Sick day

I woke up feeling like crap more severe than the fending-off -cold kind that I’ve been battling. Since everyone and their cousin at work has strep throat (who gets strep when they’re an ADULT for cripes sake?) I’m going to go to the doctor today.

The lousy thing about sick days is crap tv. I mean, there are other things I’ll do besides crap tv, but then when you stumble across something good – as I just did – you’re halfway through it before you found it and there’s no way you’ll find a repeat precisely because you’re home for the day. I Capture The Castle is on, a lovely and tremendous film with a fantastic story and terrible decisions and brilliant acting. Alas, it’s halfway over already and I don’t own it on DVD. Probably I should read the book but given I’ve 20 books on the Kindle that I’ve actually bought but HAVEN’T read yet, that’s not in the works.It’s kind of surprising, actually, that I haven’t read the book.

When I enjoy a film based on a book and haven’t read it (rarity), I usually pick it up. I think maybe because I enjoy this film so much I don’t want another version of it in my head. Ditto The Princess Bride. Hrm. That’s probably a pretty short list if I put any more thought into it.

I did get to watch last night’s Castle which, as per usual, was great. Funny and sharp, plus a surprise with the actress playing Nikki Heat – not who’s playing her but the direction the episode took. The finale (finale? mid-season finale? when the F is it on regularly now anyhow?) of The Closer was good as well. I’m always impressed by Kyra Sedgwick and Jon Tenney. I was less impressed with Tenney (through no fault of his own) in Legion, which was dreadful.

Yesterday’s drive time was consumed by  The Metropolis Symphony. I love it. It’s simultaneously engaging and comic- in the graphic sense, not humor – and energetic storytelling though music where lyrics are rendered obsolete. Fantastic. That’s another great find thanks to NPR.

Added a tumblr feed to the blog (in the right column) so there may be bits and snatches that appear there and nowhere else (of late, quotes).

For now, I think a nap is necessary before a call to the doc.

Firsts of the Year

First novel finished:

Freedom, Jonathan Franzen

(from my review at Goodreads) I’m not entirely sure why there was so much hype surrounding this particular book – maybe there are people who recognize characters in it. For me, it was a caricature of the American family – the kind of American family, in fact, that the Republicans would try to convince you we’re all becoming.

The problem with trying to make a sweeping commentary on our culture is that you’re invariably going to miss. In this case, it was an enjoyable read but nothing earth-shattering or shockingly profound. The moral of the story is that we’re all fucked up. We all make bad choices. We all live with the consequences. Plenty of writers have done better work with this in less pages.

Incidentally, I can see why the FranzenFreude started – Picoult and Weiner have both written more engaging and compelling works (If you haven’t read Good In Bed, you SHOULD) to much less acclaim.

*shrug*

First film:

Ondine

I’d read mixed reviews of this and while Spouse was wrapped up in Bowl games yesterday I watched it on Netflix streaming. 1. It’s odd to hear Colin Farrell with his native accent 2. This was a charming – but shouldn’t have been charming film.

It’s listed as sci-fi but it reminds me more of the work of Alice Hoffman – real but with fantastical elements that add to the story. No surprise, then, that I kind of loved it. A fisherman finds a woman in his net. She brings him luck by singing the fish into his boat and his sickly daughter concludes the woman is a Selkie and works to keep her.

It’s a lovely and delicate film with a satisfying conclusion. Highly recommended.

Top 10 (Book Edition)

In 2010 I read probably 70 books and some of them were utter crap. Plenty were good, but this is the list of books I recommended the most:

1. The City and The City, China Mieville

I got this first on audiobook and loved it so much I got it on my Kindle. While I can’t say I’m a huge Mieville fan, this book is super accessible – a sci-fi-ish conundrum wrapped in an old fashioned Cold War-ish hard-boiled detective fiction. I have literally recommended this book to everyone I know – sci fi fan or not.

2. Feed, Mira Grant

Yeah, this is the book I recommended second most to every single person who asked for book recommendations this year. It was a little slow to grab me in the beginning, but once it took hold it was a screaming, heart-pounding ride. I loved the (different) take on zombie apocalypse and the effects on US culture (pop or otherwise). I read World War Z after this and it paled in comparison. When I say heart-pounding, I’m not exaggerating. At the climax of the book, I actually noticed the fierce thumping in my chest. It’s that fucking good.

