i made 3 dozen cookies today.

Back in September, our laptop got a ransom virus.  Why hold our Christmas pictures hostage?  I've been doing everything on the phone, which is ok, and now we just fired up the old desktop we got when I was in grad school, circa 2007.  Go, compaq!  It is actually working ok as long as you only have one tab open at a time, one program open at a time, and bring a book or knitting or something so the random freezes don't drive you crazy.  I just keep pretending we're back on dial-up.  How did we live like this?

The Republic of Imagination: America in Three Books by Azar Nafisi.  This author was at the PNBA and although she was obviously very passionate about literature and libraries and exploring the world through reading, her presentation was a bit rambly and seemed to lack focus.  We all went away thinking, "Yes, read all the things!" but the feeling faded and I'm not sure what the take-away was really supposed to be.
The book (or at least the part that I read) also seemed a bit out of focus: supposed to be about American literature and culture, but mostly feels like a memoir.  It's probably very good, but I need something with focus now.

The Snow Queen and The Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey.  I probably read these out of order when I read them the first time.  Things make more sense now, which is always nice.  

Only Enchanting by Mary Balogh.  This novel was rather repetitive, both in that it was similar to the other novels and also in that several scenes within the book were very similar to each other; even the vocabulary seemed limited.

The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control by Walter Mischel.  This sounded interesting, but I only got about 1/4 of the way; the author kept referencing the same articles and experiments.  It didn't feel like we were moving forward.  Ok if you have time, I guess.

Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner by Judy Melinek and T.J. Mitchell.  Now this is my sort of nonfiction.  It jumped around in time a bit, rather like Pandemonium, but the stories still made sense.

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger.  Not only did my son devour this (vicariously), but after his dad and I each read one night at bedtime, we both decided we each wanted to read the whole thing.  It took us a little while to get through the book, waiting for all three of us to be conscious and in the same room at the same time, but we managed to find the time.  We are working on Darth Paper Strikes Back, but finding it hard to find the time.

The Sword of the Bright Lady by M.C. Planck.  I was really entranced while reading this; however, upon reflection, it could have used some work.  I liked the world-building, but it kind of got abandoned after the first few chapters; more detail would have added to the story.  More information about the mythology especially would have explained a lot, given background to the characters' actions.  There was plenty of action, but more world history would have made the action make more sense.  Maybe future series titles will add depth.

Yours, Mine, and Ours by MaryJanice Davidson.  Getting-ready-for-beach read!

The Lego Movie with Chris Pratt.  I'd had several fellow parents say this was a really great movie.  I concur.  It looks more stop-motion-y than some of the other Lego shows my kid has seen (Chima, Ninjago) and it was a nice effect.  Lots of kid-friendly jokes, lots of parent-jokes that weren't inappropriate.