Chelle tries to keep up in 2017 (take 2!!)

In honour of our mini trip this weekend here are some photos of what the gorgeous Muskoka region of Ontario is supposed to look like in winter! As of yesterday when I called they still have a decent amount of snow. Crossing my fingers that it is still a winter wonderland when we arrive in a couple days!

I am Chelle, 35yo wife, mother of one with one on the way and a police dispatcher. Hubby is an officer and between our two shift work schedules we share in all duties of house and child. I read at work when it is slow and after our daughter is in bed which doesn't amount to much reading anymore.
I used to read about 100-125 books a year and this past year I only hit 36, so it's quite a drastic cut!

This is going to be a busy year for me and at some point I am sure that I will be struggling to keep up, as has been the norm for the last couple years! Come July we will have another little one in the house to keep me busy so I imagine my reading will come to a halt.

January
1) The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King
2) The Whistler by John Grisham
3) A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
4) Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by JK Rowling
5) The Bat by Jo Nesbo
6) The Wings of the Sphinx by Andrea Camilleri
7) The Track of Sand by Andrea Camilleri
8) The Potter's Field by Andrea Camilleri
9) The Bone Collection by Kathy Reichs
10) the Age of Doubt by Andrea Camilleri
11) Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin by Nancy Atherton
12) The Dance of the Seagull by Andrea Camilleri
13) Treasure Hunt By Andrea Camilleri
14) Angelica's Smile by Andrea Camilleri
15) Canada by Mike Myers
16) Game of Mirrors by Andrea Camilleri
17) Beam of Light by Andrea Camilleri
18) A Voice in the Night by Andrea Camilleri
19) Montalbano's First Case by Andrea Camilleri
20) Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Screenplay by JK Rowling
21) The Beast by JR Ward

February
22) The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters
23) City of Thieves by David Benioff
24) the Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
25) The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood

Happy new thread, Chelle! 14 books already - you go, girl!

New thread! New thread!!

New thread! New thread! New Thread! I had to beat Kimmers...

Happy New Thread , Chelle! Sorry to hear about your terrible twos - or is Chloe on her way to being three? Or already three? I recall those days with young children, believe it or not. With our first, I was really stressed about being the perfect parent and I read a book that said "your baby will never cry without a reason." So Daniel was really colicky and cried non - stop for the first three months and I think I had myself a fair bit of a post partum depression and I cried all the time too. I could not figure out what I was doing wrong with Daniel such that he cried and I was at my wit's end. I even confided to my husband "if it was socially acceptable , maybe we could adopt him out? " Bless his heart, Dave said, if you really want, we could do that. Fortunately my mom and my sisters realized I was depressed and really stepped in to give me a hand and let me know that they understood how I felt and that it would pass.

Anyway, when I summoned up the courage to have a second child ( and then I had a miscarriage etc ) but we did finally get our William, I was all set for postpartum depression. I had a psychiatrist, I had decided that I would allow myself at least 1/2 hour a day to watch TV and ignore any crying that was for no purpose. That went so much better. I recall being in the bath tub after William was born and telling my husband ( while reading the Russia House by John Le Carre - " don't bother me, I'm in Russia!"

You've already read 14 books , wow! I hope you can sort out what to read next. As I mentioned I'm having the same trouble! ;)

I need to get on my reading! I think I'm on book 7 which is low for me and I certainly won't be doing a TIOLI sweep at this rate!

That resort looks fantabulous, Chelle! I hope you all really enjoy your vacation. And you are really moving along book-wise so far this year with 14 books--way to go!

Hi Chelle, happy new thread. I had to laugh at the way you wrote about Chloe's terrible twos: decided she wasn't going to school and pitched a fit, LOL! I realize it was probsbly funnier from here.

I have never seen a bad picture of Ontario's beautiful Muskoka region. Here's to a wonderful time away.

Thanks for stopping by to visit my new digs! Hubs has been kicked out to go to work, babe is fast asleep in bed with her best friend the stuffed puppy, who is aptly named Puppy, and Mama is now snacking on some nachos (blame the pregnancy cravings) and trying to figure out what to read tonight!
My Montalbano streak has come to an end as I have to wait for the next book to become available at the library. So I may try The Beast by JR Ward which is the next (maybe the last?) in the Blackdagger Brotherhood series.

>4 Crazymamie: Welcome Mamie! I've been on a roll with the Montalbano books. I went back and checked my stats and it looks like this will be my best January of reading since I started LT. I read 15 books in January in both 2012 and 2013, but only a few in the following years.

>5 Berly: >6 msf59: Thanks Kim & Mark! You almost beat her Mark!

Have you read Blood Kiss and Blood Vow? They are supposedly a spin-off series and they have a younger cast (with a matching simpler plots); however, I feel they really should be read in publication order with the other books as things get mentioned in both series books.

>7 vancouverdeb: HI Deb! Your first experience sounds similar to mine, although my depression/crying fits left me without help at about 2 months. Chloe cried a lot and I had trouble nursing and it turns out that I had low milk production so even though Chloe was getting food she wasn't getting quite enough. So she was always hungry. We went to formula around 3 months and life got a thousand times better! This time around I know the things I need to do to keep up a proper milk supply and I know to quit earlier if it isn't working out.
Glad you had your moms and sisters around to help you out! I was very happy that Nate's mom caught the first flight out once she heard how bad my labour was and that it ended in a c section after 28 hours. Rough go but we were very happy to have her there for the first week to help. This time around we have all both our families nearby so we won't be short of helpers!

>8 Morphidae: No rush, Morphy! I just got in a groove, and had sick time to rest and read. Plus I need to get a jump start on the year because the last half of the year won't have much reading time

>9 ronincats: Thanks Roni! I'm super excited to get away for a few days and I even started packing today! :)

>10 lit_chick: Ha Nancy, it wasn't funny from my end but if you were watching a video of it I'm sure it would have been quite funny! She was singing to her dolls when she woke up and when I went in to get her out of bed and get her dressed she said "no school, back to sleep" and pulled the blankets up over her head and started to fake snore. After about 5 minutes of trying to talk her out from under the blanket Mama got mad and just picked her up. Went downhill from there lol

>12 Morphidae: actually I hadn't heard of them! I started the fallen angel series a while back but couldn't really get into it. It's been quite a while since I read one of her books that I hope it will be easy to get into. I'm sure I remember all the characters

Happy new thread Chelle.

Reading mojo is well and truly back I see. Camilleri can do that for most of us though.

Hi Chelle!
Muskoka region looks wonderful! Wishing you a great mini-vaca!

Love that picture of Chloe - she's looking so grown up. Is that "Puppy" beside her?

Well, your reading may take a hit in July (how could it not?) but for now you are off to the races. And a second thread already!

Happy New one! :-)

Happy new thread Chelle, I love the second picture in your first message, snow, ice and beautiful colors in the sky!

Happy new thread, Chelle!

Ah, small people. Aren't they wonderful ;). My cousin recently sent me a slightly ranty email where she described picking up her 3yo from nursery. M (her daughter) asked if they were going to stay with her grandparents for the weekend. When my cousin said they were - which was the answer she wanted as grandparents are just fun! - M proceeded to throw herself onto the floor in a giant screaming temper tantrum. My cousin had to ask one of the nursery workers to push the buggy with M's baby sister in out, while she scooped M out, kicking and screaming all the way. The moment they set off home, M stopped crying, started skipping along and asked if she could have hot chocolate when they got in. My cousin said she was left bemused and feeling like she had whiplash from the violent 180degree flip!

Happy New Thread by the way. I hope there is still a decent amount of snow for your vacation :).

Happy new thread!

>15 PaulCranswick: Morning Paul! As of last night my reading mojo took a hit. So tired from dealing with a cranky toddler and cleaning a dirty house that I put my book down after only two chapters and fell asleep at 930! Lame-o

>16 -Cee-: Thanks Cee! That is Puppy in the pregnancy announcement. He doesn't go far from her side most days. We have got her to leave him at home when we go out, but while at home he is always by her side. Yesterday she was playing a kids puzzle game on my ipad and every time she finished a puzzle Puppy did a happy dance. It was quite entertaining

>17 EBT1002: Thanks Ellen! My current read is a touch thick so we will see how fast I move through it. Although I may pause it when my next Montalbano comes in at the library

>18 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita!

>19 scaifea: Thanks Amber!

>20 lunacat: Oh Jenny, that's funny! Toddler are a wonderful and mysterious creature. Chloe did similar yesterday. Demanded that she was not going to school and fussed and cried all morning, but once in the car she chatted the whole way to school and then ran off to play once we arrived. Such a weirdo

>21 drneutron: Thanks Jim!

This morning we have nowhere to be and nothing planned, so it's going to be a PJ day! Chloe has been up about 30 mins playing in her crib. I can hear her singing to her stuffies but she hasn't called me yet. Yesterday when this happened she did not want to get out of bed when I went in, so today I am letting her play in her crib until she calls to tell me she wants up. We shall see if this morning goes better than yesterday!
After lunch we are going to visit my parents and take our dogs to stay there for while we are away. They love to visit grandma's house as she feeds them a ton and they always come home fatter!

Happy Thursday!

I love your line up for books in January!

Oh! I love me a PJ day! Have fun, Chelle.

>25 Cmatha: Thanks! it's been a good month so far!

>26 Crazymamie: Well, Mamie, as it turns out it's only me in my PJs now! Chloe decided she wanted to get dressed. Oh well, I'm comfy anyway! :)

>24 ChelleBearss: They love to visit grandma's house...

Hey, they want a vacation, too!

>28 Morphidae: that is true, Morphy! They love to cuddle my dad and mooch food from my mom!

