Yes, I am indeed in the middle of moving house. This post was one I prepared earlier. Normal blogging may resume at some stage in the near future!
I got this meme from here where there are links to the posts by Ian Sales and Tansy Rayner Roberts mentioned:
SF Mistressworks - a reading meme
This list was created by reviewer and author Ian Sales, in response to the Gollancz SF Masterworks series.
Ian explains:
"[These are all by women,] science fiction only, no fantasy; and no YA or children’s works. One work per author... Arbitrary end date of 2000.
For trilogies or series, I’ve listed the first book but put the trilogy/series name in square brackets afterwards. Asterisked titles are in Gollancz’s SF Masterworks series. And if the Masterworks series is allowed an anthology, so am I: hence the inclusion of Despatches from the Frontiers of the Female Mind. I’ve also sneakily included one or two collections, for those writers best known for their short fiction.
The list is in order of year of publication.
You know how it works: bold those you’ve read, italicise those you own but have not read. (If you’ve read the entire named series, you can even emboldenize that as well.)"
The titles bolded below are ones that I (Judy) have read - some many times, some only once. This is Deborah's list so I am not sure if it is identical to the original one.
1 * Frankenstein, Mary Shelley (1818)
2 * Herland, Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1915)
3 Orlando, Virginia Woolf (1928)
4 Lest Ye Die, Cicely Hamilton (1928)
5 Swastika Night, Katherine Burdekin (1937)
6 was deleted cos Francis Leslie Ashton is male (1951)
7 The Sword of Rhiannon, Leigh Brackett (1953)
8 Pilgrimage: The Book of the People, Zenna Henderson (1961)
9 Memoirs of a Spacewoman, Naomi Mitchison (1962)
10 Witch World, Andre Norton (1963)
11 Sunburst, Phyllis Gotlieb (1964)
12 Jirel of Joiry, CL Moore (1969)
13 Heroes and Villains, Angela Carter (1969)
14 Ten Thousand Light Years From Home, James Tiptree Jr (1973)
15 * The Dispossessed, Ursula K Le Guin (1974)
16 Walk to the End of the World, Suzy McKee Charnas (1974)
17 * The Female Man, Joana Russ (1975)
18 Missing Man, Katherine MacLean (1975)
19 * Arslan, MJ Engh (1976)
20 * Floating Worlds, Cecelia Holland (1976)
21 * Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, Kate Wilhelm (1976)
22 Islands, Marta Randall (1976)
23 Dreamsnake, Vonda N McIntyre (1978)
24 False Dawn, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (1978)
25 Shikasta [Canopus in Argos: Archives], Doris Lessing (1979)
26 Kindred, Octavia Butler (1979)
27 Benefits, Zoe Fairbairns (1979)
28 The Snow Queen, Joan D Vinge (1980)
29 The Silent City, Élisabeth Vonarburg (1981)
30 The Silver Metal Lover, Tanith Lee (1981)
31 The Many-Coloured Land [Saga of the Exiles], Julian May (1981)
32 Darkchild [Daughters of the Sunstone], Sydney J van Scyoc (1982)
33 The Crystal Singer, Anne McCaffrey (1982)
34 Native Tongue, Suzette Haden Elgin (1984)
35 The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood (1985)
36 Jerusalem Fire, RM Meluch (1985)
37 Children of Anthi, Jay D Blakeney (1985)
38 The Dream Years, Lisa Goldstein (1985)
39 Despatches from the Frontiers of the Female Mind, Sarah Lefanu & Jen Green (1985)
40 Queen of the States, Josephine Saxton (1986)
41 The Wave and the Flame [Lear's Daughters], Marjorie Bradley Kellogg (1986)
42 The Journal of Nicholas the American, Leigh Kennedy (1986)
43 A Door into Ocean, Joan Slonczewski (1986)
44 Angel at Apogee, SN Lewitt (1987)
45 In Conquest Born, CS Friedman (1987)
46 Pennterra, Judith Moffett (1987)
47 Kairos, Gwyneth Jones (1988)
48 Cyteen , CJ Cherryh (1988)
49 Unquenchable Fire, Rachel Pollack (1988)
50 The City, Not Long After, Pat Murphy (1988)
51 The Steerswoman [Steerswoman series], Rosemary Kirstein (1989)
52 The Third Eagle, RA MacAvoy (1989)
53 * Grass, Sheri S Tepper (1989)
54 Heritage of Flight, Susan Shwartz (1989)
55 Falcon, Emma Bull (1989)
56 The Archivist, Gill Alderman (1989)
57 Winterlong [Winterlong trilogy], Elizabeth Hand (1990)
58 A Gift Upon the Shore, MK Wren (1990)
59 Red Spider, White Web, Misha (1990)
60 Polar City Blues, Katharine Kerr (1990)
61 Body of Glass (AKA He, She and It), Marge Piercy (1991)
62 Sarah Canary, Karen Joy Fowler (1991)
63 Beggars in Spain [Sleepless trilogy], Nancy Kress (1991)
64 A Woman of the Iron People, Eleanor Arnason (1991)
65 Hermetech, Storm Constantine (1991)
66 China Mountain Zhang, Maureen F McHugh (1992)
67 Fools, Pat Cadigan (1992)
68 Correspondence, Sue Thomas (1992)
69 Lost Futures, Lisa Tuttle (1992)
70 Doomsday Book, Connie Willis (1992)
71 Ammonite, Nicola Griffith (1993)
72 The Holder of the World, Bharati Mukherjee (1993)
73 Queen City Jazz, Kathleen Ann Goonan (1994)
74 Happy Policeman, Patricia Anthony (1994)
75 Shadow Man, Melissa Scott (1995)
76 Legacies, Alison Sinclair (1995)
77 Primary Inversion [Skolian Saga], Catherine Asaro (1995)
78 Alien Influences, Kristine Kathryn Rusch (1995)
79 The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell (1996)
80 Memory [Vorkosigan series], Lois McMaster Bujold (1996)
81 Remnant Population, Elizabeth Moon (1996)
82 Looking for the Mahdi, N Lee Wood (1996)
83 An Exchange of Hostages [Jurisdiction series], Susan R Matthews (1997)
84 Fool’s War, Sarah Zettel (1997)
85 Black Wine, Candas Jane Dorsey (1997)
86 Halfway Human, Carolyn Ives Gilman (1998)
87 Vast, Linda Nagata (1998)
88 Hand of Prophecy, Severna Park (1998)
89 Brown Girl in the Ring, Nalo Hopkinson (1998)
90 Dreaming in Smoke, Tricia Sullivan (1999)
91 Ash: A Secret History, Mary Gentle (2000)
you can read more about this list on Ian Sales' blog
Deborah read about it first on Tansy Rayner Roberts' blog, I read about it on hers.
