Atonement: I borrowed this book from a friend who had seen the movie and was sort of curious about the book (but hasn't read it yet). I heard the movie had a happy ending that was not present in the book, and I like happy endings, so there was already a strike against it. I started this one night when there was nothing on TV. I got about 11 pages in. I hated it. The writing was just way too heavy and heavy-handed. Last weekend, I picked up the book again. I had a couple days off for Easter and had ordered some books from Amazon but they hadn’t yet arrived. Anyway, the book got better, but my hatred for the main character (I think I can call her that) grew and grew and grew. Finally I finished Part One and skipped ahead to the end so I could be finished with the damn thing once and for all. Then I read “Mystery at the Ski Jump.” Much better.
Jennifer Weiner: I picked up Good in Bed when it came out, thought it was a good summer read, and passed it on to my mom. Then it took on a life of its own as she passed it to her sister, who then passed it to her whole book club, and everyone loved it. And, bonus, the author seemed really cool, and she wasn’t skinny and blonde, and, wow, this was perfect. So it was with much anticipation that I read In Her Shoes. And it was okay, I guess. I tried to pass it on to my mom, but she’d already read it from the library, and she didn’t want it. It remained on my shelf for a while, and then I noticed that Jennifer Weiner had a new book out, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to spend money on it. Then the movie version of In Her Shoes came out and I flat-out HATED it. A little while after that, I saw Little Earthquakes on clearance at the bookstore where I worked, and clearance + employee discount convinced me to try it out. LOVED IT. I still read it over and over. I was so happy; I thought In Her Shoes was just an unfortunate blip, and maybe it was me – lots of other people liked it. Goodnight Nobody followed, and, another clearance find, I bought and liked it as well. We were on a winning streak. By the time The Guy Not Taken came out, I was no longer working in the bookstore, but my mom offered to buy it for me on one of those mother-daughter shopping trips that I so love. I had such high hopes, and then the first story was a big let-down. And then the second story followed the same people from the first story. And then the third story was the same people, oh my God, will it ever end? Finally they were done, but the rest of the stories were just not that good. Still, I had the book, and so it sat on the shelf until last weekend when (as mentioned above) I had some time that I wanted to devote to reading. And I ran into the same problem. I just don’t like these stories. So now I am not sure what to do. Do I want to buy the next book? Or just write it off? (I am sure I will at least read it. I will try to buy it used or get it from the library or something. But it’s unsettling. How can some of the novels be so good, and some so … not-good?)
I Am Legend: James wanted to watch it. I had nothing better to do so I watched with him. I seem to recall a bunch of people talking about Tom Hanks carrying the whole movie in Castaway because it was him and the volleyball. Same thing here. I don’t know, it was kind of boring. And then these rabid vampire creatures? Weird. James is going to buy the movie. I am never going to watch it again.
Babywatch ’08: So this whole not-trying-not-to-get-pregnant is interesting. I can’t say “trying to get pregnant” because I really really really dislike failing. If I were actually trying to get pregnant, then every period would be a failure. But if I am just not actively preventing pregnancy, then whatever happens, happens. (See how pathetic I can be when I try to convince myself of things?) The last time I spoke of this, I mentioned that I was not really paying attention to these TTC things, I was not charting, blah blah blah. Well, right after that, I went out and bought a BBT thermometer. I am sure I could just have bought a digital thermometer but, you know, I like to go all out. That was on Valentine’s Day. I was also on Day 11 of my normally 35-day cycle. (If you don’t know what I am talking about, just stop reading now. Or google it.) So, AF was due on March 10. Which came and went, and there was no signs of impending menstruation. However, being the good little first-time charter, I noted that there was no temperature rise, and therefore I probably hadn’t ovulated, and OH MY GOD WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? Once my period was eight days late, I went over to the dollar store and bought a pregnancy test. I didn’t want to take it. I didn’t think I was pregnant, but confirming it would be – you guessed it – a failure. Predictably, it was negative. Promptly after that, my temperatures rose. Now I am assuming that I am at 6 DPO. This is too early to know anything, really. The whole problem I have is that now is not a good time to get pregnant. We can’t afford it. But is there ever a good time? Can we ever afford it? Can I be a stay-at-home-mom? Do I want to be? And then on top of all that, just thinking about it is weird – there is this two-week wait where you are in limbo. Did the sperm meet the egg? Is this little four-celled organism floating along my fallopian tube? Is this month already a bust and I don’t know it? Can I drink that cup of coffee? Because now that Lent is over, I don’t even have to feel guilty about it anymore. Blargh!
