Happy Birthday!!

The best birthday bashes are at the beach! Happy birthday, Ked, Adam, and Joe!!!!

New Computer

Well, I did it. I finally got fed up trying to de-bug my old computer and got a fancy new laptop. I am trying to figure my way around Vista...where is the file option?? How do I cut and paste?? And will the McAfee anti-virus and Windows updated ever finish downloading??? Seriously, this taking a loooong time. 71% on the Windows and....I see McAfee has crashed again and is down to 2% after a high of 73%. Sigh....this has been going on since 8:30 this morning and it is now 2:20 pm. I may have to go beg some broadband from somewhere.

4 x 10 Challenge

I haven't been blogging much lately. Spring is in the air and baseball is every night except Monday and Sunday... but I have been trying to read. It hasn't been easy! One of the reasons I took up this challenge was to read books that I might not pick up otherwise. Books that would challenge me and books from genres I don't usually choose. The surprise category has been Adult Fiction. There are a lot of books out there that are just not worth reading! One of the worst in my opinion is The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diament. Blech! Charmless characters in a charmless town engaging in banally unpleasant activities. I was warned by the librarian that no one had managed to get through this book but it looked readable and not too long. I was so appalled by it that I was driven to re-read the Father Tim-Mitford series by Jan Karon who writes about normal people in normal activities and still manages to keep it interesting. Bravo,Jan!! Coming on the heals of the vampire book I am now retreating to Patrick O'Brian and Captain Aubrey. I turn my back on new adult fiction!!!

Here are the new books on the list:
Parenting/Family category has been changes to biographies of saint with Saint Francis of Assisi by G.K. Chesterton leading the list. At my current stage of life I am more intersted in saints than working on my partenting skills. (Not that they don't still need it!)

In World Politics: Liberty and Tyranny by Mark Levin This reads like a high school textbook and doesn't hold out a cheery ending for our freedoms. But a good read nonetheless and timely. Maybe it is not too late??

Fiction (Classics) Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. I hadn't read this before and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The one problem is afterwards I watched the movie. There were lots of characters with the same names as the characters in this book but no resemblance to Scott's. All nobility removed and sneakiness and guile ruling the day.

And lastly in Adult fiction we have A Common Life by Jan Karon. I read four Mitford books but this is the only new read as it was written out of sequence. If you've read one you have read them all but lately I find that comforting.

Set backs on the road to Rivendell

I was doing pretty well on my trek to Rivendell considering all the snow we had this winter but a bought of the flu made walking in cold, drizzly weather unbearable and then when the weather turned beautiful I fell, hard (!) on my knees! I'm on the mend now and at the foot of the Weather Hills.

4x10 Reading Challenge

One of the benefits of having a computer virus, a flu virus, bad weather (not lately--we have been having early Spring weather) and a bad knee is I have had lots of time to read. Here is what I have added to my list---

Children's Lit (4-10)
A Necklace of Raindrops by Joan Aiken
cute but not up to her usual standard--seemed like fairy tales made up on the spot to get a child to sleep.

Lives and Legends of the Saints by Carole Armstrong
Beautiful picture book

Favorite Medieval Tales by Mary Pope Osborne
Also beautifully illustrated and beautifully re-told

Children's Lit (10-14)
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
Smart kids who work together to save the world and themselves, clever tale.

History
The Thieves of Baghdad by Matthew Bogdano
My brother recommended this one and it was a great read about the sacking of the Baghdad museum during the Iraq war. Bogdano is a master tale teller.

World Politics
The Illusion of Victory by Thomas Fleming
I had asked around for some good books on world politics and several books by this author came up. This is about WWI and the politics surrounding the war. I was pleading for mercy by the time I finished it. Note to self: never, ever, read a book about WWI during February ever again. Maybe even no more books about WWI ever again. What a bloody, brutal time.

How to Break a Terrorist by Matthew Alexander
Tegan recommended this one and it also was riveting and not one I would have picked up on my own. Alexander is one of the "new" interogaters using psychology instead of torture.

Education
Real Education by Charles Murray
A lot of statistics about public schools and why they don't work. I'm pretty sure Charlotte Mason wouldn't agree with him about students who aren't capable of college work but he does recommend a liberal education for all in elementary school.

Fiction (classics)
The Man Who was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton
Brilliant! An anarchist romp written with flair!

Serendipity
Real Food by Nina Planck
I don't know why I read these foodie books. It just makes me feel bad that I don't buy raw milk, pastured beef, organic veggies...I would if I could but they are not available and/or not affordable. Alas.

Adult Fiction
Blood and Ice by Robert Masello
I thought this was going to be a thriller detective story. It turned into a vampire story. Yuck!

Testing

I'm testing to see if I've conquered the bug that has kept me from blogging (and a lot more).......

Happy Birthday, Sam!