Embarassingly, and most unusually for me, I have read almost none of these books! It looks like a good reading list to follow up on.
Showing posts with label Book Meme. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book Meme. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Monday, September 20, 2010
Book Meme - Day 30
Day 30 - What book are you reading right now?
So finally, and a little sadly, I come to the end of the Book Meme. It;s been fun!
I am currently reading The Return of the Dancing Master by Henning Mankell. I have already mentioned, somewhere, my fondness for the Kurt Wallender books by this author. According to Wikipedia, this is supposedly part of that series in a loose way, but having almost finished it, I think I can say pretty definitely that the only connections are (a) it's Swedish and (b) one of the minor characters is the brother of one of the murder victims in Sidetracked, the fifth Wallender book.
That's all rather academic, actually, as it is such a good book that I only found myself missing Wallender rather peripherally. It's fascinating and I thoroughly recommend it. It;s always hard commenting on the writing style of someone who is translated into English, but I have now read nine of Mankell's books with about four translators between them, and they are all wonderfully written. I think he may come under the heading of 'genre writers who would never win a ... prize (say Booker Prize, Pulitzer, whatever) because of being a genre writer, but who should because of the quality of their writing'. My favorite examples are Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine and P.D. James, but he's certainly up there with them.
The book meme has been great fun, and best of all it has got me back into more regular blogging. I just hope that will continue!
So finally, and a little sadly, I come to the end of the Book Meme. It;s been fun!
I am currently reading The Return of the Dancing Master by Henning Mankell. I have already mentioned, somewhere, my fondness for the Kurt Wallender books by this author. According to Wikipedia, this is supposedly part of that series in a loose way, but having almost finished it, I think I can say pretty definitely that the only connections are (a) it's Swedish and (b) one of the minor characters is the brother of one of the murder victims in Sidetracked, the fifth Wallender book.
That's all rather academic, actually, as it is such a good book that I only found myself missing Wallender rather peripherally. It's fascinating and I thoroughly recommend it. It;s always hard commenting on the writing style of someone who is translated into English, but I have now read nine of Mankell's books with about four translators between them, and they are all wonderfully written. I think he may come under the heading of 'genre writers who would never win a ... prize (say Booker Prize, Pulitzer, whatever) because of being a genre writer, but who should because of the quality of their writing'. My favorite examples are Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine and P.D. James, but he's certainly up there with them.
The book meme has been great fun, and best of all it has got me back into more regular blogging. I just hope that will continue!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Book Meme - Day 29
Day 29 - Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)
I have already blogged about Vera Brittain's books Testament of Youth and Chronicle of Youth. Well, they get another guernsey here too, for the saddest death scene.
I have read both of these books repeatedly and was obsessed with Vera Brittain for many years. Many, many years. I'm feeling a bit better now but I will probably reread them again int he next year or so.
Roland Leighton dies on his last day at the front before coming home on leave. It's bad enough in
Testament of Youth, where the image of Vera waiting by the phone in a seaside hotel to hear news of his arrival, and the eventual phonecall, reduces me to floods of tears every time I read it. But it is even worse in Chronicle of Youth, which is the (presumably edited) diary she was keeping at the time, and is much rawer. In this we discover that she fully expected him to whisk her off and marry her hastily, and that a desk job had been fixed up for him.
EVERY SINGLE TIME I READ ONE OF THESE BOOKS I HOLD MY BREATH WAITING FOR HIM NOT TO DIE THIS TIME.
I am pathetic. Who cares!
I have already blogged about Vera Brittain's books Testament of Youth and Chronicle of Youth. Well, they get another guernsey here too, for the saddest death scene.
I have read both of these books repeatedly and was obsessed with Vera Brittain for many years. Many, many years. I'm feeling a bit better now but I will probably reread them again int he next year or so.
Roland Leighton dies on his last day at the front before coming home on leave. It's bad enough in
Testament of Youth, where the image of Vera waiting by the phone in a seaside hotel to hear news of his arrival, and the eventual phonecall, reduces me to floods of tears every time I read it. But it is even worse in Chronicle of Youth, which is the (presumably edited) diary she was keeping at the time, and is much rawer. In this we discover that she fully expected him to whisk her off and marry her hastily, and that a desk job had been fixed up for him.
EVERY SINGLE TIME I READ ONE OF THESE BOOKS I HOLD MY BREATH WAITING FOR HIM NOT TO DIE THIS TIME.
I am pathetic. Who cares!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Book Meme - Day 28. and the Adventures of Bobby the Ram, Part 2
Day 28 - First favorite book or series obsession
Probably the Chronicles of Narnia and the Swallows and Amazons books, as previously blogged. I was about five when I started reading them.
That wasn't very interesting, was it?
So without further ado I will update the adventures of Bobby the Ram. Our hero was last seen on the top of Mount Ainslie. He enjoyed the rest of his time with us in Canberra (or, as I just mistyped it, Canberaaaa).
He listened to music (I think it was Linkin Park).
He drank long cool drinks (it's a lemon lime and bitters, don't worry, he is not being corrupted by us!)
He indulged in a spot of photo bombing. (Black Mountain Tower, I think).
He very carefully coloured within the lines.
He met some metal creatures that appeared to be sheeplike. Both he and Momo the Lemur were dubious, but posed bravely in the winter sunshine.
Then we went home to Melbourne. On the drive through the Monaro Plains, near Cooma, he stopped to check out some local talent. Thought they were quite cute, but decided that the urban environment was rather more him, really, so off to Melbourne we went.
And he has settled in nicely, is a real family animal, and occasionally gets to go out and do things. He's content. And we love him.
Probably the Chronicles of Narnia and the Swallows and Amazons books, as previously blogged. I was about five when I started reading them.
That wasn't very interesting, was it?
