dentist

I haven't written much lately because I have a visit to the DENTIST tomorrow.....with luck, my new front tooth will be implanted. If all goes well. If my bone healed from the graft. And I get sedated..... BUT, if there was no healing of my bone, then I will wake up and have to go through getting a bridge made. So, since dentist = pain in my world, I have been steeling my nerves for this visit and so haven't been on the computer much. And, no, nothing exciting happened - my youngest son threw his head back almost 2 years ago and hit my dead front tooth, and knocked it lose. when they found yet another infection - at least the 4 th one in that tooth - and that the roots were cracked, it was decided it had to come out. Of course, the story of how I crashed my bike when I was 8 and knocked part of my front teeth off so I have caps on them, is a much more interesting story! But that's why the tooth eventually died.
There is a book meme from last Thursday that I want to do, and Short story Monday to catch up on, and some links to other blogs that have fascinating blogs - check out biblio addict's blog on RADD (Reader's Attention Deficit Disorder) and So Many Books blog on how you can learn from fiction as well as non-fiction (from an article she read). Fun and interesting reading. I will write more tomorrow when the sedation wears off and I stop drooling.
In the meantime, fingers crossed all goes well and happy reading! I'm almost done Widdershins....

no Mansfield Park tonight!!

Well, there went my plans......every other PBS station in the US must have been showing Mansfield Park tonight, but not ours (from Watertown NY) which was showing an antique auction instead!!! Blech!!! Ok, I love antiques, but not when Mansfield Park should have been shown!!! So my LSS went online and saw that M.P. is on sale in February on dvd (first release) so my review will have to wait. To continue!!

Oh well, will go read more Widdershins, which I am loving so far.

The Remains of an Altar and not finishing a challenge....

Reading the eighth book in the Merrily Watkins series - The Remains of An Altar by Phil Rickman - was like picking up a book in the continuing life of a character. I know that's what series are supposed to convey; with this series, it feels like it. The characters - Merrily, the vicar, her daughter Jane, her boyfriend Lol, Gomer Parry the neighbor, Sophie the Archdiocese's secretary......these are all continuing characters around which each book is built. Merrily is a vicar, a Deliverance consultant - she is the church's recourse and answer, when the unexplained happens to people, and ordinary answers aren't enough. She's an exorcist. And she is always explaining that she has never had to do a full exorcism, nor seen anyone's head spin like in the movie!
The series is built on the unexplained - hauntings, or feelings of something wrong - that don't go away, almost always around someone's death. Each book is atmospheric, set in a location around Hereford in the border country with Wales, with Merrily being called out to different villages in each book to help people resolve their problems. When I mean atmospheric, I mean there are moments of genuine spookiness, goosebumps, terror. Sometimes things are explained, sometimes not - and this is satisfying for me because ghosts/ghost stories/legends, the esoteric, can't always be explained.
This series is also about faith, about Merrily finding hers in spite of all the barriers she faces: being a female vicar, being a deliverance 'consultant', being a widow, being a mother of a strong-willed teenage daughter.
In this eighth book, we don't get to see Merrily struggling with her faith as much as we do in the earlier books, as the first book in the series opens with her beginning her work as deliverance consultant. What we do see is the spiritual geography of Britain, ley lines, music, and sacred sites playing the central role, as Merrily is called to the site of multiple accidents under the pretense that people have seen a 'ball of light' just before crashing. I can't say any more without revealing crucial elements of the plot, which I don't want to do - I want you to go read this book, Gentle Reader, if you want to, not spoil it for you!

I can say that I love this series, and have given the first book, The Wine of Angels, to everyone I can. The series is about things I love - mysteries, faith, ghosts, spiritual questions, myths and local lore (especially in Britain, where every spot seems to have some story associated with it!) - and very real characters trying to find the truth. The series I would have liked to write, one day!!! So if you are looking for something different and interesting to read, I reccomend all the books in this series. The Remains of an Altar does have gore a-plenty, but also the music of the spheres. Give it a try, and let me know what you think.

From the Stacks Challenge: I have realized that with 7 days left, I am not going to finish this challenge! I grabbed Robinson Crusoe last night, and then I paused. Was I reading it because I wanted to, or because I felt I had to, to finish the challenge? When there is no way I could read Cryptonomicon in 5 days or less. I looked at my challenge books, all of them, and I asked, what do I want to read? Because this is what this is all about - reading books I want to. And I looked over what I read this month so far, and realized I hadn't read any fantasy yet, and i wanted to read one. Normally I read 3 or4 in January, so the reading challenges are changing my reading habits, but I don't want to lessen the fantasy I read! and I thought, I want to read Charles de Lint's new one, Widdershins, that I've wanted to read since I saw it was finally going to get Jilly and Geordie together!


