Khan: Empire of Silver

Khan: Empire of Silver: A Novel by Conn Iggulden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

i enjoyed the story, just like the first 3 in the trilogy. i'm only sorry that it has been such a large gap of time, because i had forgotten some of the previous story lines, like how the tsubodai-kills-jochi went down.

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working out

i have had a hard time working out since lumi was born but now that i'm finally not nursing lumi first thing in the morning, i feel like i can start morning workouts again. but now there is a problem: kimmo will be traveling soon, so i can't just slip out for a walk/run in the morning because lumi would be alone.

so i started this little program: http://michaelashcroft.net/2009/04/19/16-days-of-beginner-crossfit-wokouts-you-can-do-from-home/

and i've been doing it for about a week now. it is great! all the exercises are quick but really get my heart rate up. and best of all, i don't need any equipment. so i have been sneaking out of bed at 5:15, putting on a sports bra, and doing these in the living room.

Little Men

Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

"little men" is just as sappy as, but with less interesting stories than "little women". a couple of the boys were endearing, but for the most part they were not compelling.

why did i finish it then? i read it on dailylit.com, which means you just get a little at a time, and it makes it easy to read even the most dull literature.

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Anne of Windy Poplars

Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

i gather this is a not-very-popular item in the series. it still feels like anne for the most part. i think montgomery does a good job of reeling it in just when you're about to throw the book down and say "yes, we know that anne is so special and intriguing that she is like a magician in her interpersonal relationships and it's getting kind of old". usually just when my eyes were glazing over, i would arrive at a different kind of story, and i was hooked again.

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Prague Winter by Madeleine Albright

Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948 by Madeleine Albright
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

a wonderful read, and especially great now that i'm living in prague. she makes the panic and uncertainty of wwii-era central europe come to life.

as a young-ish citizen of the US, it has always been hard to fathom how exactly hitler accomplished all he did. in the US stories, he is always so clearly evil that it would take an idiot not to recognize it. yet albright's book shows how he hid behind 'understandable' policies for so long and people were so wary of war that they said 'ok, fine' and would give another few inches that it feels like it could happen again today.

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the end

i just finished 2 weeks of training. i'm exhausted. fortunately, we're going out for mexican food for kimmo's birthday.

it feels like we're going out for me because i'm the one who is crazy-excited about it. refried beans! guacamole! enchiladas!