Back to the Future

BOOK CHALLENGE 13/1000 (19)
Another grim picture of the future to come, The Road by Cormac McCarthy is a slow, sombre father and son story. I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would. Having read a synopsis, I was tempted to put this one off to later but then decided to give it a go anyway. I'm glad I did. The further the father and son travel down the road, the more you feel for them. I did find the ending a little odd and stunted. Almost like the author didn't know what to do with the characters once they got to their destination. I'm glad it didn't have a totally happily ever after, that would have seemed out of place.

BOOK CHALLENGE 14/1000 (20)

I've been on a whole Sci-Fi trip lately, reading one after the after. I thought I'd stick with this genre until I get a tired of it and then switch to another. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells ticks another off the long list. I think everyone is familiar with this story. Man invents time machine, travels into the future and doesn't like what he finds there. It's one of those books that tries to warn of the rocky path we're walking. A classic though.

BOOK CHALLENGE 15/1000 (21)
I thought I'd continue on with this author so The Island of Dr Moreau by H.G. Wells became book number 15. The one story by HG Wells on the list that I wasn't at all familiar with. I really had to force myself to get to the end of this one. My disbelief was not suspended in the slightest! I don't know whether it was just because I am so tired this week but I couldn't get into this book at all.

War of the Worlds is all loaded up and ready to go. I'm a big fan of Jeff Wayne's musical version so I hope this one lives up to expectations. This will be the last H.G. Wells book from the list. I'm still going to stick with the Sci Fi for a while although if I don't find something a bit uplifting soon I'll have to switch to another genre for a while. There's only so much doom and gloom you can put up with.

Dawn Brancheau - Living the Dream

I've mentioned before that Florida is my most favourite place in the world. SeaWorld is my favourite park there. I am not an advocate of animals being kept in captivity but I am aware of all the conservation work that goes on behind the scenes and that eases my conscience a little. One of the things I find special about SeaWorld is the obvious love and respect the handlers have for their charges. Watching a show in an audience of thousands you feel like you are catching a glimpse of this special relationship they share.

Dawn Brancheau was the trainer at Seaworld, Florida who was killed this week by one of the Orcas. I didn't know Dawn personally. I probably saw her dozens of times but she was a stranger to me and the countless other people who envied her. Why was she envied? Not because we all would love to work with killer whales but because she was living her dream. Anyone who has ever visited Seaworld will know that these few fortunate people who interact with the animals there consider themselves blessed. They all think they have the best job in the world and, for them, they do. They live their dream everyday. They get paid to do the thing they love. I've read that Dawn knew she wanted to be a trainer at SeaWorld from quite an early age. She worked hard and achieved her life's ambition. How many of us can say the same thing? Like a majority of people, I still don't know what I want to be and perhaps it is now too late.

Dawn's death is tragic and my heart goes out to her family and friends. I hope the fact she got to live her dream is a small comfort to them. Most of us don't even come close.

The Year Things Broke

I read a book once in which they recorded a name for the year based on what the great event of the year was. I'm already thinking that for us 2010 will forever be known as The Year Things Broke.

So far, my car exhaust has fallen off, the tumble dryer has stopped working, C has been told he needs a Cornea Transplant and now the television keeps putting itself on standby. It's starting to feel like the world around us is shutting down.

If we were the paranoid types we might be worrying why we are being made to suffer but we know that most of our stuff is old and long overdue for replacement. I quite glad it all seems to be happening together. I'd rather get it all out the way quickly like ripping off a plaster. I have been looking around wondering what's going to be next, though. What's best, replacing things early so you're not inconvenienced by being without them or waiting until you have squeezed every last second of use out of it?

Needless to say, the Bank balance is also broke at the moment.

A Look Into the Future

BOOK CHALLENGE 11/1000 (17)

The new book reader is already being put to good use. It is officially my favourite gadget I have ever bought. It's even better than my bread maker, which actually I didn't buy but you get the point. I've already loaded up loads of books from the discs I bought from Ebay and Clint is starting to feel neglected. Brave New World by Alduos Huxley, a sci-fi classic, ticked another book off the list. Set in a utopian future where everything is mind-numbingly pleasant, I actually found this book quite disturbing. The thought that we might all end up drug addicted, manufactured, workhorses is a little scary. I know it's only fiction but I have an active imagination.



BOOK CHALLENGE 12/1000 (18)

My enthusiasm for my new toy has heightened my enjoyment for this challenge so after clearing Brave New World in a couple of evenings I was quickly onto the next. Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys, another sci-fi novel, became book number 12. This story is based around the new science of teleportation and the perils therein. There was not a lot suspence in this book and I didn't get to feel particularly sympathetic to any of the characters, so I didn't enjoy this one as much. The science was interesting though.

A little break is in order, I think. The housework has been neglected a bit and the kids are due over this weekend so I need to get stuck in. Although I would like nothing more than to be able to sit and read all day every day, I wasn't lucky enough to have the winning lottery ticket this week.