My biggest chore to do today is to try and find something that can entertain this kid in the car for 4 hours tomorrow. She has a few toys that are car friendly and we have a Paw Patrol stuffie saved for this occasion, but I doubt that will entertain her long enough. I am trying to figure out how to get an episode of Paw Patrol on our old ipad for her to watch but our ipad is soooo old that the Netflix offline feature is not available on our version. I could do it on my phone, but I'm not a big fan of letting her use my phone.
Gah!

**never mind, I figured it out :)

Happy PJ day, Chelle, and good luck with the road trip with toddler tomorrow!

>30 MickyFine: Thanks Micky! We shall see how it goes. I think I have enough toys, food, games and videos to keep her entertained for a week so we shall see if we can get through 4 hours without everyone losing theirs minds :)

Frequent trips for her to run around. I remember, well, it's probably considered racist now. But back then we called them "Chinese Fire Drills." You'd get out of your seat, run around the car and get back in your seat again. You could call them "Bear Fire Drills" or just "Fire Drills." I bet she'd get a kick out of them.

Happy New Thread, Chelle!

My goodness, you're cooking with the Montalbanos. Way to go! Andrea Camilleri reportedly is 91 years old, and he's still turning out good ones. How lucky we are.

I'm babysitting for my cousin tomorrow (though only the 4 1/2 month old, not the 3 year old) so goodness knows what nonsense will occur. The 3 year old will be off to nursery at the same time I take 'custody' of the baby to to give my cousin a decent block of time at home alone to do with as she wishes! I'm going to encourage her (my cousin) to take a nap, and hopefully after walking round town for a bit with the baby she will do the same :). I'll let you know how all appears to be going with the siblings so you can be forewarned ;).

>32 Morphidae: good idea Morphy. We will probably stop once for a pee break about halfway, north of Toronto which is the worst traffic and we always need a breather after passing through there. If all goes well it should take us four hours or less.

>33 jnwelch: Hi Joe! I think that's amazing that Camilleri is that she and still writing. We should all be so lucky to have long lives and keep bright minds!

>34 lunacat: good luck tomorrow, Jenny!

I am procrastinating badly. I am supposed to be packing but I'm LTing instead. Perhaps a bubble bath and book time then back to packing.

Best wishes on your holiday, Chelle! Especially the road trip with Chloe! :) I'm nealy 100 pages into Great Expectation, but it is a long book, I'm afraid to let people know on my thread as of yet. I get a little farther into it first

Charlie would cry nearly non-stop in the car when he was little, and since we are in the car a lot, traveling to my parents' usually about once a month (and we've never lived closer to them then a 5-hour drive), it was awful, until we invested in a portable dvd player. Game-changer. And I used to be one of those people, pre-kiddo, who thought that was bad parenting. Ha! How little I knew then.

Happy New Thread, Chelle! wow! what a gorgeous spot for a weekend get away! Wishing cold temps to keep that snow in place!
And look at you go, girl! 14 books for January! Almost a book a day. Looks like you've got your groove back!

Morning, Chelle! Happy Friday! Congrats on hitting # 14. I just hit ten and I thought I was doing pretty good.

Morning All!
I woke this morning to a little voice on the baby monitor asking if it was time for vacation yet! "time to go mommy??!" We have to wait a few more hours for Nate to get some sleep after his nightshift, which will give me time to finish the packing and find Nate's skates in the basement of unpacking hell.

>36 vancouverdeb: Thanks Deb! Are you enjoying it so far? I'm about 8 chapters (of 75 eeek) into The Beast and while I'm enjoying it it's just not quite holding my attention as much as I would have liked.

>37 scaifea: Morning Amber! I thought I was going to be one of those parents too! Before we had Chloe we would visit one of our friends and their kid was bubble guppy obsessed and watched it all day long. You couldn't even talk to this kid because he was glued to the TV. I told Nate NO TV!!
We stayed true to that until Chloe was almost two and then we would let her watch a little bit. And then I got sick this month and thank god for Paw Patrol marathons!! lol. I'm trying to keep her to only a couple hours on the days that we are home all day. She has so many toys, books, puzzles (that she doesn't really enjoy yet) and a leappad for toddlers so she really doesn't need to watch TV all day to be entertained. This weekend should be fun but I bet I hear "watch Paw Patrol now?" about 50 times over the next couple days

>38 Carmenere: Thanks Lynda! I think it's going to be a touchy melty there this weekend. Highs in the afternoons are now showing +4c so the snow should be a bit wet to play in. Crossing my fingers that they had enough snow for it not to matter too much

>39 msf59: HI Mark! You are doing excellent! I am got a jump start from being sick and the Montalbano books are not gigantic books. Enjoy your vacation!

Sending love and hugs to all my American friends today! In Canada we make jokes about building a wall but really we hope that things don't get too screwy in Washington and hopefully the next 4 years will go by without major damages. Crossing our fingers for you all!

Some Canadians are a touch worried as our own mini Trump has announced his candidacy for our Conservative party leader. Kevin O'Leary is a billionaire businessman and TV personality who doesn't even live in Canada (Lives in Boston). I am scared that Canada could be following in the USA's footsteps by supporting a TV personality instead of some of the great politicians that are a much better suited option. I can only hope that Conservatives see how bad this could be and choose a better party leader!

>41 ChelleBearss: Hear, hear, Chelle. Well said, on all accounts!

Enjoy your winter break with your famiy, Chelle. I also hope that Kevin O'Leary doesn't get in.

>35 ChelleBearss: Despite the first name, Chelle, Camilleri is a guy. I assumed he was female until I found out.

>42 lit_chick: >43 DeltaQueen50: we can hope!!

>44 jnwelch: whoops! That was an auto correct mistake. On the ebooks that I have it shows a picture of him so I did know that he was a he :) LT on my phone is not as easy as I'd like lol

>45 ChelleBearss: Oh yeah, I know that phone problem. One time my wife's auto corrected lift to "Lufthanza". Really?

>46 jnwelch: Ha Joe, gotta love that autocorrect!!

We have made it to the resort and are relaxing for a couple minutes before we find food and entertainment. Have a great weekend everyone!

>41 ChelleBearss: Well we have in the UK;

Grey, grey, grey Theresa May
Generalities was all she could say.
Climbing ladders after Brexit votes
Is the only thing she's done of note
Hopefully it won't be long she'll stay.

Have a great weekend, Chelle.

>48 PaulCranswick: Very nice poem, Paul! I'm ashamed to say I know very little about world politics. I know enough to get by in Canada, a little about USA because they are always in our news but very little about the rest of the world.

Thinking of you this weekend and trying hard not to be jealous - it's so foggy and dreary here that I feel like I'm in Jack the Ripper's London... Yeesh.

https://m.flickr.com/photos/63950337@N02/31627841883/?xajax=1

Morning Amber! It's foggy here but we still have a decent amount of snow!

For some reason I had a bought of insomnia last night. I woke at 230 and was up until 7am. Read some more of The Beast and picked up Canada by Canadian comedian Mike Myers.

>51 ChelleBearss: Yep, that's what it looks like here, but it's prettier in your picture. Ha!

I didn't know Mike Myers had written a book! I love him! Definitely adding it to the wishlist.

Happy New Thread and happy mini-vacation, Chelle!

>32 Morphidae: Why were they called "Chinese" fire drills, anyway? Huh.

My first child traveled really well. He liked to have his own map and follow the road, was happy with whatever books and snacks we packed. As a result, he and I went all kinds of places together. Child number 2 was a totally different story. As soon as we buckled her in, she started screaming. I'm talking like at 6 weeks. When she could talk, all she would say is STUUUUUUCK! STUUUUUUCK! All the way to wherever we were going. Needless to say, we didn't travel much further than the supermarket for years. When we got our first portable DVD player, it was miraculous.

Your mini-vacation looks magical. Enjoy!

Chelle--Fourteen books already!! Hero worship going on here. ; ) Looking forward to tales from your trip. : )

>52 scaifea: Hi Amber! I am enjoying Mike Myer's book so far, but I'm noticing some errors. He hasn't lived in Canada for thirty years so he was bound to be a touch out of date on some things.

>53 kidzdoc: thanks Darryl!

>54 nittnut: Hi Jenn
Oh that would be terrible. Chloe was a cryer for the first few months and then she got a very happy temperament. She did well on the drive up, got bored a couple times but overall did well. Had a late car nap though and with all the excitement ended up awake until after 11 last night. Ugh! Was cranky off and on today but is doing pretty good.

>55 Berly: Hi Kim! So far the trip is going well. Ice rink is flooded due to the mild temps but Nate found a local arena with an open skate tomorrow morning. We tried snowshoeing today, played in the pool and arcade and made snowmen. Now hopefully it will be time to relax as she "should" be going to sleep soon

>54 nittnut: I found the shortest explanation at Mental Floss.

"Using “Chinese” as a derogatory modifier to describe something as disorganized or confusing dates back to at least the first World War and maybe even to the earliest contacts between Europeans and the Chinese. British troops during World War I were known to refer to inept pilots as “Chinese aces,” rough landings and crashes as “Chinese landings,” and any confusing situation as a “Chinese fire drill.”

The origin of that last term isn’t well documented, but supposedly originates from an actual fire drill on an early 20th century British ship. The story goes that the ship’s British officers had their largely Chinese crew practicing the procedure for putting out an engine room fire. One bucket brigade drew water from the starboard side of the ship, brought it to the engine room and dumped it. A separate bucket brigade scooped up the dumped water and got rid of it by tossing it over the port side of the ship. At some point during the drill, the crews got their instructions confused, and began drawing water from one side of the boat and simply dumping it over the other, without ever getting to the engine room.

American soldiers fighting alongside the British in WWI and WWII brought the phrase back home, where it got assigned to the car game at some point. It’s first recorded in the 1970s, but may have been in use longer. "

http://mentalfloss.com/article/52989/what%E2%80%99s-origin-%E2%80%9Cchinese-fire...

Hi Chelle, happy new thread my dear, hope you have had a good weekend and send love and hugs.

