Literary Lundi #4

I bought... kind of a lot of books this week? A few of these were from the Nook holiday sale, so I'm going to try to read them while they are still seasonally appropriate!

Books Acquired:

The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart-- It's about the plants that go into booze, so it should be fun.

A Crossworder's Gift by Nero Blanc-- Mystery stories with crosswords included! I may have read something from this series before? I have definitely read a crossword-related mystery. Reviews for this title aren't great, but could be decent travel reading.

The Fire Gospel by Michel Faber-- I guess I'm going all in on this Michel Faber thing.

Doon by Carey Corp-- A YA fantasy based on Brigadoon. The musical.

Mistletoe Murder by Leslie Meier-- Again, reviews aren't great, but I'm not really that picky.

A Crossworder's Delight by Nero Blanc-- I think this one comes with crosswords AND recipes. Hunter pointed out that he doesn't usually read books that come with freebies. Here's my response to that:

Books Finished:

The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So, this is the second Margaret Atwood I've read, and I believe her first novel. Although there were definitely some similarities, I didn't like it as much. Both deal with the pressures put on women, but this deals more with internal pressure rather than external. In some ways, I was surprised by how little there was in this book to date it. Aside from a few things like a hotel requiring a couple to be married, I would almost believe this was written in the 1990s or later. I guess I'm not sure what that says about the state of society. Anyway, it was okay and the narration on the audiobook was really good--I mean, the voices she did for the different characters were apt and well-done--but I don't think it's a great book and I certainly wouldn't recommend it to someone just getting started with Margaret Atwood, because I think if I had read this first I might not be super interested in her later stuff.

View all my reviews The Antiquarian by Julián Sánchez
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really like books about books, and historical mysteries. Because that sentence is supposed to lead into this one, it pretty much goes without saying that The Antiquarian is both. As far as the writing style goes, it's somewhere between Dan Brown and Umberto Eco. Which I guess you could say, what isn't? But I mean, there is definitely a strong plot moving things along, but that's not ALL there is.

It reaaallly made me want to visit Barcelona, and just Spain in general, too.

View all my reviews

Currently Reading:

Give Them Grace by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson-- Hunter got this book and started reading it, and then thought it would make more sense if we both read it rather than him just telling me what he got out of it. It's a little different for me to read a book with the potential to have so much impact on my life, but maybe it's good for me to read things for reasons other than just plain enjoyment.

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon (audio)-- In an alternate timeline, some people have psychic powers and the government doesn't like that. Pretty good so far, and I like the narrator's ability to do different English accents.

Next Up:

Levi Stack, the author of The Silent Deal, which I read recently, also gave me a copy of the second book in the series, The Magic Trick, so I'll probably move on to that next.

Homemade Vapor Rub

So last weekend, Sadie started getting a little sniffly and then got a cough that was waking her up at night. Of course, this was Saturday night, so on Sunday our options for buying medicine were limited. Hunter went to Vaals (in the Netherlands) to get some Vapor Rub, but we realized after he bought it that you aren't supposed to use it on children under 2. D'oh! After another night or so of Sadie not doing too great, I decided to look up how to make a child-safe Vapor Rub.

I'm not like, a DIY mama-goddess. I don't think that the word "natural" holds magical properties; after all, arsenic is natural and like, a lot of useful medications aren't natural. So I didn't make this because I was afraid of chemicals or something, I just didn't really have another option, especially considering the language barrier. So, I based my concoction off of this recipe but just made a few tiny changes.

For me, the ingredients weren't hard to find. I got cocoa butter and coconut oil at the organic store that is 2 blocks from my apartment; the essential oils and beeswax I got from this like, "natural pharmacy" that's about another block away. This place was a freaking apothecary. There were jars with handwritten labels and a mechanical cash register. She measured the beeswax on a scale. It was either legit, or totally not legit depending on how you look at it, I guess. I got lavender, peppermint, and... lemon eucalyptus? It's called Zitronen-Eucalyptus here so I don't really know if that's what it's called in English. She told me I would probably only need 10g of beeswax when I explained (or tried to explain) what I was using it for.

