Baby Lana

I am having some rather rotten luck lately. I do not mean this as a pity post, but after all your nice remarks about Mittens... seems like I have to play on sympathies again. I posted pictures of kittens, which to me is just cats that are still in the single digits. Well, the little gray one, Lana, is really sick. I kitty-sat her, as I am not with her other owner anymore (ex-boyfriend), but we are trying to still be friends (which is going relatively well), and I still get to see the kittens. I brought the three cats to my house on the weekend because it is easier, and Lana entered and hissed at the dog. Very Lana-like. By the time I brought her back to her house on Tuesday, she was very lethargic and not acting herself at all. I was worried, but Tom was away, so I waited to see if it was maybe my imagination. I really wish it was... I managed to get Lana into the vet today, and she is a very sick little cat.

She looks to have a blood disorder, and as a result has a heart murmur and liver troubles. I will tell you all, she was just at the vet where they gave her a clean bill of health. She has actually been sick for a while, and it is very sad. There is a slight chance she might recover from this, but as it looks right now, she is likely to not. I am still hopeful because she is only three, and I would really like to have her around for many more years. Mittens was bad, yes, but he was 14 and had lived a long life. I was sad, but this is much worse. I was expecting my old cats to go soon, not the little ones. So, this is all rather shocking. As it stands right now, she is not suffering, so we are adjusting to all of this and will make a decision about what we are going to do on Tuesday. The vet says she either will get better, or will not live the weekend. She will just close her eyes and not wake back up. I am not looking forward to that.

Anyways, just because I can, I am going to fill you in on Lana. Me and Lana have a love/hate relationship. She is more Tom's cat than mine, but we have our moments. I think she is a great cat, she just doesn't always see me as a great owner. She was a stray, my friend found her at my old high school with what we assume was her mother. Me and Tom went to see this cat, and it was love at first sight. (For Tom and Lana, I had four cats at the time). She is the most amazing cat. I have had my share of cats, and seen loads more, and she has the most amazing personality. She stayed at my house when she was little, and she was sooo cute! It had been a while since I had a kitten in my house, so I was thrilled. I got pretty attached, I actually *ahem* cried when I had to give her up to Tom. That was really the only real time Lana was more my cat than Tom's.

So, Lana moved in with Tom. We have had rocky roads with her in the past. When she was about 6 months old, we got her fixed. That was bad. Her heart stopped during it, and they didn't warn us that the cat might go blind! Here I was with this cat staying at my house, and she was going CRAZY! She couldn't see. I was so mad. We called the vet and another vet answered our call and did a whole: "Didn't the other vet tell you thing"? We switched vets. It was terrible, and while she can see now, she still has limits. There are good memories, too, though. For example, she plays fetch better than my dog. She gets so excited by big elastic bands that she has this strange little meow that she makes for you to throw them. You say: "Are you ready?" and she replies. She gets very into the activitiy. She can play forever. It doesn't have to be elastic bands, but those are her favourite. She jumps in the air and everything. Does flips and stuff. Lana loves to play... something that she is unable to do right now and that breaks my heart.

I mentioned a love/hate relationship. The truth is Lana is not super fond of people. She only really gets along well with Tom. I think most people are scared of her; she uses her claws a lot. But, I pick her up anyways. Sometimes she is nice, and to show me that she does not totally despise me, she will let me pat her under the chin. I am the only one that ever can do that, she gets really mad if anyone else tries. She is really not scared of anything, except my dog. I remember the day they met. Sandy grew up with cats, she really doesn't care, but she moved too fast and scared Lana to death. Lana has never forgiven her, and she illustrates that every chance she gets. Of all the cats I own (up until last Christmas I had seven), Lana is truly the best. She is just not like other cats. I think she thinks she is a dog, and does a better job of it than the dog I have.

I have to stop, because one this is a VERY long post and two, I made myself cry. I am glad that we gave Lana a better life than she was born into, but I wish she could stick around a bit longer. She makes her presence known, and there will be a big void if she doesn't make it through this. Thanks for reading, if anyone even did. And, I am sorry for lots of things. Hardly posting and not sending people the books I owe them. It just seems like one thing after another lately.

Favourite Reads of 2006

I seemed to have really enjoyed a lot of the books that I read this year. I read a lot of authors that I had never read before, so it was a very new experience. The problem is how many books I gave a 5/5. It is a lot, so, here they all are. I am not very strict with my 5. I just have to finish it and want to read it again right then and there. I just read a lot of books that I felt that way for, which is actually quite unusual for me. Normally there are only a couple. So, the list:

A Rose for the Crown by Anne Easter Smith:
- I remember seeing this book at the airport bookstore and wanting to read it because the back sounded so interesting, but the authors name totally left me and I could not remember what it was called when I went to get it from a cheaper store. Thankfully, it picked up popularity on a historical fiction forum I visit, even being book of the month, so I got the chance to read it. I just really liked how it was written. I recommend it. I look forward to more books by this author.

The Dark Queen by Susan Carroll:
- This book was book of the month for the same forums. I have read this and the sequel, The Courtesan, but I never did get to the third book in the trilogy. I meant to read it, but it happened during my rather long reading lull. It is one of the books I need to read as soon as possible in the New Year. I just liked how this book was very interesting, with a mix of history and fantasy that was tastefully done. While I liked this particular trilogy, I do not think she would be an author that I would pick up unless she had another type of series.

Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow by David Gemmell:
- I really wish I had discovered David Gemmell a LONG time ago, because he is by far one of my favourite finds for 2006. I have the next title in the Troy trilogy, but I am sort of waiting to get over my reading lull and really enjoy it. David Gemell passed away this year, with this trilogy not completed, so I am also waiting to hear for sure what is going to happen.

Night by Elie Wiesel:
- I found this short book had a lot of impact. It was one of my favourite non-fiction books because it talks about a subject that I have always been interested in, and puts faces to a very dark period in history.

The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman:
- I loved this book. Totally considered a chunkster, but worth every page. I really must read her other trilogy next year. This and A Rose for the Crown are my two favourite historical fiction books for the year. There were others that were good, but these two were the ones that I enjoyed the most. I did not mind the battle scenes, but I know some people found them tedious at times. I look forward to reading more from her!

Ember from the Sun by Mark Cantor:
- The woman at one of the bookstores I visit all the time recommended this book. She appears to have stopped working there, but she was very nice, and was always handing me books that were appealling. This book is really an alternate history, and it is not totally impossible to happen. I really enjoyed reading it, I must say. I do not think this would be a book I would have found on my own, so I am grateful for the experience!

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon:
- It took me two tries to enjoy this book. The first time I tried to read it, I could not get into it, but this time around I really enjoyed it. I have yet to read the rest of the series, but did try the second book after finishing this one. I think she is just an author that needs to grow on me, and it takes a bit.

Phantom by Susan Kay:
- While all these books received a 5/5, this was by far my favourite (tied with one other). I just loved this book. I have always been interested in the Phantom of the Opera, but this book was just so well written, and I was devastated to reach the end. I really want to reread it, but I have so much to do, I rarely ever reread.

The Skystone by Jack Whyte:
- This author is tied with David Gemmell for author I wish I had discovered earlier. I love Arthurian stuff, so I just am really enjoying this series. I meant to read book three, but just have not got there yet. It is one of my priorities for the New Year. I would like to read all of them by the end of next year. We will see how that works out. A great historical fantasy-type series.

Rebel Angels by Libba Bray:
- My favourite young adult read of 2006. I cannot wait for book three! I know many people enjoyed Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, but for me, Bray is better. I still have to read New Moon by Meyer. Another priority... There are a lot of priorities.

Marley and Me by John Grogan:
- I loved this book. I am not sure I could reread it, though, but I loved it. It reminded me of my dogs in so many ways. It's sad to lose a pet, and I am having some bad luck in that department this month, as I have to take another cat to the vet in the morning and it does not look good. So, that is all I will say about a rather touchy subject...

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield:
- This book is tied with Phantom as my favourite of favourite. It was a fantastic read, and I am loving seeing so many other people enjoying it. I look forward to more books by her!

The Keep by Jennifer Egan:
- I loved this book, and I would never have read it if it was not for my new friends this year, Random House. I have read a lot of great books that I would not have read if it was not for them, and I am very grateful for the experience.

This is my Country, What's Yours? by Noah Richler:
- This is another book I likely would never have had the chance to read if it was not for Random House. I remember that when I was reading it, I would look at the book store for it, and it was not in a place that it would have caught my eye if I had not been looking for it. It is a great look at Canada and its authors.

Magic Study by Maria Snyder:
- I loved both this book and Poison Study, but this one was just a little bit better. It's great, both this and Marley and Me were gifts, so thank you Chris for lucking in on buying me two really great reads! This was my favourite fantasy novel of the year, not counting Gemmell and Whyte. There were a lot of other great fantasy reads, though, but this was my favourite. I look forward to more great ones in the future.

Blog Tour

Head on over to Ag's blog to see her contribution to the blog tour. I posted earlier this month on both the song and the book that her contribution is based on, so I enjoyed reading her post. Click here for a look.

Blog Tour Day 15

It is hard to believe, but there is just one more sleep until Christmas. And that is just here, other places it it Christmas all ready! For todays Advent Calendar, head on over to Dance Chica's Blog, as well as Carl V.'s to see their contributions. Many blogs are wishing Happy Holidays and things, but I am not going to list all of them. I am just making Tanabata an honourary participant in the Advent Calendar Challenge, because I enjoyed her post today. In case I do not get on tomorrow, I hope that everyone is having a very happy holidays, no matter which you celebrate!

Blog Tour Day 14

Only TWO days until Christmas. Is that not insane? I hope that everyone is ready for the holidays. To get you in a holiday mood, be sure to head over to Melrose Plant's blog to see her contribution to the Advent Calendar!

Canadian Reads

Earlier this month, I posted a Canadian Books list. I want to read more Canadian authors, and I was hoping to start with books that I all ready owned. Yeah, that did not last long, but in my defense, it is not last year yet. I went to the book store in Halifax today (Capital of Nova Scotia, where I live), and my mother handed me fifty dollars. Apparently one of the things she intended to buy me was not available, and this is the money she had to spend to make me even with my sister. I requested three of the Canadian Reads book from Random House. So, I just had to pick up two more today. The nominees are a managable list, and they are books that I have wanted to read for a while now, so I am looking forward to seeing what I think and then eventually finding out which book wins. This will mean that I read five books by Canadian authors, so it is a very good challenge, and thanks to the wonders of Christmas money, it did not cost me anything. The list is as follows:

Stanley Park by Timothy Taylor
(defended by Jim Cuddy )

Children of My Heart by Gabrielle Roy
(defended by Denise Bombardier )

The Song of Kahunsha by Anosh Irani
(defended by Donna Morrissey) [Just a note, Donna Morrissey is one of my favourite Canadian authors.]

Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill
(defended by John K. Samson)

Natasha and Other Stories by David Bezmozgis
(defended by Steven Page) [After reading Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures earlier today, I decided to move right into another short story collection while I am still in the right mood.]

Blog Tour Day 13 (Guest Post)

Hello, all. This is Chris, the button guy, posting via Kailana's account.

Christmas has long been a very special holiday to me, even through this year, when I think, "if I see one more bag of presents, I'm going to hurt someone in the face." *ahem* Anyway, I juggled a few ideas for this post around back and forth before ultimately deciding on a gift that was given to me a couple years ago. That gift was a special edition DVD of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. You may laugh, but it was the first gift ever given to me by my best-friend and love-for-life, and the only actual gift I'd been given that year. Of course, the movie itself is amusing, but it holds special meaning to me for more than just the wacky British humor. Perhaps someday I'll even be able to coax her into watching it with me, snuggled across my lap on the couch. Mmmm, Merry Christmas to me.

Blog Tour Day 12 and a couple other things...

If you head over to our stop on the Advent Calendar Tour today, you will see a very interesting addition. Susan did a post about what would happen on Richard III's last Christmas. Richard III is one of my favourite historical figures to read about, so I found this great fun to read!

Today I am going to the city. My exchange student gave me a gift card for the bookstore, and I of course want more books than the gift card will allow me. I have decided to read all the Canadian Reads books, but I am getting three of them from Random House, so that narrows down the buying. Then, I really want Valiant by Holly Black and Inkspell by Cornelia Funke. I also saw Eragon in theatres and decided that I have no idea what happens in the book anymore, so I want to reread the book before FINALLY reading Eldest. I was supposed to own them, but I ordered them and never received them. I know there was something else I had in my hands at the bookstore the other day, but I cannot remember in the slightest anymore. Guess that is one less book to worry about today!

Also, do not forget that my friend is posting his blog tour post on my blog tomorrow!

Blog Tour Day 11

For today's edition of the Blog Tour, head on over to Bookwormom's Blog to see her contribution to the tour.

Blog Tour Day 10

Sorry, I am late! I had a busy day and then I got to see Eragon tonight at the theatres. It was too short, in my opinion, but well-done nonetheless. I saw The Holiday yesterday. It was cutesy. I enjoyed it, though. Been doing pretty good on seeing good movies. Next I want to see Charlotte's Web.

Anyways, head on over to Elysabeth's blog to see her part of the Advent Calendar.

Blog Tour Day 9

Today the Blog Tour visits The Observer. Be sure to head on over there! Another yummy sounding receipe. I really wish my cooking abilities were not so lacking... I might have to give some of these a try, though! Can everyone believe it is only a week until Christmas?

Also, anyone else out there that wants to join in the Advent Calendar now that it has been happening for a few days, you can still can! Just comment and we will add you in!

Blog Tour Day 8

It is Mailyn's turn to do a contribution to Advent Calendar. As of yet, there is nothing recent, but I think yesterdays post is a fitting one for the tour, so either works.

Happy Anniversary!

So, today is the day. The Written World turns a year old today! I hope that people have enjoyed reading my posts over the last year! It is hard to believe it has been a year already, where does time go. Just looking back on my blog, lots of things have happened in just the short period I have had this blog. I have met new people, read new blogs, it actually could very well feel like it has been more than a year! To many more posts, new friends, and new blog experiences! Cheers!

Blog Tour Day 7 and a couple other things...

Head on over to Carla's Blog to see the wonderful receipe she has up for us today.

Also, today was my last exam! Freedom! Bring on the holidays.

Plus, even though they do not read my blog, my best friend, Chris, is in Arkansas right now serving as best man for his cousins wedding. I could have gone, but alas, I had to do school stuff. Even if I could not imagine getting married at 19 (that's how old the bride is), I still wish them all the best. Actually, the wedding should be starting at any minute now. Really wish I was on a trip instead of looking forward (not) to working tonight, but it was not meant to be.

Blog Tour Day 6

For those of us that it is still Friday, head on over to Cindy's Blog for a recipe! Marg had me confused because, for her, she is into Saturday. So, I guess Carla's contribution is up as well, but I will link it tomorrow. Otherwise, I will have my days all messed up.

Also, thanks to everyone for the well wishes about the cat. I have not had enough time to add a picture, but I will!

Unhappy Day

So, the cat I mentioned in a previous post, we put him down today. He was 14, which means he has been around since I was a kid. So, it was sad. I do not think it has really sunk in yet. It will be much worse for my sister as it was technically her cat. She is gone away until tomorrow and asked my mother to do it while she was gone. I imagine that will be when it gets weird. The poor cat looked horrible, and it's body was giving out on it. I was going to post a picture, but I do not have one saved on here. I will add it in later. Remember how I said I do not have any Christmas traditions? Mittens is our third pet to die during the holidays... That's one tradition I could do without. That leaves two cats, one at 12 and another at 14. I added the pictures, sorry about the quality. My mother sent me some she had on her computer because it was faster...

Blog Tour Day 5

For today's blog tour, head on over to Rosario's Blog. She already has it up as I am posting it, and it is very interesting!

Quick Announcement

For some reason, anyone that has switched to a google blog account... I cannot comment. I cannot log in, use "other" or post anonymous. So, I am reading people's blogs, it just decided yesterday to not let me talk! And, I cannot switch to beta because it will not let me yet.

