A Most Magnificent Dragon (Not Mine)
Hi there!
Want to see my NEW stack of books I plan to read next/am currently reading?
OOOOOO, excitement! As you can see, some of the books haven’t moved since they first appeared in this pile four months ago, but that’s usually because I’m saving them for some vacation or non-deadline-crazed time when I can properly enjoy them (especially Kate Atkinson and David Mitchell) . . . and I tend to read library books first, so the librarians won’t get mad at me (we definitely wouldn’t want that!). (And hilariously, despite my grumbling, probably my favorite book in that previous pile ended up being The Count of Monte Cristo. That book was CRAZY AWESOME.) A few of these new ones are because of my various book clubs (Paddington, Winnie-the-Pooh, The Mouse and His Child) or research (Dark Matter, Sarah Canary), but the one on top is the one I’m in the middle of and loving:
Black Powder War, book three of the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik
Her website can explain the series better than I can, but it’s kind of Horatio Hornblower meets dragons (and if you don’t know who Horatio Hornblower is, I HIIIIIIIIGHLY recommend the British TV series starring Ioan Gruffudd . . . dreamy sigh). It’s historical fiction—the Napoleonic wars—but with DRAGONS! And it’s written in this wonderful classic-sounding British-y style with an honorable, brave hero, a brilliant young dragon, and a terrific dry sense of humor . . . and DRAGONS! Did I mention the dragons? The dragons are kind of awesome.
My lovely sister Kari introduced me to the first book:
and I’ve been smitten with the series ever since. While you’re waiting for my (very different, not at all historical, but hopefully also epic and funny) dragon series, try reading these books—I totally love them. 🙂
More tomorrow! Although I must admit I’m running out of things to blog about. Um. Laundry? How incredibly wet Jonah and I got when we got caught by the massive thunderstorm today? The fruit fly genocide currently going on in our kitchen? (It’s quite impressive, actually.) HMMMM. We Shall See—I promised a week of blogs, so it’s going to happen, one way or another! (Brace yourselves for photos of laundry if things get desperate . . .)
Toddler’s Favorite Book of the Day:
Happy Hippo, Angry Duck, by Sandra Boynton
OK, I’m cheating a little bit – this is actually MY new favorite toddler book, which we have just acquired, and it’s AWESOME. I love all things Sandra Boynton (including her INSANELY GENIUS hilarious and marvelous website), and I firmly believe we should own every single one of her books. This one is her newest, just as cute as always, with a friendly message about different moods (“Are you happy as a hippo? Or angry as a duck? Maybe sad as a chicken? (Can you sadly say ‘Cluck Cluck’?)”). And wonderful Vicky of Erin Hunter fame gave us a giant stuffed Boynton hippo to love, which is the perfect companion for reading this book. Yay!