A Work in Progress

The Stone Angel

Margaret Laurence's The Stone Angel is a memorable novel.  Certainly Hagar Shipley, the narrator, is a character that will stay in my mind for a long time to come.  Ninety-year-old Hagar is a proud and very formidable woman.  She can also be extremely difficult and curmudgeonly.  There were times I wasn't so sure that I even liked her, but I always felt sympathetic towards her.  I'm not sure how Laurence managed it, but this woman wrenched my heart despite her incessant bad-temper.  And if you've read the book--don't you think Hagar would hate that I just said that?

Born in the mid-19th century in the western Canadian prairies to Scottish parents (her mother died at her birth), she's the only girl in a family of three children.  It's not hard to see where she gets her strong will.  Her father, a successful merchant, is a tough task-master who's not easily pleased.  The story effortlessly moves back and forth between Hagar's childhood, her unhappy and disapproved of marriage to Bramwell Shipley, the years she raised her own two sons, and her old age.  In old age it is her older, and less loved son that takes responsibility for caring for her.

It's as a fragile old woman, suffering the indignities of a body no longer under her own control that crushed my heart most.  Something none of us want to think about, but most of us if we live such a long life will likely face.  A once independent-minded woman is reduced to being cared for rather than being the caregiver.  At the end of her long life she now looks back at how she lived her life and the decisions she made, and it's sometimes painful to watch.  I read this somewhere--"she is sometimes regretful, but rarely penitent" and it seems so very fitting.

I'm not sure I would have appreciated this book when I was younger.  I understand it is widely taught in Canadian schools, and I wonder what students must think of Hagar.  I think Laurence is brilliant in her evocation of a woman looking back and seeing her mistakes (and through the passing of time and experience can face and accept them), and she does it in such a deft and sophisticated manner that you don't ever feel sickly sentimental about it.  Not to say that she didn't elicit a few tears, but Hagar would probably have hated that, too.

This is the book The Slaves of Golconda chose to read.  You can check out everyone's thoughts on the book here and there is a discussion at the Metaxu Cafe (I started the thread last night, but it was being temperamental and didn't save my actual messages, hopefully it will cooperate today), which you are welcome to join.  If you haven't read The Stone Angel, this is a book I highly recommend.  It's thoughtful and well written and definitely one of the best books I've read this year!

Graphic Novels: A Thursday Thirteen

I've started reading Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis and find I'm enjoying it very much.  I never really thought I would be interested in reading a graphic novel, but it's been very relaxing reading a bit each night.  It could just be I like Satrapi's 'voice' and the story she tells, but I think I might give some other graphic novels a try this year as well.  Since I was given such great recommendations, I thought I would share them here.  I've not read any of these, nor do I own any, but I will be seeking some of them out. 

