Audrey is crossed off the Christmas list

So, I finished reading Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffeneger and did not like it one iota.  I was going to write a book review explaining the reasons for my distaste, and then discovered that Badger wrote this, which I agree with completely.  So.  That about does it for that.  For the record, I did like The Time Traveler's Wife, and thought that the concept of HFS was good, so had been looking forward to it.  Don't know that I will bother with any of her future work.

Moving on to last night's dream.  I dream a lot, in colour, often with sounds and smells and sometimes physical experiences.  This is great when the dream has a fun, loving theme.  It's not so good when the anxiety dreams hit, and I seem to be having quite a run of them.

In last night's I was in some sort of factory, a dingy dark one, that was also part university.  A very good older friend of mine, B, was there too, and periodically so was Jojo.  I was working near an office in which some sort of experiment was being done, when all of a sudden someone alerted us to the fact that there was a gas leak that might explode and we needed to vacate the building ASAP.  At this point I had Jojo with me, and my main concern was keeping her safe.  As we were hustling out off the building and into the car park I heard an explosion, and small shards of glass started raining down on us.  I pulled Jojo to me and tried to protect her face, head and body as much as possible with my own body.  She was ok, but I could feel dozens of stinging cuts as the glass hit me.  Nothing too severe or fatal, but certainly it felt unpleasant, and the whole episode had a threatening vibe.

After a while (at this point Jojo had disappeared) we decided it was safe to go into the factory/university to investigate.  I didn't have any shoes, and shattered glass was everywhere, so I stole two left shoes to walk around in. I know.  Anyway, snooping around B's office I came across scraps of paper that seemed to suggest that he was having an affair.  I was completely shocked, and felt quite betrayed on behalf of his wife. In real life, B and his wife, (now dec) were completely devoted to each other.

The whole dream was about trying to protect my (inner?) child, and with coming to terms with the fact that sometimes things are not what they seem.  It's no wonder that I sometimes wake up exhausted!  Still, this dream was not as bad as the one a few nights ago when I dreamt that Tony Abbott was my father...gack!

Moving back to books, a much safer and my all round favourite topic.  I have been given this to read, but was warned I would probably need to keep my trusty dictionary next to me during the process.

It's the first Banville I have attempted, and when I return the book I am supposed to tell the wonderful K who lent it to me what my favourite new word is.  So, I have added a new list to the side of my page in order that you may expand your vocabulary right along with me.  Capeesh? (Part of speech: interjection. Definition: do you understand? From the Italian)...dictionary.reference.com.  ha ha ha