Blog Tour Day 4 and a Contest

Do not forget to take a gander over at Booklogged's Blog to see what treat she has for the Advent Calendar! For those of you that do not read her blog, the one where she talks about books can be viewed by clicking here. The one where she is doing her Advent Calendar is for everything else... I think.... (Have to be honest, did not know it existed until recently, so am still catching up.) I have turned into an advertiser, but I like both of her blogs, and the Advent Tour is really a chance to see new blogs. I know it is for me, anyways, because I do not read most of the participants blogs. Okay, that was a bit of a ramble. It's rather late in Canada right now. I should be asleep... Just pretend I make sense... I just have been slow and actually wanted to have this post up at a decent hour for a change.



It’s that time of year and you know what it means: gifts, gifts and lots of gifts! LOL. Well, your Twisted Kingdom hostesses caught the holiday spirit and have decided to give away 4 books to our lovely readers as a way to celebrate.

The four books are:

-Daughter of the Blood [Book One of the Black Jewels Trilogy] by Anne Bishop
-Ill Wind by Rachel Caine
-Archangel by Sharon Shinn
-Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

There are two ways to enter the contest:

1.You simply copy and paste this post, including our funky little banner, on your blog.

Or

2.Post just our contest banner with a link back to us.

Soon as you do this you then leave a comment on Twisted Kingdom so we can enter you in the drawing.

You have until Thursday December 21st so get to it and tell your friends!

Sincerely,
Dance Chica, Kailana, Mailyn and Nath...your Twisted Kingdom twisted hostesses who wish you a healthy and happy holiday season!

Blog Tour Day 3 and G.I.F.T.

Tune in to Jennie's blog to see what she has for today's contribution to the blog tour! I was just there, but for some reason it will not currently let me comment.

I have been rather slack in the book reviews lately, but I read a new Christmas book and decided to use it as one of the challenges for the G.I.F.T. Challenge. The book is THe Christmas Shoes by Donna VanLiere. My friend lent it to me, and I just took it. I have to admit I was not really paying attention to what the book was about. So, I was very excited to see it was a book based on the song that I already included as part of the G.I.F.T. Challenge. A very interesting idea, she took a song and made it a novel! (A very short one I might add, but still a worthwhile read.)

Book Description:

Robert is a successful attorney who has everything in life-and nothing at all.Focussed on professional achievement and material rewards, Robert is on the brink of losing his marriage.He has lost sight of his wife, Kate, their two daughters, and ultimately himself.Eight year old Nathan has a beloved mother, Maggie, whom he is losing to cancer.But Nathan and his family are building a simple yet full life, and struggling to hold onto every moment they have together.A chance meeting on Christmas Even brings Robert and Nathan together-he is shopping for a family he hardly knows and Nathan is shopping for a mother he is soon to lose.In this one encounter, their lives are forever altered as Robert learns an important lesson:sometimes the smallest things can make all the difference.The Christmas Shoes is a universal story of the deeper meaning of serendipity, a tale of our shared humanity, and of how a power greater than ourselves can shape, and even save, our lives.

I think that this book was a very charming Christmas story. It really captures the true meaning of Christmas. Knowing the song, I know what was going to happen, but it was nice to see a story with it.

I give this a 4/5. I think I will have to get my own copy.

Blog Tour Day #2

Today for the blog tour we have Marg, but while she has posted, she is going to add to it later, so be sure and check back! Click here.

I got the most interesting Christmas present yesterday. One of my closest online friends logs all the conversations he has with people, so he sent me all the old logs from the first year we knew each other. It's been fun rereading them. Great gift idea, though. I have had so many computers in the time that I have known him that I could never keep it straight, but now I can reread all those conversations that seemed so memorable back then and refresh my memory. It is also interesting to see how much I have changed during that period. Words that were so common in my vocabulary back then, I never would utter (or type) now. Plus, I have aged just a bit in the time, so I would like to think I am more experienced than I was back then... I was in my teens when we started talking and now I am in my 20's. So, it's been fun.

Here's the Blog Tour list in its entirety:
10 December - Kailana
11 December - Marg
12 December - Jennie
13 December - Booklogged
14 December - Rosario
15 December - Cindy
16 December - Carla
17 December - Mailyn
18 December - The Observer
19 December - Elysabeth
20 December - Bookwormom
21 December - Susan
22 December - Chris, the button guy, posting on my blog
23 December - Melrose Plant
24 December - Carl V./Dance Chica

Blog Tour Day #1

I really did not know what to post. I have been talking about Christmas for the G.I.F.T. challenge and I wanted this to be something different. So, I am going to give someone a present. You see, I did not have the best Christmas's growing up. My father was a drunk, and even today my sister and mother have a very low opinion of the holidays. The only two people that used to look forward to them were me and my brother, but even his interest has faded. As a result, we have no Christmas traditions and most of my memories are of my father drunk or hungover and us having to deal with it. So, I always wanted to have a Christmas tradition and my best friend was kind enough to start one this year. It is the simplest thing, really, but we are going to exchange a Christmas tree ornament (or ornaments) every year we know each other. Then, when we are older and are telling people about those ornaments on our tree, we can tell them the story of how this tradition came to be. I know, it might not be what people were expecting from this Advent Calendar, but to me, it is one of the best things that has ever happened as a result of Christmas.

