Not only am I woefully behind on my reading and seriously delinquent in my blogging, I'm behind on everything else, too. I am now getting emails and phone calls from my mother-in-law wanting to know what the kids want for Christmas. I think they might want me to stop talking about the Revolutionary War and the names of the boats on which our ancestors sailed to America, but that's just a hunch on my part.
In years past I would have had half my shopping done before Thanksgiving, but now here we are with just over a week to go to Thanksgiving and I don't have a menu planned, much less any clue what I'm doing about Christmas. If any of my children are reading my blog, you can stop rifling through my drawers ... I haven't bought you anything. Please post your list in the comments section, I need some good ideas ASAP. Including a link to the items you want would be a win for you on many levels - you'll probably get exactly what you want and as an added bonus, I won't make you finish dinner to get dessert.
Clearly, I need to refocus at least some of my attention back on the living, in this century, so in that spirit, I made a list of Christmas books and have started some seasonal reading.
I began with Knit the Season, by Kate Jacobs, but I was having a hard time getting into it. Holidays were just not on my mind - until last night, that is, when the mailman left an unexpected package on my doorstep, from a friend of mine in Las Vegas. Among the goodies in the box was It's beginning to look a lot like Zombies: A book of zombie Christmas carols.
I tossed it into my bag along with Knit the Season and headed out for my daughter's swim class. I got a couple of funny looks when I guffawed but I don't care - there's no way to sing "Deck the Halls with Parts of Wally" in your head and laugh silently. I'm just sorry we took down our Halloween decorations already - we could have been the coolest house on the street, maybe the coolest house ever - if we'd just added our Christmas decorations to the Halloween decorations and spent December with a band of merry ghouls on our lawn.
Oh well. Next year!
So now, thanks to a good friend, a random act of holiday spirit, and one seriously funny book, I am in the holiday spirit and the reading spirit too.
... for the literate flightless marine bird.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Creepy Susie, by Angus Oblong
Well, I did it. I fell behind, so in order to catch up, I cheated.
I am completely immersed in my family geneology at the moment, because no matter which way I turn there's another branch of the tree to climb. The geneology that was sent to me that connects my family to royalty - it's seventy pages long, with detailed citations that lead me to more books and more reading and ... well, it's fascinating stuff.
I spent last night visiting the Pilgrims but am not any closer to having a Thanksgiving menu planned, or to my 50-book goal. The situation is getting desperate, and since desperate times call for desperate measures, I looked for an ultra-easy read. This is where things start to get murky.
The letter of the law: To count toward my total, a book must be more than 100 pages, and the author must not have written another book that I've counted. Creepy Susie, by Angus Oblong, is 164 pages, and so qualifies by those measures.
The spirit of the law: When I set out the rules, with my family's input, we set the 100 page limit to exclude children's picture books and that sort of thing - the idea was to have 100 pages of text, something somewhat substantive, in order to count.
If this were a trial, and you were on the jury, opposing counsel *might* point out that each of those 164 pages contains a sentence apiece, no more, accompanied by an illustration. They might further point to the fact that the illustrations aren't even very detailed.
In short, ladies and gentlemen of the jury - you could read this allegedly 164-page book in an hour, or less if you don't stop every so often because you're laughing so hard.
I submit Creepy Susie, and 13 other tragic tales for troubled children, by Angus Oblong, into evidence: We'll mark it Exhibit A.
In my defense, and it's an important point: Title notwithstanding, Creepy Susie is not a book for children. At least, it's not a book for children unless those children already understand words like hermaphrodite, narcolepsy, and electroshock.
If you know such a child, I do recommend Creepy Susie as a holiday gift choice. It is offbeat and slightly morbid and offensive in a South Park kind of way - the word "poo" comes up quite a bit. My favorite story was "Stupid Betsy," about a very stupid child who becomes a vampire and can't figure out what to bite for the blood she needs.
A number of reviewers on Amazon recommended it for people who like Edward Gorey, but it lacks the depth and artistic perfection of Gorey's work. It is odd and offbeat, and Gorey was as well, but the comparison ends there, in my view.
Anyway, I leave it to you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. I'm counting Creepy Susie as book 19 unless you find, based on the rules as presented to you, facts in evidence, and beyond a reasonable doubt, that I should not.
31 more books to go, and not nearly enough time left to read them.
I am completely immersed in my family geneology at the moment, because no matter which way I turn there's another branch of the tree to climb. The geneology that was sent to me that connects my family to royalty - it's seventy pages long, with detailed citations that lead me to more books and more reading and ... well, it's fascinating stuff.
