The goose is getting fat

If anyone's thinking of getting me a Christmas present, here's my wish list.  Naturally it includes a number of books, but there are a few non-book items at the end of the list.
 
1.  Shakespeare's First Folio.  I know the Folger Library in Washington, DC, has quite a few copies.  Maybe they would sell one to you.

2.  The first edition of Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen.  I don't have just one favorite book ever, but if I had to choose just one on pain of death, I suppose I'd choose this one.

3.  The first edition of Barchester Towers, by Anthony Trollope.  Everyone should read this book.  Everyone should chip in together and get me the first edition of this book.

4.  Signed first editions of all the Tim books (there are 11) by Edward Ardizzone.  He is one of my favorite illustrators.  Looking at his pictures sometimes makes me want to cry.  I'm not sure if they would be tears of nostalgia or of appreciation, or both, but that's how it is.

5.  Jane Austen's writing desk.  You can find it at the British Library.

6.  A steampunk laptop computer.  You can order them here.

7.  The Nautilus Car.  It was created and built by Five Ton Crane, a group of artists in the San Francisco Bay Area.  I don't have to have this exact one, so if you don't want to deal with Five Ton Crane, you can build me one yourself.

Except for peace on earth, I guess that's all I want for Christmas this year.  Thanks in advance.

The face of a child can say it all, especially the mouth part of the face.

Wow, it's been half a year since I've updated my blog, and yet it seems like it's only been six months. I've been doing book-related things, though -- book signings, visits to famous libraries, the World Fantasy Convention -- and I will, for good or ill, share them here.

Most recently, I was in Utah for the release party of Brandon Sanderson's Alloy of Law. (I haven't read it yet; I have to finish two other books first.)


Naturally, Megan went with me. She's great company and we had fun playing Authors and eating snax. It was also nice to see Brandon Sanderson again.


While I was at Megan's house, Nathan came up to me and said, "Grandma, can we go to Barnes & Noble?" I tell you, someone is raising him right. Anyway, that reminds me: December 3 is "Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day". It's a new "day", and you can read about it here. I think it's a wonderful idea and I hope everyone participates, whether you take your own child, a grandchild, niece, nephew, brother, sister, godchild, whatever.


On 13 November, I celebrated Robert Louis Stevenson's birthday. That's kind of an annual thing for me. When the kids were little, I'd make shortbread and everyone would read a poem by RLS. I enjoyed it. This year, again, it was just Gary and I, so I read a poem to myself ("Windy Nights", my favorite) and shared the shortbread with him. I'm planning ahead for Jane Austen's birthday, though, when we'll be in Utah again, and can have a proper celebration.


I continue to attend my book groups, although I had to miss the RS book group because of a conflict. At the Library book group, though, I finally got a chance to use some of those leftover Dracula teeth I mentioned before. We were discussing Bram Stoker's Dracula, so it was a perfect opportunity to bring along a few sets of teeth.


Finally, I came across a book a few weeks ago, about Greek history and art and so forth, and on the cover was this statue:


The description inside said the Greeks used to make these depictions of humans with big eyes to show their awe when they looked upon the gods. But I think it's just a precursor of steampunk:


Seems pretty obvious to me.

Well, there's lots more to tell about, but it'll have to wait. I've got to catch up on my reading.