Congratulations on 9 days of vacation! WOOT!

Wonder pics!

Sounds like you have a perfect winter weekend planned. I miss ice skating, even though I am terrible at it. There is just something so perfect about being able to skate outdoors in the cold, crisp air and then enjoy hot chocolate (I now prefer my with peppermint Schnapps). ;-) I love how more and more places have suites with kitchenettes available at reasonable prices. When on vacation, I don't like to eat out all of the time, especially if I just want a light breakfast or lunch.

Also love that Chloe is such a big fan of seafood! Has she experienced sushi yet?

Hi Chelle! hahaha I never thought of that - the Canadians building a wall!
That's a good one!

Hope you enjoyed your weekend. Now you will need some rest after your vacation fun!

>58 Morphidae: Interesting. I did not know the history on the Chinese Fire Drill phrase. Perhaps we should coin a new phrase...

Hi Chelle!!

>58 Morphidae: Interesting. thanks Morphy!

>59 johnsimpson: Hi John! It's been good, thanks

>60 lkernagh: Thanks Lori! I was shocked at the cost of meals at this hotel. I am glad that we brought some food to eat in the room.
Chloe has not had sushi yet but she has had Thai and loves it

>61 -Cee-: Thanks Cee! We get home tomorrow and I don't go back to work until Wednesday so I plan to relax Tuesday!

>62 Berly: hi Kim!!

15) Canada by Mike Myers

I loved Myers' take on Canada. Although he has been living in the USA for over thirty years he still has a strong opinion on Canada and it's identity within itself and to the world. Some of the Canadianisms that he mentions are still used (eh!, two-four for 24 beer) but some are a touch out of date (I've never heard a variety store called a "smoke and gift", never heard a two-four shortened to Twef)

I especially loved his opinions on our current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his father Pierre Trudeau, our 15th Prime Minister.
He used this quote by Pierre Trudeau which I find quite relevant today.

"The Just Society will be one in which the rights of minorities will be safe from the whims of intolerant majorities. The Just Society will be one in which those regions and groups which have not fully shared in the country's affluence will be given a better opportunity. The Just Society will be one where such urban problems as housing and pollution will be attacked through the application of new knowledge and new techniques. The Just Society will be one in which our Indian and Inuit populations will be encouraged to assume the full rights of citizenship through policies which will give them both greater responsibility for their own future and more meaningful equality of opportunity. The Just Society will be a united Canada, united because all of its citizens will be actively involved in the development of a country where equality of opportunity is ensured and individuals are permitted to fulfill themselves in the fashion they judge best"

Morning, Chelle! I hope the week gets off to a good start for you. How is the Little Angel?

Morning Mark! Going fine so far. We've had a late start and are relaxing before hitting the road. The little devil angel is doing just fine. Had a busy weekend of skating, swimming, snowshoeing and harassing her parents. Hitting the road shortly!

Safe travels, Chelle!

Have a great trip, Chelle.

>67 FAMeulstee: & >68 PaulCranswick: Thanks Anita & Paul. We are home and just picked up the dogs from my parents. Can't wait to relax after little one goes to bed! I'll make the rounds later

Ahhhh, we are home! Long day has finally ended and I'm resting now. Drive home was easy, no trouble from the wee one except for a bathroom issue (but she was wearing a pull-up so all was well). We were on the road at 11am and by the time we picked up the dogs and bought dinner for my parents as a thank you for watching them, we weren't home until after 8!

I managed to add a mini review of Canada in >64 ChelleBearss: and have added a few trip photos to Facebook.
Here are some as well


First time on snowshoes. Liked it for about 20 mins then wanted to build a snowman.


So we did.


One of our dinner buffet nights had a chocolate fountain. Chloe was a fan!


The Huntsville arena had a lending library!

Looks like a fun time was had by all! Yay!

Welcome home, Chelle! I'm glad everyone had a good time!

Morning, Chelle! Looks like the family had a nice getaway. I see lots of snow. This is something we lack. Not complaining...

>64 ChelleBearss: I would like to live in the place Pierre Trudeau describes in the quote!

Love the photos of your Muskoka getaway, Chelle! Chloe is adorable ... I'll bet that chocolate fountain was a hit!

>71 Berly: Thanks Kim, trip was a success :)

>72 scaifea: Thanks Amber! it was fun but I'm happy to be home. My bed was SOOO comfy last night!!

>73 msf59: Morning Mark! There was lots of snow but the warm temps were starting to melt it. The outdoor ice rink was a pond

>74 FAMeulstee: That would be a wonderful place to live, Anita!

>75 lit_chick: Thanks Nancy! She loved getting to dip her fruit and marshmallow in the fountain and she liked eating it even more!

Today will be an exciting day of lounging, laundry and grocery shopping. I also have to figure out what has happened to my Kobo eReader as all of a sudden this morning it has crashed. It's about 5 years old so I am beginning to think I may need to replace it soon. Perhaps I should start doing some research into what's available these days.

Agh, no ereader? That sounds like a disaster to me. Hopefully you can get it going well enough to be able to go on with for now. I wouldn't be without my Kindle but there are lots of options out there that offer different things. I hope your day has a decent amount of lounging involved.

>78 lunacat: It's very frustrating when it crashes. I haven't figured out what is causing it. It's not overloaded with books but it does have a couple apps for reading loaned out books. Perhaps it's that.
I have it working again now, but now Nate stole it from me to read some police technique book. Bah!

Glad you had guys had a successful trip.

I also liked your review of the Myers' book. With the sesquicentennial this year there is a ton of non-fiction stuff on Canada coming out. I'm hopeful they'll re-release Pierre Berton's back catalogue as they've been out of print for a while and I need to order more for work.

Hi Chelle, glad you had a nice time my dear and the photos are great.

I'm dreading when my Nook crashes. It's already to the point where my battery lasts only two hours where it used to last eight or more.

>58 Morphidae: Well thanks Morphy! That was very interesting. :)

We had a relaxing day here and I got most of my chores finished and even got to read a bunch of the next Montalbano. We cooked a healthy stir fry for dinner, which of course Chloe has refused to eat. This kid! Cottage cheese, fruit and oatmeal for her now.
Back to work tomorrow!

>80 MickyFine: Hi Micky! I may have to check out some more of these Canada books coming out for this year's celebration! I had some of the 150 tulips to plant but before I got them in the ground one of our garage mice chewed them :( (mice have since been evicted!)

>81 johnsimpson: Thanks John!

>82 Morphidae: It will be a sad day, Morphy! Pretty much all of our technology in this house is old and out dated, but works fine so I can't justify replacing it! We have an old mac (7 years) that works great but has seen better days, a first generation iPad that we can no longer get updates for so we can't add any new apps (but works fine for kids games so it's pretty much Chloe's now) and my Kobo is at least 5 years old. At least I have a new phone.

>83 nittnut: Hi Jenn :)

>84 ChelleBearss: There were a few that came out this past fall. If you want titles, let me know.

>85 MickyFine: I could probably just do a google search but if you have any you recommend or have heard good things about then please share :-)

Great pictures of your trip, Chelle. I would love to be right there beside Chloe gobbling up that chocolate! Looks very yummy.

Gosh, I've got to look for Canada . I love the quote you chose. What great photos of your trip! Glad you enjoyed yourselves. I got a new computer late last year and I'm very glad. I have an old Ipad that won't upgrade either, and a very old Kindle, but I'm not keen on e- reading, so that's okay. I do love my I phone! We need new couches, but our dog loves to sit on the couches, so I wonder, is there any use in replacing them?

16) Game of Mirrors by Andrea Camilleri

Had a nice relaxing day yesterday after I got some chores finished and managed to start and finish this book. Another interesting Montalbano novel

>87 DeltaQueen50: Thanks Judy! The chocolate fountain was a hit, for sure! She was hit or miss a bit with the food available at the kids table since she doesn't like a lot or normal kids food, but there were lots of fruit and veg for her to eat so she was happy about that. And the chocolate :)

>88 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb! Our dogs seem to think they own our couch too. When all three of us are on the sectional couch and there is no room for the dogs they always look at us with such sad eyes that seem to say "and where do you think I'm supposed to sit?!"

Morning, Chelle! Hooray for Montalbano. I am ridiculously behind in that series.

>90 ChelleBearss: Seems a valid question to me. Simply outrageous that you would place your own seating desires above those of the dogs ;).

>86 ChelleBearss: Two of the bigger ones that came out last fall were A Number of Things: Stories of Canada Told Through Fifty Objects by Jane Urquhart and The Promise of Canada by Charlotte Gray.

Hi Chelle! Just trying to catch up - I was sorry to hear about the Chloe meltdown in your previous thread, but it happens to all of us. Thanks for sharing the vacation pics.

You mentioned that reading would take a serious hit this year, but you do realize that even though you should probably only count each book once (forever, a month?, a week?) you can include kids books because I must have read thousands and thousands of pages of baby/toddler/kids books to daughter as she was growing up. *smile*

Sorry about your outdated technology woes.

We don't have dogs to hog the couches, but we do have cats. Husband has even placed microfleece blankets on a section of each - couch and loveseat - that are the cats. We get glared at if we sit there.

And finally, kid refusing food. Daughter did that and I did what you did - fed her healthy things she liked. (My mom once tried to force my brother to eat the green beans on his plate and he proceeded to yak them all up. She never tried to force him to eat anything else again and he did fine. It was a lesson I remembered when daughter was little.)

17) Beam of Light by Andrea Camilleri

I have had a long and boring shift at work and gobbled this book. I am sad that I am nearing the end of his books that are available in English

>91 msf59: Hi Mark! Enjoy your trip. Montalbano will wait for you!