So without further ado I will update the adventures of Bobby the Ram. Our hero was last seen on the top of Mount Ainslie. He enjoyed the rest of his time with us in Canberra (or, as I just mistyped it, Canberaaaa).
He indulged in a spot of photo bombing. (Black Mountain Tower, I think).
Then we went home to Melbourne. On the drive through the Monaro Plains, near Cooma, he stopped to check out some local talent. Thought they were quite cute, but decided that the urban environment was rather more him, really, so off to Melbourne we went.
And he has settled in nicely, is a real family animal, and occasionally gets to go out and do things. He's content. And we love him.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Book Meme - Day 27
Day 27 - If a book contains ______, you will always read it (and a book or books that contain it)!
After much thought I have decided that there is no definitive answer to this question, not from me anyway. There are lots of things that will entice me to think about reading a book, but none of them will be enough if the book sounds dodgy in other ways. In other words, what I think I mean is that the inclusion of one or more of my favorite topics, etc, does not necessarily guarantee an enjoyable book.
But for a list of the things that are more likely to make me want to read a book:
Magic realism (yes, I know curmudgeonly people say that is the same as fantasy. I think it is slightly different. I could draw a Venn diagram but then I would look obsessive and geeky. Like I usually do).
Apocalyptic fantasy.
Interesting detectives.
Occasionally, really good romance writers. (There aren't many I like).
Historical fiction - again it has to be really good.
Apparently, Steampunk and Mannerpunk!
Old-fashioned thrillers (sometimes).
Well-written social history (either in non-fiction or fiction form).
Real crime - which is nearly always badly written (why is that?) but I am a bit obsessed with serial killers.
Psychological mysteries.
Craft books!
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&am
And as promised, some pics of the book signing with the frabjous Andy Griffiths. Knitters please note the stitch holder used as punk safety pin on koala.
After much thought I have decided that there is no definitive answer to this question, not from me anyway. There are lots of things that will entice me to think about reading a book, but none of them will be enough if the book sounds dodgy in other ways. In other words, what I think I mean is that the inclusion of one or more of my favorite topics, etc, does not necessarily guarantee an enjoyable book.
But for a list of the things that are more likely to make me want to read a book:
Magic realism (yes, I know curmudgeonly people say that is the same as fantasy. I think it is slightly different. I could draw a Venn diagram but then I would look obsessive and geeky. Like I usually do).
Apocalyptic fantasy.
Interesting detectives.
Occasionally, really good romance writers. (There aren't many I like).
Historical fiction - again it has to be really good.
Apparently, Steampunk and Mannerpunk!
Old-fashioned thrillers (sometimes).
Well-written social history (either in non-fiction or fiction form).
Real crime - which is nearly always badly written (why is that?) but I am a bit obsessed with serial killers.
Psychological mysteries.
Craft books!
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&am
And as promised, some pics of the book signing with the frabjous Andy Griffiths. Knitters please note the stitch holder used as punk safety pin on koala.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Book Meme - Day 25
Ok, so 26 always goes after 24 doesn't it, to be followed by 25. Whoops!!
Day 25 - Any five books from your "to be read" stack
My 'stack' is more like a mountain range. This is a selection from the more visible bits near the top.
Jodi Picoult, Songs of the Humpback Whales. I have read quite a few of her books and enjoy them, though she annoys me with her shameless pushing of buttons - as mentioned in a previous Book Meme post, though I can't remember which one. It's a bit like chocolate - I know it;s not all that good for me, really, but I keep going back.
Stieg Larsson, The Millenium Trilogy (Ok, that's 3 books, but I will probably read them in one go). Well, everyone is talking about them, and reading them, and they have been recommended by a number of people whose judgement is usually pretty spot on. If I hate them, the church fete will get them next year.
Hilary Mantel, Beyond Black. NOT because she won the Booker Prize last year! I discovered her ages ago. Over the years I have read her books Fludd (which I desperately wanted to like, but was ambivalent over) and A Place of Greater Safety, about the French Revolution in general, and Danton in particular, which was the most fabulous book I read in that particular year, which must have been 1993 (because it was published then and I know I got it brand spanking new from the library).
George R.R. Martin, The Game of Thrones. Because Baby Bear was given it for Christmas and enjoyed it, and we often swap books. It is one of those humungous fantasy novels that has sequels to keep people hooked.
John Pilger, Hidden Agendas. Because I have known of his stuff for many years but never read anything.
This does not necessarily mean I will read these immediately next, but as I said, they are near the top, so who knows?
Day 25 - Any five books from your "to be read" stack
My 'stack' is more like a mountain range. This is a selection from the more visible bits near the top.
Jodi Picoult, Songs of the Humpback Whales. I have read quite a few of her books and enjoy them, though she annoys me with her shameless pushing of buttons - as mentioned in a previous Book Meme post, though I can't remember which one. It's a bit like chocolate - I know it;s not all that good for me, really, but I keep going back.
Stieg Larsson, The Millenium Trilogy (Ok, that's 3 books, but I will probably read them in one go). Well, everyone is talking about them, and reading them, and they have been recommended by a number of people whose judgement is usually pretty spot on. If I hate them, the church fete will get them next year.
Hilary Mantel, Beyond Black. NOT because she won the Booker Prize last year! I discovered her ages ago. Over the years I have read her books Fludd (which I desperately wanted to like, but was ambivalent over) and A Place of Greater Safety, about the French Revolution in general, and Danton in particular, which was the most fabulous book I read in that particular year, which must have been 1993 (because it was published then and I know I got it brand spanking new from the library).
George R.R. Martin, The Game of Thrones. Because Baby Bear was given it for Christmas and enjoyed it, and we often swap books. It is one of those humungous fantasy novels that has sequels to keep people hooked.
John Pilger, Hidden Agendas. Because I have known of his stuff for many years but never read anything.
This does not necessarily mean I will read these immediately next, but as I said, they are near the top, so who knows?
Book Meme - Day 26
Day 26 - OMG WTF? OR most irritating/awful/annoying book ending
Tim Winton, The Shallows. Everybody I know raves on about Tim Winton. I always had it in for him because he won the Vogel Prize the year I entered it. OK, my MS was a pile of crap, but even so, it was personal!
