I like music, long walks on the beach, and poking dead things with a stick.

Monday, July 14, 2008

 Mixed emotions

My future son-in-law, the Dustinator, is a very bad & wicked man. He left one of his books at my house, and when I ran out of stuff to read, I innocently picked it up and started in on it.

Now I have to buy every damned book that Christopher Moore has ever written.

On the bright side, I spent a day & a half reading — nay, devouring — A Dirty Job, giggling uncontrollably the whole while, and now I have several more books to look forward to. On the not-bright side, that means there are several books that I have to buy, and books aren’t cheap.

But mixed emotions about books are my favorite kind of mixed emotions.


Wednesday, September 26, 2007

 Free your books

If you ever tucked a note inside a bottle and threw it into the ocean, or tied a postcard to a balloon and set it aloft, you just might like this:

BookCrossing

Here’s how it works:

1. Pick one of your books.
2. Go to BookCrossing.com and click on “register book” under the “member’s links” in the left hand column of each page. Follow the prompts to register the book and generate a BCID (BookCrossing ID).
3. Write the BCID in ink inside the cover. Add a label or write the BookCrossing info. You can add some additional markings, stickers, notes, etc to make the book noticeable, if you wish.
4. Release the book. Where? Almost anywhere! (restaurants, coffee houses, those newspaper boxes for free papers, a bus, hospitals, doctor’s offices, anywhere people have to wait, on top of ATM’s, the DMV, museums, park benches, gyms, etc)

It’s kind of like GeoCaching for people who love books - with a lot less hiking! *grin* I’m going to release a few books into the wild when I’m out running errands later!


Monday, May 21, 2007

 Yet another literacy meme

Here we go…this one was found at Morning Glory 2. (I admit, I added one author — Robert A. Heinlein — because I thought it was utterly ridiculous that Dan Brown & J.K. Rowling were on the list but not Heinlein. I did refrain from adding my most favorite author — Spider Robinson — as I believe I’ve read all the fiction he’s ever published, but sadly, most people have never heard of him.)

Using the list below the cut, bold all the titles that you’ve read. If you’ve read other titles by the same author, add them under that author.

Delete nothing! Play along, and leave a comment to let me know you did so I can check out your list.

My list:
And now for something completely TMI…


Tuesday, January 30, 2007

 So tell me…

The cats continue to be a constant source of entertainment! Zadya got very interested in what was going on when I fed little Peyo today (the bearded dragon lizard). She seems to think I should let him out to run around:

A few days ago, I got a great pic of the tabby cats almost sleeping together:

Zadya isn’t as interested in sharing catnaps as Hasani is. Here’s a pic of how I typically find the two younger cats:

In other news, I’ve been ridiculously productive in recent days. I got onto the Oregon Prescription Drug Program, which is for any Oregonians who don’t have prescription drug coverage (with or without health insurance). It’s so simple to apply, one page to print out, sign & date, and that’s it! I also got an application sent off to hopefully get Anxiety on the Oregon Health Plan…I should have done that a year ago, really. At least it’s taken care of now.

And I finished filing my taxes! My federal refund was less than half of the refunds I’ve gotten for the last couple of years, since my eldest basically supported herself last year and I couldn’t claim her as a dependent. But my refund this year will still be enough to pay all of Anxiety’s Catalina Island trip (over $800), pay for my next tattoo (scheduled for Feb. 15th), and leave me a smidgen left over for a (small) book-shopping spree! I’m going to hit Moonshadow first, and maybe Powell’s if I still have any money left.

So, that said, I need recommendations for Pagan/Wiccan books! I’ve got quite a few, but always looking for more that are intelligent & well-written. My income tax will probably show up around Feb. 10th (gotta love direct deposit!).


Tuesday, January 9, 2007

 CosmicBabe Book Meme

I wrote this out of frustration that so many of the books I’ve read (and loved!) aren’t on the book memes I’ve seen (and done). I don’t care if a book is a “classic” or a “best seller.” I don’t care if a book qualifies as “great literature.” All I care about in fiction books is that they 1) tell an entertaining story, and 2) make me think and/or feel. These aren’t the extent of my book collection, by any means — they’re just the 40 that I think are most worth recommending to others. So here’s my list (without bolding, italicizing, etc, since I’ve loved virtually all of these).

