The Thief Lord – A Book Review

The Thief Lord

Two orphan boys, Bo and Proper, escape from their evil aunt to the city of Venice. In Venice, they come under the protection of the Thief Lord and his gang of orphan/delinquent children. They live in an abandoned cinema hall and depend on the Thief Lord for everything.

Prosper and Bo’s evil aunt manages to track them to Venice and there they hire a private investigator to bring them back. They plan to adopt Bo, but leave Prosper in a boarding school.

Meanwhile, the Thief Lord gets an opportunity to pull of a huge heist, the proceeds of which could once and for all take care of all the children’s needs and end their rather hand-to-mouth existence.

However, the Thief Lord has his own secrets that almost tear apart the gang. The private detective is hot on Prosper and Bo’s tracks; and everything that could go wrong with the heist goes wrong.

Can they all make their fortunes? What happens to these children? Are Bo and Prosper caught and delivered to their aunt?

Well, you gotta read the book to find out

My thoughts on this book:

I read The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke as part of completing the Young Adult reading challenge.

I was surprised to find that I quite loved this little book. It is Cornelia Funke’s first novel; so there are a few places where the book is all over the place. However in spite of this, I found this book compares quite favorably with her far more famous Ink series.

I found The Thief Lord to be a very neat and concise book. The pace does not flag; and the page count is just right for the story. The Ink books could have done with some editing.

I loved that Venice is the setting for this story; it provides the perfect fantastical backdrop. There is also an almost Dickensian aspect to the story. I could see the parallels between the street children thieving on the streets of Venice and and the street thieves in Oliver Twist. When I read Oliver Twist as a child, I was enchanted by the concept; and I think the same enchantment carried me through for this novel as well.

I also loved the characterization of Prosper and Scipio (the thief lord). Bo is somewhat annoying and childish though; he blurts secrets out every time getting all the other children into hot water, and throws tantrums at all inappropriate times. I think he really was in need of a spanking.

Another aspect that I loved was how all the children stick together during tough times. At times, it would have been easier for them to give up on Prosper and Bo; but never is this option even seriously considered.

All in all; a great book for some lighthearted reading and channeling your inner child!

Note: I have classified this book as a Fantasy novel. Although this is not hard-core fantasy, there is an element of magic and a fairy tale-ish quality in the book (I have not revealed it in my review because I quite enjoyed the surprise and hope you will too) that prompted me to tag it as a Fantasy novel.

If I were a baby again…

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 4; the fourth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

As one more year draws to a close, it is an appropriate time to sit back and reflect…what would it be like to be a baby again?

• to have nice, soft baby skin again
• to have absolute strangers break into a grin when they see you
• to have a potbelly and thunder thighs and yet to be called “cutie pie”
• to have only two responsibilities in life – eating and pooping
• to have your entire life in front of you with the chance to relive it all over again

but then, I wouldn’t be able:

• to drive
• to watch movies of my choice
• to travel or do adult stuff on my own
• to do what I want when I want
• to do so many other things that this list would be just too long

Hmm…forget about being a baby, could I just be 20 all over again??? it seems like the ideal age- all the advantages of youth with all the freedom of maturity!

What do you think? which age would you like to go back to?

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment – A Book Review

The Angel Experiment

I read this book for two reasons, firstly; the cover looked awesome, secondly because I was on the lookout for a book that fulfills the criteria for the 1st in a Series Reading Challenge.

The book is about a bunch of kids who were raised by scientists after being created using 98% human DNA and 2% bird. The leader of this flock is “Maximum”. All these children have escaped from the cruel experiments these scientists do to them. The 6 children (Max, Fang, Iggy, Gasman, Nudge and Angel) are in hiding from these scientists for years until one day they are found and they kidnap the youngest, Angel who is just 6 years old. The first half of the book is about finding and rescuing Angel; the second half deals with finding out where they come from and trying to track their families.

I started reading this book when a sense of familiarity came over me. Something about the writing style seemed horribly familiar. I went back to my blog reading list and found this – an old review of a book I had loathed – The Dangerous Days of Daniel X.

