bedroom.

You can see the bedroom door in this one, too, as well as the yellow in the kitchen.

I'd love to paint the bedroom -- the green seems much darker to me in person than it does in this picture -- but I'm thrilled enough with the purple that I can deal with the green. :)

And this window looks out onto a brick wall.  :) Also the pathway that the coffeeshop workers use to enter the shop, and the back door to the used bookstore.

A bathroom with natural light *and* a clawfoot bathtub.  Contented sigh.  This window looks out onto an alley/parking lot, but there is also a fair bit of sun and green trees.

A very decent-sized kitchen -- we need a dish drainer, though.  :)

I should've gotten a picture of the outside -- our door is bright red and we have a small porch.  :)