Today's library run

It's been a while since we made a full library run - we were down to only one book to return! I mean, what's with that? *L*

Youngest went hunting for a specific book that had to be returned before she finished it, Double Identity. While we were wandering around, she ended up grabbing two more from The Enchanted World series; Water Spirits and Magical Justice.

Eldest got herself an interesting list this time...

European Costume; 1000 Years of Fashion: clothing, jewelry, hats, hairstyles - it's all there.

Fruits and Fresh Fruits: Every single page in these books has a photo of Japanese people on the street - the Harijuku girls (and boys) of Gwen Stefani fame. There is text, but it's barely visible. Tiny print in a rainbow of colours printed over street scenes, with all the colours and textures expected. It's almost impossible to read, but after reading a few, I'm not sure that's a loss. Each individual has a few listings of where they got their various clothing items, then it ends with "point of fashion" and "current obsession." It's the current obsession that's a bit alarming (almost as alarming as the clothes!!). There's things like "making friends" or "snails" or "my boy/girlfriend." Then you get things like "S&M" and "cutting myself." Yikes!

After glancing through them, Eldest says she finds Japanese culture frightening. *L*

Make Up: tracing the history of make up through the ages, from the various styles and methods to materials used. Did you know that white lead was used to completely cover the face?

Early Scientific Instruments: with some incredible pieces featured. There was a time when scientific instruments were incredible works of art. One example is of a Royal microscope of brass, steel and beaten silver. Two figures grapple around the eyepiece, while urns and mermaid decorate the base. A globe of the moon is another favourite.

I got my own eclectic variety of books; too many again, as usual. *L*

The Clerks Tale; A Dame Frevisse Medieval Mystery: something to satisfy my craving for historical fiction.

Wild Weather; The Truth Behind Global Warming, which is a new one for me, and Eco-facts & Eco-fiction; Understanding the Environmental Debate which is a repeat.

The Culture of Food; part of a series called The Making of Europe. From the jacket, "Until recently it was the concern of the populace to conserve meats and grains by salting and dessication, while the nobility - from Roman times onwards - sought to consume fresh food out of season... Now most foods are available all the time, the taste of the privileged has moved to those of the natural season. Vegetarianism is symptomatic of ready access to meat. Then a diet meant what you ate, now what you don't." How true that is!

Cheesemaking Made Easy and Making Cheeses at Home: I'd found a whole section on cheese making, and it was all I could do not to grab the whole bunch. *L* Not that I'm in a position to actually make cheese, other than yoghurt cheese, perhaps. Until I can, I'll just have to make do with learning how. :-D

Famous Diamonds: Isn't it funny that stones can actually have names and histories? Extensive information and exquisite photographs of some of the most famous diamonds in the world in a gorgeous, oversized book.

After our book bag started looking way too full, we headed for the audio/visual section and grabbed a few dvd's.

The Planets; Volume 1: with the episodes Different Worlds and Terra Firma

Do You Speak American? We've borrowed Talking Canadian - now it's time to see the differences in the US.

Guys and Dolls: I figured it was about time I saw this one, as I keep hearing about what a classic it is. I like musicals, but it occurs to me I've seen very few of them.

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