The Great Workout Plan ’08: Hahaha. I wish it was okay to be fat. You know, everybody tells you about the Freshman 15, but I was already a fat kid then so it didn’t really matter much. But then I did Tae-Bo and jogged an entire summer away and suddenly I could fit into regular sizes. This continued during my time in Houston, when I lived by a lovely park with a lovely three-mile running train, and into Memphis, where my apartment complex had a running trail, and I had motivation and a job that required me to be on my feet constantly and running up and down three flights of stairs regularly. I was even okay after I moved back to Durham because at the bookstore I was constantly running around helping hapless customers. It all started to go downhill when I got my current job with the evil empire. First I started eating crap food because I was working 60 hours a week, with a 30-minute commute in between two jobs, and it sucked. Then, I got a full-time gig at the desk job, which meant 40 sedentary hours a week. But I was still working part-time at the bookstore so the crap food continued. Until I got sick of the bookstore and quit the job but kept eating the crap food. Then it was Thanksgiving and then Christmas and then I met James, and we ate out a lot, and then we got married and now, getting back to my point, NO ONE TELLS YOU ABOUT THE MARRIAGE 15. Everyone nods, wisely, when you ask: oh yes, that happens to everyone. BUT NO ONE TELLS YOU BEFOREHAND. I have stopped the gain, but I cannot manage to make the scale go in the other direction. First I tried the Couch Potato to 5K running plan. This was going okay for about a month, but then it was Thanksgiving, and then Christmas – oh, you’ve heard this song before? – and oh by the way, we bought a house. Then, in February, I set out with renewed interest to work out, but after three weeks of trying to cut carbs and work out – Tae-Bo, walking, resistance bands – with no discernible effect, I got discouraged, and then it was Easter with the Reese’s peanut butter eggs, and that brings us to today. It is just that I love food and hate working out. Back to the grind. I hear Billy Blanks calling. I hate that man.
Unrelated non-review note: Happy Birthday Tom Glavine!
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After another traditional breakfast of hard-boiled eggs, breads and Nutella (!), Anke and Volkmar took us to Heidelberg, 94 km and about an hour south of Frankfurt. Heidelberg is on the Neckar River, and as we walked along said river, I saw the European headquarters of the company my mom works for. Upon my return, I told her she needed to put in for a transfer, because the office featured a view across the river of the Heidelberger Schloss, which is set off from town on the 
I was going to say we took the autobahn to Frankfurt but then I realized I used that for Day 2. It’s entirely possible that we took the same highway twice; but I think Day 3 is the one for which I have photographic evidence.
We then set off to Cologne, approximately 185 km and almost two hours from Tecklenburg. On the way, Anke pulled out some divine lebkuchen. Upon arrival in Cologne, we set out for the Cathedral, known in German as the Kölner Dom (or, wikipedia tells me, 
We then proceeded up the cathedral's 509 stairs to the viewing platform. These stairs are similar to the stairs going up to the Statue of Liberty's head, and both made me slightly nauseous. As it turns out, I don't do well with spiral staircases in dark and cramped quarters. We took lots of pictures, including pictures of the Christmas Market in the square below the cathedral and pictures of the Rhine (Rhein?) River. Then it was back down to street level, where I enjoyed a bratwurst. Yummy!
We drove into the city. It was a nice day, partly cloudy and cool, with a few sprinkles in the area. We parked at a garage somewhere near the VanGogh Museum, because Lisa is cultured and likes museums like that. I stopped at an ATM to withdraw euros and lost five years of my life when the ATM nearly ate my card. It returned it with a crimp in the side, however, and I did not have to freak out entirely. Before heading to the museum, we had lunch in a local pancake house, complete with cats walking around the restaurant. We walked along canals and saw houseboats and tulips and clogs that I was tempted to buy but resisted. The museum was actually really cool; it traces Van Gogh's life chronologically through paintings, but by the third floor, I was about done in by the jet lag. When we left, we adventurously took a different route back to the parking deck and promptly got lost in a local park.
Once we reached the car, Anke drove us back to her house in Ibbenbüren, Germany, which is 219 km and about two hours west of Amsterdam. I marked the border crossing into Germany by drooling on myself while sleeping, or some such similar activity. At Anke's house, we met her husband, Volkmar, and their dog, Buffy. Anke and Volkmar lived in the left half of the house, and Anke's parents lived in the right half, which was "next door" because it had a separate entrance. Anke insisted that we call home to let our parents know we had arrived safely. We got a tour of their house, which had very modern bathrooms and showers (which we used judiciously but which I am not sure were used very often otherwise) and these cool outdoor shutters which are controlled from the inside and block every single bit of light from outside. Fabulous for sleeping. 
Jim Rutherford has replaced Uncle Drayton at the top of my most-hated sports GMs list (of two).