- In the 1920's, the spurned suitor of a cousin shot at her through a window and missed. He was acquitted at trial after numerous family members and neighbors testified as to what an upstanding young man he was.
- Back in the 1700's, one of my direct ancestors is on record as being the first European occupant of a Connecticut town - but the land in question legally belonged to someone else. He declined to recognize this legal fact, and went down in history as a squatter who refused to leave until he was paid off for improvements to the land.
I spent last night visiting the Pilgrims but am not any closer to having a Thanksgiving menu planned, or to my 50-book goal. The situation is getting desperate, and since desperate times call for desperate measures, I looked for an ultra-easy read. This is where things start to get murky.
The letter of the law: To count toward my total, a book must be more than 100 pages, and the author must not have written another book that I've counted. Creepy Susie, by Angus Oblong, is 164 pages, and so qualifies by those measures.
The spirit of the law: When I set out the rules, with my family's input, we set the 100 page limit to exclude children's picture books and that sort of thing - the idea was to have 100 pages of text, something somewhat substantive, in order to count.
If this were a trial, and you were on the jury, opposing counsel *might* point out that each of those 164 pages contains a sentence apiece, no more, accompanied by an illustration. They might further point to the fact that the illustrations aren't even very detailed.
In short, ladies and gentlemen of the jury - you could read this allegedly 164-page book in an hour, or less if you don't stop every so often because you're laughing so hard.
I submit Creepy Susie, and 13 other tragic tales for troubled children, by Angus Oblong, into evidence: We'll mark it Exhibit A.
In my defense, and it's an important point: Title notwithstanding, Creepy Susie is not a book for children. At least, it's not a book for children unless those children already understand words like hermaphrodite, narcolepsy, and electroshock.
If you know such a child, I do recommend Creepy Susie as a holiday gift choice. It is offbeat and slightly morbid and offensive in a South Park kind of way - the word "poo" comes up quite a bit. My favorite story was "Stupid Betsy," about a very stupid child who becomes a vampire and can't figure out what to bite for the blood she needs.
A number of reviewers on Amazon recommended it for people who like Edward Gorey, but it lacks the depth and artistic perfection of Gorey's work. It is odd and offbeat, and Gorey was as well, but the comparison ends there, in my view.
Anyway, I leave it to you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. I'm counting Creepy Susie as book 19 unless you find, based on the rules as presented to you, facts in evidence, and beyond a reasonable doubt, that I should not.
31 more books to go, and not nearly enough time left to read them.
Friday, November 13, 2009
In Tongues of the Dead, by Brad Kelln
I've made incredible progress on my family tree, beyond my wildest expectations, but it has come at a price: I am really, really behind on my reading. I'm about three weeks behind, according to my spreadsheet.
I don't want to shelve my family tree or my book project, so I realized what I need to do is read some airplane books. You know the ones I mean: the quick, easy read you pick up in an airport, because it looks like it will hold your attention for the duration of a flight, yet not demand too much of you, because even though you've mostly overcome your fear of flying, it's still hard to concentrate when you're uncomfortably wedged into an airplane seat. John Grisham is one of my airplane authors. I don't think I've ever read one of his books anyplace other than on an airplane, actually.
So I reached for In Tongues of the Dead, a book that came to me via ECW Press's Shelf Monkey Program. The book was described to me as "Da Vinci Cody," which sums it up quite nicely.
The plot concerns the ancient Voynich manuscript at the Yale Library, which no one has been able to decipher. The Vatican has been guarding it for years waiting for the moment when someone would come along who could read it - and so along comes Matthew, a 6-year-old autistic boy, who sets off the action. The manuscript is stolen, a chase ensues, mysterious characters pop in and out of the action.
The story moves quickly and the writing style is brisk, even clipped at times. Unfortunately, the writing is also a bit flat - some scenes that should be dramatic or moving are instead somewhat trite because there isn't much in the way of character development. The characters all speak in the same voice as the narrator, which deflates a great deal of the impact that could have been achieved in some scenes (notably, one that takes place in a hospital towards the end of the book).
I saw the end coming about a mile away but it didn't bother me - I still wanted to know how it was going to turn out and kept reading to the end. Brad Kelln is an excellent plotter, which carries you through In Tongues of the Dead in spite of the limitations of writing style and character development. When you're looking for a light, brisk page-turner, In Tongues of the Dead is a good choice: A good airplane book.
FTC Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from the publisher, ECW Press.
18 books down, 32 more to go ... 28 weeks left - uh-oh!
