Should I be worried that boosette hasn't checked in yet? She should be back in Cali by now, right? Does it take more than five days to drive clean across the country? *has no idea* I've never been west of Birmingham, actually.

I also read a book! A fictional one! Shocking, I know. It was even a fantasy book! Nowadays I mostly shun fantasy, but Runemarks was a gift from Little Miss Ten Whole Years, so I didn't really have choice. And it really surprised me how much I actually kind of loved it! It's a kid's book (I'm not really sure what it says about me that all my favorite fantasy novels are children's books?), and it stars a very resourceful heroine. The world building is based heavily on Norse mythology, which might be one reason I liked it so much. I know very few Norse myths, so the idea of the World Tree, the pantheon of gods, and the system of runes were all entirely new and fresh to me. It's set after Ragnarök (which is the armageddon prophecy of Norse mythology), and the main conflict is about the old guard versus a new Order that is very Orwellian and also kind of Christian? It's interesting! It's written irreverently, which is how I like my fantasy, and it's got this fantastic character -- Loki, the trickster god -- who reminds me so much of Captain Jack Sparrow. He's charming and witty, but he's also an unbelievable coward with an innate sense of self-preservation.

It's by Joanne Harris, who wrote Chocolat. I've never actually read Chocolat, but I've seen the movie (which stars Johnny Depp, coincidentally), and while it was mostly forgettable, I do remember that it was a friendly sort of movie, in that even the provincial townspeople were an important part of the story, and that definitely carried over into Runemarks, which pleased me. I'm looking forward to the next one!

Also, rock on California!