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I am so proud to be part of this - it's an amazing song from a brilliant album.  I had to listen to it a LOT to synch up the drawings, and I still love it.


It took me a week of mostly drawing and redrawing rain drops, with assistance from my niece Paula who did the lettering.











READ MORE ABOUT THE VIDEO AND THE REST OF THIS EXCELLENT ALBUM HERE!

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The Thunder Maker is a tale that explores the power of sound and learning to speak words of kindness, including knowing when to apologize.

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Ahoy! Captain No Beard and his crew are back. In the latest installment to Carole P. Roman’s award-wining series, Being a Captain is Hard Work, readers learn it’s okay to make mistakes, especially when you learn something from them.

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London. Michaelmas term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln's Inn Hall. Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill.

The post Fog everywhere: an extract from Charles Dickens’ Bleak House appeared first on OUPblog.

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Every winter the child inside us hopes for snow. It brings with it the potential for days off work and school, the chance to make snowmen, create snow angels, and have snowball fights with anyone that might happen to walk past. But as the snow falls have you ever wondered how it is formed? What goes on in the clouds high above our heads to make these snowflakes come to life?

The post How is snow formed? [infographic] appeared first on OUPblog.

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Kate Wilson is a New Zealand based illustrator. Her illustrations are peaceful and whimsical, concentrating on the wildlife and small beings that live outdoors. She has a keen eye for small things, which translates in her work. Her influences include; gardening and spending time with animals but she does dislike mowing the lawn! 

See more from this lovely illustrator at her website, blog and Facebook. 

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If you like your prophecies pin sharp then look away now. The 16th century celebrity seer Nostradamus excelled at the exact opposite, couching his predictions in terms so vague as to be largely meaningless. This has not, however, prevented his soothsayings attracting enormous and unending interest, and his book – Les Propheties – has rarely been out of print since it was first published 460 years ago. Uniquely, for a renaissance augur, the writings of Nostradamus are perhaps as popular today as they were four and a half centuries ago.

The post Look away now: The prophecies of Nostradamus appeared first on OUPblog.

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After Easter and the jury duty kerfuffle...

...to which I didn't have to go!

Happy dance, happy dance, everybody happy dance!

... I got a rejection on a query I sent to an agent about a month before.  Technically, she never responded to the query, which per the guidelines basically meant the same thing.  No reply, no acceptance.

Tears may have been shed.

But that's okay.  I dusted off my poor weeping query, gave it a little spruce up and sent it bravely back into the big wide world of agents.  I may have whispered a prayer to send it on its way.

Or rather:  Design ALL the flowers!

Talk? Talk?!   What makes you think I'd want to chat?  I haz nothing to say.  Unless we speak geek.  Then perhaps we speak.

Then we got BACK from the wedding and the weather has been liek dis:

Grey

Rainy

*snarf, grumble, grouch

*whaaahaaahaaaaaa!

It hasn't been NICE.  It has been the opposite.  It has been DARK.  My mood goeth downhill.

Source

Socializing, for me, can be physically more draining and damaging than a solid week's work, so piling MOTHER'S DAY WEEK on top of that was... was...


However, good news.  Before driving back from the wedding in Bakersfield, we stopped at Target and all four of us who had attended the wedding picked up copies of the Target Edition of Josh Groban's STAGES, which contains 17 tracks and are all of them amazing.

Make sure you get the TARGET edition with 17 tracks! The normal version only has 13, so make sure it 's the special TARGET edition you're getting!

*Oh Groban!

Speaking of Superheroes and Marvel, I also watched the first two episodes of Daredevil on Netflix during that wedding weekend, so when I got back from the wedding I proceeded to watch the other 11 episodes.


Matt Murdoch is the best!  I refuse to say anything, because, as Yoda say, "If Netflix you have, Daredevil you should be watching."  Seriously, he's a new favourite Marvel superhero.  He is so amazing and cool!  Unfortunately, now that I'm done with those 13 episode, the next season won't be up until 2016!  Netflix, why? Why? Whyyyyy?

Source

After this, Teresa and Jack and I started watching Harry Potter.  I have never really watched Harry Potter.

I know, right?

I had read up to the fourth book (which *I* thought was horrifying) and then watched the fourth movie which, IMHO, did NOT live up to the fourth books horrifyingness (which is not a word, but I don't care.  I'm a writer.  I do what I want).  Frankly, the fourth movie rather bored me, so I gave up on the series.

