Let's see how far we've come...

Nowadays I do a lot of my "reading" via audio books since I listen to them in the car when commuting (Niklas & I listen to kids' books on the way to and from school each day), as well as in the evening while I'm up to other activities. However, I also have gotten through a few novels along with a number of graphic novels in 2008.

Here are my favorites of the year:

Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA by Tim Weiner- this is non-fiction which is even more disturbing. It's a very interesting read.

Duma Key  by Stephen King - I really enjoyed this book; King's writing has gotten more mature over the last couple decades, part of which is that he can finally write a satisfying, though depressing, ending.

Fables by Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham - these are collections of a long-running adult comic book.  All I can say is "Wow."  I love the story; it's very original and yet based on very familiar characters and themes.  I've finished up through vol. 6 and already have 7-9 on order from Amazon.

The Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons - Ok, so this came out 22 years ago and I've been living under a rock. However, it's freaking awesome in a very twisted way. Time Magazine named it one of the best 100 English books a while back and it's won quite a few awards including the Hugo Award. This is another adult comic, and while about costumed heroes, it's not your typical super-hero story. The movie will probably suck so read the comic first.

Foundling by D.M. Cornish - Niklas and I listen to the audio book and really enjoyed it. It's fantasy but not in the traditional sense. 

The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi - Niklas loves these and I have really enjoyed them as well.

I've got three books I'm currently "reading."

I've been reading Summer Knight by Jim Butcher (#4 in the Dresden Files series) as my "before bedtime" read. So far I like the book although it's still not really knocked me out. It's a very intriguing setting and idea though and one which does have a lot of potential as a RPG setting.

I've been listening, via my Audible subscription, to Hidden Empire by Kevin J. Andersen, which I really like. It took a bit of time to get into (probably the first third of the book, which is about 5 hours of listening time) but I really like where the story is going and the mystery of who the alien antagonists are has gotten my attention.

Finally, Niklas and I have been listening to The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman on our way to and from school each day. With both really like it, although I think some of the story has clearly gone over Niklas's head (obviously); that said, he understands the basic story and really likes the characters. The audio book's quality is phenomenal and includes different voice actors for each character, with Pullman himself narrating the book.

Summer vacation is now over (7 glorious weeks!), so here's a quick recap of what we did this summer:

A couple of days after school finished up we headed to the island of Texel which is along the coast of the Netherlands. We were there for 2 weeks last year and really enjoyed it, despite absolutely lousy weather. This year I'm happy to report that the weather was much better and hence our vacation was a lot more enjoyable. We spent 2 weeks on the island this year too; the first week one of my colleagues from work & her family were also staying on the island and then we had some other friends visit on a long weekend which was also really nice.

The island is really nice because it's small, it's covered in bike paths (which means you can get almost anywhere via bike if you're willing to pedal), and it's relatively uncrowded. They have a nice local market once a week where you can get fresh fish, local vegetables, and other goodies.

Some of the highlights of the vacation:

• Niklas and I went on a bike trek - by the end of the day he rode nearly 20 km on his little bike, most of it after a crash in which he took most of the skin off one knee.
• Watching Timothy trying to eat a handful of sand on the beach, promptly spit it out, and then just as quickly grab another handful and try it again.
• Seeing a movie in English - I watched Indiana Jones 4 which was okay but a disappointment compared to the "originals."  George Lucas should stay far away from anything he originally helped create because nowadays everything he touches turns to crap.
• Niklas loves waterslides and is absolutely fearless in the water now that he can swim - I only wish I could be as calm & collected when he jumps in...
• I got to read the first two Dresden Files books, catch up on some podcasts, and even got to work on the Kidz RPG I've been writing.
• Just relaxing.

The only real low point was the fact that I started waking up at night with both hands feeling like they were on fire - I have a feeling my carpal tunnel syndrome is reaching a new stage....

Once we returned from Texel, I spent a couple of days laying some more tiles in the basement (nearly half the floor was finished at that point) and then we headed off for 2 weeks in the USA. I'll talk about that in my next post.

With the summer finally here I'm finally getting through some of the backlog of books I've had on my "to read" list for a while.

I'm currently reading through the Dresden File series by Jim Butcher. I've finished up the first two and am moving on to Grave Peril during my upcoming trip to the US. They're pretty good, though not outstanding, but from what I've heard the series gets much better around book #4.

Although I don't have a huge amount of time to read during the school year, I do listen to a lot of audio books - I got hooked on them a few years ago and since they have listened to more than 40 books including the entire Dark Tower series by Stephen King. Currently I'm listening to The Talisman byStephen King & Peter Straub. So far I like what I've heard though it's a bit long-winded at times.