1. Maus (2 volumes), Art Spiegelman -- "It is the story of Vladek Speigelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe, and his son, a cartoonist coming to terms with his father's story. Maus approaches the unspeakable through the diminutive."
2. Palestine, Joe Sacco -- "Based on several months of research and an extended visit to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the early 1990s (where he conducted over 100 interviews with Palestinians and Jews), Palestine was the first major comics work of political and historical nonfiction by Sacco, who has often been called the first comic book journalist."
3. 100 Demons, Lynda Barry -- "Barry uses an Asian painting exercise called "One Hundred Demons" to organize and connect 17 "autobifictionalographic" stories in which she meditates on a variety of demons that include pretentious boyfriends, lost childhood friends, family relationships, and even the 2000 presidential election. The author's keen observation and honesty draw readers to these sometimes painful, often poignant moments.
4. Mr. Punch, Neil Gaiman -- "In his grandfather's seaside arcade, a young boy encounters a mysterious Punch & Judy man with a dark past and a woman who makes her living playing a mermaid. As their stories unfold, the boy must confront family secrets, strange puppets and a nightmarish world of violence and betrayal."
5. Understanding Comics:The Invisible Art, Scott McCloud -- "This ultimate book about comics dissects the art form and shows how words, lines, colors, symbols, panels and pictures all come together to create a unique and one-of-a-kind storytelling experience. Looking back at the 3000 year history of the art form, McCloud shows how this unique genre is just as important and valid as film and prose in his own funny and profound manner."
6. French Milk, Lucy Knisley -- "This comic journal details a mother and daughters month-long stay in a small apartment in Paris. Lucy is grappling with the onslaught of adulthood. Her mother faces turning 50. They are both dealing with their shifting relationship as they navigate Paris with halting French and dog-eared guidebooks." (I like the sound of this one very much).
7. Tales from the Farm, Jeff Lemire -- "Ten-year-old Lester, orphaned by his mother's cancer, lives with his bachelor uncle Ken on a southwestern Ontario farm. He wears a superhero's mask and cape all day, and he imagines that he has been entrusted with the task of staving off invading space aliens. Ken is making allowances for the boy, but he's clearly uncomfortable with Lester's preference for solitary play and comic books. It's Jimmy, who runs the nearby gas station-convenience store, who reaches out to Lester, participates in his alien-invasion fantasy, and brings him back to the world."
8. Super Spy, Matt Kindt -- "Super Spy is 52 interwoven short stories about cyanide, pen-guns, heartbreak and betrayal. Each story follows the life of a spy during World War II. Spanning the globe from Spain to France and Germany, this book takes the reader on a tour of the everyday life of the spy. From the small lies and deceptions to the larger secrets that everyone hides, Super Spy reveals the nature of espionage and how an individual can be lost and also find redemption."
9. Ghost World, Daniel Clowes -- "Dan Clowes described the story in Ghost World as the examination of 'the lives of two recent high school graduates from the advantaged perch of a constant and (mostly) undetectable eavesdropper, with the shaky detachment of a scientist who has grown fond of the prize microbes in his petri dish'."
10. V for Vendetta, Alan Moore --  "It is 1998 (which was the future back then!) and a Fascist government has taken over the U.K. The only blot on its particular landscape is a lone terrorist who is systematically killing all the government personnel associated with a now destroyed secret concentration camp. Codename V is out for vengeance ... and an awful lot more."
11. Blankets, Craig Thompson -- "This sensitive memoir recreates the confusion, emotional pain and isolation of the author's rigidly fundamentalist Christian upbringing, along with the trepidation of growing into maturity."
12. Epileptic, David B. -- "This autobiographical work plumbs the psychological, social, and symbolic reaches of the author's experiences in a family that must deal with a devastating disease."
13. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, Alison Bechdel -- "A powerful graphic novel-memoir, Fun Home documents Bechdel's childhood experiences and coming-of-age as a woman and lesbian."

You'll have to forgive me for grabbing brief blurbs from the Amazon descriptions as most of these titles are new to me.  They are thanks to suggestions from Iliana, Sycorax Pine, ta, and Dewey (via Isabel).  I'm always happy for reading suggestions and hope to read a few on this list!

Starts and Finishes

First the finishes.  Over the weekend I finished two excellent novels.  Carmen Laforet's Nada, set in Post-Civil War Spain, is an eloquent evocation of one young woman's coming of age.  You can read my thoughts on it at Read This!.  This is a reader's advisory blog for the Peabody Institute Library; they kindly asked me to be a guest reviewer this month, so please click on over when you're finished here. 

I also finished Margaret Laurence's wonderful The Stone Angel.  I am so impressed by this book.  I'll post on this later in the week as The Slaves of Golconda will be discussing it.  If you've read it, please feel free to join us!

Today I finished reading Russell Banks's The Reserve.  I'm sorry to say I did not get on well with this book.  It's left me feeling very peevish, and for the last thirty or so pages I could only keep thinking 'I'm nearly finished' and then I can read something else.  I will say Banks is a good writer, and he did keep me turning pages, but what a reprehensible lot of characters.  They quite literally set my teeth on edge.  Even the few I thought I actually could sympathize with let me down in the end.  I had a hard time believing these could be real people and that they would do the things these characters did, but then they do say the truth is stranger than fiction, so maybe it is all plausible.  Normally I allow lots of wiggle room in books I'm reading in terms of truth stretching, but it just didn't work for me here.  Perhaps I'll give some of his earlier works a try, as I've heard he is quite a respected author. 

As for the starts, I've decided I need something really different, so next I'll be reading Lisa Klein's Ophelia and Belinda Starling's The Journal of Dora Damage.  After the day I've had I deserve two new books!  And I've not forgotten about the rest of the list--hopefully I'll get around to a few more of them before they have to go back to the library, as I think for once I have a stack of books that can actually be renewed--it's so nice when there isn't a line of people waiting for me to 'hurry up and finish' whatever library book I happen to have started!

Current Library Stack: How to Choose?

