Books I have read recently

  • Shirley by Charlotte Bronte — I'm reading a giant biography of the Brontes "Wild Genius on the Moors" By Juliet Barker (amazing!! but I'll post on that when I finish) So I'm reading each novel as it's discussed in the book. I loved Shirley. I have to agree with the critics that it is a slow painful start and it does take about 150 pages till we meet the title character Shirley. But besides that, it is so well written. Caroline Helstone’s angst is beautiful and poignant. And knowing that the last third of the book was written after Emily & Anne died explains so much about the change in the book. Charlotte likes to fix her world by writing about it and in her version the sick heroine recovers where her sisters did not. I definitely recommend Shirley for the Bronte fan. Don’t skip it.
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas --- It took me a couple chapters to really dive in but after that I was in love. I had read somewhere that it was based on Beauty & the Beast, which is great. What I did not know is that it is a retelling of one of my favorite fairytales: East of the Sun, West of the Moon!!! What a treat when I discovered that. I love that story. It's whimsical and the girl saves the day which I love love love. Sarah does a beautiful job of it and I can't wait for the next one!!
  • Miss Buncle’s Book by D. E. Stevenson —What a little treat. My mom gave these books to me for my birthday and there are so much fun. It’s a light easy read and it made me chuckle.
  • Shadow Study by Maria V. Snyder— I adore her soul finder books. I’ve been reading them for years. She builds beautiful strong women and sweeping romance. Her magic system is unique and I want to live in her world.
  • The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr and E. B. White — A must read for every writer. Thanks to Stephen King for the recommendation. It has all those little things that I had questions about and answered them quickly and succinctly. It’s not the funnest read but it’s helpful.
  • Click of Titles to go to the book's Amazon page

Sunday, April 22, 2012

The Gillmings come to town Part 2

 The rare Ben Bear at the zoo
 The coolest animal ever. The Red Panda.
Flamingos!
                                        
Harrison's reenactment of the flamingo mating dance. We asked Emily to look away.



 I love this candid picture
 Giddy Up!
 Jake's favorite thing: The Lemurs
 Matt's great pic of the lion
 Arlington Cemetery
 The White House

The Gillmings come to town Part 1

So a couple weeks ago the Gillmings came to visit. Here is a photo recap :)


 Jake holding the Washington Monument
 There are a trillion funny Ben pictures from this trip
 "Hey! Aunt Megan that's not funny!"

 Oh a tree!! Let's climb it!
 You can just see the white house in between Jake & the tree
 The WWII Memorial

 HAHA
 The Lincoln Monument
 "Oh Grandpa you are so funny!"
 #1 on Jake's must see: The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
 And my favorite picture of the trip. They are matching and standing exactly the same. This is a totally candid shot lol

Thursday, April 19, 2012

The Prince of the Forest

Crookshanks: Possibly the best cat ever.

 Here is a poem someone else wrote about their cat named Crookshanks.
 Hear the bells ringing, ringing,
Tidings of death bringing, bringing
Some are common some are grand
Some the richest in the land,
But none as great as Crookshanks, Crookshanks
He had nothing and gave thanks, gave thanks,
Evil found him and his friends,
He was trapped in fierce blends,
Crookshanks, Crookshanks gone. 
http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/40942-crookshanks

Crookshanks passed away April 14, 2012. He had been wasting away from an unknown illness. He woke up screaming & crying from under the car. Dad, Shawn, & Mom helped send him painlessly on his away. Thank you guys for helping him.

 Let us remember the little prince as he was. Happy under a Christmas tree.
So what after you have pet him for a while your hand turned black with tar
So what that his incessant cry for "MILK" would wake you up at 2am
So what he caught a bird in mid flight and ate it
So what he would keep bringing back that dead squirrel to show off over and over
                                We all loved him anyways.
 I hope there is a cat heaven and that's it's close to human heaven. But if not you'll live on in our hearts. Thanks for naming him by the way Jared.