3. the Heart series, Chelsea Cain (Heart Sick, Sweetheart, Evil at Heart)

If you like mystery and crime fiction, you’ve probably gotten to these already. If you even  have a passing interest in the genre, or didn’t like the Stieg Larsson books, READ THESE. This is an amazing series that features an awesome sociopathic villain and deals with the emotional fallout of the detective who caught her. That’s right, HER. And she’s incredible. Not only that, Archie is incredible. Intensely broken, aware of it and attempting to function (and not) in the only ways he can. As the series unfolds, it gets even more crazy/fantastic/awesome. The third book, Evil at Heart, BLEW MY MIND. Cain keeps finding depths and intensity you wouldn’t expect and I read all three books within 48 hours or something equally absurd.

4. The Lady Julia Grey Bundle, Deanna Raybourn

Another cheat (kinda) as it’s three books I got on my Kindle. I’m not a fan of regency or romance, especially. These books are more regency mystery with a dash of romance and they were FANTASTIC. The characters and stories were great, the mysteries weren’t hackneyed and they were a really fun read. Another batch that I read in rapid succession because I enjoyed them so damn much. Think Sarah Tolerance mysteries by Madeline Robins and you wouldn’t be far off the mark. (More Sarah Tolerance books, please!)

5. The Book Thief, Markus Zusak

Probably the most controversial book I read this year – see Cat Valente’s excellent dissection of problematic elements over on her livejournal. I’m going to preface this with the fact that I’d been working around picking this book up all year but the first three paragraphs of this post made me buy it and read it immediately. Read the book before you read her post. There are a lot of things she says that I agree with, but there is a commenter – way at the end of the list – I agreed with more. This is an interesting story told by Death during WWII. Death seems to focus on the experience of this one little girl – and its interactions with her – because it can’t focus on the vast horrors humanity was ravaging upon itself. To me it came across as a novel about life, about death and about how the little things we do change us in ways we don’t expect and the big things we do, while so much bigger than ourselves, are still sometimes not so much. It’s about how politics and fear change the way we look at our neighbors and ourselves and that we still have to live with ourselves at the end of the day. It’s worth a read, whether you hate it or not.

6. Mind Games, Carolyn Crane

This book (I gave it 4 of 5 stars) makes it on the list because it has a different take on urban fantasy than I’ve seen before. It w as a good read, not cookie cutter and created an interesting set of problems that aren’t easily solved. The hallmark of a great genre book, in my opinion.

7. East of Eden, John Steinbeck

I know there are plenty of people who love Steinbeck but I’m not one of them. I read this because it was part of a GoodReads reading group and I’m really glad I read it. You don’t hear the words ‘timeless’ accurately applied to a lot of things, but that is what this novel is. Set in a different – and not so different – time, the economic challenges will resonate with anyone who’s paying bills these days. The convoluted family dynamic is also nothing strange to anyone with complicated relations. Sweeping and expansive and surprisingly modern. If you’ve never read it – or if it’s been years – pick it up.

8. The Apprentice, Tess Gerritson

You may have seen the shockingly terrible Rizzoli and Isles TV show. The pilot and a couple of episodes were based on the first book in the series (which was really not good) and this book – a solid procedural with interesting characters. While some of it was a bit heavy handed, I really enjoyed this read. It may say something, however, that I haven’t picked up the next in the series.

9. World War Z, Max Brooks

This is a solid book. If I hadn’t read Feed first, I might have enjoyed it more. The interview-style writing and short vignettes were interesting and covered far more personal experience  (as a self-billed Oral History should, I guess) but I was left with the sense that something was… lacking.

10. The Passage, Justin Cronin

Possibly the most overrated book of the year. Not that it wasn’t a good book, because it IS, but because if I’d known it was part of a series I’d never have picked it up. Actually, having read it, it’s a good book but I still won’t pick up the next in the series. It did a great job of creating a post-vampire-apocalypse culture and I think it succeeded where WWZ failed. On the other hand, GD some of it was SLOW GOING. There were pages where I was like REALLY? THIS IS WHAT WE’RE DOING? There are interesting characters and complicated challenges and slightly unrealistic cultural resets in a very short timeframe, but at the end it was a pretty satisfying read. There was some cryptic supposed cliffhanger that didn’t feel like much of a cliffhanger (though it’s cryptic enough that I still don’t know WTF it means, though I won’t buy the next book to find out) but it was a good book. I just reread this and realized it’s not the most glowing endorsement ever but I really did like it, I swear.

Books I wanted to read in 2010 that I’ll get to in 20eleventy:

The Windup Girl (already on my K3)

The Autobiography of Mark Twain

Never Let Me Go (already on my K3)

Matterhorn

Dreadnought (already started)

Kraken

Juliet, Naked

Territory

Freedom (hardcover gift for Xmas)

any of the 150 free books I have lingering on my Kindle

(edit: Anyone who wants to exchange email addresses for Kindle loaning purposes, let me know!)

Post-holiday weekend ennui

I suspect it will lead to a series of top 10 posts.

I’m thinking Top 10 books I read this year, Top 10 albums I listened to, Top 10 films I watched, Top 10 gadgets Top 10 TV shows. I know. Scintillating.

In the meantime, Dave’s dog is howling in my face which makes me think I should go to bed.

Mom has probably landed safely in Detroit (my phone is upstairs) and tomorrow is Hump Day. Saturday begins a new year! Isn’t there something about a year that starts on a weekend being lucky?

No? Fuck it. I say it will be.

Skins

Kindle 3 skin from DecalGirl

I think my favorite thing about various media devices is being able to customize them. I’m not much for hacks (too cautious) so skins are one of my all-time favorite things to shop. Shopping does not equal buying so I spend a disproportionate amount of time LOOKING at tons of them before I finally commit. DecalGirl had some sweet options so I actually picked 2. This one looks even better than I’d hoped, so I’m saving the other for a rainy bored day.

Let it Snow

First real snowfall has hit and like most mountain-dwelling Coloradans, I’m happy to see it. I’ve been looking forward to winter – something unique for me and definitely a result of our new locale. While I haven’t missed all the folk who can’t drive well in snow and the Nervous Nellies who make it more dangerous for all of us, during the drive home I got to see the wind shoving clouds over some mountain peaks at close range.  It made it look like the mountains were shaving off bits of cloud with each gust and it was just generally excellent. Immediately I was less annoyed about the painfully slow drivers in front of me and enjoyed the slow cruise home.

The last couple of posts were of the home improvement progress. With any luck this weekend will see us nearing completion on the project.

I’ve got new Kindle skin love rocking right now, too. Since I’m contemplating a NaNoWriMo stab next month I’m trying to wrap up Dreadnaught and not get sucked into any of the ridiculous number of books in my Unread folder.

Random TV notes: I’m still really enjoying The Mentalist, Medium, Castle, Criminal Minds, The Big C, Modern Family, Community and Gray’s Anatomy. I find myself fast-forwarding through Chuck more than I’d like and I’m still utterly on the fence with this season’s Supernatural. To be honest I’m rather wishing they’d actually ended it last season, as this is feeling a bit like Buffy season 7. Related, Lifetime has been replaying old Gray’s eps  (I discovered this as my DVR has its own brain and recorded them) and I had forgotten how much awesome used to be jammed into every episode. This season is feeling like that. I also have to credit the Spouse for making me watch Modern Family. Without fail it is laugh out loud funny in EVERY episode and will invariably leave me chuckling long after. I feel like an idiot for missing it so long.

In film updates, Splice. What a fucked up, creepy and skeevy film. It was engrossing, however, unlike – say – IRON MAN 2. What the hell happened with that? It’s like they decided in lieu of a plot to insert Mickey Rourke and 10x more guns than the first one. Oh, and a whiny nagging Pepper. Ugh. Spouse says: I guess we won’t have to worry about seeing the 3rd one. It’s the second major film disappointment in recent memory (up there with Robin Hood) but made me feel good about not having shelled out cash to see it in the theater. I am, however, still wanting to see RED on the big screen.