I found this is the library a couple of years ago and thought I should at least try to read one of his books. I didn't like it that much but I did persevere - it was short, he's meant to be one of Australia's best living writers, yada yada yada. It was OK. It was the short of book that forces you to put quite a big emotional commitment into reading it. I started to care about what happened. And then all the whales died anyway. I hated the ending! I don't automatically expect a happy ending to a book, but it felt like a cop-out. It felt like a kid knocking down his Lego creation because he was bored with it.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Wombat has a Drama assignment to do. I usually have to help him with school work, but at least one was fun! He had to pick a film or TV performance and analyse it in terms of use of voice, movement and space. He made it really easy by choosing Christopher Lee as Count Dooku in Revenge of the Sith. He's only on screen for a few minutes, which made it easy to analyse fully. And his performance is a real gift! It was so simple and fun to answer the questions. And Wombat was able to pick up most of it himself with me making notes (and even showed knowledge of some quite sophisticated dramatic conventions - I guess at those countless hours watching TV has paid off!).
On Saturday we went to a book signing by Andy Griffiths, childrens' author extraordinaire , who was delightful and genuinely pleased to meet his fans. He was also obviously genuinely thrilled that Baby Bear produced two first editions of his earlier books to be signed. Pictures may appear on Facebook when I download them. Maybe even here.
George and I made a major effort in book sorting yesterday. We have sort of finished, in a sense - the boxes of books still exist but they have been sorted into SPECIFIC boxes. This counts as progress.
Tim Winton, The Shallows. Everybody I know raves on about Tim Winton. I always had it in for him because he won the Vogel Prize the year I entered it. OK, my MS was a pile of crap, but even so, it was personal!
I found this is the library a couple of years ago and thought I should at least try to read one of his books. I didn't like it that much but I did persevere - it was short, he's meant to be one of Australia's best living writers, yada yada yada. It was OK. It was the short of book that forces you to put quite a big emotional commitment into reading it. I started to care about what happened. And then all the whales died anyway. I hated the ending! I don't automatically expect a happy ending to a book, but it felt like a cop-out. It felt like a kid knocking down his Lego creation because he was bored with it.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Wombat has a Drama assignment to do. I usually have to help him with school work, but at least one was fun! He had to pick a film or TV performance and analyse it in terms of use of voice, movement and space. He made it really easy by choosing Christopher Lee as Count Dooku in Revenge of the Sith. He's only on screen for a few minutes, which made it easy to analyse fully. And his performance is a real gift! It was so simple and fun to answer the questions. And Wombat was able to pick up most of it himself with me making notes (and even showed knowledge of some quite sophisticated dramatic conventions - I guess at those countless hours watching TV has paid off!).
On Saturday we went to a book signing by Andy Griffiths, childrens' author extraordinaire , who was delightful and genuinely pleased to meet his fans. He was also obviously genuinely thrilled that Baby Bear produced two first editions of his earlier books to be signed. Pictures may appear on Facebook when I download them. Maybe even here.
George and I made a major effort in book sorting yesterday. We have sort of finished, in a sense - the boxes of books still exist but they have been sorted into SPECIFIC boxes. This counts as progress.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Book Meme - Day 24
Day 24 - Best quote from a novel
I can't find the exact paragraph, so I will have to quote the first bit from memory. This is certainly one of my favorite quotes of all time:
From Titus Alone by Mervyn Peake, 'I need a cynic for a friend'. There's another sentence or two, but this is the bit that always sticks in my mind.
I am crazy about the Titus Groan books, also known as the Gormenghast Trilogy. I first read Titus Groan when I was at school, and the other two a couple of years later when I was at university, and have reread them a couple of times since, the most recently a few years ago. While looking up a link on the Internet for this post, I discovered that they are considered to be the forerunners of Mannerpunk, of which I had never heard. Apparently it is a weird mixture of novels of manners and, well, a less steam-related version of Steampunk. I know that Steampunk is very trendy right now, but I have been obsessed with it ever since I read The Difference Engine and Tim Powers a long time ago.
I shall have to take some time to absorb Mannerpunk.
I can't find the exact paragraph, so I will have to quote the first bit from memory. This is certainly one of my favorite quotes of all time:
From Titus Alone by Mervyn Peake, 'I need a cynic for a friend'. There's another sentence or two, but this is the bit that always sticks in my mind.
I am crazy about the Titus Groan books, also known as the Gormenghast Trilogy. I first read Titus Groan when I was at school, and the other two a couple of years later when I was at university, and have reread them a couple of times since, the most recently a few years ago. While looking up a link on the Internet for this post, I discovered that they are considered to be the forerunners of Mannerpunk, of which I had never heard. Apparently it is a weird mixture of novels of manners and, well, a less steam-related version of Steampunk. I know that Steampunk is very trendy right now, but I have been obsessed with it ever since I read The Difference Engine and Tim Powers a long time ago.
I shall have to take some time to absorb Mannerpunk.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Book Meme - Day 23
Day 23 - Most annoying character ever
Widmerpool from A Dance to the Music of Time naturally comes to mind, but he is MEANT to be annoying and he is a valuable theatrical device.
So Steerforth from David Copperfield. I hate those smarmy charmers who know they can bat their eyelids and everyone, male and female, young and old, will fall in love them, with fatal consequences. He is the first I can remember in a book (I read Dickens at a precocious age) and I have met too many of them in real life.
OK, Steerforth is meant to be like that, too, and is also a useful theatrical device. But I hate him more.
Widmerpool from A Dance to the Music of Time naturally comes to mind, but he is MEANT to be annoying and he is a valuable theatrical device.
So Steerforth from David Copperfield. I hate those smarmy charmers who know they can bat their eyelids and everyone, male and female, young and old, will fall in love them, with fatal consequences. He is the first I can remember in a book (I read Dickens at a precocious age) and I have met too many of them in real life.
OK, Steerforth is meant to be like that, too, and is also a useful theatrical device. But I hate him more.
Book Meme - Day 22
Book Meme - Day 22
Day 22 - Favorite non-sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Can I say Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh? The first wonderful non-sexual relationship I can ever remember reading (and I DO NOT want to hear anything to the contrary, please!!!!). I played wonderful games with my stuffed toys and always thought Pooh Bear had a great life.
