Feed Lifeguards, Not Seagulls: I survived the beach 2008

Another year at the beach, distinguished from the others by:
1) Seeing Mamma Mia with my grandmother ("Dancing Queen" was stuck in my head for days afterward)
2) not getting completely sunburned
3) having the only rain be the morning we planned to go fishing
4) causing an LBI sensation by sending my dad off to the hospital in an ambulance. Even the police officers knew about it. (He's ok, btw.)

and the following books:
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen--for school
Kushiel's Scion and Kushiel's Justice by Jacqueline Carey
M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman
The Orc King by R.A. Salvatore
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway--I was really impressed with this book. I'm ashamed to say I don't know as much about the siege of Sarajevo as I should, but this book uses four different people to illustrate various aspects of life in the city during that time, from a symphony cellist who plays to commemorate the deaths of neighbors to the sniper assigned to protect him; a man who travels miles to fetch water for his family and an ungrateful neighbor; and a man risking his life just to cross a street.
Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat--A Haitian writer with a real talent for bringing her culture to life, both in Haiti and the US. She really devotes herself to telling women's stories, and that comes through in her writing in the moments she speaks to herself, to her characters, and to her readers.

Musikfest starts today! Hope it turns out to be a good year!