Kindle 3 redux

So my disappointment with the Kindle 3 (3G +WiFi) was primarily because they seem to have reduced the size/quality of the antenna, resulting in less 3G connectivity in my rural area than I received with the Kindle 2. Annoying. That said, when I purchased the Kindle 2 I also used it to check my email with some regularity. Since I’ve gotten my HTC Eris, I never use the Kindle’s connectivity for anything but buying books. My phone is my primary internet mobile device and I like it like that.

The Kindle 3 is definitely lighter – something that’s not as noticeable at first as it is when you’ve been reading for 20 minutes. Using the alt+top row shortcuts for number input has also solved one of my other tiny complaints. I’m still finding the five way controller to be a bit too sensitive but it’s a pretty minor annoyance.

I don’t travel that much, honestly. I mean I commute to work but if I’m going to download a book I generally do it from home anyhow. The WiFi connection is great and I haven’t had any issues with it. For travel purposes, it’s not like every Starbucks, McDonald’s and bookstore don’t offer free WiFi these days so I’m not too concerned about lack of connectivity. Along the I-70 corridor the 3G signal is very strong as I’m sure is the case for more urban areas. Even in my small town there IS connectivity, I’d just been spoiled by the K2. What I discovered through this experiment is that the WiFi K3 is more than sufficient for my needs.

The reason I decided to keep the Kindle 3 – not just keep it, but I grabbed a WiFi only version for myself and gave the 3G version to my husband – is because of the changes in clarity. Not only are there three font choices and additional options for line spacing, but the color gradient improvement is shocking. Black is much blacker, white is much lighter. Reading experience = vastly improved. I’m also tempted for the first time ever to actually utilize the .mp3 function on the Kindle.

Don’t get me wrong – I love my K2 and I’m tempted to keep it as a backup but it makes more sense to me to let someone else try the e-reading experience at a lower cost. I don’t have any doubt they’ll be converted.

Technical Difficulty

I got paid for my teaching gig and I thought HEY NOW, maybe I’ll pick up the Kindle 3 I’ve been lusting after. I can sell the K2 or maybe give it as a gift and I’ll have a shiny new (lighter! brighter! faster!) gadget. Since I was running some other errands, I ducked into Target and picked it up. It’s safe to say I was pretty excited.

Once home, I got it charged and then put a screen protector on it (because I am a nerd) and THEN decided to turn it on and use it. The contrast is definitely better than on the K2. It’s smaller, which for me is neither here nor there, and supposedly lighter though you can’t prove it by me holding it and the K2 in opposing hands. It feels about the same. The keyboard is a little offset because they moved the 5-way navigator, which is a little annoying but a small blip. More annoying than that is that they did away with the number keys. Especially if you have to enter passwords.

These are things I knew about though. I’ve read reviews and had an idea what to expect. I knew some of  these things would just be glitchy habit-breaking issues. Then I tried to register it.

Pretty much immediately it tried to access my wireless internet connection. Due to the lengthy password which involves capital letters (an epic PITA on the Kindle it seems) I thought I’d try to get it to access the 3G, which I obviously use all the time on the K2. No love. I go into the menu to make sure the wireless is on and that I’d bought the right Kindle (which I’d checked BEFORE I bought it but, you know…) Right Kindle, no access. Now I’m a little annoyed.

I turn on my K2 which promptly shows me 4 bars of access. I call customer service and then have to explain to the very nice man on the phone in India that I haven’t registered the device because the GD wireless won’t work*. When I mention that I might return it because it doesn’t work, he points out that it has global coverage so I can use it in Canada and the UK among other places. I politely tell him that I don’t give a shit about that if I can’t use it IN MY HOUSE. He registers it for me over the phone and has me restart it. When it reboots, it says EDGE and varies between 1 and 2 bars. My K2 shows full bars. WTF. He can’t explain it. I think maybe it will be enough or whatever so I hang up with the very nice support guy and go back into the basement.

The Kindle 3 promptly shows no wireless and wants me to connect to my wifi. My Kindle 2 still shows 2-3 bars. WTF.

Eventually the K3 shows up with EDGE again, but no bars. What the fucking fuck.

I’m going to give it another day or so to see if this resolves itself but then it’s going back. It’s too bad because I was excited about the new device but it’s useless to me if I can’t get the access I want where I need it most. What’s worse is that there doesn’t seem to be a logical reason for it: why would the earlier device work and the latest device doesn’t in the EXACT same place and time?

