rain rain rain VIDS rain rain rain

Hullo, friends!
Unfortunately, Chicago has not yet decided to give up and admit it isn't winter anymore, so in a few minutes I get to walk to work in what is now rain and is threatening to turn into snow, given half a chance.
Before I go, though, I have some pretties for you.

6. favorite young adult book

This was a tricky one. Not because I don't enjoy young adult books, but because when I look at my  Favorite Books with the YA genre in mind, I realize that, Oh Wow, I have lots of YA in here...

(I would segue here into some proclamation about how this proves that I am SO not an adult, but when it comes to books, I can't really make that claim - two of my recent-ish favorite reading experiences have been The Brothers Karamazov and Memoirs of a Geisha. But then, who makes the rules about what age you have to be to enjoy those kinds of books? I first read Memoirs, as I'm sure many people did, when the movie came out. That was in 2005, and I was 15; a Young Adult by any standards.

Anyway...I think we'll save the age-appropriate-books rant for another time.)

After a great deal of dispute with myself and the internet (what do you mean, Phantom Tollbooth is a children's book? That s*** is deep!), I finally settled on Mara, Daughter of the Nile.

Man, this brings back memories.

what's playing on repeat in my brain today.

No, I don't have anything insightful to say about the framing story (I'm just as confused as you are) or the various elements at play here (but I do LOVE a good step-show/gospel melody mash-up). This is just awesome. Enjoy.

Monday: the Random Cameos of My Friends edition

Good morning, people of the internet! Kevin Manley hopes you had a good weekend.

I certainly did - yesterday was my day off (I didn't get out of bed till it was time to call my dad - Happy Father's Day, Dad!), and the day before that, I got to do All The Things. Most of them involving paint. I think Saturday was the first time I have ever been involved in the cleaning/painting of a floor without backing myself into a corner. Please, please, hold your applause...

More news from the weekend:

I was forced to return Choke to the library unfinished, but I now have A Storm of Swords to replace it. If you know anything about Martin (or if you followed that link just now), you will not be surprised when I tell you that it will probably take me forty years to finish it.