Book Feast for Thanksgiving

First, we must apologize for our lapse in blogging on Friday. I was exhausted from a previous weekend Vegas trip that I forgot I had scheduled and just really wanted to vegetate and watch the many shows I am behind on. So we forgot to blog.

To make up for it though, we have prepared a sampling of the books for your taste-testing. A book feast just in time for Thanksgiving! The holiday season is upon us, and while that brings its own share of stresses and activities, it also usually means some downtime for reading! PLUS, the Superlatives Blogfest is in less than a month, so now is the time to get a few more books read in time for that! (That's what I'm trying to do anyway.)

That aside, I've had a really great run of books lately, and Alz and I haven't had time to write our usual long reviews. So we thought we'd highlight some of our most recent reads (from October until now) we think you should check out!

First Course: Appetizers

Looking for a quick, engaging read that is not only satisfying but also timely and wonderful? Try this Middle-Grade contemporary. It's both heartbreaking and heartwarming.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Craving something with a little more adventure? Try this desert fantasy set in a refreshing world of deities, sky serpents, and whirling sands.

Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

Second Course: Soups/Salads

Want something a little familiar and a little fantastic? Try this older, more literary riff on a classic tale, showing that life is messy and complicated for everyone - even children who never grow up. (Although purists of the Pan mythology may not find this to their taste and might want to skip this course.)

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Main Course: The Meaty Stuff

Tired of the same old paranormals? Try this dark paranormal set in an intriguing version of the After Life that you wouldn't quite expect. This book digs into some heavy themes, but manages to shine just enough hopeful light into an otherwise bleak, urban world.

Sanctum by Sarah Fine

In the mood for a historical? What about plucky female leads and a true love story (the true love of friendship)? Try this harrowing tale of two best friends caught in the turmoil of World War II. This sensational team will win you over with their engaging voices and courage.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Alternate Main Course

For the adventurous, try this atmospheric genre bender! It's part fantasy, part contemporary and filled to the brim with quirky characters, mystery, and mythology - all set in the possibly enchanted wilder places of Virginia. It will leave you wanting more.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Dessert

And for dessert, we recommend these two picture books. Both are illustrated by Jon Klassen, but one isn't told by him.

For those with a somewhat more wicked sense of humor, try this tale about a fish and a hat and yet another valuable life lesson about stealing.

This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen

For those wishing to finishing their reading meal with the "warm fuzzies," try this tale about a magic box of yarn and the girl who finds it.

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett

Hope you enjoyed this book meal. Do let us know if you check any of these out. We'd also like to wish you all a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! Pig out on Thursday, but don't forget to NaNo! ;)

Q4U: What books would you add to this feast?

On the Reading Plate

It's late, Krispy and I watched Elementary, and I had cold mango green milk tea and Krispy had hot almond black milk tea with boba.  You know what that means!  We didn't have a post planned and now it's time to talk about what we're reading!

Krispy's reading Wonder by R.J. Palacio.

Goodreads blurb: "I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?"

I skimmed a bit of it before Krispy got into it and found it well-written, intriguing, and very realistic in its portrayal of the curiosity, kindness, carelessness, and cruelty of children.  And adults, come to that.

As for me, I've been reading Daughter of the Flames by Zoe Marriott.

Goodreads blurb: "In a world of clashing cultures, a girl fights for freedom — and finds a surpring romantic ally — after learning a startling truth about her identity.

Inside an ancient temple in the mountains, fi fteen-year-old Zira trains in the martial arts to become a warrior priestess who can defend the faith of the Ruan people. Bearing a scar on her face from the fire that killed her parents, the orphaned Zira is taught to distrust the occupying Sedornes. Terror strikes when the forces of the tyrannical Sedorne king destroy the only home she knows. To survive, Zira must unravel the secrets of her identity, decide her people’s fate — and accept her growing feelings for a man who should be her enemy."

I actually started reading this weeks ago.  I got about halfway through to a turning point, put it down, and somehow never got around to finishing it even though I liked it.  (Other books and shiny things and TV and such, as ever and always, distracted me.)  I've picked it back up though and hopefully will be able to secure the sequel before I finish so I can dive right in--

Gorgeous cover!