>92 lunacat: Oh I know, Jenny! The dogs don't sleep in our bed when both Nate and I are home but every so often I wake up to numb feet from Tempe (the small dog) jumping on the bed and sleeping with her head on my feet. Not super comfortable to me but I bet for her it's better than her bed on the floor

>93 MickyFine: Thanks Micky!

>94 karenmarie: Hi Karen! I should start tracking the books I read with Chloe. We read at least three board books every night at bedtime. Right now she is obsessed with a book about blueberries and after it went back to the library she asked me to get it again. I've bought a copy but it's on back order. More Blueberries

Have you come across a book called Blueberries For Sal? It would be a little advanced for her now, it's more a 3-5 age range, but on the blueberry theme...... ;)

Happy Thursday, Folks!
I am at work today. My last shift of this block and then I am off for a four day weekend, yay! I am hoping for a busy work day because I am a little sleepy and being busy helps me stay awake! Otherwise it may be a high caffeine day (sorry baby!)
I am still working on The Beast by JR Ward but it's a big'un! I will also probably start the last (*sniff*) Montalbano book today too as they are easier to read at work than the giant JR Ward book

>97 lunacat: Thanks Jenny, I haven't found that one yet but I'll look into it!

Have you read Montalbano's First Case and Other Stories, Chelle? If not, they may help with your need for more Montalbano. :-)

Book Haul!!
I took advantage of being in the city and kid free after work and went shopping at the Chapters store. I needed to get a 4th birthday present for a party Chloe is going to on Saturday.
Also managed to find some bargain books for Chloe and I!!
For me:
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Screenplay
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

For Chloe:
Edgar's Second Word by Audrey Vernick
Squirrel's Busy Day by Lucy Barnard
I Need a Hug! by Susie Linn (can't find a touchstone for this one)

Chloe must have known that I was going to buy her some books as when her and Nate went to the grocery store they picked out a sweet little house plant for me. It has white flowers on it and is very cute. No idea what it is but I love it

Happy early weekend!! :)

>99 jnwelch: Hi Joe! I have that one out from the library to read next :) I also found the Inspector Montalbano shows at the library where my sister lives and she is going to borrow them to lend to me. Yay!

18) A Voice in the Night by Andrea Camilleri
I'm sad to finish the last available english version of the Montalbano series. I will wait impatiently until August when the next is due to be released.

Hi Chelle!

>100 ChelleBearss: I loved Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them The Original Screenplay. I've seen the movie twice too.

>103 karenmarie: I'm jealous as I haven't been to see the movie! I can't remember the last time we went to see a movie. I'll buy it when it comes out though

>104 ChelleBearss: Most of the parents with young kids who I know have that problem. My brother and sister-in-law have two littles at home (21 months and 2 months). They do manage a movie occasionally but they have my SIL's parents babysit while they go to the earliest matinee possible.

>105 MickyFine: ya Micky, it seems to be a common problem with small kids. Paying a baby sitter can be expensive. We don't usually ask our parents to do date night babysitting because they share our daycare needs. Right now we only have 7 days a month that we need daycare so our parents offered to share the days instead of paying for daycare. Works well but then we feel bad if we ask to go out. It has to be really worth it for us :)

Um. Our kids are 15 and nearly 18, and we still can't really see movies. There's just no time!

Beautiful photos, Chelle! Hope you had a wonderful time.

Chelle--Nice book haul!! I picked up a singleton today: The Undoing Project. Movie time? What's that? LOL. Any movie I get to see is usually with a caravan of kids in tow. And my youngest is 16!!

Good book haul. I'll be interested to see what you think of The Buried Giant when you get to it as I recently read it.

Happy Friday, Chelle! I had fun catching up with you. Lovely photos of your vacation - thanks so much for sharing. And hooray for a few days off and a visit to the bookstore!!

Morning, Chelle. Happy Friday. Hope the week went well for you.

Good morning all!
It's Friday, we got a touch of snow overnight and it's still snowing a little bit. This of course makes Chloe very happy and means Mommy is going outside later today to play! (ugh)
We slept in this morning so we are having a slow, relaxing morning. At some point I'll probably change out of my pyjamas ... probably.

>107 AMQS: Oh dear, Anne. 18 and still no movies. That's a long time!! We watch a lot on netflix and buy the ones we really want, so I guess that will have to do for a while!

>108 Berly: Hi Kim! I really liked that the books were on sale! The JK Rowling was down to $20 and the Ishiguro was on the bargain table for $10. All the kids books were either $2 or $5. I forgot how much I liked going into the book store alone! :)
I saw The Undoing Project at the store but I didn't pick it up. Let me know what you think of it

>109 lunacat: I'll be sure to let you know, Jenny! I remember seeing someone (probably you) posting about it and the cover caught my eye. It's a very pretty green with a simple white tree. Really stood out to me, as well as the price of course :)

>110 Crazymamie: Thanks for visiting, Mamie! Hoping for a good few days off :)

>111 msf59: Morning Mark! Hope you are enjoying your vacation!

>112 ChelleBearss: Book store! Alone! I think you should have purchased The Undoing Project. Haven't read it, but it sounds really good. Have fun in the snow!

>114 Berly: It was full price so I didn't really take more than a glance at it. I think it would be a library borrow :)

HelenGress
I began a book diary in 1991 when my second child was born - sad to report I read only 12 books that year (not counting children's books- too numerous to count). Enjoy the life unfolding around you- the books will still be there when your kids are off facing the world without you. Last year I hit the 75 mark- which might be a new one for me. I love the idea of the challenge- but life off the page is good too. Congrats on your growing family!!

>116 HelenGress: Thanks for stopping by, Helen!
I think it's common to read less when the little ones are still little. I know when Chloe was very small I wouldn't read if she was awake because I felt I should be playing/teaching/cuddling her. Now that she is older and has discovered TV I feel less guilty if I sit with her and read while she Paw Patrols.

#cuteanimaltweetoff

I found this on facebook today and I think the world needs less political posts and opinions and more cute animals!!

>115 ChelleBearss: True. It is still hardcover. Ok. Library loan it is!! I wouldn't have bought it except it is a signed copy. I am a sucker for those!

>119 Berly: I bet I would be a sucker for a signed copy as well. Can't say that I've ever been in a position to get one though

>120 ChelleBearss: I've got a signed edition of (can't remember which of hers) one by Margaret Atwood, when I went to an event of hers. There is a bookshop in a town about 40mins away from me that is AMAZING and has a lot of signed books and author events, but they also sell all their books at RRP and I can't usually afford them. I'm a bargain hunter, so it has to be something I really really want in order to get it.

>121 lunacat: Jenny I would LOVE a signed Atwood! I adore her. I have found two new books of hers to read soon that I didn't realize had been released!

Happy weekend!
Today Chloe and I are going to a birthday party for my friend's 4 year old. It's at a skating rink an hour from here. Chloe won't be able to go skating because Nate can't come and I am not allowed to go skating (preggo rules suck.) I will bring her skating gear just in case she wants to go on the ice with one of our friends but I think she would be too scared to go without Nate or I. She was very scared the first time Nate took her out.
There will be lots of other stuff for her to do as they are also doing arts and crafts and there will be other kids to play with that won't be skating. Should be a good time.
Afterwards we are going to visit my parents and sister for dinner. No reading time for me until bedtime.

Have a good Saturday!

Have a fun day, and I hope you and Chloe enjoy yourselves even without being able to skate.

Happy weekend, Chelle - I hope you both have fun today!

Happy weekend Chelle, hope you and Chloe have a good time at the party my dear. Sending love and hugs.

Happy Sunday!
Today is a do nothing day! Nate is sleeping from his nightshift so I can't do much cleaning until he wakes up. Chloe and I woke early for some reason so we are relaxing with blueberry pancakes right now. I think it will be a reading/Paw Patrol morning.

>124 lunacat: Thanks Jenny. The party was fun and Chloe was an angel. She ended up skating with my friend and her husband for a little while and did well with it. No crying this time!

>125 scaifea: Thanks Amber! The day was good and ended with my sister taking us out for Mexican food. delish!!

>126 johnsimpson: Happy weekend John!

I am delighted to hear that Chloe braved the ice without you. And blueberry pancakes sound perfect for a Sunday morning.

Morning Chelle! Happy Sunday. Hooray for a Do Nothing Day!

Mexican food?! WOOT!

Woohoo, go Chloe! Nice work on the skating : ).

I've ended up sleepy and with a headache since lunch. Not sure what my problem is but Chloe and I did some cuddling and relaxing. I did manage to organize two of our kitchen cupboards that had gotten out of control and I made some Red Lobster garlic cheddar biscuits. Mmmm

Weird pregnancy moment of the day: Cooked bacon just for the sake of eating bacon. Then stood in the kitchen eating said bacon with out anything to go with it.
Also craving Jelly Belly jelly beans. Which I don't have. But really want. In bulk.

>128 Crazymamie: I was really surprised, Mamie! When Nate took her the first time she was so scared at first and cried a lot. She was good by the end but I really didn't think she would go out with people she doesn't really know. She did excellent and I was very proud

>129 msf59: Happy Sunday, Mark! Enjoy your last full day of sunshine and warm weather!

>130 scaifea: Amber it was delish!! And they had the cutest kids menu with a grilled cheese quesadilla, which was just a soft tortilla grilled with cheese but Chloe enjoyed it. And I was surprised that she really liked the chips and salsa as they had a bit of spice to them. This kid keeps surprising me!

>131 lit_chick: Thanks Nancy! I wish I could have skated with her but then we would have both fallen down a lot! :)

I'm glad to hear that Chloe was brave enough to go out on the ice and had a great time. And I don't see anything wrong with cooking bacon just for the sake of eating it, and I don't even have a decent excuse like pregnancy. Simple greed!

>133 lunacat: Usually I would make it to go with eggs or on my baked potato. I made extra to save for my potato at supper but then just stood there eating my bacon. Felt odd to me but was super yummy!

