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Dec. 23rd, 2011 10:36 amOn the plus side, it's snowing and has been for several hours. If it doesn't rain, we could have a white Christmas
On the down side, my friend may decide not to drive over and we won't have our annual Christmas movie and lunch until next week. *ETA She just called and as expected, she decided not to chance the roads which are still not in great shape. Mine's not too bad as it's a bus route but it looks slippery just the same and she's got a good little distance to come. Resheduled for next week some time)
On the plus side, the drywall guys came yesterday, will be back again very soon, I hope, and they left a note saying they'd bring a drill and reinstall my curtain rod.
On the down side, it's too late to put my Christmas tree up. Ok it's not, technically, but there's not much point now.
It's the last post day before Christmas. I really hope Graham's gifts arrive today otherwise they won't be here until Wednesday at the earliest. We'll still have our little opening party tonight because he'll have the gifts i took over for him and he's got my song ready. There will be links to it tomorrow.
2011 books:
90 Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay
I read this in two days and really enjoyed it. The first part of the book alternates chapters between 1942 and 2002. During the war in Paris, a young Jewish girl and her family are rousted out of their apartment by the French Police. She doesn't understand what's going on and locks her little brother in a cupboard, expecting to get back to let him out. They are, instead, sent to a holding camp and her parents sent on to Auchwitz. This roundup, called the Vel' D'Hiv roundup (Velodrome D'Hiver) actually did happen in Paris. The girl, Sarah, escapes from the holding camp after her parents are taken away and manages eventually to get back to Paris but as she expected by that time, it's too late and the little boy is dead.
In 2002, a journalist is doing a magazine article on the roundup and discovers that her husband's family has lived in the apartment that was vacated by the Jewish family. She investigates and discovers the girl's story and tries to find out what happened to her. At the same time we find out about her family and her personal life, her marraige breakdown. She becomes obsessed with Sarah's story and how it interacts with her husband's family who, like many Parisians during the war, apparently looked the other way while the Jewish population disappeared. It's a story about survival and it kept my interest so well i couldn't put it down!
There's a movie out based on this book, too, which i have downloaded.
91 Beauty Tips for the Dead - Gerald Medenwald
A strange book. A bit hard to follow. It jumps around between four different characters and then introduces a few more for some reason and then does very little with those ones. The main characters are Jane and Mary and David and Jonathan. The men have known each other since childhood as have the women. The men worked for a marketing company and are good at finding different ways to sell things. David leaves the company and ends up working in a psychiatric facility. Jonathan and David come up with an idea for a "Jesus" festival and David takes advantage of a new patient who seems to think he's Jesus and gets him released so he can appear at the festival.
Meanwhile, Mary has become a nurse. Jane was from a family of undertakers and had written a book called Beauty Tips for the Dead which was meant to be a handbook for undertakers but has turned into a best seller. And that's all we hear of that for the rest of the book. Jane works in a bar and moves in with Mary who's ultra conservative, as opposite as possible from Jane. They get involved in David and Jonathan's scheme well past the middle of the book.
The book seemed to be a bit all over the place and i sometimes found it difficult to keep up. I suppose it was meant to be funny and a farce and some of it was, definitely. It wasn't bad but it was a bit off the wall.
92. Devil's Lair - David Wisehart
This is about four pilgrims, a monk, a poet, an epileptic woman and a knight who are on a quest to find the Holy Grail which is to be found at the feet of the Devil in Hell. If they can get it, it will mean that the pestilence (plague) and war in the world will be over. The knight is the last Templar knight, whom the monk and woman find on a battlefield, nearly dead. He must be persuaded to join them on their quest and journey through the levels of hell. This is based on Dante's Inferno. I have not read it so I didn't get as much out of this book as I would have had i read it. The books relies on Faith and redemption as themes for all involved, more than we realize at the beginning. The pilgrims must all face their past and their own personal demons to be successful.
Not a bad read at all, though a bit overly religious in places for my taste but when past those bits, the characters are quite good and their experiences in Hell kept me reading to find out how it comes out.
