Christmas Books

My parents have gone hog wild getting me books this Christmas.

The highlights of my books are:

Tris's Book by Tamora Pierce

The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

The Magician by Michael Scott

The Mediator, Book One, Shadowland (I think) by Meg Cabot

Climbing the Stairs by someone with a long last name I don't remember

Piratica by someone else I don't remember

The Will of the Empress was my book of choice for most of the first car trip I took this week - the ten and half hour drive to Memphis. I also read the Magician then. On the way back (which took eleven and a half hours), I read The Lost Hero, Man in the Moon Marigolds, and finished At Home in Mitford. Both times, I got a massive headache from reading in the car, but it was worth it.

Man in the Moon Marigolds - Done!

I finished Man in the Moon Marigolds - finally. It took a long car ride, but it's done (I was procrastinating). I enjoyed the end a whole lot better than the beginning. The first act, I was really confused. Then I finished it and reread the first act, and it made so much more sense.

I think Tillie was completely sane, just a little eccentric, but I'm worried for her sister Ruth and Beatrice. Beatrice is really mean, really weird, and I think she may be an alcoholic. I think that Ruth picked up some of her mother's crazies. Her seizures could be a problem, too. Though, her seizures could be a way for her to get attention from her mother. I loved the ending, what Tillie said about the atom.

Somehow, it was easier to read on my bedroom floor than a highway in the middle of Illinois, but it was a lot more interesting compared to the view out my window.

Break Reading

It's unfortunate to say I haven't finished Man in the Moon Marigolds yet - I'm saving it for the twelve hour car ride to Memphis (and of course the twelve hours back). However, I did finish The Immortal Fire by Anne Ursu, the last in the Cronus Chronicles. It was very, very good. However, there's such a twist in the end that I can't tell much about it without revealing anything. I can say that it has to do with the Promethean Flame, the future of humanity, and can be interpreted two different ways (kind of like the Life of Pi).

I am reading At Home in Mitford (by Jan Karon) currently, and I still haven't finished Mariel of Redwall. At Home in Mitford is the first of a series about an Episcopalian priest named Father Tim. My mom and I were talking about it on Sunday (she's loaning me the book). Father Tim is a bachelor who lives in the church rectory, and manages to get himself in the middle of everything in the small town of Mitford.

Plays for Reading and Seeing

As of Act One, I'm enjoying the Marigolds play, even though it has one of the longest acronyms known to PATH students. TEOGROMITMM - The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man - In - the Moon Marigold. If you know longer acronyms, comment. I like Tillie best so far, but I also like Nanny. I really dislike Beatrice - I don't think she acts like a mother at all, and she whines too much. Ruth is a little confusing - is she crazy, or not? This is one of the first times I remember reading a play straight through, but I think I'll enjoy it. Can't say yet, though.

A play to see: A Christmas Carol, 24th year. It's in downtown Saugatuck, at the Saugatuck Woman's Club on the corner of Hoffman and Butler streets. This Sunday and next Sunday at 7 PM, next Friday at 8 PM, and next Saturday at 2PM and 8PM. I am not in it, but I know almost everyone in it thanks to my stepdad, who has played Scrooge every year. Really really awesome - $10 night tickets, $7 matinees. I'll be there tonight (second time this year) and next Sunday.

This Crazy Week

I have a complaint - only one person beside myself answered my poll. Sheesh, people! It's to the right of this in the window. It says POLL!

What I've been reading:

Mariel of Redwall by Brian Jacques. So far, I like it. Not to the point of obsessiveness (like with Harry Potter), but I like it. It's the fourth in the Redwall series, which is a series revolving around an abbey full of mice. Not just mice, either, but rats, badgers, wild cats, otters, voles, moles, and other woodland creatures. It's kind of like a cross between Watership Down and Warrior Cats, except with mice and rats. It's fantasy, but there isn't much magic. Also, each of the creatures has their own culture. Like the moles, who always speak broadly: "Zurr, oi loik it." By the way, that isn't a quote.

The Siren Song by Anne Ursu: another book series wondering if the Greek myths are real. Very different from the Percy Jackson series, but still funny. It's written in second person, so that's a bit of a shock. It takes a while to get into, but it's worth it.