Furry Eyefull

I love going to DI. It's a new habit of mine. Probably a bad one too. I always save the kids books for last and look through as many of them as I can. I've found some really great books there and not spent the fabulous amounts of money as if I had bought them new. Granted, they are sometimes a little worn around the edges and need some tender loving care, but I also know that when my kids get their hands on them, no one would know the difference anyway.

I have also found that I can occasionally find the treasure of a Serendipity book. If you never read a Serendipity book as a little girl, either A) You were not a little girl, or B) You were a sadly deprived little girl. The stories are cute (though sometimes agenda-charged) but the illustrations fall into the category of diabetic-coma-inducing sugary cuteness.

The first one I found was Bangalee, which I had never heard of. The story was about keeping your house clean so that the garbage-eating monster doesn't come and eat your house.

I just went again the other day and found three *SCREAM!* Serendipity books. I had to pass one over because the previous owner decided to add to the illustrations in green pen. The other two were soft-cover, but I got them anyway. I'll just have to make sure that those books are no-touch books for my kids until they learn respect for books (grumble, grumble).

One is called Maui-Maui and is about a whale who teaches a lesson to a bunch of little critters called Amomonies who over-fished their ocean until there were no fish left. (After they learned their lesson, the author just HAD to add in a little note about how the Amomonies had been bad, but who they had to really watch out for was MAN..... see previous reference to agenda-charging.)

The other one is called Kartusch and is about some cute little critters called Furry Eyefulls. They learned a lesson from a blind snake about enjoying the world around them with more than just their eyes. (They wanted to look at everything so much that they refused to sleep and got super cranky and mean.)
While casually glancing over Kartusch, I noticed that the little Furry Eyefulls were vaguely familiar to me. It took me a few moments to realize (and I did with a chortle) that I LIVED with a Furry Eyefull all growing up. Of course, she was a blonde Furry Eyefull.

Am I right??

Sorry, Dara.... :)

I love you!

Really, I just thought it was a super cute book with even super-er-er... cute pictures. I couldn't resist sharing with you all!

I shall continue my hunt for Serendipity books. I'm still looking for Leo the Lop, Morgan Mine, Flutterby and *be still my heart!* DRAGOLIN!

Nightlight, a parody - Review

Alright, so as it turned out, I stayed up 'til close to midnight finishing this book. Ben walked into the room to find me in bed with the book to my nose. "Are you still reading that?" Why, yes, yes I am.

There were a few typos that were a tiny bit distracting. The kind of thing that an editor would have picked up on if they had actually read the book.

Otherwise, this book pretty much lampooned every major aspect of the original series, including how long it turned out to be when all the books were finally finished. There were even a few (mostly) blank pages reminiscent of the painful departure of Edward in New Moon.

Of necessity, most of the original characters were left out of the parody. The book would have been significantly longer than 154 pages if they had tried to squeeze everyone in.

The most difficult part of the read was how nearly unlikeable Belle is throughout the book, but she's such a train wreck, you just can't stop reading. (Some people I know would say the same of Bella from the original series.) Belle's interactions with her parents were a gross exaggeration of her counterpart, Bella's. Some were so much so that it wasn't really funny, but sort of sad. (I.E. Belle telling her father, Jim, that a bowl was like a plate but with sides and that he should eat his cereal with a spoon.) Belle's complete self-centered obliviousness to reality and the effect of her behavior on others threw into sharp relief the same flaws in Bella which were dealt with in a much more subtle manner.

Edwart, on the other hand, was really almost normal compared to his counterpart. He, also, seemed to be unaware of the real world, perhaps due to his inordinate video game playing. He seemed to fall victim again and again to the crazy obsession of his stalker girlfriend. (Hmm... I see some similarities there, too.)

There did turn out to be some twists to the story that I didn't expect which took the story in it's own original direction. It ended on a high note which, some would say, is better than the original.

Was it worth the $13.95? The jury is still out on that. However, it did succeed in it's created purpose: It was funny. Really funny. The ridiculous exaggeration and bizarre whimsy kept me turning page after page until there was nothing left but to sigh, wishing that there was more (but not really) and wishing I had taken longer to read it (but not really).

