Stew!

So, I finished Alcatraz versus the Scrivener's Bones soon enough that I was able to return it to the library on Saturday afternoon. The book kept up the amusing asides from Alcatraz and many of the jokes from the first book. We get to meet more of the Smedry family and learn more about the Librarians evil plan - all while visiting the library of Alexandria. It could be a tempting place, all those books, but the price for checking out your first book is a bit higher than I'd like to pay - even if one person has figured out to solve that problem.

Having finished that, I moved to a book that I've been wanting to read for a while now - ever since I first heard about it (when my Mom got her copy in the mail). This is Awista Ayub's However Tall the Mountain: A Dream, Eight Girls, and a Journey Home. This book is quite enjoyable, and I can't wait for it to go into paperback editions, so I can suggest it for the Lemmings book club. My biggest complaint with the book is connected to what is possibly my favorite part of it. My possibly favorite part is the mention of Barbara and Duaine Goodno (although Duaine is never actually given a last name, Barbara is, and he's listed as her husband, so . . .) - and then my biggest complaint is that she's Barb, not Barbara - even though I know that Barbara is her full first name. Barb and Duaine are my aunt and uncle (Barb is one of my Mom's sisters), so I had a fun connection to the story. I am quite impressed with the story of these girls - I can't help but admire them. Because I got to read the copy Barb sent to my Mom, I did also get to learn one additional fact. Barb was not hiding the salt and sugar from the girls, as they thought she was; the salt and sugar are normally stored in the cupboard. I would recommend this book to almost everyone, if not everyone!

Having finished that yesterday (partially so it could stay at Mom's house as it's her book), I have now moved on to the book I checked out on Saturday at work - I chose not to resist the temptation. I'm reading Andrew Greeley's Irish Stew!, and would have the next book in the series waiting as well, if it had been available at the library on Saturday. This story has reminded me of lots, some of which is from the earlier books in the series, and some of which is from my own life. Nuala and Dermot's third child is born prematurely (at 25 weeks) and spends a few months in the hospital (presumably the NICU) because of that. I was also born early - but not quite as early as Socra Marie. Ned Fitzpatrick reappears in this story and we get to learn more of his life - and he's quite helpful in getting firsthand accounts of the historical mystery their solving this time - having a journalist around appears to helpful so far - especially as he's so willing to keep a journal of what's happening. This is a good way for Fr. Greeley to add the historical portion of the story. Although I didn't mind Dermot's mini research papers from the first few books, this is quite an enjoyable way to learn about the events, and the accounts don't feel as much like a textbook. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.

I don't know how much reading I'll be able to do in the next week or so - I have to watch season one of The Big Bang Theory by Thursday, and then I need to finish the first five discs of season one of In Treatment, as well as watch The Lost Tapes, both of those by next Tuesday. Perhaps I shouldn't check out so many tv shows at once.