since-last-post-books-read#055710
the magician of hoad, by margaret mahy, c. 2008 -- book loaned by my margaret
porch swings and picket fences, by various, c. 1999 -- wcl
the summerhouse, by allison prince, c. 2004 -- wcl teens
allsorts 4, by anne thwaite, c. 1971 -- edwin bc
now, in september, by meg hudson, c. 1984 -- orewa trademe bc7665203
a wrongful death, by kate wilhelm, c. 2007 -- lcl request - seen on a book website somewhere
Monday, November 23, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
next#031170
george's marvelous medicine, by roald dahl, c. 1981 - wcl, now ak is reading this one
book of clouds, by chloe aridis, c. 2009 - new book, ecl copy
on-my-biblio-pleasures#916086
ah the joys of choosing from returned today shelves at the library; ran into wml before going to petone beach with mrl. i want to check in here with my addiction in the effort to reduce the number of pages stacking up in the house.
george's marvelous medicine, by roald dahl, c. 1981 - wcl, now ak is reading this one
book of clouds, by chloe aridis, c. 2009 - new book, ecl copy
on-my-biblio-pleasures#916086
ah the joys of choosing from returned today shelves at the library; ran into wml before going to petone beach with mrl. i want to check in here with my addiction in the effort to reduce the number of pages stacking up in the house.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
quotes#985671 Chasing Charlie Duskin
Mr Robbie's the sort of guy who loves somewhere way down in his middle. "Not everyone loves close to the surface, Rose," Mum says when I complain about the way he treats Dave. I reckon he'd have to dig pretty deep to find where Mr Robbie keeps his love. p48
Mum used to read me stories of beautiful places. "You'll go there one day, Rosie," she said. Those places filled my dreams. But Mum's too tired for books now. p17
Mr Robbie's the sort of guy who loves somewhere way down in his middle. "Not everyone loves close to the surface, Rose," Mum says when I complain about the way he treats Dave. I reckon he'd have to dig pretty deep to find where Mr Robbie keeps his love. p48
Mum used to read me stories of beautiful places. "You'll go there one day, Rosie," she said. Those places filled my dreams. But Mum's too tired for books now. p17
quotes#058378 Princess Stories by Nicola Baxter, c. 2003
Rosie gasped and whirled round. There stood a little boy, grinning.
"But .... where did you come from?" asked the Princess. "Where do you live?"
"Oh, I live in your head," said the boy. "You just never noticed me before. I can come out and play whenever you like." p76
Then on the third day, the Princess took the old lady's arm and led her into the palace, where the King, after a particularly close encounter with a prickly bush, was having thorns removed from his royal bottom. p64
next-book#706248
chasing charlie duskin, by cath crowley, c. 2005 wcl teens
Rosie gasped and whirled round. There stood a little boy, grinning.
"But .... where did you come from?" asked the Princess. "Where do you live?"
"Oh, I live in your head," said the boy. "You just never noticed me before. I can come out and play whenever you like." p76
Then on the third day, the Princess took the old lady's arm and led her into the palace, where the King, after a particularly close encounter with a prickly bush, was having thorns removed from his royal bottom. p64
next-book#706248
chasing charlie duskin, by cath crowley, c. 2005 wcl teens
Monday, November 16, 2009
quotes#304014 Who is Sylvia
When I review the information I've got on Sylvia's childhood I can't help marvelling at how lucky I am that my informants come from a family that madea religion out of storytelling. The importance of their stories lies not so much in their objective truth (though many can be independently verified), as in the fact they provided emotional and spiritual sustenance to this beleaguered family. p102
I told Julia Faed that one elderly teacher I'd met had said that Keith Henderson was boring, but all the others had said he was a saint. She observed, "You can't be a saint and be interesting. If you're interesting someone's bound to dislike you, but if you're dull and innocuous people will say you're good." p78
When I review the information I've got on Sylvia's childhood I can't help marvelling at how lucky I am that my informants come from a family that madea religion out of storytelling. The importance of their stories lies not so much in their objective truth (though many can be independently verified), as in the fact they provided emotional and spiritual sustenance to this beleaguered family. p102
I told Julia Faed that one elderly teacher I'd met had said that Keith Henderson was boring, but all the others had said he was a saint. She observed, "You can't be a saint and be interesting. If you're interesting someone's bound to dislike you, but if you're dull and innocuous people will say you're good." p78
Sunday, November 15, 2009
quotes#593642 Stay with me
"Sometimes it's easier to believe other people instead of listening to what you hope for," he says. p301
Now that school is over, the lull between exams and the start of summer plans gives Ben and me a few days to spend time together as we used to. We play cards, listen to music, and look through Ben's collection of industrial design books. We've never read any of them closely, but the diagrams of vacuum cleaners and the inside of early computers are pretty cool.
Ben's father came across these books on a business trip to Jakarta, where they're printed for an architecture firm. Mr. Greene is a structural engineer and his company does a lot of consulting in Indonesia. During eighth greade, these books seemed like a passport to heaven. Ben and I had this idea that if we could understand those first drafts of good inventions, we'd train our minds to come up with our own brilliant designs. p177
just-randomly-chosen#770730
who is sylvia? the diary of a biography of Sylvia Ashton-Warner, by Lynley Hood, c. 1990 ECL res
"Sometimes it's easier to believe other people instead of listening to what you hope for," he says. p301
Now that school is over, the lull between exams and the start of summer plans gives Ben and me a few days to spend time together as we used to. We play cards, listen to music, and look through Ben's collection of industrial design books. We've never read any of them closely, but the diagrams of vacuum cleaners and the inside of early computers are pretty cool.