What was the funniest part, you ask? You didn't? Too bad. The part that kept me laughing for several minutes was found on page 136 (don't peek ahead, it won't make sense). Ben got home shortly after I read it to myself and I had to read it aloud to him. I was completely unable to get through the paragraph and Ben couldn't understand me through the involuntary laughter. I tried several times to get the sentences out, but had to stop because tears of mirth fogged my vision and my voice was broken by bubbling, squeaky laughter. Ben, eventually, had to take the book and read it himself. I had a moment of anxiety that he would read it and look at me with that pitying expression on his face that said, "You really are easily amused." I was gratified when he chuckled and said, "That is funny." I may have hyped it up too much with my uncontrolled outburst, but then, he often shakes his head at me when I explain why I'm laughing.

Overall: Good book. Fun and funny read. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who hasn't read the original series since most of the jokes are only funny if you have.

For those of you who are still skeptical about reading the original series, here is my somewhat flawed logic: If it wasn't at least half-way decent, no one would have bothered to lampoon it.

Happy reading!

Nightlight

Sorta-kinda, but not really except in a sideways way, I have bought another installment of the Twilight Saga: Nightlight. No, it's not by Stephanie Meyer. That's why you've probably not heard about it. (I do want to say that, while the Twilight books are not the new modern example of amazing literary opuses, they are a fun ride. It's nice to read a little fluff now and then.)

I was perusing the shelves at Barnes & Nobel and stopped at the Twilight stand to stare in horror at the Twilight Blanket, Twilight Puzzle: And So The Lion Fell In Love With The Lamb, Twilight Chocolate Bar, Twilight Sudoku, Twilight Dog Collar, Twilight Wooden Stakes and Twilight Garlic Tea Bags... (Most of those really were there.) As I looked down at the poor table plastered with black books, my gaze fell upon "Nightlight" a parody.

I looked at the back of the cover and Twihards will find this quite familiar:

"About three things I was absolutely certain. First, Edwart was most likely my soul mate, maybe. Second, there was a vampire part of him - which I assumed was wildly out of his control - that wanted me dead. And third, I unconditionally, irrevocably, impenetrably, heterogeneously, gynecologically, and disreputably wished he had kissed me."

I wasn't quite sold on that alone, but 10 minutes with Shy giggling (and snorting) over chapter excerpts hooked me and I pulled out my B&N gift card from Christmas.

So far, I have read the first chapter plus part of the second. I had to cover my mouth several times to stop my mirth from waking my napping son. Was it worth $13.95? We'll see. Of course, if I hadn't read the Twilight series, I wouldn't get any of it. So, I wouldn't recommend it if you have yet to delve into the Saga yourself.

I'm planning on posting a review here once I've completed the book, which shall likely take me a day and a half of kid-sleep-times. More fluff, but of the "inside joke" variety.

Until then, Dear Readers...

The good news is...

We're starting to get settled in down here in the dungeon. We're not completely unpacked, but I'm starting to get a handle on what we have room for.
Audrey loves having the expanded audience of Papa, Grammy and GG. She's always doing something goofy. Her favorite thing to wear is a pink winter hat with bobbles on the top and a pair of winter gloves. Mama is pretty sure she'll have to hide them or they won't last till the cold weather hits. She said her bedtime prayer with the help of Mama and Dad last night. That's progress since she has refused up until now.
Henry is officially laughing, though he is particular about what he'll laugh about. He thinks Audrey is hilarious, especially when she cries. Go figure.

Ben is registered for his fall classes, but still jobless. I'm pretty confident he'll find something soon now that he knows what times his classes will be. I'm a bit stressed about him needing to transfer to UofU next year. The commute is pretty crummy.
However! The excellent news is that Ben only needs 12 more credit hours and he'll graduate from UVU with an Associates of Sciences (I think)! We're anticipating graduating next spring. Then he'll be off and running for his Bachelors in Geography at UofU.

I'm keeping fairly busy with the kids, visiting with family and working on various craft projects. I crocheted a scarf for Henry last week and I'm working on crocheting a blanket for him now. I transplanted my Money Tree into a bigger pot today and bought a new Money Tree as well. I'm going to make the first one into a bit of an experiment and see if I can sprout new plants from it. (Crossing fingers.) Jennifer, Dara and I had our first sisters book club meeting at the end of July. It looks like it's going to become a book/movie club. We'll read a book during the month and watch the movie associated with it at the meeting. The next on the list is Murder on the Orient Express. (I'm not a big fan of mysteries myself, but I'm going into it with an open mind.)

I'll be posting again soon with pictures from Henry's baby blessing, repelling pictures of Ben and his brother, and whatever else I can think up. Until then!