a little of this, a little of that

Dewey's Read-a-thon:

I know I'm not alone in feeling this big old tangled up ball of emotions right now. In fact, Chris just posted about this very thing. Missing Dewey fiercely. Aching over the empty place where she should be. And yet so full of love...love for Dewey, love for all the incredible friends who are feeling just the same as I am, love for books and reading and this wonderful celebration of it all that Dewey began as a gift to us. Chris used the word "bittersweet" and I think that says it perfectly.

I already posted a list of my read-a-thon pile books...but uhhh...I may have some additions. (You know, because the 20-some already on the pile might not be enough. Hahahahahahaha.) See, I went a little crazy at the library today. But I'll get to that later.

Now, as for food:

Feast your eyes on this...

Should I be in need for a little pick-me-up now then, I will look no further than this box of heaven. This enormous box of chocolate decadence was awaiting me on my doorstep when I arrived home from the library today!!! It arrived from this very sweet lady! I did some small thing to surprise her, both because she is just a genuinely lovely person and because she is a friend of the beautiful Pat. All I wanted was to put a smile on her face...but my goodness, look what she sent me. Should you read this, thank you again, Naomi! It was so very unnecessary, and yet is so very much appreciated.
Of course, I guess I can't live on chocolates alone (though I might willing to give it try!), so also in our line-up for the day will be: enormous fruit salad and a coffeecake for breakfast, subs for lunch, order-in pizza for supper, rotel dip and salsa and chips for late night snacking  (all made the night before, of course). And I will prepare a pile of healthy snacks for the boys that they can just grab at will, so I won't have to cut up apples, etc. throughout the day (they are major league grazers).

My coziest pjs are freshly laundered and ready to be donned after my morning shower.

My charity has been chosen. RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network). For a lot of reasons, this just seems to the organization calling loudest to me at the moment. Because of all the heartbreaking stories I've heard this past month. And maybe because of my own story. And well, I just know this is a choice that Dewey would fully support as well. (Thank you, Ana, for bringing this organization to my attention.) Haven't decided what sort of system to go with yet...flat amount, by page, by hour, etc.

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Going to be a somewhat book-ish night around here. Rich and Annie are off to see Lois Lowry. And the boys and I are off to the book fair and storytelling event. I probably shouldn't say this, but I think Rich got the luck of the draw this time. But I know the boys and will have fun. And Rich is going to try to get Gossamer signed for me. :D

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Library Loot:

Haven't "looted" in a while. Been trying desperately to concentrate on my own books. But this breakdown was inevitable. I've been dying to go out and buy a huge old pile of books...damn this book buying ban. So this is sort of my escape valve. I realize that this isn't a big pile for most people, but I feel so dang guilty for checking all these out when I know I can't possibly get them all read.

Sorry for the sucky picture...guess you can't really even read those titles, can you? Here's what in that pile:

Subject to Debate by Katha Pollitt*
The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto Che Guevara*
I'm Not Scared by Niccolo Ammaniti*
Red Spikes by Margo Lanagan
Blankets by Craig Thompson*
Jar of Fools by Jason Lutes
Cry Bloody Murder: A Tale of Tainted Blood by Elaine DePrince
Berlin: City of Stones (Book One) by Jason Lutes

(Books with asterisks are subject to blame. See below.)

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 And finally, it's been a long time since I've passed out blame. Probably because I've really been quite good at not accumulating so many books. :D  This round is almost over (if I'm not mistaken, it lasts until the end of this month), so there will possibly be one more batch to hand out before a winner/pusher is announced.

Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff. Point for Megan! You know, if I'm not mistaken, this review was one of the very first posts of Megan's I ever read. :D (Book acquired through PaperbackSwap, which is allowed according to the terms of my book buying ban.)
High School Confidential: Secrets of an Undercover Student by Jeremy Iversen. Point for Kara! When she mentioned this book, I immediately added it to my wish list. She does not get off the hook simply because she was nice enough to send it to me. :D
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede. Point for DesLily! Though honestly, I'm tempted to give her four points, as this is technically four books in one! Here's the post that sealed my doom. (Also acquired through PaperbackSwap.)
Subject to Debate by Katha Pollitt. Care to guess? Yep, of course, it was Nymeth! Though technically it was not this particular book she reviewed. First there was this review and then today, there was this review. However, this was the only one of Pollitt's books that our library had on the shelf.
The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey by Ernesto Che Guevara. Point for Jason! I have to admit that I used to be extremely intimidated by Jason. And now that I found out he's just as sweet and down-to-earth as can be, I'm afraid my book accumulation problem is only going to get worse...he reads some awesome non-fiction books. (As far as his fiction reading, well, that pretty much still intimidates me.)
I'm Not Scared by Niccolo Ammaniti. Point for Eva! Normally, it's she who is racking up non-fiction blame points, but this time it's a fiction read. 'Cause like I could resist after this review...yeah, right.
Blankets by Craig Thompson. Point for Dewey! And you know, I sort of love that I'm wrapping up with a point for her...because, geez, I just love how much she still influences the reading of so many of us. :) Yep, Chris, bittersweet, for sure.

library loot for a new challenge

Like I wasn't already far enough behind on my blog reading, the internet just had to go out for the much of the day. And I'd really wanted to make this post earlier, so I could finish up my monthly wrap-up post this evening as we've decided to hit the road and go visit Rich's mom tomorrow. Oh well...hardly worth stressing over.

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So anyway, the Color Me Brown Book Challenge starts in just a couple of days. I'm so excited about this, and wish that I could just devote the entire month of reading to it. Alas, school planning requirements won't allow that. But I'm shooting for at least four. Which obviously means I have to get a lot more read than I did this pathetic month! As I already personally challenged myself to read all of Susan's unofficial list of great YA by and about women of color, I'll probably overlap a few books here.

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(Library Loot is co-hosted by Eva and Marg.)
We hit the library yesterday, and I picked up a couple books for this challenge.










Pemba's Song: A Ghost Story by Tonya C. Hegamin and Marilyn Nelson.
I can't wait to read this...it looks sooooo good! And I believe it's on Susan's list, too.








Behind You by Jacqueline Woodson.
I picked this one up not realizing that it was the sequel to If You Come Softly. Don't want to read out of order, now do I. So I quickly remedied this problem by ordering If You Come Softly from PaperbackSwap.









Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix. This is one I picked up for school, for our history through literature unit. It's about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. I'm sure I'll enjoy it, but frankly I don't feel like reading it...I'm very much in one of those pissy moods where I'm sick to death of being obligated to read things for school. Yeah, I'm being whiny.






Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale.
Total impulse pick-up. When I saw it, I couldn't resist.











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Okay, back to our trip now. These are the books I'm bringing:

--The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. (reading for school)
--Oh Pure and Radiant Heart by Lydia Millet. (what I'm currently reading for fun)
--Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix. (in case I finish The Jungle)
--The Best of John Bellairs (in case there is time to read to the boys in the midst of extended family chaos)
--The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci (because Renay asked so very nicely)
--Pemba's Song by Marilyn Nelson and Tonya C. Hegamin (because I'm simply itching to crack it open)
--Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale (in case I get a strong craving for a graphic novel)

Now, seeing how I've read all of three books thus far this month, you may think bringing seven books for a long weekend is a bit of overkill. I'm sure you're right. But somehow it just feels comforting.

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Hope you all have a truly fantastic weekend!!!!!

seriously unable to get my act together

I can't believe that April is almost over. Yikes. Last week, it was spring break here, which is part of the reason I haven't been around reading everyone's blogs. I've also been busting my butt trying to get caught up with school. I really, really, REALLY can't wait until this school year is over! Seriously, I'm not complaining...I love homeschooling; I'm just ready for a break. The weather around here the last few days hasn't been conducive to being inside on the computer either. Man, it's been gorgeous! Weird, but gorgeous. It was in the 30s and snowing Thursday morning. It was in the 80s on Friday. Seriously weird.

Anyway, I never did review the books I read during the read-a-thon. So here's an extremely quick look:

The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech. Sweet, funny, feel-good. Fairy-tail-esque. Perfect for read-a-thon. Perfect for Once Upon a Time. Not terribly deep or complex, but wonderfully enjoyable.








Skim by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki. Okay, I will say that I absolutely loved this book. And I will say that Kim, the main character in this graphic novel, felt very authentic to me, and I really adored her. But other than that, I'm just going to wimp out and give you links to Chris's review and Annie's review. (We all read this book on the same day.)





