May Reading Receipt

Welcome to May's Reading Receipt.  I started doing a Reading Receipt in January and have kept up with posting each month's reads.

First up was The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney.  

I had heard a lot of buzz about this book and could not wait to read it.  I ended up joining The Book of the Month Club because they were running a special for 50% off a 3 month membership, making it just $21 total.  Three books for $7.00 isn't a bad deal especially when one of them is The Nest.  Loved this.  Loved.  It read like a dream.  I loved the exploration of the topic of money and people's attitudes towards it.  As I was reading the last few pages, my husband actually commented on how happy I looked as I found out what happened to each of the characters.

The second book I read for May was the next Book of the Month selection I was sent, The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan.  It told the story of a small bomb detonated by a terrorist in a Delhi market.  Two brothers are killed while the friend survives.  It deals with the aftermath for everyone including the terrorists.  So, not a feel-good read, but it was well done.  I probably wouldn't have chose this to read on my own, but that is what sort of appeals to me about the premise of Book of the Month Club.  I might extend my membership past the three month trial period.  I don't buy a lot of books and depend heavily on the library, but I do like the idea of supporting writers, reading something I normally wouldn't gravitate towards, and I also like to not have to rush to beat the clock with due dates (especially during the school year).  So we'll see.                   

Finally, I finished The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey on the second to last day of May (which was a good thing because it was due back to the library on the last day of May).  It only took me three days to read it, even thought I wouldn't classify it as a short book.  It was one of those page-turners that flies by without you realizing how many pages you've read.  I've read a lot of books similiar to this one recently (The Passage, Station Eleven, The Blondes) , but I still really enjoyed this book because of the excellent storytelling.

That's it for May.  Can't wait for June.  I have lots more time to read now!

The Best Words This Week: "Post-Morteming", "Rant-tracting" and "Pre-leting"

Back for another edition of "The Best Words This Week".  (See this post for the original.)

 My brother commented on Facebook towards the end of the week that he sometimes types a long, angry rant to post and then ends up deleting the whole thing before posting it.  Several people commented that they do the same, which got me to thinking that we really need to coin a term for this.  (Does anybody else remember Rich Hall from SNL and his "Sniglets"?)  I have been known to wax poetic on a rant or two as well, only to eradicate the whole thing before sending it public, and I know some of you do too. In my defense, it's usually only a reaction to someone else's pseudo-noble pontifications.  Anyway, I came up with a few possibilities that I shared with him and other followers of that post.

1) "Post"- Morteming -  Get it?  You kill the "post" before it ever gets any read time?

Then I tried another.

2) "Rant"-tracting (or maybe it's better as a noun, as in, "I did another "rant-traction" today.")  You take your soapbox moment back before you post it.

And finally, I came up with one more:

3) Pre-leting
You have to pronounce this so it rhymes with "deleting".  Because you're reaching for the backspace key the moment you type the last key of that rant.  Because you realize the fool you're reacting to is only to happy to keep right on keeping on. 

Of course, some people also said he shouldn't hold back and just post whatever he wants.  But I'm kinda at this point with the FB by now:




Nope.  You don't.  Boromir for the win again.  Frankly, you've got a better chance of walking into Mordor. 

Kim

April Reading Receipt

Linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy

Three books this month:

1)The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr

I liked this, although I have not read any of Karr's memoirs. (She's written three.)  I found myself writing down a lot of quotes from this, which is always the sign of a good book.  If you write in any way I think you would appreciate this book.  Here's just a taste: "Developing a voice is actually learning how to lodge your own memories inside someone else's head."

2) Matilda by Roald Dahl

I actually read this out loud to my class.  I love Dahl (Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, Charlie and The Great Glass Elevator, James and The Giant Peach), but I had never read this book before.  Dahl never shrinks from creating horrible characters in children's lit.  I think that's part of why kids enjoy his books.  I know it's part of why I enjoy them.

3) The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon

This started really well.  Technology causes a "word flu". Unfortunately, it really dragged for me in the middle and end.  I got impatient with the "aphasia" the characters were experiencing in their narration.  I did write down a few quotes from this one early on, though. "Words are living legends, swollen with significance.  We string them together to make stories, but they themselves are stories."

So true.

The Best Words This Week

Welcome to The Best Words This Week.  This is a new idea I recently had for the blog.  The idea is to just share a snippet of words that made me sit up and take notice during the course of the week.

This week, I've been reading The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon.  It's the kinda-not-too-distant- futuristic story of a world dependent on smart "Memes" (think a very sophisticated smart phone that can anticipate your needs with just your thoughts) in which the English language is about to be phased out. I've written down several quotes from it already, and I'm not even halfway done.  To be honest when I read this part last night, I knew it was the perfect one for this inaugural post.

"When I was eight, he made me a dazzling blue and silver sword encrusted with sequins (which soon fell off).  Amazed, I asked how he'd made it.  "Wood and glue," he said, shrugging.  It had become one our tropes, with different meanings - it could be used to signify something either magical or very prosaic.  But mostly we said it when we meant "toughen up"; that we can fashion our strength from whatever we want."

