Recuperating

Blergh - got some weird stomach bug (and puked in my trashcan AT WORK) on Wednesday so I took Thursday off and slept and knitted a little bit of Ariann's sleeve. Crazy headache, too. I don't get sick like that very often, thankfully. I didn't get that much accomplished (knit-wise) because of the wicked headache. It was almost all I could do to just lie on the couch.

I read Christine Falls by Benjamin Black and was not too impressed. It was quick, though, which was good. And I started on Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris (who wrote Gentlemen and Players, one of my all time favorite reads).

I've been getting tons and tons of books from Paperback Swap - yay. I've gotten about twenty five books. The vast majority are in almost perfect condition, too. I got two Pulitzers (Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson - one of the books whose condition was a little bit disappointing with all the writing and underlining in the margins; and The Known World by Edward Jones) to add to my Pulitzer collection. Right now i have them all stacked up on our desk so I can just admire them. I'm such a library fiend, but I am kind of tired of hauling hardback library books on the bus and the train. And I think it's kind of fun to read a book and then release it into the world again. Such nice connections to be made with people you don't even know all thanks to the internet and a passion for books.

AND, the biggest news is that I ordered us a new computer! Huzzah. I can't wait. This thing is just too small and too slow for us any more. I cannot wait to be able to download some wordy goodness from Audible.com. I have the new Al Gore book in my wishlist but I am also eyeing Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian. And I need (yes, need) to listen to more This American Life. I am completely in love with the podcast. I need to remember to donate to Chicago Public Radio and stop being a freeloader.

On my walk today I re-listened to some of the Ishmael Beah book - I still cannot fully get my head around how that (the war in Sierra Leone and the recruitment of boys to be soldiers) could have happened. It is just so incredibly tragic. I keep wondering if it wouldn't be so heartwrenching for me if I didn't have a son the same age as Beah was when he was recruited (which is the most completely inaccurate word for what they did to those children). I just know that my son would behave in exactly the same way - I think it all kind of boils down to survivor's instinct, and although what he did as a "soldier" was horrific, it was the only way he could have possibly survived. He was just so incredibly charming on The Daily Show.

Speaking of my boy, he is an eighth grader now! Almost as tall as me and as glorious as anything I could ever imagine (so tall! so skinny! so blond and blue-eyed with perfect skin). He made the silver honor roll all three trimesters so he and his dad are out now getting him a little prezzy as an acknowledgement for his work.

Audiobooks of 2007

One of the benefits of a long commute:

Don't Get Too Comfortable, by David Rakoff. Very entertaining. The author narrates, which I like. The segment about the Log Cabin Republicans is not to be missed.

The Funny Thing Is, by Ellen Degeneres. I love Ellen Degeneres, but I thought this was only so-so. My first Audible.com purchase.

My Invented Country, by Isabel Allende. Excellent. About Chile. Explained the relationship between Isabel Allende and her uncle, Salvadore Allende (of which I was aware, but I didn't understand it entirely). So very good. I wish Allende had narrated, the narrator was kind of gravelly-voiced, but not distractingly so.

The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East, by Sandy Tolan. Wildly, incredibly good. So informative about the creation of Israel. I think he does a great job of telling both sides of the story - we don't often hear the Palestinian side. I want to purchase the book to give as a gift to my dad. I would listen to this again - I feel like there are parts of the beginning that slipped by. The author narrates. Successfully, I think. Wow.