Books Read in July
I think I'll begin with what I've been reading since July 2nd.
1. Inside of a Dog: What dogs see, smell and know by Alexandra Horowitz In case you didn't know it, a dog is an amazing creature. Of course, some are more amazing than others ... take my new Romeo, for instance. He's a bright one, he is, with a strong will and a keen nose, and lots of kisses to give.
2. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Sijie Dai This was set during the Cultural Revolution after all books were banned and burned. When two young men suspected that a man in their 'reeducation' village (the father of the seamstress) had a secret cache of books, they were all about trying to get a chance to read them.
3. The Map of True Places by Barry Brunonia "A novel of tragedy, secrets, identity, and love, in which a psychotherapist finds the strands of her own life in the death of a troubled patient." I had to go look it up because, while I enjoyed listening to it, I couldn't remember one damned thing about it! Damned MS memory.
4. Ella Minnow Pea: A progressively lipogrammatic epistolary novel by Mark Dunn I actually turned the pages of this one and READ it. I doubt it would translate very well into an audiobook. AND I found it to be a true delight; an amazing work of prose. Set on the imaginary island of Nollop, so named for the man who coined he sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog," the inhabitants of Nollop are an educated bunch who revere the written word. A shrine exists on the island with the fated sentence, and when one day a letter falls off to the ground, it is perceived to be an omen from the long dead Nollop himself! The High Council makes laws that made me think of the phrase "Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely." HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
5. Atonement by Ewen McEwan The movie didn't fall far from the book. You have seen the movie, haven't you?
6. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender This is about a girl who can taste how a person was feeling when they made the food the girl was eating. When she was quite young she freaked out, wanted her mouth removed because of the bad feelings that eating was causing her. She soon learned how to avoid the distress, and later, to make peace with her particular talent. The book also goes into the family dynamic, and how it changed over the years.
7. Little Bee: A novel by Chris Cleave An extraordinary book about what can happen when Western travelers come face-to-face with two girls on a beach in war torn Nigeria. The story both horrified and delighted me, and the ending surprised me.
So, not as many books as before, but still a pretty good list.
Last Saturday, 7/31, was our annual Yard Sale, and I went to work the 10 - 2 shift. I ended up leaving a 12:30 because I was so damned cold! Of course, about half an hour after I left, the clouds burned off and I felt bad for leaving. We ended up making $1,175.00 - - a very good year, despite the weather.
I was so stupid, though. I didn't recognize that the pillow on the ground was a DOG BED, and just the right size for Romeo. It was sold for $3. I can be so unaware, sometimes.
I did bring home three sweaters to deconstruct to re-use the yarn. Call it a living green thing. I am in the middle of unraveling a gold lame short sleeved sweater, and the yarn, if you could call it that, consists of four gold strands which form a nice 3-D pattern. Using it to crochet a hat with is difficult, even when coupled with regular acrylic yarn. I have the top of a beanie cap crocheted, and the light yellow sparkled up with the darker gold looks pretty good. I think the bottom will be a simple roll up plain yellow brim, though. The next hat will be done with brown yarn which should set off the gold nicely. The other two sweaters fit me - so I'm keeping them.
Oh, and one more thing - yesterday I had the weirdest experience of light vertigo not long after I got up. I was making myself a cup of coffee, when my head started spinning. It wasn't severe, and it didn't last long, but it made me wonder: is this related to MS, or not?
Good Night, TTYL, and, you know, Be Well,
2. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Sijie Dai This was set during the Cultural Revolution after all books were banned and burned. When two young men suspected that a man in their 'reeducation' village (the father of the seamstress) had a secret cache of books, they were all about trying to get a chance to read them.
3. The Map of True Places by Barry Brunonia "A novel of tragedy, secrets, identity, and love, in which a psychotherapist finds the strands of her own life in the death of a troubled patient." I had to go look it up because, while I enjoyed listening to it, I couldn't remember one damned thing about it! Damned MS memory.