--or would dive right in if I didn't have to read The Raven Boys next.  Krispy read it and loved it so much I bumped it right up to the top of my to-read list.  It has a gorgeous cover and after how much we enjoyed The Scorpio Races, I have faith in Maggie Stiefvater.

And/or I may cheat on this resolution by reading the final book in Beth Revis's Across the Universe series, Shades of Earth (click with caution since the blurb is kind of spoilery for the previous book).  The ever-lovely Yahong graciously sent me an ARC (thank you!) and omg even writing this post is tempting me to crack it open.  Though I have mixed feelings on the previous two books, I'm still exceedingly curious to know what happens.

Seriously, the publisher needs to chill on changing the cover design with every release.
Now none of the hardcover books will match!

As for what Krispy's going to tackle next, I think it ought to be The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller:

If you look at it upside down, it looks like half an upside down man.
Do you see it?  DO YOU?

It's Greek mythology, not YA, interesting and beautifully-written from what I've perused, and Krispy's gotten this sucker from the library at least three times without ever actually reading it.  Do it, Krispy!  Read the book!

What are you currently reading?

Randomosity on Fridays: Self-Portrait Version

Krispy is always leaving me forever.  She goes away and I end up pining away, with my coal-black heart broken in twain and my soulless void a black hole of angst.  That's what I tell her, anyway.  Secretly I'm jigging in joy because I can get up to all sorts of secret shenanigans in her absence and when she returns, she has no idea of the havoc I have wrought.  Sometimes she won't find out for days.  Or years.

Ahem, Krispy leaving me by my lonesome again over the weekend aside, go take a peek at over at Sophia's blog for a recap of a Jon Klassen signing and Halloween, complete with pictures that including a glimpse of the elusive yours truly.

Getting back to our weekly dose of randomosity--I was perusing some old books this week and in one of them I found an ancient doodle I had used as a bookmark.

Yes, I've been drawing myself fundamentally the same way for well over a decade.  You may notice, however, that in 1999, I hadn't yet confined my long lustrous locks into a braid and that I used to part my hair on the other side.  I'm pretty sure my sweatshirt was still black even then, but for some reason I chose not to color it in.

Finding this ancient doodle of myself inspired me to poke through some of the more ancient folders on my computer, and I have unearthed a few more examples of Alz Through the Years.

This doodle dates back to 2002, before I owned a tablet--this one is drawn with my m4d haxx mouse skillz0rz.  I believe I was taunting someone (possibly Krispy) about the summer heatwave.  For some reason I am wearing a blanket around my head.  As far as I can recall, I was wearing a blanket around my head mid-summer because my head would get cold in the mornings and at night.  I was not, alas, living on a tropical beach at the time.  That much, at least, is artistic liberty.

Here, I express my consummate desire to pass onward from the weariness of the daily grind of life and lessons thereof.  To whit: class had killed me dead.  Oh, 2004.  This is still mouse-drawn.

Ah!  And here we go, a portrait of Alz in Class from late 2005.  I sat in the back right underneath a ceiling vent that sent a perpetual glacial draft into the room even in the dead of winter.  I had a tablet by this time.

A little Alz from 2006.  Note the white spots that indicate coat buttons and the tips of the little cords to pull the hood tight--it's the same coat as in the 2005 pic.

I made Sculpey!Alz in 2007 and yes, that's the same coat.  (I really loved that coat.  I wore it until the snaps broke.)  I was bored one day and had some plain white Sculpey and spent a few hours indulging my sense of narcissism, then broke out some acrylic paints (metallic brown and shiny black) and spent some time painting.  Sculpey!Alz stands on a shelf on the other side of the room behind me even as I type this, casting judgment down upon me.

2008: Check it out!  A new slightly different coat!  And look, random Krispy!

Alz in 2009: Playing Portal, wearing a scarf crocheted by our marvelous baker-friend-who-also-makes-paper-flowers, and otherwise looking pretty much the same then as now.

And to bring us pretty much up to speed, here's one last Portrait of an Alz, circa 2010:

This is still an accurate picture of what I'm like when I'm in the process of manateeing.