Question: Do you like your bacon wiggly (aka gross and under cooked) or nicely crisped to a nice burnt flavour? Or somewhere in between those?
I can not eat bacon unless it is completely stiff and nicely crisped. Nate has banned me from ordering bacon in restaurants as it always seems barely cooked and wiggly and then I won't eat it.

This would be close to perfectly cooked bacon for me, but not quite done enough:



Not wiggly, but with just the tiniest amount of flex and give, with all the fat crisped up and starting to get close to little burnt bits but not actually hitting the burn moment :).

>127 ChelleBearss: I'm so glad she went out skating! Such a brave little girl.

>135 lunacat: Now that's some Goldilocks bacon. Not too cold (wiggly), not too hot (burnt, even burnt bits), but just right!

Chelle--I think I like a little more wiggle in my bacon than you do, certainly more than Lunacat, LOL. But I do like to have the fat baked off. Hmmmm...have some in the fridge. Might have to make it for breakfast now!

Today is my last day off work, tomorrow I start back for a 4 days week (12 hour shifts). This morning is relaxing with Clo-bear and maybe some light cleaning. After lunch, once Nate wakes up, I am heading off to the city for a hair appointment at my sister's salon. I am VERY overdue for some professional treatment! The greys are taking over and starting a turf war with the split ends.

>135 lunacat: That doesn't look bad at all, Jenny! If they served that to me in a restaurant I would eat it without complaint. At home I would cook it longer though. I like mine to not bend at all, more like snap in half if I tried to bend it!

>136 Morphidae: I was very surprised and happy, Morphy. I was even more surprised that she didn't make a fuss when we had to leave.
LOL to Goldilocks bacon

>137 Berly: Enjoy your wiggly bacon, Kim! lol. (Ick)

19) Montalbano's First Case by Andrea Camilleri

I am officially out of Montalbano stories, sad. I will just have to wait until August when the next is due to be released. This book was short stories, some short and sweet and some quite a bit longer. A decent read and I don't usually care for short stories.

Happy Monday, Chelle! Looks like you had a great vacation! The chocolate mustache on Chloe is adorable.

I've only read 1 Montalbano and would like to read the ones I have on my shelf. Do you think it's important to read them in order?

>140 Carmenere: Morning! I have a nasty habit of being unable to read a series out of order. But for this one you wouldn't be too lost. You would miss a little of the personal life stories of Salvo and Livia, and Mimi but I don't think it would matter too much. It would matter less if you read books that were closer together instead of reading the first and last books, know what I mean?

Happy Monday, Chelle! I'm eating just bacon for breakfast right now - It's my go to breakfast 3-4 days a week. Also a nice cup of medium roast strongish black coffee, no sugar. I'm picky, too, about my bacon, but won't inflict my Goldilocks rules on you. I like that, Goldilocks bacon.

What a nice thing - a sister with a salon. Enjoy your day.

Enjoy your last day off this week, Chelle.

Sorry you're now out of Montalbanos. I'm listening to Montalbano's First Case and Other Stories on audio, so at least it's taking longer. The tv series (there are two - M the Younger and M the Older) do help.

Chelle, you made me laugh with, "The greys are taking over and starting a turf war with the split ends." LOL. I am due for a haircut--you are lucky to have your sister run a salon. And, no, I do not like my bacon wiggly, just a tad less than stiff than you. It's a fine line. Enjoy your last day of freedom!

>142 karenmarie: Morning Karen! Cooking bacon takes so long so I don't normally eat it often. I would love it have most mornings like you but I find I am usually in too much of a rush.

>143 jnwelch: Hi Joe! I found the older Montalbano shows at my sister's library but I haven't found the young Montalbano series. Have you watched either of them?

>144 Berly: Thanks Kim! I try to get my sister to fix my mess of hair every few months but I find it so hard to carve out a half day visit to her since I have a 50 min drive to her salon. Today I am on a random day off from work (called float days, to even out our weird schedule) so I thought I'd try and use it well.
Unfortunately the joke "The greys are taking over and starting a turf war with the split ends" is more accurate than I would like it to be!

>145 ChelleBearss: I don't have a child to watch after, a husband to work around, or scheduled items very often. My mornings are to start the pot of coffee, start the bacon and turn it down to low, set the timer for 6 minutes, get a cup of coffee (Bunn coffee maker = almost instant coffee), check e-mail and LT until timer goes off, turn bacon, set timer for another 6 minutes or so, continue with LT, get bacon, and etc. LT, books, housework, whatever. I used to burn bacon way too much, when I wanted it on a work day, and that is an awful smell.

I dreamed I was reading a Montalbano last night, even though I've never considered picking one up. Perhaps it was my subconscious telling me something? Very odd. I might have to try and get my hands on one to give them a go.

I hope you have a lovely 'float' day and can get in some reading and relaxation.

Have a good last day off before you go back on shift my dear, sending love and hugs.

>146 karenmarie: That does sound a little more relaxed than most of my mornings! My shifts start at 7am and I have an hour commute, so cooking bacon at 5am does not appeal to me. Sometimes we order breakfast at work but I can't order bacon as most cooks refuse to burn it for me :-P

>147 lunacat: Well Jenny, I think your dream is telling you something!! The first book is The Shape of Water if you wanted to give them a shot!

>148 johnsimpson: Thanks John! I look like a human again, instead of one large grey frizz ball!

Hi, Chelle! LT, bacon & books? I am in...okay, throw some beer in too!

I can't read a series out of order, either , Chelle. Drives me batty. Bacon - can you believe I have not eaten bacon in so many years I can't remember? I used to like it when I was a lot younger, but now it just seems like a piece of fat to me ( not to say I don't love chocolate, which is likely equally fat filled ) .

20) Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by JK Rowling

Another fantastic look in the magical world. This is set in the time of Grindlewand's reign of terror, many years before Harry Potter existed. I very much enjoyed it and am really looking forward to trying to get in to watch the movie!

>150 msf59: Ok Mark, I'll throw in a nice beer for you and a Root Beer for me! Enjoy

>151 vancouverdeb: Drives me nuts, Deb. Nate will take a book and doesn't matter to him if it's from the middle of a series or not. Doesn't bother him when the character information from one book is different from the last one he read! Although he did complain recently that he read one out of order and a character had died and confused him. Won't make him stop doing it though!
Maybe you should have some really crispy bacon, tastes less like a piece of fat and more like a piece of deliciousness!

>152 ChelleBearss: So glad you got to read the book. The movie, unsurprisingly, matches the book!!! *smile*

>153 ChelleBearss: I used to not mind so much not starting a series at the beginning but I try to read them in order now. The major exception to that recently is that I read the second Fiona Griffiths mystery by Harry Bingham first, then the first second. Now I'm on track, having read the third one and will continue in order. Surprisingly, I didn't feel particularly upset at not having read the first one first in this case. They still worked for me.

Hey there, Chelle. I don't have to read a series in order unless it really matters. SO, I would never read the Three Pines books out of order, but I am more than happy to dip in and out of the Maigret series in what ever order they fall into my hands.

Mamie, I guess there are some series that you don't get a ton of personal background on the characters so it would be ok to read them out of order. I think the Lee Child books are like that, you get a bit of his background but not a ton and it would be ok to read those ones out of order. I agree on the Louise Penny books, you get involved in Gamache's personal life so much that reading them out of order would be confusing.

I think I am a little bit anal or OCD about series though so I would prefer to just read them in order, always :)

21) The Beast by JR Ward
I love this series. This one took me a while to get into, I was probably at least 200 pages in before I really got interested. Thankfully there were still 300 left to enjoy!

>157 ChelleBearss: I didn't expect how they'd end the book. I thought there would be one HEA and one not HEA rather than a HEA for all. I really liked that.

>158 Morphidae: I feel a little stupid, Morphy, but I don't really understand what you wrote. What's an HEA?

I think I may have missed something in the book too. What happened to Xcor? He woke up and no one noticed and that was the last I saw mentioning him.

>159 ChelleBearss: HEA is happily ever after. I thought Bitty's uncle would be a bad guy or would be sent on his way. Instead, he was accepted into the family. I don't know what happened to Xcor but his book is next, I believe, so we'll find out.

ahhh that makes sense! Duh! Yes, I agree I didn't think the Layla babies would both make it. The Bitty story came together too easily but I guess they have left it open for future books.

>161 ChelleBearss: I didn't think they would make it at all. To be honest, I'm getting a little annoyed with all the premature babies doing just fine. They are supposed to be pregnant for 18 months and not one of the three has reached even 10 months. It's not realistic. With the Bitty story, with the end in mind, I don't think they could have made it harder. It was pretty traumatic for Rage and Mary though so it didn't bother me much.

>162 Morphidae: I agree, Morphy! I find it odd that all these pregnancies are not even close to making it to term but yet the babies and moms are all ok. I mean, I don't want them to die, but it doesn't really fit the story background.
I thought Bitty's reaction to Rhage's beast was quite cute. "It likes me!"

I have given up on The Last Policeman for now. I couldn't get into it at work yesterday. I have yet to figure out what I will be reading today but I have too much stuff to do to think about it for now.
Happy Hump Day!

Morning Chelle. I loved The Last Policeman. Maybe the timing isn't right.

Good morning, Chelle! Timing is everything with any book, IMO.

>165 msf59: morning Mark! I think you are right! I had just finished a 500 page book and I was sleepy at work. I'll give it another shot before I return it to the library. I've read it before and I remember liking it the first time.

>166 karenmarie: Morning Karen! Hopefully it clicks on the second try :)

Happy Wednesday!!

>163 ChelleBearss: OMG! I love it when she's rubbing his tummy!

>169 Morphidae: That was very sweet, Morphy! I'll have to keep an eye out for the next book.

