the taco thing

So, talking last night, Pete told me that there was this theory out there that women prefer hard taco shells and men prefer soft tacos.

It was true in our case. I don't like soft tacos (and I freaking haaaaaaate soft corn tortillas) and he hates hard tacos (which I think he calls shards of messy death).

So I said I'd throw a poll up here and see what happens.

And, that's about it. You guys are mostly taco sluts, apparently. I'm very proud.

Pete's going to be so annoyed with the clicky thing results. Muhahahaha! He was completely bemused, "What? Wait! What is that clicky thing answer?! Why is there a clicky thing?!"

reading, reading, reading

Considering it's already March, I'm not doing too poorly with the 50 Book Challenge.

I was a little bad, and went on a Judy Blume re-reading streak (Freckle Juice, Sheila the Great, Superfudge), but I also found two of her books that I hadn't read before, so even though it's Young Adult fiction, I think it counts.

Book #5: As Long as We're Together
Book #6: Here's to You, Rachel Robinson

and Book #7: Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen, which was fucking stupendous and will be that book that I give to everyone for every event ever (c.f., Time Traveler's Wife)

I don't know how I missed reading, As Long as We're Together when I was growing up. I remember the title, but I must never have read it. And the Rachel Robinson book wasn't familiar to me, so it must have been after my time. But they were classic Judy Blume. Friendships, parent-kid conflicts, and a lot of heart. She's really the best.

I don't have much to say about them except that unlike some other kid books I've tried to re-read, these remain really wonderful and interesting.

Now, Water for Elephants. What a fucking fantastic book. The story is set in the context of the Depression and mostly on a traveling circus train. It's told through the perspective of an old man in a nursing home thinking back to his young life as part of the circus. There's murder and intrigue. There's heartache and love. There's friendship and loyalty and some really incredibly fucked up characters. It's really just brilliant.

It's written incredibly well. Gruen doesn't hide any of the ugly but does it without sensationalizing or dwelling on things unnecessarily. A lot of the horrors are horrible enough without tormenting the reader. The pacing is excellent. She manages to cut back to the nursing home scenes at really good points, so you're not constantly ripped back at a torturous moment and enraged. I'm really impressed with her writing skills and the structure of the book as well as just how engaging the characters are and what a good story it is. I even loved the ending.

We get to know the main character, Jacob, as a young man and as an old, and the treatment of the characters is considerate and believable. She treats her characters with dignity, but with humor we see them through a very realistic lens, without feeling like everything is a mass of cliches.

The hardest thing to read involved the animal cruelty. All of it. Intentional abuse and situational neglect. While it all makes sense in the context of the times, it was still very upsetting.

I'd gone to the circus as a little girl, and all I really remember is that all the elephants started pooping during their act and the ringmaster sent out the clowns with giant garbage cans to run behind them to catch it. That's all I remember. Funny, huh?

I haven't thought of the circus in decades. I had to go look and see if it still existed. I think I'd just figured that something like Cirque du Soleil had take over that type of scene. But I just looked, and Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey are still around. And somewhat unsurprisingly, they have an Animal Care FAQ that notes, "Ringling Bros. exceeds all federal animal welfare standards set by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) under the Animal Welfare Act." Also unsurprising, they are currently on trial. I'm curious to see what the outcome is.

Anyhow--go read this book. It's brilliant!