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Monday, December 29, 2003
mostly about books
recent googles: "diaryland husband sex"; "Luann puddles"; five ZILLION hits for the 80's music quiz.
I'm childishly hoping it will snow tonight. This is especially immature of me considering that while I would get to stay indoors and look out at the pretty scenery, and perhaps bundle the kids up for a few minutes of playtime outside, my hard-working husband would have to slog through the weather to get to work, which is no fun, and actually somewhat dangerous. Not to mention that a good deal of his actual work does take place outside -- nothing like hiking through a blizzard to work on some remote radio repeater, eh? Still, though, the childish hope is still there. It's raining really well and the temperature's about 37 degrees, so there's a slight chance of it, if the temperature drops during the night.
I finished a book today -- Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. I had read her Magician's Assistant a while ago, and loved it. At first I was a little disappointed in Bel Canto -- the first half of it was really more atmospheric than character-driven, and I had to make myself keep reading at times because I wasn't drawn into the story much. I was rewarded for my perseverance, however, and the second half of the book was searing and intense and wonderful. This woman is one amazing storyteller; she'll break your heart with her prose. I'm going to try The Patron Saint of Liars next.
Speaking of books, I got some REALLY great gifts for Christmas, including a good-sized balance in Barnes and Noble gift certificates. I placed a really big (well, big for ME) order online and still have the pleasure of a whole lot of browsing in the actual store to look forward to as well. With the online order I finished out my collection of Dickens novels (planning to put myself through a chronological read-through of his books this year), and got a few other odds and ends like The Making of Pride and Prejudice (referring, of course, to the 1995 BBC production-from-heaven), the P&P soundtrack, a couple of Mitford books I've read but don't own, that sort of thing. I'm counting the days till the box arrives -- Christmas all over again! :)
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