Then, I dunno, after the final book had been published and was no longer talked about, I thought I might as well finish the book series, and while I thought J.K. Rowling did a fine job with writing, I wasn't entirely sold on the series.  I don't know why.  I just wasn't a fan.

Sorry.

So I have had no urge to watch the movies until after Valentine's Day, when after a long grueling day at work I came home, ate something fortifying and turned on the TV, and discovered The Chamber of Secrets was playing.  Having nothing better to do, I watched it.

I mean, after all, why not?

Since then, I've been off again, on again wanting to watch them, and we started our sporadic marathon about two weeks ago.  While the first four were nothing special (for me, anyway - and btw, the fourth movie is NOT as boring as I remembered it being.  Perhaps one needs to have been away from books and movies for a significant amount of time or something), we just finished Deathly Hallows part 1, and I'll admit the 5th, 6th and 7-1/2th movies engaged me more and made me feel a bit more connected to the characters.  (Though, and I'm speaking from my experience of having read the books YEARS ago, I am pretty certain the scriptwriters could have clarified Harry as being The Chosen One.  That shtick sort of makes an appearance in the Half Blood Prince, and while I *think* it was clear in the book, it was NOT AT ALL CLEAR in the movie(s), and I honestly can't remember how or why or who or when Harry became this Chosen One or even what it has to do with the plot.)

I feel ya, Minion

I don't think I'm still (yet) techinically a fan.  I haven't entirely finished the series, after all.  Deathly Hallows part 2 will possibly (probably) happen tonight, but now that I've watched the movies I can see why people have become fans.  I will be honest even more and state that I do have a bad tendency to quote HISHE or Honest Trailer lines during crucial moments of the movies (such as, Wizzzzard lightning battle! or, Look out, Harry, he doesn't have a nose!, or, "Just saving your life.  And countless others.  In the future.  It's a long story.")  But overall, my favorite characters are Snape, Professor McGonagall, George and Fred, and Harry.  I like Ron and Hermione, but those first five are my favorites.

Source

Lastly, to bring my month to a close, the query I'd dusted off and sent back out came back with a request for the agent to see the full manuscript.

I may or may not have woken up my sister at the obscene hour of 5:00 a.m. to show her the joyous news.

So I sent the full manuscript to the agent, and now I must wait up to 60 days to see what she thinks.  It's a bit torturous, but she was nice enough to admit that it was torturous, which was good to hear.  Empathy, empathy.  So all I can do now is pray... and hope... and pray... and, you know, hope.

So, that's been my month!  I hope yours has been just as exciting and eventful as mine, albeit less gloomy.  *Rain, rain, go away, come again some OTHER day.*

Until next month...

Cat! :)

Leopold!

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www.sinfulcelluloid.com

Good morning on this snowy day in suburban DC!  We're marching along briskly in our first week of the Forward...MarCH Poetry CHallenge (read the introduction to this project here) and our word today is "punCH"--another one with several meanings most delicious to the poet.

I'm posting my one previously published poem for the week, but first I'll share one from Donna of Mainely Write.  You'll see why...

A Punch of Sun

Packing a wallop

Up in the sky 
Noontime it reaches
Cerulean;                                                  
High

--Donna Smith

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Nonfiction Picture Books 


Poetry
Online Resources
For additional resources, consider these sites.

• The UCAR Center for Science Education provides site for students called Web Weather for Kids . You'll also find a wealth of resources for teachers.
• NASA's Climate Kids site has a page devoted to weather and climate.
• Treehouse Weather Kids is designed for teachers and students in the 5th – 8th grades. It provides basic information on weather topics such as winds, moisture, air pressure, seasons, and storms. 
• Weather Report for Kids is a site that creates a visual weather report for young children. 
• Weather Wiz Kids is a site created by meteorologist Crystal Wicker that provides comprehensive information on all types of weather phenomena.
• The National Weather Service in Wichita has a produced a two-part video series for kids, Weather for Kids Part 1 and Weather for Kids Part 2.
• The Interactive Weather Maker is a simulation where players adjust temperature and humidity to change weather conditions and create various weather phenomena. 
• Learn how to report and predict the weather at EdHeads Weather.
• Find directions for building your own weather instruments at weather science projects.

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Freddy the Frogcaster and the Big Blizzard does an excellent job of creating a creative way to get kids interested in learning about the science of weather.

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• Jones, Ursula. 2014. The Princess Who Had No Kingdom. New York: Albert Whitman. Ill. by Sarah Gibb.

