Monday, April 21, 2008

Monday Malarkey Returns

First, to lighten the mood, a photo from home, which I cheezeburgered or lol'd (not sure quite what to call it -- click on photo to see the whole thing, since it doesn't fit quite right):

funny pictures
moar funny pictures

You like?

Reading News: Nil. Nada. Zero. Zippo. Zilch.

Kidding. Actually, I am finally back to reading and I did manage to complete 2 books since I last babbled:

A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz
(Really!!! I actually finished it!!!) - Not quite sure what I thought of it, though. It was by turns brilliant and exhausting. I had to set it aside frequently, just because the author's style overwhelmed me a bit. And, yet, I just had to know what was going to happen, so I kept returning to the book until I reached the end. Kookie loved it. You should read her review. I'm a little too pathetic to do it justice, at the moment.

The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine - By the author of Ella Enchanted (which I have not read). The least courageous of two princesses must suck it up and go in search of a cure for the Gray Death or kiss her beloved sister goodbye. I absolutely loved this young adult fantasy/adventure. In fact, I loved it so much that I wanted to share it and knew just who to send it to, when I finished. But, first, I asked my son to please hurry up and read it because he kept picking it up and making "Hmmm, interesting," noises. He whipped through it in one night and I popped it into the mail.

Speaking of mail:

Now that I'm home I need to get rid of a few books, so stay tuned for a future drawing post.

Goodness, gracious, it's wet out there:

We went downtown to see the crest of the Mississippi River in Vicksburg on Saturday. It was a stunningly beautiful day, cool and dry with temperatures in the lower 70's. I'll share photos of the flood water, tomorrow, because I can't seem to add extra photos and move them beyond my lol pic.

Many thanks to all who have sent or posted supportive messages. I'm so glad to be back to the Bloggy World.

Big, Smoochy Hugs,

Bookfool, very, very glad to be home

20 comments:

  1. LOVE that prairie dog. Hillllarious. And one of the students at the new Book-It Blogspot & Zine (http://book-itbz.blogspot.com) reviewed The Two Princesses of Bamarre. It looks fantastic. Incidentally, the zine I mentioned above was founded by my former thesis director that I always talk about. Whee!

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  2. Andi,

    Isn't he the cuteness? I shall check out your friend's review, thank you!! I'm anxious to see what someone else thinks of the book.

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  3. Haha! You came back full force cracking me up with that picture. Love it...That should be my wallpaper. That book sounds great! Sounds like one for the Once Upon a Time Challenge. The fantasy one of course...Onto the wishlist it goes! It's good to have you back :)

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  4. Chris,

    You know I live to crack you up. You and Andi have made my day. Just tell me I made you smile and I'm a happy girl. :)

    I think you would love The Two Princesses of Bamarre. It's a fun, escapist fantasy about finding the courage to do what you need to do. It would definitely be perfect for the Once Upon a Time Challenge. Check out the link in Andi's comment if you want to read a really great review. I'll have to try to remember to put her link in a post.

    And, thank you. It's great to be back. I'm so happy to be home that I've got more energy than normal. I'm kinda buzzing. LOL

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  5. The praire dog is adorable and it reminds of of the lolcats site. The book sounds wonderful, but then again, most of your books do.

    And we're glad you're home, too.

    cjh

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  6. CJ,

    I haven't figured out whether lol cats is connected with I Can Has Cheezburger or they're two different things, but I signed up at www.icanhascheezburger.com in order to add that font to the photo. The picture doesn't quite fit, but I had fun.

    Which book sounds good? Both were lucky finds. One was free and the other cost me a whopping 99 cents. I think I must have a special book-bargain sniffer.

    Thank you. I'm ridiculously happy to be back! :)

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  7. That prairie dog was totally me this morning. Seriously, the resemblance is stunning.

    Glad you're back with us. I certainly missed you.

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  8. I miss prairie dogs so much...we had a terrific prarie dog town next to The Museum Of The Great Plains in Lawton.

