Review: The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I've liked Neil Gaiman ever since I read "The Sandman" (an excellent read but NOT for young readers at all).  Previously, I've read "Coraline" and "Stardust" and "Good Omens" (which he wrote with Terry Prachett) and "The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish."  I saw this is Barnes and Noble and thought that it looked like Gaiman's normal ominous work and I decided to put it on my list to read later.
Then I found out that it had won the Newbery.
Normally, the Newbery people are spot on in picking the best books of the year so I figured that I really REALLY had to read this one. 
The book itself reads more like a collection of short stories that are all connected together.  They center around Nobody Owens, a boy who's family is murdered when he is a toddler and he finds sanctity in a graveyard where he is raised by a ghostly couple the Owens and his mysterious guardian Silas.  We see glimpses of Bod as he grows up, being taught things by ghosts, as he befriends a little girl, as he tries to go to school in the real world.  Gaiman weaves all these stories together into an entertaining, cohesive book.  A definite read.

Decided to read it again for #allhallowsread on Twitter.  Excellent choice.



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Insomnia

So, I've been away from blogging for a week or two.  Been trying to spend more time with the girls and my heart's not really been into doing anything.  Why?  Because my insomnia is back.  Now, of course sometimes the girls are to blame for it but lately, I've been waking up every night, in the middle of the night and haven't been able to go back to sleep.  So, I lost a day of work (really hoping I don't get fired) and went to the doctor today.  Ambien CR it is.  Been on it before and I am happy to report that I did not sleep walk or eat my entire fridge.  So, hopefully there will be sleep tonight.  Let me rephrase that:  There had better be sleep for the $45 the generic cost me.  Yeah that's right generic Ambien on really nice UHC insurance we still $45. Boo.

The girls will not be wearing costumes this year.  We couldn't find any we liked and they were all oober expensive for what they are.  And I don't think Zoé will keep it on anyway.  Better luck next year.  Should have a sewing machine by then.

Speaking of Zoé, I decided to go through all the pics I have of them and had about 100 of them printed up.  Then bought a photo album for them.  Walgreens had a great deal of 10 cents a print if you ordered over 75 and the album was $7 at Dollar General.  Has a nice false fabric cover on it that feels fairly durable.  Also finally put some pics in their baby books but there's not a lot of space for pictures so we started the album on the side.  It holds 200 pics and had space for memos.

Zoé had her first ride in one of those car carts at Albertson's.  She loved it!

Adèle really has become a lover of stuffed animals.  Here's her current posse:

We have Minnie Mouse (she loves to grab her by the hairbow), Pikachu (the ears are great for grabbing), Lady (she likes the ears), a seal (used to be mine but it's the perfect size for little hands), Bolt (a recent acquisition that I found at the bottom of Zoé's toybox that she didn't want), a duck rattle (that I recently had to fix because it was rattled around so much that he was partially decapitated) and a yarn dog that Grandma made.

Review: How Now Shall We Live

How Now Shall We Live? by Charles Colson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I should point out to begin with, that this book is aimed at Christians as the target audience.

I was introduced to this book when I attended a C.S. Lewis retreat.  The book that was recommended was Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey who is the co-author of this book.  This was also recommended along with that book. 

This book deals with the concept of the Christian worldview.  It definitely takes the stance from "This Little Light of mine" which says "Hide it under a bushel? No! I'm gonna let it shine."  The first part of the book deals mainly which the view of the current world.  He explains thoroughly the teachings of postmodernism, naturalism and Darwinism, quoting material from different sources like Carl Sagan and other philosophers, showing their teachings and origins.  Then he goes to show how the underpinnings from these theories gave rise to the current themes in society like free sex, abortion, euthanasia and evolution.  As a Christian, it's often hard to see why society is the way that it is but once you understand the underpinnings, the results make sense.

The other part of the book deals with what should be a Christian's response.  In a nutshell, the current views of the world has resulted in morality being thrown out the window.  It's all subjective and there can't possibly be a firm set of rules.  The world also seeks to solve is to create a utopia.  Colson rebutts this by pointing out that there is in fact a moral law that God has laid down and that to help society, we must restore order.

I did really enjoy this book.  Colson has definitely done his research and quotes many different sources when trying to explain postmodernism.  He also uses a lot of examples to illustrate his points.  I would definitely recommend this to any Christian.



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New Project - Sneak Peek

This weekend was too short.  I don't want to go to work today.  But my Mom won airline tickets so she'll be flying back here sometime soon and I have to save up my paid time off.

I'm starting a new project.  It's going to be of my own design.  Here's a sneak peek:

Not much blogging going on here

Hi y'all

Haven't been blogging much lately.  Doing a little bit of lurking but mostly doing things around the house.With 2 under 2 there is constant cleanup.  Things are a bit easier now.  Our garbage disposal stopped working a few weeks after we moved in but having rented enough places, that is something that becomes tenant responsibility and they charge an arm and a leg to fix it.  It wouldn't have been so bad except it caused that side of the sink to leak and that side of the sink also had the dishwasher flowing into it.  We picked up a barely used disposal at the Habitat for Humanity store for $15 and put it in so now I have 2 sinks and a dishwasher.  We mostly handwash but on those days when the bottles and dishes are piling up, it's nice to be able to just run it all in the dishwasher.

For anyone, having to go to a baby shower anytime soon, I will say that the Playtex Drop ins starter kit is awesome.  Helps Adèle with gas issues and makes cleanup fairly easy.  Yes, you do have to buy the liners but it saves me in spit up and fussy fussy baby so I'll take the extra cost.  Plus, Kroger just had their liners buy one get one free so I bought 4 100 ct boxes for about $16.  That should last me through the end of the year.  The munchkin dishwasher basket is also awesome (so you can wash the nipples and stuff in the dishwasher.  And if you have a bit of money to spend, go for the Pack n Play.

I did a small bit of stitching.  Here's a picture.  Have some Christmas presents to think about but we'll see how the wrists hold up.