The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. Wow...bittersweet. I enjoyed this even more than The Tale of Despereaux, the only other of her books I've read. Yes, it made me cry, but it certainly left its mark on my heart. I know there's loads of reviews out there, but I'm trying to get this done before the boys get home from school so I'm going to skip linking them at least for the moment.



And this is also the reason, I'm going to keep the "blame" short and sweet.

In the bought/paperbackswap column:

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. Point for Nymeth.
Skellig by David Almond. Another point for Nymeth.
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart.

And for Library Loot (thank you to our lovely hostesses, Eva and Alessandra!):

Girl Meets Boy: The Myth of Iphis by Ali Smith. Point for Nymeth.
The Tale of One Bad Rat by Bryan Talbot. Points for both Dewey and Nymeth.
Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories by Gilbert Hernandez. Point for Nymeth.
Shooting the Boh by Tracy Johnston. Point for Eva.
one of those books where the mother dies by Sonya Sones. Point for Becky.
Aesop's Fables: A Classics Illustrated Edition.
The Scaredy Cats by Barbara Bottner and Victoria Chess.
The Cat Who Walked Across France by Kate Banks George Hallensleben.
The Girl in the Castle Inside the Museum by Kate Bernheimer and Nicoletta Ceccoli. Point for Nymeth.

mishmash Monday

Hmmm...where to begin...

Many thanks to our lovely hostesses, Eva and Alessandra.










Quirkology: How We Discover the Big Truths in Small Things by Richard Wiseman.

I read about this one at the site where reviews for the Science Challenge are posted, but I can't really award a point, because I don't actually know who wrote it. Just sounds like a very fun read.





The Sandman: Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman.

Couldn't believe it was actually there. :)










...I never saw another butterfly...: Children's Drawings and Poems from Terezin Concentration Camp, 1942-1944 edited by Hana Volavkova.

I'm sure many tears will be shed reading this one.







Cat, What Is That? by Tony Johnston.

Bet you can guess why I picked this one up, huh? Yep, a read for Maxidoodle and me. Wish I could have found a bigger image of this one...the paintings are so beautiful!

I realize that's not a huge pile of library loot. Yet still I'm going to try to cut back for a while. I keep finding myself not able to read the books I'm eagerly wanting to read from my TBR shelves because I'm always feeling the pressure of "due dates" for all my library acquisitions. We'll see how it goes though...as we go to the library every week for school. And I'm not exactly known for my wealth of willpower.

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Okay, and what purchases entered my home in the previous week? The answer should have been "none" as I'd put myself on a book buying fast. But see, I also started a battle with the scale. And fighting both these battles at once was just too much for this weary old lady. So I bought a couple books...

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld.

I HATE this cover, but it was the only one they had. Anyway, after Nymeth's review, I knew it was only a matter of time. I was able to "rationalize" a bit though, saying I was sort of buying it for Rich. Sounds like one he's going to love...in fact, he started reading it last night. Point for Nymeth!




River Secrets by Shannon Hale.

Man, I really HATE this cover, too. But what are you gonna do, huh? Anyway, it seems like I waited forever for this to come out in paperback, and by the time it did, it had sort of fallen off my radar. But I saw it the other night, and I tried to resist...





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Okay, so what else is new? I already admitted that I joined Becky's It's the End of the World Challenge. Guess I should now 'fess up...I joined her Elizabeth Scott Challenge, too. Excuses: a. I have one of her books that I've really been wanting to read anyway, b. I can use these books for other challenges, and c. come on, it's Becky hosting!

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And finally, the sweet and lovely J.Kaye is now hosting It's Monday. What Are You Reading?.

Books I read last week:

*American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
*The Sandman: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman





Books I'm currently reading and am determined to finish this week:

*House of Stone by Christina Lamb
*Down to a Sunless Sea by Mathias B. Freese
*The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
*What If We Do Nothing? Poverty by Cath Senker

Books I'm currently reading but won't finish this week:

*Africa: A Biography of the Continent by John Reader
*The Scientists by John Gribbin
*Looking for Bobowicz by Daniel Pinkwater

Books I hope to start this week:

*Cat, What Is That? by Tony Johnston
*Lives of the Artists by Kathleen Krull
*The Dead & The Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
*Summer for the Gods by Edward J. Larson

just some odds 'n' ends

I didn't forget to draw a winner for 50 Reasons to Buy Fair Trade. Well, actually I did forget. But I'm not really that late, am I? Anyway, Chris, you're the lucky winner...and I shall get it out to you soon. Hope you enjoy it!