*Yes, it will connect to wifi. However, if I wanted to use the wifi I’d have bought the GD wifi version. I love the whispernet coverage, the wifi was just going to be a bonus.

HA! Take THAT Word Press!

Book Regret: Once upon a time, there was this awesome series of books about Anita Blake – devout Christian, necromancer and vampire killer. She had deeply held convictions, real friends, difficult relationships and a super-inconvenient job. The books were great because there was a mix of action, interpersonal conflict, intrapersonal conflict and character growth as she got older and wiser. Alas, that series only lasted about 5 books. Ever since then the books devolved into orgiastic group sex and increasingly bizarre behavior for the main character. I stopped reading and never looked back.

Well, until last week when a free copy of Skin Trade fell into my hands. I was hopeful as I’d heard more recent books had shown kind of a return to old Anita. What I found in THIS book was – no joke – 80% of the book was Anita whinging about how she’s a girl so the police guys won’t take her seriously and then complaining about having to prove how tough she is – AFTER she’s proved how tough she is. The plot was literally the last 40 pages. Not only that, she took one of her BEST characters – a stone cold killer – and made him Anita’s handholding GIRLFRIEND for the ENTIRE BOOK.

I’d feel ripped off except that I didn’t pay for the book. On the other hand, I’ll never get that three hours (or those brain cells) back EVER. Suck. Laurell K. Hamilton should be up on charges for slaughtering a great idea.

So that’s what I get

I wrote a ranty post about Laurell K. Hamilton and how she killed a kind of fantastic idea in a horrifying cold-blooded way, not to mention violating the last truly great character she’d written and then I decided to attempt (again) to import my old blog posts. I successfully killed the blog AGAIN. Luckily this time the only thing I really lost was my anti-LKH post and the epic boring of Robin Hood 2010 but STILL.

So I guess I’m going to let the old yoga-grrl.com posts rest in peace and maybe try to resurrect the LKH rant from LJ.

More recent reading

Have I mentioned my mad love for Kelley Armstrong’s Nadia Stafford series? I like some of the Otherworld books (the Magic ones never did it for me) but I ADORE these books. There are only two so far and I am wicked hooked. Short version: if you wanted to hang out with someone who was a hitman (and you didn’t know), it would be Nadia. Chock full of creepy and/or paranoid serial-killers-with-a-mission. Cross between Buffy (albeit no vampires or monsters- at least not the otherworldly sort) and Dexter.

Also read: Paranoia by Joseph Finder. Free on the kindle and MAN this was a grabber. Corporate espionage thriller that was miles better than The Firm. It jumps in hard and if you hang on for the ride, the ending is total payoff. Dug it and I will totally check out more of his work.

Reading material

I’ve been reading quite a bit lately and I’ve got to say my latest guilty pleasure is the Magic series by Ilona Andrews. Just finished the latest book and they are well- written, fast-paced, kick ass protag, and have interesting world building. Two thumbs up, highly recommended. Reminds me of what Anita Blake could have been before she became a magic-induced nymphomaniac without principles.

The Year of Magical Thinking is pretty fantastic. I thought about picking it up for ages and finally did. Didion’s memoir of the year after her husband’s death will resonate with anyone who’s lost a loved one. This bit especially:

Grief turns out to be a place none of us know until we reach it. We anticipate (we know) that someone close to us could die, but we do not look beyond the few days or weeks that immediately follow such an imagined death. We misconstrue the nature of even those few days or weeks. We might expect if the death is sudden to feel shck. We do not expect this shock to be obliterative, dislocating to both body and mind. We might expect that we will be prostrate, inconsolable, crazy with loss. We do not expect to be literally crazy, cool customers who believe that their husband is about to return and need his shoes. In the version of grief we imagine, the model will be “healing.” A certain forward movement will prevail. The worst days will be the earliest days. We imagine that the moment to most severely test us will be the funeral, after which this hypothetical healing will take place. When we anticipate the funeral we wonder about failing to “get through it,” rise to the occasion, exhibit the “strength” that invariably gets mentioned as the correct response to death. We anticipate needing to steel ourselves for the moment: will I be able to greet people, will I be able to leave the scene, will I be able to even get dressed that day? We have no way of knowing that this will not be the issue. We have no way of knowing that the funeral itself will be anodyne, a kind of narcotic regression in which we are wrapped in the care of others and the gravity and the meaning of the occasion. Nor can we know ahead of the fact (and here lies the heart of the difference between grief as we imagine it and grief as it is) the unending absecne that follows the void, the very opposite of meaning, the relentless succession of moments during which we will confront the experience of meaninglessness.