Three more days to go before my library's winter reading program ends.  I'm about half way through Russell Banks's The Reserve (the last book I need to read to get my bookbag).  I'm having very mixed feelings about it.  I like the writing style very much and I am finding the story compelling enough to keep reading, but I have to say that I am finding the main characters thoroughly unlikable.  Okay, maybe not thoroughly, but enough that I get annoyed by their actions.  I think it is meant to be a love story of sorts between beautiful, petulant, wealthy Vanessa Cole and artist Jordan Groves.  Groves rails against the actions and activities of the wealthy, but I'm not sure I entirely buy into it--even if he did build his own house and everyone in the neighborhood thinks he and his family are communists (there's still something condescending about him). 

The setting is 1930s upstate New York--the Adirondacks to be exact.  Vanessa is twice divorced and possibly unbalanced.  Literally.  I'm not sure whether to believe that either, or if it is just the corner she's been painted into.  Her actions do seem somewhat crazy at times, though.  Groves is, of course, married with two children (named Bear and Wolf...), but fantasizing about bedding Vanessa.  It's obvious what's going to happen, at least in part.  I think the story is going to go in unpredictable ways, which is what's keeping me going.  I know I say I don't like reading reviews of books while I'm reading the book, but I wanted to see if I could validate my feelings with this one or not.  It has met with mixed reactions.  I feel a bit like I'm rushing the novel--not only to finish and hand in my list of completed books (and start something else), but also to find out what happens.  So I'll try and keep an open mind! 

I'm hoping my next choice will be more clear cut in terms of enjoyment.  I'll be choosing from:

Pat Barker, Life Class--I've heard mixed reactions about this one, too, but as I've yet to read any of her work, I'll probably like it.

Belinda Starling, The Journal of Dora Damage--I was already convinced I needed to read this when Andi reviewed it, but now Victoria has as well--I don't think I need more prodding.  I didn't get to it the last time I had it, so I got back in line. 

Samantha Hunt, The Invention of Everything Else--Carl V. just read this one and has me somewhat intrigued now.  I did dip into the first chapter as I couldn't decide between this and The Reserve last week.

C.J. Sansom, Winter in Madrid--This is set in post-Civil War Spain and the author has been compared to Carlos Ruiz Zafon and Sebastian Faulks.  It sounds promising.

Lisa Klein, Ophelia--A YA retelling of Hamlet from Ophelia's perspective.  Do you think it matters I've not read Hamlet?

Carol Ann Lee, Winter of the World--Another WWI novel.  I found this one by chance whilst browsing.

Linda Newbery, Set in Stone--A YA Victorian Gothic novel complete with governess and dark family secrets.

Yael Goldstein, Overture--"a fascinating meditation on the nature of creative brilliance and on the love that binds a mother and daughter even when personal desires clash."

And of course the Marjane Satrapi graphic novels (though I thought I'd just read these alongside whatever regular novel I choose).

They all sound good in different ways.  I wish I could start them all...

Monday Mishmash

Many thanks to all the suggestions and advice that was given.  It was all very helpful and much appreciated!  As you can see I found an MP3 player!  If you live in the Midwest you might be familiar with Nebraska Furniture Mart.  They carry furniture and household appliances but also electronics.  Usually they have a good selection and competitive prices, so that was my first stop in my search.  Unfortunately they didn't have as good a selection as I had hoped.  The first salesman who helped me was a college student who looked a little bewildered when I said I need a player for music but also books and I wanted one with a bookmarking feature. Swish--over the head (books?).  When I said I guess people use these more for listening to music, he replied more confidently that yes they did.  Okay, I'll just keep browsing.  A few minutes later a saleslady came by (also a college student) who had at least caught on to the possibility of using these for audio books.  I had written down a list of players I wanted to look at, and then left the list at home.  She at least offered to look up the players that used bookmarks.

List in hand I went to Best Buy next.  I wanted to find a Creative Zen player, but they don't carry them, but the salesman (another college student) was very helpful.  When I told him no one seemed to know anything about using these for audio books he rolled his eyes, as he does use them for listening to books as well as music.  He suggested buying an Insignia MP3 player.  Actually I think this is the Best Buy brand, and while there are things about it that sort of annoy me, I think in the end it should fit my needs just fine.  It took some fumbling, but I managed to load the software, power up the machine and finally load several albums and a book onto the player.  It's just a matter of remembering where everything is on it.  It is a 4GB machine and can hold up to 1,000 songs, 4,000 photos (I doubt I'll use this feature), 50 audio books, and 14 movies.  What I don't like about the player is the software, which hooks up to the Best Buy store and something called Rhapsody.  I think I'd rather not have the ease of being hooked up to a store where I can spend lots of money on music, so I have been using Windows Media Player instead and it works just fine.  They have also partnered with Audible Books, which I might try at some time. 

