Thus Says Suzanne...

She asked for a book

Getting the youngster turned on to books has been an uphill battle.  She loves stories, and the audiobooks I buy for her and that we get at the library get a workout, but she hasn't really been all that interested in reading.  

She has two books (and audiobooks) about the secret lives of dolls and what they do when the humans aren't around.  She loves these stories all the way.  

When she has no assigned homework I have her read for 30 minutes a day.  This vacation she's been taking that seriously.

Yesterday she was reading one of the books about the doll people, and asked me if there were any more stories about them (last time I checked, there were not).  I discovered that indeed there is a new story and when I told her she begged me to get it for her.  

How could I refuse?  In fact, just so that she has time to dig in before her vacation is over I paid extra for one-day shipping.  She likes reading!  

Snape...good or bad?

Today is the day we will learn the fate of the characters of the Harry Potter stories.  My burning question is...is Snape good or is he bad?  Maybe he's just a rogue out for himself.  While I want to know, I also don't want to know.  My book is scheduled for delivery today but I have to decide if I'm going to be among those who read from beginning to end, or start at the end and then go to the beginning.

Update - My book is here!

something special in the mail

Today was a good day to get a surprise in the mail.  I was lucky enough to win a book from Carl after he offered up his copy of this book after he reviewed it on his blog.  I'm looking forward to reading it...maybe I can turn a few pages when I'm on vacation next week! 

Leviosum!

Last week I ordered more books on tape for the youngster, including the first Harry Potter book.  She wanted to start with either the Hank the Cowdog story or the new Junie B. Jones story but I snuck the tape in when she asked to listen during bathtime.  She quickly became caught up in the story and six tapes later she finished the tale. 

Last night she was in the tub once again and though there was no storytape playing I distinctly heard a firm leviosum, leviosum, leviosum from the bathroom.  I checked on her and she was waving a straw around and attempting to conjure up some magical feat.  I think it's safe to say we have another winner. 

She will be thrilled tonight when UPS shows up with the next Harry Potter story for her listening pleasure.

hilarious

I was shopping at Kohl's department store last week and noticed a new display of their Kohl's cares for kids items including the book/CD combination shown here. 

I looked through the song listing and decided to give it a shot...what the heck, it was only five bucks.

OMG, to say my youngster loves it is an understatement!  She wants to hear it everywhere we go, and she looks through the book to follow along with the lyrics.  (The second half of the book has the sheet music!)

This is not cheesy typical "kids" music either, it's very well done, with tracks by some very well-known celebrities. 

Check out the song listing...

            - Tantrum
            - Thus Quacked Zarathustra
            - Dog Train
            - Sneakers
            - Cow Planet
            - Boring Song
            - Pots & Pans
            - I Need A Nap
            - Evermore          

         

            - Cow Planet (Episode 2)
            - Penguin Lament
            - (Don't Give Me That) Broccoli
            - Dragonfire
            - Cow Planet (Episode 3)
            - Wave Bye-Bye
            - Rock To Sleep 54
            - Dog Train Midnight Jam

Not what I had hoped for...

Ever hear of Nora Roberts?  Maybe you know her through her other books, written as J.D. Robb?  Lifetime television channel converted four of her books into screenplays and is running the movies on consecutive Mondays, the first aired last week.  Oh boy. 

Let me start by saying there was a lot to like about the film.  I don't know where it was shot but the outdoor shots were breathtaking.  I could live with most of the changes required when condensing a book down to two hours minus commercial breaks.  However, though I have no problems in general with Heather Locklear, I thought she was horribly miscast.  The role was written for someone 10-15 years younger, and her physical appearance was not even remotely close to the description in the book.  Worse than that though was that she had gone seriously overboard with facial injections of Botox and/or collagen type fillers.  Her frozen and bloated face distracted me throughout the entire movie.  I checked the Lifetime message boards the other day and found that many others had the same thoughts about her face and the miscasting.  Sad. 

Had she just left her face alone I could have gotten past my other concerns and enjoyed the film. 

July 21st

The release date for the final Harry Potter book is July 21st.  Have you preordered your copy yet?

books

There are very few people I'm willing to loan my books to, but Lurker One can be trusted.  She (gasp!) hasn't yet read The Thirteenth Tale so I hooked her up.  Alas, she's in the middle of reading something else so for now it is in limbo until she works through her stack.  As part of the Readers In Peril challenge issued by Carl I ordered Thunderstruck.  Turns out Lurker One did too, my copy arrived yesterday, hopefully hers did too.  As to The Historian I'm finding it tedious and (dare I say it?) boring. 

Leatherbound Thirteenth Tale?

Want a chance to win a leatherbound edition of The Thirteenth Tale?  Follow this link.  You will be asked to identify the web site where you heard about the sweepstakes, and then provide your mailing address and e-mail address.  (Unfortunately the sweepstakes is open to US residents only at this time.)

There is also a web site just for the book which is pretty cool, and has book signing appearance dates, excepts from the audiobook, etc. 

overscheduled weekend

Once again I've overscheduled my weekend.  Once again the work situation is such that another four hours of overtime is necessary.  I'm hoping to have enough CompCare reports to last me through the four hours but last time someone else gobbled most of them up, leaving me in something of a surly mood. 

What I'd really like to be doing is reading some more of The Thirteenth Tale.