Clara's New Quilt

So fantastic, from her Great-, er...I mean, Terrific-Aunt Susan. Couldn't match the nursery better if we had picked out each piece of fabric ourselves. Clara could stare at it for hours.

Just Because She's Cute

Being a Mama

So far, so good. We have been blessed (so far!) with a pretty easy-going girl. She's made great strides developmentally in just the last few days. It's pretty amazing at this age (7 weeks) how you can almost see the milestones happening right before your eyes. Clara is following things with her eyes, and turning her head to follow sounds. She's got really good control over her head right now, and is making all sorts of funny little conversational sounds. She's also just on the verge of a full-out laugh.

Her Nana is here to visit, finally, and it has been a real joy seeing them get to know each other. Nana has introduced the "motorboat," and "You Are My Sunsine," and Clara loves them both.

Rain Fall, by Barry Eisler

More John Rain. This one I enjoyed particularly, since I have been reading them out of order, and this goes way back to meeting a love interest who has been featured in later books. Sometimes it's fun to read a series out of order, as long as the books are meant also to stand alone. Little things fall into place.

Resistance, by Owen Sheers

I really enjoyed this. It's a novel about a small valley in Wales, where the men disappear as part of the insurgency in an alternate ending version of WWII, in which Germany wins. The women are left to farm and survive on their own, and to deal with the small German unit that shows up to investigate. The language is really crisp and simple, and the descriptions of the work they do are vivid.

The Memory Game, by Nicci French

I really liked this book, and the twist at the end surprised me a little, though the fact that there was a twist didn't. It's another British one, which is always fun, and her style of writing is vaguely reminiscent of Elizabeth George, though not with such an impressive vocabulary. I will definitely seek out more of her writing.

The Master Bedroom, by Tessa Hadley

This book was all right, I guess. I did get engaged with some of the characters, but it's a pretty ponderous tone. I'm also not a fan of departing from regular punctuation in dialogue, unless there's a compelling reason in the content of the story. I wouldn't recommend it, but I'm not upset I spent the time on it.

Gods Behaving Badly, by Marie Phillips

An engaging book, if a little too cute. Lots of great references to London, and to Greek mythology, some uncommon ones. It's an imaginative book, and the way she uses features of London to parallel bits of mythology is fun. Very diverting, and a quick read.

T is for Trespass, by Sue Grafton

These books are so much fun, it makes me want to go back and read the whole alphabet. Not sure that I will, but I enjoyed this one. Grafton departs from form just a little, giving us a second point-of-view. I wonder what she'll do with "U"?

Anne of the Island, by L. M. Montgomery

Anne gets slightly less interesting as she ages, but Montgomery's other characters make up for it entirely. Davy Keith is always fun, and the new folks Anne meets at college are entertaining, too.

Anne of Avonlea, by L. M. Montgomery

I can't remember how far I got with these books when I was a girl, but my plan is to work my way through all of them, and perhaps into her other series as well. I love the character monologues and the language. So much fun. I hope that Clara will love them someday, too.

The Hearing, by John Lescroart

I can't believe I never read this one. Loved seeing Glitsky's courtship of Treya, such as it was.

Betrayal, by John Lescroart

I would love to know how to pronounce his last name.

These characters, including the city of San Francisco, are so familiar. I love reading these books, even when they strain plausibility.

The Emperor of Ocean Park, by Stephen L. Carter

This is the first serious book I read after giving birth. It took me a really long time to get through it, partly because it is long, and partly because of the baby. I almost felt that it was too long, but every time it started to get ponderous, something happened that kept me engaged. I love the main character, and how the most interesting character traits are their flaws. Really engaging book; I will look for more from him.

The Last Battle, by C.S. Lewis

It's all so obvious, now that I know things about religion. I wonder if kids who grow up in traditional Christian churches recognize the allegory when they read these?

The Silver Chair, by C.S. Lewis

This is one of my favorites. Puddleglum is one of my favorite Narnian characters.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C.S. Lewis

More fun in Narnia.