Sunday, August 24, 2014

Murchie Plus Books - August 17th to 23rd

The premise: I love my dog. I love books. I combine these two passions by photographing my dog with every book I read (barring the stuff I get through Marvel Unlimited. Last week, that was lots of Avengers-related stuff).

The photos: go live on Instagram as I take 'em and appear here in digest form on Sundays.

A tiny grey poodle--Murchie--with a closely shaved face and long ears lies next to a book. He faces the camera directly so only his head is visible. The book beside him is Boy Snow Bird. Its cover is leaf green with a vintagge-style illustration of a grey and yellow snake twining through the title. Pink roses and a small brown mouse also appear alongside the snake.

As previously stated, I fell in love with Helen Oyeyemi's BOY, SNOW, BIRD within fifteen pages. Murchie could hardly believe it. He's listened to enough of my bookish rants to know I'm both picky and suspicious.

(Yes, I discuss literature with my dog. You're telling me you don't?)

He was rather less surprised when the book cruelly betrayed me. Murchie can be such a pessimist.

I discussed the betrayal last Tuesday and, to be honest, I'm still not over it, so let's move on to something happier.

Murchie lies slightly behind an audio edition of The Magicians. The book is in an almost square CD case with the image of a sparse, golden-leafed tree on it. The tree stands almost alone on a wide, green plain studded with shallow pools. Both the book and the dog sit atop a red tapestried duvet.

Like THE MAGICIANS by Lev Grossman!

Which, okay, is maybe more cynical than happy, but I love it ever so much. I'm grateful my library had the audio edition, too, because it means I can squeeze a reread in without having to put the rest of my reading on hold. They don't have THE MAGICIAN KING on audio, alas, but I don't mind reading that one my own self before I dive into THE MAGICIAN'S LAND.

Murchie, I fear, was uncooperative when it came time to photograph him with the book. I thought he should sit in my red reading chair, cute and poised as you please with the book propped up beside him, but he flat out refused to stay there. The bed is definitely his comfort zone.

Murchie stands on the right side of the picture, facing the viewer. Beside him, upright, sits a thick paperback copy of The Uncrowned King. The cover depicts a pale young man in a cream-coloured outfit standing before a statue of a small boy with a blindfold over his eyes and chains on his wrists. Demons hover in the air above him, scaled and winged and blue-on-blue so they blend into the background.

I still needed a pick-me-up, so I finally began a book I've had on la TBR for a good seven months: THE UNCROWNED KING by Michelle West. I fell in love with West's work earlier this year, but I was reluctant to read this second volume in the Sun Sword series until I had easy access to the rest of it. The books are in print, but my small entertainment budget means I either buy my books used, wait for Kobo sales, or borrow them from the library. And the library didn't have these ones.

Sigh.

I asked them to purchase the series (with lots of justifications! I played the, "Michelle West is Canadian" card alongside the, "You have the series that comes after this one so it just makes sense" card). They agreed. And while the books have taken a while to get through processing, older titles being low on the library's list of priorities, I figure I'm safe to dive back in now.

It's been great. Murchie agrees. He even allowed me to place this thick, wallowsome book beside him on the back patio, though he flat out refused to lie next to it or to sit nicely with his wee paws together. (He usually presses his front heels together like a cat. It is adorable.) Still, you can maybe get a sense of his cute little bow legs.

Next week: SHORT BOOKS. (Seriously, y'all--I love Michelle West's writing, but I cannot read her quickly. I've spent a full week with THE UNCROWNED KING and I feel like I'm stagnating). Hopefully a new audiobook, too.

7 comments:

  1. Aww - seeing Murchie next to books really drives home how tiny he is.

    I've been wondering if I should read The Magician's Land. I had mixed feelings about the first two books, but I think I actually do care enough to want to see how it all ends.

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    1. I'm the wrong person to weigh in there, since I loved the hell out the first two books. I'm crazy excited to read THE MAGICIAN'S LAND.

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  2. Murchie (the adorable!) + books (the best!) = irresistible!

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    1. Aw, thanks!

      This is my very favourite of all my blogging-related ideas.

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  3. MUH. I am enjoying this feature so much that I want to replicate it with my own books and my parents' dog and my sister's dog. One dog is big, one is small; they are best friends. If I could get them to sit nicely with my books, I believe the pictures would be almost unbearably adorable.

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