Nacwolin’s Neighborhood

(Almost.  I have 40 minutes to go.)

This has been a batshit insane week at work.  The verdict in our mayor's trial came in yesterday and it was probably one of the five worst working days of my life.  (The other four, all in no particular order:  Virginia Tech shooting, police-involved shooting that happened on the weekend, faux-hurricane also on the weekend and one night where there was a tornado in one of the western counties and we were on the air for an extra hour, making it four straight hours o' fun.  Presidential elections are also always fun.)

So I am more than ready for my weekend. 

I don't have much planned.  I have to do laundry (of course and always).  But beyond that?  I want to finish the new Sue Grafton mystery, which I'm really enjoying.  I bought myself Terminator: Salvation on Blu-Ray, and I hope to watch that tomorrow night, while eating the Grotto's Pizza that my mom thoughtfully bought me the last time she was in Rehoboth.

Also, tomorrow features a two-hour Private Practice special (although I'll probably be watching that Friday, as tomorrow ALSO has new episodes of The Office and 30 Rock).

Speaking of The Office, I'm really close to breaking up with that show.  It hasn't been funny in a really long time.

I might also make my return to reading actual books, because I have some review copies I want to get through.  AND I learned today that I'm getting a review copy of the new Joe Hill book!  I'm really excited for that, because I loved his debut novel, Heart Shaped Box.  (He's also Stephen King's son, but that's not why I like his books.)

I also got a copy of The Phantom Tollbooth today.  I've never read it before, and I won it in a contest. :)  One of my really good friends absolutely loves that book and every time she remembers I've never read it, she gets really sad.  (And also sort of horrified.)  So I'm excited to read that, too.

One of the cool things about the Kindle is that they offer a lot of classic books for free.  I'm hoping to become a more well-read person next year, so here's hoping. :)  I did download a slew of classics (Anne of Green Gables and most of the rest of that series, Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, My Man Jeeves--I blame you, Cori!--Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Treasure Island, Black Beauty, A Christmas Carol, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Little Men, Vanity Fear, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Madame Bovary, The Age of Innocence, The House of Mirth, The Count of Monte Cristo, Pollyanna and its sequel, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Pollyanna Grows Up, Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Persuasion, and Anna Karenina).  So yay! :)

 

 

 

Since I have had nothing to say lately I will post this...

I get asked this question a lot.  A LOT, a lot.  And in the hopes of never having to answer it again, here we go. :)

First, you know how some people like to watch TV and how some people like to listen to all the new music and how some people shop?  I read.  I watch movies and TV, too, but mostly I'm a reader.  I always have been.  There's a picture of me as a toddler reading People (this has not changed, even though I've applied for a job there twice now and they haven't hired me...but that's not the point) and family legend says that I started reading when I was three.  But I think most people manage to do a lot of whatever their non-work priority is.  For me, it's couch time with a book; for you, it might be concerts or shoe shopping or watching every single episode of Top Chef in one crazy weekend marathon.

Second, this year (and next year!), I decided to read for charity.  Family and a couple of friends are sponsoring me (most are doing a flat rate, which is what I encouraged) and I've read more this year than I have in any year prior.  (I am on pace to beat last year's total by over 100 books.)  I think it's because if you give me a goal, I will exceed all expectations. :)

Third, if you look at what I've been reading this year, you'll see that it's not super challenging.  I haven't been reading War and Peace or Madame Bovary or anything.  I did finally read Little Women, but still.  Not the same thing.  I've been reading mysteries, general fiction, fun nonfiction (hello, AJ Jacobs!) and a ton of YA fiction. 

And finally, I don't have kids.  I don't have a significant other or roommate.  I have a dog who is fine with me reading all the time, provided he can hang out in my lap while I'm doing it.

Have you ever had this happen:

CO-WORKER: "You know Lindy?"

ME: "Uh..."

CO-WORKER: "Lindy...Lindy!"

ME: "No, I don't believe so."

CO-WORKER: "Come on, you know Lindy."

ME: "No, I don't."

CO-WORKER: "Lindy...cute girl, always carries a backpack?"

ME: "Dude! I've never known anyone named Lindy in my entire life!"

CO-WORKER: "Oh...well...I saw her today."

What the heck is that about????

Have you ever been typing along, paying close attention to the page you're copying like we were all taught in school, and glance up at your screen to find out that somehow the cursor has jumped up into the middle of the previous paragraph and you have an entire section of text that doesn't belong there?

Have you ever done that?

Seriously!

How the heck does that happen??

It's a complete mystery to me.

Help me out here.

I really need to know.

Finished Reproduction is the Flaw of Love by Lauren Grodstein.

This is completely unlike her other novel, A Friend of the Family.

Miller and his girlfriend Lisa might be about to become parents.  The novel takes place during the time while he buys the test and then while they're waiting for results.  While he's waiting to learn if he's about to be a father or not, he reflects on his life, his ex-girlfriend Blair (who he still loves) and Lisa. 

I think A Friend of the Family is the better book but this is the easier read.  Either way, both are worth reading.

We turned what might have been a lazy Sunday into a very industrious one, getting The Aerie all decked out for Christmastime.   We had the Christmas music playing from the office while we decked the halls and trimmed the trees (our big Christmas tree and our little Monterey pine out back). Speaking of trees, we even added some Christmas cheer to the palm trees outside of our home.

Penny again wasn’t quite so sure about what this was all about, but she enjoyed snuffing the different decorations.  Certainly, all the breakable ones are out of snout and tail range.  We hope.

We finished right as the sun was setting – a perfect cap to a great day of decorating and feeling those first tinges of the Holiday Spirit… :D

Finished Here's to You, Rachel Robinson by Judy Blume.

It's the sequel to Just As Long As We're Together (see post directly below).  This time, Rachel's the narrator.  It's not long after the events of the first one and Rachel's older brother, Charles, is home.  And Charles is a total douche, so Rachel's life is really stressful.

(Although it sounds like Rachel's life is always stressful; Rachel is a perfectionist.)

Stephanie and Alison aren't in this book very much; I missed them.

Finished Just as Long as We're Together by Judy Blume.

I'd read this when I was little, but I didn't really remember anything about it.*  This may be because

But this is about Stephanie and Rachel, who have been best friends for basically forever.  Then Stephanie starts hanging out with Alison (a new girl) and all of a sudden, they're fighting.  And the girls are in middle school, so there's also a slew of first crushes and whatnot.  AND there's an example of the worst parenting EVER.**  It's really sweet and a good lesson about friendship being important. 

There's a sequel (Here's to You, Rachel Robinson--this is now one of my most favorite book titles EVER) and, thanks to my Kindle, I will be reading that next.  (Kindle sold it as a bundle with this book.  Thank you, Amazon!)

As a by the way, I don't like this cover.  The girls are all supposed to be the same age, but that girl on the left looks closer to my age.

* = Except for one scene where Rachel talks about giving a speech and Stephanie says that five minutes isn't so long, so Rachel challenges her to stand up and be quiet for five minutes and she only makes it for a minute and 24 seconds.  I have no idea why that's what stayed with me.

** = SPOILER.  Stephanie's parents are separated and they don't tell her or her brother, Bruce.  Her dad has moved to LA to work at that branch of his company, but they act like it's just a really long business trip.  (Like a temporary reassignment, not something permanent.)  And Stephanie finds out because her dad accidentally slips 'cause he thinks she already knows.  Stellar parenting there.