Real Housewives of Siberia

Books

• Petropolis by Anya Ulinich – The author was born in Moscow in the Soviet Union in the early 1970s, just as I was. She immigrated with her family to the United States, just as I have. Her name is Anya, as is mine in Russian. She was awarded the National Book Foundation's "5 Under 35" award in recognition of her work being "particularly exciting and among the best of a new generation of writers," and I am reading that work. I could go into a jealous tizzy and be dismissive of her accomplishment, but I'm four chapters in and hooked. The world inhabited by the protagonist, Sasha Goldberg, feels both familiar and unimaginable to me. Sasha is a bi-racial, Jewish teen living in post-Soviet Siberia, which is still under the shadow of Stalin-era gulags in a rundown, forgotten part of the world. Sasha struggles as she clashes with her mother and faces prejudice in her old-world town. The book jacket explains that Sasha will break free of that life and immigrate to the United States as a mail-order bride. I can't wait.
• The son and I have gone through a series of books at bedtime that were very quick reads: Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride and Mercy Watson Fights Crime by Kate DiCamillo (author of The Tale of Despereaux and Because of Winn-Dixie) and Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Mecha-Monkeys from Mars by Dav Pilkey (author of the Captain Underpants books). Both are chapter book series for the younger set; they were exciting and moved quickly enough to keep the son engaged. Sadly, there were no more books from either series at the library today, so I grabbed a bunch that will be new to us. Fingers crossed.
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling – Still going. The daughter hates when I pause for the night, which is always a good sign.
• The Best American Short Stories of the Century edited by John Updike – Um…no, not yet. Maybe I should give it up.

TV

• New Girl – I keep forgetting to say that I've been watching this one, which can't be a good sign. The first few episodes had me laughing out loud, and occasionally there are still moments that charm and/or amuse me, but I'm not fully engaged any more.
• Project Runway All Stars – The daughter likes it, so I save it to watch with her. It's more fun to watch together and have our own judging panel. During the light effects challenge episode, I was incredibly annoyed to discover that Kenley's dress was one of my favorites. I truly dislike Kenley and, even though she is the last woman standing, I find it hard to root for her. I was glad when one of my other favorite outfits, Austin's avant-garde night sky, was the winner. Not that Austin is my favorite (currently, it's Mondo), but anyone is better than Kenley.
• Reality Round-up – While particularly tired and looking for a mindless 20-minute break, I found myself flipping back-and-forth between Real Housewives of Orange County and Mob Wives. As fascinated as I am with these shows, I know that I could never spend time with any of these women in the real world. The mob wives scare me and the housewives, particularly the blondes of the OC, are beyond grating. However, I've come up with a drinking game that could apply to any of the "wives" show. Whenever one of the ladies plays with or touches her hair (and/or extensions)—anything unrelated to actually brushing or styling it—you take a drink. I anticipate a fun night ahead if any of these shows are on...which they usually are.
• Slings and Arrows – I found Season 2 at the library! My DVR seems to have only recorded half of the season, so I'm all atwitter about the discovery.
• Modern Family – Still planning my marathon viewing.