Reading Notes April and May

I kept picking up books to read, and then drifting off them, sometimes within a short sprint to the end.  I couldn't seem to stay on track, and I hadn't finished a book in weeks.  To counteract this decision fatigue and ennui I picked a bookcase, and a shelf, and just read from left to right.  No choices, no decisions, just books.

So, here we go!  I guess this is the April reading notes, then...and May

 I'm read the second shelf on the blue bookcase in my bedroom.  Book #1 is The Piano Shop on The Left Bank: The Hidden World of a Paris Atelier by T.E. Carhart.

Ah, I remember buying this book!  Actually I picked it up somewhere and then later bought it all over again because I couldn't remember if I'd bought it the first time.  Now I had two copies of a book I still hadn't read.  Sounds like me.  Apparently this is Carhart's first book, let me just look here and see when it was published...2000!  Has he written anything since?  Ah, yes he has - apparently a memoir and a historical novel.  There you go.

This nonfiction look into the secretive world of the atelier - the purveyors of pianos - is focused on a single dusty shop in Paris but Carhart stretches to bring us into the off passages of the instrument's history.  It's very light, a little whimsical, an excellent start to the shelf and I'm glad I finally read it and can give away my extra copy.

And the next unread book on this shelf is...The Gate of Angels by Penelope Fitzgerald.  A novel!  Fun!  Well, it wasn't...FUN... exactly.  I did laugh aloud several times, especially at the ridiculous traditional Oxbridge style college (so reminiscent of my own dysfunctional college education).  But, oh, there was sadness.  And a horrifying ghost story before Fitzgerald brings you back to the possibility of the closed and barred doors in our lives opening to some hopeful future.  She never gives us the 'happy ending', though.

Right next to the Fitzgerald we have the next unread title - My Invented Country: A Memoir by Isabel Allende.  Oh, this one was such a good read!  I think it was around this time I started recording little videos about my books on Facebook, actually.  Having only read one Allende title before, and that many years ago, I was surprised at how FUNNY and relevant she was and how appealing and cozy her writing style came across.  It was like a very interesting and vibrant friend and I were sitting down discussing fascinating things together and she was telling me all the stories about Chile.

Okay, now the next one is...The Voice of Matthew by Lauren Winner.

Well.  What a disappointment.  It wasn't a Bible study, it was some sort of odd artistic Bible translation that, really, didn't do very well and it looks like many of the other books were scrapped.  I bet Winner wishes she could sweep this title under the rug.

Six degrees of separation.

Recently I've been thinking about taking a course.  I do this periodically - think about going to school for various subjects and then gently laying the thoughts aside when life seems like it wouldn't be conducive to the female adult taking a break, or to one person spending so much money on themselves, or whatever.  Anyway, I've been looking at this course and turning it over in my mind a bit and it occurred to me that I could probably talk to someone in the field to get an idea of what it would really be like to practice this skill.  And over two days the following situation slowly unfurled...

Oh, here's an organization that does that thing...interesting...bet they don't have an ABC department, though.

Oh, they do, and there's a guy who works in it!  I'd probably feel better talking to a wo-

Oh!  He also has a female colleague who does MORE of the work I would be interested in learning about!

I wonder if I could contact HER and just...ask about how the course work would translate into her field?  Just out of curiosity.  

 I left it at that and went to bed, and didn't think much about it to be honest.  The next day I woke up and put out a message asking for advice on the situation - would it be strange to invite her to lunch if I were in her area?  Would a Skype call be something I could conceivably do?  Is this weird?  Is it weird to ask someone about their career?

Unanimously the answer was no, this was not weird.  And one person said "Maybe you know someone who knows her.  Six degrees of separation!"

Well now that does put a different spin on it, doesn't it.  This person is fairly public, with a podcast, and a recently published book, and mentions in her online bio that her husband is a minister.  It is not inconceivable that I DO know her.  Feeling a little odd, but not enough to actually stop, I Googled her husband's name and found the church he ministered at.

My friend Mary attends that church!

A quick verification and yes, yes indeed Mary's pastor is the same man, and she knows the minister's wife, and of course she will introduce me.

All in two days.  

Things we've found to occupy ourselves

Let's be honest, school, life...nothing's been going well.  So here are some of the things the children and I HAVE been doing copious amounts of recently!

YouTube/Video Games/Online Comics - Our internet/computer rules are s.t.r.i.c.t.  You can only use a device with permission, Dad or Mom have to know what you're looking at, you must use the device in a room with an adult, you may not hide the screen from view, you may not navigate away from your page...so, you know, the computer isn't a free for all.  But the kids still enjoy stuff!  Here are some of the creators we love:

Mr. Maker - do you remember this guy from ages ago?  He's just the right level of craftiness for the soon-to-be-six year old, but the eight year old is so artistic that she does all of the crafts, too.

Simon's Cat - A funny little cat cartoon for my cat-loving 10yo.  Many of them are 'shorts' of under 10 minutes, but there are a fewer longer full-length cartoons.

Half-Asleep Chris - We like this guy's cat videos as well!  Now, he also has other videos on various topics, and while I can't picture him discussing anything inappropriate I haven't actually watched all of them so, preview if it matters to you.  But he's very family friendly.

Breaking Cat News - a really funny online comic.  Cats are big around here these days.  If you haven't noticed.

Prodigy Math - I've talked about this before!  My children love the online Prodigy Math Game.  It's free to play, although there are upgrades, which we don't bother paying for.  Children are little good wizards who solve math problems to progress through levels and fight bad guys.  There's no gore or unpleasantness at all.

TVOKids.com - Ontario's public broadcasting children's network.  You can play educational games online at a preschool or school age level (Really, nothing above maybe grade 6 level).  There are no ads.

Jacquie Lawson English Garden - If you've liked her e-cards, and you've taken my advice to buy her Advent Calendar, then you might like this game, as well.  She has an interactive English Garden one, and also a Curio Shop one!  Each game slowly unfolds over twelve days, and then is available forever for you to play.  The girls especially enjoy planting gardens and cleaning the greenhouse and what have you.

America's Test Kitchen - Let's Get Cooking.  Very popular DS game with the 8yo mini-chef, let me tell you.  She made maple glazed pork chops for us from the instructions on here.

Puzzles, of course.  At the beginning of quarantine we did essentially every single puzzle in our house.  So we were a little puzzled out.  But we just picked up a new one so I have a feeling we're about to ramp up puzzle time again.

And speaking of puzzles, adult-level paint-by-numbers are a thing!  I thought I wouldn't like them because I couldn't stand adult colouring books but surprisingly I LOVE THEM.  Here's the one I'm doing right now:

They take quite a while, obviously.  But I think the reason I'm enjoying it so much is that unlike colouring pages, these require absolutely no thinking.  I just put the numbered colour in the numbered square.  Sometimes you need mindless.