This is not one of those things that's like, oh it's so much cheaper if I make my own! These ingredients were probably about 20 Euros total. However, there is some left of everything (quite a bit of the essential oils), so the actual price per oz or whatever is considerably less than that. So here are my ingredients laid out:

I got non-organic essential oils because a)they were cheaper and b)I just have a hard time believing that oil extracted from a non-organic plant would be that different? Plus I wasn't sure this would work?

Ok, so if you looked at the recipe, or just thought about it, you would know that wax needs to be melted in a double boiler. I don't have that so this is what I did:

I covered a colander in tinfoil and put it over a pot of water. It did actually work. I melted the cocoa butter and beeswax, and then I melted the coconut oil a bit to soften it since it was really solid and wouldn't mix unless I did. I put in 5 drops of eucalyptus oil, 10 of lavender and 10 of peppermint.

I put it in an old honey jar. This is it when it was still hot and liquidy. I put it in the fridge for a bit to solidify, but it probably doesn't need to be stored in the fridge or it will get quite hard. As to its efficacy? I'd give it a maybe. We have used it for 2 nights now. Yesterday Sadie had a lot of chest congestion, like I'd pick her up and feel the rattling in her chest. If it hadn't gone away, I was going to take her to the doctor but that part seems to be gone. No way of knowing if this stuff is what helped, but it at least has a soothing scent. Although I am thinking maybe Zitronen Eucalyptus is citronella, because it smells faintly like a bug candle. Maybe next time I can put more peppermint or something.

I have also heard of putting this stuff on the baby's feet, but it's hard for me to imagine what that could possibly do.

So anyway, now I have these essential oils... what else can I do with them?

Literary Lundi #3

I've taken advantage of some of the Cyber Monday/Black Friday ebook sales to get several new books this week!

Books Acquired:

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente-- I'd been interested in this book since it came out, so I insta-bought it when I saw it was on sale.

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge-- Fairy tale re-telling is one of my favorite genres and I've been hearing about this one forever as well.

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski-- I think this is a dystopia type thing? I had put it on my "to-read" so I apparently thought it looked interesting at some point, and when I looked at Goodreads I noticed a few of my friends had reviewed or added it.

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon (audio)-- I got a $10 credit from Audible, then a book I wanted was on sale so I should be set on audiobooks for a while.

Books Finished

Yes Please by Amy Poehler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So, this is pretty much exactly what you'd expect it to be. If you liked Bossypants and/or Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, then chances are you will like this one, too. Amy seems waaaaayyyy less straight-edge than Tina, so some of the details are "juicier," but she definitely seems to value her privacy regarding some parts of her life; there is very little pertaining to her divorce from Will Arnett, aside from saying she doesn't want to talk about it.

I always get a little sad reading books like these, because it reminds me that I want to be an entertainer and probably won't be, and Amy Poehler gets to hang out with Kathleen Hanna and I don't, and stuff like that.

So yeah, this book is funny, but there are also some serious parts; in some ways it seems a bit like a collage, jumping back and forth through time, self contained events cobbled together to make a picture of Amy Poehler.

The audio is amazing. It's read by Amy, of course, and she also gets several celebrity guests to read with her, which is really cool.

If you were interested in this book at all, I think it will deliver exactly what you wanted.

View all my reviews

Currently Reading:

The Antiquarian by Julian Sanchez-- Yep, still working on it. Not because it isn't good; I'm really enjoying it. I just haven't read as much this week. On the few nights I was up because I couldn't sleep, I decided to play video games or watch TV instead of reading. I should finish it this week though.

The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood (audio)-- This book is weird. I think the most I can say about it so far is that it doesn't seem like it was written in the sixties.

Next Up:

So last time I postulated that my next book would be nonfiction, and I think I'm going to stick to that, although I haven't decided exactly what yet. I have a few memoirs in my library and I am probably going to go with one of those. Either Chronicles, Vol 1 by Bob Dylan or Rock On: An Office Power Balad by Dan Kennedy.