Ben's father came across these books on a business trip to Jakarta, where they're printed for an architecture firm. Mr. Greene is a structural engineer and his company does a lot of consulting in Indonesia. During eighth greade, these books seemed like a passport to heaven. Ben and I had this idea that if we could understand those first drafts of good inventions, we'd train our minds to come up with our own brilliant designs. p177
just-randomly-chosen#770730
who is sylvia? the diary of a biography of Sylvia Ashton-Warner, by Lynley Hood, c. 1990 ECL res
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
quotes#367034 After the fire, a small still voice
No one asked him to stay, but no one seemed to expect him to go either and it was comfortable. He slept deep black sleeps and nothing woke him but the morning. The days were spent hunting and talking and fixing things, even if it was just a hole in a bucket or a blocked pipe, there was some satisfaction in it that he hadn't known before. Out the front of the house was a jungle of metal and scrap. You could pick up a piece, sit in the dirt with a drink and make things - a chair out of old fence and chicken wire, a bin out of insulated pipe. Sometimes useless things, a family of logs, each one with a different expression, wearing funnels and rusted colanders for hats, nails for eyes, scraps of oil-stained cloth for clothes. Leon cut a person out of a tin can, yellow with sharp fingernails, a ring pull for an empty head. p275
[in outback of australia, a group of vietnam vets hanging together]
At the door she turned back. "I like omelettes with capsicum in it." p142
[not stunning, but sounds good]
No one asked him to stay, but no one seemed to expect him to go either and it was comfortable. He slept deep black sleeps and nothing woke him but the morning. The days were spent hunting and talking and fixing things, even if it was just a hole in a bucket or a blocked pipe, there was some satisfaction in it that he hadn't known before. Out the front of the house was a jungle of metal and scrap. You could pick up a piece, sit in the dirt with a drink and make things - a chair out of old fence and chicken wire, a bin out of insulated pipe. Sometimes useless things, a family of logs, each one with a different expression, wearing funnels and rusted colanders for hats, nails for eyes, scraps of oil-stained cloth for clothes. Leon cut a person out of a tin can, yellow with sharp fingernails, a ring pull for an empty head. p275
[in outback of australia, a group of vietnam vets hanging together]
At the door she turned back. "I like omelettes with capsicum in it." p142
[not stunning, but sounds good]
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Sunday, November 08, 2009
quotes#556800 It's all in the playing
With crippled determination he placed the following objects on the daybed beside us: an ear of corn, a wad of animal fat, some seeds, a crystal, a coin of silver and gold, a small book made of silver and gold paper, some seashells, a sponge, several marzipan candles, a piece of llama fetus (as I later learned), and a condor feather. He then sprinkled sugar over everything, on top of which he splashed some anisette liqueur. [skip]
Benito waved my words away as, one by one, he lifted each of his displayed objects and meditated on them separately.
Esther whispered to me: "He told me they each represent an element of life at Machu Pichu which must be respected and recognised." p280
... and I'm real sorry that you don't love yourself enough to follow through and do it. p184
by Shirley Maclaine bc 760 2418
With crippled determination he placed the following objects on the daybed beside us: an ear of corn, a wad of animal fat, some seeds, a crystal, a coin of silver and gold, a small book made of silver and gold paper, some seashells, a sponge, several marzipan candles, a piece of llama fetus (as I later learned), and a condor feather. He then sprinkled sugar over everything, on top of which he splashed some anisette liqueur. [skip]
Benito waved my words away as, one by one, he lifted each of his displayed objects and meditated on them separately.
Esther whispered to me: "He told me they each represent an element of life at Machu Pichu which must be respected and recognised." p280
... and I'm real sorry that you don't love yourself enough to follow through and do it. p184
by Shirley Maclaine bc 760 2418
Monday, November 02, 2009
quotes#186289 The Lost Symbol
[wcl hotpick]
Solomon let it [silence] sit for a long moment, then quietly said, "In closing, I should warn you that unveiling the truth is never easy. Throughout history, every period of enlightenment has been occupied by darkness, pushing in opposition. Such are the laws of nature and balance. And if we look at the darkness growing in the world today, we have to realize that this means there is an equal light growing. We are on the verge of a truly great period of illumination, and all of us - all of you - are profoundly blessed to be living through this pivotal moment of history. Of all the people who have ever lived, in all the eras in history ... we are in that narrow window of time during which we will bear witness to our ultimate resistance. After millenia of darkness, we will see our sciences, our minds, and even our religions unveil the truth." p403
"Not a death symbol, as most assume," Langdon said. "The scythe is actually a symbol of the transformative nourishment of nature - the reaping of nature's gifts." p156
book by Dan Brown
[wcl hotpick]
Solomon let it [silence] sit for a long moment, then quietly said, "In closing, I should warn you that unveiling the truth is never easy. Throughout history, every period of enlightenment has been occupied by darkness, pushing in opposition. Such are the laws of nature and balance. And if we look at the darkness growing in the world today, we have to realize that this means there is an equal light growing. We are on the verge of a truly great period of illumination, and all of us - all of you - are profoundly blessed to be living through this pivotal moment of history. Of all the people who have ever lived, in all the eras in history ... we are in that narrow window of time during which we will bear witness to our ultimate resistance. After millenia of darkness, we will see our sciences, our minds, and even our religions unveil the truth." p403
"Not a death symbol, as most assume," Langdon said. "The scythe is actually a symbol of the transformative nourishment of nature - the reaping of nature's gifts." p156
book by Dan Brown
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
quotes#046255 Daisy's War
It was a time of replenishing the spirit and rebuilding the parts that had been damaged, and she would walk alone through the different seasons, thinking sometimes, at others trying not to. In summer there were apples and plums on the trees and the smell of the fruit made your mouth water, followed by the rustier yellow of the autumn sun complementing the oranges and reds of the trees, the hedgerows full of elderberries, brambles and rose-hips. Almost imperceptibly winter arrived,, bringing crystal-clear air one moment and snow blizzards the next, so that you couldn't see more than a few inches in front of you and the freezing wind blew through you. p194
[not stunning, but still like the imagery]
It was a time of replenishing the spirit and rebuilding the parts that had been damaged, and she would walk alone through the different seasons, thinking sometimes, at others trying not to. In summer there were apples and plums on the trees and the smell of the fruit made your mouth water, followed by the rustier yellow of the autumn sun complementing the oranges and reds of the trees, the hedgerows full of elderberries, brambles and rose-hips. Almost imperceptibly winter arrived,, bringing crystal-clear air one moment and snow blizzards the next, so that you couldn't see more than a few inches in front of you and the freezing wind blew through you. p194
[not stunning, but still like the imagery]
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
quotes#373579 Chandler's Run
Moana's lovely face was without expression as she attended to Adam's needs, but there was pain in her heart, her dignity bruised. The wahine Pakeha had damaged her mana in the manner of her address to her. Wood was wood, wasn't it, whereever it was taken from. There was a longing in her now to be in her own home; to be with her hoa tane, but she knew she must stay until the wairua had left this ravaged body. The dark eyes filled with tears for her own mokemoketanga and then for the same loneliness that was to come for the pale woman. p188
[not spectacular but I enjoy seeing some Te Reo in my reading]
"I can't do all this, Daniel," she wailed. "I had no idea that a cow and hens would mean so much more work."
"Mama, there are three of us - Sarah is able to share in the daily tasks very well now. Between us we will manage until Papa comes home."
Lucy looked at her boy. Not yet thirteen, he was a pillar of strength and so sensible. She felt a little ashamed in the face of his sturdy optimism. "Of course, you are right, Daniel. It's simply a matter of arranging each day a little differently and getting used to these new tasks." p142
[reminder to me -- use of positive thinking]
by Denise Muir, c. 2008 -- bc7520787
Moana's lovely face was without expression as she attended to Adam's needs, but there was pain in her heart, her dignity bruised. The wahine Pakeha had damaged her mana in the manner of her address to her. Wood was wood, wasn't it, whereever it was taken from. There was a longing in her now to be in her own home; to be with her hoa tane, but she knew she must stay until the wairua had left this ravaged body. The dark eyes filled with tears for her own mokemoketanga and then for the same loneliness that was to come for the pale woman. p188
[not spectacular but I enjoy seeing some Te Reo in my reading]
"I can't do all this, Daniel," she wailed. "I had no idea that a cow and hens would mean so much more work."
