Biscuit and Nibbles

I've had my new rats for about a month now and just realized I haven't shared them with the blog yet. They don't like to sit still for photos but I have a couple of hammock shots.

The tan one is Biscuit and the black one is Nibbles. Biscuit actually paused a couple of times so I was able to get a couple more of him.

Finally, a poor quality one from my iphone, but he looks very cute so I didn't want to leave it out.

These two were from a group of 71 - yes, that is seventy-one - rats brought to the MSPCA recently by someone who bought two rats from a pet store and learned the hard way that they were not of the same sex. Rats can reproduce quickly and prolifically.

These guys are a little odd. These are the first rats I've had who absolutely cannot grasp the purpose of the litterbox. They also don't care for dried bananas. According to every other rat I've known, dried bananas are extremely exciting and worthy of celebration.

Despite their minor quirks, they are pretty well-behaved and fun to have around. I think they like it here.

Locke and Key v.1: Welcome to Lovecraft

Locke and Key volume 1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (2009)

At PLA I attended a session on trends in genre series, and the presenter on horror highly recommended Joe Hill's graphic novel series Locke & Key.

It begins with a murder - the father of the Locke family is killed by a former student, after which the family moves to Maine to live with the deceased's brother. The kids try to cope with their grief and adjust to their new life on the island of Lovecraft. The youngest, Bode, soon discovers a magical door that turns him into a ghost and begins communicating with a mysterious woman seemingly trapped in their well. Meanwhile, the psycho who killed their father is still on the loose and moving ever closer to the family.

I thought this was a good story with good illustrations, but I didn't find it especially scary. It has all the elements of scariness - creepy house, psycho killer - but it didn't even give me the creeps. Maybe I am just desensitized after all the horror I read as a teenager. The setup was good though, and I think the characters hold a lot of potential for the series but I'm not sure I'll continue.  Graphic novels are nice palate-cleansers now and then, but I do get a whole lot more out of regular novels.

Have any of you read this series? What did you think? I'm wondering if I should try volume 2. The reviews of this book are all so glowing that I feel like I'm missing something.

The Lifeboat

The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan (2012)

I recently attended the Public Library Association Conference in Philadelphia (and hopefully will share more about that with you soon). One of the sessions I attended was on debut authors, and I got a free copy of each of the four authors' books. It was really enjoyable listening to them talk about their books, which all sounded very interesting. I don't usually try to get free books at conferences because I have enough books I want to read without adding to the list, but I was very happy to bring all of these home with me. 

Charlotte Rogan, author of The Lifeboat, didn't begin writing until in her mid-30s and says she has a whole drawer full of manuscripts. Her break came when she was being interviewed for an article on sending multiples to college (oh yeah, she was doing all this writing while raising triplets!) The journalist interviewing her ended up introducing her to an agent, and now we all get to read The Lifeboat. You will be as grateful as I am when it comes out on April 9 and you can finally read it.

The protagonist, Grace Winter, had only been married for about 4 weeks when the ship on which she and her husband were traveling went down. Grace was lucky enough to get a place in a lifeboat (or perhaps her husband paid a bribe, we'll never know for sure) though she did not see what became of Henry. There were 38 people on the lifeboat and although it was intended for 40 people, it was clearly too crowded. Of course they thought they'd be rescued right away and it wouldn't matter. In the end they were on the lifeboat for three weeks before the remaining survivors were rescued, after which Grace found herself on trial for murder. The novel is filled with ethical questions about survival and what constitutes murder in extreme situations, and whether it's justifiable to kill one person to save many. 

During her time on the lifeboat Grace had plenty of time for thought, and the reader learns a great deal about her early life and relationship with Henry. Grace is much more complex, and less morally absolute, than at first we may believe. She is also rather admirable with her sensible way of looking at her situation and her strong ability to reason. 

There were some wonderful passages that captured Grace's observations in a way that felt so realistic it was like I was on the boat myself. A change in the weather could affect her entire outlook, a cold breeze on a clear morning making her feel settled and less afraid. Her thoughts about the interpersonal relationships with the other occupants of the boat added depth and complexity to the situation. 

I was captivated from the very first page. This is an exciting story with relatable and imperfect characters, and I think it will appeal to a wide audience. There is much fodder for discussion, making this an ideal choice for book groups. I predict this book will be popular, and deservedly so.

Sunday Knitting

I'm limping along on my projects, but I won't bore you with photos of the two rows I've completed on my cardigan, or the toe of my orange sock. Neither of them look different enough since you last saw them to merit a post.

I'll just show you some yarn.

It's very difficult to take photos of dark colored yarn, but the one in the middle looks nice here, doesn't it? On impulse, I decided to go to Windsor Button for what I'm referring to as "practical-colored" sock yarn. The owner agreed that these are, indeed, practical colors. I explained about my orange socks and how I don't know when I'll ever wear them and she sympathized with my plight. I think anyone who knits socks understands how we fall into this brightly-hued trap.

Two of the skeins above are Cascade Heritage, my new favorite sock yarn. The bluish middle skein is similar to what I used for these socks (but more blue), and the black yarn in the front is a solid of the same brand. In the back is a skein of Regia, a well-wearing yarn I've used before. It's a striping yarn in a few different dark colors, including purple (a practical color which, of course, goes with everything.)

As you can see, I've already begun with the solid black. As far as I am concerned black is the most practical color for socks so I didn't want to waste any time on those, especially since my one other pair of black hand-knit socks may be close to the end of its life. Although I'm already knitting socks right now, the orange ones are too complicated to knit on the bus which is where I've been doing most of my knitting recently. Thank deity-of-your-choice and the good people at Overdrive for the few iThing-compatible audiobooks available to me. They make busride knitting so much more pleasant.

I'll post more about the black socks sometime soon when I've made more progress and managed to get decent photos.

Why We Broke Up

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman (2011)

In this collaboration between the author popularly known as Lemony Snicket and a talented illustrator, a story of ill-fated romance is told through the objects being returned from Min to Ed after their breakup. Each object is rendered in brilliant illustration and the accompanying prose describes the object, the place it had in their relationship, and maybe another reason why the romance failed.

It's a great concept and I wish I loved it as much as I anticipated. My biggest problem was that I can't understand why Min and Ed ever got together in the first place. They had nothing in common and he was a complete ass, totally inconsiderate, and frequently called people fags. There was just nothing appealing about him. No matter how much they kept saying they loved each other, I just couldn't see it. The way their relationship ended was just one more instance of Ed's douchebaggery, and not worthy of a book, just as he was not worthy of Min.

But the writing and the illustrations were really wonderful. Narrated by Min as a long letter to Ed, the style was a little stream-of-consciousness with many run-on sentences. Sometimes that made it a little hard to follow, but mostly it was just really lovely writing which I enjoyed. Before this book I already admired Maira Kalman's photo essays and these designs were just as beautiful and expressive as her other work.

Other than Ed, the characters were appealing. There is a part near the end when Ed has wronged Min for the final time, and she launches into a 2-page litany of everything that is wrong with her, and I just want to take her our for an ice cream and talk some self-esteem into her. She is too good for him. Ed's sister was also fantastic with her amazing culinary creations and distaste for her brother's evil ways. I also really liked Min's friends Al and Lauren, who were both devoted yet not so devoted they could pretend to like or even really approve of Ed. 

The book was executed most beautifully, but its an elegy to a relationship that was doomed from the start. Both Ed and Min were allegedly heartbroken over the breakup, but it was hard to sympathize. He never deserved her, and she's so much better off without him. Despite all that, it was compelling and fun to read. 

The Future of Us

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler (2011)

It's 1996 and Emma has just set up her new computer when her friend and neighbor Josh comes over with an AOL CD for her. Later when she loads the disc, a site called Facebook pops up and Emma sees a thirty-something woman named Emma Nelson Jones who looks a whole lot like her. Josh is on the site too and his information says that he is married to Sydney Mills, who is the most popular girl in school and has never even spoken to him. At first thinking it's a prank website, Emma and Josh are soon convinced that it's a window to their futures. And those futures appear to change based on actions they take now. Emma keeps deliberately trying to prevent what she sees as her future unhappiness, while Josh wants to keep his seemingly perfect future life as he first saw it.

What a great premise for a book! If you could see what your future is like, what kinds of changes would you make to your life now? Would you make decisions that feel wrong because you think it will get you to the right place later? There are so many questions, and it was fun to experience it all along with Emma and Josh.

But Facebook isn't the only thing causing angst in their lives. A few months ago, Josh misread some signals and thought Emma wanted to move their relationship beyond friendship. She didn't. Awkward! So although they remain friends, there's a lot of tension between them, which increases as they navigate their dating lives.

This is a perfect crossover book, as adults who remember the 90s will appreciate many of the references. There's a some speculation that Ellen Degeneres might be gay, not to mention frequent use of pay phones. Observing Emma and Josh read status updates is hilarious as they wonder what a blog is, or the time someone says they miss Pluto, and they both wonder "What happened to Pluto? Did it get hit by a meteor?"

The writing was a bit awkward in places, with some stilted conversations that just didn't feel real. Emma also once used the phrase "baby bump" in 1996, though that phrase didn't come into use until the mid-00's. But mostly it was a fun ride with many interesting questions and a good ending. Like Facebook itself, this book was hard to close when real life beckoned.

Sunday Knitting

Surprisingly, I had no trouble picking up where I left off on my Milo sock.

Just a few more rows to the toe decreases!