It's Alive!

I'll spare you the details. Suffice it to say that I'm sitting up, eating Cream o' Wheat prepared by my own hands, and I'm able to chew with my mouth closed some of the time now that I can breathe through my nose a little. Life has never been so good! So those of you who thought you were going to inherit soon (Nemesis) are going to have to get over a little disappointment. It will come. Be patient, my friends.

Instead of a blow-by-blow of my illness, I thought instead I'd share my thoughts on some of the books I read over the last three weeks. Make that week and a half. For the first week and a half I watched movies. Every movie in our library, and pretty much every movie at our local video store. Then, when the thought of putting another DVD in the player finally filled me with revulsion, I turned to books. And I wondered why I hadn't thought of that before. Maybe it was because before I was too weak to hold a book, and my eyes couldn't quite focus well enough. That's my excuse, anyway.

So here's what I read. I had to keep it light, on account of my head being filled up with a lot of fluids that weren't supposed to be there, and they were keeping me from thinking very much.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place, by Aron Ralston
This is the guy who got stuck in a slot canyon a couple of years ago and cut off his own hand with a multi-tool after six days in order to get out. Very compelling story, and a pretty good writer, too (once in a while he waxes a little too rhapsodic for my taste, and his editors should have caught the few times he used big words that didn't mean what he thought they meant, but overall, very well done). It was weird to read his detailed and grisly account of what he went through while I was lying in bed, going through what I considered to be some pretty serious suffering. Basically the only thing I have in common with Ralston is that I visited Canyonlands (where his accident took place) a couple of years ago, and I've also hiked some slot canyons. When I heard the story on the news right when it happened, I remember thinking, "What an idiot." I've changed my perspective and judgement on that somewhat. The book gave me some great insights, and helped me think in different ways about some things, which is (I think) why he wrote the book. Highly recommended, especially if you have ever used a carabiner for more than a cool key ring.

Dobry, by Monica Shannon
This is the 1935 Newbery Award book, and is out of print. My mother-in-law found this one and gave it to me for Christmas. I added it to my collection, meaning I now only have two more to find in order to have them all (anyone interested in donating Daniel Boone to the cause can do so for under $100!). An absolutely delightful book! I found myself wondering why people don't write more books like this now. A Single Shard came close in 2001. It is informative, touching, fun, educational, culturally significant, and very well written. I love stories about other cultures, and this one really gave me some insights into the Balkan cultures, especially gypsies. And now I know where Bulgaria is! I could find it on a map, and what's more, I could even tell you some things about that country and the people there. This is the way geography should be taught.

Harry Potter series (the whole thing, minus Book Two, which I couldn't find until after I'd already started Book Three; no problem--I watched the movie quite recently--see above)
'Nuf said on that, except that naturally when I was done I went online to see when the seventh book is coming out (apparently it will be a very long time yet), and got caught up reading some rabid HP fanatics' blog posts. Those people are like Trekkies. They ought to have a name. "Harries"? "Potties"? Crazy, I tell you what.

Prodigal Summer, by Barbara Kingsolver
If you hunt, or don't recycle, this probably isn't the book for you. Still, it's a discerning look at the issues of a tiny farming community in the Appalachians, with characters written only as Kingsolver can write them. She beautifully explores the dichotomy between man subduing the earth for progress and the necessity of conserving and restoring our natural resources. The plot is a little predictable, but there's enough other stuff to keep you going, and if you love Kingsolver's writing as much as I do, you don't mind so much when she gets didactic. You'll never kill a spider again, I guarantee you that.

So that's basically my holiday season. Pretty much the most relaxing one ever, in terms of responsibilities. On the other hand, I think I like breathing and sleeping too much to give up, so I probably would have preferred all the responsibilities. Next year, I'm getting a flu shot for Christmas!