I love how Charles puts the fairies and European myths on one side and the native legends and figures - some like fairies - on the other. As i have some background history with Aboriginal knowledge - my brother is Ojibway (he is adopted), I have moved in Ottawa's native community in past years and met many elders, been to ceremonies and many powwows, I can say with some knowledge that how Charles uses the native characters is correct, and even better, he has some understanding of how the myths work. I don't mean to sound as if I am an expert! I do know that Aboriginal sense of time and land is different from the European sense of it, so it is difficult to write about if one isn't grown up in the culture, and Charles goes further by putting them side by side in the same books/series, the Newford series. I expect at some day in the future his genius will be recognized for how he has mythologized the Canadian landscape, especially here in the Ottawa area - he lives here, and one of his early novels Moonheart is set in downtown Ottawa. It's a mix of urban fantasy, celtic fairies, and music, and now, growing more present in his work, are the native elements. This makes it unique, as far as I know. There are many aboriginal writers out there! but not many that mix Celtic/European fairies with Celtic and aboriginal shamanism and aboriginal legends like Coyote. That is why I hope one day Charles is recognized for contributing a unique body of literature to Canadian writing. In the meantime, his stories are always fun to read, exploring interesting ideas, with wonderful characters and settings. He almost always has an artist of some kind also, and music - Celtic fiddling - plays a big part also. For those who don't know, Charles fiddles himself, and he is often found in local Ottawa pubs fiddling with his group.
Anyway, I only started reading the book on the bus this morning, and already I am trying to figure out if the house really needs cleaning this weekend, so I can grab more hours to spend with the book instead! My book self says I cleaned so thoroughly last week, do I really have to do anything this week? My non-book self (and this is a very tiny part of me) says I feel better when all the puzzles are off the floor and everything is tidy...uh oh, just writing that is boring!!
Stay tuned for further reviews, but I am delighted that I am learning to be flexible with the challenges - they are there to challenge me, but they are not courses I have to pass! And they are all books I want to read!! Which was the purpose of them, make myself read more books this year. I have to say the Writer's Strike has helped immensely, although instead of watching tv I find myself blogging instead! At least I am spending more time thinking about books, reading about them on other blogs, and not just watching tv. I feel sorry for the writers, being a writer myself, and I still watch some tv - but not having to watch the new episode of something each night of the week has made the past few months feel like summer - I'm free from having my time used there, so that I can use it here (or somewhere else). And my reading is going up.

Meme - My House

MEME: My House

kookie did it, then chris, then raidergirl3..
http://raidergirl3-anadventureinreading.blogspot.com/2008/01/meme-my-house.html
Now I'm doing it.......go ahead, it's fun! we can always compare dust bunnies sizes.....

What kind of soap is in your shower right now? Ivory (Graham has eczema)

Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator? in the winter?

What would you change about your living room? Buy some more book shelves! Books are piled on the floor (no room in the shelves), organize the kids' toys, and get a gas fireplace. Oh, and a sectional sofa set so there is room for all of us to sit!!

Are the dishes in your dishwasher clean or dirty? Clean

What is in your fridge? leftover roast chicken, leftover sausages, leftover tacos, milk, cream, apple juice, chocolate milk, yogurt, vegetables, baking soda (for smells)

White or wheat bread? whole wheat

What is on top of your refrigerator? binoculars, watering can, two baskets - one filled with flashlight, thermometer, odds and ends, the other filled with all kinds of batteries for the multitude of toys we have that require them and for our digital camera

What color or design is on your shower curtain? I have two - a clear one, and a striped one that is multicoloured - pink, green, white, orange, blue, red

How many plants are in your home? 6 spider plants, 1 ivy, 1 philodendron, 3 spiky kind

Is your bed made right now? why would I make it when I'm just going to get back in it tonight?

Comet or Soft Scrub? Neither. We have an enviromentally-friendly home, so Ecover does it for us (available at our neighborhood organic food health store)

Is your closet organized? to me. It might not look like it to someone else.

Can you describe your flashlight? Big! so we can find it and see our way to find the candles

Do you drink out of glass or plastic most of the time at home? Glass, but I have a collection of plastic/deck glasses that I use sometimes, and the kids definitely use plastic

Do you have iced tea made in a pitcher right now? hahaha in the winter?

If you have a garage, is it cluttered? No garage, but I bet it would be cluttered, if my basement is any indication!

Curtains or blinds? Curtains

How many pillows do you sleep with? one curved one for my back, which I hate, but keeps my back from hating. Now if only I could do something about the leg cramps and thigh ache....

Do you sleep with any lights on at night? No!! I hate light when I'm sleeping (my husband doesn't care)

How often do you vacuum? not often enough

Standard toothbrush or electric? standard

What color is your toothbrush? white with purple sides

Do you have a welcome mat on your front porch? I have 2 mats inside to catch the snow and mud.

