Monday Malarkey - Of ice cream bars and little fishies

Ever have one of those days in which you need to accomplish something like, say, write a Monday Malarkey post, but then you sit down and load a picture and decide, "Nah, that's not what I want." So, you look through your files and can't make up your mind between a photo of the cat trying to pull down a bowl you're holding over her head to keep her from grabbing your ice cream bar or one of the many photos of the same cat looking like The Laziest Fisherman on the Planet, sprawled over an iPad with little fishies sailing past her nose? That is my Monday. You probably don't need extra vitamins for this kind of stress.

So I've made an executive decision: Cat attempting to reach Haagen Dazs. Who wouldn't pull out the big moves for Haagen Dazs?

Last week was a week of waiting on the mortgage company to decide if we're worthy (we're worthy!) and trying to solidify Kiddo's apartment lease (done!) with lots quiet stretches between errand-running and packing, so I actually had a pretty decent reading week. I've already reviewed Kaytek the Wizard, so no need to say more about that.

The other books I finished, last week:

This Year You Write Your Novel by Walter Mosley - A very basic book about writing a novel in a single year. Only 103 pages long, it's a breezy book that you can keep rereading repeatedly, if you need a little reminding about what the heck you're trying to accomplish when you do decide to write your novel in a year. This Year You Write Your Novel is a good refresher course, although it's really meant for new writers; the ratings at Goodreads are on the low end of the spectrum but I think it's actually quite decent, especially if you're not very patient with how-to books.

Truth Be Told by Larry King - A gossipy book of anecdotes by the retired talk-show host. I'll save my thoughts and try to write at least a mini review of this one. It's also a very light read.

Johnson's Life of London by Boris Johnson - Finally finished this book that lurked in my sidebar for weeks. I loved it up with about a squillion Post-it notes. It may win a trophy for "Most Post-it-filled Bookfool Read of the Year." Or, maybe a handmade ribbon. Possibly some feeble applause. Johnson's Life of London is subtitled "The People Who Made the City That Made the World," so each chapter is essentially a mini-biography of an individual or, in one case, two people who were important to London in some way (although they weren't all necessarily native Londoners). Excellent, excellent book. I'll try to give this one at least mini treatment, too.

In other news, I've discovered that the only way to keep books from walking in my door is to come up with some form of book repellent. Well, that's not going to happen.

Just walked in, this past week:

• The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian - a win from Goodreads, for review
• Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake - from Paperback Swap
• Truth Be Told by Larry King - from FSB Associates, for review (unfairly knocked to the head of the queue by virtue of its levity)

What I'm reading, now:

I started The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce, this morning (from Random House via Shelf Awareness). I have bookmarks in a few others but Harold has grabbed me by the hair and I'm happily following his poor, blistered feet across England.

The Laziest Fisherman on the Planet (because two cat photos are better than one):

Disclaimer from Isabel: "I am not lazy. I was playing quite vigorously before Mom snapped this picture. Please don't judge me. By the way, did you know you can actually 'catch' the fish by sticking your nose on the screen and attempting to bite them? Also, no matter how close you get, your human will not let you have a bite of her Haagen Dazs. What a load of malarkey."

Cat on the Verge of Stealing Haagen Dazs (because three cat photos are even more satisfying than two):

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