***********************************************************************
Fortunately the visit to the-doctor-who-always-sends-us-to-hospital went well. He said she just needs another few days to fully recover. He also said to go back if she wasn't better by the middle of next week. If that happens I will take a sock to knit...
Can I say Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh? The first wonderful non-sexual relationship I can ever remember reading (and I DO NOT want to hear anything to the contrary, please!!!!). I played wonderful games with my stuffed toys and always thought Pooh Bear had a great life.
***********************************************************************
Fortunately the visit to the-doctor-who-always-sends-us-to-hospital went well. He said she just needs another few days to fully recover. He also said to go back if she wasn't better by the middle of next week. If that happens I will take a sock to knit...
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Book Meme - Day 21
Day 21 - Favorite romantic/sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
I'm in a sci-fi state of mind .... (to be sung to the tune of I;m in a New York State of Mind, Billy Joel).
I;m going to cheat here - these are only books as an afterthought, they are really television series, but after breathing in some air from WorldCon yesterday (I didn't have a ticket but was meeting a friend outside), I am definitely in a sci-fi frame of mind.
Captain Jack from Torchwood and pretty much every man, woman and alien he ever comes across in any world, planet or time era. Who couldn't love him?
And Dr Who and Rose Tyler. The only time he even came close to saying 'I love you'.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
I didn't go to WorldCon owing to a severe lack of planning ability, but did meet up with Deborah who was down from Sydney, and we had the best time!!! Discovered just how much we had in common, and talked nonstop for at least three hours. I also got to read her timetable thingy and realise just how much fun I had missed out on:( But then it is hard for me to plan even a day ahead, what with unpredictable kids and so on.
I am still reeling at the thought that I have booked a bead embroidery class for one afternoon in November. What dread disasters will await me then? I also feel that I am cheating a bit with this class, it is for beginners and I am actually very experienced at bead embroidery, but the teacher does a technique that I want to pick her brains on (that the class is actually going to learn), and it wouldn't be the first time I have taken a beginners' class in a technique because I have wanted to learn extra tips from an acknowledged master in the field. Whenever that has happened they have always been very happy for me to steam ahead at my own pace. So please, whatever or whoever manages these things, let there be no disasters on that day!
Taking Baby Bear back to the doctor today. It is nearly two weeks and she is still not well. The tonsils are going down but her asthma is spiralling out of control. I am dreading this because I could not get our good, wonderful, worship the ground he walks on GP today, but a new GP who is a nice person but, the only three times I have taken someone to see him, he has flicked us on to casualty. Twice with Wombat, once with George in an ambulance. I am just dreading what he will say today! Will he break the run and just say that she needs a bit more time to get better? Or will I spend another ten hours at the Monash Medical CEntre wondering when I am going to be charged with having Munchausens by Proxy?
I'm in a sci-fi state of mind .... (to be sung to the tune of I;m in a New York State of Mind, Billy Joel).
I;m going to cheat here - these are only books as an afterthought, they are really television series, but after breathing in some air from WorldCon yesterday (I didn't have a ticket but was meeting a friend outside), I am definitely in a sci-fi frame of mind.
Captain Jack from Torchwood and pretty much every man, woman and alien he ever comes across in any world, planet or time era. Who couldn't love him?
And Dr Who and Rose Tyler. The only time he even came close to saying 'I love you'.
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I didn't go to WorldCon owing to a severe lack of planning ability, but did meet up with Deborah who was down from Sydney, and we had the best time!!! Discovered just how much we had in common, and talked nonstop for at least three hours. I also got to read her timetable thingy and realise just how much fun I had missed out on:( But then it is hard for me to plan even a day ahead, what with unpredictable kids and so on.
I am still reeling at the thought that I have booked a bead embroidery class for one afternoon in November. What dread disasters will await me then? I also feel that I am cheating a bit with this class, it is for beginners and I am actually very experienced at bead embroidery, but the teacher does a technique that I want to pick her brains on (that the class is actually going to learn), and it wouldn't be the first time I have taken a beginners' class in a technique because I have wanted to learn extra tips from an acknowledged master in the field. Whenever that has happened they have always been very happy for me to steam ahead at my own pace. So please, whatever or whoever manages these things, let there be no disasters on that day!
Taking Baby Bear back to the doctor today. It is nearly two weeks and she is still not well. The tonsils are going down but her asthma is spiralling out of control. I am dreading this because I could not get our good, wonderful, worship the ground he walks on GP today, but a new GP who is a nice person but, the only three times I have taken someone to see him, he has flicked us on to casualty. Twice with Wombat, once with George in an ambulance. I am just dreading what he will say today! Will he break the run and just say that she needs a bit more time to get better? Or will I spend another ten hours at the Monash Medical CEntre wondering when I am going to be charged with having Munchausens by Proxy?
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Book Meme - Day 20
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Vera Brittain, Testament of Youth, when Roland first kisses her, either on a train or a platform, I think it was a train. It is so full of unrequited passion and horrible things to come, and every time I read it (and I have read it, and Chronicle of Youth, over and over again) I weep.
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Baby Bear is holed up at home with severe tonsillitis (since last Monday). Fortunately she does not get it very often but when she does, it knocks her out for at least two weeks. A pity, she was meant to be singing at a concert tonight, and can't. At least I no longer have to listen to less wonderful VCE students murdering music.
Fab day out on Monday. More of that later, there is a more suitable themed Book Meme day for what I am thinking about.
Still knitting kitchen towels out of leftover cotton yarns. Completely destroyed the whole reduce, reuse, recycle thing, though, by buying yarn for another two pairs of socks, and a bamboo wrap. I have more sock yarn than will fit in the sock yarn box. You;d think that would tell me something!
I am noticing that this blog has veered away from craft and towards books in recent times. I guess I am reading more and crafting less. Or doing a lesser variety of craft. This will not be a permanent state of affairs. I have ideas brewing in the background. I have just lost the mojo a bit in recent months, but I know it is just on a backburner rather than gone away forever.
Vera Brittain, Testament of Youth, when Roland first kisses her, either on a train or a platform, I think it was a train. It is so full of unrequited passion and horrible things to come, and every time I read it (and I have read it, and Chronicle of Youth, over and over again) I weep.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Baby Bear is holed up at home with severe tonsillitis (since last Monday). Fortunately she does not get it very often but when she does, it knocks her out for at least two weeks. A pity, she was meant to be singing at a concert tonight, and can't. At least I no longer have to listen to less wonderful VCE students murdering music.