A beautiful princess, a pony, a red umbrella and red tights.  This is the girls' empowerment fairytale that you've always wanted. Be who you are; love who you are. If the illustrations in this one do not enchant you, you have no magic in your soul.  (So glad that this one made the leap across the pond!)

• Savage, Stephen. 2015. Supertruck. New York: Roaring Brook.

• Sayre, April Pulley. 2015. Raindrops Roll. New York: Beach Lane.

It thuds.
Makes mud.
It fills.
It spills.

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Salina Yoon knocks this one out of the park with Stormy Night! This book features her most recent character, Bear, as he experiences the terror of a thunderstorm.

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John Rocco discusses his newest picture book, Blizzard, the companion to your Caldecott Honor-winning Blackout.

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I have no idea when I perfected it. The snot rocket is an art boys learn early on. We had our share of cold winters in Kentucky where I grew up. Winter, where the snot rocket is born…

You might say there is no skill involved in expelling phlegm from your nose. That’s where you are wrong. Anyone’s nose can run. The question is: can hold your nose just right, tilt your head and force it out properly so that it doesn’t land on your face or clothing? Because that would be embarrassing. Further, can you aim it while on the run so it doesn’t freeze and become a dangerous icy patch to those who come after you?

I can.

I don’t mean to brag, but I’m pretty good – darn good. I feel like if we could get this added as an Olympic sport, I could medal. Where is the SRAA (Snot Rocket Athletic Association) to champion this cause? Imagine that, a Southern boy winning gold in the Winter Olympics.

I got to test my skill Sunday. It dipped to freezing in Georgia for the first time this winter. I love cold runs. In fact, I planned on doing 8 miles and stretched it into 10. There weren’t many people on the greenway with me while I plied my phlegmy craft. Unbeknownst to me, there was a new factor at play.

Kylie has decided that she no longer likes the shape of my head and wants me to cover it with hair again. In fact, she decided she would like me to cover my face, as well. I don’t know what that says, but I am happy to comply. Just like I had always wanted to shave my head, I have always wanted to try to grow a beard. My lovely wife objected to both, but we do pretty much whatever Kylie wants while she is in treatment. So I have a week’s worth of stubble on my head and face.

I think it is going to come in. It looks slightly patchy on the cheeks, but a goatee will not be a problem. All the online beard-growing advice I’ve found says you have to give it a month before you decide. I can hold out. I’m actually kind of excited about it. Right now, with stubble all over, I feel dangerous – like a European bad guy in a James Bond film.

This new growth plays havoc with the snot rocket, however. I didn’t know it when I started running. I launched away for the 5 miles out. When I turned around, more people had joined the run and I noticed quite a few stares. I chalked it up to my new shady appearance. They must be afraid – wondering if I was planning dastardly deeds that only MI6 can thwart. Dangerous.

Little did I know until I got to the truck that I was stockpiling snot rockets on my new facial hair. Like twin demented antlers, they had collected and grown in a downward spiral shape from my upper lip. Yuck…

I have a challenge before me this winter of adapting the game to my new look. Don’t worry, part of being a professional is overcoming obstacles that stand in the way. And if the SRAA comes calling, I will shave and probably wax my upper lip to be competitive. Nothing can get in the way of an Olympic dream.

Filed under: Learned Along the Way

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From the archives of the Portsong Guardian, dated May 1924:

 

A great loss occurred in Portsong today. Mae Wilkin’s cow, Flossie, took ill several weeks ago and poor Mae found her hooves up in her pen this morning. Since Flossie routinely slept in that position, Doc Harkins is not quite sure of the time of death as Mae can’t seem to recall the last time she saw her upright. The old doc is quite sure she has passed, though.

The death of Flossie not only leaves an empty stall in Mae’s stable, it leaves a great loss to the farming community at large. In 1908, Mae’s late husband, Homer discovered Flossie had quite a knack for weather prognostication. While his peers mostly considered him a lunatic, Homer persevered in honing the skills of his heifer until he finally won over believers after she correctly predicted the great hailstorm of March 1910.

His description of her amazing talent was detailed in the transcript of a radio interview by noted Savannah broadcaster Edwin F. Teague:

EFT: How did you come upon the discover of her ability?

HW: I began to noticin’ she always worked her cud on the left. I thought that to be a might peculiar, so I asked her about it one day.

EFT: You talk to her?