Literary Lundi #2

Another week has gone by so here I am to tell you about what I've been reading!

Books Acquired:

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers-- This is the first book in a series I'd heard good things about.

Yes Please by Amy Poehler (audio)-- Yep, decided to go with this for my next audiobook.

The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood (audio)-- I had really enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale, plus this was an Audible daily deal and I know I'll need something before I get my next credit.

Books Finished:

The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was anticipating this book quite a bit because the plot sounded similar to one of my favorite books, The Sparrow. There are some surface similarities (basically, a missionary to an alien planet), but they aren't at all the same book. Overall, I like The Sparrow better because it is more plot driven and I think does a better job of addressing certain religious questions, but I still really liked this one. It is much more about characters and relationships. The missionary had to leave his wife to go on this journey, and things don't go very well at home for her. I think I was hoping for a stronger religious aspect as well as more of a reveal. Yes, there are a few things we don't know until later on but nothing like the sucker punch toward the end of The Sparrow. So, maybe I shouldn't have had that comparison in my head, because nothing else can be that book and this one certainly has merit in its own right. I just don't think a person who loved The Sparrow would necessarily also love this one because they are doing very different things.

I read the audiobook and the narration was really good. The author does several different accents, and his voice for the aliens is fantastic. My understanding is that in the print version, symbols are used in place of the letters they can't say (I might not have this exactly right). The reader does such a good job of the alien accent; I just loved it.

I'm almost hesitant to label this sci-fi, because it really isn't a science fiction story. The man could just as easily have been in an unexplored, isolated corner of the Earth and I don't think it would change much. Anyway, it's a strong novel, although not entirely what I was expecting.

View all my reviews

The Silent Deal by Levi Stack
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Most of the YA I read takes place in fantasy worlds or postapocalyptic wastelands. The Silent Deal's setting? 1840s Russia, the town of Aryk. Isolated and covered in strange grafitti, populated by serfs, and, oh, yeah--playing cards are illegal. Viktor and his new buddy Romulus, a mysterious boy who lives in the woods and won't reveal his past, try to find out just what went on in their town--where did the graffiti come from, why are there so few children, and what is the secret that all the adults seem to know?

I went through this pretty quickly. The plot moves forward at a good pace, and there are many interesting characters. There is nothing in this to make it inappropriate for middle grade/younger YA, although the plot can be a bit complicated so I think it would be a good recommendation for advanced readers/thinkers who maybe aren't ready for older content. It's the first in a series, and the plot is wrapped up while still leaving several mysteries to be solved in the subsequent books--no cliffhanger, but we still only know a small part of what is going on.

I received my copy free from the author and am looking forward to reading the second book in the series.

View all my reviews

Currently Reading:

Yes Please by Amy Poehler-- I'm getting through this pretty quickly (on audio) and it's great! She reads it, of course, and it's funny, sad, heartfelt--definitely a must for fans of the celebrity memoir.

The Antiquarian by Julian Sanchez-- Hunter and I have this joke that every book we read has the word "palimpsest" in it. Seeing as how this book involves a centuries-old manuscript whose contents are worth murdering for, I will be sorely disappointed if "palimpsest" doesn't make an appearance.

Next Up:

Well, I already have my next audiobook, so that's settled. As far as regular books go, I think it's time for another non-fiction. Maybe something more historical or humanities, since the last nonfic I read was math-based. I'll have to look and see what I have in my library.

Literary Lundi #1

So, I decided I wanted to do a "what I'm reading" post, kind of in line with this column from BookRiot or this one from Stacked. I know at least some of the readers of this blog follow me on Goodreads, and I'm going to try not to make this redundant. I will link to my reviews, but I'll also be writing about what books I've bought, what I'm currently reading, and what I'm thinking about reading next.

