Where have I been, and what have I been doing?*

I have no idea.

Reading?  Going to work?  Wearing striped socks to church?  Eating waffles?  Nibbling my way through an afternoon at a Mardi Gras (the Orthodox “get your lamb while you still can” version) party?

Sure, those all sound plausible.

Quick thoughts on what I’ve been reading:

The Thirteenth Tale: I’m moving slowly because I only listen to this as my bedtime story.  Thusly it is not, as the CD cover claims, depositing me “breathless yet satisfied back upon the shore of [my] everyday life,” because as soon as I start to drift and think “wait, did I just miss a whole scene or was that a pause in the narration?” I turn it off, make a few rotations in bed, and fall asleep.  What I would love would be an ipod or somesuch that knew when you were losing consciousness and would promptly turn itself off (and remove its earbuds from your ears and place itself on your bedside table) so you were guaranteed not to miss a moment of the story.

(So far it hasn’t really influenced my dreams – last night TnEnLnJ were visiting Bif in the spacious mansion apartment over her wildly successful craft/bookstore (she, strangely for a librarian, turned the book ordering over to a partner and maintained the craft section herself).  It was spectacular, the whole figment, and I have no idea where it came from.)

Bridge to Terabithia: sobfest!  It’s one of those books that feels larger in your imagination.  I’d go back to reread a particularly poignant section and discover that the words on the page were really quite slight and simple, but what they created took up the whole room.  Will I see the movie?  I’m torn.  I’m pretty 110% sure that it could never feel as large, but that might be an inherent prejudice against unnecessary special effects.

Forever in Blue: okay, it’s crap.  But it’s addicting crap.  No matter how irritating certain elements were, I had to listen to the whole thing.

The Higher Power of Lucky: OFFICIAL JESSMONSTER STAMP OF APPROVAL

The Ghost Map: I can’t stop thinking about diseases (they seem to be coming up in conversation a lot lately) and how people live in cities.  Good stuff if effing repetitive narrative style.

An Abundance of Katherines: I’m about to review it for my YA class and it stood the test of a second read within four months admirably.  It’s also very difficult to decide which tasty tidbits to cover in the review.

Miss Pym Disposes:  I ate it up with a spoon.

Notes From the Midnight Driver: hilarious.  I’m pretty sure my dear roommate was mocking me for the way I chuckled over it, but I was too busy reading to take notice.

Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City: I enjoyed it.  But not nearly as much as other people seem to have.  Fun, but I never really cared.

Up next:

  • Surrender
  • Story of a Girl
  • Peace Like a River (still)
  • Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
  • The Golden Compass
  • Reading Like a Writer
  • and all of those other things I already had on my bookshelf

*I seem to be having an Emily of New Moon day.