*The friend I am talking about put together the Angel and the Devil, and I think they are cute, so I included*

O'Canada Challenge

I seem to collect more Canadian authors that I read lately. Of this list, I would like to read 12 in 2007.

Mass Market Paperbacks:
1. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
2. The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood
3. Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
4. Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You by Alice Munro
5. The Progress of Love by Alice Munro
6. A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay
7. The Hidden World by Alison Baird
8. The Luck of the Irish by Harry J. Boyle
9. Home from the Vinyl Cafe by Stuart McLean
10.The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

Trade/Hardcover:

1. The Chronicles of Faery by O.R. Melling (3/4 read)
2. Downwind by Lesley Choyce
3. Cat's Crossing by Bill Cameron
4. Butterflies Dance in the Dark by Beatrice MacNeil
5. Falling Angels by Barbara Gowdy
6. When the Monster Dies by Kate Pullinger
7. The Island Wlakers by John Bemrose
8. Adultery by Richard B. Wright
9. Truth and Bright Water by Thomas King
10.Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje
11.Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munro
12.The Time in Between by David Bergen
13.The Josephine B. Trilogy by Sandra Gulland

Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Well, the weather outside today is frightful. I ended up with the night off work, there have been accidents everywhere! You would think that people had never seen snow before the way this week has been playing out. I mean, the newspapers were saying that people were surprised by the snow that fell on Tuesday, and as a result, there were a record amount of car accidents. I ask you, it's December, we live in Canada, who is surprised by snow? I think people thought we had moved to Florida or something. Today was not much better. My boss had to pick up her son from day care and she said that their were four accidents just on the main road. So, I will be sticking close to my nice warm house where I have all ready spent the afternoon reading, so why not the night.

I am so excited to share this cute mini movie for the holiday season! I never think to check YouTube for things like this, but someone posted it on a message board I visit and I just HAD to share. It is one of my most fondest Christmas memories. We used to watch it every year. Click here to have a view of your own, it might bring back your own Christmas memories. Just a warning, though, someone flagged it, so you have to have an account to view it. When you do, though, it is rated general, so even your kids can watch it.

And, another challenge:

Mass-Market Paperbacks:
1. The Wind from Hastings by Morgan Llwelyn
2. Ireland by Frank Delaney
3. A Woman of Cairo by Noel Barber
4. First Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick
5. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
6. Monsoon by Wilbur Smith
7. Druids by Morgan Llwelyn
8. Stonehenge by Bernard Cornwell
9.The Song of Troy by Colleen McCullough
10. The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
11.I Was Amelia Earhart by Jane Mendelsohn


Trade/Hardcover
1. The Secret River by Kate Grenville
2. The Illuminator by Brenda Rickman Vantrease
3. The Silver Rose by Susan Carroll
4. The Invasion of Canada by Pierre Berton
5. The Sultan's Harem by Colin Falconer
6. The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan
7. The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald
8. Shields of Pride by Elizabeth Chadwick
9. The Josephine B. Trilogy by Sandra Gulland
10.Wideacre by Philippa Gregory

Two more things, don't forget to sign up for the Advent Calendar Tour! There are still spots available! And, booklogged pointed out to me that I did not link my post yesterday for Twisted Kingdom. Just click here. I meant to put a button my side bar but just forgot about it. I will fix that once I figure out what other changes I want to make.

A Brief Update

I know I posted a review earlier, but I forgot to mention (again) that I updated Twisted Kingdom. That blog got a bit dead for a month, so hopefully if I mention when it is updated, readers will go back. I think that all the participants are coming out of their lulls, so the blog should see more activity and updates.

In other news, I am reading ABUNDANCE by Sena Jeter Naslund among all my other reads. I could not only read this book. I cannot say that it is a bad book, it is just very reflective and that makes it a tad bit slow. It is good if you read like 50 pages or so at a time, anymore than that I start to not like it. I also received the sequel to THE FAIRY GODMOTHER by Mercedes Lackey in the mail today, ONE GOOD KNIGHT, and although I am reading way too many books at one time, I had to start it. I really like this series. Book three comes out next year, and I am hoping that it will not be the last one. I like how they fight against conventional fairy tales in these books, or as they call it, the Tradition. Lackey is also very good at writing books where women are portrayed in a very positive light. I like that.

Other than that, I am continuing to switch back and forth between THE NIGHT WATCH by Sarah Waters and TATIANA & ALEXANDER by Paullina Simons. Both very good books.

The Glass Castle - Jeanette Walls [November/06]

Here is another joint review from me and Marg, from Reading Adventures. I am in black, she is in purple.

THE GLASS CASTLE is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeanette's brilliant and charismatic father captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. HEr mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn't want the responsibility of raising a family.

The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered.

THE GLASS CASTLE is truly astonishing - a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar, but loyal, family. Jeanette Walls has a story to tell, and tells it brilliantly, without an ounce of self-pity.

I have to admit, this book has been recommended to me several times, but I avoided it. Following all the uproar following A Million Little Pieces, I was very wary about memoirs. Then, I started to really be told that I would like it, and I should read it, so I broke down and bought it. It was a very worthwhile read! During November, when I first had a reading lull and then was too busy to read, I read this book in a few short days.

The reason why I read this book is that it was selected as Book of the Month in one of the groups I was in. I didn't end up reading it with the group, but it's selection had piqued my interest enough to make me go out of my way to find it. I have definitely read more autobiographies and other non fiction books this year than I have in previously years, and this one is definitely one of the better ones!