"Mama, there are three of us - Sarah is able to share in the daily tasks very well now. Between us we will manage until Papa comes home."
Lucy looked at her boy. Not yet thirteen, he was a pillar of strength and so sensible. She felt a little ashamed in the face of his sturdy optimism. "Of course, you are right, Daniel. It's simply a matter of arranging each day a little differently and getting used to these new tasks." p142
[reminder to me -- use of positive thinking]
by Denise Muir, c. 2008 -- bc7520787
Monday, October 05, 2009
quotes#962137 Neat Vodka
"Look. Snow," he said, so we looked. The whole night sky was thick with fat, lazy flakes.
Even in the middle of this unsavoury story it was magical and everyone around the table
was six years old again, gazing out at the first real snow of winter. Something about Russia seems to put life in to perspective. Something here makes you stop looking in and makes you look out. Maybe it really is just the same. p158
[by Anna Blundy, c. 2006; lcl - quote not profound, but worth thinking about]
"Look. Snow," he said, so we looked. The whole night sky was thick with fat, lazy flakes.
Even in the middle of this unsavoury story it was magical and everyone around the table
was six years old again, gazing out at the first real snow of winter. Something about Russia seems to put life in to perspective. Something here makes you stop looking in and makes you look out. Maybe it really is just the same. p158
[by Anna Blundy, c. 2006; lcl - quote not profound, but worth thinking about]
Saturday, October 03, 2009
quotes#115666 The Message
Moving on is not about filling your life with new things. It is about resolving issues and finding new paths. And it is also about valuing and putting into proper perspective what you used to have in your life. p115
The most common question I'm asked is: 'What does the afterlife look like?'
I am always wary of ansering this question. This is partly because, even if I had been given a clear vision of what it is like, to do so would give people a fixed definition of something that is highly personal. This would, I believe, inhibit their ability to grow personally and spiritually. So my reply is always the same. I'm not capable of seeing eternity and nor is anybody. I can only tell you what I've seen. And what I've seen is an environment which reflects what people want their afterlife to look like. p101
[by Colin Fry, c. 2009 lcl]
Moving on is not about filling your life with new things. It is about resolving issues and finding new paths. And it is also about valuing and putting into proper perspective what you used to have in your life. p115
The most common question I'm asked is: 'What does the afterlife look like?'
I am always wary of ansering this question. This is partly because, even if I had been given a clear vision of what it is like, to do so would give people a fixed definition of something that is highly personal. This would, I believe, inhibit their ability to grow personally and spiritually. So my reply is always the same. I'm not capable of seeing eternity and nor is anybody. I can only tell you what I've seen. And what I've seen is an environment which reflects what people want their afterlife to look like. p101
[by Colin Fry, c. 2009 lcl]
Thursday, October 01, 2009
quotes#286585 The Children's Writer
Sometimes this happened when I was at St Finbar's, all those years ago. I remember Father Stevn, who was young and earnest, giving us boys sermons about 'Keeping the Faith, and 'The Temptations of the Devil'. St Finbar's was not a rich school, but it did have a stone chapel, which was vaulted and cool, and I would kick off my shoes and put my fett flat on the stone floor to feel the cool creep up through my socks. I would sit alone, off to one side, so chapel could be my dreaming time. p58
I was twenty-three and studying Literature at Uni. Lootie was even younger, just nineteen, and in her first year of Education. I wanted to be a writer, she a teacher. We rented a shabby terrace in Elm St, North Melbourne. We owned a bed, a table, two chairs, a sofa and hundreds of books... p2
[not particularly quotable but I like the concept portrayed in the last sentence]
Sometimes this happened when I was at St Finbar's, all those years ago. I remember Father Stevn, who was young and earnest, giving us boys sermons about 'Keeping the Faith, and 'The Temptations of the Devil'. St Finbar's was not a rich school, but it did have a stone chapel, which was vaulted and cool, and I would kick off my shoes and put my fett flat on the stone floor to feel the cool creep up through my socks. I would sit alone, off to one side, so chapel could be my dreaming time. p58
I was twenty-three and studying Literature at Uni. Lootie was even younger, just nineteen, and in her first year of Education. I wanted to be a writer, she a teacher. We rented a shabby terrace in Elm St, North Melbourne. We owned a bed, a table, two chairs, a sofa and hundreds of books... p2
[not particularly quotable but I like the concept portrayed in the last sentence]
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
quotes#555765 The Rose Grower
Married life was like the walnut inlaid drawers that lined one wall of the pharmacy; you slid them open one at a time, hooking your little finger into the hollow under the brass handle, and so learnt which ones were best left shut. p204
Autumn has always been his favourite season. His grandfather used to tell him that as he grew older he would long for springtime, for blossom and quickening green. But spring promises so much, how can it help not living up to expectations? Autumn is unexacting, dependable, its leaves like so many responsibilities discharged and now unloosed, drifting quietly earthwards. p168
by Michelle de Kretser, c. 1999
Married life was like the walnut inlaid drawers that lined one wall of the pharmacy; you slid them open one at a time, hooking your little finger into the hollow under the brass handle, and so learnt which ones were best left shut. p204
Autumn has always been his favourite season. His grandfather used to tell him that as he grew older he would long for springtime, for blossom and quickening green. But spring promises so much, how can it help not living up to expectations? Autumn is unexacting, dependable, its leaves like so many responsibilities discharged and now unloosed, drifting quietly earthwards. p168
by Michelle de Kretser, c. 1999
Thursday, September 24, 2009
quotes#346980 21 dog years (doing time at Amazon.com)
In some ways it was the curse of talent; there was a whole list of things in which I showed great promise. But there is a hell of a gap between "talented" and "successful," and to bridge it you need something called "will." My teachers begged me to dedicate myself - just a little - and said I would really blossom. I dug in my heels and refused. I feigned scorn and indignation but really I was just too scared to apply myself. I was afraid I would discover my limitations. Better not to know. Better to be free and easy and cultivate an air of smug accomplishment. Nurture my talent. Read another book. Play some more Nintendo.