*****

If you happen to be doing Annie's challenge, you might want to pop over as she finally announced her first contest. (She was going to do it on the first month, but seems we're running behind on everything here, huh?)

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And now for this week's Library Loot. Many thanks to our lovely hostesses, Eva and Alessandra. Now as much as I love, love, love the library, I told myself that I was NOT going to get any books this week...because I really, really, really need to get some of the books off my own shelves! Well, this is what "NOT going to get any books this week" looks like:






















I am so damn pathetic. But, hey, it does mean I have points to award.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. I've been tempted by this book for a long time, and yet reluctant. Mostly afraid that I'd have a hard time with the dialect. But Trish's and Eva's reviews pushed me over the edge. Point for each of them!

Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism by Ha-Joon Chang. I was delighted to read that Eva enjoyed this one, because I'd actually been looking for a good book on the subject. Another point for Eva!

City of Oranges: An Intimate History of Arabs and Jews in the Jaffa by Adam LeBor. Oh yes, you guessed it...Eva strikes again. I'd actually asked her for a recommendation on the subject earlier and she'd told me about this one. But her review is really wonderful, too, of course! Point number three for Eva!

The Dead & The Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer. Impulse grab. Loved Life as We Knew It so much that I knew I'd eventually get to this one.

Streets of Babel by Carol Blum-Ucci. Just looked so good, I couldn't bring myself to put it down once I'd picked it up.

The Mystery of Mary Rogers by Rick Geary. Yay...our library just bought this one! I've wanted to read more of this series ever since reading The Borden Tragedy. And Joy's review had my craving it even more. Point for Joy!

The Sandman: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman. Seriously, I really don't need to explain this one, do I? ;) I was sooooo excited to see it there though...it's been checked out for ages.

The Last Temptation by Neil Gaiman. Probably shouldn't admit this, but I'd never heard of this one before. But does one say "no" to a Neil Gaiman graphic novel when one sees it? I think not.

*****

The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg.

Yes, and finally a mini dose of book babble. This book first entered my radar screen with Carl's and Dewey's reviews. Sounded like a book that both Annie and I would very much enjoy.

The book starts with Jane being hurt when a bomb explodes in a terrorist attack in the city where she and her parents live. Her parents react to their fear by moving the family to the suburbs. Not a choice Jane is happy about.

Prior to the attack, Jane had been a popular girl in her school in the city. But on her first day at her new school, Jane makes a conscious decision to avoid the "in" crowd, despite their overtures to her. The attack has Jane questioning a lot of things. Instead, Jane tries to befriend "the misfits" of the school. Each fills a stereotypical niche in your average high school. And I have to say it was here where I was at first feeling a bit let down with the book. But I'm glad I stuck with it, because the story and the characters really grew on me. I hate to tell too much more about the story, but I will say that it's got a lot more going on than a "new kid in school" story. It's about learning to deal with fear, about trying to figure out what really matters in life, about acceptance and stretching one wings.

One small complaint...to me, it seemed to end too abruptly. But really, all in all, I ended up enjoying the book a great deal. And I am definitely glad that I finally got around to reading it. And yes, I'm definitely hoping Annie will read it before we have to return it to the library.

a mommy post with some book stuff thrown in, or vice versa

First of all, let me tell you all how very lucky you are that I was "on blog break" last week when I read this book. Seriously, it's just one of those books that you want to talk about something on darn near every page. Since I already gushed away once, I'll skip it this time around. Instead, like Nymeth and Chris, I'll share the damage this damn book (and I mean that in only the nicest way) did to my wish list:



*How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer
*George and Sam: Autism in the Family by Charlotte Moore
*How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World by Francis Wheen
*True Notebooks by Mark Salzman
*Random Family by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
*What Narcissism Means To Me by Tony Hoagland
*This is Serbia Calling by Matthew Collin
*We're in Trouble by Chris Coake
*Every Secret Thing by Laura Lippman
*Early Bird by Rodney Rothman
*How to Be Lost by Amanda Eyre Ward
*A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews
*Citizen Vince by Jess Walter
*Pure Pleasure by John Carey
*What Good Are the Arts by John Carey
*Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov
*Running in the Family by Michael Ondaatje

