…with the library.

Earlier this month (well, technically it’s last month now, since the clock has switched past midnight, but let’s go by my old college definition that it’s not tomorrow until you’ve slept…), I took back some overdue library books, paid my tithe, and returned to the good graces of the DCPL. They are truly the most forgiving folks. They know — every record indicates it — that I will be truant probably 75% percent of the time when I borrow from them. I am perhaps less tardy than I once was now that they email me notices that my books are about to come due, are due today, and are now overdue, but, nonetheless, I cannot seem to grasp deadlines, or, at least, to take them seriously enough to meet them in polite society.

So, to return to my tale, the library workers took down my Most Wanted poster, tore it up, and offered me their entire store of goods. I was restrained … that day. Only two books hopped in my bag and insisted on riding home with me. I read one over the course of a few days. It was okay, but not good enough to be read straight through on its own. The other merited a chapter in the bathroom, but was not interesting enough to come off the cart in there. Don’t worry. I always read to the chapter around the 50 page mark before swearing off. What if an author, like Michael Chabon, is brilliant but inadequate at introductions?

I could see the winter nights looming large in front of me. Once the Christmas tree comes down, things just get … harder. They are less difficult this year, but that doesn’t mean the days flow before me like water. They just don’t freeze me in place with ice.

So I hopped online and started requesting some books. Some were books I’d read about on the web, recommended by online friends whose opinions I respect. Others had made the list of contenders for the Rooster Tournament sponsored by The Morning News. I’ve watched passively by the last two years as the books face off one against the other — and it was rare that I had an opinion, since I hadn’t read most of the nominees. Obviously others had similar grouses, since this year they announced the list early so folks could make a stab at reading more. I’ve requested all the books on the list that had waiting lists, so, of course, the library emailed me this week to announce that eight of them had arrived and were waiting for me at two different branches.

So much for trying to outfox the library.

I picked up the books at the main branch on Thursday and added another tome (written by a fellow Conn alum) and three dvds to the haul. (Erik, you’ll be glad that one of those is The Queen. I know you considered it a flaw in my character that I hadn’t seen it yet.) I was in the midst of finishing a mystery Gramma had lent me at the time, so I didn’t start a new book until yesterday — and picked the Conn book merely by the fact that it was the thinnest fiction of the group to take to work with me yesterday.

It’s good, but not great. And I knew that while I’d probably stick with it, it wasn’t what I was searching for.

Late this afternoon, Rudi and I headed out to Virginia to run some errands, stopping by the hardware store and the branch library closest to the Burrow on the way out. Four more books came into my possession. And, as they did, I recalled that in the first bunch was a book I’d heard such good things about that I’d almost bought it as a Christmas present (for you, Karen) without reading it. I’ve done it once before — with The Book Thief and The Thirteenth Tale — but wasn’t sure if I should trust to the fates twice.

I started the book when Rudi went to bed. I forced myself to pause a couple of times — mostly to make tea — but could not put it down for good tonight until 3 a.m. And really I’d read through until dawn if I didn’t think I really ought to see the sun tomorrow.

And, no, I’m not going to tell you what book it is. I have to decide if I should head to Powells first and buy hardcover copies to send to you all…

It’s that good.

Aren’t libraries great?

If you haven’t read Pride and Prejudice and don’t want the plot spoiled, skip this link. Otherwise, have fun!

My goal for the four-day weekend is to find all the books I finished in 2008 and to write quick reviews of them for the blog. In the meantime, I’ve decided for 2009 that I’m going to write the reviews one at a time in the hope that I’ll be better about blogging about them in a timely fashion.

Of course, I just finished book #3 for the year today. But let’s proceed as we mean to go on:

The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy-Tale Detectives, by Michael Buckley

From the jacket: “For Sabrina and Daphne Grimm, life hasn’t been a fairy tale. After the mysterious disappearance of their parents, the sisters are sent to live with their grandmother — a woman they believed was dead! Granny Relda reveals that the girls have two famous ancestors, the Brothers Grimm, whose classic book of fairy tales is actually a collection of case files of magical mischief. Now the girls must take on the family responsibility of being fairy-tale detectives. Their first case? A roller-coaster ride of an adventure to stop a giant from destroying their new hometown.”