But I miscalculated. p4
But "beat" in what context? B&N still has all its physical stores, and even if the website isn't growing at a staggering rate it's not as if B&N's physical store sales have been crippled by Amazon. People still like going to bookstores, which strangely is considered more romantic than spending an evening alone in your underwear staring at a website. p67
by Mike Daisey, c. 2002 -- lcl res
In some ways it was the curse of talent; there was a whole list of things in which I showed great promise. But there is a hell of a gap between "talented" and "successful," and to bridge it you need something called "will." My teachers begged me to dedicate myself - just a little - and said I would really blossom. I dug in my heels and refused. I feigned scorn and indignation but really I was just too scared to apply myself. I was afraid I would discover my limitations. Better not to know. Better to be free and easy and cultivate an air of smug accomplishment. Nurture my talent. Read another book. Play some more Nintendo.
But I miscalculated. p4
But "beat" in what context? B&N still has all its physical stores, and even if the website isn't growing at a staggering rate it's not as if B&N's physical store sales have been crippled by Amazon. People still like going to bookstores, which strangely is considered more romantic than spending an evening alone in your underwear staring at a website. p67
by Mike Daisey, c. 2002 -- lcl res
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
quotes#604908 Going the distance
If Diana was Milton St John's scarlet woman, then Maddy must be at least a carmine apprentice. p195
By the time she'd had a bath and washed her hair and, again, wrapped in the quilted dressing gown, had staggered back into the kitchen, Suzy and Drew were setting the table. She felt slightly embarrassed, but extremely relieved that he was still there. He smiled at her. "Feel better now?"
"Cleaner. Not better. You can't improve on perfection." p188
If Diana was Milton St John's scarlet woman, then Maddy must be at least a carmine apprentice. p195
By the time she'd had a bath and washed her hair and, again, wrapped in the quilted dressing gown, had staggered back into the kitchen, Suzy and Drew were setting the table. She felt slightly embarrassed, but extremely relieved that he was still there. He smiled at her. "Feel better now?"
"Cleaner. Not better. You can't improve on perfection." p188
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
quotes#732854 Going the Distance
She turned the key. Nothing. She tried again. The engine didn't even whimper. There was a strange buzzing noise. Pushing her ear against the dashboard, Maddy cursed. Suzy had left the radio on all night. The battery was as flat as squashed hedgeghog. p46
Apart from that, you're a brilliant jockey. It's a bit tough though - Ricahrd can't ride because he's got ginger hair and freckles and a lived-in-face. p80
She turned the key. Nothing. She tried again. The engine didn't even whimper. There was a strange buzzing noise. Pushing her ear against the dashboard, Maddy cursed. Suzy had left the radio on all night. The battery was as flat as squashed hedgeghog. p46
Apart from that, you're a brilliant jockey. It's a bit tough though - Ricahrd can't ride because he's got ginger hair and freckles and a lived-in-face. p80
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Monday, September 07, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
quotes#731823 Slumdog Millionaire
I had only fifty thousand rupees, but every rupee had a technicolour dream written on it and they stretched out on a cinemascope screen in my brain to become fifty million. I held my breath and wished for that moment to last as long as it possibly could, because a waking dream is always more fleeting than a sleeping one. p179
You have been counting rosary beads for an era,
But the wandering of your mind does not halt,
Forsake the beads in your hand,
And start moving the beads of your heart. p110
I had only fifty thousand rupees, but every rupee had a technicolour dream written on it and they stretched out on a cinemascope screen in my brain to become fifty million. I held my breath and wished for that moment to last as long as it possibly could, because a waking dream is always more fleeting than a sleeping one. p179
You have been counting rosary beads for an era,
But the wandering of your mind does not halt,
Forsake the beads in your hand,
And start moving the beads of your heart. p110
Friday, August 07, 2009
quotes-from-my-notebook#718527 Paying for It and other stories
Sometimes in families, the child is more grown up than the adults, like Ayesha in this story. Parents make mistakes, but that doesn't mean that they stop caring. Being part of a family can be a painful, messy business. Accepting this is often the key to survival. p43
When I was little my mum and dad were abroad a lot, and when they were away I sometimes used to stay in Scotland with people who were kind to me but left me on my own a lot. Outside my bedroom was a dark corridor with a bookshelf crammed with ghost stories and horror stories. I read right through them. Sometimes I was too scared to sleep. But I kwpt on reading more ... p67
squeezing-in#669393
Slumdog millionaire, by Vikas Swarup c. 2005 -wcl teen
Sometimes in families, the child is more grown up than the adults, like Ayesha in this story. Parents make mistakes, but that doesn't mean that they stop caring. Being part of a family can be a painful, messy business. Accepting this is often the key to survival. p43
When I was little my mum and dad were abroad a lot, and when they were away I sometimes used to stay in Scotland with people who were kind to me but left me on my own a lot. Outside my bedroom was a dark corridor with a bookshelf crammed with ghost stories and horror stories. I read right through them. Sometimes I was too scared to sleep. But I kwpt on reading more ... p67
squeezing-in#669393
Slumdog millionaire, by Vikas Swarup c. 2005 -wcl teen
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
quotes#799385 from my notebook The Broken Window
"The butterfly effect," she said. "A small thing in the past makes a big difference in the future." p277
Amelia Sachs didn't believe in a sixth sense. Not in the way people think of the supernatural. To her, the whole world was so amazing and our senses and thought processes so complex and powerful that we didn't need superhuman skills to make the most perceptive of deductions. p246
"The butterfly effect," she said. "A small thing in the past makes a big difference in the future." p277
Amelia Sachs didn't believe in a sixth sense. Not in the way people think of the supernatural. To her, the whole world was so amazing and our senses and thought processes so complex and powerful that we didn't need superhuman skills to make the most perceptive of deductions. p246
Saturday, July 25, 2009
quotes#728761 Where are you now?
