A Long Long Sleep

Speaking of fairy tales, if you love the Sleeping Beauty story (ahem Kim and Beth), you might love this book.  It's called A Long Long Sleep and it's by Anna Sheehan.  It's futuristic young-adult fantasy post-apocalypic dystopian fiction.  (I've never said that sentence before.)  It begins with a girl awoken from stasis by a handsome young man who has found her stasis tube in the basement of his apartment complex.  Our heroine must create a life in an unfamiliar world where everyone she has ever loved no longer exists.  What I liked best about it was the heroine's personal growth from shrinking violet to a young woman finally in charge of her own life.  Also very interesting is the discussions the book has led me to have with people about why people have children in the first place.  If you can get past the teen angst stuff, this book is very enjoyable and incredibly interesting!  My favorite parts involve the alien-human-genetic-experiment character...

For me, the real best part about this book is how I came by it:  I was reading this book blog called Space Intentionally Left Blank written by Emma, a woman who works at my favorite Seattle used book store.  I made a list of books she recommended that I thought I would like and walked into the store to look for them.  Lucky for me, she happened to be working there so I could talk to her about the books I wanted. She immediately found one (Divergent) but when I asked about A Long Long Sleep, she said the only copy she'd ever seen was her own, but that she'd lend it to me!  HH thought it was very bad protocol for a bookstore to start lending, but I thought it was lovely.  I stopped by the next week and Emma had indeed set it aside for me to borrow.  Wasn't that so nice?

In other sweet local shop news, I also have to give a shout-out to my local jewelry store, Wyatt's.  The owner guy always tries to make his customers laugh, a nice dog is always behind the counter, there's free candy, and several times now, they have helped me out for free.  Exhibit A:  twice now, a few links needed to be removed from my watch to make it fit.  Exhibit B:  a necklace lost its clasp and needed a new closure. They would accept only a donation to the local food bank as payment.  I've also bought a charm and a necklace there and they did swipe my credit card for those occasions.  Also, they will clean your engagement or wedding ring in exchange for a smile.

Oh! And the leather jacket I'm wearing is from Frenzi.  It was on a mannequin and I asked Mike to take it down so I could try it on.  The darn mannequin fell on him and whacked his head!  He got a little dizzy and I felt awful!  I'm so glad the jacket fit at least!

So go out there and support your local shops because they are full of nice people!  Or go support mine! 

What's your favorite local shop?

Daily Details:

- weather: cold morning

- leather jacket, thrifted, $12, worn once, approximate current cost per wear (accpw) $12

- cardigan, old, accpw $10

- pants, old, accpw $10

- purple mary jane crocs, old, accpw $1

- pink bracelet, accpw $1

- necklace, ebay, accpw $2

- ethical ensemble evaluation: A

- Bonus outfit photo taken a week and a half ago at a dear friend's wedding at the Los Angeles County Botanical Gardens (can you see me melting?)