Book Review: Death and the Penguin

Upon the recommendation of my esteemed Cousin, Jayme, I picked this book up just after I finished the bar. I finished it a few days ago and quite liked it. I'm not sure I liked it as much as Jayme did, so I invite his comments on what he liked about the book (unless he is planning to do an independent post on his blog). And anyone else who has read the book should also feel free to comment.

The book takes place in post-Soviet Kiev (Ukraine) and, in large part, is an illustration of what life is like for the average Ukranian. The main character is a writer who has adopted a penguin from the Kiev Zoo (because the zoo couldn't afford to feed it any more). The book traces his life as he gets a job as a obituary writer for a local newspaper and comes into contact with a variety of interesting characters, some likable, some bizarre, and some sordid. For me, the book got a little boring at times, but Misha the penguin is very loveable, and the last 50 pages are quite good. The book deals primarily with themes of death and depression (the penguin--far from his natural habitat--is quite depressed). But the book also explores the post-modern idea that things and occurences have multiple meanings and that it is difficult to know what is real.

Overall, I would recommend the book.

Daddy Time

Baby Gracie is still doing great. She keeps Katie up most of the night, which is too bad, but she is so cute its hard to begrudge her that. Katie manages to sneak in naps while Grace sleeps during the day, which helps. The benefit of the situation is that, when I come home from work, Katie is pretty tired, so I get to spend a couple hours of good, quality time with baby Gracie while Katie lies down or takes a bath. I get to sit and rock her in the rocking chair, read her books, tell her stories, and take her on walks (sometimes Katie joins us for the walks). It is so much fun. I always thought that little babies were a little boring because they just sleep all day. I was always much more excited to have kids that were 2 and older because you could play with them. Boy was I wrong. Maybe other people's kids are a little boring in longer doses (for other people, not for the parents), but I could just sit and hold Gracie for hours while she slept, and I would be having the time of my life.

Little Gracie

Here are a few more pictures of little Gracie. I think these ones show how little she really is.

Baby Gracie

At long last, baby Gracie arrived. She was born Saturday night around 8:00. She weighted 5 pounds, 6 ounces. She is a tiny little thing--her premie diapers don't even fit her--but she is healthy and fully developed (she doesn't even have jaundice). She is still sleeping all day an all night, except for every few hours when she wakes up to eat and to tell us she needs her diaper changed

On a side note, Gracie was born during the Real v. Real game, and I take it as a good omen that David Beckam was gracing the soccer field at the time of her birth and that TomKat (that's right, Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes) were present in the stadium watching the game. I suppose that TomKat's baby, if, in fact, they really did have a baby, which is debateable, was also in town. With all that star-power just a stone's-throw away at the time of her birth, I figure that she will either be a brilliant soccer player, a famous acress, or a scientologist (after all, Katie (Davis, not Holmes) is certified in Dianetics).

Bratfest '06

In honor of Chris, Emily, Mary, & and unnamed baby boy leaving us to go to grad school in Wisconsin, we held Bratfest '06 at our home over the weekend. It was, by all measurements, a huge success. We had Wisconsin cheese (ok, so it wasn't Wisconsin cheese, but I am sure that it is very similar to the cheese you can get in Wisconsin) and crackers for appetizers. Judd provided a nice selection of root beers drafted in the Wisconsin area. Then we moved on to the main course where we sampled Bratwurst and some spicy Italian sausage (the faint of heart opted for masterfully grilled hamburgers). Then for desert we had ice cream and root beer cookies. That's right, root beer cookies. Katie found a recipe for them, and we had to try them. They were actually really good. I think the next time we serve them, we will serve them hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, kind of like a root beer float. But I can't think of a good name for such a desert. Any suggestions?

Anyway, everyone had a great time, and we missed those who could not attend. Chris, Emily, Mary, & baby will be missed. We'll have to hold the next Bratfest in Wisconsin itself.