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Finishing a book on the way home from work is a really satisfying feeling, a nice end to the day. And then when I get on the train going to work in the morning I get to start a new book and it makes 6:45 a.m. just a little bit brighter. Even more satisfying is finishing a book just as the bus pulls up to the stop around the corner from my house. That didn’t happen today. I finished Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett just before my train pulled into the station which is fine because these days it is dark and cold (well below freezing, our high today was 0F/-18C) and there is no reading while waiting ten+ minutes for the bus, there is only shivering and then when the bus arrives there is only a very slow diminishment of shivering before I reach my stop and have to freeze again walking around the corner to my front door. But enough about the cold, tomorrow we are expecting a heatwave and a high of 19F (-7C).
Bookman gave me Reaper Man, a Discworld book, to read after Steppenwolf. What a pleasant tonic it was. Death is fired for showing too much personality and suddenly things stop dying causing a build up of life force that wreaks all kinds of havoc. Meanwhile Death is now alive, sort of, and living out his life as Bill Door, farmhand to Miss Flitworth a feisty old lady.
While Death is learning quite a lot about being human and alive out at the farm, in the city of Ankh-Morpork snow globes are appearing everywhere and then later turning into wire trollies with minds of their own. The wizards go into battle, thinking they are being macho by yelling “yo!” and recklessly shooting off fireballs.
It’s all a silly good time. I even was surprised by getting a little teary towards the end while reading the book at lunch today. Bookman was home and I emailed him after lunch and he said yup, he’d been waiting for that to happen. I didn’t even have to tell him what I had read. He knows me well and he probably got teary at the same part. Light, enjoyable fluff. And tomorrow morning I will be starting another book of light, enjoyable fluff, The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore. Santa, zombies, a not too bright angel, the prefect counterpoint to the waves of stress flowing off the students in the library right now who just started finals on Monday.
Now -18C as a high is very cold, even with our Alberta standard. So the book is warm comfort indeed. It’s even more heart-warming as I come to the part where Bookman knew exactly which part of the book you were talking about, and your very predictable (by him) reaction to it. How sweet! 😉
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Arti, and -18C was actually a warm up to what it has been earlier in the week! Bookman is such a sweetie. I think I’ll keep him 🙂
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Now that is perfect timing for finishing a book. I remember when I used to take public transportation and it was so nice to be able to read on the long commute home. We’ve been having a very cold week but our temps are in the 30s and everyone is grumbling. We are just not used to that kind of cold weather! Enjoy your Moore book which sounds like a very fun read!
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Iliana, being able to read on public transit is so nice. Sure it takes a bit longer getting to and fro but I get to read almost the entire time and if I had a car I wouldn’t be reading at all. Temps in the the 30s sound really warm to me right now though I know it’s pretty darn cold for you!
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Oh my, I don’t think I could ever get used to a high of -18C. We’ve been having a “cold week” of 45F (7C) with clear skies and as a result, high records of pollution. We’ve been recommended to stay indoors. No fun! (and not really practical advice, really- who does follow it?). SF is a nice way to escape to a different place, isn’t it?
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Smithereens, I don;t think anyone ever gets used to a high of -18C, we just learn to endure it! We get days in the summer sometimes when the pollution gets really high and they warn people to stay indoors, those are usually really hot, really humid days with no wind and it is easy to stay indoors because it is so miserable outside. SF is indeed a nice way to escape, one of my favorite methods 🙂
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I really like your comment about how having something good to read can make a journey so much brighter. Glad you enjoyed your book….-18C, yikes!
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Ian, thanks. It’s so true. I can’t imagine what sort of bad day all the people staring out the train window must be having. And -18C, that was actually warmer than the four preceding days!
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You really do do cold, don’t you? It’s unseasonably warm here at the moment and I think a sharp frost would do a lot of good all round. I should find time to catch up with Pratchett. I’ve read some of the earlier ones and I know his books for children but everyone says he’s got better as he’s got older so I should try and read the more recent novels as well. Time, time, time!
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Alex, of the 51 largest cities in the US, Minneapolis has the distinction of being the coldest. We don’t mess around! I’ve not read any of Pratchett’s children’s books, one of these days. And the Discworld books, I always enjoy them but I’ve not read them in any kind of order which makes things interesting sometimes!
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As a San Diegan, I won’t comment on the weather. I went to college in Chicago, and am quite content where I am now!
But your commute makes me a bit envious. My commute recently almost doubled (to 30-40 mins each way). Unfortunately, it is not on one of the public transit friendly paths here, so it has to be done by car, which of course means no reading. I may experiment with audiobooks, though. We’ll see. Today was only day two of the new commute!
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Tungsten Hippo, when I visit my parents in San Diego in winter they get the fireplace going when the temp sinks to 65 and I just laugh and complain about being hot. I hope your new commute works out. My husband loves audiobooks in the car. I’m sure you’ll find some good ones!
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Yikes, minus 18 sounds ghastly. Glad you had a good book to see off the cold and dark – every so often a little silliness goes a long way.
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Litlove, we like to delude ourselves and say that it is character building 🙂
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