My take: As those of you who have read these book reports before will already know, I love literary adaptations, particularly those of a fairy tale nature. Shannon Hale and Jasper Fforde are favorites of mine because they can take material we all know backwards and forwards and make it fresh again. So when I saw this series a few years ago, I made note of it and promised I’d get back to it. And I have.

Buckley is not as talented as either Fforde (who writes for adults) or Hale (whose adaptive work is predominantly aimed at the younger set), but the first in the series of sister mysteries suggests he is adept enough that I’d like to keep reading. Each girl has an authentic personality. Sabrina, who’s nearly 12, is protective of her younger sister and masterminds their escapes from all sorts of unsuitable foster homes, while Daphne, at a mere seven, already knows that the way to get around her sister is to pretend to humor her.

When crazy things start happening around them, Sabrina is ready to bail, understandably believing that the woman who claims to be their grandmother is another huckster they need to flee. After all, pixies don’t really exist; those had to have been a particularly nasty swarm of mosquitoes. And it’s much more likely that there was a freak earthquake that flattened that farmer’s house rather than a giant.

But when the woman claiming to be their grandmother and her friend, Mr. Canis, are kidnapped right before their disbelieving eyes, it seems like there’s nothing for the girls to do but start trusting their street-smarts and get to work figuring out the mystery. Along the way they’ll have to get past the likes of Mayor Charming, Police Chief Hamstead and his two porky deputies, Jack (who hasn’t outsmarted a giant in years), neighbor Puck, and other refugees from bedtime tales to solve the case. But will they be in time?

I think kids in the 6-12 range would enjoy this story, so if you’re looking to buy for that age group, consider this series. The copy I read includes a reader’s guide that encourages kids to write their own fairy tales — either on their own or as a group activity — and to check out the original source material.

Pages: 284

USA Today‘s Top Selling Books of the Last 15 Years Meme

(Blatantly stolen from Maggie)

Here are the rules: Bold what you’ve read, italicize what you own, turn blue books on your TBR list.