Wood and glue.  Yeah, I like that.  We can fashion our strength from lots of different sources.  For me it's music or words, my faith or wearing a favorite item of clothing or jewelry or by drawing up a memory of another happy time.  I once was caught in the middle of a very contentious battle of the wills at work and consciously made the choice to wear a locket my husband had given me with pictures of both of my children inside.  It made me feel stronger and reminded me what I was fighting for.  There are lots of mornings when I just need to hear a certain song to get me ready to face another day.  And quotes.  My God, the quotes I've run through my head that have helped me "toughen up" over the years!

Another reason I think this struck such a chord with me is that I'm all about a good trope.  Growing up in my family, we had all kinds.  "Bad news, Bert, " and "Nature of the beast," are two that spring to mind immediately.

So I'll be adopting that expression now.  Wood and glue - the best words this week.

Kim

Small Spaces

I don't think my entire house is ever in order at the same time. With two kids, a full time job, five pets, and my husband, it's just not something I'm willing to spend every waking moment on.  Who am I kidding?  I'm also kind of a slob.  Because of this, I revel in it when I have one space that really makes me happy.  I noticed that lately I tend to snap pictures of areas that really give me an emotional boost.  Then it occurred to me to share this idea on the blog.

I've been collecting pieces from The Pioneer Woman's kitchen line since it came out in the fall.  What I really love about this line is that it has lots of different colors and designs, but everything still fits together.  I've never been able to commit to a "theme" in my kitchen or even a color scheme.  Until now.  

Man, do I love this stuff.  I tend to lean a bit towards her "Flea Market" designs which are kind of hodge podge but are pulled together by a common color palette.  Not everything I have is from that line, though.  My dishes are Cowgirl Lace and Country Garden, but somehow they still magically coordinate.  I bought several pieces when it debuted but have been picking up a piece or two when I grocery shop at Wal-Mart once a week.  She's recently released linens into this line.  I've slowly been replacing my old, worn-out, mismatched towels each week.  It's weird how much something like that can lift my spirits.  Then I found this runner last week and put this together over the weekend after I took down all my Easter stuff.

I love the way this turned out.  Of course, I have to move my $5 Kroger flowers at night or the cats will knock them over.  

March Reading Receipt

Linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy for Quick Lit today!

I "only" read two books this month.  The use of the quotation marks is because one of them was Justin Cronin's The Passage.  This was a monster of a book.  When I read a novel like this one, I am always amazed by how some writers can create a complete world of their own.  This book was tense and complex but so easy to read at the same time.  Paradox?  Yes, those are the best kinds of books.  If someone had told me that this book was about vampires (and I hesitate to write that because I don't want to turn you off), I probably would have thought, "More than 700 pages about vampires?  No, thanks."  But it's not about vampires.  It's so much more.  Just give it 25 pages and you'll see what I mean.

This was a month of extremes because the other book I read was The Grownup by Gillian Flynn.  I read this in under half an hour.  Some people might argue that this is more of a short story, but I'm counting it because it was actually in the physical form of a book, all by itself.  I think Flynn easily could have developed this story into a full blown novel, but I'm glad she didn't.  I've read books where it feels like the author is milking an idea that should be a short story into a novel.  I find this annoying.  This book was short and completely satisfying.  I really applaud Flynn for being the master of the unlikable, but somehow likable, protagonist. 

I thought this picture says it all.  Good things come in all sizes.

Kim

What's Up, Wednesday?

Hi, have we met?  I'm Kim and I used to post every Wednesday to answer the question, "What's Up?"

Ha ha.

Even though it's late and I slept like crap last night, I still feel the urge to post this.  Let's get to it.

Our girl turned 13.  I do feel like I'm old enough to have a teenager, I just don't necessarily think it should be this little girl.  Ah, well.

We made a trip down to wine country because my brother had a big birthday this year as well.  It was a very last minute decision.  Here's the thing about last minute decisions.  I usually have to feel pretty strongly about them to make them happen.  Well, I did.  And I'm glad I did.

Let's hear it for the arts.  The girl and I went to the ballet last weekend.  Cinderella, and it was perfect.  I hope our local fine arts center will have more offerings like this.

And spring.  Okay, it's not really spring.  And I feel this probably won't last.  But we've had two beautiful days this week and it's been enough to trick our early bulbs to flower.  I'll take it.

And this book.  Whoa.  I mean, really just - whoa.  When my husband picked it up for me from the library, he handed it over with a warning about the due date being the earliest one of the bunch.  Being that is 700 plus pages, I thought I'd give it the 50 page test and if it didn't grab me, back it would go.  But it did grab me.  Firmly.  By the lapels.  It didn't take 50 pages either.  It was more like 5.  I guess it's a good thing Spring Break is next week.

Kim