January Break down!
1) The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King
2) The Whistler by John Grisham
3) A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
4) Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by JK Rowling
5) The Bat by Jo Nesbo
6) The Wings of the Sphinx by Andrea Camilleri
7) The Track of Sand by Andrea Camilleri
8) The Potter's Field by Andrea Camilleri
9) The Bone Collection by Kathy Reichs
10) the Age of Doubt by Andrea Camilleri
11) Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin by Nancy Atherton
12) The Dance of the Seagull by Andrea Camilleri
13) Treasure Hunt By Andrea Camilleri
14) Angelica's Smile by Andrea Camilleri
15) Canada by Mike Myers
16) Game of Mirrors by Andrea Camilleri
17) Beam of Light by Andrea Camilleri
18) A Voice in the Night by Andrea Camilleri
19) Montalbano's First Case by Andrea Camilleri
20) Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Screenplay by JK Rowling
21) The Beast by JR Ward

This has been the most books that I've read in a January since I started tracking. Being sick and home for two week sure helped that!
Mostly light fiction and some were very light. One giant book and my fave was probably the JK Rowling screenplay.

Hi Chelle! Finally got caught up with you (and Chloe)! Glad your vacation was a success.

I like my bacon the same as Jenny :)

Hi Chelle, what a great month of reading you had my dear. Hope you are having a good day and send love and hugs to you, Nate and the gorgeous Chloe.

>171 katiekrug: hi Katie! Thanks, it was nice to get away! My next vacation is my birthday in May but it will be a staycation as Nate has to work.

>172 johnsimpson: thanks John! I would have to do some Paul like stat checking but I think that was probably one of my best reading months, if not the best month.

February Plan (Excuse any spelling errors as I'm on my phone)

Ok going to take a chance and make a very small February reading plan. I reserve the right to tweek, cancel or bail on said plan depending on my moods this month. But I thought I'd try

I'd like to try and partake in two of Paul's challenges, UK authors challenge and the Canadian challenge. But instead of doing both male and female for each challenge I'm only picking one author for each. For the UK I'm going with Terry Pratchett Going Postal and for the Canadian I am going with Madeleine Thien Do Not Say we have Nothing
I also have my work book club which is reading City of Thieves by David Benioff

I'd like try and finish a couple books that I recently purchased:
Winter
The Buried Giant
And maybe a couple more if I continue reading well

Wish me luck!!

Woohoo! What an impressive January, Chelle, with 21 books!

I loved Do Not Say We Have Nothing. Hope you will too.

Wow! 21 books in January! Amazing, Chelle! I also enjoyed Do Not Say We Have Nothing. It took my full concentration, and best of luck with reading your recent purchases . I have that trouble too. Sometimes that book I had to have now , ends up in a TBR pile - but often I find it at just the right time ( a year later :)

>170 ChelleBearss: Excellent reading month, Chelle! Congratulations.

>174 ChelleBearss: Good luck with your February plan. I reserve the right to tweek, cancel or bail on said plan depending on my moods this month. If you can't change it, then it becomes drudgery, not fun. And for me reading must be fun!

>175 lit_chick: Thanks Nancy! It was a great month for reading here!
I've heard good things about Do Not Say We Have Nothing so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm just hoping that it isn't too deep and complicated as pregnancy brain is not made for complicated!

>176 vancouverdeb: Morning Deb! Isn't that funny how sometimes we just HAVE to have that book and then it just sits there? I've got a pile separate from my TBR pile of books that I recently purchased and want to get around to quickly before they make their way in to the TBR pile and never get read.

>177 karenmarie: Thanks Karen! I agree, reading must be fun!!

Looks like the Canadian ground hogs are predicting and early spring! Considering we have had more green grass than snow this year I'm not really surprised!

22) The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters

I finally got into reading this book and it was a quick read once I set my mind to it. As much as I did end up enjoying it, it wasn't what I would call a memorable book. I read this in 2013 and even by the end of it I still could not remember how it ended. Enjoyable and quick read, but nothing to write home about. I do plan on finishing the trilogy as soon as I can get my hands on the other two books.

Hi Chelle, hope you and the family have a lovely and relaxing weekend my dear, sending love and hugs.

Hi John! I am stuck at work all weekend but it has started off a slow weekend and I'm ok with that :)



23) City of Thieves by David Benioff

I really enjoyed City of Thieves which I read for my work book club. By the end I wasn't really ready for it to be over, it could have been 100 pages longer and I would have still been happy!

What a great feeling, wishing a book could be longer!

Hi Chelle--Loved City of Thieves! And nice stats for January. Whew! I have two or three Pratchetts hanging around and I have been trying to fit them in for a year! I think I can, I think I can...! And the ground hog was accurate in my neck of the woods: we had an ice storm last night. Sigh.

Morning all

I'm stuck at work on this cold and dark Saturday morning. I will be so happy when the seasons allow some sun before and after work! It was -13c on my way in this morning and I was so thankful for my warm mittens!!

Hope everyone has a great Saturday!

>183 lit_chick: Morning Nancy! I really liked the flow of that book! I am going to look and see what other books Benioff has for me to enjoy! :)

>184 Berly: HI Kim! Are you going to pop onto the British author challenge to fit in one of those Pratchett's that you have??

Morning, Chelle! I just pulled up to work too but the sun is slowly making its way up the eastern sky.

So glad you enjoyed City of Thieves. I loved that book. What a great club pick.

Morning Mark! Hope your route isn't too chilly today!!
A friend at work suggested him as an author that our club might enjoy and he was right! Have you read anything else by Benioff?

I am very excited as since I am running my work book club I get to make suggestions on what we can read and the group usually picks from those suggestions. I am running it in a group here on LT and I am very happy that I just started our thread for March for The Night Circus! I can't wait to read it again. I hope it's as magical the second time around

For those that have read The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro I am finding the main character Axl to be grating on my nerves already and I'm only 70 pages in. I love the story that they are telling and I am very curious about the mist. But the way he keeps calling Beatrice "princess" and talking in such an even toned way at all times with no excitement is annoying me a little.

Weirdly, it wasn't Axl who annoyed me but for me, the whole book was vaguely annoying. I'd say stick with it as what you're finding frustrating now should ease off and you could find you enjoy it more as you go along.

I found the whole premise irritating by the end, but the writing was lovely so you might discover it really works for you. Not guaranteeing it though! I loved the writing but felt the plot fell somewhat short.

Book bullet struck - City of Thieves sounds very good!

>189 lunacat: ha Jenny, I hope I don't end up finding the whole book annoying. I just find the way Axl talks to be irritating. People don't talk that way. When I talk to Nate I don't repeat his name or terms of endearment over and over. I counted the two page spread I was on and he calls her princess ten times! Perhaps it's just too sweet for me

>190 vancouverdeb: yay for BB, Deb! I added two more coworkers to our work book club today and they both started reading it right away and are enjoying it!

>182 ChelleBearss: Oh, I loved that one when I read it! Glad you enjoyed it, too.

Happy Sunday, Chelle! Hope you're doing well.

>185 ChelleBearss: Just started The Globe this morning. So far, wizards are having a paint-ball war.

Happy Sunday, Chelle. I have not read any other Benioff. He has not authored many books and he has been busy writing for the Game of Thrones TV show, for the past 5 years or so.

I would love to see him write another book.

>192 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! I wish I had another good one like that to read today! I am super bored at work and my current book is just not cutting the sleepies today

>193 karenmarie: Happy Sunday Karen!

>194 Berly: Wizards having a paintball war sounds different! I'm intrigued!
I wish I had of had time to pop into the library and pick up the Pratchett that I have on hold! Hopefully tomorrow

>195 msf59: Hi Mark! I did not know that Benioff was a GoT writer! Very cool! I'd like to try and get my hands on The 25th Hour as one of my coworkers recommended it

>170 ChelleBearss: WOW!!!!! How do you manage to read so many books when you have a toddler? You're doing something right -- or magical. Happy week!

Morning friends!
It's a chilly morning here but I don't care because I get to spend it inside in my jammies! This is the start of my scheduled four days off and we have zero plans today! Nate took an overtime shift last night for the superbowl (RIDE checks) and he will be sleeping most of today so it's just the kid and I!

I have some serious household organizing to do today and I will be sitting here making a big list this morning with my tea. I also would like to look into getting Chloe's birth to two photo albums made. Does anyone do this online? What websites do you use? (Not sure if it matters Canada vs USA sites as they all usually ship everywhere)

Have a wonderful Monday!

>197 AMQS: Hi Anne! Winter sickness and slow times at work have made for some great reading days! I'm stuck on a book I'm not enjoying so I haven't finished yet. Hopefully I can make some more progress today or put it down for a couple days while I read a library book that I hope to pick up today.

>198 ChelleBearss: I'm highly distrustful of Ontarians interpretation of cold at the moment. ;) While I was in Toronto the weather guy on CTV described -9C as "very cold." I laughed really hard at that. It's -22C here today with windchills in and around the -30C zone.

At any rate, enjoy your four days off and your quiet time this morning. :D

Ooh, four days off. NICE!
I am actually home in sweats, watching it snow outside. It's our first Snow Day in Seattle in 8 years (we've had wee bits of snow since then but not much and not enough to close the university!!!). It was supposed to stop snowing almost 3 hours ago and it's still falling. I say go, snow, go! I would love to have Tuesday off, too. :-)

Enjoy your time off, Chelle.

>199 MickyFine: Ha, you are right to not trust us Southern Ontarians! It was chilly this morning (-10c-ish), which I realize is nothing for you but I find it chilly. It's now warmed up to about +1c and the sun is shinning! Apparently tomorrow it's supposed to be +7c with a rainfall warning. I wish it would just stick to the -5 range until spring instead of this up and down silliness!
BUT I will always take my weather over -30! Sorry :)

>200 EBT1002: Happy snow day, Ellen! Hope you enjoyed your day off and I will cross my fingers that you get tomorrow too!