4. Ella Minnow Pea: A progressively lipogrammatic epistolary novel by Mark Dunn I actually turned the pages of this one and READ it. I doubt it would translate very well into an audiobook. AND I found it to be a true delight; an amazing work of prose. Set on the imaginary island of Nollop, so named for the man who coined he sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog," the inhabitants of Nollop are an educated bunch who revere the written word. A shrine exists on the island with the fated sentence, and when one day a letter falls off to the ground, it is perceived to be an omen from the long dead Nollop himself! The High Council makes laws that made me think of the phrase "Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely." HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
5. Atonement by Ewen McEwan The movie didn't fall far from the book. You have seen the movie, haven't you?
6. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender This is about a girl who can taste how a person was feeling when they made the food the girl was eating. When she was quite young she freaked out, wanted her mouth removed because of the bad feelings that eating was causing her. She soon learned how to avoid the distress, and later, to make peace with her particular talent. The book also goes into the family dynamic, and how it changed over the years.
7. Little Bee: A novel by Chris Cleave An extraordinary book about what can happen when Western travelers come face-to-face with two girls on a beach in war torn Nigeria. The story both horrified and delighted me, and the ending surprised me.
So, not as many books as before, but still a pretty good list.
Last Saturday, 7/31, was our annual Yard Sale, and I went to work the 10 - 2 shift. I ended up leaving a 12:30 because I was so damned cold! Of course, about half an hour after I left, the clouds burned off and I felt bad for leaving. We ended up making $1,175.00 - - a very good year, despite the weather.
I was so stupid, though. I didn't recognize that the pillow on the ground was a DOG BED, and just the right size for Romeo. It was sold for $3. I can be so unaware, sometimes.
I did bring home three sweaters to deconstruct to re-use the yarn. Call it a living green thing. I am in the middle of unraveling a gold lame short sleeved sweater, and the yarn, if you could call it that, consists of four gold strands which form a nice 3-D pattern. Using it to crochet a hat with is difficult, even when coupled with regular acrylic yarn. I have the top of a beanie cap crocheted, and the light yellow sparkled up with the darker gold looks pretty good. I think the bottom will be a simple roll up plain yellow brim, though. The next hat will be done with brown yarn which should set off the gold nicely. The other two sweaters fit me - so I'm keeping them.
Oh, and one more thing - yesterday I had the weirdest experience of light vertigo not long after I got up. I was making myself a cup of coffee, when my head started spinning. It wasn't severe, and it didn't last long, but it made me wonder: is this related to MS, or not?
Good Night, TTYL, and, you know, Be Well,
Now I want to read The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake!!!
ReplyDeleteOhhhh, crochet! My grandmother used to crochet. Once she made me this gorgeous popcorn tablecloth and it was huge...I mean huge. one of the kids accidently spilled grape juice on it. I use my stuff, I don't put it away.
Like I tell my grandma, everything is used in the name of love and has love memories on it. ANYWAY.
So I have purple stains, right? I'm sooooo stupid... I soak it in hot water with what I think is the right amount of bleach.
When time's up, the whole thing falls apart...OMG!
When I called my grandmother and told her what I did I thought she would clobber me good. Instead she forgave me and made me another one. =)
But tell ya what...I don't put bleach on anything now! lol.
I think that sudden vertigo is one of the most unpleasant things about MS. Mine comes and goes, but usually overtakes me at very strange times.
ReplyDeleteLoved your book list -- I'm marking down the names of some so I can add them to my pile!
Peace,
Muff
Sherry, my Mom used to crochet a lot, too. She made lacy doilies and tablecloths, and bedspreads out of cotton thread. That tiny stuff would turn my eyes inside out!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame about the table cloth! Nice to get a replacement. Oh well, you learned a good lesson: a little chlorine bleach goes a long way. That stuff is caustic.
Hope you enjoy the book.
Muffie,
When you read Ella Minnow Pea, let me know what you think of it.
I think now that the dizziness might have been a side effect of the Ampyra. It is listed, and I did just take one. We'll have to wait and see if it happens again.