I also finished the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It is precisely as good as you’ve heard it is.

The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman is a recent release and it’s beautiful and touching and wrenching and honest. Love her work.

All the recipes I’ve been making lately come from Dana Jacobi’s The Essential Best Foods Cookbook. Unlike Rachael Ray, they don’t promise you’ll be done in 30 minutes but I haven’t run into anything that takes much longer. The food HAS been fantastic, including the Salmon with Coconut Curry Chutney that I served for dinner on Friday. P.S. Cookbooks on the kindle are THE WHIP.  Easiest way to ever shop for groceries. I’ve also discovered that the rice which cooks perfectly at 10,000 feet is Basmati, properly soaked.

I also read the latest Mercy Thompson book by Patricia Briggs – she’s a consistently good storyteller, period.

I can’t remember if I mentioned it previously but I THOROUGHLY enjoyed Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It’s one of those books whose cover design grabbed me but I didn’t pick it up. Finally got it on the kindle and it’s great. An interesting mystery with compelling characters, and a dose of social commentary thrown in. I’m very much looking forward to the next one.

I keep finding free books for the kindle, so I’ve got a mess of things in the TBR list. Probably I will not do much reading while Mom is in town and I’ve been keeping track of the books as I finish them on my facebook page. I believe I’m in the high 30s so far, which means hitting 50 by year’s end shouldn’t be tough.

Days off

Today I spent a perfectly lovely afternoon reclined on a picnic table bench, reading a book. The dog stretched out next to me and alternated between napping and rolling in the grass. I started and finished The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman.

I think the first Hoffman book I read was Practical Magic, which I adored. It’s one of the few novel-to-film adaptations I also enjoy – the movie keeps to the sentiment of the novel, if not the letter, though the book is to be preferred.

When I had to describe Hoffman’s work to a friend last night I said it wasn’t fantasy, it’s more like fantastic fiction. It has every quality of ‘literary’ fiction but each work contains something magical or otherworldly that’s thoroughly woven into the narrative in such a way that it almost stops being fantastic and simply another element in a great story. It bridges genres and never fails to surprise and delight me. There’s never the sense of a re-tread or staleness, no matter how many novels I’ve read (and re-read). She’s one of the few authors whose work I can reliably buy in hardcover or, in this case, kindle.

All in all, a wonderful and relaxing afternoon.

Today’s list of errands

I went to the doctor for a physical and a thyroid function test (since Mom has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer). The P.A. (or NP) proceeded to tell me that I needed to do more weight bearing exercise and cardio because yoga provides neither. I politely corrected her. Please to not be telling me what yoga practice is, when you clearly do not a) practice or b) know anything about MY practice. I had already told her I’ve been teaching for almost three years. Yoga is ABSOLUTELY weight bearing and MY yoga provides cardio work as well. Suck it, lady. The RIGHT way to go about this is to ask how much weight-bearing and cardio my practice provides, not look at me like I’m daft and speak slowly.

In related annoyance, while HIPAA does not prevent my insurance company from providing me any and all information about my benefits over the phone – including my member ID number – apparently it prevents my prescription benefit manager (Caremark) from providing any helpful information at all. Thanks for nothing, Caremark. Love you long time.

While I’m home next week I’ve got to get my contact lenses fitted and get my medical records and breast films transferred out here. There’s a great cancer center with state of the art gadgetry about an hour away, so guess where I’LL be getting my annual boob squishing? So now I’m collecting medical release forms so that I can drop them in the mail and get all of that great stuff taken care of. Moving, gotta love it.

On the kind of funny side, she said, “Wow. So your family does the cancer thing.” Ayuh. Understatement.