Uh!oh! I was ready to drop this book right away and move on to something more palatable. But, I hate leaving books unread; and I know this would be a quick read. And so, I persevered.

And you know what, this book was not too bad. I can’t say I loved the book or the writing. But, I did like the characters and the concept. The book drags strangely in places (the numerous narrow escapes from sticky situations got real tired real soon). I also did not like the concept where each time they are in a spot, one of the kids discovers some strange power within themselves to solve the problem. One example of this is when the kids need to hack into a computer. They are stumped because the various password combinations they try are not working. One of the children puts her hand on the computer and is suddenly able to visualize the password. Voila! they key it in and they are good to go. I hope James Patterson in the later books has some explanation for why these children suddenly develop these powers. As such, it just felt like lazy writing to me.

However, in spite of all these deficiencies, the end of the book left me curious to read more about these characters and their adventures.

And that’s a good thing for a book that is the beginning of a series.

The other books in the series are:

• School’s Out – Forever
• Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports
• The Final Warning
• MAX: A Maximum Ride Novel
• Fang: A Maximum Ride Novel

Tags Twice Over

Shilpa has tagged me to do these two memes. They have been floating around on the blogosphere for some time, but I never really felt like doing it. However, when I saw that Shilpa also has a report card of how we all have fared, the competitive spirit in me rose, and I just had to complete this one…

TAG 1 : Innocent… or Guilty?

RULE 1- You can only say Guilty or Innocent.
RULE 2- You are not allowed to explain anything unless someone messages you and asks!
RULE 3- Copy and paste this into your notes, delete my answers, type in your answers and tag to your friends to answer this.

• Asked someone to marry you? Innocent
• Ever kissed someone of the same sex? Innocent
• Danced on a table in a bar? Innocent
• Ever told a lie? Guilty
• Had feelings for someone whom you can’t have back? Guilty
• Kissed a picture? Innocent
• Slept in until 5 PM? Innocent
• Fallen asleep at work/school? Innocent
• Held a snake? Guilty
• Been suspended from school? Innocent
• Worked at a fast food restaurant? Innocent
• Stolen from a store? Innocent
• Been fired from a job? Innocent
• Done something you regret? Guilty
• Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? Innocent
• Caught a snowflake on your tongue? Innocent
• Kissed in the rain? Innocent
• Sat on a roof top? Guilty
• Kissed someone you shouldn’t? Guilty
• Sang in the shower? Innocent
• Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? Guilty
• Shaved your head? Innocent
• Had a boxing membership? Innocent
• Made a girlfriend cry? Innocent
• Been in a band? Innocent
• Shot a gun? Innocent
• Donated Blood? Innocent
• Eaten alligator meat? Innocent
• Eaten cheesecake? Guilty
• Still love someone you shouldn’t? Innocent
• Have/had a tattoo? Innocent
• Liked someone, but will never tell who? Guilty
• Been too honest? Guilty
• Ruined a surprise? Guilty
• Ate in a restaurant and got really bloated that you couldn’t walk afterward? Guilty
• Erased someone in your friends list? Innocent
• Dressed in a woman’s clothes (if you’re a guy) or man’s clothes (if you’re a girl)? Innocent
• Joined a pageant? Innocent
• Been told that you’re handsome or beautiful by someone who totally meant what they said? Guilty
• Had communication with your ex? Guilty
• Got totally drunk on the night before exam? Innocent
• Got totally angry that you cried so hard? Innocent

Guilty for just 14/42…. not bad!

TAG 2: HOW DUMB ARE YOU?
The more [x]’ s the “dumber” you are.

• [] Gum has fallen out of your mouth when you were talking
• [] Gum has fallen out of your mouth when you were NOT talking
• [x] You have ran into a glass/screen door
• [] You have jumped out of a moving vehicle
• [x] You have thought of something funny while walking by yourself
• [x] Laughed, then watched people give you weird looks
• [] You have run into a tree/bush.
• [] You know that it IS possible to lick your elbow
• [] You have tried to lick your elbow… a few times
• [x] You never knew that the Alphabet and Twinkle Twinkle Little star have the same rhythm.
• [x] You just tried to sing them.

