What I Read: The Boggart

I originally read The Boggart in elementary school, and then re-read it back in December, so no matter how you slice it I'm cheating a bit (or have fallen quite far behind) to bring it up for a book post in February. To which I say: come at me, bro.

My occasion for re-reading this one was actually for work. One of my younger (former) students is very much into ghost stories and the like, and while I was trying to figure out the next thing I wanted to read, my eyes lighted on my battered Scholastic book fair edition of The Boggart. Mischievous ghosts and drafty Scottish castles? On brand!

I was right -- it was a bigger hit than the other books I'd brought in -- but my point here isn't how I'm awesome at picking out books for students but about how much I haven't grown out of this book.

I didn't remember that much about it, except that it had a ghost and that ten-year-old me loved it. (How else would it survive countless book purges and a trip across the ocean?) The perfect time to re-read a book!

The first or second lesson I read along with my student, we got to a section about the titular boggart mourning the death of their very first human friend, and it choked me up. If your middle grade fantasy novel brings grown-ups to tears, then you're a competent and accomplished writer. Also, points for using semicolons (happy semikolonets dag!) and having the characters' mother apologize to another adult for being "bitchy." We don't have to banish semantic complexity or linguistic realism from children's literature!

While charming, The Boggart still isn't as effortless as The Dark is Rising; Cooper has to do a lot of heavy lifting to get her modern Canadian family to clue in to the ancient Scottish spirit turning their lives upside down, and it gets clumsy in places. A couple of moments are clearly meant to be whimsical or wonderful but feel a bit much, and a third act bad guy appears out of nowhere, to no end except to be a vague menace. What is considered the latest technology is also a key plot point, but this was the latest technology back in 1993, so there are also portions that are incredibly dated when you're reading in 2019.

Friday 5 on Sunday: Then You Begin to Make it Better Better Better Better Better Better Yeah

What’s something you hated as a teen but love today?

I've made peace with getting up (relatively) early in the mornings, running, and even the pop music of my youth.

What’s something you recently dreaded that turned out not too bad?

I actually haven't been dreading anything recently, so hard to say.

How do you feel about February as it compares to January?

There's more snow and more sunlight, so I'd say it's an improvement.

Who among people you know is really making the world a better place?

One of the founding members of the Austin Feminist Sci-Fi Book Club works with allocating funding to victims of violent crime and I'm super proud of him.

In what way is today better than yesterday?

Every day these days is a little lighter and a little closer to spring, so I'll take it.

What I Read: Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach

The Austin Feminist Sci-Fi Book Club kicked off the year with Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach. I had trucked through the weirdness that was Amatka and was hoping to start the new year off with something a little more straightforward, or at least more comprehensible.

Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach did not disappoint in that respect. It's a distant, post-apocalyptic future and the powers that be have just figured out time travel. Minh is an expert in rivers restoration and travels to ancient Mesopotamia to collect data that will help restore the Tigris and Euphrates river regions. Things go wrong. (Of course, reading it in English instead of Swedish, like I did with Amatka, might have also made it clearer.)

Overall, Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach is a pretty quick read. My only complaint is that it's too quick: the beginning of the story sets up a lot of intrigue and possible plot points that are never really pursued or resolved. Given how abrupt the ending is, and how much is left unfinished, it feels like Robson left the door open for a sequel, but who knows if that will materialize. What's there is fun, good writing -- I just want there to be more of it!

Music Monday is a Thing Now I Guess: Ennio Morricone

Stockholm was a destination on Ennio Morricone's farewell tour. Or 60 years of music tour. Hard to say what the proper title really is. Either way, if you have a chance to see a living legend, you take it. Nothing like a live performance of "The Ecstasy of Gold" conducted by the composer.



And probably the only time in my life where the audience whooped, cheered, and whistled for an orchestral performance, which is almost too bad. People should always be that excited for concerts, no matter what the genre.

Friday 5: Teal This Album

I didn't realize that "Africa" had become a thing again in the year of our Lord 2019. Along with Weezer and Weird Al? Time is meaningless anymore.



Where in Africa would you like to visit?

There are lots of places, really. Soudha is in Singapore for university right now, if memory serves, but her travel logs series on Of Stacks and Cups really made me want to visit Mauritius. One of my teacher friends and former coworkers studied in Ghana for a semester when she was in university and made it sound like a lovely place to visit. Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt are also on my "someday" travel list.


If you ruled the world, what would you forbid people to talk about in the company of strangers?

Nothing, actually. Even the most banal smalltalk has its purpose.


In what way do you tolerate (or enjoy) being used?

I'll file this one under "that's a little personal, don't you think?" and move along to the next question.


When did you recently have an a-ha moment?

About something or other at work, I'm sure. I feel like I have at least one every day.


What’s something you know about turtles?

Nothing that the average person doesn't already know. I'm not terribly knowledgeable about these little guys.

What I Read: LÉtranger

I read L'Étranger because I want to keep my French from slipping. I figured it would be a good choice because I've already read it twice and the language is quite sparse and accessible for non-native speakers.

Image courtesy Gallimard

It's L'Étranger. You've either read it or you haven't and there's not much need for me to weigh in on my opinion on the book, except that I'll be balancing my (re)reading of this with a novel by an Algerian author. If you spend too long thinking about how the non-white characters in the book exist as plot devices to put Meursault on trial and then in prison (sorry for spoilers for a book that was published in 1942 I guess?????), it leaves an uncomfortable taste in your mouth, and the best remedy for that is to broaden your own horizons.

Otherwise I'm already falling behind on my Goodreads Challenge for the year. The falling behind doesn't bother me as much as the not reading bothers me. Whenever I'm in a bad way, my reading drops off—or maybe a drop off in reading leads to grumpiness and depression. Impossible to tell; I've never paid close enough attention to notice which starts first. The two definitely feed into each other, regardless. But now I'm off the blocks and hopefully my momentum (and mood) will pick up a little bit going into February.

TMJ: Treacherous Little Bastard

I had the worst TMJ flare-up of my life on Thursday and it has yet to abate entirely. Everything on the left side of my head and neck either hurts, has only stopped hurting for the moment, or is getting ready to hurt some more. I hate everything. Human bodies are feckless assholes.