1 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – J.K. Rowling
2 Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution – Robert C. Atkins
3 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
4 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling
5 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K. Rowling
6 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – J.K. Rowling
7 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling
8 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J.K. Rowling
9 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J.K. Rowling
10 Who Moved My Cheese? – Spencer Johnson
11 The South Beach Diet – Arthur Agatston
12 Tuesdays With Morrie – Mitch Albom
13 Angels & Demons – Dan Brown
14 What to Expect When You’re Expecting – Murkoff, etal.
15 The Purpose-Driven Life – Rick Warren
16 The Five People You Meet in Heaven – Mitch Albom
17 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen R. Covey
18 The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
19 Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus – John Gray
20 The Secret – Rhonda Byrne
21 Rich Dad, Poor Dad – Robert T. Kiyosaki
22 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
23 Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff – and It’s All Small Stuff – Richard Carlson
24 The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd
25 Eat, Pray, Love – Elizabeth Gilbert
26 Twilight – Stephenie Meyer
27 The Notebook – Nicholas Sparks
28 The Memory Keeper’s Daughter – Kim Edwards
29 The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
30 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
31 A New Earth – Eckhart Tolle
32 Oh, the Places You’ll Go! – Dr. Seuss
33 The Four Agreements – Don Miguel Ruiz
34 Angela’s Ashes – Frank McCourt
35 The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold
36 Body-for-Life – Bill Phillips, Michael D’Orso
37 New Moon – Stephenie Meyer
38 Night – Elie Wiesel
39 Chicken Soup for the Soul – Jack Canfield, etal.
40 The Greatest Generation – Tom Brokaw
41 Breaking Dawn – Stephenie Meyer
42 The Celestine Prophecy – James Redfield
43 Wicked – Gregory Maguire
44 Good to Great – Jim Collins
45 Eclipse – Stephenie Meyer
46 Eragon – Christopher Paolini
47 Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood – Rebecca Wells
48 Your Best Life Now – Joel Osteen
49 In the Kitchen With Rosie – Rosie Daley
50 Simple Abundance – Sarah Ban Breathnach
51 A Child Called It – Dave Pelzer
52 A Million Little Pieces – James Frey
53 The Testament – John Grisham
54 Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul – Jack Canfield, etal.
55 Deception Point – Dan Brown
56 The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho
57 Marley & Me – John Grogan
58 Dr. Atkins’ New Carbohydrate Gram Counter – Robert C. Atkins
59 Life of Pi – Yann Martel
60 The Brethren – John Grisham
61 The South Beach Diet Good Fats Good Carbs Guide – Arthur Agatston
62 The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town – John Grisham
63 For One More Day – Mitch Albom
64 The Polar Express – Chris Van Allsburg
65 The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
66 The Last Lecture – Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow
67 What to Expect the First Year – Arlene Eisenberg, etal.
68 Love You Forever – Robert Munsch
69 Green Eggs and Ham – Dr. Seuss
70 A Painted House – John Grisham
71 The Rainmaker – John Grisham
72 Skipping Christmas – John Grisham
73 Cold Mountain – Charles Frazier
74 The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time – Mark Haddon
75 Life Strategies – Phillip C. McGraw
76 Seabiscuit: An American Legend – Laura Hillenbrand
77 The Summons – John Grisham
78 Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil – John Berendt
79 The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien
80 The Runaway Jury – John Grisham
81 Goodnight Moon – Margaret Wise Brown
82 The Perfect Storm – Sebastian Junger
83 Snow Falling on Cedars – David Guterson
84 The Giver – Lois Lowry
85 Embraced by the Light – Betty J. Eadie
86 The Chamber – John Grisham
87 You: On A Diet – Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz
88 The Prayer of Jabez – Bruce Wilkinson
89 Holes – Louis Sachar
90 Digital Fortress – Dan Brown
91 The Shack – William P. Young
92 The Devil Wears Prada – Lauren Weisberger
93 Water for Elephants – Sara Gruen
94 A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini
95 The Seat of the Soul – Gary Zukav
96 Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul – Jack Canfield, etal.
97 The Partner – John Grisham
98 Lord of the Flies – William Golding
99 Eldest: Inheritance, Book II – Christopher Paolini
100 The Broker – John Grisham
101 The Street Lawyer – John Grisham
102 A Series of Unfortunate Events – Lemony Snicket
103 The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver
104 Into the Wild – Jon Krakauer
105 The King of Torts – John Grisham
106 The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell
107 The Horse Whisperer – Nicholas Evans
108 Hannibal – Thomas Harris
109 The Audacity of Hope – Barack Obama
110 Running With Scissors – Augusten Burroughs
111 The Glass Castle: A Memoir – Jeannette Walls
112 My Sister’s Keeper – Jodi Picoult
113 The Last Juror – John Grisham
114 The Devil in the White City – Erik Larson
115 Left Behind – Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins
116 America (The Book) – Jon Stewart
117 The Red Tent – Anita Diamant
118 John Adams – David McCullough
119 The Christmas Box – Richard Paul Evans
120 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants – Ann Brashares
121 Sugar Busters! – Leighton Steward, etal.
122 Blink – Malcolm Gladwell
123 The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle
124 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life – Don Piper
125 The Fellowship of the Ring – J.R.R. Tolkien
126 1776 – David McCullough
127 The Bridges of Madison County – Robert James Waller
128 Where the Heart Is – Billie Letts
129 The Ultimate Weight Solution – Phillip C. McGraw
130 Protein Power – Mr. & Mra. Michael R. Eades
131 Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul – Jack Canfield, etal.
132 Into Thin Air – Jon Krakauer
133 *Middlesex – Jeffrey Eugenides
134 Three Cups of Tea – Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin
135 You: The Owner’s Manual – Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz
136 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler’s Life List – Patricia Schultz
137 Self Matters – Phillip C. McGraw
138 She’s Come Undone – Wally Lamb
139 1984 – George Orwell
140 The Chronicles of Narnia – C.S. Lewis
141 The Millionaire Next Door – Thomas J. Stanley
142 The Other Boleyn Girl – Philippa Gregory
143 The Zone – Barry Sears, Bill Lawren
144 The Pilot’s Wife – Anita Shreve
145 The Lost World – Michael Crichton
146 Atonement – Ian McEwan
147 He’s Just Not That Into You – Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo
148 Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
149 The World Is Flat – Thomas L. Friedman
150 Cross – James Patterson