So far: 5

• [] You have tripped on your shoelace and fallen.
• [] You have choked on your own spit.
• [] You have seen the Matrix and still don’t get it.
• [] You’ve never seen the Matrix.
• [] You type only with two fingers.
• [] You have accidentally caught something on fire.
• [x] You tried to drink out of a straw, but it went into your nose/eyes.
• [x] You have caught yourself drooling.
• [] You have fallen asleep in class and fell outta your chair.

So far: 7

• [x] Sometimes you just stop thinking (most of the time I wont think about anything).
• [x] You are telling a story and forget what you were talking about.
• [] People often shake their heads and walk away from you.
• [] You are often told to use your “inside voice”.
• [] You use your fingers to do simple math.
• [] You have eaten a bug.
• [] You are taking this test when you should be doing something more important.
• [x] You have put your clothes on backwards or inside out, and didn’t realize it.
• [] You’ve looked all over for something and realized it was in your hand.
• [] You have ran around naked in your house.

So far: 10

• [] You repost bulletins because you are scared that what they say will happen to you if you didn’t.
• [] You break a lot of things.
• [] Your friends know not to use big words around you.
• [] You tilt your head when you’re confused.
• [] You have fallen out of your chair before.
• [] When you’re lying in bed, you try to find pictures in the texture of the ceiling or wall.
• [] The word “ummmmm” is used many times a day.

Total:10

So, there you go, I am not too guilty or too dumb – somewhere safely in the middle. Whew!

So, Shilpa go ahead and add my score to your report card.

Others who feel like taking up this tag, do so, link to me and let me know your results

Request for Interview Granted…Ahem!

Last week, I was pretty excited to be interviewed by the folks at Webneetech – a website development and SEO company.

These folks primarily interview entrepreneurs but have recently started featuring bloggers as well.

Well, enough rambling here. You can read more of my ramblings at http://webneetech.com/2009/11/01/interview-with-blogger-nishita-kumar/

It was a fun opportunity for me and thanks to Webneetech for featuring me on their page today

Love in the Time of Cholera – A Book Review

Love in the Time of Cholera

Set in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez tells the story of the love triangle between Fermina Daza, Florentino Ariza and Juvenal Urbino which endures for fifty years, revealed through a flashback from childhood to old age.
As children, Fermina and Florentino have a brief romance after which Fermina ditches Florentino when she realizes that she is “loving an illusion”. She leaves Florentino obsessed with Fermina and lovesick. In his unsuccessful attempts to alleviate his all-consuming longing for Fermina, Florentino engages in 622 affairs.

Fermina goes on to marry Dr.Juvenal Urbino a high-flying doctor and on the face of it, they make the perfect couple.

Fifty-one years, nine months and four days after Fermina’s wedding Dr. Juvenal Urbino dies leaving Florentino free to make his declaration of love to Fermina again. Will she accept second-time around?

My thoughts on this book:

I think I share a love/hate relationship with this one. The book starts off describing the daily routine of an elderly Dr. Urbino and Fermina on the day leading to his death. I can’t describe how slow this section of the book was. The first 80-100 pages rambled on endlessly until I was bored to tears.

Once Dr. Urbino passes away and the flashback starts, things get a bit more interesting. The teenage love story between Fermina and Florentino is insipid, but I loved the chronicle of their lives after they move on from the relationship.

Florentino is an eternal romantic in love with the ideal love (Fermina). In order to forget Fermina he has numerous affairs with women and seems to love all of them without committing himself solely to any one of them. He makes an unusual but rather endearing Casanova until I came to a rather unsavory love affair towards the end of the novel where he seduces a 13-year old girl who is his ward.

Consider the following description of the seduction:

She was still a child…with braces on her teeth and the scrapes of elementary school on her knees…, and he cultivated her with a slow year of Saturdays at the circus, sundays in the park with ice cream, childish late afternoons, and he won her confidence, he won her affection, he led her by the hand, with the gentle astuteness of a grandfather, toward his secret slaughterhouse.

Stomach-churning? no? how about the fact that at this point in the story Florentino is about 60 odd years old!

Even more harsh is his abandonment of her, and her eventual suicide.

