Book Review: PARAFAITH WAR

A while ago, K over at Preachers and Horse Thieves won one of my book give-aways and reciprocated by sending me not one, but two, books.  The first review can be found here.

First, a disclaimer.  K is like that super-smart friend whose IQ is light years greater than mine.  You know the kind?  I was by no means a dumb kid in high school, but I always managed to surround myself with people so smart that it made my head hurt.  Guess I was hoping some of their smarts would rub off on me.  When K asked me what type of books I liked to read, I flippantly answered, "ones with words."  You know, you shouldn't say things like that to someone like K.  What does he come up with?  A hard-core sci-fi for me to read.

Now, I read approximately 1,100 wpm.  Usually. 

I can burn through a book in just a couple of days (another reason I love Eloise - when I run out of books, I just download a new one).  Usually.

I gotta tell you, PARAFAITH WAR by L.E. Modesitt kicked my book-lovin' ass.  I enjoyed it, but my speed reading slowed to a crawl.  Heck with 1,100 wpm, I was lucky to get 11 wpm.  It took me two weeks (or more) to finish the book - the only time that happens is when I'm reading an eight- or nine-hundred page book.  This was not an eight- or nine-hundred page book.

It took me a while to get into the book, simply because I wasn't familiar with the vocabulary and I had to make the transition from "my" world to that of Modesitt's.  Once I was able to make the switch in my head and got comfortable with the vocabulary, I really enjoyed the book and looked forward to bedtime so that I could stretch out on my belly and read my ten or twelve pages before my brain started cramping up from thinking so much.

The book is about a turf war, essentially, between two cultures of differing faith (sound familiar?).  One culture is busy planoforming and defending themselves, while the other culture is busy over-populating their world(s) and attacking the planoformed worlds for growth.  Like most wars, this one has dragged on for years and is pointless.  War is just what they do; both cultures have been at it for so long that they've forgotten the reason.

The book follows Trystin Desoll's military career from a border guard to an intelligence agent for an interested third-party.  As he grows in his military career, and with help from the third-party, he starts thinking a little more than an average grunt should and creatively comes up with a way to end the senseless war.

Yes, I've far over-simplified the gist of the book, but that's about it.  It was a good read that flexed my thinkin' muscle, and I enjoyed it, but I think I'm going to leave sci-fi to my smart friend, K.

Thanks, though, K for helping me try out a new genre.

LIB update

Yes, it's a loss, but I'm not happy with it.  I snuck a peek at the scale on Sunday night and I was about a pound and a half lighter than this.  And then that anniversary wrecking bitch showed up on Tuesday and bloated me right the eff up.  Guess I should be thankful that she only bloated me a pound and a half - the bitch has been known to add five pounds in the past.

So, this morning's weigh-in: 186 # (BMI 35.7), down 0.5# from last week and a whole whopping pound from my original weigh-in.  Not much movement, but at least it's progress.

Small Town Fun

The first Saturday in June is Barbeque Day in RockCrawlinChef's hometown.  It's a town-wide celebration that begins at 4:30 am with the town's volunteer fire department driving through town with sirens wailing.  My first exposure to Barbeque Day encompassed the whole experience, sirens at O'God Thirty and all.  This year, 4:30 came around super early, but I was home snug in my own bed.  The alarm went off and we crawled out of bed.

Yeah, the picture's a little blurry, but so am I at 4:30.

I stabbed my contacts into my eyes, pulled my hair into a ponytail and stumbled into some clothes before heading one town south and one town east for the much-acclaimed Fireman's Pancake Breakfast.

5:00 am and at least it's pretty out (and less blurry).

We passed the fire department on our way to RCC's parents' house and at ten after five, there was already a line of cars parked along the street.  Arriving at his parents' house, we roused everyone (apparently the sirens weren't very close to the house this year) and loaded up to go to breakfast.

The line wasn't too bad when we got there, but by the time we left, it was down the block.

Those firemen do it up right!  Pancakes, eggs to order, hash browns, sausage, and ham.  Even though this is a new tradition to me, I love it.  After breakfast, a nap.  The parade didn't start until 11:00, so there was plenty of time to sleep off the food coma from breakfast.

The parade had a little bit of everything: marching bands, cheerleaders, horses, politicians, churches, high school programs.  Heck, even the Chick-Fil-A herd.