Ha! Canadians discussing who has the worst weather and how we tolerate it. I think the Vancouver snow is the worst, because it is the heavy , wet sort that hangs around at +1 to -2 C. Melts, freezes, etc over and over again. The buses can't make it up hills, the cities don't have the equipment to plow and salt ( and rarely sand). Yes, the up and down silliness with the temps. But - 30 , no thanks!

Sorry , I'm not sure what service to use re photographs. I know my daughter - in law used Costco to create photo books after their wedding , but don't ask me how you do it. She was very happy with the result and so are we , with our album. I think my sister uses Costco as well for her travel albums.

Morning!
Today we were planning a trip to the library but I'm watching Chloe for signs of a cold now so we may postpone it. She hardly ate a thing yesterday and asked to go to bed a little before bedtime. Then she slept from 730 last night until 930 this morning! So we may not wander too far today just in case.

I started reading The Heart Goes Last last night as my other book The Buried Giant isn't catching my interest. I will go back to it after I read this book and hope to finish it.

>202 vancouverdeb: I agree with you Deb, getting snow where snow is not normal does make for a whole host of issues! I find around here that it's better if we get snow and keep it because when the snow goes away people seem to forget that it is winter and start driving their vehicles like it's summer again. We end up dealing with many car accidents when the snow or ice comes back because people were not driving like it is winter.

I ended up starting and album on Shutterfly as I posted this on facebook too and got a ton of recommendations for that site. I got birth through 5 months finished yesterday and I'd like to try and get her first year finished today so I can get the 50% off code that ends today. If not I'll just work on the rest of the years until the coupon is available again.

Morning, Chelle! I have not read The 25th Hour but I did see the film. It was very good.

I hope you are having a bright & beautiful week too!

Oh, dang, poor Chloe! It's always worrisome when they ask to go to bed early and then sleep in, isn't it? Gah.

>203 ChelleBearss: Sorry to hear The Buried Giant isn't working for you, Chelle. I really loved it when I read it. But I love basically everything Ishiguro writes.

>204 msf59: Hi Mark! Hope you enjoyed your day off. I'll have to check out the movie as I bet it's one that Nathen would enjoy!

>205 scaifea: It is quite worrisome, Amber. We had an energetic day and she ate a whole bunch so I thought she was fine then around an hour ago she bumped her hand when she fell (while doing something she has been told 10000000 times not to do) and she has been sucky ever since. Even climbed up in my lap and stayed there watching a show for 30 mins, and she is not a cuddly kid. She has school tomorrow morning so I really hope she is not coming down with anything!

>206 MickyFine: I'm about halfway through Micky, and it's an ok read. I think it's one of those books that I just read at a time that my mind isn't really ready for that kind of book. I do plan on finishing it though.

Love you're groundhog! And got to agree with your comments on The Last Policeman. I read it too, remember enjoying it but that and a few other vague things about the setting are all that I remember.

Chelle--Enjoy your days off and I hope Chloe was just tired. I have The Buried Giant waiting for me...somewhere. And I like Ishiguro a lot.

Oh gosh, The Buried Giant was a favorite read for me the year before last.

Morning, Chelle! How's Chloe doing this morning?

>208 cammykitty: Thanks Katie. I have the second book from the series now so I hope it's a little more memorable than the first. It was a good read either way but I was really surprised that I remembered almost nothing about the plot.

>209 Berly: Thanks Kim! I'm going to go back to it after I finish The Heart Goes Last and see if it starts to work for me a bit more. I'm about halfway through so I do plan on finishing it.

>210 EBT1002: Ellen I keep hearing that. I think it may just be my mood when I started reading it, I was a bit tired at work. Plus the main character calling his wife Princess every other word started to grate on me. It's less annoying now

>211 scaifea: She seems ok, Amber. She woke up a few times in the night chattering away but put herself back to sleep without me having to go in. We've had one crying fit this morning and she already told me she doesn't want to go to school today so drop off should go well lol.

My niece and her wife use Shutterfly and love it.

Sorry Chloe's fighting a cold and battling the idea of school today. Good luck!

I either really like (The Remains of the Day, Never Let Me Go) or really don't like (The Buried Giant) Ishiguru's work. You may very well be like me. Is The Buried Giant your first Ishiguro?

Well, there were tears at drop off again today and a bunch of "I need you, Mom". Not sure what changed in the last couple weeks but this is not my happy little girl. Hoping things improve for her and she gets over whatever is bothering her.

>213 karenmarie: Hi Karen! I like the shutterfly website and I'm almost finished putting together the first book. Hope to order soon

>214 Morphidae: Morphy, I'm just not sure what it is about this book but I just can't get into it. It's not even that I don't like it, it's just that I can't get myself interested in it. Hoping it gets better when I go back to it
This is my first Ishiguro.

>215 ChelleBearss: Well, if you end up not finishing it, I wouldn't let it put you off Ishiguro. I wouldn't recommend it as a first book of his, personally.

>216 Morphidae: Thanks Morphy, I'll keep in mind the other two that you mentioned. I always feel a bit weird when I end up not liking a book that is so well review on LT but I guess everyone has different tastes.

Morning friends!
Today we have a slightly busy day ahead of us. My dad turned 65 on Sunday but I was working and my mom was sick so today we are doing his birthday get together. Chloe and I baked cupcakes for him yesterday and this morning we have to decorate them. Then after lunch I have a prenatal checkup with my doctor that Chloe and Nate will come with me for (they like to hear the baby's heartbeat) and then off to dinner at my parents. I also have to find some time to plan and cook lunches for the weekend as Nate and I both have to work all weekend.
I've also got a cranky, crying toddler because she doesn't want to eat breakfast. Please send me some patient thoughts as this Mama's patience is running thin and it's only 9am!

Happy Thursday!

>217 ChelleBearss: Good luck with your very full day!

Thanks Micky!
We've had a kink in our day already. Nate had to go to court this morning and turns out it may be an all day thing instead of the quick visit he planned on. So Chloe and I will be heading to the doc on our own I think

Hang in there, Chelle! Crying cranky toddlers aren't any fun at all. Your happy toddler will show up again. What kinds of things interest her? Does she divert easily?

I'm sure you already know to pick your battles, but when my daughter refused to eat a meal, we didn't force her. We also didn't let her eat when she was hungry after that meal, but made her wait til either official snack time or the next meal.

Is there any chance the crankiness from yesterday and today could be related to anxiety about the new sibling?

Morning, Chelle. Sweet Thursday. Have a nice birthday party for your Dad. How is the little Angel doing?

>220 karenmarie: Hi Karen! I don't make her eat and often will let her sit in front of the meal long past when she is finished. Sometimes if she hasn't eat much at all I will offer her a second option like oatmeal or toast just so she isn't going to bed on an empty stomach.
This morning she refused to eat so i told her that was fine and made myself some toast. Seconds after I sat down to eat it she came over and asked me for a piece. She ended up eating all of my toast, a yogurt and a banana and I had to make myself a new breakfast! Kids are odd sometimes.
She is happy for the most part but very stubborn about things she thinks she doesn't like. She decided that she didn't want to come to the doctor with me today. So I said that's ok, she could stay with Grandma and I would visit Dr Zhu and hear the baby's heart beat all by myself. Minutes later she asked if she could see Dr Zhu and hear the baby too.

>221 msf59: Morning Mark! The little Angel is busy watching TV and playing with her "zoo" that she set up in my living room. Which basically consists of her large stuffed animals, her cow stool and her monkey chair all sitting in a circle. She is very creative sometimes.

I'm glad the crankiness is gone and it sounds like you know exactly how to get her to show her sunny side. (I don't recall any time daughter wouldn't eat dinner - there may have been a time or two and I would have made sure she ate something later, just to keep from waking up in the middle of the night and disturbing everybody's sleep.)

>223 karenmarie: Karen last night we made stir fry. We make it toddler friendly with no spices and just sweet and sour sauce. She usually will eat the rice and some of the veg (she doesn't eat much meat no matter what I do) Well last night she wouldn't touch it. Ate a bit of the rice and basically just sat there forever just watching us eat. Nate ended up making her a sandwich because she had almost nothing in her belly and it was almost bedtime. I am hoping this is just another lovely stage

For Mark - Angel in her "zoo"

Sounds like she's in the "No" stage where kids explore boundaries - theirs and others. Sometimes they say no just to see what will happen and when their boundary is respected, they are okay and go along with whatever you want. However, it's trying when they say no when it's something that can't be respected because the parent needs them to do or not do something. It sounds like you are handling everything beautifully however frustrating it may be. Kudos.

>225 ChelleBearss: Chloe looks adorable between all the cuddly toys :-)

>225 ChelleBearss: Such a cute zoo keeper!! And not cranky at all.

>226 Morphidae: Thanks Morphy. We are trying our best and my only way to kind of combat this needy stage is not to give into it too much. She cried at daycare yesterday but I had to leave her crying with the teacher or else I would have been late for work. She cried when I dropped her at my sister's this morning but again I had to leave right away. My sister said she stopped crying seconds after I walked out the door and is happily eating pancakes now so I don't feel as bad this morning. Still breaks my heart though as she never did this before so it's making me a touch cranky

>227 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita! She was very proud of her zoo

>228 Berly: Thanks Kim! Mommy is crankier than baby right now

>229 ChelleBearss: The crying when having to drop them off is rough. Getting feedback that they're fine as soon as you're gone is good. I sometimes called day-care if it was a particularly rough morning just to see how my daughter was doing, and hearing that she was fine helped me get through the day.

Hang in there!

>230 karenmarie: Thanks Karen. I can't call the preschool after I leave but I do feel that the teachers are well equipped to deal with this type of thing as they often having crying kids when I drop off Chloe. Usually it's not her crying though. On the way home last night I asked her if she had fun at school and she said "no, it's too loud there". I think having 10 2-4 year old boys in one room is probably a lot more noise than she is used to

24) The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

Meh. I wish I could say anything more than that. I disliked this book and made myself finish it. Just Meh.

