Thursday, October 04, 2007

Estellify Yourself, Wacky Barge News and Islands I Didn't Know Existed

Yippee!!!! The October issue of Estella's Revenge is available for your reading pleasure and it is fabulous, as always. Way to go, Andi!!! I have one review in this issue, a review of Lottery by Patricia Wood - one of my favorite reads for the month of September. And, you must check out Patricia Wood's blog - it's a hoot.

In the news . . . Remember yesterday's traffic problem? It was not 1 barge that broke loose but 42. 42!!!!! The meaning of life! (that's a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy reference, for those who have missed out on the joy of Douglas Adams) If I'd had any idea that a towboat had run aground and 42 barges were on the loose, crashing against piers and being chased by a fleet of boats playing "fetch the barge", I would have gone up the back route to the river overlook. Darn! They say the crash noises when those barges hit the piers was really something. Also, I found it of interest that my son's photo of the backed-up traffic was much better than the photo in the newspaper. Ha! That's my boy!

Here's a sketch of one of yesterday's hummingbird photos from the uber cool Dumpr.net

Digital Cameras Tools
Sketch your photos


And, last but not least, I find that I am even more Geography Stupid than I realized (and I knew I had a problem - we United Staters and our troublesome lack of maps) when I briefly indulged my new minor obsession with Blogger Play. If you click on an image, you're directed to the blog site at which the photo has been loaded. I saw a lovely painting that intrigued me, clicked on it, and was directed to the blog of a painter who lives in the Faroe Islands. It really bothered me that I had never heard of the Faroe Islands, so I Googled the location name and hit a link to an article at Wikipedia. What on earth did we do before Wikipedia? I'm baffled.

Finished a book, today: Ghost Walk by Heather Graham. That's one more for the RIP II and now I'm 2 book reviews behind. This will be one hell of a busy weekend, so I'll try my darndest to catch up, tomorrow. If I don't . . . well, there's always next week.

Must go sleep. I don't do enough of that, lately.

Bookfool in search of a fluffy pillow

17 comments:

  1. Oh, man! I've watched them move some of those barges down the river. What a mess that must have been!

    On my way to Estella's Revenge to check out your review. :)

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  2. Jenclair,

    There was a photo of the barges and tow boats chasing them on the front page of the paper - it was definitely a mess. It sounded like a really entertaining disaster, though! I wish I could have seen it.

    Thanks. I don't think it's my best review, but I hope you enjoy it. Lottery is an excellent read!

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  3. Thank you! Thank you!
    What a GREAT review!
    You are another person who
    UBER ROCKS!

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  4. Whew! Thanks, Pat. I'm so glad you enjoyed my review!!! :)

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  5. Oh my. I haven't read your review of her book yet, but I did pop over to her blog and I've got to say anyone that... hilarious has to be worth reading. I'm going to check the book out immediately.

    And it's surprising how often 42 comes up, isn't it? I must admit, however, that I haven't read the books. I should fix that, shouldn't I?

    cjh

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  6. CJ,

    I highly, highly recommend Lottery. I can't say enough good things about it. It's believable, her writing is consistent, the characters are well-rounded (some kind and understanding, some horrid & greedy) and the story is unique and surprisingly gripping. Go for it!!

    42 is everywhere. LOL Yes, you should definitely check out the Hitchhikers trilogy. They're loads of fun.

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  7. I love Estella. I'm so glad you write for it.

    I know what you mean about the lack of sleep. I've been feeling that way lately, too. Maybe it's the change of the seasons making us tired?

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  8. Nikki,

    You should write for Estella, too. It's good for exercising the writing muscle. :)

    Well, we're not having much change of seasons, here, yet - apart from an abundance of fall pollen (which is giving me horrible migraines). Is it cool in Italy, yet?

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  9. Anonymous5:59 PM

    My weekend plans will involve reading Estella's Revenge. Love it. Can't wait to read your book review.

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  10. Anonymous6:13 PM

    42 barges? Good gravy.

    Ha! If you knit, you might've known the Faroe Islands. I've gotten a lot more geographical savvy that way. Painless.

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  11. Thanks, Iliana - I hope you enjoy the review! Lottery is a keeper.

    I just love indulging in Estella; it's such a great mix of bookish joy that it makes me all gushy. :)

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  12. Carrie,

    Isn't that something? They were apparently all connected to the one towboat that ran aground and when it hit the sandbar, they snapped. I so wish I could have seen that mess! The newspaper photo of the little towboats chasing barges around was wild.

    Hmmm, makes sense that cold, Danish islands are the home to yarn of some sort. LOL Someday, I'm going to learn to knit, but it may be a while. There are days I feel like I can barely fit breathing into the mix. :)

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  13. Wow! Forty-two barges on the loose. That would have been something to see!

    I need to get to Estella's Revenge--maybe tomorrow. It's getting late and I'm not sure I'm up to reading it tonight. Thanks for the reminder!

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  14. I will check out Estella's Revenge and read your review!

    And I had never heard of the Faroe Islands before reading a book by Susanna Kaysen called Far Afield, which was set there. It was a fascinating book, but nobody else seems to have read it! (Kaysen wrote a memoir, Girl, Interrupted, which was turned into a movie).

    And by the way, 42 is everywhere!

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  15. Wendy,

    I know; I wish I'd seen the loose barges. The newspaper said it was quite a treat. LOL

    I'm about to give up for the day, myself. We had a long one.

    Gentle Reader,

    Thanks, I hope you like the review!

    I've read Girl, Interrupted - haven't ever seen the movie because the book was harrowing enough that I didn't think it was something I'd want to see acted out. I'll have to look for Far Afield, if only to read about the setting.

    LOL! True. Who knows if we'd ever have even noticed 42, if not for Douglas Adams. :)

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  16. 42? Wow! If you hadn't mentioned the Douglas Adams connection, I would've. I love it when something turns up with the number 42. :)

    I want to read Lottery so badly. Just need to snag a copy at work one of these days. I went to her blog and loved every minute of my visit. I've got it bookmarked for future visits. Forget the fact that she's published a novel. How lucky to live aboard a boat! She's very funny. Is Lottery filled with humor as well?

    I like the way the hummingbird picture turned out in the sketch. Very cool. I don't dare visit that site, though. I'd wind up spending far too much precious time playing around. Same with Blogger Play. I think Flicker has something like that, too. I remember looking at that (or something like it - for all I know it WAS Blogger Play).

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  17. Les,

    Me, too. I love it when 42 shows up in some weird way.

    Lottery is sometimes funny, sometimes sad. It's a great balance, really. I found it very believable. She does an excellent job of inserting the bits about boating - you'll say, "Oh, yeah, this chick knows boats." Of course, you already knew that because she *lives* on a boat, but it's just obvious she knows her stuff. Doesn't her home look awesome? I thought of you as I was reading the book, since it's set in the same area where you vacationed.

    I've done okay at the sketch place, not wasting too much time. When I first discovered it, I spent several hours turning photos into eggs and hanging them on museum walls. It was fun. Now, I just go there if I want to see what a particular photo would look like as a sketch. Blogger Play - I don't go there for more than about 15 minutes at a whack. I'll watch one set of photos and then close the window.

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