What is in your oven right now? Nothing. It's 11 pm.

Is there anything under your bed? probably some kids toys, and a multitude of dust bunnies, and probably some English money from when Holly-Anne was playing with her purses

Chore you hate doing the most? housework!!

What retro items are in your home? china, some of which are 1970's, a tablecloth from teh 1970's, this desk the computer sits on.....

Do you have a separate room that you use as an office? The kids are young enough to always need someone there, so the computer sits in the corner of the living room. I have my own room upstairs, with more books and a small table for writing, but as we don't have a third computer yet I don't use it as an office yet. Someday....

How many mirrors are in your home? 5

What color are your walls? yellow - kitchen; buttercup yellow downstairs hallway; cream - light beige everywhere else.

What does your home smell like right now? leftover tacos?

Favorite candle scent? no particular favorite. vanilla maybe?

What kind of pickles (if any) are in your refrigerator right now? garlic baby dills

What color is your favorite Bible? no favorite

Ever been on your roof? No

Do you own a stereo? Yes, 2. One is in the living room, one is in the basement.

How many TVs do you have? 3 - one for watching up stairs, one down for video games and the loser of the toss when hockey is on (or soccer from England), or when the kids want to watch different movies at the same time, and a smaller one in the kitchen/dining room corner that I have on to watch while I cook, or when we want different things on while we're on the main floor (usually because kids are watching a video on the main tv in the living room)

How many house phones? 2 landlines. No cell phones!

Do you have a housekeeper? nope

What style do you decorate in? Style! Unfortunately none yet....mish mash of bought items and things given to us. English style in the kitchen with some china displayed on the walls

Do you like solid colors or prints in furniture? both, a nice mix

Is there a smoke detector in your home? Three

In case of fire, what are the items in your house which you’d grab if you only could make one quick trip?
photo albums, my Goddess figurines, my writing, the computer, my tarot cards

There you have it.

Short Story Monday - Fragile Things

I know this is Tuesday, but I fell asleep last night before I could write the blog about the stories I read.
First, The Fairy Reel, a poem. It has interesting ideas - split souls, that happens when one hears the Fairy Reel, and the heart stolen as they steal your breath - a cautionary poem, a warning about fairies. And the poet is right - they are dangerous, as well as tantalizing. I can't say I like this poem, though it is beautiful - just like a fairy.
Next, Closing Time. My favourite, of last night, and possibly of all the stories I've read so far. It's a ghost story, and creepy. I will never look at playhouses outside again in quite the same way. This is a very good story, and deservedly was placed in 'Best of the Year' anthologies.
Last, The Hidden Chamber. Another poem, and also very creepy. It is based on Bluebeard, and empty houses, and hidden rooms, and ghosts of those who went before. It is very unsettling, capturing the obsessiveness and unwillingness to let go of the wife-killer (or at least Bluebeard's version), and playing upon the word 'chamber'. That's all I'm going to say, except, you'll have to read it for yourself!
The story that still haunts me most though, is 'The Problem of Susan". It haunts me because it rings true, at least to me it does. this is how Susan would turn out, I think, at odd times of the day or night. I don't often have one story reappear in my thoughts two weeks after reading it, so this story has something for me that I need to work out!
I am enjoying this book very much.

Banned Books Reading

I have seen the button and ongoing reading lists on other sites (thank you to Caribou's mom site http://caribousmom.blogharbor.com/blog/BannedBooks for this button and blog that gave me the final push!!) and have decided that as a reader and as a writer, to start reading banned books. It is abhorrent that we feel the need to ban good literature because it offends someone. One of the purposes of literature - writing - ideas - is to discuss, is to think about the world we live in. Would we ever know about how African slavery has affected millions of African-Americans without Roots? The Colour Purple? Racism - To Kill a Mockingbird? How about Harry Potter books? Farhenheit 451? (These are off the top of my head, I will look at lists tomorrow and add more. I'll add links to lists I find). It is incredible to me that we are so righteous as a society that we cannot permit books that portray negative images to be read by our children. Our children experience alot of these conditions in their daily lives - racism, bullying, mockery, sexual abuse and exploitation, cruelty. Why would we ban books that allow them to find some comfort, that they are not alone in their experiences? How many lives have been saved because a child - an adult - read a book that made them feel someone understood, someone else knew? Alot of these bans are by well-meaning parents and school boards, concerned about what their children are reading - or so they say. I think that what is at stake is freedom of ideas, freedom of truth. A book is one point of view; another book is another's. Neither is fully right, nor fully wrong. Banning books means we are afraid of another opinion, afraid to see ourselves as another sees us. The very best writing and writers tell the truth, about all of us, about the state of the world - not preaching, but revealing. And our attitude to their writing tells us how enlightened and free and open to hearing one another we really are. I would rather, that if I am unable to for some reason, reach my children or someone else's, that there be a way for them to be comforted and understood. I do not, and will not, understand how banning a book prevents children from knowing these things exist.
Sorry if I am ranting, but the very idea of banning a book offends me. I am not talking about books written that trample on other's rights - evil books that spit hatred at others for their race or religion, or use perversion as a means to pleasure and not to reveal, which I think hurt the world by being written, and yet serve a purpose.
I am talking about good books that are honest and tell the truth. We need those books. So I am joining the Reading Banned Books, and for me it is an open-ended challenge, an ongoing challenge. I have to see if any books on my current reading challenges are banned, and then see what I can fit in, but I hope to be able to include 6 banned books this year, as a minimum.
In the same way that reading the Man Booker Prize books - and eventually the Pulitzer Prize winners, etc, plans in the works - will bring to me I hope the best of what we are currently writing, I want the Banned Books to bring me the books that have ideas worth thinking about and discussing.
This is what intellectual freedom is all about. This is part of what our freedom should be about.

