I kitted down for waterfall, then kitted up for Starry Night. I’ll never do that again. My right arm, shoulder, and back are killing me. I should have at least taken breaks to stretch. The annoying part is: I’m so addicted to Diamond Painting that I have a hard time stopping.
Back to the Aspercreme, Advil, ice, and stretching.
Per Linda:
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “key.” Use it as a noun, a verb, or use it metaphorically. Have fun!
“Key!” she shouted. It made no sense to me. What key? What did I need a key for?
She was pointing down toward the table in the mud room. There was a key. But why did she shout? What am I supposed to use it for? I barely had the time to think. A huge man was behind my mom. Suddenly she was tumbling down the stairs. It took me no time to realize she was dead. Her neck bent sideways at a ninety-degree angle.
Without another thought, I took the key and ran to the car. Luckily, those keys were in my pocket. I wasted no time getting out of town. This seemed an impossible mission. But we’d had so many break-ins at home and work that I knew it had something to do with me. In that sense, I was a key. People were being killed. People I loved.
An old motel just out of town offered me the respite I needed. While sitting at the old bed, hoping the bed bugs would be kind, I looked at the key. Not house, not car, bank? Why me?
These questions would have to wait. A strange sound came from the bathroom. A toy wind-up monkey?
The House Of The Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I have mixed feelings about this book. Much of it gives me the creeps. I love the Walking Dead and think cloning will never bring exact replicas due to the environment and circumstances of the original versus that of the clone. But the treatment of people in this dystopia seems horrible and never improves.
Nancy Farmer’s writing keeps the reader engaged. That is why I read to the end.
Robert Ramirez (Narrator) did well when reading for the males in the book, but all the females sounded foolish and unreal.
A few years ago, I decided to read primarily women authors who wrote of strong female main characters. I have found that women portray their sex far better than males do. The male narrators are great for boys or men but seem unable to play the fem parts.
Another thing, this is supposed to be a book for middle grades to adults. I can’t imagine a child reading this. I can’t imagine not getting nightmares from this as a kid. It nearly did that to me as an adult. On the other hand, I think it would have been a good read together and discussed with my children when they were old enough to handle the subject matter. My kids were better at the scary books and movies than I was. But I wouldn’t have wanted them to miss the lessons presented.
On the plus side, I loved getting into another culture. The Spanish language and mores are a beautiful addition.
Look, I don’t want to taint your opinion of this book. There are so many varied ratings; everyone sees this story differently. There are lessons for the modern world to look at sprinkled all over.
Ali in Wonderland by Ali Wentworth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Humor makes the reading difference. I had just read Mean Baby by Selma Blair when I picked this up from Libby. Both were read by the authors. Both covered many of the same types of life situations. But I have to admit I could handle this far easier. I think because Ali had found the humor in the situation, it made it easier not to get triggered by the author’s circumstances. That is not to say one is better than the other—just my ability to handle the essays.
The other reason I think this went down more effortless for me was that I felt more familiar with Ali Wentworth. I like watching her on the talk shows and even listening to her podcasts. So I encourage others to read both books. Just know as you enter that this is humorous, even some laugh-out-loud moments. That could be a bad thing if you aren’t in the mood to laugh. 🙂
“The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Found in the book by Julia Cameron, It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again.
Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up by Selma Blair
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Many reviews about this book are high, some are low ratings. It’s her life. I don’t think it is up to me to judge it. Her life is far different than mine. Yet, I found a deep dive into another life, another memoir gave me insight into writing my own.
Until I saw Selma Blair on the View, I think it was, I had only heard the name and couldn’t put a face with the name. Not too uncommon for me with anyone. Her movies weren’t my type of movie. But I have known friends and loved ones that had MS. It is such a horrifying disease. I was curious to see how this person handled it.
If you like autobiographies, memoirs, this is for you. If you don’t, you might move forward to another read. Ms. Blair gets personal and honest about many aspects of her life. I found the writing well done. And her voice is actively involved; honest tears are felt when she reads the parts most vulnerable.
Since her life always included pain and depression, it is spelled out quite often. If that is triggering for you, this might not be the read for you. It does help to see how someone else worked through her own darkness. I think it was worth the read.
Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers
This is my second reading of the series thus far. In fact, I just read this book a month ago and decided I needed to read the whole series again. So here I am again. Below is the first review I wrote on this book, and I am sticking with it.
***
This is my favorite kind of science fiction! So many questions about what might happen if we were to get out among the stars! Patricia Rodríguez (Narrator) made the story even better! Becky Chambers writes such different and intriguing books!
I am still feeling the charm, so I have downloaded the first two books to read again. I just didn’t want to leave Ms. Chambers’s universes.
What if we left Earth? What if it were doable to save as many as possible and fly through space? What if other worlds were found? What if other beings were found and able to learn from us and vice versa? What if whole generations lived, died, and were born on a spaceship of some kind? How do we deal with the dead? How do we document life and death to make it understandable for us and others? How do religion and politics play a part? Sexuality? So many questions!
So many characters. A friend mentioned keeping track of the characters. I may need to do that on the next read. I think I’ll need to dedicate a whole notebook for this next read!
Don’t worry. No matter that you don’t know who or what is speaking, it all works out that you realize you did follow it and are so happy to have been there with the author in the end.
I can’t wait to start again!
***
And I intend to read this another few times. I still loved it!
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is starts with “u.” Find a word that starts with the letter “u” and use it however you’d like. Bonus points if it’s the first word in your post. Enjoy!
Using the protocol taught by Undercover Spies United, Ursala peeked out from under her umbrella to observe the undertaking before her. Rain hit her in the eye, but she was persistent. Besides, it merely cleared her dry eye problem.
Usually, the minister conducted a eulogy over the casket. Instead, he seemed to be giving a puppet show to the mourners. The children were laughing. So unusual. But this was not a real person in the casket. The children’s network had lost a star. Ulysses, the underdog, had been a favorite for all. Uttering his last words while not using child-appropriate language caused his death.
Ursala had to make sure that it was all done tastefully. The network was still under contract. Another company was ready to use the dog once the make-over was complete. It was all understandable. Just unfortunate for Ulysses.
On the writing front, I’ve entered a few more of my books into yWriter. I even worked on the memoir a bit. Now that I’ve moved into the new laptop I’m having a bit more time to get creative again.
It may seem I’ve been reading a lot. The fact is, when the electronics were down, I got behind in reviews and writing. Now I’m finally catching up.
Congrats! You have completed your goal of reading 100 books for the 2013 Reading Challenge! 115 of 100 (115%)
Congrats! You have completed your goal of reading 225 books for the 2012 Reading Challenge! 225 of 225 (100%)
Congrats! You have completed your goal of reading 200 books for the 2011 Reading Challenge! 204 of 200 (102%)
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