The memoir captures your attention from the beginning. The novel opens with this paragraph:

I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster. It was after dark. A blustery March wind whipped the steam coming out of the manholes, and people hurried along the walks with their collars turned up. I was stuck in traffic two blocks from the party where I was heading.

So begins the story of Jeanette Walls and her family. An amazing story it is too. It makes your appreciate your warm beds, that's for sure. In one of the Jeanette's earliest memories, she is cooking for herself and catches her clothes on fire. She's three. That is just the beginning of the adventures that this family goes through. They cannot pay Jeanette's health bills, so they steal her from the hospital one night and make a run for it.

In many way the early years of Jeannette's childhood were idealised a lot. Dad was always convinced that he was on the brink of discovering the next big thing, and yet somehow they managed to skedaddle from one town to the next, keeping one step ahead of the law and debtors and goodness knows who else. And yet for the children, they had an almost idyllic childhood, in terms of being allowed to basically do what they wanted, in environments that ranged from an old railway station being used as a house, to a house in Phoenix, to a ramshackle, almost falling down dump in coal country.

The images of Jeannette's early memories are the themes to her life. She has a family where her mother gets depressed if she has to go to a regular job. She has a father who can only hold a job as long as he can stay sober. The children are allowed to do pretty much whatever they want. If they seriously injury themselves, many times they are just treated at home and sent back out to play. They are also almost always running from something. They have lived in countless houses during the course of the memoir.

The most telling quote for me from the book is relating to the mother - many times Jeannette and her siblings are basically starving with the money for food being spent by dad down at the pub, and quite often they have to prepare what little meals they have on their own, because their mother's philosophy is "Why should I cook a meal that will be gone in an hour when I can do a painting that will last forever?" As the children get older it falls to them to in effect be the parents. When their mother is employed for brief periods of time, it is the older kids who make sure that she is up in time to go to work, it is the kids who assist with the grading of papers and what have you. As they get older it becomes clearer to them that actually their life isn't ideal, and yet, the older three in particular end up being very responsible, and quite successful in their chosen fields. It was interesting to think about the dynamics of how some people can escape from the poverty trap, and what drives those people to become the people they are.

The interesting thing about Jeanette's family is that even though her parents have breaks where they are actually living with food and a roof over their house, they often get bored and go somewhere else. And then in New York, the children are making a name for themselves and their parents choose to be homeless. Her mother likes adventure, she is always saying. A safe home and food on the table is too save for her, she would rather live more dangerously, which happens many times during Jeannette's life.

Jeannette's mother interested me. She was a trained teacher, who married a man who basically rocked her world, despite the fact that she was often reliant on her family to keep what little food her children had. Whilst she was a passionate artist, she couldn't make a living from it, and she certainly struggled with holding down a normal job. She then made decisions, that lead to her ultimately being homeless, and yet, whilst she was cash poor, she was actually quite a wealthy woman. How is it that some people are completely materially focussed and yet others have wealth, and yet cannot seem to provide for themselves - there are lots of little things to contemplate as you read through this book!

I remembered hearing something about this woman when I started reading the book. I must have seen it somewhere or heard her story on the television because as I was reading it I found the story familiar. (I hadn't heard of her at all until I started hearing about this book). I think it is a very brave thing to tell people about your past. It is often something that you would just like to forget, and there are many times where she does just that; tries and pretends that she lived a different life.

It is an interesting thing about life. People wonder why the news is full of bad news and memoirs cover depressing topics, but it is really that they sell better that way. People would rather hear the bad things so that whatever is happening in their own lives does not look that bad in comparision. Some people may have bad childhoods, but the Walls children spent nights sleeping in the desert. For them though, sleeping in the desert was not a hardship - it was an adventure. Whilst they were young I think the family had a "life is what you make it" kind of theme. It was only as they grew older that they began to realise how different their family was, about how they needed to work hard to give them the means to escape from their world to something much better. I also think that the title is a very fitting one. Although, Jeannette's father always claimed he would one day build a glass castle, in truth the words go well to describe the life that Jeannette and her siblings lived through. Glass is fragile, and for many instances in their childhood, things were very likely to be broken.

This really is a book that should be read!

Kailana's rating: 4.5/5
Marg's rating: 4/5

Oh No!

I was trying this whole new, update everyday thing, and I just noticed that while I updated today, I forgot to make note of it here. So, it looks like I skipped a day. I had been talking about challenges, and I decided that I would post my fantasy list on Twisted Kingdom. So, I did in fact update, I just didn't link it. And while I am sure no one else cares, it was my little goal for the month, and I care.
In other news, we have enough people for the Advent Calendar, so now it is time to double up. Anyone else that was sort of thinking about it, we are going to start at the 24th and work backwards. So, I hope that a few more people will take an interest. It's Christmas, but it does not have to be Christmas themed. For example, you could post a list of the books that you really enjoyed this year so that other bloggers can see, and maybe you will present them with the gift of a new author. And, you can really have fun with it, so I hope that people will come out from lurking and join in


Other than that, in book news, I am reading Tatiana and Alexander by Paullina Simons and Night Watch by Sarah Waters. For the observant people out there, yes Night Watch was meant to be a Christmas present. I just picked it up to look at it and ended up reading it... I am weak. But, on a positive note, I am enjoying my Christmas present. It is also no where to be seen on the list of books I am supposed to be reading currently, it actually appears on the Chunkster Challenge list for next year. Let's not go there, I am just very bad with following the very nice lists I am always making.