HW: Why sure I do. I talk to all of ’em. It sooths ‘em to hear my voice. No good milkin’ ’em without talkin’ sweet to ’em first. They’d squirt out beans or nothing at all if they weren’t peaceful! Anyhow, she didn’t have no answer. But the nexday, just by chance, I noticed she were workin’ it on the right. On about noontime, the sky opened up and cut loose a fierce storm.

EFT: So you noticed a pattern after that day?

HW: Yesir. It happened thataway every time. In fact, when it got to be planting season, I went out to see which side she was chewin’ on before I did anythin’.

EFT: Did you have trouble convincing other farmers about this skill?

HW: At first. If I were at the feed store out yonder in Linkston, I’d tell ’em what the day held and they’d laugh at old Homer. But after I was right so many a time, they had to listen to me. When I told ‘em it were Flossie, they laughed at me until the big storm in 19 and 10 turned out to be the Mighty Hailer! They quit their laughing after that.

EFT: Yes, how did you get from rain prediction to a storm of such magnitude?

HW: Well, it goed like this. When I went out to the field that day to check the weather, she had her mouth filled triple full and slop were coming out both sides. So I know’d it were something unusual coming. I asked her if it were so and she just lowered her big, soft brown eyes to the ground and I knew. I went running around town tell folks to tie down the winders, ‘cause I knew a big ‘un was on its way.

EFT: She prevented a great deal of loss that day. Thank you for your fascinating story, Mr. Wilkins.

 

Ironically, directly across from the story on page 13 was the following advertisement:

Wanted: The Portsong Guardian is seeking a weatherman for immediate duty. Part time - morning hours. Pay commensurate with experience. Bovine preferred.

 

Photo credit: William Warby (Flickr: Cow)

Filed under: Stories

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I may have grown up where snow was the weather that was most talked about, but my favorite form of precipitation has always been the rain. In our old house in the city I used to love to sit outside on the porch swing when it rained and rock to the beat of the drops, and sometimes the thunder. William and I still like to play in the rain in the summer and jump in puddles in our bare feet. My favorite rain is quiet rain, early in the morning.

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It’s pouring outside here in Boulder (really pouring…like a monsoon. Seriously, there are flash flood warnings in effect.) This turn of events has ended a streak of blistering hot days and put me in the mood for autumn. Bring out the galoshes and wool sweaters! Serve up the hot tea and warm soup! I’m ready.

So, without further ado, here is an illustration I made at work today to celebrate the changing of the seasons:

You’re probably wondering why I haven’t updated my website since February. Yes, February. As in, A LONG TIME AGO. My only excuse is that I became slightly busy with little things like changing jobs and getting married. (I know, some people manage to still update their websites while doing other things, but some of us are a little more bloggingly-challenged.) Anyway, that’s what I have been up to. I can now happily say that I am now a full-time professional illustrator for a company here in Boulder, and I can also happily say that I have been married for a whole 10 days. Hooray!

My new employer is called Mocavo and is a genealogy web searching service where you can find out all sorts of delightful secrets about your great aunt Mildred and so forth. Unlike other web start-up companies I have encountered, this one had the good taste to hire a full-time illustrator to be on staff. Brilliant! You can find the Mocavo website here.

So, folks, I’m glad to be back here posting again. I have a ton of illustrations to share since I draw and paint almost every day now, so stay tuned for more to come!

The post An Autumn Stroll appeared first on Jessica Lanan Illustration.

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Over the past few weeks, we have experienced a lot of showers and storms rolling through the Mount Pleasant area. Lucky for us, we have been busy inside the office, but it brings up the question what happens to the animals during or after a storm?

A recent news article from FOX 25 in Oklahoma City discusses one organization, Wild Care Oklahoma, that has taken in over 700 animals since the end of May. Wild Care has stepped in to provide care for many animals directly affected by the damaging tornadoes, many of which were babies. The recent storms hit during the peak of “baby” season. This left many young animals orphaned in the aftermath of the tornadoes. A litter of skunks, two racoons, and species of birds, turtles, coyotes, and foxes have been taken in by Wild Care after the destructive storms hit. The organization’s Facebook page frequently posts pictures and videos of their in treatment or newly released animals each day. I highly recommend checking out this page and all the adorable animal babies! You can also check-out ways to help Wild Care or their upcoming events.