For the time being, however, I went to my public library's website and loaded a free book on to my player.  It wasn't my first choice (there were lines for the books I'm interested in), but for the sake of expediency I loaded the OverDrive software and then Elizabeth Berg's Dream When You're Feeling Blue to get a feel for how the process is done.  I've decided that in terms of books I want to mainly listen to nonfiction (maybe history or science titles), but also I want to listen to classics that I've already read.  It probably sounds strange, but I'm really particular in terms of what I want to listen to.  I think I'd rather not listen to novels that I haven't yet read.  I would like to listen to certain books, however (like The Iliad and Odyssey) along with reading them.  Can you tell I've thought about this a little?  I'm planning on using the machine primarily when I am walking outside and in the gym.  And yes, this has a bookmarking feature.  You can also keep your audio books in a special file and if you are listening to your book, when you turn off the machine it simply stops the book there until you turn the machine back on again and it continues where you left off.  Now I'll have to figure out how to load podcasts!  Any suggestions for interesting or literary podcasts?

Oh yeah, you might have noticed that stack of books?  Sorry, I have gone on a bit about my new player.  In the last few days I've received a few books in the mail.  A couple are ARCs, one was a gift and the other two are books I ordered.  From top to bottom:  Jo Nesbo's The Devil's Star--this is not next in the Harry Hole series, so I'll hold off starting it, (but Nemesis is and it will be out in just a couple of weeks!), Knut Hamsun's Victoria (a little Norwegian author binge here!), Amanda Eyre Ward's Forgive Me is an ARC, Mary Doria Russell's Dreamers of the Day is another ARC, but another reader sent this to me after she read it, and finally author Michelle Moran sent me a copy of her book, Nefertiti to review.  I'm looking forward to starting some of these books very soon.         

Cruise (Letters from a Young Lady of Leisure)

This week's short story is from The Oxford Book of Travel Stories edited by Patricia Craig.  Doesn't a vacation sound good about now?  Perhaps a cruise?  Evelyn Waugh's (very short) "Cruise (Letters from a Young Lady of Leisure)", written in 1933, was much what I expected it would be--very clever and highly amusing. 

The story is written in the form of letters and postcards written aboard the SS Glory of Greece by a young woman who I guess to be wealthy but rather frivolous.  Told in a true 'Waughian" fashion the unidentified recipient of the narrator's correspondence is treated to the couplings and uncouplings, the minor and major irritations and curious adventures of those aboard ship--both passengers and crew.

SS Glory of Greece

Darling,
     Well the Ball we had to come in to dinner in our clothes and everyone clapped as we came downstairs.  So I was pretty late on account of not being able to make up my mind whether to wear the hat and in the end did and looked a corker.  Well it was rather a faint clap for me considering so when I looked about there were about twenty girls and some women all dressed like me so how cynical the purser turns out to be.  Bertie looked horribly dull as an apache.  Mum and Papa were sweet.  Miss P. had a ballet dress from the Russian ballet which couldnt have been more unsuitable so we had champagne for dinner and were jolly and they threw paper streamers and I threw mine before it was unrolled and hit Miss P. on the nose.  Ha ha.  So feeling matey I said to the steward isnt this fun and he said yes for them who hasnt got to clear it up goodness how Sad.
     Well of course Bertie was plastered and went a bit far particularly in what he said to Lady M.  then he sat in the cynical pursers cabin in the dark and cried so Bill and I found him and gave him some drinks and what do you think he went off with Miss P. and we didnt see either of them again it only shows into what degradation the Demon Drink can drag you him I mean.
     Then who should I meet by the young man who had steak and onions on the first morning and is called Robert and said I have been trying to meet you again all the voyage.  Then I bitched him a bit goodness how Decent.
     Poor Mum got taken up by Bill and he told her all about his wife and how she had disillusioned him with the foreigner so to-morrow we reach Port Said d.v. which is latin in case you didnt know the meaning God Willing and all to go up the nile and to Cairo for a week.
     Will send P.C. of Sphinx
     XXXXXX"   

If this were a movie it would be one of those 1930s comedy of manners with elegant people looking decidedly bored.