Sun’s out. Farmers’ market opens in an hour. Must help Susan move…

Must doze first…

No more books finished, but I did start another one.

Here’s the final meme of the readalong:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?

Hour 12 was tough, as was Hour 19.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

Hmmm… My brain isn’t working too well right now. Mysteries, probably.

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

I thought it worked really well this time. Kudos to Dewey and her cadre of volunteers, organizers, and cheerleaders.

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

All of it?

5. How many books did you read?

I finished three, read portions of three others, and listened to part of a chapter of another.

6. What were the names of the books you read?

I finished Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Carnet de Voyage, and Book of a Thousand Days. I read/listened to portions of Stardust, Death of a Gentle Lady, Little Women, and Around the World in 80 Days (in both French and English).

7. Which book did you enjoy most?

Probably Book of a Thousand Days.

8. Which did you enjoy least?

Carnert de Voyage.

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?

N/a, but I do appreciate the comments from the Cheerleaders who stopped by yesterday.

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

I’d definitely read again. I’m not sure if I’d take on other roles or not.

Other pertinent Readathon info:

Number of books read since you started: 3+
Running total of pages read since you started: 820 pages of paper + 6 Daily Lit entries + half an hour of audio.
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 20ish hours

Almost 6:30 and still no streaks of morning light…

Carnet de Voyage, by Craig Thompson

From the jacket: “Craig Thompson — the award-winning creator of Blankets and Good-bye, Chunky Rice — traveled for three months through France, Barcelona, and the Alps, as well as Morocco, where he spent time researching his next graphic novel, Habibi. Spontaneous sketches and a travelogue diary document his adventures and quiet moments, creating a raw and intimate portrait of countries, culture and the wandering artist.”

My take: I’m tired, and while I hoped that a graphic novel would be an easier read so late in the game, I expect that a standard novel might have been a better idea. I’m a word-based person, so drawings take me longer to parse. And Thompson, while obviously a talented artist, often gave into self-indulgence in this piece, which just made me feel like he was being whiny (I’m not sure he’d argue with that characterization) when I was already feeling a bit whiny myself.

The book is sort of a mini travelogue, told with straight-up sketches (where he shows real ability to capture a scene or a person), comics, and more post-modern self-conversations. He’s blunt about the woes of travels, particularly in Morocco, where he seems troubled by the problems of being a first-world traveler in a second-world nation. He wants to see the country as locals see it, but doesn’t necessarily like what he sees — when he’s even able to do it. He’s inclined to moping about feeling lonely and unwell. Toward the end he complains a lot about how his arthritic hands hurt. (I’m not saying that I don’t believe that he’s exaggerating for sympathy; I believe he probably is in excruciating pain. It’s just not what I was hoping to read about at 5 in the morning…)

This is my fear about my upcoming trip: that I will not be able to get past my own issues/lack of understanding/overwhelming need to step back and refuel in order to appreciate France for what it is and what it offers. This book just played into every paranoia…

As I said, I probably just wasn’t in the right mood for this book.

Pages: 224

Other pertinent Readathon info:

Number of books read since you started: 3+
Running total of pages read since you started: 672+
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 19ish hours