Wednesday, August 05, 2009

because every special occasion should involve books

Thank you all so much for the lovely anniversary wishes! We had a fairly uneventful, but relaxing day. Which, of course, involved books. :) We headed out to B&N during the afternoon. Each of us grabbed a huge pile of reading materials to look through and then headed to the cafe. The kids sat at one table drinking juice and reading, while Rich and I sat at another drinking coffee and perusing. For some reason, it just felt so utterly decadent to be whiling away a couple hours doing nothing productive. And of course, we couldn't escape without buying books. All of us. We may just need professional help. Of course, Rich had given me a gift card for our anniversary, and to not spend it would have been just plain rude, don't you think? ;)

I love the wonderful little assortment of books I got, and believe it or not, I don't have a single point of blame to award. (Never fear though, I've received quite a pile of books in the last week, some that do have points attached...but I'll save those for another post.) Anyway, here's what I bought:

Elf Realm: The Low Road by Daniel Kirk. I should probably be embarrassed to admit that I've never heard of this one before, as it was published last year. But when I saw it, I was helpless to resist. It not only sounds like a very fun read, but it's full of beautiful full-page pencil drawings. Done by the author.







Panic in Level 4: Cannibals, Killer Viruses, and Other Journeys to the Edge of Science by Richard Preston. I've been wanting this book since it came out last year. Finally just broke down and bought it. No idea why I am fascinated by this kind of stuff, but I am. Annie on the other hand, picked up this book and after reading a bit, stated, "You know, maybe I don't want to work for the CDC after all."




Science Under Siege: Defending Science, Exposing Pseudoscience edited by Kendrick Frazier. This is a collection of essays, divided into three main sections: Science and Skeptical Inquiry, Critical Inquiry and Public Controversies, and Understanding Pseudoscience, Investigating Claims. So many of the essays sounds incredibly good...can't wait to dive in!







How to Be an Explorer of the World by Keri Smith. Another book I've wanted since it first came out last year. I absolutely love her! And her books. She's just so inspiring. I have Living Out Loud: Activities to Fuel a Creative Life, and the wonderful, oh-so-creative herself, Jean, bought me Wreck This Journal for Christmas. I hate admitting that I've spent far too little time nurturing creativity the past few years. If this book doesn't help, it will be solely my fault, not the fault of this lovely book.



Ah yes, I'm so very happy with my lovely new pile. :D


I'm also happy with the reading I did last evening. I imagine you're quite sick of my bitching about how I can't seem to finish a book. I've been laboring through these same 7 very long, slow books for far too long. And while I'm enjoying every one of them, I just feel so bogged down by them. So last night, I decided to just push them all aside. Instead I grabbed Blueberry Girl, The Day I Swapped My dad for Two Goldfish, and The Wolves in the Walls off the shelf. Now, we all know that Neil Gaiman is a freakin' genius, but I feel I have to say it anyway! This was the most relaxing little bout of reading I've had in a long time!

I've read Blueberry Girl several times before. And I read it a couple more times last night. I think I could read it several times every day and still never tire of it. And still get those tears of sweetness and joy in my eyes with each reading. As much as I've enjoyed everything I've read of his thus far, this may well be my favorite book of all. As if the words are not perfection enough, Charles Vess adds the most beautiful drawings. It's perfection times two.


This was the first I'd read either of the other two, however. Both of which are wonderful. Both of which are delightfully silly. Both of which are filled with Dave McKean's incredible art. Both of which have cameos by the Queen of Melanesia. And both of which I positively adored!

12 comments:

Amanda said...

Those Gaiman books look excellent. I'm glad you had a good time.

Carl V. Anderson said...

I couldn't agree with your last night's reading choices more. Gaiman children's books are truly a delight, visually and in their wordplay. I've read Blueberry Girl but have yet to get myself a copy. I'll remedy that no doubt! I need to get a copy of Crazy Hair sometime as well. I think Wolves in the Walls is my favorite, perhaps as much because of the kind of book it is...a little bit creepy...as anything else.

I'm so glad you had a relaxing family day together. It sound so simple and yet so luxurious. Decadent...that was a good word!

I've added the Keri Smith books to my wishlist as they sound wonderful.

Ana S. said...

An afternoon at the bookstore sounds perfect to me :D And yes, it would have been plain rude not to spend that gift card ;)

Wow - I want Science Besieged RIGHT NOW!

Not surprised to hear you enjoyed all the Neil picture books so much :D I keep meaning to get the new one, Crazy Hair. I'm sure it's just as awesome as the others!

serendipity_viv said...

I am really intrigued by these Keri Smith books - I have a couple on my TBR list.

I am glad you spent a lovely evening in the company of Neil Gaiman and his wonderful writing.

Your anniversary sounds like bliss.

Staci said...

Sounds like a great day spent having fun!! Your loot looks pretty interesting. Love the cover of the first book. I have Keri's Living Out Loud, very cool book!! The picture books you read look great and I love the illustrations!!

Melody said...

Your day sounds perfect to me! Books, relaxation and a wonderful day with the family... what more could we ask? :D

I loved Blueberry Girl! Everytime I read it, it brought tears to my eyes! So touching and so beautiful!!

Jean said...

If you want to tear (that's as in crying tears, not rips) up, listen to Neil Gaiman reading Blueberry Girl. He posted the link to it on his blog a while back. When I looked at the book in B&N, I could hear him reading it. Lovely, just lovely!

chrisa511 said...

Ok...so I think that there's something completely wrong with me :p This post totally got me teary eyed when you wrote about you, Rich and the kids all just sitting at Barnes and Noble relaxing. Is that silly or what? The books you got sound so damn cool! I hadn't heard of Elf Realm either. But I will be on the look out for it now! And Panic in Level 4 is going right onto my wishlist. Sounds too cool to pass up. And of course I'm thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the three Gaiman's as much as you did :)

DesLily said...

what? doesn't everyone go to barnes and noble for their anniversary?? sheesh! lol wow! you now have a larger tbr pile!!! hooray!

Eva said...

Sounds like a perfect anniversary! I haven't been able to get through a book in awhile now due to fibro.

Kailana said...

Hope you enjoy your books. :)

Stephanie said...

Uh, yeah. Neil Gaiman is a freakin' genius!! I'm finding that more and more, as I wind my way through the Sandman books! I still haven't read these books though.

A great haul!! I love Barnes & Noble. I know it's not a little independent store, but there aren't any in my area. At all. And I love being about to grab a cappacino, find a lounge chair and just peruse books!!