(For those of you on feed and don’t come to the site, don’t forget to stick your name down on the facebook group for the site at http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/the_wheel_is_turning_but_the_hamster_is_dead/ – You wont get anything apart from the satisfaction that you are signed up to yet another group and can increase your friend count by adding me as a friend if that’s the kinda thing you do. Did I mention that it’s awesome and makes you popular with the opposite sex? Failing that, come on over to Twitter and you can read the absolute drivel I put on there once every so often. Imagine something unbelieveably exciting and then smash yourself over the head with a pan. Yup, that’s pretty much what you will get!) Anyway…the post.
Through my short (read 34 years) life, I have had at least two people say “You should read more books if you are bored!”. I never quite understood that statement because to me, reading books is quite possibly the second most boring thing in the world beaten only by being forced to have a “stimulating” conversation with myself.
But I figured I would give it a go. So I have been reading “Eric the mischievous elephant”. I was going to put a link to it so you could maybe get yourself a copy, but strangely I cant see it on any UK sites….which leads me to believe I have no idea where it came from. I could ask my wife, but she has gone out without me leaving me as a man-child home alone. Geez I wish I had friends and wasn’t so lonely. There is only so much time you can spend with your stuffed toys before you start to realise you need more in life.
But anyway. This book. I thought I would do a book review on it because you know…why the hell not! After all, I have spent a LOT of time reading it and taking in it’s poignant message.
Naturally, Eric is a blue elephant with red feet much like the elephants in Africa who are going through an identity crisis and think that they are actually a frozen polar bear who just went swimming in blue food colouring. Other characters in the book are Harold Hippo (also blue), Fiona Flamingo (very red) and at least 3 others. If you look deeply at the story, you will find it is about Eric wanting to bath in the water and the other animals are already in there. It’s real hard hitting when you see Eric becoming very naughty and jumping in the water.
Look away now if you don’t want to know how it ends…….. a mouse comes along and scares Eric. And get this…if you squeeze the mouse, it SQUEEKS! Yeah, I know! It’s something else. And the beauty of this book is that you can read it in the bath and it can get wet. It is also only 10 pages long so keeps you entertained long enough to read it all, but not so long that you get bored. Oh, and there are LOTS of pictures and not many words.
So. The first (and realistically last) book review I have ever written. I am sure you are impressed with my reviewing skills, but if you aren’t, can I suggest that those of you who like those “book things” head over HERE to Alcott and Earhart and read a review on something that ISNT a kids book to read in the bath. (I was going to just post their post here, but figured you should really go there and read it and then read some others and then send me money…but not in that order).
Well, I am off to research Eric and see where he came from. You should probably read “He is off to make the most of the fact that he is home alone with the PC and Internet and his wife isn’t here”. Of course, read in to that what you want. Perv.
wheelturninghamsterdead.com 