I could feel the beginning of a headache, and even though I wasn't hungry, I went down to the kitchen, made a pot of coffee, and toasted an English muffin. I carried it to the breakfast alcove and sat at the table, gazing at the spectacular view of the East River. Thanks to the strong breeze, the current was visibly swift, and I found myself identifying with it. I was being carried by a current I could not fight, and I had to let it take me along until it either overwhelmed or released me. p151
[not profound - but I still like it]
The apartment was always immaculate, but today the sun was especially bright and, like a magnifying glass, exposed the worn areas of on the edge of the couch and the chip on the corner of the glass coffee table. p31
I could feel the beginning of a headache, and even though I wasn't hungry, I went down to the kitchen, made a pot of coffee, and toasted an English muffin. I carried it to the breakfast alcove and sat at the table, gazing at the spectacular view of the East River. Thanks to the strong breeze, the current was visibly swift, and I found myself identifying with it. I was being carried by a current I could not fight, and I had to let it take me along until it either overwhelmed or released me. p151
[not profound - but I still like it]
The apartment was always immaculate, but today the sun was especially bright and, like a magnifying glass, exposed the worn areas of on the edge of the couch and the chip on the corner of the glass coffee table. p31
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
next#456456
Jamaica Street, by Sally Worboyes, c. 2004 wcl paperback
How I changed my body and my life, by Suzanne Prentice, c. 2002 bc7337326
Where are you know?, by Mary Higgins Clark, c. 2008 wcl
The broken window, by Jeffery Deaver, c. 2008 bc
Poppy [Pirate Princess], by Judy Brown, c. 2008 w kidsbk, purp
Paying for it and other stories, by Viv French, c. 2002, w kidsbk red
Prom, by Laurie Anderson, c.2005, bc7337433
Dangerous spaces, by Margaret Mahy, c.1991, w kidsbk red
A fortune branches out, by Margaret Mahy, c. 1993, w kidsbk red
Imagine, by Ruth Brown, c. 2006, w kidsbk, green
Jamaica Street, by Sally Worboyes, c. 2004 wcl paperback
How I changed my body and my life, by Suzanne Prentice, c. 2002 bc7337326
Where are you know?, by Mary Higgins Clark, c. 2008 wcl
The broken window, by Jeffery Deaver, c. 2008 bc
Poppy [Pirate Princess], by Judy Brown, c. 2008 w kidsbk, purp
Paying for it and other stories, by Viv French, c. 2002, w kidsbk red
Prom, by Laurie Anderson, c.2005, bc7337433
Dangerous spaces, by Margaret Mahy, c.1991, w kidsbk red
A fortune branches out, by Margaret Mahy, c. 1993, w kidsbk red
Imagine, by Ruth Brown, c. 2006, w kidsbk, green
Sunday, July 05, 2009
quotes#839312 One day at a time
"Next time you'll be wiser and more careful," Coco said quietly. "Don't beat yourself up. You learned something from it. We always do." p84
[not profound but useful to remember]
Her mother sighed as she listened. It was as though they were whispering across the Grand Canyon - neither of them could hear the other, nor wanted to. p30
[by Danielle Steel]
"Next time you'll be wiser and more careful," Coco said quietly. "Don't beat yourself up. You learned something from it. We always do." p84
[not profound but useful to remember]
Her mother sighed as she listened. It was as though they were whispering across the Grand Canyon - neither of them could hear the other, nor wanted to. p30
[by Danielle Steel]
Saturday, June 20, 2009
kids-picturebooks#013013
cindy and the lost jandal, by chris gurney
the princesses have a ball, by teresa bateman
ella's big chance, by shirley hughes
next-on-list#066221
the elegance of the hedgehog, by muriel barbery, c. 2006 lcl request
the heiress bride, by laurey bright, c.2002 bc 7288012
homeplace, by dorothy garlock, c. 1991 bc 7288015
little fred riding hood, by michael cox, c. 1995, wcl purple kids
reunions, by eileen berger et al, c. 2000, lcl
the prince's virgin wife, by lucy monroe, c. 2006 bc 7288016
where yesterday lives, by karen kingsbury, c. 1998 wcl
gobbolino, the witch's cat, by ursula moray williams, c. 1942 wcl red kids
cindy and the lost jandal, by chris gurney
the princesses have a ball, by teresa bateman
ella's big chance, by shirley hughes
next-on-list#066221
the elegance of the hedgehog, by muriel barbery, c. 2006 lcl request
the heiress bride, by laurey bright, c.2002 bc 7288012
homeplace, by dorothy garlock, c. 1991 bc 7288015
little fred riding hood, by michael cox, c. 1995, wcl purple kids
reunions, by eileen berger et al, c. 2000, lcl
the prince's virgin wife, by lucy monroe, c. 2006 bc 7288016
where yesterday lives, by karen kingsbury, c. 1998 wcl
gobbolino, the witch's cat, by ursula moray williams, c. 1942 wcl red kids
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
quotes#561842 Not for bread alone
My mother did not, does not cook. Like learning to type , it was something for servants. She scrambled to success with education as grappling tool and was moving always upward, bringing sometimes a memory of a tasted recipe for Rachel, a recipe reflecting the ever-increasing image of a better life, first, moules mariniere, then fillet of sole bonne femme. She liked chocolate ice cream and tried French with a clumsy accent. I learned that food was part of travel and distant places. p48
My mother did not, does not cook. Like learning to type , it was something for servants. She scrambled to success with education as grappling tool and was moving always upward, bringing sometimes a memory of a tasted recipe for Rachel, a recipe reflecting the ever-increasing image of a better life, first, moules mariniere, then fillet of sole bonne femme. She liked chocolate ice cream and tried French with a clumsy accent. I learned that food was part of travel and distant places. p48
Saturday, May 23, 2009
next#140227
jumper, by steven gould, c 1992 -- wcl pbk
the good husband of zebra drive, by alexander mccall smith, c. 2007 -- lcl
horse apples, by ged maybury, c. 1998 -- bc 7168507
no good deed, by manda scott, c. 2001 -- bc 6406131
the tibetan art of serenity, by christopher hansard, c. 2006 -- lcl
wedding vow of revenge, by lucy monroe, c. 2005 -- bc 7223461
the visitors book, by caroline upcher, c.1997 -- bc 7223463
jumper, by steven gould, c 1992 -- wcl pbk
the good husband of zebra drive, by alexander mccall smith, c. 2007 -- lcl
horse apples, by ged maybury, c. 1998 -- bc 7168507
no good deed, by manda scott, c. 2001 -- bc 6406131
the tibetan art of serenity, by christopher hansard, c. 2006 -- lcl
wedding vow of revenge, by lucy monroe, c. 2005 -- bc 7223461
the visitors book, by caroline upcher, c.1997 -- bc 7223463
Friday, May 22, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
quotes#702166 Book Lover
I reach behind me and grab one of the six books I had thrown into the car. One thing I'm glad about: I'm never bored and I never mid waiting - anywhere. Unless, of course, I've forgotten my book, in which case I just run off and buy another one. I read at the DMV, in movie lines, in bank teller lines, or when the shuttle from L.A. to San Francisco is four hours late. Layovers in unfamiliar airports are a treat, as are jury notices that arrive at my home and give me license to sit around and read all day, knowing that I'm doing my civic duty. On my last jury dury, I was rejected from two trials, one because I told the judge in voir dire that I thought the defendant, a skinhead with tattoos, looked guilty, and the other because the attorneys got a load of the hostile jury pool and settled the case. That day, I actually got to finish Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections. p26
I reach behind me and grab one of the six books I had thrown into the car. One thing I'm glad about: I'm never bored and I never mid waiting - anywhere. Unless, of course, I've forgotten my book, in which case I just run off and buy another one. I read at the DMV, in movie lines, in bank teller lines, or when the shuttle from L.A. to San Francisco is four hours late. Layovers in unfamiliar airports are a treat, as are jury notices that arrive at my home and give me license to sit around and read all day, knowing that I'm doing my civic duty. On my last jury dury, I was rejected from two trials, one because I told the judge in voir dire that I thought the defendant, a skinhead with tattoos, looked guilty, and the other because the attorneys got a load of the hostile jury pool and settled the case. That day, I actually got to finish Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections. p26
Saturday, May 09, 2009
Friday, May 08, 2009
quotes#152502 Goodnight nobody
Kate Klein, this is your life, I thought, and tried to sort out the latest skirmish in the Crayola Wars.