Bold the ones you’ve read, strike-out the ones you hated, italicize those you started but never finished and put an asterisk beside the ones you loved.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
The Clan of the Cave Bear (Earth’s Children series), Jean Auel
Ariel, Stephen R. Boyett
The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
Darkover Landfall (Darkover series), Marion Zimmer Bradley
Star Rebel (Rissa & Tregare series), F.M. Busby
Ender’s Game (Ender series), Orson Scott Card
The Andromeda Strain, Micheal Crichton
1632 (Assiti Shards series), Eric Flint
Native Tongue (Native Tongue trilogy), Suzette Hadin Elgin
Chicks In Chainmail, edited by Esther Friesner
The Gandalara Cycle series, by Randall Garrett & Vicki Ann Heydron
Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake series), Laurell K. Hamilton
Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire series), Charlaine Harris
Stranger In A Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
To Sail Beyond the Sunset, Robert A. Heinlein
The Man Who Sold The Moon, Robert A. Heinlein
The Rains of Eridan, H.M. Hoover
Blood Trail (Blood series), Tanya Huff
Sing the Four Quarters (Quarters series), Tanya Huff
The Green Mile, Stephen King
The Shawshank Redemption, Stephen King
Arrows of the Queen (Valdemar series), Mercedes Lackey
Savage Empire (Savage Empire series), Jean Lorrah
Channel’s Destiny (Sime/Gen series), Jacqueline Lichtenberg & Jean Lorrah
1916 (Irish Century series), Morgan Llywelyn
Dragonflight (Dragonriders of Pern series), Anne McCaffrey
Crystal Singer (Crystal trilogy), Anne McCaffrey
The Blue Sword, Robin McKinley
The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley
Little Fuzzy, H.Beam Piper
A Hymn Before Battle (Human-Posleen War series), John Ringo
Sword Dancer (Tiger & Del series), Jennifer Roberson
Shapechangers (Chronicles of the Cheysuli series), Jennifer Roberson
Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon (Callahan’s series), Spider Robinson
Deathkiller (originally published as 2 titles: Mindkiller and Time Pressure), Spider Robinson
Stardance (Stardancers trilogy), Spider & Jeanne Robinson
Drakon, S.M. Stirling
On Basilisk Station (Honor Harrington series), David Weber
Path of the Fury, David Weber


 Is it meme time again already?

My wonderful friends have posted memes, so I must jump on that bandwagon also… *grin*

From the Imperial Princess of Cute:

ARE YOU :
1. A cuddler?: More than most, I’d say
2. A morning person? Not unless I’ve been up all night
3. A perfectionist? Sometimes
4. An only child?: Nope
5. Religious?: I’m devout in my faith
6. In your pajamas?: I wish
7. Left handed?: Nope

And now for something completely TMI…


Sunday, July 2, 2006

 Wicca’s Charm

I found the book, Wicca’s Charm, written by Catherine Sanders and subtitled “Understanding the Spiritual Hunger Behind the Rise of Modern Witchcraft and Pagan Spirituality,” in the Pagan/Wiccan section of the bookstore — which is most certainly where it does not belong, as it’s not truly about Wicca or Paganism. It’s about the reasons why some Wiccans had become disillusioned with Christianity, and a primer on how Christians can understand and convert Pagans to Christianity.

That was really disappointing, because when I first saw this book, I was extremely hopeful that it would provide an objective view to the topic that the subtitle states: understanding the spiritual hunger behind the rise of modern Witchcraft and Pagan spirituality. And it doesn’t.

Although the author makes her Christian faith clear on page 5 of the preface, as I was reading through the first couple of chapters, I had high hopes that she was making an objective investigation of Wicca despite (or perhaps in light of) her devout personal beliefs, without disparaging or disrespecting another faith. But that simply wasn’t the case. It’s a somewhat subtle disparagement and disrespect, but it’s nonetheless present. Here are a few examples…

And now for something completely TMI…


Thursday, February 9, 2006

 Pagan Polyamory

The first thing I thought when I saw this book in the bookstore was, “Damn, I should have written that.” Later, of course, I realized why I hadn’t: I’m devotedly a solitary Pagan, and not much for spellwork anyway (although I love rituals, I’m not so keen on spells), and I’m probably a wee bit too cynical about polyamory to treat the subject as fairly as it deserves. But I bought the book, since I couldn’t hardly not buy it!

Pagan Polyamory: Becoming a Tribe of Hearts by Raven Kaldera is simply a wonderful book. I highly recommend it to anyone who is Pagan, or polyamorous, and most emphatically to those who are both!

The book is extremely well-balanced; about 1/3 regards polyamory, about another 1/3 regards Paganism, and the remaining 1/3 addresses both topics as they are (or can be) intertwined. If you’re Pagan but not poly, you can benefit immensely from the Pagan material on its own merits, and it’s a good idea to be familiar with the polyamorous information - perhaps you’ll do a handfasting someday where there are more than 2 people involved, or you may join a coven or partake in a ritual involving some polyamorous people. Likewise, if you’re poly but not Pagan, you’ll find excellent material on polyamory, and it’s a great way to learn about polyamory as Pagans practice it - because there are a lot of polyamorous Pagans out there, and you might end up dating one! I’m a perfect example: of my two boyfriends, one is Pagan and one isn’t.

