The Wildcat's Lair

I had originally planned to use my December preview to announce the name of the Lair's mascot, but since the nominees are being put to a vote, that will have to wait until Sunday.  Hopefully, you'll forgive the delay and even enjoy the brief competition as the Wildcat's Lair kicks off the month of December.

Seven suggestions are here for your vote: Aegean, Frank, Hiccup, Libris, Neon, Orion and Skywhips.  I want to give some recognition to the people who took time to offer up potential names for our little wildcat.  To find out who suggested what, just click on the graphics below.  Each one will take you to the blog of the person who made each suggestion.

Keep in mind that to vote, you can either e-mail me or post a comment to yesterday's entry.  Votes posted to other entries won't count, and if you suggested one of the names, then you can't vote for the one you suggested.  That said, you can always solicit the readers of your own blogs to vote for your suggestion.  Consider the graphics in yesterday's blog entry and this one at your disposal.  You've got until Saturday night at midnight to vote.

Thatbit of business out of the way, let's get to the theme for the books I plan to read next month.  The holidays usually seem to be all about the kids, so I'm going to spend next month reading children's books.  My love of reading didn't start until my senior year in high school, so I also consider this a bit of catching up.  Among my selections, I plan to hit a few more recent children's books, including one of my wife's favorites, Artemis Fowl.  If I get really adventurous, I might even go after a book in the "Harry Potter" series.  I once tried to read Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone, but I just couldn't get into it.

Another reason I've opted for this theme of children's books is their length.  With my family planning to move next month, I suspect reading time will be slim.  Most of the books I'll target aren't very long, so that should help me post more reviews than I managed this November.

Perhaps the main reason for my decision to focus on children's books is the forthcoming movie based on C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  I'm rather excited about the release of this film which comes out December 9th.  I've never read the book (I once saw the animated adaptation), and in this case, I want to read the book before I see the movie.  I've already started reading it, so my review won't be far off.

During the course of the month, I plan to offer quite a bit of blogging about the movie and the book that inspired it.  Hopefully, I can manage to listen to a copy of the score and offer a "High Notes" entry on that, too.  I'm hesitant to buy the score, though.  Why?  Well, you'll have to wait until that entry to find out.  As for what else I have planned with this, you'll just have to wait and see.

On the graphics front, I'll be unveiling a wallpaper I've designed for the Wildcat's Lair.  I already have it on my computer at work.  I'll even include a few of the rejected attempts that have at least one small surprise hidden within them.

Some have remarked that my soon-to-be-named mascot needs some friends.  This sounds like a good idea, so I've invited some of his friends and family over for the holidays.  I'll let you know how the visit goes.  Our little wildcat will hopefully be talking by then (no more of that goofy holding-up-signs nonsense).

With November at its end, now seems a good time to offer a thanks to all of you who've been reading the Wildcat's Lair.  I started this blog this past summer as a way to keep track of what I've read.  Thanks to all the interest I've received, this blog has grown into quite a bit more than that.  I'm grateful for the creative outlet, and I hope I can continue to give you plenty of reasons to keep visiting the Lair.

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• #3 Comment from sazzylilsmartazz 
  12/1/05 9:03 PM | Permalink

  I liked Artemis Fowl. I haven't read the Harry Potter books yet.
  I'm dying to find out what you name that cat; poor thing.
  Isn't 'NOT' naming your cat a form of emotional feline abuse?
  Laughing:-)~
  Dianna
  
  http://journals.aol.com/sazzylilsmartazz/TheHellaciousHereticGoesAMuse-in/
• #2 Comment from vandaryn 
  11/30/05 11:28 PM | Permalink

  I enjoyed Artemis Fowl way better than Harry Potter. The title character is I think, a 12 year old (not sure about the character's age, been a while since I've read it) criminal mastermind. The other main character I like to think of as Tinkerbell meets James Bond. Certainly appropriate for someone who has read Harry Potter.
  
  
• #1 Comment from deslily 
  11/30/05 8:20 PM | Permalink

  hmmm I have a 9 yr old grandso.. he is reading book 1 of harry potter so i got him the set for christmas.. I toyed with Artemis Fowl but didn't know what it was really about and if it was for a 9 yrs old..  is it??
  
  http://journals.aol.com/deslily/HereThereandEverywhere/
  
  http://herethereandeverywhere2ndedition.blogspot.com/