I built a fire in the living room fireplace and played three games of Chutes and Ladders and four of Candy Land. I heated up canned chicken soup for lunch, knowing that every other mother in Upchurch, including my pie-baking pal Carol Gwinell, was probably feeding her kids homemade. p294
Oh no, I thought, as my breath caught my throat. Philip Cavanaugh was making his way unsteadily through the crowd with his daughters. One was on his left side and one was on his right and they were guiding him, like tiny navy blue tugboats guiding a freighter into port. p189
Kate Klein, this is your life, I thought, and tried to sort out the latest skirmish in the Crayola Wars.
I built a fire in the living room fireplace and played three games of Chutes and Ladders and four of Candy Land. I heated up canned chicken soup for lunch, knowing that every other mother in Upchurch, including my pie-baking pal Carol Gwinell, was probably feeding her kids homemade. p294
Oh no, I thought, as my breath caught my throat. Philip Cavanaugh was making his way unsteadily through the crowd with his daughters. One was on his left side and one was on his right and they were guiding him, like tiny navy blue tugboats guiding a freighter into port. p189
Sunday, May 03, 2009
quotes#607970 The Paper Bag Christmas
The only gift is a portion of thyself -- Ralph Waldo Emerson p117
Tim liked baseball, too, but hadn't been able to play much recently because he had been in and out of hospital so often. Since we didn't have a baseball to toss around, I found a pair of socks in Tim's dresser drawer and rolled them up tightly in a ball. For the rest of the evening we just sat playing catch across the room with socks.
It was a wonderful visit. p102
The only gift is a portion of thyself -- Ralph Waldo Emerson p117
Tim liked baseball, too, but hadn't been able to play much recently because he had been in and out of hospital so often. Since we didn't have a baseball to toss around, I found a pair of socks in Tim's dresser drawer and rolled them up tightly in a ball. For the rest of the evening we just sat playing catch across the room with socks.
It was a wonderful visit. p102
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
quotes#693957 The heaven shop
Sometimes Binti would catch Kwasi drawing in the dirt with a stick. She knew his fingers were hungry for the feel of a pencil against paper.
She had an idea. She fetched her radio script. "Draw on the back of this," she said.
"Are you sure?"
"It's paper. I don't have a pencil, though."
"Don't worry. I'll find something." Kwasi's whole body started to glow with excitement. He got a charred bit of wood from the fire pit. Right away, he started to draw - birds, first, of course, but as the little ones gathered around to watch him, he switched to drawing their faces.
That's one problem solved, Bindi thought. p157
[context: Aids-torn Malawi]
squeezing-in#032384
randomly chosen the following:
the paper bag christmas, by kevin alan milne, c. 2006 -- res tcl
book lover, by jennifer kaufman & karen mack, c. 2006 -- res pcl
christmas calamity and other stories, by emma thomson, c. 2005 -- wcl jpk
hoppy birthday jo-jo, by pippa goodhardt, c. 2004 - jbk
bill bird's new boots, by vivian french, c. 2004 - jpk
the twin, by gerbrand bakker, c. 2006 -- lcl
joe lions big boots, by kara may, c. 2006 wcl
the blue stone, by jimmy liao, c. 2008 -- wcl -- kids
Sometimes Binti would catch Kwasi drawing in the dirt with a stick. She knew his fingers were hungry for the feel of a pencil against paper.
She had an idea. She fetched her radio script. "Draw on the back of this," she said.
"Are you sure?"
"It's paper. I don't have a pencil, though."
"Don't worry. I'll find something." Kwasi's whole body started to glow with excitement. He got a charred bit of wood from the fire pit. Right away, he started to draw - birds, first, of course, but as the little ones gathered around to watch him, he switched to drawing their faces.
That's one problem solved, Bindi thought. p157
[context: Aids-torn Malawi]
squeezing-in#032384
randomly chosen the following:
the paper bag christmas, by kevin alan milne, c. 2006 -- res tcl
book lover, by jennifer kaufman & karen mack, c. 2006 -- res pcl
christmas calamity and other stories, by emma thomson, c. 2005 -- wcl jpk
hoppy birthday jo-jo, by pippa goodhardt, c. 2004 - jbk
bill bird's new boots, by vivian french, c. 2004 - jpk
the twin, by gerbrand bakker, c. 2006 -- lcl
joe lions big boots, by kara may, c. 2006 wcl
the blue stone, by jimmy liao, c. 2008 -- wcl -- kids
Friday, April 24, 2009
quotes#527126 I wish someone were waiting for me somewhere
"I'm tough at work, but that's just because I'm playing a role, you see? I have to be tough, I have to make them think I'm a tyrant. Can you imagine if they discovered my secret? If they figured out that I'm shy? That I have to work three times harder than the others for the same result? That I have a bad memory? That I'm slow to understand. If they knew that, they'd eat me alive!
"Plus, I don't know how to make myself liked ... I have no charisma, as they say. If I give someone a rise, I do it in a curt voice; when someone thanks me, I don't answer. When I want to do something nice for someone, I stop myself, and if I have good news to announce, I let my secretary Francoise do it. When it comes to management, or human resources as they say, I'm a disaster, a complete disaster. p260
Now, if I had to give one piece of advice to a young person who wanted to go rural (although after everything that's happened, I'd be surprised if anyone asked), here's what I'd say: Muscles. Lots of muscles - it's the most important thing. A cow weighs between five and eight hundred kilos, a horse between seven hundred kilos and a ton. That's all there is to it. p92
[vet advice]
adding-in#905818
piano rock, by gavin bishop, c, 2008 - nz post finalist, copy from lcl
"I'm tough at work, but that's just because I'm playing a role, you see? I have to be tough, I have to make them think I'm a tyrant. Can you imagine if they discovered my secret? If they figured out that I'm shy? That I have to work three times harder than the others for the same result? That I have a bad memory? That I'm slow to understand. If they knew that, they'd eat me alive!