Your Vocabulary Score: A-

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary! You must be quite an erudite person.

How's Your Vocabulary?

Advent Calendar, Chunkster Challenge, and Mount TBR

First up, we need more people for the Advent Calendar that is starting on Sunday! I find my blog slowish, I did not think we would have such a problem finding enough people! To read more about it, click here, and be sure and leave a comment and join in the fun!

Over the weekend, I looked all the books in my tbr pile. It has reached new heights, and I started to look closer. There are many books that have sat on that pile for quite some time. With this in mind, I decided to come up with a good New Year's Resolution. I made little challenges for myself with all the books that were laying around. I am going to post about each challenge, one a day. As they are challenges, should anyone else relate to the challenge, feel free to join in! I would just like to get to the end of 2007 with some of the books that have sat for so long, gone. This is The Written World, and hopefully next year I can travel to new Written Worlds.
First up, though, Bookfool is hosting The Chunkster Challenge. The aim is to read a book a month for 6 months. I am hoping to read at least 6 books in a year. My list is below, as well as a button that someone made for me. It is not an official Chunkster Challenge button, they are not up yet, but it makes my post look prettier until I have something to replace it with.


1. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
2. The Silver Rose by Susan Carroll
3. Fool's Errand by Robin Hobb
4. Map of Bones by James Rollins
5. The Eagle's Brood by Jack Whyte
6. The Night Watch by Sarah Waters
7. Heir to the Shadows by Anne Bishop
8. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
9. Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
10.Stolen by Kelley Armstrong
11.Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong
12.

I am really addicted to the pictures found here, as well as on the link that I included yesterday. And, once again a big thank you to Chris for my button.

Making up for lost time!

I hardly posted all of November, and now here it is December, and I have a lot to say! So, I was going to wait and post this tomorrow... but, then I found this!
I know that the G.I.F.T. challenge does not have an art category, but I am still absolutely in love with that picture! And, since we are getting our first decent snowfall of the year, I figured that I would tie the two together. I love snow. I am like a little kid. Friends that I haven't seen for years and years will ask me about it, they remember that snow is one of my most favourite things in the world. So, I am pretty excited about the snow that is falling outside right now. And, it gives me a chance to talk about some Christmas (or close to Christmas) memories.

One was relatively recent. I was the talk of my (ex) boyfriends neighbourhood two years ago because I made a snowman on his front lawn. It just confused people because their own children were locked up inside wishing for the snow to go away, and I was outside building a snowman! The woman that lives above from him thought it was her daughter, which baffled her because it is not something she would sporadically do. It was me, anyways, but it was a very fun thing to do.

Another memory involving snow was actually New Year's, but close enough. I was really little, so New Year's did not mean a lot to me, but at like 9 at night my whole family went outside in the snow and walk for a moonlight walk. It was the only New Year's of my childhood that I remember not ending in disaster, so I enjoy that memory entirely.

My other favourite memories of snow is me and my friends. One afternoon at lunch, before the Christmas holidays, me and my friends had just been downtown for lunch and on the way back I somehow talked some kids into a snowball fight. It was actually bad, I got them in trouble (oops) and some of my friends were rather mad at me, but man it was fun. I cannot help it if I like snow more than them. In the town I lived in up until the 11th grade, my friends used to look at me like it was my fault that it was snowing. Meanwhile, I was walking down the street singing Christmas carols. I really am a little kid sometimes, but it's fun!

Anyways, there are just a few memories of snow. Here's another picture:

The pictures come from here. I found them while browsing one of booklogged's blogs.

Lastly, I have to post my books for the TBR Challenge that is being hosted next year. I posted twenty-four. I know, it is only supposed to be 12, but I find that if I have some choice, I am more likely to finish! To learn more about the contest, click here.

1. Mother of Pearl by Melinda Haynes
2. Surrender the Pink by Carrie Fisher
3. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
4. Ice Station by Matt Reilly
5. The Other Side of the Sun by Madeleine L'Engle
6. Nadia's Song by Soheir Khashoggi
7. The Fool's Errand by Robin Hobb
8. Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher
9. It Sleeps in Me by Kathleen O'Neal Gear
10.Hawke's Harbour by S.E. Hinton
11.Welcome to the World, Baby Girl by Fannie Flagg
12.Bitter Harvest by Susan Bowden
13.White Teeth by Zadie Smith
14.Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz
15.Empire Falls by Richard Russo
16.The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
17.The Attack by Yasmina Khadra
18.The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank
19.The Family Orchard by Naomi Eve
20.Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult
21.Map of Bones by James Rollins
22.We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates
23.Snow by Orhan Pamuk
24.Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

A Book Review and a few other things...

To begin with, people should sign up for the Advent Calendar! It's the holiday season, why not take a day and give a gift your fellow bloggers! We still have a few days left to cover, so join in the fun. Marg is working on a more detailed follow up post, so I will say more about that later.

It is interesting, on the subject of Christmas traditions. The most depressing tradition seems to be happening at my house. Last year one of my cats, Maggie, was put down because it was discovered that she had cancer. This was Christmas Day that we discovered something was wrong when my sister picked her up and set her back down and her legs would not support her. Two days later, she was put to sleep. (I wonder, was "put to sleep" created to make people feel better about the whole enterprise?) Anyways, here we are a year later, 21 days before Christmas, and another cat is going to the vet, and likely will not be coming home. And, I am the unlucky person that has to go to the vet with it. It's my sisters' cat, but she refuses to do it, so my mother asked me to do it. I know why, every time something happens to an animal in this house, my mother is there when they put it down. I just think my sister should do it. I would want to be there if it was my cat, who is 12 and I can see joining the ranks soon. Then there is Sandy, who is 10. I hope that they don't all leave this earth during the Christmas holidays.