I've decided for next week I'll be reading stories from Edith Wharton's Roman Fever that I just picked up last Friday at Half Price books.  I've been wanting to read something by her for ages and ages.  I also want to read a few short story collections this year, so it's about time to start.  I also have Margaret Atwood's Wilderness Tips, which is partially read that I'll get to eventually as well.  Don't you love the cover of the Virago?  I also spotted a book of her ghost stories at HP books, which I didn't get and hope is still there next time I go.  This will be my first time reading any of her short stories, though I've loved the novels I've read by her!

Me, in six words

When Sylvia wanted to know what my six word memoir was, she stumped me.  Lately my life has been one very repetitive (and boring) rerun.  Every single day the same thing, like clockwork.  So, my life at the moment?

Everyday the same, only books change.

Thank goodness for the great distraction of a new book with characters who lead far more exciting lives than I do.

However, perhaps things are looking up.  Today it is sunny out, not gray.  I'm off to look at MP3 players (a big step for me who never even thought I'd own a computer--and honestly I'm much more progressive-thinking than I sound).  I'm going out to dinner with my family to celebrate my birthday (complete with cake).  So, maybe this is better?

My life, a work in progress.

Half Price Books!

Half Price Books has arrived!  It opened yesterday, and rather than wait until the excitement died down, I had to stop by today after work.  Yes, it was crowded.  Just as well, as I would probably spent more time and money there had I been able to browse in peace and quiet.  Still, I managed to fill a basket full of books and then had to rethink what I was doing.  No, this is not a library sale where the paperbacks are 50 cents each, they're only half price... (still reasonably cheap, though), so I put some back.  Best to leave a few for next time around surely.  The store is very nice, all newly remodeled, good lighting (no chairs or anywhere to sit and look over your basket of books, though), and there were lots and lots of books (and today, lots and lots of people).  I'm still partial to my favorite used bookstore in the Old Market area (even better prices), which is nice and homey and has it's own very distinct personality.  Half Price books is nice, but in the end it is still a chain.  Not that I won't frequent it, of course.  Variety is always appreciated.  And yes, I did leave with a respectable stack of books.  What I found:

Isn't the UK cover of Orhan Pamuk's Istanbul: Memories of a City lovely?  I've had a long standing fantasy about traveling to Istanbul--even the city's name sounds exotic.  I've wanted this book for a while now.  I will grab it at the bookstore, but then always reconsider (why are nonfiction books always more expensive than novels?) and put it back.  I didn't put it back this time around.

Along with a variety of UK editions of books, I also found quite a few Hesperus Press books. Many I already had, and the others I would have bought, but I had to stop filling my basket.  I did decide to buy Manon Lescaut by Antoine Francois Prevost--"a passionate tale of the illicit love between an nobleman and his lower-class lover." 

The Haunted Hotel and Other Stories by Wilkie Collins.  I wanted this mostly for the novella, The Haunted Hotel, but it's nice to have his other stories as well.

I found one lone Virago, Edith Wharton's Roman Fever.  I already have this collection of Wharton's short stories (different publisher), but Viragos are so lovely, I had to buy this anyway.

Lighthousekeeping by Jeannette Winterson.  I've not yet read any of her work, though I feel like I should have.  This novel starts: "My mother called me Silver.  I was born part precious medal, part pirate."  I love that opening line.

The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric.  He won the Nobel for this in 1961.  Since reading Geraldine Brooks's latest novel, which is partially set in Bosnia, I've wanted to read more about the country.  "The Bridge on the Drina is a vivid depiction of the suffering history has imposed upon the people of Bosnia from the late 16th century to the beginning of World War I. As we seek to make sense of the current nightmare in this region, this remarkable, timely book serves as a reliable guide to its people and history."

I seem to be collecting Michelle Lovric's books.  The latest is The Remedy set in 18th century London and Venice.  I'm going to read one of them very soon!

My only complaint with Half Price Books.  They use sticky labels that are a little too sticky.  I had an annoying time removing them from the books without ripping the covers.  I'm not sure if this is true, but I heard a customer say that they shift stock around from store to store every so often, so their inventory is always changing.  This could be dangerous.   

Graphic Novels or MP3 Players, anyone?

