i give up

Not blogging. Just telling myself that I can blog in any sort of organized fashion. Or that I can do much of anything in any sort of organized fashion for that matter.

A thought occurred to me this morning--maybe the ability to follow through with plans diminishes with number of living, breathing beings that inhabit one's home. Baker pretty much knocked the last three days kerfluey. And today, the boys both woke up sick, which means that many of those things that I was hoping to get done today will not get done. Anyway, this idea of mine quickly had to be discarded when I thought about all those people with six kids, three dogs, four cats, and a horse who still manage to accomplish all they set out to do in an organized manner. So yeah, I'm back to the original theory--I need a new brain.

But with Baker peacefully napping, Gray wrapped up in his blanket reading, and Max lying quietly on the couch watching a movie, I think I can at least sneak in this one thing I'd hoped to do today--update my acquisitions and blame. All but the bottom book in this stack were bought in one evening (nearly two weeks ago) in the used section of B&N.

*The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. I rarely hit the used book stores with anything specific in mind, because that generally leads to disappointment. But I'd just read Heather's review of The Little Stranger and I just *had* to get my hands on it. You know that feeling--that pure physical craving. Honestly, I assumed I would end up leaving the used section disappointed...and have to pick it up new. Let me tell you, when I saw it sitting there on the shelf...oh yes, happy squeal. I would have happily walked out of the store with that book alone. POINT FOR HEATHER.

*Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters. Of course, I didn't walk out of the store with that book alone. This book was sitting right there with The Little Stranger, and there was just no way I was leaving it behind. So, yeah, I now have four of Water's books, and haven't read a single one of them. *sigh* I am soooo much better at acquiring than I am at actually reading.

*The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. To be perfectly honest, though I'd heard of this on occasion in the past, I really had no clue whatsoever what it was about. For some reason, even with a lack of knowledge, it scared me. Until Ana's review. After reading that, I knew this was a definite must-read! (It was also a reminder of how ridiculous it is to be afraid of books I don't know anything about...like one should need a reminder of something so basic.) POINT FOR ANA.

*The Private War of Mrs. Packard: The Dramatic Story of a Nineteenth-Century Feminist by Barbara Sapinsley. This totally sounds like a book that I should be blaming Ana for, doesn't it? :D  But truth is I'd never heard of it before. Here's a bit of the blurb from the back:

Nineteenth-century Illinois housewife Elizabeth Packard's troubles began when she took public exception to the rigid views of her Calvinist minister husband, Theophilus. Announcing that since his wife "persistently refused my will or wishes...it must be that she is insane," Rev. Packard took advantage of the Illinois law that allowed a husband to have a wife committed to an insane asylum on his own whim (and the ever-ready consent of the admitting doctor). Released a few years later through the efforts of her son, and later found sane in a sensational jury trial, Packard spent the rest of her life lobbying to change the laws under which she was institutionalized...."

Sounds like it might be quite good, doesn't it? (And Ana, if it is as good as it sounds, I'm sending it on to you after I finish...you're so bad for my bookshelves that sometimes you need a little extra "punishment"!)

*****
Okay, I'm going to cut this short (just too many interruptions). The next four books--New News Out of Africa: Uncovering Africa's Renaissance by Charlayne Hunter-Gault, They Would Never Hurt a Fly: War Criminals on Trial in the Hague by Slavenka Drakulic, Mukiwa: A Whilte Boy in Africa by Peter Godwin, and The Lemon Tree: An Arab, A Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan--well they all just sounded good. No points.

And in one of those last but not least situations, we've got Witch Craft: Wicked Accessories, Creepy-Cute Toys, Magical Treats, and More compiled by Margaret McGuire and Alicia Kachmar. Chris saved himself from sucking up a point for this one by not telling me that it existed before so very sweetly buying it for me. :P  Thank you again, my dear! :D