Tuesday, October 01, 2013

Where is Your Bookmark? (10/01/2013)

Autumn is my favorite season. Just the feel and smell of it fills me with such warmth and excitement.  In the part of the world where I live, it is not unusual to see the warm temperatures hold out for as long as they can, often into October.  There is a definite cooling down in the evenings. If it weren't for my allergies, I would leave the windows open at night. I set out Mouse's sweater or jacket for her in the mornings these days to protect her against the chill.

Mouse has already decided what she wants to be for Halloween.  She started out asking if she could be a bumblebee, but now she wants to be a princess.  I confess I tried to sway her towards a pirate, which she considered for a while (she even told Princess Aurora at Disneyland that's what she'd be), but she's back to wanting to be a princess.  So a princess she will be.   I have the dress.  I just need the shoes and a crown.  And I need to start practicing doing her hair.  I have no talent when it comes to that sort of thing, something that makes me feel bad for my daughter.  So, if you see a photo with her hair down on Halloween, you know my attempts at doing something--anything-- failed miserably.

In other news, my husband has submitted another entry in the Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction, which is held each year.  The gamebook he wrote last year was one of the runners up.  This year he wrote a mystery called The Independence Job, about a bank robbery.  It has a definite noir feel to it.  It is sort of like a choose your own adventure, only with dice. I haven't yet read any of the other entrants' gamebooks, but that's on my list of things to do this week and next.

Last week was dismal on the reading front.  I read not one page (unless you count Mouse's books) nor did I listen to my audiobook.  I did read my copy of Entertainment Weekly, but barely.  It wasn't an issue that particularly captivated me.

Saturday night I finally settled into a book.  I am reading Lynda La Plante's Backlash, which I will be reviewing later this month for a tour.  Sam of Booked on a Feeling actually inspired me to pick up the novel when I did as she's reading it right now too.  It's my first by the author, and so far I'm enjoying it very much.

I hope to get back to We Need to Talk About Kevin this week, which is my current audiobook.  It is proving to be a difficult book for me to listen to (and I'm still not that far in), but not for the reasons you might think.  The narration is actually quite good, and I like Lionel Shriver's writing style.  The story is captivating. No, my problem with the book is more personal.  It's a book I need to be in the right frame of mind to listen to. 

What are you reading right now?  Is it something you would recommend?




Every Tuesday Diane from Bibliophile By the Sea hosts 
First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where  
participants share the first paragraph (or a few) of a 
book they are reading or thinking about reading soon.

Here is a taste of the murder mystery, Backlash by Lynda La Plante, I am reading now:
'Quiet night so far, isn't it?'
'Yeah, an' we've still got seven hours to go before the shift finishes!'
The two uniformed officers in the night duty car were chatting whilst driving past a council estate in East London, and all was quiet in the residential street, in contrast to the numerous clubs, bars, restaurants and buzzing nightlife of Shoreditch, just down the road.  And so the van bearing the log KIDDIES PARTY DATES stood out as it failed to give way for a pedestrian waiting at the zebra crossing.
'Is he on another planet?' said the officer driving.
'Bit late for a kiddies' party,' his colleague joked. 'Go pull him over, we've nothing better to do at the moment.' 
As they drew closer the van driver began to accelerate away from them and suddenly, without any indication, took a sharp left turn down a side street.

Would you continue reading?


© 2013, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

26 comments:

  1. There are weeks when I don't touch a print book. If you have kids, this is the way life works sometimes. I'm not surprised that you feel that way about Kevin. I could only read it in small doses. The subject matter is difficult, but I think what makes it so visceral is the way Shriver writes. She has a way of really digging in.

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    1. Sandy - I really like Shriver's writing style. It's such a sad book . . . Definitely one to take in small doses.

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  2. I like that intro a lot and would read more. Thanks for joining us Wendy.

    I also listened to We Need to Talk About Kevin on audio - so powerful and frightening.

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    1. Diane - I finished the book over the weekend and really enjoyed it.