Also, Author Patti R. Zelch in her book Ready, Set…Wait!, illustrated by Connie McLennan, gives insight into what happens to animals during storms. This picture book follows nine different wild animals as they sense, prepare, and react to an approaching hurricane. Definitely a good read for a rainy day inside!

Link to the Wild Care Oklahoma Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/WildCareOklahoma

Wishing everyone a good day and stay dry wherever you are!

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OK. Since my wife and daughter couldn't decipher this: Thor (the wolverine) doesn't want winter to end -- so he eats the marmot (pseudo Cascadian groundhog) before he can properly prognosticate. Thusly, the happy ending with a grizzly middle. Six more weeks of winter!

Note to self: I probably should have drawn some flailing limbs, snarling wolverine teeth, or a flying marmot hat to make it more clear that the little guy was eaten alive. Learning something new with every edition...

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What do John Dalton, Al Roker, and Punxsutawney Phil the Groundhog have in common? They’re all famous weathermen! Groundhogs, which also go by the name woodchucks, are ground squirrels related to chipmunks and prairie dogs. They live in the North East of the United States and in Canada, where they feed on wild grasses and insects and live in burrows they dig for themselves. Sometimes the tunnels that make up their homes can interfere with the homes of humans by making the ground under buildings unstable. Some farmers and homeowners get mad at Groundhogs for damaging their property. However, other people believe that Groundhogs provide a useful service for humans: they predict the weather!

In the 1800’s, German immigrants in Pennsylvania started a tradition where, every February 2nd, they watched the behavior of a special Groundhog to tell them how soon Spring would begin. They would gather around the weatherman-Groundhog’s burrow and watch as he emerged. If the day was sunny, the groundhog might see his shadow, become afraid, and retreat into his burrow. According to the tradition, this is his way of telling people that Winter will last for another six weeks. If the Groundhog doesn’t see his shadow and leaves his burrow, then Spring will come early! Instead of using graphs and images for his weather forecast, the Groundhog communicates with his emotions!

This tradition was “Candlemas” to the German immigrants, but now we know it as “Groundhog Day.” Every February 2nd, people still look to famous Weather-Groundhogs such as Punxsutawney Phil, Western Maryland Murray, and Chattanooga Chuck to tell them how soon spring will come. The weathermen-Groundhogs are never completely accurate with their predictions, but then again, neither are human weathermen!

Learn more about groundhogs in Prairie Storms by Darcy Pattison and click on the picture below to print this great coloring page by Kathleen Rietz.

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The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba of The Caffeinated Book Reviewer. This is a weekly meme where we can share news of the week and highlight new books received.

Wow! The crazy weather has returned.  It was in the upper 50s the last two days, which meant lots of fog and melting snow.  Oh, yeah, and tons of puppy pooh.  These guys must poop 15 times a day!  I have spent the last few days cleaning up the yard, and let me tell you, it has not been pleasant!  Where does it all come from!  They don’t even eat that much!  Hopefully you enjoyed the warm weather (if you had it), doing something more exciting than yard maintenance and avoiding the flu, which is going around the office like crazy.

Check out my current contests! See the Contest Widget on the Sidebar to enter!

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews to share new additions to our library. Click here to learn more about it.

New Arrivals at the Café:

Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi – Nabbed this with an Amazon gift card

Lush by Lauren Dane

Odette’s Secrets by Maryann MacDonald

Stung by Bethany Wiggins

Married in Haste (Marriage) by Cathy Maxwell

Kiss of the Betrayer by Boone Brux

A great big thanks to the publishers for their continued support!

What did you get? Please leave links and share!

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……… Today we have a fun interview with a powerful character. His name is Chase Danger and he is a seven-year-old Super Spy. Yes, you read that correctly, he is seven-years-old, 7!  And he is a super spy.  Here with Chase Danger is one of the co-authors of the second book in the series., Chase [...]

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Hi All
I just wanted to share a nice surprise regarding one of my previously published books! I just found out that my book, Lightning Strikes is being featured in this month's edition of Guardian Angel Kids ezine. The theme is "weather", so my little rhyming counting book fits right in there. If you get a chance, stop by and check it out at http://guardian-angel-kids.com. The full press release is below.


M E D I A R E L E A S E
CONTACT: Donna McDine, Editor-in-Chief, Guardian Angel Kids Ezine
Email: submissions@ guardian- angel-kids. com

Website: http://guardian-angel-kids.com

For Immediate Release

Children's Ezine Guardian Angel Kids: Weather - September 2012 Issue

Welcome to the GAK September 2012 issue all about the weather.

