Tag Archives: books

Edward Tulane

Last night we finished reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Dicamillo, once again, is simply amazing. Although the style is simple enough for kids, the character is believable, and the book is heartbreaking all the way to the last page. It’s a story of a toy rabbit who gets lost, and learns what it means to love. To tell you more would be unfair. You’ve got to read it for yourself.

Dicamillo is also the author of The Tale of Despereaux and Because of Winn-Dixie. I think that, of the three, I’ve enjoyed this one the most.

What kind of a reader?

Via my sis …

What Kind of Reader Are You?

Your Result: Dedicated Reader
 

You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.

Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
 
Literate Good Citizen
 
Book Snob
 
Non-Reader
 
Fad Reader
 

And, like her the HTML given to me by that site doesn’t render quite right. Bummer.

Update: Hmm. I think I’ve made it render right. 🙂

Once Upon A Time

How best for him to be brave?

He cleared his throat. He let go of his tail. He stood up straighter. “Once upon a time,” he said out loud to the darkness. He said these words because they were the best, the most powerful words that he knew and just the saying of them comforted him.

— From “The Tale of Despereaux“, by Kate DiCamillo

Taking requests

Now that I’m done with the Just So Stories, O Best Beloved, I need suggestions of where to go next.

(Actually, I omitted “The Beginning of the Armadillos”, and should go back and run that one at some point. I recorded it, but have misplaced the file.)

I’m looking for short stories, out of copyright, preferably in the 20 minutes or less range.

I’m leaning towards the short stories (and possibly the poems) of E.A.Poe. I would like to do some Lovecraft, but, thanks to the accursed Mouse, that’s all still under copyright.

So, other than Poe, any suggestions are welcome.

Night falls on Narnia

Last night, Sarah and I finished reading the last chapter of The Last Battle. We’ve been reading the Narnia books for more than a year now, a few chapters a night, a few days a week, with other books interspersed here and there.

This is the first time I’ve read all the way through the Narnia books for probably 20 years, and they had as much magic this time as the last. Perhaps even more, as I got to share it with Sarah. I think perhaps the end of the Last Battle was a little too high-browed for her. But she’s definitely had her appetite whetted for books of this short, and wants to know what other books might fall in this category.

Maybe, just maybe, we can read The Hobbit before too long. 🙂

Writing

I’m currently writing 4 things. One of them is creative, and the other are works of reference, into which I try to shoehorn just enough of my personality that it is actually me, and not merely the technology, which is speaking.

It seems that each time I try to write something non-technical, I get hung up before I can make it very far. I suppose it could be that I’m just not particularly creative – that has certainly occurred to me. Or it could be that it’s OK that my skills lay elsewhere. I have some stories that I want to tell, but when I tell them, they seem stilted and wooden next to the words of Bradbury, Dickens, and Kipling that I’ve been reading so much of lately. So I end up throwing away a lot of stuff, and never letting anyone see it.

I suppose this is for the best. It’s not very good. And mostly it’s the process of writing it that I enjoy, and then find myself embarrassed to show anybody the results.

Anyways, I’m writing this, mostly to avoid writing those other things. Deadlines, you know.