Unfortunately, I had to head home after the parade.  I've got a ton of homework (yes, I know I'm supposed to be doing it right now instead of blogging) that I have to get caught up on.  However, the party's going on without me.  There's the big water fight between the neighboring fire departments.  A big barbeque/craft show in the town park.  A fishing derby.  A homerun hitting contest (in which you can bring your own pitcher.  My question: the kind of pitcher that throws you the ball or the kind of pitcher out of which you drink a frosty beverage?).  And to top it all off, after the sun goes down, a fireworks display.

And here I am, trying to be studious.  Next year, I'm staying for it all.  Period.  Homework be damned.  Of course, if I am a good girl and stay on schedule, I'll be finished with my Master's by then anyway.

Don't forget to hop on over to Think Tank Momma's and join in on the Duck Fest.

This one's for the hard working parents(:

Better late then never right? Right!

Well, I got grounded this week, for leaving with out permission. The thing is, I asked for permission except not until I had already left. I thought she was going to say yes, seeing as I had done all my chores, but I was wrong.

So I was grounded until I finished cleaning my room, which was a disaster.

The first night of groundation I literally stayed up until 6:30 in the morning watching the first season of Glee on dvd.

I love that show, it's like my crack. And Fin is SO HOT.

Hmmm, let me think up something that pissed me off this week....

OH! GOT IT! 

CJ's mom. Threatened to cancel the check for his airfare to AZ to visit my dad with me. Why? Because my step-mom couldn't drop everything at noon to answer her 8 million calls questioning every single thing we're going to do when we're down there. I'm sorry, CNB, my parents work 60 hours a week, they don't have the luxury of controlling every second of every day. GRR. Then she started in on how they should show her some respect, and I told her that she should be civil to the people who are going to be taking care of her son for two weeks. Not everyone stays at home ALL THE TIME taking care of their kids, some people actually have to work for a living. (Not hating on single moms, I was raised by the most perfect single mom ever). That just bugs me that she got so uppity about it. Like, sorry lady, my step-mom works twelve hours a day and my dad doesn't get off until midnight, and the last thing they wanna do after a long day at work is talk to your crazy ass! Ya know?

Well th-th-tha-that's all folks!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Not A GunDiva will hence forth be known in the blogosphere as Nebalee!

And Nebalee's spawn delightful, precocious children, Autobot (formerly known as Niece #1) and Kyzzer (formerly known as Nephew) have started their own blog Floor, Highbar and Life.  Should be entertaining.  Life from the perspective of a 9 and 11 year-old.

And...drumroll...Niece #2 will henceforth be known as Asset.  As in, we finally got her ass-set on a horse (thanks Bill).

Weigh-in Wednesday

It's back!  I'm not thrilled that I didn't lose anything in the first go-round of Lose It Bitches.

Today's weigh-in:

Deep breath...My initial weigh-in for round two was 187# (BMI 35.9).  I then jumped a pound to 188# and held that for a couple of weeks.  Today's weigh in at 186.5# (BMI 5.8) made me happy.  I wasn't sure I'd see the scale move at all.

Haven't checked in with Not A GunDiva to see what her weigh in was.  But she did run the Boulder Bolder 10K race on Memorial Day, so she's definitely got a leg up on me in the exercise department.

I've Done It Twice Now...

...and it makes me kind of sad.

What is it that makes me so sad?

I just unfollowed a blog that I've enjoyed in the past.  Today's post did it for me.  Essentially, the author said that if you're her friend or family member, please comment.  If she doesn't know you - don't.  "Not cool" is the final sentence in her post.

Why am I pissed about this?  Look, if you don't want anyone to follow you, make your blog private.  If you don't want comments from people who don't "know" you, turn off comments or moderate them.  But, for Christ's sake, don't slap your followers' wrists for commenting.  I honestly don't remember if I've ever commented on her blog, but I'm sure the hell not going to follow a blog where the whole world has been told people who don't know her aren't welcome.  And it's a shame, because she's got a neat blog and I've enjoyed some of her posts.  All I can say is that it'll be a cold day in Hades before I ever visit that blog again.

The worst part about the whole thing is that now I'm second-guessing my desire to comment.  I've always assumed that because I love comments other bloggers do, too.  I personally like the interaction.  I'll typically follow someone and lurk for a bit before I comment, but on ocassion I'll see something that I just have to comment on during my first visit.  I mean, exchanging comments is how I've met some of my best blogging buddies.  Blogging has made the world a lot smaller (in a good way) for me.  I love meeting new people, even if it's via the internet.

So...what's your take on a blogger telling people not to comment unless they know you personally?  Am I wrong in assuming that other bloggers enjoy comments?