      I'm really liking the narrator of We Need to Talk About Kevin. You're right--so powerful and frightening.

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  3. I'm enjoying the cooler nights but I don't like having less sunlight. I know exactly what you mean about We Need to Talk About Kevin! It's taking me forever to read W is for Wasted - it's not the book, though, it's just that I've had very little time to read.

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    1. Kathy - I am not a fan of less sunlight in the evenings either. Soon it will be dark when I leave work, and it always makes me feel as if I have less time during the day to get things done.

      I hope you are able to find more time to read soon. I'm hoping the same for me! :-)

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  4. Thanks for sharing the into of Backlash. I would probably continue. Something is not right!

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    1. Judy - It turned out to be quite an intense book to read!

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  5. Wait until she is older. My daughter did the princess thing and now it's all about blood and gore. She just picked up her costume on Sunday. She is going as a bloody prom queen, aka CARRIE!! LOL. She doesn't know who Carrie is but I keep calling her that. She wanted to be Dorothy from Oz but with a blood ax in her head but I didn't want to spend all the money on a bloody ax. LOL.

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    1. Ti - Haha! It's funny the ideas children come up with. You'll have to take pictures of your daughter in her costume. :-)

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  6. Mouse will look adorable as a princess. There are many ways she can wear her hair, too, so no worries, you'll do a great job! I haven't read We Need to Talk About Kevin yet but I want to. It's a difficult subject matter and the parent/child relationships make me a little uneasy, too (I saw the movie). The mystery you're reading now sounds good. I'd continue reading it after the opening, it has me curious.
    Good luck to your husband, I hope his story is chosen this year!

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    1. Amy - I may end up leaving it down to make things easier. We'll see!

      And thank you for the good luck wishes for my husband. I'm really hoping he does well again this year.

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  7. I like that intro and am curious enough to read more... but I'm also interested in We Need to Talk About Kevin. I started it once, but didn't get very far. Maybe I wasn't in the right mood at the time. Need to give it another try.

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    1. JoAnn - We Need To Talk About Kevin is not an easy read emotionally, I don't think. If you do give it another try, I hope you like it.

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  8. I'm enjoying the warm days of fall as well. I spend every afternoon out in the backyard with the kids. but they are small enough that I don't get any reading done until they are gone. The intro was intriguing, I'll watch to see what you think of it. kelley—the road goes ever ever on

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    1. Kelley - My little girl is still young too. It's impossible to read with her around unless her father is entertaining her or if she is watching a favorite TV program. Even then it's iffie. LOL

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  9. I an sorry about the loss of your cat and dog. Having people share about their loss and sharing mine is a help. Like you the loss never really goes away but the joy they bring also stays.

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    1. JC - Thank you. I've found that too. Sharing with others who have been through a similar experience has been helpful. And yes, we definitely do have those happy memories that we can carry with us always.

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  10. I agree with you about Fall. I love everything about it. The opening paragraph didn't grab me although I really love mysteries, especially anything set in England. Hope it works for you.

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    1. Margot - It's such a beautiful time of year!

      It's a police procedural that stepped away from your traditional formula, making it more of a thriller, I suppose, but still very good.

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  11. I understand about We Need To Talk About Kevin. Good luck with princess hair!

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  12. You'll have to share a picture of mouse. I bet she's going to look adorable! I love Halloween. Best of luck to your husband on his short story entry!

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    1. Iliana - I will. I have two chances to make her into a princess. The first will be for her school party and then for actual Halloween.

      Thank you for the good luck wishes for my husband!

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  13. I love Autumn as well! And I'm so glad that we both enjoyed Backlash :) I've already checked out the first book Above Suspicion from the library although it may end up going back unread since I have so many other books that I want to get read as well.

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    1. Samantha - I am glad we both enjoyed it too! I don't think I have a copy of Above Suspicion. I will have to look for it. I know I have another one of hers though, one that came out last year, I think.

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