24 Festive Tasks: Hogswatch

 And last but not least

Square Twenty-four

 

 

Book: Read any Terry Pratchett book or a book with a pig on the cover.

   HOGFATHER  by Terry Pratchett (read by Nigel Planer)

I think this is becoming a 24 Festive Task tradition. Here is something to keep in mind when next you read Hogfather. One of the characters who we meet very briefly is Schlimazel. His name tells us all we need to know about the character; it is a Yiddish word meaning one whose luck is consistently bad.

Task 1: Pick a Terry Pratchett quote that will be a (good?) omen for 2021.

From The Wee Free Men:

Nothing's louder than the end of a song that's always been there. 

Task 2: A Cologne legend dating all the way back to the Middle Ages has it that once upon a time, there was a race of busy little household gnomes called Heinzelmännchen who would come at night and secretly do all your work: If there ever has been a supernatural being we've fervently wished into existence, it would be them ... or, well, a god or a fairy doing the same thing. So, what one domestic or work-related chore would you want your Heinzelmännchen to do in your stead?

Without a blink, my Heinzelmännchen will clean the bathrooms daily, all the bathrooms,  floor to ceiling, wall to wall to wall to wall and every inch in between. 

24 Festive Tasks: Winter Solstice

 

Square One

 

 

 

 

     Book: Read a book that takes place in December, with ice or snow on the cover, where all events take place in a single day or night, that revolves around the solstice, set in Persia / Iran, China or the American Southwest or prominently featuring Persian / Iranian, Chinese or Native American characters, or a collection of poetry.

An English Murder by Cyril Hare (read by Chris MacDonnell)

I had so much trouble trying to figure out what I wanted to read for this square. I thought about reading a poetry collection but that meant trying to eyeball a book and my eyes told that wasn't going to happen. Finally, I took the easy way out and read something else off the Christmas list because at least I knew it would be taking place in December and that there was even a chance of there being snow on the cover.

Task 1: Burn a Yule log – or if you don’t have a fireplace, light a candle to chase away the winter and welcome in the longer days. If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, light a candle to mourn the slow but inexorable retreat of the sun.

Hmm, no log to burn but I can flip the switch to turn on the gas fireplace.  It will have to do, although it really isn't as satisfying as a real wood log. I don't usually switch on the fireplace but for some reason I have used it multiple times since reading this task. Can't wait to see my gas bill.😉

And then Sunday, when the heating system decided not to work, we used the gas fireplace to heat the house until the hvac people could get out to fix it-- because as DH said, running the fireplace is cheaper than repairing burst water pipes.

Task 2: Bibliomancy -- ask an author! Pick out a book with at least 350 pages and answer the following questions:

Well I asked an author and I have the distinct impression that she just doesn't understand what she is being asked to here.  See for yourself.

• Will I read all the books on my TBR? (page 20, line 21) "After all I have undergone I have become inured to..." I think this means no.

• Will any of my 2021 reads be 5 stars? (page 102, line 14) "Chawleigh" Anyone know a book with this title? Yes, there was only one word on this line of the page.

• Will I discover a new favorite book / author / series? (page 309, line 5) "Lady Lynton! You'd have made a famous wife for a..." Author Lynton, Character Lynton. Who knows. Maybe there is something out there.

• Will I discover that a major twist (hopefully, for the [even] better) has occurred in one of my favorite series? (page 189, line 10) "...fourgon loaded with such movables as the Dowager..."  As in forgone conclusion? No,  but I do like the image of the Dowager being loaded onto the cart along with the rest of the furniture.

• Will I finish all of my reading challenges in 2021? (page 269, line 17) "...quite so roughly, Jenny. Most of them are such very..."  Quite so, quite so! That sounds like a yes to me.

• Will I stay within my book budget in 2021? (page 236, line 8)   " '...a fortune, why should not I?' she asked."  Was I just told I have a fortune to spend on books?

Bonus Task #1: Tell us: What book did you read this year that felt like it was never going to end?

There were a couple this year that stand out and I quickly DNF'ed them.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. I have tried a couple of times to read this book and inevitably zone out as the pompous, sonorous narrator drones on and on and on.  Maybe a different narrator would help.

War of the Roses, a history of the Britain's change of dynasty from the House of Lancaster to the House of Tudor.  You really need some basics in the period before you start getting in to the minutiae. I was so lost I just gave up.

How to Hide an Empire, another history with more detail than I was interested in hearing. He made his point in the first chapter and I did not have the patience to listen to the supporting evidence.