"Plus, I don't know how to make myself liked ... I have no charisma, as they say. If I give someone a rise, I do it in a curt voice; when someone thanks me, I don't answer. When I want to do something nice for someone, I stop myself, and if I have good news to announce, I let my secretary Francoise do it. When it comes to management, or human resources as they say, I'm a disaster, a complete disaster. p260
Now, if I had to give one piece of advice to a young person who wanted to go rural (although after everything that's happened, I'd be surprised if anyone asked), here's what I'd say: Muscles. Lots of muscles - it's the most important thing. A cow weighs between five and eight hundred kilos, a horse between seven hundred kilos and a ton. That's all there is to it. p92
[vet advice]
adding-in#905818
piano rock, by gavin bishop, c, 2008 - nz post finalist, copy from lcl
Saturday, April 18, 2009
next#878170
i wish someone were waiting for me somewhere, by anna gavalda, c. 1999 -- lcl
every last cuckoo, by kate maloy, c.2008 -- reserve mcl
the heaven shop, by deborah ellis, c. 2004 -- reserve scl -- ya
portofino, by frank schaeffer, c. 1996 - bc
goodnight nobody, by jennifer weiner, c. 2005 -- bc
konnichi wa kiwi, by warren payne, c.2007 -- bc
i wish someone were waiting for me somewhere, by anna gavalda, c. 1999 -- lcl
every last cuckoo, by kate maloy, c.2008 -- reserve mcl
the heaven shop, by deborah ellis, c. 2004 -- reserve scl -- ya
portofino, by frank schaeffer, c. 1996 - bc
goodnight nobody, by jennifer weiner, c. 2005 -- bc
konnichi wa kiwi, by warren payne, c.2007 -- bc
Friday, April 10, 2009
quotes#832146 The Necklace
In the past, Priscilla had always thought that the smarter and more successful you were, the more you didn't need other people, the more you could do it all yourself. Priscilla had never asked anyone for anything. Now she was starting to think differently. Maybe the smarter you were, the sooner you recognized you were in trouble and asked for help. p163
In the past, Priscilla had always thought that the smarter and more successful you were, the more you didn't need other people, the more you could do it all yourself. Priscilla had never asked anyone for anything. Now she was starting to think differently. Maybe the smarter you were, the sooner you recognized you were in trouble and asked for help. p163
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
quotes#575694 At peace in the light
Dying people don't have much time or energy to talk. Yet more than anyone else, they have a deep need to wrap up issues in their lives. By using my psychic issues to get issues and feelings out in the open, I could help the dying and their loved ones face things that had bothered them for years, and thus heal psychological wounds before their deaths.
As I sat there with my friend Peyser, I knew that his life was ending. At the same time, I knew that mine was beginning. Peyser had given me an insight that might never have arrived without him. My gift of intuition and my experience of dying was to be passed on to the dying. p91
Maybe I needed that constant motivation to keep me true to their goals. p11
Dying people don't have much time or energy to talk. Yet more than anyone else, they have a deep need to wrap up issues in their lives. By using my psychic issues to get issues and feelings out in the open, I could help the dying and their loved ones face things that had bothered them for years, and thus heal psychological wounds before their deaths.
As I sat there with my friend Peyser, I knew that his life was ending. At the same time, I knew that mine was beginning. Peyser had given me an insight that might never have arrived without him. My gift of intuition and my experience of dying was to be passed on to the dying. p91
Maybe I needed that constant motivation to keep me true to their goals. p11
Friday, March 20, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
next-on-list#351470
All together now, by Monica McInerney, c. 2008 - newbie
The faraway fairies (the magical roses), by Eleanor Coombe, c. 2008 - kids book
The good life, by Jay McInerney, c. 2008 - recommended by patron
Border crossing, by Rosie Thomas, c. 1998
The maze of bones, by Rick Riordan, c. 2008 - 39 clues
The book of fame, by Lloyd Jones, c. 2008 -- donated to library
All together now, by Monica McInerney, c. 2008 - newbie
The faraway fairies (the magical roses), by Eleanor Coombe, c. 2008 - kids book
The good life, by Jay McInerney, c. 2008 - recommended by patron
Border crossing, by Rosie Thomas, c. 1998
The maze of bones, by Rick Riordan, c. 2008 - 39 clues
The book of fame, by Lloyd Jones, c. 2008 -- donated to library
Sunday, March 01, 2009
quotes#310056 The other side of the bridge
Last thing at night he went out to the barns for a final look around before bed, as he and his father had always done, just to check that everything was OK. They used to stand for a minute or two in the farmyard afterwards, studying the sky, and Arthur did it still, couldn't break the habit, though of all the moments of the day it caused the greatest pain [of dad passing]. He stood alone in the silence of the night, remembering. In his mind's eye he saw the two of them - always saw them the same, standing together, faces turned upwards. Clouds pale against the blue-black of the night. Stars cold and bright. The moon hanging there, pale and brilliant, clouds drifting across it like smoke. The sky and the silent land beneath it stretching on, and on, and on, so that he and his father were shrunk to almost nothing by the vastness of it. Two tiny insignificant specks, side by side, faces upturned, staring at the sky. p179
Last thing at night he went out to the barns for a final look around before bed, as he and his father had always done, just to check that everything was OK. They used to stand for a minute or two in the farmyard afterwards, studying the sky, and Arthur did it still, couldn't break the habit, though of all the moments of the day it caused the greatest pain [of dad passing]. He stood alone in the silence of the night, remembering. In his mind's eye he saw the two of them - always saw them the same, standing together, faces turned upwards. Clouds pale against the blue-black of the night. Stars cold and bright. The moon hanging there, pale and brilliant, clouds drifting across it like smoke. The sky and the silent land beneath it stretching on, and on, and on, so that he and his father were shrunk to almost nothing by the vastness of it. Two tiny insignificant specks, side by side, faces upturned, staring at the sky. p179
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
quotes#854973
Work, school, home life, petty local politics, I did what I always did in times of stress: I took a deep breath dug inside, and forced myself to stand up taller than ever before. I had been picking myself up by my bootstraps all my life. There wasn't anything about this situation, I told myself, that I couldn't handle. It was only late at night in the library, alone with my thoughts and staring at that blank computer screen, that I began to feel the pressure. It was only then, in my first quiet moment of the day, that I felt my foundation begin to shake. p104
Our downtown is the legacy of the fire of 1931, but it is also the legacy of the farm crisis of the 1980s. When times are tough, you either pull together or fall apart. That's true of families, towns, even people. In the late 1980s, Spencer once again pulled together. And once again, the transformation occurred from the inside out when the merchants on Grand Avenue, many in stores run by their grandparents in 1931, decided they could make the city better. They hired a business manager for the entire downtown retail corridor; they made infrastructure improvements; they spent heavly on advertising even when there seemed to be no money left in the community to spend. p63
[from book "Dewey, the small-town library cat who changed the world," by Vicki Myron, c.2008]
Work, school, home life, petty local politics, I did what I always did in times of stress: I took a deep breath dug inside, and forced myself to stand up taller than ever before. I had been picking myself up by my bootstraps all my life. There wasn't anything about this situation, I told myself, that I couldn't handle. It was only late at night in the library, alone with my thoughts and staring at that blank computer screen, that I began to feel the pressure. It was only then, in my first quiet moment of the day, that I felt my foundation begin to shake. p104
Our downtown is the legacy of the fire of 1931, but it is also the legacy of the farm crisis of the 1980s. When times are tough, you either pull together or fall apart. That's true of families, towns, even people. In the late 1980s, Spencer once again pulled together. And once again, the transformation occurred from the inside out when the merchants on Grand Avenue, many in stores run by their grandparents in 1931, decided they could make the city better. They hired a business manager for the entire downtown retail corridor; they made infrastructure improvements; they spent heavly on advertising even when there seemed to be no money left in the community to spend. p63
[from book "Dewey, the small-town library cat who changed the world," by Vicki Myron, c.2008]
Sunday, January 25, 2009
quotes#597835 Fishing for stars
Anna once explained to me that winning wasn't always about reaching the top of the mountain; sometimes whoever clung longest to the cliff-face without falling was the ultimate winner. "Business seldom has a formal start and definite finish but is more like a constant cliff climb," she'd said. "After you've won, you keep climbing."
