4 Books Makes 7 Takes

This week, I have four books to share, and three something elses (or would it be else’s?). Enjoy!

Damosel, by Stephanie Spinner
I’ve been recommending this book to anyone I can get to stand still and listen to me rave about it ever since I ripped through it about a month ago. My niece Rebecca is probably sick of hearing me talk about it. I knew it would be good after reading Melissa Wiley’s interview with the author, so why was I so delighted when it turned out to be even better than I expected?

It’s an Arthurian tale told from the point of view of the Lady of the Lake. I’m a great lover of twists on point of view. Couple that with Spinner’s fantastic writing, and it doesn’t matter one bit that this is classified as young adult. No sirree. This is a great story, well told. Can you ask for anything more in a book? (Wellllll…it could be longer….) Five stars and highly recommended.

A Long Overdue Movie Mention: Wall*E
I’ve been meaning to mention Wall*E for some time now. We were waaaaay behind the curve on watching it, and only happened to have it at our house because my young friend Violet received it for Christmas and generously offered to lend it to us (read more about her in #6 of this post). I had read such wonderful reviews of it, had heard such amazing stories, that I was curious and excited to be able to watch it.

I didn’t think Bob was such a fan of it until I happened to come into the living room on a weekend afternoon, when the youngest was down for a nap and the oldest was curled up with him, and there it was on the screen. For the second time. Then, a couple of days later, it was on again. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t because the four-year-old was having a bout of obsessive watching.

It’s the kind of movie that made me want to own it and want to watch it again (and again…and again). It was right up there with Incredibles for me, though I wish it had more quotables in it. (Because quoting movies is almost as much fun as watching them, don’tcha think?)

Chronicles of Xan, Book 1 (Shadow in the Dark) and Book 2 (The Haunted Cathedral), by Antony Barone
I happened on these books quite by luck of the draw. I wasn’t sure I would enjoy them and certainly wasn’t going to mention them here. Then I read them.

And, you know what? I liked them. So much that I passed them along to a young reader in my life.

Adventure and suspense and a bit of Church history (though not so Catholic that you would have to be Catholic to like them), written with color and some pizzazz.

A Favorite Podcast: StarShipSofa
I’ve been discovering science fiction over the last couple of years, though I’m doing it in a rather meandering and rambling way. I think of it as a walk with a friend, where there are plenty of pleasant rabbit trails in the conversation. I’ve tried out a number of science fiction podcasts, but the one I’ve stuck with, and, in fact, been very vigilant in listening to every week, has been StarShipSofa. It had to be Julie who raved about it first and tipped me off to it, and she is a narrator for them — you get a sense of their good taste through her involvement, don’t you?

It bills itself as an “audio science fiction magazine,” though I didn’t realize that equalled “delightful series of small segments, with different flavors and lengths of fiction, reviews, and fact articles” until I listened to a couple of episodes.

I love it. Wouldn’t trade it for anything else on my playlist. Highly recommended for quality content and professional editing.

Heaven Has Blue Carpet: A Sheep Story by a Suburban Housewife, by Sharon Niedzinski
Y’all know I like sheep, right? We have them in our barn and our pasture and we follow them at fairs. So when I heard that Heaven Has Blue Carpet was about a suburban family who jumped ship, bought an old farmhouse and the accompanying acres and then, on a whim of fancy, purchased an entire flock of sheep, with no clue as to what to do with them, I was hooked.

On the one hand, it’s a hilarious tale, and Niedzinski does a good job of telling it. I was laughing and my nose was firmly inserted for all of the three days it took me to meander through this. I had plenty of opportunity for reflection throughout the book and it made me look in my own back pasture with a whole new set of eyes.

Those sheep in my pasture, though, aren’t mine. Easy for me to blog and pontificate about them, but I never forget that they’re more of a pretty picture, in my case, than a responsibility. They’re part of my brother-in-law’s show sheep and breeding operation. There’s a big difference between the show sheep world and the “we just have sheep around to breed” world, I think, though I didn’t appreciate that as much as I do now until I read this book.

I recommend this book, if only for the hilarity of the anecdotes. It’s a relatively light read that might catch you by surprise and give you that little boost you need in your faith life. I’d tout it to the beach or read it in the A/C, if I were you. Then go down the road to the local farm and get some good country perfume in your nose to make it all come full circle.

Something Fun: The True Heart Award
I’ve been “bad” about these little bloggy awards and memes in the last few months, and that’s probably why I haven’t been a part of many of them. I used to love them back in the day, though. You know, the days before I, um, had more, ahem, serious blogging. Anyway, today’s a good day to send a shout out to the lovely and wonderful Jean Heimann at Catholic Fire, who kindly awarded me the “True Heart Award.” I’m touched, and I give it right back, along with sharing it with y’all. I’m not at a point where I can name names (other than the ones I name all the time anyway), so I’m just gonna say thanks, with a hug.

Saving Dinner Basics: How to Cook Even If You Don’t Know How, by Leanne Ely
I mentioned this book when I was in progress with it (in #2 of this post). Remember how I ranted about my (lack of) cooking skills (see #4 of this post)? Well, this book is the answer I needed. It’s probably not the only book I should ever read about cooking, but since I’ve been plowing through Saving Dinner, Ely’s awesome cookbook, this book was the perfect companion. If you’re like me and you’re cooking because:
(a) you live too far out to get carryout every night,
(b) your family is hungry, and/or
(c) your budget won’t support restaurants every night and your kids won’t either,
you might check out one or both of these books. I highly recommend them both. (Did I mention they’re awesome?)