Changes are Afoot
It is time to wake up this blog.
Review: The Book Thing by Laura Lippman
I am a fan of Laura Lippman, books and short stories. The Book Thing combines all three. Win win! I have mostly read Lippman’s stand alone novels, but this short story falls within the Tess Monaghan series. The Book Thing contains not-so-subtle commentary on book stores vs. e-books. The underlying question throughout the story seems to be: Do we, as a society, still value paper books?
A short, fast read for fans of Laura Lippman and Tess Monaghan. I love that this falls within a series of Bibliomysteries. I think I need to pick up others in the series.
Thank you to MysteriousPress.com and Open Road Media for providing me with a copy to review.
Book: The Book Thing | Author: Laura Lippman | Published: MysteriousPress.com and Open Road Media; January 15, 2013 | Format: e-Galley | Source: NetGalley | Rating: 4 out of 5
Hi.
I have not written in about a year so I am not sure what prompted me to do a 2012 wrap up, but I suddenly decided I needed to get this year down in writing.
Remembering Basil, April 1994 – August 17, 2012
I adopted Basil in June of 1994, and he was my companion for just over 18 years. Basil was adopted from a humane society in Orange Park, Florida. A friend and I randomly went to the animal shelter just to visit. While in the kitten room, a little guy with the number 1064 around his neck hopped up on my lap. I didn’t consider myself a cat person, but after meeting little 1064, I knew I needed him as a kitty companion. Basil was a super mellow cat who traveled well and got along with every person and animal he met. A few years ago, we had trouble getting his hyperthyroidism under control and he became Radioactive Cat when he received radioactive iodine treatment. He became much healthier after treatment. Like many thyroid or just plain old cats, Basil developed kidney disease. We successfully treated it for about a year with at home fluid therapy, but he began rapidly declining in August. We had to make the decision to let him go. It was a horrible week, but in the end, he let us know that he was ready to say goodbye.
Diesel Love
A week before Basil passed away, I wrecked my car. I didn’t just wreck it, I totaled my car. I had gone home for lunch to check on Basil and Callie (more on Callie in a moment), and on my way back to work, I rear-ended a large Ford F250 in my wee little VW Golf. The accident involved a suddenly stopped left-turning car in front of the Ford F250. The Ford slammed on his brakes and I slammed on my brakes, but I didn’t have time to stop so I hit him. Fortunately, the guy I rear-ended was very kind. So, along with a sick cat and a sick dog, I had to go car shopping. I drove a Subaru Forester and an Outback. I was pretty sure I wanted a Subaru Forester. Then I drove a VW Jetta wagon. After several days of pros and cons, I decided that I wanted a VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI. I love it. This is my third VW: 1996 Golf, 2004 Golf and 2013 Jettawagen. If you count Clint’s 2000 Jetta, which he is still driving, it is our fourth VW.
Canine Seizures
In June, Callie had the first seizure that we witnessed. We now believe that she had been having them for a while and we just hadn’t witnessed one prior to June. She received a general diagnosis of epilepsy, and we eventually put her on zonisamide. Things seemed ok. However, just before Christmas, she had a cluster of eight seizures over a roughly 36-hour period. We took her to the emergency vet where they gave her a loading dose of phenobarbital. The past week has been full of ups and downs. A week post phenobarbital loading dose, we are finally having more ups than downs. We took her to a neurologist, and they recommended an MRI and spinal tap to make sure epilepsy is the appropriate diagnosis (as opposed to a brain tumor or encephalitis). We have been on the fence about the MRI because we are afraid of the potential diagnosis, but I think we have made the decision that we need to pursue all possible diagnostic options.
Reading
I have only read 33 books this year. I will likely finish my 34th book today. I read a lot less than I planned to. I hope to pick it up a bit in 2013.
The Future
Going forward, I hope to use this blog more. I might write about books I’m reading. I will probably write about canine seizures. While researching the disease, I found real life stories the most helpful. I plan to write about Callie’s saga in the hopes of helping someone else. I would also like to do some knitting in 2013. It’s been too long.
Here’s to the New Year!
It’s Monday! What are you Reading?
It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.
I am currently reading:
Gideon’s Corpse by Douglas Preston & Lee Child – I love Preston & Child’s Pendergast series but not so much this Gideon Crew series. I nearly gave up on this book several times. The subject matter, which includes terrorists and a nuclear bomb, just aren’t my cup of tea. While I have not given up on it yet, I am reading it very slowly.
The Drama-Free Office by Jim Warner & Kaley Klemp – This title speaks for itself, no? My husband picked it up for me as a joke while at the library yesterday, but I must admit that I am intrigued.
During the past two weeks I finished reading:
The House at Sea’s End by Elly Griffiths (Ruth Galloway #3) – I started writing a review for this, but I have not completed it yet. (4 out of 5 stars)
See also: The Crossing Places and The Janus Stone
Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye by Victoria Laurie – I really did not care for the narrator of this audiobook. She sounded too old for the character of Abby Cooper. I am not sure whether I would have liked the book better if I had read it. Abby Cooper’s way of detecting whether someone is lying is to hear, “Liar, liar, pants on fire,” in her head. After hearing it for the tenth time, it just seemed super cheesy. (2 out of 5 stars)
A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson – This was my first time reading Joshilyn Jackson, and I 100% loved all of it. I devoured the book in two days. I picked up an audiobook by Joshilyn Jackson yesterday. I hope that I love it just as much. (5 out of 5 stars)
Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach – Last week I needed a pick-me-up, so I listened to six minutes of Samuel L. Jackson goodness. Twice! Hilarious! I have no children, so I can only relate to this in dog terms. My dog has been throwing 3am barking tantrums. Sometimes I just want to give in to her tantrums and let her out of her crate so I can get some f**king sleep. This was a good laugh, and Samuel L. Jackson is the perfect narrator. (5 out of 5 stars)
Upcoming:
Reviews! I hope!
Have a great week, everyone!
Reader of the Pack 