Words Slaying

I finished 2, count 'em, 2, books this weekend.  I finished Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Why Do We Say It. They are both really interesting books.  I'm not going to write much on either of them since typing is a pain in the butt.  I will say Abraham Lincoln was a really interesting mix of fact and fiction.  I was; however, annoyed by the fact that the front story about a guy writing a book for the vampire Henry has no resolution at the end.  It was also confusing knowing who was talking at times.  I was left to wonder: is this Henry, the writer, or Abraham Lincoln?  The Why Do We Say It book is also very interesting.  I have mentioned the same problem with it from the beginning: some of the explanations don't really explain anything or they are so unbelievably out there OR I have heard more logical explanations than the ones provided.  They are both worth taking a look at; I'm just happy to say that I finished a book!  Yay!

Vampires

So I am almost finished with.... Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith.  Bet you weren't expecting that book!  It isn't like I have mentioned about 40 books that I have started and not finished as of yet.  I'm sort of cheating with this book.  It is an audio book and I have been listening to it a good amount while I clean and go for walks.  Tonight I got a wonderful hour long walk.  I even got to spend some time watching a beautiful sunset and watching/listening to all the wildlife.  A little black duck popped up pretty close to where I was, a hawk flew by, and there were the lovely sounds of a loon echoing across the lake. The sunset was indescribably beautiful, but I'll try:  soft yellowy rays streaking out from behind a few clouds to reflect off the lake.

Anyways,  I still am putzing along with a few of my other books.  I still have a long way until Avalon is finished.  I am happy to say though, that I will soon be finished with the Why We Say It book as well.  That book just makes my mind spin.  Sometimes I understand where they are coming from, sometimes I want to say BS, and sometimes I feel like the "answer" you get is a bit of a "dog chasing it's tail" (meaning, it uses a lot of words in a confusing manor and you just leave scratching your head).

I am currently making some applesauce.  I am trying it with half the amount of sugar and a bit more cinnamon.  I also had a bit of an inspired moment in the kitchen this last week.  I don't really have a recipe because I just added things to the bowl, but I made some killer "Almond Joy" cookies.  I started with a basic chocolate chip recipe and then I began to add things.  I had a bag of coconut flake on the counter and so I added a handful or two of coconut, a splash of almond milk, and about a tsp of almond extract.  This is how good they were: my little brother declared that he didn't like almond joys, so he wasn't going to eat any...until he ate about a dozen!

Wicked County Zombies

I finally finished up a few books this last week.  I can finally work towards finishing a few of the many others I have floating about my room.  I finished London: The Wicked City, The Sand County Almanac, and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. 

I've talked about London: The Wicked City before.  It is such an interesting book.  Who would've thought that prostitution could be so entertaining.  Some of it was down right nasty and some of it was really very interesting.  The shifting views of prostitution and the way women viewed the selling of their bodies as a way of supporting themselves.  Some were just plain horny and some saw it as the only way to support themselves.  There was even a feminist leader, that despite her desire to eradicate prostitution, she didn't think that women should be the sole recipient of forced physical exams and legal punishment when it obviously takes two to make the transaction.  I was also amazed at the way other countries viewed London and its teaming hordes of night walkers.  I really liked the section about how shifting views of prostitution led to the perfect situation for Jack the Ripper to commit his murders and never be found out. 


The Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold was a book I started back in like 2009.  I keep coming back to this book and I have finally finished it.  I had to read sections of it for school and I was really interested in finishing the book.  Life just seemed to get in the way of ever finishing it.  I do enjoy reading the month sections on the turning of the months.  You can see the changes of the season in your own.  The book is very thought provoking and really makes you think about the impact you have on the world.  I never really thought about how we begin to destroy the "wilderness" in our attempts to connect to it.  The demand to connect to "wilderness" often leads to the development of the area for recreation.  I found this very interesting and I was quite happy to find Silent Spring at Vinnies recently.


Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is hilarious.  I couldn't stop laughing at some of the ridiculous parts.  You still fall in love with Darcy and Bingly despite the head lopping.  I was very impressed with this work and I fully enjoyed it.  The book is literally Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice with a zombie theme weaved into the mix.  It is truly impressive.  I am starting Dawn of the Dreadfuls and I'm a little displeased.  Some of the things from this book don't line up with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  There was talk of the girls doing certain things at a much younger age in P&P&Z and the girls in DotD have the same characteristics as there older counterparts.  Lydia acts like a 15/16 year old; however, she is supposed to be younger than 10  (? - I can't quite tell).   I'll say that at least Pride and Prejudice and Zombies  was worth the read.  I'll have to keep on with Dawn of the Dreadfuls and hopefully it will get a bit better.  Maybe the majority of that novel being Jane Austen's writing made it better than Dawn of the Dreadfuls which seems to be all his own writing.  There was a part of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies that got a bit "man attempting to write a romance novel."  The line was something about Darcy shouting pistols from his mount while the pistol smoke swirled through his chestnut hair.  Then, his horse reared, and he stayed seated on his horse while never flinching.  It was gag worthy.