Northanger Abbey - Masterpiece Theatre

I hadn't seen any tv version nor read the book for quite a few years. I found myself laughing this evening at some of the humour, and delighted, and crying when Henry finds out how silly Catherine has been. It is a delightful story, about the dangers of reading bad gothic novels. I found myself astonished as Gillian Anderson, who is introducing this series, announced that Jane Austen wrote this novel to support Gothic reading by women!! I should think not. From all I have read, and understood about Northanger Abbey, Jane wrote this book in protest against the silliness of all the young women who read the novels and allowed their imaginations to run wild. She was being sarcastic - pointing out that young women could be reading better books than The Castle of Otranto and the Monk.
The most interesting thing about Northanger Abbey is the innocence Catherine displays; she is not able to protect herself against the wiles of Isabella and her brother John, is completely unsuspecting of any motivation except kindliness and consideration. While all the other heroines of Jane Austen are unmarried, none are as innocent as Catherine, who is unworldly in the deepest sense. All the other heroines display awarenesss of their position in society, and wealth, and that people can marry for reasons other than love. In Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen has Henry finally admit the dark secret of Northanger Abbey - his father did 'kill' their mother, but not in murder, but by marrying her for her money, and not for love. His coldness eventually kills her. And as this is Jane's first novel, I think she allows herself to say this openly, while in later novels she shows unhappy marriages (I can never read about Charles and Mary in Persuasion, without wondering how happy he was getting Mary when he wanted Anne, and how hideous Mary is as a person to be married to, so selfish and self-absorbed), rather than having anyone spell it out so clearly again. As always, her ideal is to marry for true love - the meeting of souls - which again Henry and Catherine illustrate at their first meeting, their quick meeting of their minds in banter and teasing.
Northanger Abbey also shows the very real benefit of having rich neighbors when one doesn't have rich connections. Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, all have not wealthy heroines; only Emma is wealthy in her own right. Anne in Persuasion is dependent on her father since she is so old and unmarried in the novel. Emma does for Harriet in Emma what rich relations (the Allens seems to be a popular name for rich relatives/neighbors etc) and neighbors do for Lizzie and Catherine - bring them out into society where they meet (or in Elizabeth's case, meet again on his home ground) their future spouses. In a world bound by social and family connections, these play an important part for unmarried young women to meet future spouses, and to broaden their knowledge of the world. Certainly Catherine by the end has learned her lesson - don't let your imagination run away with you, if you read books. Even Henry says, "I really think perhaps one can read too many books," but he was meaning trash novels of the 19th century, not reading for intellectual pursuit. At the end we see Catherine teaching her younger siblings how to read, and the inference is both that she has the temperament and character to be a parson's wife (which Henry will be), and also that learning to read is important. Jane's point was girls were wasting their time (and maybe opportunity and intelligence) with silly gothic novels.
I really hope Gillian Anderson was being sarcastic!
And Henry Tilney is very charmingly played by JJ Feild, another handsome and charming collection to Austen Males We'd All Like to Marry. It was fun to see Carey Mulligan again, she who plays Lydia in Keira Knightley's version of Pride and Prejudice. She plays Isabella, the conniving 'friend' who plans to marry James (Catherine's brother) until she finds out he has only a little money. Catherine is too innocent to see Isabella is a flirt and a schemer, determined to marry for money, but she is not so innocent as to welcome back Isabella once Isabella dumps her brother for Captain Tilney, Henry's older brother, and Isabella is left ashamed after Henry seduces her. Catherine maybe innocent, but she has a backbone and ideas of her own, so she is not a boring goody-two shoes character either. She is sweet and good-natured, as all of Austen's heroines are.
Next week is Mansfield Park, which I have never seen. I am anticipating this already.......6 days and 22 hours to go......
Happy reading, and hope you are able to see Northanger Abbey!