An abundance of tomorrows

In the spirit of the purpose of A to Zedding I will try and keep my blogging mojo up and not leave this book review for another week (and the library is sending threatening emails) (though they've stopped charging late fines). 'Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow' by Gabrielle Zevin was what I think of as an easy read. I had felt like I was reading too much hard stuff and not enjoying it enough. While I did enjoy it the stuff about gaming, and significantly creating computer games, went right over my head. Not that it spoiled the book to skim read some parts, and the group of characters at the centre of the book were very engaging and believable. I like a book that follows the characters over time, watching their lives and relationships evolve. Sam and Sadie meet in hospital as children, Sam recovering from an accident and Sadie visiting her sister who has cancer. They drift apart and then reconnect at university where Sadie is studying computer game design. Sam's roommate Marx has taken Sam under his wing, and caring for Sam becomes the glue that bonds them together. They create together what becomes a cult computer game, form their own company, move to California, fulfilling the adage 'do what you love and you will never work a day in your life'. Of course stuff has to happen that undermines all the perfect life. It was a weakness in the book that stuff happens, rather than being character driven, and there were element of plotting that were somewhat predictable but on reflection it fitted with the obsessive nature of computer game fandom. John Green gushes about the book on the cover and it was his books that it reminded me of most, very much about the lives of young people and the concerns that they have.

Only have one quote noted down, from the very beginning, and it was just a nice thing, letting you inside Sadie's thinking, telling you about Sadie but also somewhat typical of Gabrielle's style:

"Around lunchtime, Sadie felt hungry and, thus, somewhat less sorry for Alice and sorrier for herself. It was irritating the way Alice acted like an asshole and Sadie was the one who was punished. As Sadie was repeatedly told, Alice was sick, but she was not dying. Alice's variety of leukaemia had a particularly high remission rate. She had been responding well to treatment, and she's probably even be able to start high school, on schedule, in the fall. Alice would only have to be in the hospital for two nights this time, and it was only out of, according to her mother, an 'abundance of caution.' Sadie liked the phrase 'an abundance of caution.' It reminded her of a murder of crow, a flock of seagulls, a pack of wolves. She imagined that 'caution' was a creature of some kind - maybe, a cross between a Saint Bernard and an elephant. A large, intelligent, friendly animal that could be counted on to defend the Green sisters from threats, existential and otherwise." (p.14)

Stay safe. Be kind. Enjoy your tomorrows.

Z is for Zero

Z is for Zero, from Arabic 'sifr', originally meaning empty, but coming to be used for zero, and its use is quite significant to the development of mathematics. Lots of interesting stuff out there about the history of the concept of nothing, on Wiki and the book 'Zero: the biography of a dangerous idea'. 

Linking back to the A to Z Challenge.

Found this image on wikimediacommons, it shows the first known graphic representation of zero. On a broken doorjamb, from Trapeang Prei, Sambor, Kratie. Now on display at the National Museum of Cambodia

  

Y is for Yurt

Y is for Yurt, from Turkic, meaning 'dwelling place'. While yurts are not widely used in Britain we used to own one and they are a delight to dwell in compared to a conventional tent. It was only small, ten feet I think, but had a proper wooden door that I painted. They do need a trailer to transport and several people to put up. 

Linking back to the A to Z Challenge.

X is for Xylophone

X is for Xylophone. Another tough letter in the A to Z so I am going with Xylophone from ancient Greek, like much of our language, from the words meaning 'wood' and 'sound'. There was the most beautiful xylophone in the primary school at Kettlesing, that my kids went to for a while. It was not a silly children's version, a proper adult instrument, that made the most lovely sound. 

Linking back to the A to Z Challenge.

(Found a photo but this is way better.)

(I am reliably informed that a Marimba is, of course, a completely different instrument, but I stand by the definition of the greek word that it makes sound from wood😊)

W is for Whisky

W is for Whisky, from the Gaelic 'uisce beatha' (you can hear the word if you say it aloud) which means 'water of life'. My dad drank whisky with water for years when I was a child, his means of winding down after the working day. I would make it for him when I was a teenager, a finger width of whisky and a finger width of water. I am not sure he does so much any more. It seems to be one of those acquired tastes that has been 'having a bit of a moment in the last few years, but I can't stand the stuff myself.

Linking back to the A to Z Challenge.

V is for Vigilante

V is for Vigilante, from the Spanish for 'watchman', but in english it means a person or group of people who take the law into their own hands, enacting justice, often violent, against a perceived crime, sometimes responding to a threat to the status quo. 

Linking back to the A to Z Challenge.

Image 'Vigilante Days' by Anton Refregier

U is for Ukulele

U is for Ukulele, and is wonderfully from Hawaiian, a small guitar-like instrument (although not much like since it only has 4 strings). We have had several in our house over the years; I think Tish gave Monkey's to her boyfriend Jun since he is a music maker. They are surprisingly popular being quick to learn and easy to get a nice sound from.

Linking back to the A to Z Challenge.

I was going to share Pinball Wizard, then I saw this one instead: