Books, Reviewed

I recently finished reading Watership Down by Richard Adams. It was selected from a stack of books I was interested in but no one jumped out to me. Process of elimination and spousal input eventually narrowed the field to this novel. And I am quite happy that it did. For those, like me, who do not know what Watership Down is about, it followed a group of rabbits who decide to leave their warren (home) to find a new place to live that one of the rabbits saw in a vision. I know, it sounds strange, but it is really good! I explained it to Aaron as something of The Once and Future King, where Merlins turns Wart into various animals so he can learn about different societies. There is something of this in Watership Down, as the rabbits encounter different warrens along the way, each of which take something important to rabbits, like safety from predators, and skew it just enough so they lose something of their rabbit-ness. Another book I used to compare it to with Aaron was The Lord of the Rings, only in that it is an adventure story with dangers and strange lands. This is a book someone could read to their child, read as a teen, and again as an adult, and enjoy it at each stage. 

The other recent read that was a true surprise was one I picked from my Penguin Classics, which I now have the complete collection of - yay! The book was one of only a couple I had not heard of before, so it was high time I figured out what it was about. The book is Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell and, my goodness, is it a riot. This book is not a novel so much as a series of vignettes revolving around the lives of a group of older ladies in Cranford, a town with no men, as Gaskell writes. These women, widows or unmarried daughters of the town's "aristocracy" have, over their 60+ years, created an unwritten rule book of how long a  neighborly visit should last (15 minutes); that a dress in a fashion 30 years ago is acceptable, but the latest fashion in hat must be worn (at least they are led to believe they wear the latest hat trend); and that it may not be reasonable, but must not be spoken of, if one of the ladies decides to make a flannel jacket for her cow after it loses its hair. These ladies, in other words, are simply ridiculous, but they do it with the sweetest of intentions...mostly. It may take reading a sentence twice to understand the humor, but Gaskell ensures the pages are rife with subtle, and not so subtle, moments of delight. Aaron must have thought me mad with my random laughter throughout this book. If a gal wants to read something around Charles Dickens' time, with something like Jane Austen's more hilarious characters living next door to one another, this is an excellent book.

On the Road Again

In order to keep up my family's recently added tradition of constant relocation, Aaron and I are moving...again. It feels like we just moved into our apartment, but we are pulling up our stakes, loading up our wagons, and heading south. Watch out world, we are going to Atlanta! 

Aaron has completed his dissertation, been approved to graduate, and I can now boast that I married a doctor.  Woohoo!  Unfortunately, graduation and a PhD mean a new job, which for us means a move. Aaron has accepted a position at Georgia Tech to be a postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Interactive Computing (I think I got all those words correct). We are excited to mess around in a new city, but a little nervous about the upcoming change. However, this does keep up our tradition of living in state capitals. Three down, 47 to go!  

We have found an apartment that we hope will work out well for us in the couple years we know we will be in Atlanta, but we still are looking for many of the other basics in a new town. Church, grocery store, Target, Trader Joe's, gas station, book store... In our visit there a few weeks ago for home hunting, we did stumble upon what could prove to be our local restaurant (Shorty's!) and our local library, so those are two things we can check off our list. And our apartment is right next to a park, so walking trails and green places are taken care of, too. 

I am excited to take advantage of all Atlanta has to offer in the way of museums, theater, food, sports, and historical sites. Stay tuned for our adventures as we try to be visitors in our new home.

Update pre-post: We are here, along with what we hope are all our worldly possessions. Boxes are still lurking waiting to be unpacked, but all in all life is settling into a nice rhythm. I have found the grocery stores, Target, Ikea (swoon!), Trader Joe's, ice cream, and a local book shop. I still have no idea where the closest/cheapest gas station is, church searching begins in earnest this weekend, and I think, if my not-so-subtle hints worked, that we will have our first outing as visitors in our new town. Which I am too excited for words about - I feel like a kid going to Disney with what I hope is planned for this weekend.  

You're My Obsession

I need to begin tracking where I first hear about things, if for no other reason than my own historical timeline bent. Like books; I can rarely recall where or how I first hear about a book. In any case, not exactly the point of this post here. I would like to take out my traveling salesman suitcase and convince you why you need what I have to show you.

First up, and in use right now - glasses!  I needed new glasses, badly. Not only because street signs were taking longer to read, but also because my frames were warped beyond repair.  Or, to be more real with you, every time I tried to have the frames adjusted, they became more crooked. Pretty sure my ears are at different heights or my nose is crooked  or my eyes are not where they are supposed to be. Whatever the reason, things were not sitting well, literally. So, I did what any American today would do, I Googled. Not sure what perfect phrase I entered to yield the results I had, but nevertheless, there it was.  The answer, the beautiful, elegant, inexpensive answer to all my problems. Warby Parker.  Sigh...

Warby Parker is a company that makes glasses (and sunglasses). For $95. With the prescription. Yes, take a moment and reread that little burst of amazingness. $95 will get you your very own pair of gorgeous, handsome, put all other frames to shame glasses and lenses. What, is that not enough for you?  Fine. They have a virtual try on studio where you can upload your mug and try on glasses. For every pair of glasses purchased, a pair is donated to someone in need. They also train low income entrepreneurs in developing countries to fit and sell glasses.  Has what I told you still not won you over?  You get to try on frames, in your home, for free for five days. Yep, you pick five frames you like, they ship them to you, and you can show any and everyone you like, take votes, ask strangers what they think. You can even ask the people at Warby Parker what they think of your glasses. Five days later, ship the frames back for free, and buy a pair if you like. And I liked.  Say hello to the divine Leigh...

My specs were a little more expensive because I am more blind than most people, but even with the added oomph, it still came in under $130. Easy on the eyes and the pocket?  Yes, please.  I even have my eyes on my next pair. I am looking at you Reese. (Oh, the puns!)

For my second trick, I mean, product, I present bkr bottle. Worried that plastic was going to rot my brain out (or whatever drinking water from a sun-soaked plastic bottle does), I spied these little beauties...somewhere.  Really wish I could remember how I heard about them, because I think these are awesome.  Essentially, it is a glass bottle with a silicone suit and a lovely top hat/fascinator. I purchase my first one at a local Raleigh shop, Nofo at the Pig. I was so desperate for one, I did not care too much about the sleeve color. Which was good since the only color that appealed to me was Space. 

Ah, but second chances came when I showed my new acquisition to Aaron, a notorious water loather. Here is what is different about bkr: since the bottle is glass, it does not absorb any smells from liquids like OJ, Gatorade, or Dr. Pepper. The water, or whatever you drink, tastes just like it is supposed to. Not orange water or lemonade milk. We searched once more for bkr and found them at Whole Foods. I passed along my Space one to Aaron, and picked up a happy Julep for myself.  Since then, Aaron has professed how great the bottle is. With the aid of a little drink mix-in, he drank a whole 16 oz glass in one day. This is a big accomplishment and I am proud that bkr and I helped make it possible.

So there you are, two of the latest finds that have become the things I will tell just about any and everyone about. It is incredible how relatively simple things can impact our day-to-day lives. Glasses and a glass, who knew?