Wordless Wednesday - steelroots

This was taken in 2010, at the Steelroots installation at the Morton Arboretum, in Illinois.

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Random Magic live pinning event!

Sasha Soren, the author of one my favorite books, Random Magic, pointed me towards something quite fun that's been going on: A live pinning event on Pinterest, focused on Random Magic!  and yes, I meant to join in and post about this a few weeks ago

Pam from The Unconventional Librarian, is hosting it (please visit her blog for all the details), and there are already a large number of awesome pins.  And definitely check out the marvelous Board on Pinterest!

How cool is this?  I've been enjoying re-reading through the chapters and finding interesting little bits to pin --- it really makes the whole reading experience fun!   And if you're new to Random Magic, and want to see what it's all about:

Temeraire series by Naomi Novik

Summary (of the first book, His Majesty's Dragon): Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors rise to Britain’s defense by taking to the skies . . . not aboard aircraft but atop the mighty backs of fighting dragons.

When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes its precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Capt. Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future–and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France’s own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte’s boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire.

(courtesy of the author's site)

And here's what I thought:   I don't think I've ever posted a review of a series --- but I've been reading my way through these books, and enjoying every one of them, so I thought I'd just do a general sort of review, instead.

As you can see from the above summary, the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik combine the Napoleonic Wars with dragons.  Sounds crazy, yes?   That's what I thought when I picked up the first book.   I also expected I wouldn't really get into the story --- after all, I don't know much more than general history about the Napoleonic Wars, and I also don't read a lot of dragon books.   However, His Majesty's Dragon completely blew my mind.

What's really cool about these books, and this series, is that the author really knows her history, and also knows how to write compelling, engaging characters.  So, when you're reading, you're getting some actual details about what was going on in the various parts of the world during this time period, in addition to the fantastical details about adding in dragons and an Aerial Corps.  The really interesting thing, I think, is that Naomi Novik makes it all completely believable.   I can imagine the dragons, and the Aerial Corps, quite clearly.  The dragons are all of different breeds and sizes, and have different roles to play, but they all fit into the story in a way that makes complete sense.

One might argue that Temeraire is a bit unrealistic (after all, he does comes off in this first book as the bestest, most special, most awesome dragon ever) --- but as the series continues, his personality really develops, and he is revealed to have flaws, after all.   His relationship with Laurence (an interesting character unto himself) is really what drives the stories, even with the emphasis on the war, and the other challenges the two of them face.   And don't think that Laurence is merely a "handler," and that Temeraire is a sort of pet; this is a true relationship of comrades (of sorts, at least).

The series is up to seven books now, and I'm eagerly anticipating the next one, even though I have no idea when it will be published (*sigh*).   If you're curious about the series, there's a Wikipedia entry, or you can visit the author's site and read all about the books (and Naomi Novik).    Even if you don't think this is your kind of book, if you enjoy stories of friends having adventures, this might be a different kind of story for you that you might enjoy (and definitely check it out if you're a fan of alternate history or dragons).

Showmen's Rest at Woodlawn Cemetery

The heat wave has let up in my area, so I took advantage of the beautiful weekend weather and my husband and I went to Woodlawn Cemetery in Forest Park (IL) to take some photos.  I had read about the elephants marking the area known as Showmen's Rest, and I knew about the circus train wreck of 1918, but I had never visited the cemetery.   I'm sharing just a few photos, since I didn't post anything for WW this week.

The Hagenbeck-Wallace circus train was moving through Hammond, Indiana on June 22, 1918 when it was hit from behind by another train, which was pulling 20 cars.  Although the second train was moving at only 35 mph, it was a metal train --- and when it hit the circus train, it wrecked several of the wooden train cars, and a fire broke out (because kerosene lamps were used to light the circus cars at the time).   86 people were estimated to have died, and another 127 were injured. The actual number of people killed is truly an estimate -- the fire burned so hot that it was impossible to identify all of the bodies, or identify how many bodies there were.   A number of the grave markers had no name on them, and are marked as "Unknown Male No. 30," for example, because it was common back then for people to join up to help with the circus right before a performance, and not be recorded as circus employees.

I found it very touching that the Showmen's League had taken care of all of these victims, and the entire Showmen's Rest area is very nicely maintained.  You can read more about the wreck here on the Showmen's League site, and also at Wikipedia.   

TGIF and Unexpected Books

Friday, already?  I don't know where this week went .....   but I'm looking forward to a lovely weekend, with lots of time for reading.

Ginger over at GReads has a great question for today's TGIF:  Which books did you have reservations about reading, but ended up loving once you did?

Thinking back to when I was a kid, I was hesitant about a few books that I wound up really enjoying ---

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster.    At first, I just didn't get it --- too many puns, too many British things I didn't understand .... until I picked it up again a year or two later, and then loved it.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.   My aunt gave it to me and told me it was one of her favorite books growing up.  It didn't sound too appealing, so I admit  it sat on the shelf for months.  When I got around to reading it, I really enjoyed it --- and now, years later, had to replace my original copy because it was falling apart (literally -- pages falling out and everything) from being read so often.  


Recently, I picked up Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.  I had been dragging my heels on this one, because I was afraid it would be boring ---- but I was hooked pretty quickly, and I really liked it!

I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else has to say (so I can put more books on my TBR list).  Happy Friday, everyone!!!

I believe the fluff and stuff has now been cleared from my head.....

Now that Summer Read* has finally finished up, and I have had some time to decompress, I feel like I'm back on track again.  So, this week will bring reviews, along with a special post about the Random Magic live pinning event on Pinterest (stay tuned), and I will be back on track.    I'm seriously thinking that next summer, if I'm as involved in Summer Read as I was this year, that I might take the summer off from blogging.  It's a long ways off now, but I'm thinking ahead......

* If you are a librarian, you are probably familiar with the amount of work that Summer Read can bring.   If you are not a librarian, you might know about Summer Read because you participate (of course you do!!!), but on the admin end of things, even for adults (which is my Summer Read), it's a lot of work ..... and then, when it's almost finished, a lot of statistics.....    and it is fun, and it's wonderful ..... but after I got home last Friday night, I treated myself to a big glass of wine in celebration of the last part of it.

in the midst of the energy-sapping fluff.....

Wordless Wednesday - angel

from St. Adalbert Cemetery         Get more WW