What I'm Reading...
Having recently run out of reading material (the printed kind), I stopped by Barnes & Noble last night, hoping to pick up another book by one of my favorite authors: The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley. Alas, they had two copies of The Blue Sword, which I acquired in my last foray to the bookstore, but not the book I was seeking. Rather than leave empty-handed, though, I perused the shelves briefly in search of something that wouldn't require a small fortune in new book purchases. I'm not entirely sure I was successful, because the two books I snagged were part of a series (I'm leery of starting new series, I have no patience to wait for the next book), but I'm halfway through Carpe Demon by Julie Kenner and have decided it's totally worth getting hooked on.
The tagline under the title reads 'Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom', and at the very top of the cover is a quote from a review (I'm assuming, anyway, it's in that format) by Charlaine Harris that says "Shows you what would happen if Buffy got married and kept her past a secret. It's a hoot." She's right, it is. The main character is a full-time stay-at-home mom with a teenager and a toddler, and it's written in a way that anyone who's been in that position can relate to (I did, for four years). What I like best about her is that she's not a 'perfect' mom: she makes mistakes, she admits they're probably mistakes (plunking the toddler in front of a Wiggles video as a temporary babysitting tool while wrangling dinner, for example), but it's those little details that ring true to me (guilty of using the Disney channel as a babysitter on occasion). I'm definitely glad I got the first two in the series, and I'll probably end up acquiring the others.
On a completely unrelated note, the company has apparently decided to cut corners by turning the heat off at night. In addition to the thermal undergarments I've taken to wearing now that the weather is really freaking cold (I live a mile away from work, and I walk to and from), I spent tonight bundled up with an extra sweater and a fleece blanket that I've kept with my desk stuff since last winter, as well as my scarf. TGIF. Seriously.
The tagline under the title reads 'Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom', and at the very top of the cover is a quote from a review (I'm assuming, anyway, it's in that format) by Charlaine Harris that says "Shows you what would happen if Buffy got married and kept her past a secret. It's a hoot." She's right, it is. The main character is a full-time stay-at-home mom with a teenager and a toddler, and it's written in a way that anyone who's been in that position can relate to (I did, for four years). What I like best about her is that she's not a 'perfect' mom: she makes mistakes, she admits they're probably mistakes (plunking the toddler in front of a Wiggles video as a temporary babysitting tool while wrangling dinner, for example), but it's those little details that ring true to me (guilty of using the Disney channel as a babysitter on occasion). I'm definitely glad I got the first two in the series, and I'll probably end up acquiring the others.
On a completely unrelated note, the company has apparently decided to cut corners by turning the heat off at night. In addition to the thermal undergarments I've taken to wearing now that the weather is really freaking cold (I live a mile away from work, and I walk to and from), I spent tonight bundled up with an extra sweater and a fleece blanket that I've kept with my desk stuff since last winter, as well as my scarf. TGIF. Seriously.