Fab day out on Monday. More of that later, there is a more suitable themed Book Meme day for what I am thinking about.
Still knitting kitchen towels out of leftover cotton yarns. Completely destroyed the whole reduce, reuse, recycle thing, though, by buying yarn for another two pairs of socks, and a bamboo wrap. I have more sock yarn than will fit in the sock yarn box. You;d think that would tell me something!
I am noticing that this blog has veered away from craft and towards books in recent times. I guess I am reading more and crafting less. Or doing a lesser variety of craft. This will not be a permanent state of affairs. I have ideas brewing in the background. I have just lost the mojo a bit in recent months, but I know it is just on a backburner rather than gone away forever.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Book Meme - Day 19
Day 19 - Favorite book cover (bonus points for posting an image!).There is a multitude of wonderful cover art out there. So I have picked the cheesiest rather than the best. This is the sort of book that I might read once and then give away. But something about the extreme cheesiness of it endears it to me, and thus it stays in my voluminous book collection. Believe me, the contents are everything that the cover promises!
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Book Meme - Day 18
Day 18 - Favorite beginning scene in a book
I've wracked my brains but don't think I can come up with an all-time favorite. But I do love this one:
From Markus Zusak's The Book Thief
DEATH AND CHOCOLATE
First the colours.
Then the humans.
That's usually how I see things.
Or at least, how I try.
HERE IS A SMALL FACT
You are going to die.
I am in all truthfulness attempting to be cheerful about this whole topic, though most people find themselves hindered in believing me, no matter my protestations. Please, trust me. I most definitely can be cheerful. I can be amiable. Agreeable. Affable. And that's only the A's. Just don't ask me to be nice. Nice has nothing to do with me.
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Another day at home with sick children. Wombat is going back to school tomorrow. At he is only allowed to go to Friday night Youth Group if he is at school on Friday, he usually feels better by then! To be fair, if he is still genuinely sick by the Friday he usually accepts it with a good grace. Baby Bear is being dragged to the doctor tomorrow. Just as the doctor was closing for today she casually announced that she had looked at her tonsils and they looked awful. She doesn't get tonsillitis very often but when she does, she is REALLY SICK. This is particularly upsetting for her as we have tickets for West Side Story on Saturday. She is determined to go no matter what, but I have explained that I will not sit in a theatre with her while she throws up into a bucket! (Baby Bear - temperature - throwing up - regardless of precise nature of illness, this is just a given. It rather took the shine off watching Neighbours with her yesterday, though many people might consider throwing up into a bucket the only possible way to watch Neighbours).
I have been valuing books. A fascinating exercise! Many are bread and butter books - I'll probably get $5 for them on Ebay, which is fine as there are hundreds if not thousands of them. Some look rare and valuable and turn out to be worthless. Some look boring or otherwise unprepossessing and turn out to be worth a lot more.
And knitting more kitchen towels. I found three more lots of cotton yarn waiting to be used up.
I've wracked my brains but don't think I can come up with an all-time favorite. But I do love this one:
From Markus Zusak's The Book Thief
DEATH AND CHOCOLATE
First the colours.
Then the humans.
That's usually how I see things.
Or at least, how I try.
HERE IS A SMALL FACT
You are going to die.
I am in all truthfulness attempting to be cheerful about this whole topic, though most people find themselves hindered in believing me, no matter my protestations. Please, trust me. I most definitely can be cheerful. I can be amiable. Agreeable. Affable. And that's only the A's. Just don't ask me to be nice. Nice has nothing to do with me.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Another day at home with sick children. Wombat is going back to school tomorrow. At he is only allowed to go to Friday night Youth Group if he is at school on Friday, he usually feels better by then! To be fair, if he is still genuinely sick by the Friday he usually accepts it with a good grace. Baby Bear is being dragged to the doctor tomorrow. Just as the doctor was closing for today she casually announced that she had looked at her tonsils and they looked awful. She doesn't get tonsillitis very often but when she does, she is REALLY SICK. This is particularly upsetting for her as we have tickets for West Side Story on Saturday. She is determined to go no matter what, but I have explained that I will not sit in a theatre with her while she throws up into a bucket! (Baby Bear - temperature - throwing up - regardless of precise nature of illness, this is just a given. It rather took the shine off watching Neighbours with her yesterday, though many people might consider throwing up into a bucket the only possible way to watch Neighbours).
I have been valuing books. A fascinating exercise! Many are bread and butter books - I'll probably get $5 for them on Ebay, which is fine as there are hundreds if not thousands of them. Some look rare and valuable and turn out to be worthless. Some look boring or otherwise unprepossessing and turn out to be worth a lot more.
And knitting more kitchen towels. I found three more lots of cotton yarn waiting to be used up.
Book Meme - Day 17
Day 17 - Favorite story or collection of stories (short stories, novellas, novelettes, etc.)
I don't really have a favorite one of these. In general I find short stories a rather frustrating literary form. You are just getting into the characters, plot, whatever, and then it finishes. Even the best ones, the ones that do encapsulate memorable character and plot and a satisfactory conclusion in the short space of time, leave me feeling that I want more.
But two memorable ones that I have enjoyed over the last ten years, and hold pride of place on one of my many, many bookshelves, would be:
Dreaming Down Under, a 1998 anthology of speculative Australian fiction, edited by Jack Dann and Janeen Webb, and Dreaming Again, another similar anthology edited by Jack Dann and published in 2008.
There are lots of interesting, weird, satisfactory (ish) and unsatisfactory stories in these books, plenty to make one think, and the ten years between them allows one to have interesting thoughts about the state of the speculative fiction output in Australia over time. (Healthy and productive, in general).
When I was a child the only short stories I ever really liked were collections of myths and legends. I devoured them. Norse and Greek/Roman were my favorites, but any culture would do! I haven't read any of them for a great many years, but just thinking about them makes me want to find some and reread them.
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Finding time to blog has been proving difficult recently! There has always been someone else queuing up for the computer. Two adults and two teenagers and one computer makes for log-jams.
