Holidays
I spent the Christmas holidays at my mother's. I left there the Friday before and didn't come back until the Friday after, so ended up spending a week, which is the longest I've spent there in a while.
The weather was really cold (around -15 degree Celsius) and clear for a while, but it warmed towards the end of my stay, and started snowing.
As always, I took way too much stuff with me. I packed several books, but ended up reading mostly from my iPad, though I did finish that one library book I was supposed to return immediately after I got home. I also had some DVDs with me, but didn't watch any, since reading appealed to me more, and there was also some stuff on TV that I wanted to watch.
Though I did end up watching one thing that I'd brought with me, but that was on the bus coming home, when I watched the drama SP Akutou, again from the iPad. The drama was quite dark and intense, and I enjoyed Takki's performance in it. The hot, angsty, tortured look suits him. :)
Instead of all those other books I brought with me, I finished Elizabeth Hunter's Elemental Mysteries series. I'd read the first book, (136.) A Hidden Fire a couple weeks before. I enjoyed the first book and it's take on vampires, and the way their powers were connected to the four elements. The heroine, Beatrice de Novo, being a librarian was also a plus.
Unfortunately, I felt the latter additions to the series to be uneven and disappointing, given the promise of the first volume. Giovanni, the hero, devolved into an overprotective caveman, and Beatrice ended up pretty much a Mary Sue: everybody loved her, she became exceptionally skilled & powerful, etc.
Though I have to admit that the author did lay groundwork for the development of her skills, by showing her training hard to acquire some of them, and by giving a valid explation on why she ended up as powerful as she became.
I quite liked some of the characters, especially Tenzin, the quirky ancient wind vampire who become Beatrice's friend and mentor, and Carwyn, a former Welsh priest turned vampire, who was another of Giovanni's friends who became close to Beatrice almost right from the start.
The library book I finished was (145.) Emmi Itäranta's Teemestarin kirja, a dystopian novel about the near-future where the polar icecaps have melted and there is a scarcity of fresh water. As a result, water resources are strictly controlled by the military and water crimes are harshly punished.
Noria, a young girl who is the descendant of an old family of teamasters, is given the trust of guarding a dangerous family secret: a hidden spring unknown to the military.
The book skillfully portrays a plausible future, but also offers a slight glimmer of hope. Itäranta's language is beautiful and flowing, and water imagery threaded throughout the book adds to the atmosphere.
This was quite a tour de force, especially for a debut novel, and I can't wait to read more of her writing. The book's English rights have been sold to HarperCollins and the publication of Memory of Water is scheduled for Spring 2014 (source).
There was quite a lot of snow at my mother's
That's my mother in the red coat
Our small Christmas tree
A view from the sauna building
Mauri was very interested in playing with the ornaments
Also shown in this short clip I took :)
Lammi cemetary on Christmas eve. I love how it turns into a sea of candles and lights, since quite a few people traditionally visit the cemetaries during holidays.
The weather was really cold (around -15 degree Celsius) and clear for a while, but it warmed towards the end of my stay, and started snowing.
As always, I took way too much stuff with me. I packed several books, but ended up reading mostly from my iPad, though I did finish that one library book I was supposed to return immediately after I got home. I also had some DVDs with me, but didn't watch any, since reading appealed to me more, and there was also some stuff on TV that I wanted to watch.
Though I did end up watching one thing that I'd brought with me, but that was on the bus coming home, when I watched the drama SP Akutou, again from the iPad. The drama was quite dark and intense, and I enjoyed Takki's performance in it. The hot, angsty, tortured look suits him. :)
Instead of all those other books I brought with me, I finished Elizabeth Hunter's Elemental Mysteries series. I'd read the first book, (136.) A Hidden Fire a couple weeks before. I enjoyed the first book and it's take on vampires, and the way their powers were connected to the four elements. The heroine, Beatrice de Novo, being a librarian was also a plus.
Unfortunately, I felt the latter additions to the series to be uneven and disappointing, given the promise of the first volume. Giovanni, the hero, devolved into an overprotective caveman, and Beatrice ended up pretty much a Mary Sue: everybody loved her, she became exceptionally skilled & powerful, etc.
Though I have to admit that the author did lay groundwork for the development of her skills, by showing her training hard to acquire some of them, and by giving a valid explation on why she ended up as powerful as she became.
I quite liked some of the characters, especially Tenzin, the quirky ancient wind vampire who become Beatrice's friend and mentor, and Carwyn, a former Welsh priest turned vampire, who was another of Giovanni's friends who became close to Beatrice almost right from the start.
The library book I finished was (145.) Emmi Itäranta's Teemestarin kirja, a dystopian novel about the near-future where the polar icecaps have melted and there is a scarcity of fresh water. As a result, water resources are strictly controlled by the military and water crimes are harshly punished.
Noria, a young girl who is the descendant of an old family of teamasters, is given the trust of guarding a dangerous family secret: a hidden spring unknown to the military.
The book skillfully portrays a plausible future, but also offers a slight glimmer of hope. Itäranta's language is beautiful and flowing, and water imagery threaded throughout the book adds to the atmosphere.
This was quite a tour de force, especially for a debut novel, and I can't wait to read more of her writing. The book's English rights have been sold to HarperCollins and the publication of Memory of Water is scheduled for Spring 2014 (source).
There was quite a lot of snow at my mother's
That's my mother in the red coat
Our small Christmas tree
A view from the sauna building
Mauri was very interested in playing with the ornaments
Also shown in this short clip I took :)
Click to viewLammi cemetary on Christmas eve. I love how it turns into a sea of candles and lights, since quite a few people traditionally visit the cemetaries during holidays.