16 February 2005

Everything in the world is going to happen in the next five days. Not really, I suppose, it just feels like it. When my cousin called last night, I fully expected that she was going to tell me she was bringing her husband and baby up for the weekend and when could we see them? but no. She just wanted to warn me of doooooooom now that the baby has learned to move things in order to climb. (Doooooom!)

But we've got three other people coming in from out of town this late week/weekend. Only one of them is staying here, thankfully. And there is Stuff. Oh my, is there Stuff. One can hardly move for all the Stuff. Good Stuff. But still, Stuff.

I'm reading Tamora Pierce's Cold Fire, which is in her non-Tortall series. The second of her non-Tortall serieseseses? Whatever. I'm not as invested in these characters. I can't tell if they're less compelling than Alanna et al or if I just didn't encounter them early enough to really get attached. Anyway, they're still reasonably interesting books, and I'm enjoying it. The problem with this series, though, is that it doesn't have much momentum to it. Each book focuses on a different member of a foster family of magic-users as each one grows up, essentially, and they've scattered to the four corners of the globe, leaving me no particular reason to feel like I'm going to be desperate for Book 4 once I finish this one. And my book list bears out this supposition: I read the second one in this series in January of '04, and they've been available at the library and at bookstores for all of the intervening time. I just...didn't get around to it. That doesn't always mean much, but in this case I think it does. We're not talking about The System of the World, here; reading this book is not a major commitment. And the only reason I have it to read now is that it was $1 on the sale rack at Wild Rumpus. Otherwise I'd be resting content without it indefinitely.

Which sounds a lot more negative than it is; really it's a fine enough book. I'm just not in love with it.

My own book is more in "sidle up sideways and talk about something elaborately casual" territory than in "in love" territory. For now, that's okay.

Kev will be here Sunday, and there will be a lot to do, so expect to hear from me Monday, probably in the late afternoon or evening.