While sorting through my late father's books I have actually come across a collection of myths written for children that belonged to me a long time ago. I had thought that I had got all of my old books but obviously this one slipped through somehow. It brought back good memories, something that is sadly lacking when I think about my father. I have decided to set up an online shop, probably on Ebay, to sell off a lot of what he left Baby Bear. She doesn't want them, but the money, if there is any, could go towards a car or something in the next couple of years. And I have long wanted to try my hand at second-hand bookselling, and doing it this way costs me very little upfront. So watch this space. I am spending time most days sorting and valueing books. The house is full of boxes, which is depressing. But it is also fun in a way.
The kids are sick again. I think it might be time we got everyone taking multi vitamins. Monday was one of those days - called to the school at 12.45 to pick up one of them, and 1.45 to pick up the other. It's a good thing we are a 5 minute walk away!
George is in Sydney, and, probably, in Cairns later today, coming back tomorrow. We haven't planned anything much for Father's Day because he refuses to say what he wants, which usually means, quite genuinely, that he doesn't really want anything.
I am supposed to be taking Baby Bear to see West Side Story on Saturday, so she had better recover from whatever flu-like virus she has at the moment! It is her birthday present (two months late, but it wasn't on in July and it;s what she wanted).
I don't really have a favorite one of these. In general I find short stories a rather frustrating literary form. You are just getting into the characters, plot, whatever, and then it finishes. Even the best ones, the ones that do encapsulate memorable character and plot and a satisfactory conclusion in the short space of time, leave me feeling that I want more.
But two memorable ones that I have enjoyed over the last ten years, and hold pride of place on one of my many, many bookshelves, would be:
Dreaming Down Under, a 1998 anthology of speculative Australian fiction, edited by Jack Dann and Janeen Webb, and Dreaming Again, another similar anthology edited by Jack Dann and published in 2008.
There are lots of interesting, weird, satisfactory (ish) and unsatisfactory stories in these books, plenty to make one think, and the ten years between them allows one to have interesting thoughts about the state of the speculative fiction output in Australia over time. (Healthy and productive, in general).
When I was a child the only short stories I ever really liked were collections of myths and legends. I devoured them. Norse and Greek/Roman were my favorites, but any culture would do! I haven't read any of them for a great many years, but just thinking about them makes me want to find some and reread them.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Finding time to blog has been proving difficult recently! There has always been someone else queuing up for the computer. Two adults and two teenagers and one computer makes for log-jams.
While sorting through my late father's books I have actually come across a collection of myths written for children that belonged to me a long time ago. I had thought that I had got all of my old books but obviously this one slipped through somehow. It brought back good memories, something that is sadly lacking when I think about my father. I have decided to set up an online shop, probably on Ebay, to sell off a lot of what he left Baby Bear. She doesn't want them, but the money, if there is any, could go towards a car or something in the next couple of years. And I have long wanted to try my hand at second-hand bookselling, and doing it this way costs me very little upfront. So watch this space. I am spending time most days sorting and valueing books. The house is full of boxes, which is depressing. But it is also fun in a way.
The kids are sick again. I think it might be time we got everyone taking multi vitamins. Monday was one of those days - called to the school at 12.45 to pick up one of them, and 1.45 to pick up the other. It's a good thing we are a 5 minute walk away!
George is in Sydney, and, probably, in Cairns later today, coming back tomorrow. We haven't planned anything much for Father's Day because he refuses to say what he wants, which usually means, quite genuinely, that he doesn't really want anything.
I am supposed to be taking Baby Bear to see West Side Story on Saturday, so she had better recover from whatever flu-like virus she has at the moment! It is her birthday present (two months late, but it wasn't on in July and it;s what she wanted).
Monday, August 23, 2010
Book Meme - Day 16
Day 16 - Favorite poem or collection of poetry
Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 immediately springs to mind:
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand'ring bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.If this be error and upon me proved,I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
But there are lots of others, of course. T.S. Elliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.
This:
Dust
by Rupert Brooke (1887-1915)When the white flame in us is gone,
And we that lost the world's delight
Stiffen in darkness, left alone
To crumble in our separate night;
When your swift hair is quiet in death,
And through the lips corruption thrust
Has stilled the labour of my breath---
When we are dust, when we are dust!---
Not dead, not undesirous yet,
Still sentient, still unsatisfied,
We'll ride the air, and shine, and flit,
Around the places where we died,
And dance as dust before the sun,
And light of foot, and unconfined,
Hurry from road to road, and run
About the errands of the wind.
And every mote, on earth or air,
Will speed and gleam, down later days,
And like a secret pilgrim fare
By eager and invisible ways,
Nor ever rest, nor ever lie,
Till, beyond thinking, out of view,
One mote of all the dust that's I
Shall meet one atom that was you.
Then in some garden hushed from wind,
Warm in a sunset's afterglow,
The lovers in the flowers will find
A sweet and strange unquiet grow
Upon the peace; and, past desiring,
So high a beauty in the air,
And such a light, and such a quiring,
And such a radiant ecstasy there,
They'll know not if it's fire, or dew,
Or out of earth, or in the height,
Singing, or flame, or scent, or hue,
Or two that pass, in light, to light,
Out of the garden, higher, higher. . . .
But in that instant they shall learn
The shattering ecstasy of our fire,
And the weak passionless hearts will burn
And faint in that amazing glow,
Until the darkness close above;
And they will know---poor fools, they'll know!---
One moment, what it is to love.
And This:
As far as collections, John Donne. And I love the poetry of Michael Ondaatje, and Robert Frost, and quite a few other people.
*************************************************************
Well, we had our Federal Election. And what a fizzer that turned out to be. It could be two weeks before we get a 'proper' result and none of them are likely to be particularly good. Whoever eventually becomes Prime Minister, they will have to kowtow to a small number of independents holding the balance of power - who are either insanely conservative or not - but I have decided that I am tired of the fate of the nation being held in the hands of a tiny number of people, who have usually got into that position because of extremist views of one sort or another. I used to vote for the Greens, and still like some of their policies, but I;m not sure that I want every decision in the country to be made by one of them. Still less do I want ANY decisions being made by people so insular that they left the National Party because it was too left-wing!!!
