Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Boy, time does fly. It's been three months since I started that new job, and while I like it, the schedule doesn't quite seem to jive with my early-bird nature. The good news (for this book-loving soul) is that I've definitely found a way to take advantage of all the new books in my life, not to mention the Half-Price Books just up the street.

Pretty much the entirety of my 45-minute lunch break is spent reading, nearly every single day. At first, I would do this in my little office cubicle, because the chair was comfy and the food I bring is pretty simple. Then a bigwig took up temporary residence in the conference room right opposite my cube--a conference room that we don't call "the glass fishbowl" for nothing. My boss rather discreetly told me that while she and everyone else knew I was on my lunch break and not just goofing off, that it would be better to sit out in the building's atrium area if I was going to read. That was, for the most part, fine and dandy. The only reason I hadn't gone out before was a) new-job jitters in an unfamiliar place and b) the construction.

Our building is currently in the process of being converted from a convention center to an office building. The floor that I work one was one of the first done, but now they're working on redoing the rest of the building--and it is loud. I'm happy to say that about ten minutes into my break, however, the construction guys (I haven't seen any girls, anyway...) all head home for the day--I work a later shift so my "lunchtime" is at 3:00. Usually by the time I'm finished eating, all is quiet and I have a good half hour to read before heading back into the office.

My roommate and I have also decorated our patio, covering every available surface with plants, and it's a lovely sanctuary where I've spent many summer Saturdays curled up with a good book, cat snoozing by my side.

In the past three months I've plowed through pretty much all of Piers Anthony's Xanth series, with the exception of some of the more recent ones. A friend was cleaning out her shelves in preparation for a move and offered to send me her collection because she thought I would like them. I did, although sometimes the puns and gimmicks got a little tiring. So I took a break from those and read other things for a bit.

I read through the Riftwar Saga, by Raymond C. Feist. Sometimes the books were so dense that I would realize that I had been skimming through the past few pages and put it aside for a couple of days until I was ready to jump in again. It's definitely more of an old-fashioned feeling fantasy, and although more of the sequels are available to me, it might be a while before I'm feeling up to plunging back in again.

I re-read 1632 by Eric Flint, which has always held a special place in my mental library, as the town the story is set in, Grantville, is based on a town right outside the one I grew up in, and the school, at least, I have visited and know well enough to smile at the descriptions.

I also re-read Christopher Stasheff's A Wizard in Rhyme books, which I read for the first (and only, until now) time back in college, and was pleasantly surprised to find out that while I remembered enjoying the books, I didn't remember much of what had happened. Essentially, it was like reading a brand new series but with the added bonus of knowing I'd be happy at the end.

My husband and I went to see Julie & Julia, which I enjoyed, and stopped at the bookstore not long after (I had a gift card I'd been wanting to use) to pick up Julie Powell's book. It was interesting, but the Julie portrayed by Amy Adams was certainly a more likeable Julie. I'm still planning on picking up Child's book, My Life in France, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Finally, the most recent thing I pulled off my roommate's shelves was an unexpected pleasure--Goblin Quest by Jim C. Hines. The story of Jig left me giggling as the genre was turned on its head--in a good way. We have the second book in the series, Goblin Hero, which will be next week's lunchtime entertainment, but I've just today found out there's a third in the series, Goblin War, and that the author has another series in progress as well that sounds really exciting, so I see a trip to Half-Price in my near future.

So that's my whirlwind update. Stay tuned for something even more exciting very soon: I've gotten my paws on Seanan McGuire's Rosemary and Rue and I can't wait to talk about it!