Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones

Mr. Crossley recieves an alarming note one day: SOMEONE IN 6B IS A WITCH. This is bad because, as everyone knows, witches are burned at the stake. But Mr. Crossley decides to ignore it. Soon he regrets this. A parrot appears during music, there is a Simon Says spell, and the entire boarding school's shoes appear in the hall. The inquisitor is sent for. But he is not what everyone expects....

Good. An easy read. It was neat that everything was because of Guy Fawkes' day, which was also kind of odd, because it's a British holiday. Would that mean that only all the magic in Britain was because of Guy Fawkes' day? Would ours be because of the Fourth of July, or something?

I like the word odd.

It's almost time for Summer Conference! Yay!

To turi: what is Germanism?

Volume I of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

When the police are baffled, people of every kind of social status come to the amazing Sherlock Holmes. WIth his extraordinary knowledge of tobacco kinds, gossip, the London underground, and other miscellaneous areas, he catches his victim nearly every time. WIth the help of his faithful companion, Watson, he unravels the mysteries of A Study in Scarlet, The Five Orange Pips, The Yellow Face, and The Speckled Band. All are told by Watson.

Very good. It is amazing that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle could think of these things! I mean, telling that shots were not suicidal and murderous and that the lady is not lying by the fact that there is a third bullet in the wall, knowing what a man looks like by the distance of his footsteps from each other, on and on! A few things that annoyed me, though: the stories were not arranged in any chronological order, and there were allusions to cases that were not in the book. Maybe they're in volume two.

What kind of name is Sherlock Holmes?!
A pretty cool one.

Silas Marner by George Elliot

Silas Marner is cast out of his brotherhood after being falsely accused of killing the deacon and stealing church money. He goes to Ravloe and is known there as being the odd old weaver from somewhere else. He is very rich after fifteen years in Raveloe, and every night he counts his golden guineas. But on Christmas Eve he finds gold of a different sort: Eppie.

Good. Elliot (who was really a woman)describes Marner perfectly: before Eppie, he is a nearsighted, shrunken man with a sallow face and suspicious eyes, then he regains some vision and straightens up and smiles more. It is obvious that Eppie is good for him. That helps you get mad at Godfrey later. It all fits!

I have discovered the uses of the colon, and found that I like it a lot.

Island of the Aunts by Eva Ibbotson

Three women who live on an island have a scary thought: if tree frogs and rainforests can become extinct, why not them? And if they become extinct, what will happen to all the things on the island? For there are a lot of strange things there- mermaids, stoorworms, boobries, and a selkie. So they kidnap three children (but one wasn't supposed to be kidnapped) to help them. Fabio and Minette learn how to de-oil the mermaids, take care of the boobrie, and feed the baby seals. It is because of them that the kraken comes, bringing his son to leave with them. The Great London Aunt Hunt has begun to search for the kidnappers. This becomes a very bad thing, but you have to read the book. It's very good, don't worry.

I like the humor. It's British, which is much better than American. She says funny things, like the extinction idea, which is probable, only we don't say extinction; and they are British, so they call the bathroom the loo, which is a ridiculous word. I like Herbert. Selkies aren't used in stories enough. He's not a Herbert, though. He needs a more interesting name. Herbert is what you name a bystander who doesn't do much.

I have a goal: I will beat Christopher Paolini and publish a book before he did. This is a goal that goes along with getting a Newfoundland and owning a bookmark from every country.
Good, huh?

1776 by David McCullough

1776: This is the story of the Revolutionary War's first year. General George Washington led his army through glorious victories and humiliating defeats. He crossed rivers three times, twice out from under the noses of the British. Henry Knox performed the feat declared impossible- hauling fifty cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston in the dead of winter. Nathanael Greene, a Quaker made general in his thirties, won great battles, as did the British general William Howe. This war shaped America.

Very good, but a little confusing. Washington crossed three rivers, and each time I thought it was the Delaware. That was the last. I had never heard of a lot of the battles and people, so Greene and Knox were nice surprises. Recommended

catching up with one thing to catch up on over the past month?!

The Ledgend of the Celtinc Stone by Michael Phillips

The ancient Stone of Scone has been stolen from right under the noses of everyone in London. The leader of a Parliament faction has been murdered. No one knows the culprits. Andrew Trentham and Patricia (Paddy) Rawlings are taken on a roundabout search for the Stone, discovering along the way Scotch roots, the murderer, and other interesting things.

Cool. I enjoyed the stories about Genevra and Wanderer and Foltlaig. They made sense (but maybe only because I don't know much Celt history), and it was nice to hear about old civilizations that not many people think much about.
As you have probably guessed, this is historical fiction (or factual fantasy (or improbable history))
Double parentheses. I've always wanted to do that. I'm not quite sure if I used it right, though. Oh, well.

Did any of that make any sense?

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
Read How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill.

Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott

Rose Campbell comes to the Aunt-hill tired and sick. Her guardian, uncle Alec, decides to make her a healthy young woman. Except his idea of a fashionable lady is rather different than most peoples.

Okay. It wasn't as good as Little Woman. It didn't have enough of a story.

Going to Missouri!

a very cool word

I was looking for a synonym of 'ring' in the thesaurus, and I found the neatest word I've heard in a long time:
TINTINNBULATE!
v. to ring or sound a bell.
From Latin, tintinnabulum, 'small bell'. (How we got to ring the bell out of simply 'bell', I don't know)
You can look it up.

Luther the Reformer: the story of the man and his career by James M. Kittleson

Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483. His birth was so unknown that later he and some of his friends debated the date. He began school intending to be a lawyer, but after a few years vowed to become a monk. He was not a very happy monk, feeling weighed down by his sin. The Catholic procedures didn't seem to help. So he began to think, and slowly he thought of revolutinary ideas that led to the posting of The 95 Theses. Soon the whole Roman Empire had heard of him, and he was summoned to various councils, diets, and meetings. He wrote books on the demonic qualities of the pope and the Roman Church, the sins of indulgences and confessionals, and the need for a new church. He firmly stood by his beliefs to his death in1547. He was born an unknown pauper and died well-off and was mourned all across the Empire.

Good. It was easy to read, but also gave a pretty thorough background of his beliefs. It probably wouldn't be enough information for die-hard Lutherans, but it was good enough for me. I now know a lot more than I did, which was the point.

Apparently Happy needs to be potty-trained again. Yuk.

Winter Rose by Patricia A. McKillip

Rois Melior has always wandered freely through the wood by her house. One day she meets Corbet Lynn. Soon rumors begin to fly about him. His father murdered his grandfather, and his grandfather's last words were supposedly a curse. Rois is curious, and begins looking for clues. She findes herself caught in a whirlwind of curses, the past, and the cruel winter.

Good. It's scary in a nice, shivery way. It's a little confusing because there's a lot of stuff going on, but you'll figure it out.