Last week at work a copy of Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return came across my desk.  Actually I'm the person who requested that we get the book, as we own Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, so I thought we really should have the sequel in the collection as well, and why not also get Embroideries.  Of course our copy of Persepolis has been checked out by a patron for the last month (and then they renewed it...) just when I've taken an interest. 

When the new books arrived I had to flip through them and had to start reading and they captured my interest right away.  And not being patient enough to wait for these books to be cataloged or the older book to be returned, I went to the public library and checked out the lot of them.  I've never been very tempted to read graphic novels, but I'm very keen now to give them a try.  I've wanted to read Satrapi's work in any case, so she seemed like the best place to start.  Do you read graphic novels?  Any good recommendations?  By the way, the Persepolis novels have been made into a film!

On a side note, I think I am finally going to invest in a MP3 player.  I'm leaning heavily towards this one.  I have a little birthday money to spend as well as a Walmart gift card, so the planets are aligned and I think now's the time.  I was just wondering how many GBs I should get.  Technically I don't think I can afford more than 2GB.  I don't want to spend too much money and I have a fear of it being lost or stolen (so the less expensive the better).  I also don't need anything too fancy, as I mainly want it to play music (both saving songs and having an FM tuner), and load podcasts and books onto the player.  I'm terrible at figuring out how much fits into the space though.  I know with this model you can load up to 1,150 songs (more than enough for me), but I wonder how books work.  I've looked on my library's website (and discovered that iPods don't work for the books they offer), and they do have tutorials to walk you through the process.  I thought once you loaded the book that's it, but technically you still only check it out.  Does it disappear after three weeks?  All this is new to me, but first things first--deciding which to buy.  I'm being awfully progressive this week, aren't I?  First graphic novels and now an MP3 player.  What will I shock you with next.

Yet More Reading Notes

Next week, February 29th, The Slaves will be discussing Margaret Laurence's The Stone Angel.  There's still time to get the book and join in if you're interested!  I wasn't aware until recently that the book has been made into a film.  It is due to be released in Canada on May 9, though there is no release date yet for it here in the US.  The screenplay was written by Kari Skogland, who also directed the film.  Kari has very kindly agreed to join in the discussion once things get going.  I thought this would add an interesting dimension to the conversation to have someone so intimately involved in the novel take part in the discussion.  Hagar Shipley is certainly a formidable character.  I'm really enjoying the book and looking forward to hearing everyone else's thoughts on it.  Click here to read more about the film.

It's been too cold to walk to the bookstore (this morning it was -6 when I walked to the bus stop, and a mere -25 with the wind), and I've been itching to browse new books.  I was surprised when I received a couple of boxes from Amazon in the mail last week, however.  Today's my birthday (though I won't be celebrating with my family until the weekend), and a friend sent me a few wishes from my Amazon wishlist.  No one ever sends me anything from my wishlist, so I was confused at first (did I forget I ordered something?).  Needless to say I was very happy, and didn't wait until today to open the boxes.  She makes jewelry and mosaics and is a fellow crafter, so she always sends me the  most amazing gifts. 

I've been eying a few collage books ever since I checked them out from the library.  She sent Jill Hagland's Rubber Stamping Artist Trading Cards, and Bernie Berlin's Artist Trading Card's Workshop, both of which are excellent books.  They offer step by step and fully illustrated tutorials in various techniques. I've seen both and am happy to now have them for my own.  She also sent 1,000 Artist Trading Cards by Patricia Bolton.  The book is more examples of ATCs and less about how to make them, but there is some instructional information as well.  This book also shows lots of mixed-media designs particularly those using fabric.  These have been sitting by my bed, and I'm enjoying just looking at them.  They should be great for inspiration when I'm working.  They make me want to pull out my papers and pens and paints now and start creating!

One other reading note.  I'm again reading on the sly (whenever this happens you should know the culprit is a library book).  I've read very good things about Rosalind Belben's Our Horses in Egypt.  Things that tempted me enough to request the book via ILL (it's only out in the UK).  I've started reading, but I've yet to orient myself in the story.  Right from the start she plops you down in the middle of a situation, conversation really, and it's taking a little time to get my bearings.  I think I've figured out most of the characters and their relationships to each other, but not quite.  Hopefully once I get accustomed to her style I will enjoy the book, must keep persevering though.  UK bloggers are getting me into trouble--I keep finding books not yet out here in the US, and it's a dilemma whether to order them or borrow them.  Heaven forbid I wait until they're published over here.