My new haircut is rocking my (polka dotted) socks. I blew it dry this morning and didn’t even need to flat iron it. The stylist in Frisco was the first person who has ever addressed the whacked out cowlick on the right side that makes my hair curve differently. I wasn’t initially thrilled with having to drive an hour to get my hair cut but there wasn’t a SINGLE place open in town on Saturday. As I was THISCLOSE to taking out the scissors and chopping off the offending bits myself – a plan of action that I think we can ALL agree would be a mistake – I made an appointment and the drive. The salon was very nice and it was just the stylist and me.

The picture the day of the haircut is nice, but the TEST is a picture of the haircut after you’ve washed and dried it yourself.

While I have NOT assembled the pot rack, I DID pay all the bills. I have thus far sent it all through the Michian bank’s electronic system and all payments will clear by the time I’m back in town next week, so I can close the account for good. Yay!

I’m most of the way through book 8 and anticipate that I’ll get through a lot more tonight at work.

I have not packed a single thing and am thus far mostly unprepared for my trip back to MI. Go me.

Awards

One of the books I’ve read in the new year has won the Newberry Medal! Yay Neil Gaiman!

I’ve been keeping a running list on facebook, but my ‘accomplished’ list is thus:

1. Watchmen, Alan Moore – Graphic novel (which will be a major motion picture in a few months) about an alternate universe where the Cold War is not over. Ordinary folk put on disguises to fight crime and – rather than the typical comic acceptance – society reacts as you might expect. It takes what I loved about the darker Batman comics (after they broke his back) a few steps further by looking at the ‘superheroes’ as normal people and examining (a bit) the psychoses that might be involved and how they affect their interactions. As good as I’d hoped it would be, and I’m looking forward to the film.

2. The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman – A really charming novel about a graveyard full of ghosts who take a little boy under their protection. A fantastic and unexpectedly warm and fuzzy ‘horror’ story. If you don’t believe me, ask the Newberry People.

3. Peacekeeper: A Major Ariane Kedros Novel, Laura E. Reeve – I’m not normally a ‘hard’ sci fi fan but this novel sounded interesting. Main character is a female military operative, ostensibly retired but still doing shadow work. She’s got some serious issues (post traumatic stress, alcoholism) and a complicated mission in this particular book. While I glossed over some of the technical detail, I enjoyed the worldbuilding and the character development. Also, no gratuitous sex. No sex at all, actually (unlike most urban fantasy). I liked it enough that I’ll be looking for the next book in the series.

4. Exit Strategy (Nadia Stafford Series, Book 1), Kelley Armstrong – I’m a sucker for assassin stories. This is about a female cop-turned-assassin. She and some assassin acquaintances decide to track down a serial killer that they suspect was one of their own. Good action, pleasantly convoluted personal interactions (as you might expect of people who don’t trust anyone), and a generally fun read. I am not a fan of all of Armstrong’s other work (her witch stuff leaves me cold) but I really liked this departure.

5. Bone by Bone, Carol O’Connell – Hands down, my favorite crime writer. I buy her stuff in hardcover, if that tells you anything. The latest novel doesn’t disappoint. O’Connell’s books are strongest (in my opinion) because they involve as much character development as they do unraveling the crime. In every book, the protag has to come to grips with some part of his/her own history while they’re figuring out whodunit. This one was particularly interesting because it involved murder in a small town, with all the interesting dynamics inherent to that particular society. Loved it.

6. Four and Twenty Blackbirds, Cherie Priest – This book has been out for a while now and gotten very good reviews. I finally picked it up and it’s definitely worth the read. Mystery + ghost story + great urban fantasy.

7. Enlightenment for Idiots: A Novel, Anne Cushman – Cushman is a regular contributer to Yoga Journal and a yoga teacher. The novel is a kind of funny, half-serious/half-spoof on the yoga ‘industry’ and the search for enlightenment. I’m not sure if the asana descriptions before each chapter were intended as humor, but I found them to be hilarious. I’d never describe the asanas in that way in any class I was teaching. The book also reminded me of some of my least favorite yoga classes, where everything is taken very, very seriously and not much fun is had. Her trip to India is the anti- Eat, Pray, Love which is sort of great as well.

I’ve got a few others in the works or on my To Be Read list.