Panera + IBS = :(

But all the same, at least the food was wonderful, even if I'm paying the price now, especially the broccoli cheddar soup. We ordered lunch today as a continued celebration for a co-worker's birthday. At lunch I also saw my former boss, Kathy, which was great. Later I went to visit a friend and then had a tiny nap.

I've also been reading First Test, volume I of the 'Protector of the Small' by Tamora Pierce. It isn't the finest phantasy I've ever read, but it's entertaining and I think I would particularly have identified with it when I was about 10 or 12. It does a nice job of showing the struggles of women in a man's world without getting too preachy. The heroines are not super-women; they're believable and have their own self-doubts. The characters are not as thoroughly developed as, say, Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar books (which in turn can drive a person mad after so many books), but still very fun to read, and they do an excellent job of describing the fighting moves themselves--indeed, the author pays particular attention. Unlike Lackey's books, which have quite a bit of emoting, these tend to focus (at least the series I'm reading) on a more stoic stubborness. I'll be interested in how the other two series play out as well.

When I was a child, like many future librarians, I was a voracious reader. During summers I would read up to six books a day. Until recently, I never considered that I might have to force myself to read. But between suffering from depression for awhile and just dealing with the everyday issues of adult life, I slowly started going for longer periods without pleasure reading. Reading became something I did due to studies, and eventually I couldn't even do that. It's one reason that I like reading children's/young adult fiction. If I get to a point where I find I'm having trouble making time to read, I pull out Harry Potter--or any other quick, imaginative children's story that can draw me into its world quickly before I have a chance to blink and go back to other things. Lately I've been having trouble again...I started re-reading Terry Brooks' Sword of Shannara, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and even though I love the story and have since I was about 15, I couldn't seem to get into it, especially as I was managing to only read during bus stop waits, etc. Since I've been actually eating lunch with people instead of reading during lunch, my reading time has largely diminished. But I'm making time, regardless. And the Pierce books helped get me on track. After a couple of hours on this volume, I'm ready to tackle volume II tomorrow. Yay. I hate feeling like I don't have time to read. You'd think with the layoff I would, but I've managed to fill my time pretty quickly, and if I'm bored, I'm more likely to play on the computer now than read, which is a little sad. So, I'm going to make an effort to not spend quite as much time online and more deep in a book. :) And the other nice thing is that as I read, I feel more like writing as well.

For now, though, having finished the book and watched Charmed, I think I'm going to head on to bed. 'Night.