I know I should be use to winter by now - I've been experiencing it every year for my entire life - but I couldn't help but dream of summer today as the temperature dropped outside and the weather reports for the next week only say it is going to get worse... I guess you can always be saved by a soft blanket and a good book (and your furnace)... 

The newly published The Casual Vacancy was an okay book not a good book. If you have read anything else by J.K. Rowling do not pick up this book expecting something resembling a teenaged boy who wears glasses and has a wand. 

Instead it reveals the lives and secrets of people who live in a small town, who, after a man has died, fight over his seat on the parish council. It touches on aspects of abuse, disorders, sexual promiscuity, politics, bullying, addictions, and just about everything you'd every have to deal with when in a relationship. 

I was told several things about this book before I read it and now I'll pass it on to you: there is swearing, sex, and a lot of characters in this book. This was January's read for my book club and someone said there were 30 characters to keep track of! Also, it is long. You've been warned. 

I started reading The Hobbit in preparation for the movie... and I almost finished it before we went. I know I should have read it sooner but I did not have the time and well, that's all there is to it. But I'm done now and all the people rejoiced because it is good! An excellent story about a hobbit, thirteen dwarves, a wizard, and their adventure. Well, adventures (emphasis on the s) actually. You can never just go on one major adventure without having several small but significant ones along the way... Oh and did I mention there is a dragon in this story? Get excited. 

The Wakeful Dreamer