Happy Friday, blogfriends! We are down to the last diddly-ast weekend of August, and how the heck did that happen, really? Wow. Summer, she has flown. To celebrate the arrival of the fallish season, the family and I are hightailing it to the great city of Niagara Falls tomorrow – not to gaze with wonder at the wonder that is The Falls (always capitalized, so I’ve been told) – but to shop the hell out of the factory outlet mall that is there. Because it’s back-to-school shopping time, kids. Or, rather, it’s my-children-have-no-clothes-because-they’ve-managed-to-grow-4-inches-in-2-months. Seriously, how do they even do that? The Artist has blown out the seams of two pairs of shorts and a bathing suit this summer, and The Musician came downstairs the other day in jeans that barely skimmed his ankles and made him look like he belonged in an 80s hair-band video. When I asked him if he used a coat hanger to get the zipper up on his Jordaches he was all “wha’??” Kids these days.
Anyway, we’re off to the land of the 50-70% off the retail price for shit. I have seen the future, and there could very well be a Coach wallet in it…ahem…
So on to the books! What have I read recently?
The Beginners by Rebecca Wolff. 15-year old small-town girl on the edge of maturity, meets up with a couple new to the town and crazy shit goes down. This was one of those books that kind of haunts you after you’ve read it, and truthfully even while you’re reading it. Kind of creepy on many different levels, a bit shocking and graphic, with a lingering “what the hell?” I really liked it, but I often like novels where the story is in the details and the details make the story. If that makes sense. Wolff’s writing style is one I really enjoyed.
The Dewey Decimal System by Nathan Larson. Oh har har har, librarian reads book about the DDS, what could be funnier? Except, you know, it’s not really about the DDS and it’s a novel sent in a rather dystopian NYC of the future, and the hero is yes, required to reorganize the NYPL, but he’s also working for the DA and maybe also for some Ukrainian thugs/business men…so yeah. Pretty quirky, often quite funny, and a good kind of noir-type storyline.
Game of Secrets by Dawn Tripp. Small town secrets through three generations, an unsolved murder, sketchy relationships and a revealing game of Scrabble. Really, they had me at Scrabble.
Enjoy the weekend and rock out with Jhameel! You know you want to!
The Urban Info Girl 