#darlene ryan

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: Cats

Lilian Jackson Braun: ok so hear me out on this one Braun: what if there was a cat that solved mysteries? Rita Mae Brown: a cat that solved mysteries?!?!? Carole Nelson Douglas: a cat that solved mysteries?!?! Cate Conte: a cat that solved mysteries!!??

Brown: this is the greatest thing i've ever heard Braun: you think? Brown: listen i have 2 interests in life Brown: radical lesbian liberation Brown: and cats that solve mysteries Brown: and this idea definitely fits into one of those categories

Lilian Jackson Braun: anyway Braun: here's a picture of my cat Rita Mae Brown: oooh she's precious!! and here's a picture of MY cat Braun: she's adorable! Carole Nelson Douglas: and here's a picture of MY cat Braun: she's so adorable! Brown: precious!

Dean Koontz: hey what if it was a dog that solved mysteries? Lilian Jackson Braun: Rita Mae Brown: Carole Nelson Douglas: Cate Conte: Darlene Ryan: Sofie Kelly:

Koontz: i was just thinking, what if it was a dog- Braun: i'm not even going to dignify that with a response Brown: a dog! really! Braun: how would a dog solve mysteries anyway? by barking at them? Brown: ha ha good one lilian Koontz: but Braun: the very idea is absurd

Braun: a dog lacks a cat's observational skills and deductive reasoning Brown: yes exactly Brown: ridiculous Brown: the very idea Brown: what are you even doing here Brown: at the st. westminster ladies cat fancy society tea and crumpet social on the green?

Braun: ugh! dogs! DIS-gusting! we won't have any smelly mutts here! Away with you! [sweeping Koontz out the door with a broom] Diane Duane: you know cats can be wizards too Tanya Huff: oh yes yes definitely

[at midnight society] Dean Koontz: and they said that cats were better at solving mysteries than dogs! Poe: i really fucked up by not making auguste dupin a cat Poe: i didn't realize how much money i was leaving on the table

Koontz: but they're wrong! dogs solve mysteries! all the time! in real life! George Romero: ACAB includes cop dogs Poe: not now george Poe: dean's in a fragile state

[amysmarathonofbooks]

Marathon of Books Blog - March 3rd, 2014

Dear Canadian Teen Book Lovers,

On a day when I could have used a longer book due to my travelling time, “Saving Grace” by Darlene Ryan only took me 50 minutes to read. As a Orca Soundings book geared toward reluctant readers, it was 97 pages.

Another trip downtown for bloodwork, but I was able to pair it with an appointment with Sarah Greenwood, and lunch with my cousin Lisa. When I got home, I had a nap on the couch before I started my work for the day.

I start reading in Quebec in a couple of days, but I’m still sorting out the list for the province. So far it’s about 23 books long. There were some authors that I had on the list that weren’t really from Quebec, but I did find others to make up the loss. If you’re reading this and you have Canadian English book suggestions from Quebec with main characters between the ages of 13 & 18, please let me know through my Twitter account (@AmyDMathers). I’m trying my best to make sure each province and territory has good representation on my list.

Stats:

Books Read: 62/365

Pages Read: 13695

Kilometres Travelled: 1369.5

Hours of Reading: 170 hours and 49 minutes

[amysmarathonofbooks]

Marathon of Books Blog - March 2, 2014

Dear Canadian Teen Book Lovers,

It was a difficult reading day for me. Not because the book itself was long or a challenging read, but because of the subject matter. The main character's father kills himself by driving his car into a lake after being diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (also known as ALS and Lou Gehrig's Disease).

I cried when I was thinking over the book for my review, because it hit close to home. ALS is a muscular dystrophy, and so is my illness, Glycogen Storage Disease (type 3a).

I know illness and disability intimately. I've had two organs removed and replaced, and I went through a period in my life where I spent three months in the hospital and then visited the hospital on a daily basis for another three months. But living in a body with muscles that do not always respond to my brain's commands defies description.

Such a life has caused me to learn patience, to think of assistive devices as new body parts and to come up with inventive solutions to achieve my dreams, while tolerating the fact that some things are beyond my reach.

I know my disease is not the same as ALS in severity, but I was deeply saddened to read that D'Arcy's father immediately assumed his life was over and acted irreversibly on that conclusion. Darlene Ryan was drawing on societal attitudes when she wrote his character, but it is my sincere hope that I can be a part of changing those views with my Marathon of Books.

Stats:

Books Read: 61/365

Pages Read: 13598

Kilometres Travelled: 1359.8

Hours of Reading: 169 hours and 59 minutes