Bonus Task #2: Stay up all night reading a good book (or at least stay up past your usual bedtime).

Sad, sad. All to frequently, I stay up later than I should reading. No wonder I have sleep issues.

24 Festive Tasks: World Philosophy Day

 

Square Twelve

Book: Read a book about philosophy or a philosopher, or a how-to book about changing your life in a significant way or suggesting a particular lifestyle (Hygge, Marie Kobo, etc.).

Self-help books drive me up a wall -- unless they are telling me how to fix faucet that drips. No Hygge. No Mary Condom. Guess I am stuck reading a philosophy book --which after all these years I still don't get. I tried to read Meditations (Marcus Aurelius) which has been on my TBR but I can't get past the narrator--zzzzzzzzzzz.  I will have to keep looking for something short and philosophical. I must find something because my goal is to read all 24 books. After much searching, I finally found:

Maimonides and Medieval Jewish Philosophy by Idit Dobbs-Weinstein (read by Lynn Redgrave et al.)

Short and sweet. At least now I know that I am not going to tackle the 30 hour tome, even if it does draw heavily on letters found in the Cairo Genizah.

Task 1: What is your reviewing / rating policy? Do you accept book review requests?

I review and rate when I have something to say about the book. Very few books get a five star rating from me, most get 3 stars and they have to be real stinkers to get anything less. Just because a book wasn't for me, doesn't mean it automatically gets just 1 star; it could have been a 5-star read that wasn't to my taste, or mood -- like Crime and Punishment. As for accepting book review requests, I've never been asked but I think that I would say, "No."  I read very little current fiction.

Task 2: How do you stay zen / sane over the holidays or in other stressful periods? And / Or: How did you manage to stay (more or less) zen throughout 2020 … if you did?

My holiday zen is simple: Stress? I don't get it, I give it. 

 I love the winter holidays. It means the end of DH's busy season and time to kick back and relax, take a vacation (too hot to travel in summer). Thanksgiving is my brother's burden usually, but not this year. This year, it is/ my problem but we will be 6 not 26, so we are talking something like a Sunday dinner and not a huge production. Our house has never been on Santa's route, so there is much I don't have to worry about that others find stressful. Yes, Hanukkah lasts 8 days but distance means we only get the see the kids on the weekend. (In truth, the holiday that is most stressful for me is Passover because of the preparation involved and the timing of it all--and you would think that after 45 years I would have the timing down.)

As for staying sane during the pandemic, the answer is that it is just the two of living here--no kids, no animals. Our attitude has always been: 1) "you do what you have to do when you have to do it" and 2) "this, too, shall pass" -- and that is how we get through any difficult  situation. I decided early on in the pandemic that complaining was not permitted; as long as we were healthy, there would be no complaining about all the thing we would not do; I would focus on the positives.   DH is still working (he is over retirement age) and he has been working from home since the middle of March. I tend to be a homebody and have my books to keep my mind occupied, in other words, not much change for me. As the introvert, I have probably had less trouble dealing with all this than my extrovert spouse. 

Some whiny stranger complained to me as I stopped to put my mask on before entering a store, "When is this going to be over."  I responded in what I hoped was a pleasant tone, "About a year from now" and was heading into the store before she could engage further. 

Bonus Task: Half star ratings or not? Tell us what you think and whether you use them.

I prefer a 10 point scale, it is more nuanced; hence, I like half stars on a 5 point scale. And I wished that there was a way to give zero stars -- because there is the occasional book that is just so bad that even one star is too many.

24 Festive Tasks: International Children's Day

 

Door Eleven 

Book: Read a middle grade book (any genre), a book written by an author under 18 years old at the time of publication, or a book prominently featuring a child, juvenile, or young adult character.

The Annotated Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (Illustrations by Jules Feiffer) Annotations by Leonard S. Marcus

 

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (read by Rainn Wilson)

 

 

 

A favorite since it was read to the class in 4th grade.  I bought the 50th anniversary annotated edition a few years ago and never got around to reading it.  The plan was to eyeball the annotated edition for 24 Festive Tasks. I had really been looking forward to it but halfway through my eyes told me that it was too much of a struggle. I gave up and bought the audio version.

Task 1: Get out the crayons / colored pencils / markers and color. Or, if you live in your own home or in a building where this is permitted, get out some chalk and send a positive message to anyone passing your driveway / sidewalk.

Grand-toddler and I collaborated on a picture:

 

Task 2: Get out and play any children's game: hopscotch, jump rope, tag, yo yo – anything.

 

 Taking a pass on this one.