One of the things I most liked about this book is that it’s surprisingly comprehensive. Of course, no book can include every smidgen of information on a given topic, but this one at least touches on almost every topic that a poly Pagan might want to have covered - and has nifty extras, like the text of the famous poly essay A Bouquet of Lovers by Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart, and the author’s own excellent essay “Pagan Festival Polyamory Etiquette, or How to Not Screw Up in Front of the Entire Pagan Community.”

Included in the book are chapters on communication, healthy conflict, sexual ethics, the perils of NRE, boundaries & agreements, issues involving family & children, and a whole lot more. Unlike most books on polyamory (or Paganism, for that matter), I literally couldn’t find anything to disagree with in the whole book! While there was the occasional tidbit here or there that wouldn’t work for me personally, there wasn’t anything I couldn’t see as being good information to have in general, which reflects accurately and sensibly how polyamory and/or Paganism is practiced by some individuals, and which would be valueable knowledge to keep in mind when dealing with others who are polyamorous and/or Pagan. That’s a seriously impressive achievement right there.

(I reviewed this book today because I was updating my personal Guide to Polyamory, and it reminded me that I’d bought this book a few weeks ago and promised myself I’d give it the sparkling reviews it deserves in a timely manner. So go buy the book, because it’s terrific!)


Monday, February 6, 2006

 The Triumph of the Moon

The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft by Ronald Hutton is an astounding tome. I’m the sort of Wiccan who loves in-depth, intelligent books - and this one certainly qualifies! It’s a paperback of 416 pages of very small font, with an additional 70 pages of footnotes & index.

However, it’s dry as the Sahara. No, drier.

And now for something completely TMI…


Monday, April 25, 2005

 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

When the book The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants first came into my house, I had no intention of reading it. After all, it was clearly a book for girls somewhere between the ages of “horse-crazy” and “prom-dates”, but certainly not for thirty-something moms of the afore-mentioned girls. After all, what could there be for me (or any other tired old working mom) in a book about four 15-year-olds who’ve been friends since birth?

I was so wrong. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is for girls from 10 to 110; the three females in our house who’ve read it are 12, 16, and 35 - and we’re anxiously hopeful about how the upcoming movie will turn out (because, of course, we’re going to see it as soon as it comes out!). This is the book that prompted my 16-year-old to ask, “Why don’t we have fussy, overbearing Greek relatives?” (But never fear, it’s most definitely not the junior version of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding!”)

By the time you get to the end of the book, you’ve laughed, and blinked back tears, and smiled bittersweetly, and felt your heart leap at long-forgotten memories - and altogether fallen into the Sisterhood shared by Carmen, Lena, Bridget, and Tibby. A cynical reader will note in the “About the Author” section that it’s the first book by Ann Brashares, and sigh a little at the likelihood that the second doesn’t live up to the sheer joy, pain, discovery, and honesty of the first. But luckily, the two sequels thus far - The Second Summer of the Sisterhood, and Girls in Pants - are just as exquisite.

The books speak to your heart, about what it is to be a daughter, and a mother. About what it is to be a big sister, or a stepsister, or to long to have any sibling at all. About what it is to be giddily drunk with first love, and abjectly devastated by lost love, and bravely reaching out to love again after heartbreak. About what it is to be lost, to be found, and to realize you knew where home was the whole time. About doing the wrong thing without realizing it, and doing the right thing when you hate it, and coming to terms with the right and the wrong…and the way things just are.

But most of all the books are about love…

Sometimes when she thought of Eric, and now more powerfully when she saw him, she felt some achy nostalgia for her old self. For the dauntless, daring soul she used to be. There was something vaguely enchanted about that time. There were certain qualities you possessed carelessly. And you couldn’t retrieve them when they were gone. The very act of caring made them impossible to regain.

Not all of that spirit was gone. She still had it, but she had a more tempered version. That time with Eric in Baja had been both the height of that magic and its calamitous end. He had managed to inspire both.

She was a bit more fragile now. Or no. Maybe she was less fragile. Maybe she had come to terms with her injuries and she knew how to protect them. She was more self-protective, that was true. But she was a girl without a mother. She had to protect herself.

Not just about the love a girl feels for her first lover, but the love a girl has for her irksome toddler sister, her unexpected & unlikely new friend who’s dying of cancer, her quietly intense twin brother, her grandfather who doesn’t speak English, her stepsister that she used to think she hated, the wide-ranging & conflicted flavors of love for her mother, and of course the tumultuous yet solid love for her best friends.

The books are about recognizing the connections who help to make you who you are, and coming to terms with how the people in your life help shape you, while discovering yourself and appreciating just who that person is - but the stories are so compelling, and just downright enjoyable, that you’re too busy devouring each page to notice that there’s a “deeper” level while you’re reading them. It’s a rarity to find a book (or movie, or conversation, or anything in life!) that engages your feelings so intensely that you don’t realize how much it prompts you to think until later - and that’s exactly what I want in a book!


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