Summer Reading: Just Kids and Charlaine Say It Ain't So. . .

I'm a bit behind in my summer reading, but here are my impressions and inspirations.  Lover Reborn, JR Ward's new installment in The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series is Thor's story.  It's an engaging read, but the back story seems to have shifted focus away from the Lesser threat. And Anita continues to put Jean Claude on the back burner in Laurell K Hamilton's Kiss The Dead.  I don't know why he remains so devoted.

*Spoiler Alert*

There has been much speculation that the Sookie Stackhouse series is winding down.  Charlaine Harris admits that she does know how it will end but not when.  Sookie and Eric are testing each others' love and commitment in Deadlocked, and neither of them seem willing to acknowledge the other or make any concession.  Too bad, because I think Sookie and Eric could be good together.  I don't expect Eric to cowtow to Sookie's emotional fluctuations.  Sookie on the other hand cut her bond with Eric and keeps pushing him away by telling him to physically go away and cutting off any opportunity for discussion.  As far as I'm concerned, relationships are all about concessions.  Sookie is going to have to learn to give a LOT more if she is ever to find her HEA.  But now it definitely looks as if Eric is going away.  I suppose he will take most of his vamps with him, and the fairies are gone, too.  So Sookie will end up with Sam, have babies, and grow old in Bon Temps.  And what has all of this been after more than 12 books?  Maybe nothing more than the story of someone sowing their wild oats for a few years before they settle down.  Ugh, what a let down.

Far and away the most engrossing read this summer has been Patti Smith's Just Kids.  This book has been out for 2 years, so it is not new.  And it has been getting a lot of deserved attention.  I have been so focused on fiction that I was a bit late on the uptake with this one.  Though I have been a fan of Patti's music for decades, I was unaware of her history.  She is an incredible poet, so it is no wonder that the book is such a great read.  Her tale of how she came to be so much a part of the New York art scene is truly epic, rather random and, honestly, surprising to me, as a much younger punk arriving in The City almost 2 decades later.  Wow, it took me back to those years, reminding me of dreams maybe not yet abandoned.  Time and again, her story is of finding herself, her talent, her voice.  Are we ever too old for that?  I have spent many hours this summer exploring the music and art of her life and my past, too.  What a gift, both personal and prosaic.  Thank you, Patti.

Gettin' Ready for BlytheCon 2012 in Dallas!

YeeeeeeeHaaaaaw!  It's almost time!  One more month to go!  Last post was all about the headbands that I was making for the goodie bags.  This month, I put together a couple of bags for us to use at the Con.

These are made from BlytheCon fabrics designed by the incredibly talented Erica Duh.  Available at Spoonflower.  One is a large shopping tote, with pockets on the outside and inside, too.  The faces on the pockets are actually whole and complete.  (That was just rushed photography on my part.)  That is where we will put all of the goodies that we plan to buy.  And the other bag is a much smaller drawstring bag.  That is where we will be putting all of the goodies that we are collecting to share with people that we meet.  As you can see, so far that is mainly headbands (for those who may not have gotten one) and pins.  I'm hoping to add a few more goodies to our collection, too!  So look for us at the Con with these bags and say, "Hi!"

Another little task to handle before the Con was getting our girls ready for the trip.  Unfortunately, we discovered that Bridgette's favorite doll's eye mechanism was not functioning.  We were so happy that Lawdeda was able to find the time to fix her.

These are her beautiful stock blue eyes.  She has fab hair!

And she even got a few up grades!

Two new sets of purple chips!  And a beautiful purple speckle eyeshadow!  She has two strings with Disney pull charms featuring Eeyore.  Bridgette just loves her custom dolly!

She's ready to go!  We're off to spend a few weeks under the Midwest sun before heading to Texas.  And we're prepping ourselves by keeping up with the new Dallas series and looking for more goodies.

See you there!