Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Recent reads:
To Kill a Mockingbird - I read for book club and we had a very good discussion. I can't believe that I have never read this book before! Very good. Sad, but highly recommend.
What do mushrooms, star trek and spanx have in common?
So we were eating our dinner of chicken kabobs the other night and I cut a grilled mushroom in half and put each half on the boy's plate and told them that they at least need to give it a try. I was quite surprised when they quickly and without complaint ate the mushrooms but then declared that they didn't really like them. Then they calmly went on with dinner. After dinner I was telling hubby that I was really expecting them to put up a fuss about trying the mushrooms. My hubby said that it was because I (instead of him) had told them to do it and they knew that resistance was futile. To which my Star Trek-infused mind responded, "I am the Borg, resistance is futile." To which my husband replied, "If you are Borg, when are you going to wear a skin-tight suit like Seven-of-Nine?" To which I responded, "If I looked like Seven-of-Nine then maybe I would wear a skin-tight suit." And then at the exact same moment we both said together, "Maybe if the suit is tight enough, I would look like Seven-of-Nine!" Which for some reason makes me think that I need to look into adding some Spanx to my wardrobe soon.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
More books for my library list
Here is what I am reading right now from the library:
1) All New Square Foot Gardening - by Mel Bartholomew - This is the updated version and is WAY better than the first version. Lots of colored pictures. Simplified information.
2) Lasagna Gardening for Small Spaces - by Patricia Lanza - I actually meant to get her regular lasanga gardinging book, but this one still has all the useful information. I will be trying a modified form of this in a few beds this year.
3) How to Build Your Own Greenhouse - by Roger Marshall - Brad has found this very helpful and informative. Good for helping you decide how you really want to use a greenhouse and what type you need. I am sure that I will be checking it out again in the future.
4) Chickens in Your Backyard, A Beginner's Guide - by Rick & Gail Luttmann - Good information, the most concise I have seen so far. It answered a lot of questions for us.
1) All New Square Foot Gardening - by Mel Bartholomew - This is the updated version and is WAY better than the first version. Lots of colored pictures. Simplified information.
2) Lasagna Gardening for Small Spaces - by Patricia Lanza - I actually meant to get her regular lasanga gardinging book, but this one still has all the useful information. I will be trying a modified form of this in a few beds this year.
3) How to Build Your Own Greenhouse - by Roger Marshall - Brad has found this very helpful and informative. Good for helping you decide how you really want to use a greenhouse and what type you need. I am sure that I will be checking it out again in the future.
4) Chickens in Your Backyard, A Beginner's Guide - by Rick & Gail Luttmann - Good information, the most concise I have seen so far. It answered a lot of questions for us.
Book update - The Orchid Thief
I am finally back after losing internet access for a week - which was probably really good for my productivity but made me feel sort of out-of-the-loop about life around me. Perhaps to permanently disconnect would be good for my sanity, but I just don't think that I can go back to life offline without some sort of serious calamity to force me into such an existance. (I know I CAN exist without internet, but I really don't WANT to give up online bill paying, ability to look up recipes, and daily blogs, and e-mails, and googling any subject that crosses my mind....)
Anyway, I promised an update on The Orchid Thief and here it is:
First off I must say that this is just such a strange little book. It is a non-fiction in the gardening section at the library with the feel of a novel. It is a story, but a true one. The author slowly meanders thru the story and weaves in tons of information about Florida, botany, architecture, orchids, etc. Unfortunately she meanders a little too slowly for my taste and caused me to lose the drive of the plotline by mid-book. I am afraid that this book will be a halfer for me.
I am ashamed to say that I have read a lot of "halfer" books. These are books that I get half-way thru and then never finish for some reason. Many times it is just that the book loses its compelling plot by midway, or rather, that by midway thru the book I have lost my initial curiosity about the book and the book has failed to establish a compelling enough plot for me to finish it. For me the plot of a book is like the engine on a train and all the other stuff is the cars. A strong enough engine (plot) with little else to pull will go fast and furuious to the end. A strong engine with lots of "cars" in the form of meanderings and information will slow the book down a little but still pull steadily and strongly to the conclusion. But a weak engine with too much to pull will just get bogged down. Usually I bail on the ride before reaching the end. This is what happened for me with this book. I will return it to the library half-read.
Anyway, I promised an update on The Orchid Thief and here it is:
First off I must say that this is just such a strange little book. It is a non-fiction in the gardening section at the library with the feel of a novel. It is a story, but a true one. The author slowly meanders thru the story and weaves in tons of information about Florida, botany, architecture, orchids, etc. Unfortunately she meanders a little too slowly for my taste and caused me to lose the drive of the plotline by mid-book. I am afraid that this book will be a halfer for me.
I am ashamed to say that I have read a lot of "halfer" books. These are books that I get half-way thru and then never finish for some reason. Many times it is just that the book loses its compelling plot by midway, or rather, that by midway thru the book I have lost my initial curiosity about the book and the book has failed to establish a compelling enough plot for me to finish it. For me the plot of a book is like the engine on a train and all the other stuff is the cars. A strong enough engine (plot) with little else to pull will go fast and furuious to the end. A strong engine with lots of "cars" in the form of meanderings and information will slow the book down a little but still pull steadily and strongly to the conclusion. But a weak engine with too much to pull will just get bogged down. Usually I bail on the ride before reaching the end. This is what happened for me with this book. I will return it to the library half-read.
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