Katrina note + various

Cambridge/Boston area people: Porter Square Books, who fill the role of Local Independent Booksellers nicely, are having a program where if you buy a children's book and donate it to their books-for-shelters program, they'll give you twenty percent off, in addition to shipping it themselves. They're concentrating on picture books and books which can be read aloud to large groups of kids; the goal is to entertain as many people as possible. So if you want to donate a specific book and don't have a spare copy, this is a good way to do it. I put in a couple of things along the lines of A Wrinkle in Time-- things I remember catching my school classes when they were read aloud to us. The program goes until September 23rd.

I read the new Diane Duane, Wizards at War, while I was in there. I don't feel like writing up a detailed review, but despite some very good individual sections, this one doesn't strike me as anything special. I'd rank it second-to-worst in the series, just ahead of A Wizard Abroad, and don't expect to be picking it up until it hits paperback. (I've always thought the best of the Wizards books is Deep Wizardry, which is one of my favorite books ever, and it's followed fairly closely by A Wizard Alone-- just so you know where my tastes lie in this.) Saw the new Pratchett lying about in signed hardcover, but did not particularly feel like investing, especially as we will be going to see Pratchett day-after-tomorrow and I would like to be unfamiliar with the material in case he reads from it.

I have an eight-hour shift tomorrow, because they couldn't find anyone else to cover it, despite my having told them very firmly that I cannot work whole days yet. Let us hope it does not kill me.

ETA: comment thread includes spoilers for portions of Diane Duane's Young Wizards series, although nothing specific about the recent one.

Katrina note + various

Cambridge/Boston area people: Porter Square Books, who fill the role of Local Independent Booksellers nicely, are having a program where if you buy a children's book and donate it to their books-for-shelters program, they'll give you twenty percent off, in addition to shipping it themselves. They're concentrating on picture books and books which can be read aloud to large groups of kids; the goal is to entertain as many people as possible. So if you want to donate a specific book and don't have a spare copy, this is a good way to do it. I put in a couple of things along the lines of A Wrinkle in Time-- things I remember catching my school classes when they were read aloud to us. The program goes until September 23rd.

I read the new Diane Duane, Wizards at War, while I was in there. I don't feel like writing up a detailed review, but despite some very good individual sections, this one doesn't strike me as anything special. I'd rank it second-to-worst in the series, just ahead of A Wizard Abroad, and don't expect to be picking it up until it hits paperback. (I've always thought the best of the Wizards books is Deep Wizardry, which is one of my favorite books ever, and it's followed fairly closely by A Wizard Alone-- just so you know where my tastes lie in this.) Saw the new Pratchett lying about in signed hardcover, but did not particularly feel like investing, especially as we will be going to see Pratchett day-after-tomorrow and I would like to be unfamiliar with the material in case he reads from it.

I have an eight-hour shift tomorrow, because they couldn't find anyone else to cover it, despite my having told them very firmly that I cannot work whole days yet. Let us hope it does not kill me.

ETA: comment thread includes spoilers for portions of Diane Duane's Young Wizards series, although nothing specific about the recent one.