Just lie back and think of…the dentist?

So. I had a dentist appointment today. Now, let me start by saying that I really like going to the dentist – in fact, I was looking forward to my appointment. I don’t know…something about having your teeth immaculately clean…yum! And, did you ever see the episode of the Simpsons where the school goes on strike and Lisa’s like ‘Grade me! Evaluate me! Oh, I’m ever so smart!’ Yeah. I’m totally like that. Wherever I can. So going to the dentist is like ‘Grade my teeth! Evaluate my teeth! Marvel at the fact that I’ve never had a cavity! And don’t have wisdom teeth* which makes me the most evolved person in my family!’

And invariably, there were no cavities and no wisdom teeth**.

But.

The oral hygenist that I had was not the one I usually have and she kept trying to talk to me and fiddling about with the equipment and I just wanted to say ‘Look, lady. I just want to lie back, relax, and enjoy having my teeth cleaned.’

Seriously, it’s not like I’m at the hairdressers and you have to entertain me. My mouth is otherwise occupied – the dentist is the last place I should have to be worried about making small talk.

Less with the talking, more with the teeth-cleaning.

*Knock on wood.

**Knock on wood.

Gotcha!

Ha! It was a TRICK! I have ALREADY been distracted by something new…

My hard-earned (and by hard-earned, of course, I mean I won it on eBay) ARC of Hero by Perry Moore came today! 😀

What I’m reading next…

Yep. Victorian America: Transformations in Everyday Life. It is research and I am determined to get through it because I need to know about Victorian America. Trust me. I am on page 22.

Any bets on when I get distracted by something new?

Fiction

Thursday Next: First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde

Did you know that one of Jasper Fforde’s top five books is none other than…Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome? Oh, heart of my heart! So bear in mind that, not only do I adore his Thursday Next books…and the Nursery Crime books (oh, Ashley, you are the cutest alien ever!), but I am perhaps a little biased toward the author himself…

If you haven’t read the Thursday Next books, do not start with this one. I have read all of the Thursday Next books and I was a little confused at first. I forgot that certain people were back and, as it’s set fourteen years since the last one (a 50-something Thursday Next? Crazy!), there are some people who are gone now. I did a few double takes, but I got over it. BUT what I was saying was, if you haven’t read the Thursday Next books…what are you waiting for?! Claire, you’ve got my back here, right? Right.

So this one is just really more of the same, which I know should be getting old, but I will never EVER tire of the idea that fiction is real and so is time travel and there are things like a stupidity surplus and there are dodos who go ‘plock!’ and have dodo cozies knit for them (!). NEVER! I did get start to get worried as I neared the end that Jasper wouldn’t be able to wrap up all the plots – in fact, if there is one teensy little problem with this book (okay, there’s another, but I’ll get there in a minute), it’s that there are WAY too many plots going on. But I will tell you now not to worry about it, Jasper has got it covered…well, actually, the next book will have it covered, but still. It’s covered. And, as a bonus, we are guaranteed another Thursday Next book.

The other teensy problem (Claire, you won’t be happy about it…) is that there are a few…illustrations in here. My main problem was that, after not having illustrations for so long, I had a very set picture of what Thursday looked like and, well, her illustrated version of herself does not match that. Also, it’s not really in a style that I like very much (Claire, we’ll have to compare and see if the same illustrator is doing all the versions – yours may be better…). There’s even a two-page spread near the end where the illustration replaces the text, which…was a little jarring. I flipped back and forth a couple of times before I realised that it was intentional. I don’t know – I just don’t think it’s that necessary. I do like the drawings for the little adverts for things like ‘Toast’ or ‘Join the Chronoguard’ that are usually at the end, but those are of a different style than the ones that are part of the text.

But don’t let it dissuade you (Claire, I’m looking at you!) – Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series is still going strong, although I have to admit, I’m kind of hoping that he’ll go back to the Nursery Crime folks (Ashley!) before the next Thursday Next book. I hope that’s not sacrilege…

My rating: B+