Otherwise, quite a good weekend. I took Wombat to Manifest, an anime convention, and he had the time of his life. I enjoyed bits of it - gawking at the bizarre cosplay costumes, buying myself a pair of Pikachu slippers, and getting us into a Q & A session with LittleKaribo who was extremely funny. Wombat has now elevated me to the position of Best Mum in the Universe, which I think I deserve!
Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 immediately springs to mind:
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand'ring bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.If this be error and upon me proved,I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
But there are lots of others, of course. T.S. Elliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.
This:
Dust
by Rupert Brooke (1887-1915)When the white flame in us is gone,
And we that lost the world's delight
Stiffen in darkness, left alone
To crumble in our separate night;
When your swift hair is quiet in death,
And through the lips corruption thrust
Has stilled the labour of my breath---
When we are dust, when we are dust!---
Not dead, not undesirous yet,
Still sentient, still unsatisfied,
We'll ride the air, and shine, and flit,
Around the places where we died,
And dance as dust before the sun,
And light of foot, and unconfined,
Hurry from road to road, and run
About the errands of the wind.
And every mote, on earth or air,
Will speed and gleam, down later days,
And like a secret pilgrim fare
By eager and invisible ways,
Nor ever rest, nor ever lie,
Till, beyond thinking, out of view,
One mote of all the dust that's I
Shall meet one atom that was you.
Then in some garden hushed from wind,
Warm in a sunset's afterglow,
The lovers in the flowers will find
A sweet and strange unquiet grow
Upon the peace; and, past desiring,
So high a beauty in the air,
And such a light, and such a quiring,
And such a radiant ecstasy there,
They'll know not if it's fire, or dew,
Or out of earth, or in the height,
Singing, or flame, or scent, or hue,
Or two that pass, in light, to light,
Out of the garden, higher, higher. . . .
But in that instant they shall learn
The shattering ecstasy of our fire,
And the weak passionless hearts will burn
And faint in that amazing glow,
Until the darkness close above;
And they will know---poor fools, they'll know!---
One moment, what it is to love.
And This:
EDWARD THOMAS
No one so much as you Loves this my clay, Or would lament as you Its dying day.
You know me through and through Though I have not told, And though with what you know You are not bold.
None ever was so fair As I thought you: Not a word can I bear Spoken against you.
All that I ever did For you seemed coarse Compared with what I hid Nor put in force.
Scarce my eyes dare meet you Lest they should prove I but respond to you And do not love.
We look and understand, We cannot speak Except in trifles and Words the most weak.
I at the most accept Your love, regretting That is all: I have kept Only a fretting
That I could not return All that you gave And could not ever burn With the love you have,
Till sometimes it did seem Better it were Never to see you more Than linger here
With only gratitude Instead of love--- A pine in solitude Cradling a dove.
As far as collections, John Donne. And I love the poetry of Michael Ondaatje, and Robert Frost, and quite a few other people.
*************************************************************
Well, we had our Federal Election. And what a fizzer that turned out to be. It could be two weeks before we get a 'proper' result and none of them are likely to be particularly good. Whoever eventually becomes Prime Minister, they will have to kowtow to a small number of independents holding the balance of power - who are either insanely conservative or not - but I have decided that I am tired of the fate of the nation being held in the hands of a tiny number of people, who have usually got into that position because of extremist views of one sort or another. I used to vote for the Greens, and still like some of their policies, but I;m not sure that I want every decision in the country to be made by one of them. Still less do I want ANY decisions being made by people so insular that they left the National Party because it was too left-wing!!!
Otherwise, quite a good weekend. I took Wombat to Manifest, an anime convention, and he had the time of his life. I enjoyed bits of it - gawking at the bizarre cosplay costumes, buying myself a pair of Pikachu slippers, and getting us into a Q & A session with LittleKaribo who was extremely funny. Wombat has now elevated me to the position of Best Mum in the Universe, which I think I deserve!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Book Meme - Day 15
Day 15 - Your "comfort" book
Any Discworld books by Terry Pratchett. I have read them all (except for the latest one, which is in the pile of books to be read). Several of them I have read more than once. Whenever I feel I cannot cope with the world, I tend to pick up one of them. Pretty much any one of them, 'cos my favorite characters are sprinkled liberally throughout them. They certainly aren't simple reads, anything but, but playing around in my mind with all the source materials, etc, for everything in them distracts me from other stuff, and they are just so damn amusing and clever!
I also find the following authors good comfort reading - Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh and Nevil Shute. While I wouldn't say they are uncomplicated books, they are comforting murder mysteries or comforting thrillers. They are books I can carry about in my handbag and pick up and read when I have a few moments alone when I am out somewhere.
***********************************************************
We had a very satisfactory meeting with Wombat's school today. (We have one every term, with the Special Needs Co-ordinator, his teaching aides and us). They are so unfailingly helpful and concerned, it is a pleasure to deal with them. Of course they get impatient and despairing of things sometimes, but then so do we! Exasperation is a big daily part of dealing with Aspergers Syndrome (from the carers' and teachers' perspectives, and undoubtedly from the Aspie's perspective also). We are eternally grateful to have found such care and compassion and skill - and all in a state school, a block away from our home!
Any Discworld books by Terry Pratchett. I have read them all (except for the latest one, which is in the pile of books to be read). Several of them I have read more than once. Whenever I feel I cannot cope with the world, I tend to pick up one of them. Pretty much any one of them, 'cos my favorite characters are sprinkled liberally throughout them. They certainly aren't simple reads, anything but, but playing around in my mind with all the source materials, etc, for everything in them distracts me from other stuff, and they are just so damn amusing and clever!
I also find the following authors good comfort reading - Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh and Nevil Shute. While I wouldn't say they are uncomplicated books, they are comforting murder mysteries or comforting thrillers. They are books I can carry about in my handbag and pick up and read when I have a few moments alone when I am out somewhere.
***********************************************************
We had a very satisfactory meeting with Wombat's school today. (We have one every term, with the Special Needs Co-ordinator, his teaching aides and us). They are so unfailingly helpful and concerned, it is a pleasure to deal with them. Of course they get impatient and despairing of things sometimes, but then so do we! Exasperation is a big daily part of dealing with Aspergers Syndrome (from the carers' and teachers' perspectives, and undoubtedly from the Aspie's perspective also). We are eternally grateful to have found such care and compassion and skill - and all in a state school, a block away from our home!
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