Age of Autism newsletter

I subscribe to a daily web based paper called Age of Autism. Even though I have the feed coming directly to my blog, I just wanted to point out that there are some really interesting articles today concerning the H1N1 flu shots. I've been worrying lately that I'm biased about this given that I have a close friend with an autistic son and a great niece that started having seizures within a week of getting her 6 month vaccinations. The worry has come with all the publicity surrounding the new flu shots. Having an 8 year old daughter of my own, the decision on whether or not to have her vaccinated for the flu has not come easily, and truthfully, I'm still struggling with it. But that's a lot what being a parent is about , making decisions concerning the well being of our children until such a time that they can make those decisions for themselves. And then still, we worry....

I'd love to hear any thoughts?

Paranormal Activity

I saw this with a friend and her daughter over the weekend. Have been wanting to see it since I first heard about it's limited release in select cities so I jumped right on the bandwagon and requested that it be shown in my area. The idea was that if enough people requested it, Paranormal Activity would open nationwide. So here we are two days later and the movie, which didn't really seem to make a big impact on me is creating little ripple effects here. I woke up from my own nightmare last night convinced I knew what she had been dreaming about when the main character woke from her nightmare at one point in the movie. I never realized how many noises we hear each night without thinking a thing about it. Thankfully I don't sleep alone and I find myself curling up against my husband while still being able to see the room. I'd give this one 3 out of 5 stars but I still wonder why they(the couple) weren't sleeping with every light in the house on. Anyone remember Blair Witch? The way this was shot gives the same effect of vertigo. Also I've heard that a good bit of the script was ad libbed and they shot it in 11 days . That said, I think they did a good job considering that the movie never moves beyond the house and with the exception of two visitors(in my version anyway) we never see anyone but the young couple and some shadows.

Good Intentions

I've been working on a group read for the last week and a half. A good friend and I manage a yahoo group called Fantasy Horror & Thrillers and the group read this month is Wicked by Gregory Maguire. Has anyone read that one? As usual , I waited till the last minute to get my copy. Lucked out and got a large print book but then realized it was over 700 pages long. So here I am , enjoying the book but struggling to finish it before the 31st , long after everyone else has discussed it. I've been so wrapped up in that, I'm not answering mail, and this morning I forgot the password to my blog and had to reset it. Funny how that seems to be happening with a lot more frequency lately. The things I used to do without a second thought to keep myself organized are becoming a chore and the next thing I know I'm spending a whole day catching up with mail, book groups, book trading sites etc. Maybe I should blame the internet?

Fall Cleaning

I spent the week doing something I've been putting off for quite a while. I decided to go through my TBR and my bookshelves to see what I could get rid of. It started with a good look at the books I've had listed at PBS and Bookmooch and I realized that some of them had been there since I joined.(2 years!) I'm not done yet but have collected over 100 books to give away. And as luck would have it, a good friend just called, asking if I had any books to donate to a book sale that she's having. Better yet, she's coming to pick them up! I'm thinking that's as good a reason as any to go through them again and weed out the ones I was on the fence about. Hard to believe , but I found books that I've had for 8 years or more and not read. Geez, you think it might be time to let go?

Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton

I wasn't sure if I was going to read this one or not, one thing I did know was that I wasn't going to buy it. When I saw it on the new book shelf at the library, the decision was made and though I had mixed feelings, it took me less then a day to read. Did I like it? Yes and no. I loved the fact that this one seemed to have more of the feel of the earlier books and I think that's what kept me reading. It takes place in a different locale with some of my favorite recurring characters. But I have to say, I didn't miss St. Louis or Anita's harem. The conversation at times was tedious and repetitive, especially given the situations they were in. So I often found myself thinking, "they're talking about this NOW?" As a fan of erotica, I've been especially disappointed in the this aspect of the books. It's not the sex I mind so much as that the sex is so poorly written and monotonous.

3***

Welcome

Okay, it's time to let all of this stop intimidating me. I'm hoping to make this a place to list what I'm reading, post book reviews, and just talk about books in general. I've also got a couple of interests I will be talking about and posting links to from time to time. They are not book related but deal with the subject of autism, vaccinations, and the use of chemicals in our day to day living. Hope you'll find it interesting!