The Razor's Edge

I finished this book in the tub yesterday afternoon. I liked this one not for the plot or story (there isn't one), but for the characters. Larry is my favorite because he's so different and marches to his own tune. I like Isabelle but less as the story progresses. She loses herself in her own image I think. Anyway, it was an interesting tale, but this book won't haunt my thoughts or leave much of an impression on me.

Mud Ice

I went tromping through the woods today, and discovered several little fields of the strangest ice I think I've ever seen. Look - here is one of them. At first I wasn't sure it was ice, because it seemed too warm out. But they were in the shade, and I took my glove off and let one melt in my hand to make sure.



Then when I got back home, I looked for ice crystal images online and found one just like mine on Flickr.

Does anyone know how these crystals form? I figure as the mud gets colder, the water freezes and expands. What's really interesting to me is that the water molecules freeze to each other and push up out of the mud rather than forming a uniform mud-ice block. Weird. Maybe I'll try freezing some mud and see if I can grow these crystals.

Book Double

I've gotten behind in my book reports so I'm doing two briefly in one.

The last book I read is Life of Pi, a book I bought in Ithaca and read most of in the Philadelphia airport while my flights kept getting canceled and delayed. Life of Pi was quite an adventure and hard to put down, even to board my flight to finally get out of Philly and head home. The writing was nothing to note, and simultaneously didn't get in the way of the story. The characters were very real, and the author understands animals as well as he understands people. The diligence and dedication of Pi to his life and that of his boat-mates creates hope and a renewed appreciation of the world in the reader. I don't think it was as good as other critics seem to think, but it was real - as in keepin' it that way. It's a good book and worth the read. And when you get to the end, talk to me about what you think. I didn't like it even though it added a layer - I felt it was a last-minute gotcha. But I'll keep an open mind.

Before I picked up Pi in Ithaca, I finished The Grapes of Wrath on the trip there. I really liked the book. It was about real people and real life. Hard, dirty, sad, and yet full of dreams, keeping people alive even when they were dreams that could never be fulfilled. Maybe part of the reason I really enjoyed this book is that I grew up in Oklahoma, I lived in California, and I've traveled I-40 west myself a few times. The places were familiar and the people were familiar. I enjoyed the characters, particularly Casey and Tom and Ma. Those are strong people and amazing characters. This is an earthy story and I was not ready for it to end where it did. But I don't want to ruin it for those few of you left who haven't read it yet. I see why high-schools teach this book. It's a bit of the U.S. that one should know.