The drywall fella's note said he'd be here between 10 and 11. 10:35 and no sign yet. Impatience...... tap tap tap tap..... (AND again, it's 11 and he's not here yet. Hope he does come because i doubt they'll be working next week)
On the down side, my friend may decide not to drive over and we won't have our annual Christmas movie and lunch until next week. *ETA She just called and as expected, she decided not to chance the roads which are still not in great shape. Mine's not too bad as it's a bus route but it looks slippery just the same and she's got a good little distance to come. Resheduled for next week some time)
On the plus side, the drywall guys came yesterday, will be back again very soon, I hope, and they left a note saying they'd bring a drill and reinstall my curtain rod.
On the down side, it's too late to put my Christmas tree up. Ok it's not, technically, but there's not much point now.
It's the last post day before Christmas. I really hope Graham's gifts arrive today otherwise they won't be here until Wednesday at the earliest. We'll still have our little opening party tonight because he'll have the gifts i took over for him and he's got my song ready. There will be links to it tomorrow.
2011 books:
90 Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay
I read this in two days and really enjoyed it. The first part of the book alternates chapters between 1942 and 2002. During the war in Paris, a young Jewish girl and her family are rousted out of their apartment by the French Police. She doesn't understand what's going on and locks her little brother in a cupboard, expecting to get back to let him out. They are, instead, sent to a holding camp and her parents sent on to Auchwitz. This roundup, called the Vel' D'Hiv roundup (Velodrome D'Hiver) actually did happen in Paris. The girl, Sarah, escapes from the holding camp after her parents are taken away and manages eventually to get back to Paris but as she expected by that time, it's too late and the little boy is dead.
In 2002, a journalist is doing a magazine article on the roundup and discovers that her husband's family has lived in the apartment that was vacated by the Jewish family. She investigates and discovers the girl's story and tries to find out what happened to her. At the same time we find out about her family and her personal life, her marraige breakdown. She becomes obsessed with Sarah's story and how it interacts with her husband's family who, like many Parisians during the war, apparently looked the other way while the Jewish population disappeared. It's a story about survival and it kept my interest so well i couldn't put it down!
There's a movie out based on this book, too, which i have downloaded.
91 Beauty Tips for the Dead - Gerald Medenwald
A strange book. A bit hard to follow. It jumps around between four different characters and then introduces a few more for some reason and then does very little with those ones. The main characters are Jane and Mary and David and Jonathan. The men have known each other since childhood as have the women. The men worked for a marketing company and are good at finding different ways to sell things. David leaves the company and ends up working in a psychiatric facility. Jonathan and David come up with an idea for a "Jesus" festival and David takes advantage of a new patient who seems to think he's Jesus and gets him released so he can appear at the festival.
Meanwhile, Mary has become a nurse. Jane was from a family of undertakers and had written a book called Beauty Tips for the Dead which was meant to be a handbook for undertakers but has turned into a best seller. And that's all we hear of that for the rest of the book. Jane works in a bar and moves in with Mary who's ultra conservative, as opposite as possible from Jane. They get involved in David and Jonathan's scheme well past the middle of the book.
The book seemed to be a bit all over the place and i sometimes found it difficult to keep up. I suppose it was meant to be funny and a farce and some of it was, definitely. It wasn't bad but it was a bit off the wall.
92. Devil's Lair - David Wisehart
This is about four pilgrims, a monk, a poet, an epileptic woman and a knight who are on a quest to find the Holy Grail which is to be found at the feet of the Devil in Hell. If they can get it, it will mean that the pestilence (plague) and war in the world will be over. The knight is the last Templar knight, whom the monk and woman find on a battlefield, nearly dead. He must be persuaded to join them on their quest and journey through the levels of hell. This is based on Dante's Inferno. I have not read it so I didn't get as much out of this book as I would have had i read it. The books relies on Faith and redemption as themes for all involved, more than we realize at the beginning. The pilgrims must all face their past and their own personal demons to be successful.
Not a bad read at all, though a bit overly religious in places for my taste but when past those bits, the characters are quite good and their experiences in Hell kept me reading to find out how it comes out.
The drywall fella's note said he'd be here between 10 and 11. 10:35 and no sign yet. Impatience...... tap tap tap tap..... (AND again, it's 11 and he's not here yet. Hope he does come because i doubt they'll be working next week)
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