Sooooo there you have it, folks.  You've seen me evolve from my gritty hand-drawn ballpoint-pen-on-paper days to my mouse-drawn years all the way to my getting a tablet and getting all fancy with lines and pressure sensitivity.  Or devolve, as the case might be.

Have you ever done a self-portrait?  Do you change your clothes more often than Alz?

Recovery Wednesday

We got a little sidetracked yesterday with Election 2012, so we don't really have a post for you. I mean, we kind of nearly missed Loki's play time because we were too busy watching the coverage. Loki was not pleased.

Suffice to say, we rocked the vote and we hope if you had a chance to that you did too!

Also, YAY FOUR MORE YEARS!!

Sheepy wanted to vote, but he's a sheep & probably not of age.

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In other news, the YA Superlatives 2012 Blogfest is coming up in a little over a month. It's the brainchild of a bunch of cool ladies- Katy Upperman, Jessica Love, Alison Miller, and Tracey Neithercott. We had so much fun participating in the 2011 Superlative Blogfest that we're doing it again this year.

Click the banner here or button in the sidebar for the preliminary information.

You have a little over a month to get a few more books in before the blogfest to help you fill in those categories! We hope you'll join in!

P.S. Loki 2016. Yes/No? :)

Randomosity on Fridays: Halloween Pics

And it's November! This year is seriously flying by. Can someone please slow it down? I'm not ready for the end of the world yet!

In any case, hello my lovelies! I missed you while I was away, but I've returned with plenty of pictures to share. It will take me a while to get through them all, but expect a few picture heavy posts to crop up this November!

For today, I'll share a few from Halloween!

I posted a pic of my "costume" on Wednesday, and here is the finished costume.

I was Taylor Swift for the Halloween potluck I had at work. My look was based on her new album artwork.


The Sister managed to throw together a costume to match Loki the Shark.

After lamenting that we'd sort of missed out on Halloween festivities (she was out of town; I just got back in town), Sophia and I made our own plans and went for dinner and boba in costume.

Glinda the Good Witch & Taylor totes hang out sometimes.

But really, these plans came about because Sophia wanted to ask me about Colonial and Revolutionary U.S. History. You can imagine the extent of my utter nerdiness when I tell you that I was a little GIDDY with excitement at this request.

Text message transcript:

SOPHIA: I'm assuming you're awesome at colonial and American Rev history?
ME: Pretty awesome?
SOPHIA: I need to sit down and have a boba and history chat with you...

Later, at dinner...

SOPHIA: So I need a refresher on the colonial and Revolutionary eras.
SISTER: Oh my God, that's her [pointing at me] sh*t.

My sister knows me so well!

And here's a teaser from my trip!

Frankfurt am Main, Altstadt: Römerberg

Salzburg, Austria: Mirabell Garden

Have a great weekend everyone, and as it is November, some of you might be NaNo-ing! I'm supposed to be. So good luck to you and good luck to me!

Q4U: Are you participating in NaNoWriMo?

If so, don't forget to friend us! We're kangaru and shizalent.

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Halloween!

I have returned from vacation, but I am still catching up and think I need a vacation from my vacation, haha. I'll post pictures soon!

In the mean time, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

This is my costume outfit. I'll reveal who I am on Friday.

Loki dressed up too.

Q4U: What did you dress up as for Halloween? OR Are you participating in NaNoWriMo?

Randomosity on Fridays: Poetry (Or At Least Rhyming) Version

Krispy has returned from her vacation abroad,
Jetlagged a bit for which I applaud--
After hours of travel I'd plow into bed
With my pillow drawn tight over my head.

But Krispy you see is really quite tough
And certainly made of much sterner stuff
Than ever the Alz could manage to be,
For Alz you may know is absurdly lazy.

Yet despite Krispy's astonishing wakefulness,
She declined to blog in a fit of forsakefulness
And so it falls upon me to fill this empty post.
Maybe it's genius or maybe it's just the most

Random thing ever, produced by the late hour
And the Thai tea with boba that has me under its power.
Though I doubt my success, I shall now attempt slumber,
Counting out sheep to infinite number.

How well do you handle changes in time?
I must also ask that you comment in rhyme.