It’s been a long, stressful week. Most of that stress was self-inflicted, but it was stress all the same and it didn’t let up until Friday and Saturday. I feel much better now, and am ready to face another week.

Obligatory Mina Photo (with a photo of Sidney, for good measure):

 

They’re both still crazy.

Mina decided to try to chew through the side of the cat food bag. I discovered this before she could get into it, and put the bag in a cabinet. She knows which cabinet the food bag is in, however, and will sit by that door, begging me to let her in so she can gorge herself sick.

Meanwhile, her bowl is almost always half-full. But she still wants the food that is still in the bag.

Sidney, on the other hand, will get up from his bed in the studio, come into the bedroom early in the morning, and jump onto the nightstand next to my bed. He will sit there like a gargoyle until the alarm goes off, even though he knows he is allowed on the bed.

Cats. Whaddya do?

 

What I Finished Reading Last Week:

• Silver on the Tree (The Dark is Rising #5) by Susan Cooper

Once again, I feel like the story of Silver on the Tree is radically different from what I read before. It’s me who is different, not the book, and that’s one of the brilliant things about it. The Dark is Rising is Middle Grade/Young Adult fantasy at its best. It has smart young protagonists who are everyday kids (with parents!) who find themselves in a fight against evil. They’re not chosen ones, they’re not snarky ‘cool’ kids, they don’t have unbelievable skills with swords. They’re normal young people who believe in what they’re fighting for and stick to what they know to be right. The stories are full of beautiful writing and nuance that adults will find engaging. I wish more people read these wonderful books.

 

What I’m Currently Reading:

• The Tiger’s Daughter (Their Bright Ascendancy #1) by K. Arsenault Rivera (348/523)
• The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings #1) by J.R.R. Tolkien (120/423)
• Rules of Civility by Amor Towles, audiobook narrated by Rebecca Lowman (40%)
• The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World by Steven Brusatte, audiobook narrated by Patrick Lawlor (36%)

My experience with The Tiger’s Daughter is starting to feel like my experience with Fonda Lee’s Jade City. I am loving it, but it is taking me a long time to get through it. I have reached the point where I understand where the title comes from, but my primary questions have not been answered. I am looking forward to the last 175 pages.

What is there to say about the first part of my favorite book ever? Frodo and company have reached the house at Crickhollow, and Sam, Merry, and Pippin have declared their intentions to follow Frodo to whatever end. It’s a different experience now, thanks to my reread project and the past season of The Prancing Pony Podcast, which does a deep reading of Tolkien’s books. I have a much deeper grounding in the histories of the Shire and the Ring, and I’m looking forward to the hobbits’ arrival at the Prancing Pony. Who doesn’t like Aragorn?

Rules of Civility is a gorgeous book about a young working-class woman, Katey, and her encounters with the high society men and women of New York in 1938. A chance encounter brings her into the circle of Tinker Grey, a wealthy young banker who introduces to a life of carefree ease and wealth. Circumstances take them apart, and while she waits for Tinker to come back into her life, Katey flirts with the upper crust, using her cool demeanor and wit to make a way for herself. I’m hoping to finish this one up before Christmas.

Nonfiction is at its best when the author is passionate about their subject, and The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs is no exception to this rule. Brusatte makes going out into the desert and combing through the soil for fragments of dinosaur bones sound like the most fun ever. You’d think that learning about proto-dinosaurs on Pangaea would be boring, but Brusatte’s enthusiasm and communication skills make this a fascinating book.

 

What I Plan to Start Reading This Week:

I might start The Two Towers, depending on whether or not I finish reading The Fellowship of the Ring. We’ll see how the reading goes. I don’t want to hurry through Fellowship for the sake of statistics.

 

What I’ve Been Watching:

The Repair Shop
Reality-TV
BBC/Netflix
Starring: Jay Blades, Stephen Fletcher, William Kirk, Robert Pugh, Kirsten Ramsay

We live in an age of disposable everything– including furniture, clothing, and works of art. The Repair Shop is a place that fights against that, where people can bring their damaged or worn family heirlooms and other treasured items to have them restored so they can be used for future generations. It’s a quiet show about kind people fixing and restoring treasured items and making other people happy. Have you finished watching Queer Eye and The Great British Baking Show, and now you need something else to cheer you up during a stressful season? Definitely give this one a try.