Anyways, off of the depressing note and on to other subject matters. I am going to post a review! Me and Marg, from Reading Adventures, have been reading J.D. Robb's In Death series and posting about it. She read Vengeance in Death last month, but I hardly read anything. So, I caught up today. I am just going to post her old post and add my part to it. And, everyone can just pretend I am not such a slacker... Marg will be the black text, I will be the blue.

He is an expert with the latest technology . . . a madman with the mind of a genius and the heart of a killer. He quietly stalks his prey. Then he haunts the police with cryptic riddles about the crimes he is about to commit - always solved moments too late to save the victims' lives.

Police lieutenant Eve Dallas found the first victim butchered in his own home. The second lost his life in a vacant luxury apartment. The two men had little in common. Both suffered unspeakable torture before their deaths. And both had ties to an ugly secret of ten years past - a secret shared by none other than Eve's new husband, Roarke.

Eve is looking forward to going home on time after having wrapped up a relatively straight forward case, when she is contacted personally and given a riddle to solve that leads her to find the badly mutilated body of a man in his luxury apartment. When another man is killed, this time in one of Rourke's empty rental properties, it soon becomes clear that whoever is killing these people is working his way towards Eve and Roarke himself, and along the way seems determined to make it appear as though Summerset might be involved in the deaths. As much as Eve dislikes Summerset, she finds it hard to believe that he would murder people, so as she deals with the killer, she has to find ways to either prove that her husband's close friend and butler is either guilty or not, as the case may be.

Just when you thought that maybe a case would not involve Roarke, it is back there once again. I find this particular In Death book really shows a side to the characters in the book that we have not really seen up to this point. As the case is related to Roarke and Summerset's past, we see a great deal of their history up close and personal. Summerset has always been included in the novels, but more as a minor character. In this novel, you get a very good taste of what Summerset came from and who he is now and was during his past life in Dublin. It gives him a more human feel and adds him better to the cast of characters. It talks about difficult subjects, but it makes both Summerset, and even Eve, all that more human.

I really liked in that book that Eve and Roarke went back to the mean streets of Dublin to meet some of the people from Roarke's past, reiterating that he is human (every now and again he seems to be almost too good to be true...just a little bit!). I enjoyed the scenes in Dublin as well. Roarke is a major character, but we often hear more about Eve's past than Roarke's. In these scenes we get a chance to know the person behind the perfect persona all that much better.

This book also sees the introduction of a new character that was given a lot of page time, so I presume he will be back. At the end of the last book, Captain Feeney was invited to take his family to Roarke's home in Mexico. When Eve needs technical assistance, she is assigned a newcomer by the name of McNab. I think we are going to see more of him, and I will be glad to. He seems to have a little chemistry going with Eve's offsider Peabody. Peabody is a very interesting character. I am glad that she stuck around and has became a major character. She tries and seem like this perfect cop, but during her undisciplined moments she adds the needed humour to off-set Eve's unflinching attitude. The two play off each other nicely, and adding NcNab to the mix makes things even more interesting. He plays off Peabody as well. It would be good if he became a bit more interesting of a character.

What amazes me with Nora Roberts in both her books written under the JD Robb and the Nora Roberts name is that she seems to have the ability to produce a lot of books, at a remarkably consistent quality. At the moment I am averaging one JD Robb book a month, and I am definitely enjoying the ride! What amazes me about JD Robb (I don't really read her as Roberts) is how the characters seem so real. There is the action showing Eve as a cop, but there are also all the background stories and her moments off work. It is not just about catching the criminal, the characters all have unique personalities and as the story progresses, the reader learns more and more about them.

Kailana's Rating: 3.5/5
Marg's Rating: 4/5

I know I posted today already....

.... but, I have to post and say that I am very much in love with Paullina Simons' writing. Her novels have a good setting, Second World War Russia, but I was worried about the romance element to theml. I will read books with romance in them, but with myself not really being into the majority of the romance world, I was worried that there would be too much. I will say there was about a hundred pages in The Bronze Horseman where I thought there was just a tad too much... but, when you do not read it that much, it is not over-loading. Everyone, I have to say, needs a little romance from time to time. It is all about, for me, the romance being written correctly.

These books are written correctly. I just sat here and read 150 pages out of Tatiana and Alexander, and I am so taken with it, it is hard to not go back to it. Who was it that picked up Gone with the Wind during their December exam week? I am not sure if it is someone that reads my blog, but I remember reading that somewhere in blogland. are like that for me. Tomorrow I will be studying astronomy and taking breaks to see what is happening to them. I could probably go to bed right now and read the ENTIRE book, but... I really shouldn't. I like this one better than The Bronze Horseman, but only by a little. I know, I still owe a review for it, but I will just post them together. The rate I am going, I might be talking about the entire trilogy by the end of the month.

But, I have to say, the TYPOS! There is a page where all the sentences run together. There are no spaces. You have no idea how much that annoys me. It is not all the sentences, but enough that I want a different copy of the book. I know, I'm crazy, but I know worse people than me.