Forests of the Heart

Bettina had thought to only stay in the house for as long as it took her to find an apartment in the city. She was given one of the nooks to make her own--a small space under a staircase that opened up into a hidden room twice the size of her bedroom at home.

... She felt welcomed and blessed.

The one week turned into a month. Adelita had been right. The artists were delighted to have her in residence, constantly vying for her time in their studios. They were good company, as were the writers who only emerged from their quarters at odd times for meals or a sudden need to hear a human voice."

- Forests of the Heart, Charles de Lint

This is my second de Lint, having read Someplace To Be Flying two months ago, and it's making me think that I need to read all of his books. This one is just as warm and cozy as Flying was, featuring an equally interesting a rag tag group of people, as well as incorporating myths and tales from all over the world into one coherent story. It's perfect to curl up with when the weather is bleak and cold outside.

Augh!

Violet has been grudgingly been getting into the Christmas spirit. Also, the winter has taken away her curiosity.



I will return shortly. I am trying to do things that keep me happy in this bleak winter light, such as reading new books, revelling in the two unexpected days of shortsleeve weather, drinking tea, and trying not to lose my mind over making last-minute stockings (?!) for Christmas. Christmas, which happens to not be "the most wonderful time of the year," as it turns out. I've always felt that way, but this is the first year I am being openly Scrooge-like. I'll try to return to my normal self when it's all over and done with.
Until then...

When I Have Lost My Voice

[Hunt for Hi tech - Bart Hess]

When I have lost my voice you will know I'm gone

When I have lost my voice

There will be no one to speak on my behalf

When I have lost my voice I will be no more

When I have lost my voice

I will cease to be what I have been

And begin to become what others saw instead

When I have lost my voice I will be no more

And you will be here,

To carry on

Werewolves, Witchery, and the Inquisition

Or: What I Am Reading Now

"Beauty and Delicious [the cousins about whom the family did not speak] were twins, the only children of Marwis, the Thane's youngest brother who had died some years ago in a plane crash. As Marwis's wife was also long dead, the twins were left parentless. They coped with this bravely, and some years later arrived in London a pair of cheerful, drunken, drug-taking degenerates who had started abusing their bodies when they were young and carried on happily ever since. After accidentally burning down the family home in Scotland they decided it was time to seek new challenges and had moved south to start a band and see what fun they could have. Now twenty-two, the twins spent most of their time in an alcohol-induced haze in their house in Camden in North London, listening to music and practising guitar.

... They flatly refused to move back to Scotland. Much as the Thane and Verasa might like to drag them back to the family estates, there was no way to do this short of kidnapping. The family had considered this."

- Lonely Werewolf Girl, Martin Millar

The whole book is narrated like this, in short, choppy sentences delightfully filling you in on the many details that could have been dropped in here and there throughout the actual story. I'm waiting for it to get good, but nearly 600 pages is too much to suffer through. Perhaps I should have headed the reviews on Amazon.

The Witch of Cologne is a much less quotable book, but infinitely better. One of the few books with an unhappy ending that I actually approve of. I'm just not a real fan of endings. When I reread a book I usually read everything up until the big, dramatic finish, but this one I'm actually planning on rereading all the way through. (Granted, I usually read fantasy books that have something to do with a huge, epic battle that I couldn't care less about--give me my characters dammit! I don't care about the rest of the world as we know it.)