My Talkative Girl

Sarah has really started talking and signing quite a bit. I love being able to communicate with this little one - who really has so much spunk!

Here are some words Sarah can say:

• dada
• mama
• bird (baba)
• sheep (baa)
• cow (moo) I know it's a stretch but she does say it!
• Hi
• Hand
• Jenna (hi-ya)
• cat
• kitty cat
• doggie (dobaa)
• clock
• that
• ball
• high 5

Signs that Sarah does:

• more
• please
• water
• sit down
• gorilla - her favorite animal!
• bird
• eye
• ear
• mouth
• nose
• arms
• legs
• milk
• thank you
• fish
• baby
• ball
• Jesus
• banana
• flower
• rain
• hat

It's amazing that we can communicate so well with her at such a young age. Although sometimes the communication is one sided since she just laughs at us when we tell her "no" or "come here" or "don't touch".

Books I'm reading now:

1. Black Unicorn by Terry Brooks. I just finished Magic Kingdom for Sale by Terry Brooks and was very happy with the book. While I loved the Sword of Shannara series, much of it seemed to rip of Lord of the Rings - even the plot twists. Whereas in Magic Kingdom for Sale, it was fresh and interesting.
2. Shaman's Crossing by Robin Hobb. Robin Hobb is a fantasy writer whose work I have never read. She was listed among Brandon Sanderson's favorites and was the only one I hadn't read so I wanted to read her books. It is an excellent story about class war - something I'll expand upon in a little bit.
3. Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux. This is a fun romance book that my Mom recommended. I like the story and it is unfolding like something I'll really enjoy.
4. The Shack. This is a book about the Trinity and apparently will make me never want to go camping again - at least this is what my friend who loaned it to me said.

While I was pondering the books I'm currently reading, I was thinking about fantasy and realized much of fantasy can be grouped into the following 4 categories:

1. Class/Race war. Shaman's Crossing and Mistborn are examples of these kinds of books. The lower/oppressed race often rises up and overthrows the one in power.
2. Journey/Quest. Lord of the Rings and Sword of Shannara are examples of these kinds of books. A long journey is taken for some reason or quest and may span several books.
3. New world colonization. Red Mars and Pern are examples of these kinds of books. Some of these books may fit more in Sci-Fi but these books often have fantasy elements in them as well.
4. Hero/Heroine. Wheel of Time and Sword of Truth are examples of these kinds of books. Often a hero is foretold and the series is about the hero and his/her exploits (more often him than her... I'm still waiting for the awesome heroine story!).

While these may be broad generalizations, I feel that much of the fantasy I read falls into these categories. Books that are outside of these categories such as Song of Ice and Fire tend to be interesting and different. Thomas Covenant is an anti-hero which I also find interesting - even if the book just trudges along.

80 points today on Quiddler!