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  9. Oh he's a cutie!! I love prairie dogs, funny little things. Two books?! I'm jealous!!! I'm still doggedly reading Special Topics... and eyeing the other books in my
    TBR pile. Yes, greedy me, right? And woohoo!!! welcome back! :-)

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  10. Your prairie dog really made me LOL!!!!

    Glad you are safely home!

    -Amy

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  11. Nikki,

    You're so funny! Thanks for the laugh. :)

    And, thank you. It's great to be back and hanging out with my bloggy buddies, again!

    Bybee,

    That prairie dog was from a village near Kaw Lake outside Ponca City. I didn't know there was one near Lawton. My SIL lived in Lawton till recently (she's in Denver, now). Cute little boogers, aren't they?

    Indigo,

    Well, that's certainly a surprise. I figured I'd probably read less than everyone, since I was so tired I couldn't stay awake to read, most days. Special Topics is on my wish list.

    Funny how you can look at your own TBRs greedily while happily reading, isn't it? I've got 4 books going, now. I really need to quit adding books and just focus on finishing something!

    Thanks; it's so great to be back. :)

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  12. Amy,

    Cool! My little prairie dog served his purpose then. :)

    Thanks! I'm soooo glad to be home!

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  13. I love icanhascheezburger! My hubby is constantly sending me links to great pics from that site.

    You're so good to give books away. I hauled 2 bagfuls up to Half-Price Books today. 50 miles each way. $10+ in gas. Made $21.50. Spent $17 on 4 "new" books. I think I'm in the hole. :) Oh, well. It was a fun afternoon.

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  14. Silly me. I forgot you mentioned two...

    Fraction sounds interesting, in a hesitant sorta way but Two Princesses sounds wonderful. I keep searching for some good fantasy but I don't seem to have much luck in finding it these days.

    cjh

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  15. Les,

    I love it, too. I don't check for new photos, regularly, but I go there now and then, just for the laughs. Eldest noted that I've gotten 3 "Diggs", which I didn't fully understand but he thought was great. Presumably, that means I've made a few strangers smile, which pleases me no end.

    Welll, we don't have a Half-Price books, so . . . ya know. Sometimes I swap, sometimes I give books to friends, sometimes I donate to the library and occasionally I just like to offer up a few at the blog, I guess as payback. I've "won" a few books at other blogs, myself. It's so exciting that I like the idea of pulling out a number and giving someone else that, "I've WON a book!!!" thrill. :)

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  16. CJ,

    LOL S'okay. I miss salient points in blog entries all the time (I tend to skim a bit; I confess).

    Exactly -- Fraction is fascinating, but it's a little . . . something. Umm, heavy? He makes so many wise observations that if I'd marked every interesting remark, he could have run me out of post-its. That's what I liked best about it.

    Two Princesses, on the other hand, is pure escapism and a nice, light read with a great theme about finding the courage within you. I can't imagine anyone that likes fantasy/dragons/adventure disliking it. It's a really fun read. I highly recommend it. I just checked another Gail Carson Levine book out from the library, I liked it so much. I think a lot of fantasy is just too wordy, myself.

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  17. Glad to have you back with us--I've missed your posts and wacky pictures. :)

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  18. Thank you, Trish.

    I missed being here. :)

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  19. And we are very glad to have you home!! Love the Prairie Dog pic. I gotta figure out how to do that!!

    We've had so much rain lately, I feel like I'm going to float away. But as long as the earthquakes stay away, all is good. (yes, we could feel it from here. Very scary actually!)

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  20. Stephanie,

    Thank you. :) At the Cheezburger site, you just have to register, upload a photo and it's easy from there. You should give it a try, definitely. I had fun; it was a nice diversion.

    I just got a notice from my insurance agent, who reminded me that I don't have earthquake coverage. Normally, I would have just laughed, but the fact that there was an earthquake in Illinois made me hesitate. I'll bet that was scary!

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