"Righto, we'll wait. But as far as I'm concerned, stuff 'em. Plenty more ships in the sea." p145
He was always careful to bend this young and pliant twig slowly, taking great care never to snap it or inhabit the flow of young sap. p46
[a teacher and a student]
note: Fishing for stars, by bryce courtenay, c.2008
Anna once explained to me that winning wasn't always about reaching the top of the mountain; sometimes whoever clung longest to the cliff-face without falling was the ultimate winner. "Business seldom has a formal start and definite finish but is more like a constant cliff climb," she'd said. "After you've won, you keep climbing."
"Righto, we'll wait. But as far as I'm concerned, stuff 'em. Plenty more ships in the sea." p145
He was always careful to bend this young and pliant twig slowly, taking great care never to snap it or inhabit the flow of young sap. p46
[a teacher and a student]
note: Fishing for stars, by bryce courtenay, c.2008
Friday, January 23, 2009
quotes#967713 Pride and Prejudice
Their parties abroad were less varied than before; and at home she had a mother and sister whose constant repiningsof the dulness of every thing around them, threw a real gloom over their domestic circle; and though Kitty might in time regain her natural degree of sense, since the disturbers of her brain were removed, her other sister, from whose disposition greater evil might be apprehended, was likely to be hardened in all her folly and assurance, by a situation of such double danger as a watering place and a camp. Upon the whole, therefore, she found, what has been sometimes found before, that an event to which she had looked forward with impatient desire, did not in taking place, bring all the satisfaction she had promised herself. It was consequently necessary to name some other period for the commencement of actual felicity; to have some other point on which her wishes and hopes might be fixed, and by again enjoying the plesaure of anticipation, console herself for the present, and prepare for another disapointment. Her tour of the Lakes was now the object of her happiest thoughts; it was her best consolation for all the uncomfortable hours, which the discontentedness of her Mother and Kitty made inevitable; and could she have included Jane in the scheme, every part of it would have been perfect. p219
To this, Mary vary gravely replied. "Far be it from me, my dear sister, to depreciate such pleasures. They would doubtless be congenial with the generality of female minds. But I confess they would have no charms for me. I should infinitely prefer a book." p206
Their parties abroad were less varied than before; and at home she had a mother and sister whose constant repiningsof the dulness of every thing around them, threw a real gloom over their domestic circle; and though Kitty might in time regain her natural degree of sense, since the disturbers of her brain were removed, her other sister, from whose disposition greater evil might be apprehended, was likely to be hardened in all her folly and assurance, by a situation of such double danger as a watering place and a camp. Upon the whole, therefore, she found, what has been sometimes found before, that an event to which she had looked forward with impatient desire, did not in taking place, bring all the satisfaction she had promised herself. It was consequently necessary to name some other period for the commencement of actual felicity; to have some other point on which her wishes and hopes might be fixed, and by again enjoying the plesaure of anticipation, console herself for the present, and prepare for another disapointment. Her tour of the Lakes was now the object of her happiest thoughts; it was her best consolation for all the uncomfortable hours, which the discontentedness of her Mother and Kitty made inevitable; and could she have included Jane in the scheme, every part of it would have been perfect. p219
To this, Mary vary gravely replied. "Far be it from me, my dear sister, to depreciate such pleasures. They would doubtless be congenial with the generality of female minds. But I confess they would have no charms for me. I should infinitely prefer a book." p206
Friday, January 16, 2009
quotes#776268 In the winter dark
You get that big church feeling up there in the forest. We were running out of fuel early this winter, so I took the chainsaw with me to feel like I was working and not just farting about. I dawdled the ute along the muddy tracks in the broken light looking for windfalls. It didn't take long to spot a toppled tree. I stopped and got out. The wind sounded like a choir way above. I grabbed the axe from the rear tray, picked my way through the undergrowth with its crush of bracken and creepers and ferns and bright orange fungi and beds of soft wet pungent bark, and when I came to the tree, I scrambled up its great flank and stood panting a moment.
The axe rung out sweet and clear, and I made a bigger notch than I needed to, just to feel the weight of the axe and hear that thock! a few times more. The timber was good and dead, the colour of honey.
I went back for the chainsaw. The air was full of the smells of eucalyptus and gravel mud and dew. p28
[not literary but I like descriptions of nature]
It was dark outside, and cold, and if it hadn't been for the dog and the chops and the stove and our crotcheting, you might have heard the water-snore of the valley, that strange sound of the river moving and the damp air settling on it in the hollows. p17
You get that big church feeling up there in the forest. We were running out of fuel early this winter, so I took the chainsaw with me to feel like I was working and not just farting about. I dawdled the ute along the muddy tracks in the broken light looking for windfalls. It didn't take long to spot a toppled tree. I stopped and got out. The wind sounded like a choir way above. I grabbed the axe from the rear tray, picked my way through the undergrowth with its crush of bracken and creepers and ferns and bright orange fungi and beds of soft wet pungent bark, and when I came to the tree, I scrambled up its great flank and stood panting a moment.
The axe rung out sweet and clear, and I made a bigger notch than I needed to, just to feel the weight of the axe and hear that thock! a few times more. The timber was good and dead, the colour of honey.
I went back for the chainsaw. The air was full of the smells of eucalyptus and gravel mud and dew. p28
[not literary but I like descriptions of nature]
It was dark outside, and cold, and if it hadn't been for the dog and the chops and the stove and our crotcheting, you might have heard the water-snore of the valley, that strange sound of the river moving and the damp air settling on it in the hollows. p17
Monday, January 12, 2009
Friday, January 09, 2009
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