Cops and Lions

BOOK CHALLENGE 9/1000

Cop Hater by Ed McBain became book number nine this week. This is the first book in the 87th Precinct series written in the late 50's. I have read a couple of other books by this author before but I enjoyed this one more. He writes with a lot of conversation so sometimes it feels like you are reading a script but I quite like that. It is only a diddy little thing at just 188 pages so this got polished off over the weekend in a couple of short sessions without interfering with everything else I had to do. A good old fashioned whodunnit type novel where the killer is only revealed in the last few pages.

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My step daughter is becoming a right little book worm too and she has started reading the Rainbow Fairy books. This is a huge series of books aimed at little girls who like all things pink and sparkly. Last weekend Ella asked if we could pop to The Works (the bargain book shop) to see if they had any Rainbow Fairy books because she had read all the ones her friend had given her. Of course, being the lovely Stepmother that I am, I agreed. (Now would be a good time to admit I have a shopping addiction where bookstores are concerned.) We managed to find Ella seven new Fairy books and I managed to pick up a huge volume containing all the Chronicles of Narnia books in one.

BOOK CHALLENGE 10/1000 (16)

So The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S Lewis became book number 10 on the challenge. Here is where The Guardian's book list is a little naughty, this is actually a set of 7 books. There are a few like this on the list so I am going to start recording my true total in brackets as above from here on. I had only ever read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe as a kid so I was really looking forward to reading all the other books in the series. I am also a big fan of Science Fiction/Fantasy novels so this was right up my alley. I could not put it down. It went everywhere with me and I enjoyed every single page. If I was compiling my own list of books every child should read, this would be number 1. They are beautiful stories, beautifully written.

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Waiting for my return to work last Friday was a nice little padded envelope containing two ebook discs ordered from Ebay. 16,000 sci-fi/fantasy books on two discs for the bargain price of £3.49 including p&p. You can't argue with that. Anyway, this meant I just had to go out and get a book reader! (Okay, I know I didn't have to but I really really wanted to!) I did have my heart set on a Kindle but I just couldn't wait so I went out a bought a cheapy little one instead. Within a couple of hours I had it loaded up with a couple of dozen books to get me started. Once I've bought a bigger memory card for it I'm going to work on uploading all the books in the challenge to make things simple.

Clint can't wait for me to start clearing off the bookshelves. I did promise that once I had my reader I would start thinning them out. It's just I'm a little busy at the moment reading.

Maternal Instincts

I knew from a very early age that I didn't want children. The very thought of being pregnant and giving birth brings me out in a cold sweat. I can't even stand to listen to other women talk about it. I actually feel nauseous. This is a real phobia, it even has a proper name - Tocophobia. I grew up with people telling me that I would grow out of it or when I meet the right guy I'll change my mind. I never did.

It's not that I don't like kids, I love them. When my older sisters started spitting out grandchildren all eyes started to fall on me. Everyone thought I'd start getting broody and it was only a matter of time before I succumbed to my natural instincts. They were all wrong.

Then I met Clint.

Clint already had two children from a previous relationship. When we met they were 3 and 6. From my own personal experience I knew it was hard for children to accept their parent's new partner so we were very careful. I wasn't introduced to them until both of us were sure and until Clint had spoken to his ex.

They both accepted me so readily, we were extremely lucky. They could have made our lives hell, tried to play us off against each other but they didn't. They have never thrown the "You can't tell me what to do, you're not my mum" line, not once.

Six years on I am a mum, strictly speaking a stepmum but a mum nonetheless. I clothe them, I feed them, I love them as if they were my own. I have cried tears for them and held them close when they have cried. I help them with their homework and nurse them when they are sick. I guide them through their present and worry about their future, I am a mum.

Ella once asked me if she would have to call me Mum when Clint and I get married. I told her the same thing my stepmother told me years ago, of course she doesn't have to she already has a mum.

As for my stepmother, Diane - it took many years but I call her Mum. She may not have given birth to me and I do have a real Mum but Di has always been there for me even when I didn't want her to be. She looked after me and looked out for me even when I said the most horrible things a child can say to a person. I am lucky enough to have two mums and I love them both.

Split Personality

BOOK CHALLENGE 8/1000

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stephenson became book number 8 this week. Strictly speaking it is only a novella, which is a posh way of saying it's longer than a short story and shorter than the average book but it's on the list so it had to be read.

I don't really know what I was expecting when I started this one. I think I thought this was going to be an early horror novel. I was expected a lot more suspense and a bit more brutality. Maybe in its day it was shocking but today it's quite lame really. I'm hoping there aren't too many more disappointments or this challenge is going to prove very tedious.

Treasure Island and Kidnapped by Stephenson are also on the list but I'm going to put these off for later. Next book in the challenge I'm hitting is Cop Hater by Ed McBain. I need a few more modern pieces to keep me interested.