Yeah, isn't that pathetic?!! He also had me wanting with greater intensity books already on my wish list, had me wanting to pull books I already owned immediately off my shelf, and had me wanting to reread books I'd already read! He's a menace, I tell you. A menace. ;)

*****

***Many thanks to our lovely hostesses, Eva and Alessandra.***










George and Sam: Two Boys, One Family, and Autism by Charlotte Moore. See above for blame on this one. :)










Fax from Sarajevo by Joe Kubert. Whim. Looks really good.











Circle of Cats by Charles de Lint and Charles Vess. Chris, you've not only earned yourself another point, but you've earned an enormous thank you from me! Oh my gosh, this book is so wonderful! And beautiful, oh so beautiful! Both to look at and to listen to. Basically, it's the story of a little girl who is bitten by a venomous snake and how she is saved by a group of cats who use magic to save her.

As if the book itself weren't special enough, the experience of reading it to Max was one of those truly cherished moments of motherhood. He's gotten so big that he rarely crawls right into my lap anymore, but he snuggled right in for this one. He was completed enchanted by this story. And after it was over, we had one of those melt-your-heart mommy moments. In fact, when he went running off right afterward, I immediately had to write down our conversation:

Max: If I was her, I'd tell Aunt that I was that kitten.

Me: Do you think Aunt would believe her?

Max: I don't know. She probably doesn't believe in magic.

Me: Do you think people stop believing in magic when they grow up?

Max: Do you believe in magic?

Me: I don't know. I think I do. Do you?

Max: Yes. And that means we both have magic in our hearts. 'Cause that's where magic lives.

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And I had a couple more "great mommy" moments in the last few days, too. Yesterday we received an invitation in the mail. An invitation to "the opening" of the 2009 Youth Art Month Show. Each year the school district puts on a show of student art. The art teachers from each of the eight schools in the district choose a handful of art work done by students in their particular school to be featured in the show. And the art teacher at Gray's school chose one of his pieces. I can't tell you how teary-eyed this makes me, because if ever there were a little boy who could use some self-confidence, it's Gray. Even he didn't know about it until we received this official invitation yesterday. I'm not sure if I can stand waiting these few weeks until "the exhibit" opens. :)

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And then there's Annie. I know I talked before about how she took her first college course last semester, and she did very well. But I'm not sure if I mentioned that she was taking another one this semester. Spanish 101. And I admit, I worried about her a little bit. It's a much bigger class, and it's not in her normal comfort zone of writing. Turns out I needn't have worried though. She just got back her first test...not only did she get an A, but the professor said she was the only one in either of his two sections of this course that did. Needless to say, she was very happy. Ummm, and yeah, I was pretty proud of her. :)

Salon Sunday...my second time around

Care to guess where I've spent a good deal of my time this past week? Yep, in our newly-completed-at-least-for-the-time-being library! Is it the library of my dreams? Well, yes and no. No, in that it isn't full of floor-to-very-high-ceiling bookcases with rolling ladders and a big work table and enough comfy-sink-right-in chairs for the whole family and a fireplace... But yes, in that we actually have a cozy little room in our very own home to sneak away to read.























































































































































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A little late with this week's Library Loot. (Many thanks to our lovely hostesses, Eva and Alessandra.) Annie and I never got to the library until yesterday. But I did pick up a new pile of goodies. Shouldn't have, but did. What I wanted more than anything was the next Sandman volume, but it was checked out. I actually knew it was before I went, because I looked it up on the library's website...but I had to look for myself, just in case. And though it wasn't there, I'm glad I moseyed over to the graphic novels section to check anyway...because I found two other fabulous goodies that I've been wanting to get my hands on!

However, in picking up both of these, I've found myself forced to confront a problem I knew was coming. It involves awarding points in The Blame Game. See, I have all these little notebooks in which I write down "I want that book" books. I also sometimes just write down these titles on scraps of paper and then later stick them into one of these notebooks. I generally write down the book's title and author, along with where I heard about the book. And here is where the problem arises...I sometimes find that I've written down the same book on more than one occasion. And when this happens, who gets the point? I have a similar, yet different problem as well...sometimes I get all excited about someone's review, write it down, but don't get around to actually picking the book up. But then someone else comes along and pushes me right over the edge and makes me immediately seek out the book. I've decided that in both these instances, I'm just going to award a point to each book-pusher involved. I just don't know how else to be fair in doling out the blame.