I don't want to shelve my family tree or my book project, so I realized what I need to do is read some airplane books. You know the ones I mean: the quick, easy read you pick up in an airport, because it looks like it will hold your attention for the duration of a flight, yet not demand too much of you, because even though you've mostly overcome your fear of flying, it's still hard to concentrate when you're uncomfortably wedged into an airplane seat. John Grisham is one of my airplane authors. I don't think I've ever read one of his books anyplace other than on an airplane, actually.
So I reached for In Tongues of the Dead, a book that came to me via ECW Press's Shelf Monkey Program. The book was described to me as "Da Vinci Cody," which sums it up quite nicely.
The plot concerns the ancient Voynich manuscript at the Yale Library, which no one has been able to decipher. The Vatican has been guarding it for years waiting for the moment when someone would come along who could read it - and so along comes Matthew, a 6-year-old autistic boy, who sets off the action. The manuscript is stolen, a chase ensues, mysterious characters pop in and out of the action.
The story moves quickly and the writing style is brisk, even clipped at times. Unfortunately, the writing is also a bit flat - some scenes that should be dramatic or moving are instead somewhat trite because there isn't much in the way of character development. The characters all speak in the same voice as the narrator, which deflates a great deal of the impact that could have been achieved in some scenes (notably, one that takes place in a hospital towards the end of the book).
I saw the end coming about a mile away but it didn't bother me - I still wanted to know how it was going to turn out and kept reading to the end. Brad Kelln is an excellent plotter, which carries you through In Tongues of the Dead in spite of the limitations of writing style and character development. When you're looking for a light, brisk page-turner, In Tongues of the Dead is a good choice: A good airplane book.
FTC Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from the publisher, ECW Press.
18 books down, 32 more to go ... 28 weeks left - uh-oh!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
It's all in the translation
Well, I haven't gotten much reading done lately for my project, but I have been reading extensively in hopes of solving one of life's great mysteries: Who am I? I have found some answers, acquired some incredible evidence, and am collecting information to find more answers.
I stepped away from my mother's family (where I have made extensive progress) to spend some time with my father's side. It's a sad mission as they were Jews in Latvia in the late 1930's - I have very little information and it's hard to research because every time I start trying to research, I am assaulted by images and stories of such unimaginable brutality and horror that I start crying and have to stop. I understand why my grandfather in particular never talked about what happened.
Still, I ran across a website dedicated to providing information about the particular town my grandparents came from - it lists the names of the victims, along with specific details about them such as what they did for a living. I was able to put some dates together with the few names I had and add them to my tree, along with a few photos - and it felt good to give these people their place in my history.
I made an odd discovery, though - one of the people mentioned on part of the website, listed as living in Israel, is my great-aunt. I was surprised to see the name as I had no idea of having any living relatives on that side. I assumed that they, like my granparents, were long since gone. I wrote to the webmaster to see if he might have further information - and to my amazement, he wrote back within an hour, providing me with contact information for that woman's son.
I wrote to him immediately (my cousin!), explaining who I am and asking the first few questions. Are there others of us? How did you survive? What were my great-grandparents names? What were my uncles' names? What can you tell me?
Within ten minutes, I had an email in reply: "SHALOM JESSICA! KEIN ENGLISH."
I'm working on it.
I'm also working on Tongues of the Dead and without giving away too much, the plot concerns an ancient manuscript that no one can read, except one small boy. I could sure use that kid right about now.
I stepped away from my mother's family (where I have made extensive progress) to spend some time with my father's side. It's a sad mission as they were Jews in Latvia in the late 1930's - I have very little information and it's hard to research because every time I start trying to research, I am assaulted by images and stories of such unimaginable brutality and horror that I start crying and have to stop. I understand why my grandfather in particular never talked about what happened.
Still, I ran across a website dedicated to providing information about the particular town my grandparents came from - it lists the names of the victims, along with specific details about them such as what they did for a living. I was able to put some dates together with the few names I had and add them to my tree, along with a few photos - and it felt good to give these people their place in my history.
I made an odd discovery, though - one of the people mentioned on part of the website, listed as living in Israel, is my great-aunt. I was surprised to see the name as I had no idea of having any living relatives on that side. I assumed that they, like my granparents, were long since gone. I wrote to the webmaster to see if he might have further information - and to my amazement, he wrote back within an hour, providing me with contact information for that woman's son.
I wrote to him immediately (my cousin!), explaining who I am and asking the first few questions. Are there others of us? How did you survive? What were my great-grandparents names? What were my uncles' names? What can you tell me?
Within ten minutes, I had an email in reply: "SHALOM JESSICA! KEIN ENGLISH."
I'm working on it.
I'm also working on Tongues of the Dead and without giving away too much, the plot concerns an ancient manuscript that no one can read, except one small boy. I could sure use that kid right about now.
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