Back in town

We were in Northern Michigan for a long weekend to celebrate G's birthday with his dad and sister and it was gorgeous! Deep blue skies, cool temperatures, and sugar maples starting to turn so it doesn't look like my icon picture yet. It got down into the 40s Saturday night which made for delightful sleeping weather. Which makes the return to NC's heat and humidity a little hard to take. Ah, well. It was a fun weekend with tubing on the lake for the kids, trips to Sleeping Bear Dunes and the Cherry Republic in Glen Arbor, and time spent in the hammock listening to the wind in the birch trees. Not to mention all the good food. Mmmmm.

I've got a few more books to add to the list so that I can return them to the library.

#133 is The Sonnet Lover by Carol Goodman. This is a contemporary mystery that leads to literary detection in Italy and England. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it highly.

#134 is All I Did Was Ask: Conversations with Writers, Actors, Musicians, and Artists by Terry Gross. This was a selection of interviews from "Fresh Air" transcribed into print. Some of them were interesting, but I suspect that they were much more dynamic live.

#135 is Hex and the Single Girl by Valerie Frankel. I'm a sucker for a good pun title. The protagonist in this one is a witch who runs a dating service. She transmits images of the women who use her service into the minds of the men they're interested in. An okay premise, but the book isn't anything extraordinary.

#136 is The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. This is a YA book about a boy named Percy who discovers that his father was one of the Gods of Olympus and the quest he undertakes. I'm considering this one as a bedtime book for M and N so I thought I'd read it first. Interesting updating of the Greek gods and myths.

Back in town

We were in Northern Michigan for a long weekend to celebrate G's birthday with his dad and sister and it was gorgeous! Deep blue skies, cool temperatures, and sugar maples starting to turn so it doesn't look like my icon picture yet. It got down into the 40s Saturday night which made for delightful sleeping weather. Which makes the return to NC's heat and humidity a little hard to take. Ah, well. It was a fun weekend with tubing on the lake for the kids, trips to Sleeping Bear Dunes and the Cherry Republic in Glen Arbor, and time spent in the hammock listening to the wind in the birch trees. Not to mention all the good food. Mmmmm.

I've got a few more books to add to the list so that I can return them to the library.

#133 is The Sonnet Lover by Carol Goodman. This is a contemporary mystery that leads to literary detection in Italy and England. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it highly.

#134 is All I Did Was Ask: Conversations with Writers, Actors, Musicians, and Artists by Terry Gross. This was a selection of interviews from "Fresh Air" transcribed into print. Some of them were interesting, but I suspect that they were much more dynamic live.

#135 is Hex and the Single Girl by Valerie Frankel. I'm a sucker for a good pun title. The protagonist in this one is a witch who runs a dating service. She transmits images of the women who use her service into the minds of the men they're interested in. An okay premise, but the book isn't anything extraordinary.

#136 is The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. This is a YA book about a boy named Percy who discovers that his father was one of the Gods of Olympus and the quest he undertakes. I'm considering this one as a bedtime book for M and N so I thought I'd read it first. Interesting updating of the Greek gods and myths.

Reading Orgy

Since I turned in a freelance project that I've been working on last week and our trip to Michigan has now come and gone, today was a rare open day in my life. Well, open except for the trip to the dentist for a filling I had to have done *ouch*. At any rate, in my recuperative period I indulged myself with some pleasure reading. So, without further ado.

#137 is Princess on the Brink by Meg Cabot. This is volume 8 and Mia is only starting her junior year of high school. Just how long can Meg drag this out? And the entire "will she or won't she" subplot continues apace. This one was quite unresolved at the end however. I wonder how long it will be until her next one is published? One thing that greatly amuses me is that Mia apparently writes BSG fanfic. Apollo/Starbuck 'shipper fic. Way to stay current Meg!

#138 is Death and Restoration by Iain Pears. Another in his "art mystery" series with Jonathan Argyll, art historian, and his fiance Flavia di Stefano, of Rome's Art Theft Squad. Descriptions of Italian art and Italian scenery. What's not to like?

#139 is The Immaculate Deception by Iain Pears. See above but add in more Italian politics to the mix.

I've officially surpassed last year's total. I'm actually curious to see what the final tally will be.

Reading Orgy

Since I turned in a freelance project that I've been working on last week and our trip to Michigan has now come and gone, today was a rare open day in my life. Well, open except for the trip to the dentist for a filling I had to have done *ouch*. At any rate, in my recuperative period I indulged myself with some pleasure reading. So, without further ado.

#137 is Princess on the Brink by Meg Cabot. This is volume 8 and Mia is only starting her junior year of high school. Just how long can Meg drag this out? And the entire "will she or won't she" subplot continues apace. This one was quite unresolved at the end however. I wonder how long it will be until her next one is published? One thing that greatly amuses me is that Mia apparently writes BSG fanfic. Apollo/Starbuck 'shipper fic. Way to stay current Meg!

#138 is Death and Restoration by Iain Pears. Another in his "art mystery" series with Jonathan Argyll, art historian, and his fiance Flavia di Stefano, of Rome's Art Theft Squad. Descriptions of Italian art and Italian scenery. What's not to like?

#139 is The Immaculate Deception by Iain Pears. See above but add in more Italian politics to the mix.

I've officially surpassed last year's total. I'm actually curious to see what the final tally will be.