Where'd the time go?

 Holy shit. I totally forgot about this blog. Jeez Louise, I need to catch up. So...

...German. The class is going ok. I've learned that 8 weeks is long enough for me for online/virtual 5 hours/day training. Unfortunately, the class is 10 weeks long. Sigh...  But German is still on-going. Not sure how I'll do on the DLPT/OPI. I'm guessing 1+R, 1L, 1S. We'll see. 

So, the books I've read since last I've updated this blog:

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret/HP und die Kammer des Schreckens. So since we last talked, I've read Harry Potter #2 in English, then followed it up with reading it in German while listening to it in German. Way over my head. But figured, this is part of the L-R process, so we'll see how it goes.

The wife has been bugging me for years to read more Lovecraft, so I "read" At the Mountains of Madness. (Italics because it was Audible.) Very creepy and good. I could imagine listening to it while being stationed in Antarctica while watching The Thing. 

The Big Hello, by Morris Renek. I read a great review of this author, purportedly the most dedicated writer (finished a book, then immediately started working on the next novel). Loved this book. About the "divorce market" in the '60s, at the start I thought it would be an apologetic to men, but it turned out to be a great "family first" story. A love story. I loved it and will read more of his, if I can find them.

I listened to Edmund Morgan's Benjamin Franklin bio (thanks Hoopla!). My main character of the novel I'm writing is Franklin-esque, so I considered this study. Great bio. Every few years I read a bio of this, one of my favorite (two) Americans.

Trip of the Tongue, by Elizabeth Little. A tour through the variety of America's languages. I wish I'd investigated my Goodreads first. I already read this 4-5 years ago. I hated it then, I hate it now. What an f'-ing whiner. So narcissistic. 

The Next 100 Years, by Friedman. Suggested by the other student in my German class. Pretty good. The author tagged Russia: he wrote it in 2009 or so and said Russia would be moving west and would try to take land from Ukraine, and possibly Crimea. Wah....?!  But some of his other predictions? Not so sure. But who knows.

Never Cry Wolf, by Farley Mowat. Read this 20+ years ago in Alaska. Loved it then, love it now. Great book. If you want to know about wolves, this is the first book you should read. (FWIW, if you want a great book about coyotes, read God's Dog by Hope Ryden.

The Body Builders. Again, thanks to Hoopla and the Melrose Public Library. This one was good, along the lines of The Sports Gene and Endure. But I wanted more on bionics/prosthetics. (Read Endure for a great scientific-sports book.)

Perdido Street Station. This is the third China Mieville I've read. This is not to say that the novel was bad, but it is my third favorite of his. He is a master of world-building. Holy shit, he had all the answers. Totally new world. Great. And third person except for two chapters at the end!

Wow, that's a lot of books since my last update. Sorry! I promise to write more in the future!