The weather often times sets our mood. Editor-in-chief, Donna McDine enjoys

a cool autumn day with the wonderful visual of the colorful leafs

immediately relaxes me. With summer rapidly coming to an end McDine is

looking forward to the next change of seasons. While she enjoys the so

called lazy days of summer, McDine embraces the opportunity for a regular

school schedule affording her the time to focus on her own writing, and

continued work at GAK and private client publicity work.

The GAK staff invites you to sit for a spell and enjoy the every changing

world of weather. Take a ride on a cloud and dance in the rain through

poetry, experience the apprehension of a thunderstorm and competition

amongst friends at the school science fair through engaging stories. Or look

through the fog and learn how it helps the giant redwood trees of California

grow and learn tornado safety tips.

Visit the writers and illustrators in the Guardian Angel Kids September 2012

issue and enjoy the alluring poetry, stories, articles and activities,

www.guardian- angel-kids. com.

Letter from the EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Donna M. McDine

Featured BookS:

Lighting Strikes Flip Book by Kevin McNamee and art by Eugene Ruble

Cloud Jumpers Flip Book by Tracy Ahrens and art by Eugene Ruble

Children'S poetry, ACTIVITIES, SHORT STORIES, and articleS:

"One Little Cloud," by Barbara Bockman - the every changing cycle of clouds.

"Weather Wisdom," by Guy Belleranti - changing seasons.

"Crack Boom Crash," by Rose Thoman - how to stay safe in a lighting storm.

"Fair-Weather Friends," by Jennifer A. Buchet - science fair competition.

"When You Can't See the Water," by Mary Reina - how fog affects your life.

"A Dark Furious Looking Monster," by Irene S. Roth - the importance of

knowing what to do before a tornado hits.

Visit Guardian Angel Kid today and

www.guardian- angel-kids. com and enjoy a child safe and ad free Ezine.

We also invite you to stay connected with Guardian Angel Kids through our

Facebook Fan Page



http://www.facebook .com/pages/ Guardian- Angel-Kids- Ezine/1637850803 46247.

Please feel free to drop Editor-in-Chief, Donna McDine an email at



submissions@ guardian- angel-kids. com and let them know what you think of

Guardian Angel Kids and what you'd like to see in the future. They aim to

please.

The Guardian Angel Kids Ezine staff and contributors look forward to your

visit. Thank you for your time and interest.



###

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I think we are over the hump of summer here in Minneapolis and I can’t begin to say what a great relief it is. Today was the kind of day I wish every summer day could be, sunny with a bright blue sky with puffy clouds scuttling across it, a cool breeze and a temperature of 76F (24C). Bookman and I did lots of outside work in the garden and between that and the fact that my end of summer allergies have kicked in and will continue until we get a hard frost sometime the end of September or beginning of October, I am done for today. Pooped, tired, tuckered out, exhausted, weary, zonked, beat, whipped, bushed. You get the idea. Interesting, isn’t it, that there are so many variations on being tired.

To be sure, there are still more hot days ahead in August, days we reach 90 (32) or warmer, but they will be fewer and fewer and days like today will be more and more. Heck, The maple tree in the yard across the street already has a few leaves on it turning red.

Enough rhapsodizing about the weather, though if you ever visit Minnesota, be prepared to talk about the weather a lot. People here love to talk about it especially with visitors. There is a certain pleasure taken in talking up how cold it gets here in the winter. We like to see the looks on visitor’s faces. The people in charge of tourism for the state have tried to tell us we shouldn’t do that because it scares people away. Yes, that’s the point. That way only the truly worthy and brave will venture here in winter and the wimps will go to Florida or California.

Wait, didn’t I say I was going to stop going on about the weather. Right.

So to give you something bookish today, Arti at Ripple Effects is hosting an Anna Karenina read along. I’m usually not one to join read alongs, but Arti caught me at the right time and I’ve been meaning to read Anna K for ages so, why not?

The reading takes place September – October. The goal is to read parts 1-4 by September 30th and parts 5-8 by October 31st. Pretty doable I think even if you are planning to take part in Carl’s annual RIP Challenge, which I am. So if you have been planning on reading Anna K and felt intimidated, need and extra push to get going on it, or just want to read it along with others for the fun of the discussion, consider joining in.

Now to go collapse on the couch and read a little Prisoner of Heaven, Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s latest. Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Filed under: Books, Challenges, Personal Tagged: Anna Karenina, weather

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