25) The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood

I just love Atwood. This one was imaginative, super weird but completely plausible and very entertaining.

>225 ChelleBearss: How adorable!

Hi Chelle, I remember babysitting my grandchildren when they were young and how the tears could come and go in a matter of minutes so you have my sympathy. Sounds like she is testing the boundaries or maybe she does need some added assurance that the new baby isn't going to mean that Mommy cares less for her.

I hope Chloe has cheered up a bit and you're having a lovely weekend :)

>232 ChelleBearss: & >233 ChelleBearss: Interesting. I normally favour Ishiguro over Atwood but it looks like he came off a poor second here.

Have a lovely weekend and give little Chloe a hug from me.

>225 ChelleBearss: I LOVE it! She is such an angel!

>233 ChelleBearss: The Heart Goes Last is one of the rare Atwoods, that I did not connect with. Glad it worked for you!

Happy Sunday, my friend.

HI Friends
Sorry for being MIA but it was a busy weekend at work and I was exhausted by Sunday night! Thankfully I have two days off to reenergize before going back to work Wednesday.
Nate and I have an appointment this afternoon for the baby's 20 week ultra sound. This is the week we could find out the gender .... but I don't think Nate wants to. I've been trying to talk him into it but I don't think I'm winning this one.
Hope everyone has a good Monday!!

>234 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy! Not sure what to do for Chloe other than reassure her that we are always around. It's not like we are leaving her with strangers, she knows and loves the people we leave her with. I think it's harder on me than her

>235 DianaNL: Thanks Diana!

>236 lunacat: Hi Jenny! Busy and tiring weekend but we all survived it just fine :)

>237 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! I'm a big Atwood fan. I have a lot more of her books to read yet but I don't think I've disliked one yet!

>239 msf59: Morning Mark! I enjoy a lot of Atwood's newer books that are more speculative fiction than anything else. I like that most start in normal society and then move onto weirdness. Have you read her trilogy that starts with Oryx and Crake? That one was pretty weird too

Hello, Chelle! I think you are doing a great job with Chloe - a lot of children go through that, and it's just a stage if you handle it right. Testing boundaries is important for kids and they need to know that you are in charge because knowing that "you've got this" is reassuring to them. It's the hardest part of parenting, I think - being consistent.

Craig always knew what we were having with the babies because he can read those ultrasounds. But I remember with Birdy that my sister wanted to know, and I did not, so I had the doctor write it down on a slip of paper for her(I did not want Craig to be responsible if he got it wrong - ha!). She did an excellent job of not giving it away.

Hoping your two days off are full of recharging.

Can someone help me with this. You all seem like kind people. https://www.librarything.com/topic/248552

>242 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie! Parenting can be so interesting sometimes! She is in great spirits today and playing in her zoo again. We have added some animal beanie babies for her.

My sister is driving me nuts about finding out! But Nate is adamant that if we don't know then no one else can know either. He has a migraine today too so my chances of changing his mind by this afternoon is slim to nil.

>243 AntonioRosario: Sorry, I don't think I know what book is. Good luck

Sorry The Buried Giant never worked for you, Chelle. And I must get The Heart Goes Last and read it. I love the title.

The photo of Chloe in her "zoo" is adorable.

I agree with Mamie (and others) about Chloe. Testing limits is what they do (and they do it over and over and over, but differently at different developmental stages) and they need to know that the boundaries are secure and stable. One thing I find myself saying to faculty(!) more often than you can imagine is that "no is not an unkind word; sometimes it's exactly what a student needs to hear." It's just the college version of the same thing. :-)

Oooh, excited to know (or not know?) the gender of baby on board, Chelle. 20 weeks already, woot!

>245 EBT1002: Where is the picture!?!

Hi Chelle! Hope the appointment went well and that you agreed on whether to get the info (or not). :)

Ah cranky kids. We have a go-to for that. From that old show Two and a Half Men. There was an episode where the kid was really cranky and they run him to the doctor and the therapist and so on, and then the housekeeper gives him prune juice. The next day, he's perfectly fine.
It's amazingly accurate...

Well we are home and little baby no-name is going to have to stay little baby no-gender until July as it was face down with it's legs tucked in tight! Couldn't get a decent show of it's bits so no idea what it will be. Guess it will have to be a surprise.

>245 EBT1002: Thanks Ellen! Chloe listens when we say no, and we say it a lot! It's just the crying when she is away from us and needing Mommy all the time. Today she wanted to go downstairs to our gym with Nate while he worked out but she also wanted me to go down there. She cried because I was busy putting groceries away and I am currently in no condition to do a workout lol. She got over it quickly but the needing me thing is getting old. I thought this stage would have come much younger and I always always so proud that she wasn't a needy kid.

>246 lit_chick: No news, Nancy! Guess we will find out in another 18-20 weeks :(

>247 Morphidae: Hi Morphy! It's in >225 ChelleBearss: Chloe's fake zoo :)

>248 nittnut: Thanks Jenn! I was super disappointed that I had him talked into finding out and then the baby didn't cooperate. Nate thought that was hilarious, me less so :)
Ha, I think I remember that episode! That was such a good show before Charlie Sheen went cuckoo lol

Hi, Chelle! I hope you enjoy the next couple of days off. In regards to Atwood, I loved Oryx and Crake and the rest of that trilogy. I have read quite a few of her books now but want to go back and read her earliest stuff.

>249 ChelleBearss: Hmm, so which one's the kid?

;)

I am a fan of Ishiguro and Atwood and I have some waiting from each of them. I will just let them battle it out. ; )

Chelle--Good luck with the tears and staying in charge. You can do it! And I guess it was fate not to know more about little baby no-name. Enjoy your time off.

Hope everyone has a lovely day! We celebrated today by having white chocolate pancakes together as a family. I got Nate an inexpensive present and he went over the top by buying me a new Kobo Auro One! He says it's partly a baby shower gift for 9 months of torture (I don't care for pregnancy much) lol.

We sat together as a family and assembled Chloe's Vday cards for school tomorrow and later we will go shopping for my MIL's birthday present for tomorrow

Enjoy your day and hope you all get some chocolate!

>250 msf59: Hi Mark! I've loved both her newer stuff and her older works. I absolutely LOVED Alias Grace!

>251 Morphidae: HA Morphy! She fits in with animals quite nicely, eh!

>252 Berly: Thanks Kim! I'll give Ishiguro another try sometime. I think it was just this book that didn't grab me. I'll give one of the other ones that have been recommended a try. Maybe later this year

>253 ChelleBearss: Happy Valentine's Day to you too! It sounds like you're having a lovely day.

I had to look up the Kobo Auro One, but wow! sounds fantastic. He done good.

Hi Chelle. I cracked up at your description of Chloe's baby sibling hiding their bits (I'll use the non-gendered plural here as so many of our college students do in order to challenge our culture's very binary way of thinking about gender). Maybe this just gets to be an experiment in thinking outside that particular set of boxes for a while longer. :-)

It sounds so hard to manage that neediness (I know this would be a button of mine, too ~~ I don't react well to intense neediness). I have a friend who says "meet the need," operating under the philosophy that the need will ease as the attachment becomes even more secure. I don't know. I think it's a hard balance to find. We have a nephew who, along with his wife, is raising their kid from an "attachment" philosophy. While I am a huge fan of attachment and all the research is affirming that enabling a secure attachment is key, I have also watched our grandnephew be, at times, so spoiled it was hard to tolerate being around him. So. Tough balance to find, that's all I'm saying (with much empathy for those of you who are doing the important work of raising kids!).

I also had to google Kobo Auro One and it looks awesome. Waterproof! That would come in handy here in Seattle (or if you want to read in the bathtub and are at all worried about dropping it). I'll be interested in how you like it since I am once again in the should-I-or-shouldn't-I-and-which-one-if-I-do place regarding Kindles.

Happy Valentine's Day, Chelle!

I especially like the description of the bedtime reader's experience with the Kobo Auro One.

>255 karenmarie: Happy VDay Karen! I can't wait to play with it! He didn't realize that the stores around here were sold out of them already so it will come in the mail next week.

>256 EBT1002: Hi Ellen! Oh those college kids and their way of thinking! I like my gender roles a little more clearly defined, but that's just me. I don't care if girls like blue and want to play with GI Joes and boys like pink and play with barbies, that stuff doesn't matter to me. But in my world girls have vaginas and boys have penises. It's just the way I think but I know that many people don't like to think in those roles and that's fine too. Chloe's favourite colour since birth has been blue. She has always been attached to On the Night You Were Born and it's many pages of amazing blue pictures.

Nate and I are trying to raise Chloe as a loving but independent child. We like her to give her family kisses and hugs and be affectionate, but not so much with strangers. And we like to encourage her to play independently as well as with us. Just not ALWAYS with us. It may be partially me being selfish but I don't spend my day revolving totally around her. We play and we do crafts but I also want her to play or look at her books alone while I do something that I like, or need, to do. She had to play by herself while I was cooking today, which she told me very clearly that she did not appreciate lol. But then later we spent an hour doing crafts. I try to keep the balance but it is hard sometimes and for sure it will be harder once baby no-name arrives!

I am very happy that the new kobo will be waterproof as I am always worried that I will drop it in the tub!! :)

Not worrying about dropping it in the tub would be fabulous. It's the huge advantage of books over the kindle - paper may get wet but it doesn't break. I hope it arrives quickly.

>259 lunacat: I've only ever dropped a book in the tub once and almost lost my phone a couple times. I rarely ever took my kobo in the tub as it's heavy and I was worried. The new kobo is much lighter and waterproof so I'll probably use it more in the tub now! And it holds 6000 ebooks! O.M.G.