Memento Mori

I read a whopping TWENTY BOOKS THIS YEAR.

1. The Great Controversy - Ellen White. I think this is a book that should be read at least once a year. By everybody.
2. Taking Charge of Your Fertility - Toni Weschler
3. Run - Ann Patchett
4. Calico Captive
5. Sign of the Beaver
6. The Witch of Blackbird Pond
7. The Bronze Bow - all by Elizabeth George Speare
8. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
9. Prince Caspian
10. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
11. The Silver Chair
12. The Horse and His Boy
13. The Magician's Nephew
14. The Last Battle - all by CS Lewis
15. Men Are from Mars, Women Are From Venus - John Gray
16. The Borrowers
17. The Borrowers Afield
18. The Borrowers Afloat
19. The Borrowers Aloft
20. The Borrowers Avenged - all by Mary Norton

Just a few words on "Avenged" - I think I understand now why this one always seemed a little darker to me as a child. It's something that I'm positive I never noticed in those days, and that would be the not-really-subtle allusion to Lady Mullings' psychic abilities. Add three ghosts that dwell in the building where the Clocks live, and you have a duly creepy spiritualistic angle that could just as well have been left out, it seems. At least the ghost part would have had no direct effect on the plot were it missing. Anyway.

I've always thought the ending was a bit abrupt, but how do you really end a series like this? You can go interminably on and on in the same vein about escapes and being seen, or you can let it go just like that. The Platters were taken care of and there's somebody for Arrietty to marry and keep the line going on for at least one more generation. There are still possibilities of what could happen, but the author seemed to know when enough was enough, and I'm glad she stopped where she did.

From nuranar:
For eight days you have to post something that made you happy that day.

Day 1: Borrowers. Oh my.

I really, really had this thing going on in my head in my childhood that Peagreen and Arietty would get married. Is that just me? There was something about him I just always liked immensely - steady, older, and smart. Just what Arietty would need to keep even keel. Happy making.

***

Today I did laundry. I'm starting to feel like krikketgirl. I decided to wash the down blankets and the mattress pad too because it's been a while, so that made an extra load right there. I also iMic-ed all but one of the little records on our stack from Dan's mom. I need to go down and do the last one... got sidetracked by Pet Society.

Also need to think about dinner.

***

BOOK EIGHTEEN: The Borrowers Afloat

I always thought it was a tad bizarre that this book basically repeated so much of the end of the second book. All of them repeat information, so that anyone picking up any of the books can easily follow the story - but practically word-for-word reusing a chapter from the last book? Bizarre.

This book always seemed really short to me - perhaps because of the repetition. It is amazing how she made a whole book out of so few events and yet managed to keep it moving and interesting.

BOOK NINETEEN: The Borrowers Aloft

Always the second high point of the series for me following the first book. Obsession with hot-air balloon stories was definitely mine... I've been noticing this read-through I'm not finding the beginnings as annoying as I used to. When I was little I was like, "Hurry up and get back to the Borrowers already," but there's quite a bit of allusion and humour in those openings as well - especially the part about the Platters, which went completely over my head back then. I doubt I even knew what an undertaker was.

About halfway through the last book now. Always felt the last book had a different mood about it... but I'll see if I think that after I've finished it this time.

My fakey chicken turned out MUCH better this time around. It is less tough, less full of large garbanzo chunks, and just in general better flavour. It's not such a murky grey, either - more golden brown. For lunch I used some with some leftover pasta from Donna and the rest of the asparagus for a yummy noodle thing. Put the rest in the freezer. I like to have it on hand for stir-fries and casseroles.

I also made bread. It smells and looks delicious except for one minor detail. I slit the top with a knife before the second rising because I wanted an artistic little cleft in the top of my loaves. The result was strange, blobular flab on the top part of the bread. Oh well.

I also read BOOK NINE! Prince Caspian. Quite good. I like the name Caspian. It's strange and exotic and royal, akin to Sirki or Sabien and so forth. It doesn't, however, remind me of Torquil.

Better go check on the load of drying apples.

I was doing laundry, allegedly. Most of the time I was actually just sitting in the rocking chair with my nose buried in a book.

Then I came up to fold the laundry and most of the time I was actually just sitting in the office chair with my nose buried in ruthette's journal.