Okay, after that long, horribly drawn-out explanation, I shall finally get around to showing what books I picked up and who gets the blame:

The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg. I had this one written down twice. Carl's review and Dewey's review. Point for each of them.









American Born Chinese by Gene Juen Yang. Need more proof of my failing memory? I wrote this one down three separate times! So points are awarded for Alison's review, Nymeth's review, and Dewey's review!








Those are the only point winning library books (though tomorrow's Mailbox Monday will yield a few more), but I did pick up a few other books while there:

Globalization: Opposing Viewpoints edited by Louise I. Gerdes. Swim Against the Current: Even a Dead Fish Can Go with the Flow by Jim Hightower. Globalization and Its Discontents by Joseph E. Stiglitz. Just some books for homeschooling.



























Cat and Fish by Joan Grant. Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes. A couple for me and the resident cat-obsessionist to enjoy together.

*****

So what's on my reading horizons for the week?

I hope to read both Amulet: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi and Rose by Jeff Smith and Charles Vess for the Graphic Novels Challenge (and because I need to return them to the library). I need to read "Appointment With Death" (the play) by Agatha Christie, Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe by James R. Arnold and Roberta Wiener, and chapter 7 of The Scientists by John Gribbin for homeschooling. I'd love to finish In the Land of Invisible Women by Qanta A. Amhed and Down to a Sunless Sea by Mathias B. Freese. Of course, as usual, I'm sure my goals far exceed my reality.

library loot

I have to admit that despite the fact that we did hit the library yesterday, laziness almost had me skipping Library Loot this week. But then I realized that I had a point to award from my latest haul, so I'd better just get over the lazy streak.






Just picked up a few this week:

Castle Waiting by Linda Medley. Gosh darn that Eva! How was I to resist requesting this one after her review?!! I simply can't be held responsible.









Comic Adventures of Boots by Satoshi Kitamura. Just thought this would be a fun one to read with Max.










Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe by James R. Arnold and Roberta Wiener and House of Stone: The True Story of a Family Divided in War-Torn Zimbabwe by Christina Lamb. These ones are for homeschooling.

I actually behaved myself...

It's time for Library Loot again, jointly hosted by Eva and Alessandra.

What can I say? I'm very proud of myself...I only picked up one book. (Well two, but the second one is for homeschooling and I probably won't even read the whole thing, just bits and pieces of it.) Of course, the reason I was trying to keep my acquisitions down was because when we were there on Monday, I had yet to finish any of the ones I'd picked up the week before. In fact, the plan was to get no books in addition to The Pequot War (the one I'd requested). But come on, you can't fault me for one additional little book, can you? Truthfully, how many of you could walk out with just one book?!!


So, here's what I got. A Bottle in the Gaza Sea by Valerie Zenatti. Pure impulse. Never heard of it before, but it sounds really good. Anybody read it?

Library Loot

Annie and I hit the library yesterday, and I was very excited by what I found there. I'd planned on sharing anyway, and when when I saw Eva's Library Loot, well how could I resist, huh?

I hit the graphic novels section in hopes of finding a Manga book to start out Rhinoa's challenge. After flipping through several that I just wasn't sure about, I came across Bizenghast by Marty LeGrow. Picked up the first two. Not sure what I'll think (my very first experience with Manga), but they sure sounded good.



And while I was there, I figured I'd look for a couple books for the Graphic Novels challenge. I've been wanted to read Rose by Jeff Smith for a long time now, and was thrilled to find it. Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi was just a total impulse pick-up...looked fun. And The Doll's House! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it! Our library branch apparently just bought it. I inter-library loaned it one time months back...only to be totally disappointed because a bunch of the pages had been cut out of it. Had to do a little happy dance right there in the library when I found that one. Which, by the way, is a very good way to embarrass one's preteen daughter.



Finally, there's Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata, another one I've been wanting to read for a while. And it will work perfectly for the World War II challenge.



Yep, I was mighty pleased with my little haul.