It may or may not seem like I buy a lot of books. I subscribe to several newsletters that notify me of ebook deals, so I rarely pay more than $2.99 for a book. The only exception would be if it's a new book that I really want to read and don't want to wait for it to go on sale. So here we go!

Books Acquired:

Under the Never Sky-- A YA scifi dystopia. It was on my TBR and then went on sale so I picked it up.

The Crimson Petal and the White-- I'm reading another book by Michel Faber right now (see below) and really enjoying it, so when I saw this on sale I figured I'd grab it.

Grimm Tales for Young and Old-- Because I love fairy tales.


Books Finished:

The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets by Simon Singh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So, this is probably an insta-read for anyone who likes both math and the Simpsons, but people who like one or the other might also enjoy it. Singh not only explains many of the math references from the Simpsons, but also reveals the reason they are there: many of the writers have advanced degrees in math or science! There is also a section on Futurama, which has even more advanced mathematical ideas. None of the concepts are particularly advanced; basically even if you haven't studied math in awhile you can probably follow what is going on. There are also some pretty good math jokes and fun dinner party tidbits.

View all my reviews


Currently Reading:

The Silent Deal-- I received a copy of this book from the author and I'm really enjoying it. It's middle grade/YA, 1840s Russia with magic... or at least mystery and intrigue.

The Book of Strange New Things(audio)-- I got this from Audible I think the day after it came out. The plot synopsis sounded a lot like one of my favorite books, The Sparrow, and I'm really enjoying it.

Next Up:

I'm likely going to finish both my audiobook and my ebook within the next week. I've been choosing my next books largely for their eligibility in the Seasonal Reading Challenge, but there are plenty of tasks so I have books that fit almost every one. I am thinking about The Antiquarian, since it's fairly different from the last few books I've read (I like to vary between fiction, nonfiction, adult, kids, etc). As for audiobook, I'm not sure. I would like to read Yes Please,  but the audio isn't very long and I'm not sure I'd have another Audible credit by the time I finish it. I also want to continue my Harry Potter audio re-read, but they are so expensive! Book 4 is I think $40? So I guess we'll see what I do about that.

Sadie's Room

So, as you probably know, if you know us and/or read this blog, Sadie had been sleeping in our bed. We would put her in her crib, in the bedroom, between 7 and 8, and then when we went to bed she would typically wake up and move to our bed (I think once or twice she slept until 4 or 5). Eventually, this became really difficult because she would wake up but then not sleep, not even sit still in the bed. She would just keep trying to crawl off and I would have to get up and walk around with her until she went back to sleep. We realized this was just not sustainable, practical, or good for any of us, so I came up with a solution.

I decided to make the living room into "Sadie's Room," and move the couch and TV into the bedroom. Here is a before and after:

Before

After

I am still needing to figure out a way to divide the room that doesn't involve drilling into anything. I had a curtain sort of attached to the roof beam you can see. I'm not sure how well it comes out in the pictures, but the room is sort of architecturally weird. Dividing the room at that beam would make part of it extremely narrow; there is a more natural division where the kitchen wall thing is. I have a before shot of the bedroom, but it's not really in a state to take an "after" right now. I can't really have more than one room clean at a time.

So, Sadie took to her new room extremely well. She goes to sleep as easily as she did before. We have a had a few nights where she had trouble sleeping, or woke up because she was hungry or needed a diaper, but it's working out really well. I guess the only thing is that she wakes up a bit earlier than I'd like--but that's ok because we can take a nap together later in the day.

And just for fun here are a few more pics of Sadie.

Hallowe'en Pictures!

Last week for Hallowe'en, we went to a little gathering of English-speaking parents in the park. Sadie showed off her costume and we learned that she likes spring rolls! She even got a little bit of candy. She didn't actually mind wearing the costume, it was just getting it on that was the hard part--she hates even getting dressed because of the few seconds where she can't see. Anyway, I took a few pics of the little cutie so here they are:

I'm hoping to make another post within the next few days because we have a MAJOR update about Sadie's sleeping habits.