"It was a book to kill time for those who like it better dead." - Dame Rose Maccaulay

I “finished” Anne Rivers Siddons’ Sweetwater Creek pretty much the same way I’ve finished her past two – I read the first third, got disgusted, and skimmed though the rest to discover what the big tragic secret of the heroine was. Yawn. I give up. I am not even going to waste my time starting them from now on. Which is a shame because some of her early books were really engrossing.

I am going to use my came-in-the-mail 10%-off coupon coupled with my membership discount to buy Salman Rushdie’s Shalimar the Clown. I looked through it at B&N the other night and the first chapter was interesting enough to make me want to keep reading. Hope it’s better than Fury. Rushdie is one of the few authors I will take the chance of buying new, in hardback. (Some others include Byatt, Kingsolver, and Harry Potter : ))

I was at B&N to buy a Percy and a Harold the Helicopter for the new baby to “give” to the boys when we come home from the hospital. We did the same thing when we brought Jude home from the hospital, and Si still says, “Jude gave me this book because he was so happy I was his big brother.” It was worth the couple bucks.

I also ordered Finn Family Moomintroll and Comet in Moominland for Simon for Christmas. (I am trying to get some Xmas shopping done before el bambino shows up.)

I plucked Patrick Suskind’s Perfume off my shelf to read when I finish Children of God. It cropped up in some editor’s pick list recently, and I’ve owned it for ages. My reading is getting very scattered again. And I am obsessed with finding some article from a Harper’s a few months ago about termites in New Orleans. Dan mentioned it in passing and I want to read it.

Courtesy of Joke – Joke, you’re right, the little I’ve read so far of Bastiat *is* amusing. One Amazon reviewer said this, and I say he said it better than I could have:
Important economic concepts that a Samuelson might spend 2 pages of … econo-speak labouring to explain, Bastiat makes crystal clear in a 2 line pun or paragraph-long satirical swipe. The man is a joy to read - one of the few economists whose writings will make you laugh out loud.
(I sent this page off to my brother, too, in case he wasn’t aware but I am sure he is. He’s probably already read Bastiat’s books. I just started off with some essays I found online…)

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Last Monday I cleaned the entire house, and yesterday I worked my way through all the laundry and did a huge stocking-up grocery shopping trip. Some people might call it nesting; I simply call it being prepared. Especially since my in-laws are out of town this week, so if I do go into labor, Dan hasn’t got ready help with the boys at hand. And my friend Deb, who is leaving town for several weeks, made and gave me a huge casserole to put in my freezer. I love any kind of present as much as the next person, but someone who gives a pregnant woman ready-prepared meals to have at hand deserves a special place in the afterlife.

My friend Leslie came over for dinner last night and I do believe Simon is in the throes of his first crush. He’s been wanting to meet her for ages, probably because I talk about her a lot since we work together just about every Saturday. And she was treated to a full tour of his “art gallery” (the pictures he has taped on his bedroom wall), his Thomas coloring book, and anything else he thought she might find interesting. He even came out onto the porch and invited her in to hear his bedtime story. Simon was also very nonchalant with his goodbyes, always a sign. Better be careful, Leslie, I think he’s got his eye on you. How do you feel about younger men?

In complete trivia – my husband keeps running off with my special favorite pens. They aren’t expensive or really all that special, they are Pilot push-button gel pens and I own them in red, blue, and black. I stock up on refills and keep the pens in my nightstand drawer. And the bugger keeps swiping them because he likes to do crossword puzzles/Harper’s puzzles with them. I believe the only solution is to buy him his own set and refills and then chain mine to my desk.