Tag Archives: © 2017 Book Chatter

Sunday Matters: Where Are the Decorations?

Sunday Matters

We are halfway through October and only a few houses have Halloween decorations up. Normally ours are up, but my son usually has a hand in it and this year he is busy with Fright Fest on the weekends so he hasn’t been able to put them up. For three days a week he dons this make-up and scares people all night long. Fun, huh?

fright-fest
Yes, this is my kid!

Right Now:

Not a lot going on at the moment. I tried to sleep in a little but coffee was calling.

This Week:

Volleyball games, rehearsal, etc. You guys know the drill. I am seeing my physical medicine doc for my three-month check and every time the appointment comes up I think I am okay and don’t need to go anymore but then the other day, while trying to fix the ceiling after the AC leaked, my severe neck/jaw pain came back so I will welcome the cortisone shot this Friday, for sure.

Reading:

I am at the halfway point with Sleeping Beauties and it’s really getting good although I felt like it took many chapters to get there.

I’m about to begin my book club pick for next month, Lab Girl.

Watching:

American Horror Story is very good this season. Although some parts of the story are very predictable, other parts surprise me. I’ve got a lot of friends watching it too so it’s fun to talk about the show afterward.

The season finale of Fear the Walking Dead is this weekend. The producers of The Walking Dead announced that there will be a crossover between the two shows. I expected as much but the characters and story line are all over the place in Fear so I wonder how it will work.

As for movies, I had a day off so I watched:

  • Please Don’t Eat the Daisies (love Doris Day!)
  • Rope (love Hitchcock!)

If you are a fan of Charlie Brown, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown airs on 10/19 on ABC. Record it!

It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Making:

I hit Trader Joe’s last weekend and bought all kinds of things for us to eat so the family has had Gyoza dumplings, Orange Chicken and I had some Chicken in Coconut sauce with rice. I also bought some risotto and pasta fixings.

I like to cook from scratch but the kids are old enough and their schedules are all over the place so Trader Joe’s works for me (at the moment). In a few minutes they can put something together and not have to resort to cereal.

Grateful for:

Days off. It seems obvious but this past week I took a day off and it was glorious. I cleaned and cooked and read and watched movies and was still able to catch The Girl’s volleyball game. I love to have a clean house and unfortunately, with both of us working full-time my house is never as clean as I want it to be.

It’s still warm here in Southern California but what have you done to celebrate fall so far?

Review: The Lathe of Heaven

The Lathe of Heaven

The Lathe of Heaven
By Ursula K. Le Guin
Scribner Book Company, 9781416556961,  May 2008, 184pp.

The Short of It:

Even though this book was originally published in 1971, it still possesses a futuristic feel.

The Rest of It:

In a future world racked by violence and environmental catastrophes, George Orr wakes up one day to discover that his dreams have the ability to alter reality. He seeks help from Dr. William Haber, a psychiatrist who immediately grasps the power George wields. Soon George must preserve reality itself as Dr. Haber becomes adept at manipulating George’s dreams for his own purposes. — From the publisher.

This was a fascinating read even though I’m pretty sure some of it went right over my head. For a short book, it certainly packs a punch and gets right into George’s head. His dreams have the power to change reality, which is why he so desperately wants to stop dreaming, but once Dr. Haber realizes what’s in front of him he takes advantage of the situation. He implants dream “suggestions”  into George’s mind but to George, everything is very literal so the end result is not always what the doctor had in mind.

People die or cease to exist. They come back. Aliens can’t communicate. Then they can, but only after they become turtles. Check out that cover. Turtles!

This is a crazy book but I could easily read it again because there’s so much I missed the first time around. The book club I belong to discussed it last week and it was a good discussion. Apparently, it was also made into a movie. Has anyone read the book or seen the movie?

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.