This section was really difficult and disturbing reading for me. I just could not get past the fact that no matter what the cultural background, romantic nature, the historical time period, fear of aging, etc., Florentino is a child molester. Even more disturbing was the fact that he pays absolutely no price for his heartless behavior.

Apart from this incident, I did not have any issues with the book. I think I did not have the best translation because I did not really see any signs of magical realism that Marquez is famous for. But, then this could have been lost in translation, I suppose? Some aspects of this book do not look like they lend well to translation.

However, I have to grant that Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a master writer. I mean anyone who is able to craft a story in which the protagonist beds 622 different women over the course of his life and make it seem like something so much more than simply sex really can write!

Btw, there is a movie out based on the book starring Javier Bardem as Florentino.

The Movie Poster

I think I could watch a couple of hours of him seducing women on screen . What about you guys? Anyone seen this movie? How is it in comparison with the book?

A Delayed Response to Shannon Hale’s Book Blogging Meme

The author Shannon Hale in her blog has posed quite a few interesting questions to book bloggers. And I felt it is really worth while for me to look deeper into my motivations and thoughts when I review books.

I have attempted to respond to her questions here.

1. Do you find that the anticipation of reviewing the book has changed your reading experience?
   To a certain extent, that’s true. Before book blogging, I never thought too deeply about a book. Read them and forgot most of them. Now, I use my blog to track, document what I thought, and hopefully help blog readers decide their reading choices.

   I do prefer to pick up books without reading too many reviews. I find that I respond more honestly to the book. If a book is all over the blogosphere, I sometimes feel I know too much about the book and it kills the suspense and enjoyment for me. So, I deliberately try to read more books that fly under the radar, so to speak. For example, I have deliberately distanced myself from the Charlaine Harris Sookie Stackhouse series, and the Suzanne Collins books primarily because I have seen them around the blogosphere so much, I have overdosed on them. I will probably get around to them a little later when all the hype has died down, and I have forgotten what these books are about.

2. Are you rating the book even as you read? Or do you wait until the end to sum it all up?

   I do start rating/reviewing the book mentally as I read it. But, my rating varies throughout the book, until I finish it. Once I complete the book, I am ready to give it a rating that reflects the overall quality of the book.

3. Does knowing you’ll be reviewing it (or rating it) publicly affect which books you pick up in the first place?

   Not at all. I pick books based on my mood and interest. I don’t care if it is particularly blogworthy or a “hot” book in the blogosphere. Book blogging does push me to read more books though, and sometimes I almost feel pressured to complete “x” number of books within a month; especially when I read large number of posts by very quick readers.

   I do make an effort not to give in to the pressure to have a book review every week. I also make an effort not to pick up very light-weight novels just for the sake of being able to blog about it within a couple of days. Quality and variety of books is uppermost on my mind, rather than quantity.

4. Does the process of writing the review itself change how you felt about the book?
   Sometimes, yes. When I am writing a review, I go back to different sections of the book that I liked or hated while reading it. Relooking at the section after completing the book, sometimes I feel differently about it.
5. What is your motivation to assign a rating to a book and declare it to the world?
   I don’t attach too much importance to ratings. But, I do still rate my books because if someone just wants a quick picture of whether the book works or not, they can use the rating. I have separated my rating from the review however. I have a book page that lists the books I have read along with the rating. If interested, readers can click on the book link and read the entire review.

   I must admit that deciding on a rating for the book is very hard. I try to ignore the feelings of whether I liked or disliked the novel; but try to aim for how much the author has actually reached his goal for what he is trying to say through the book. I may personally not like a book too much; but if it makes me think, and if the writing and the scene setting is first-class, it will get a good rating.

   I don’t take other people’s book ratings too seriously. Many times so many highly rated books turn out to be clunkers for me. I try to follow my instincts when I choose my books.

6. If you review a book but don’t rate, why not? What do you feel is your role as reviewer? I’m very curious about all this and hope you feel free to speak freely (and kindly and respectfully, of course) even if you disagree with me.

   I always rate a book – simply because I like consistency and neatness. It feels disrespectful somehow to rate one book and leave another unrated.

   At times, I have rated a book without reviewing them. This is purely because of lack of time, or when I couldn’t really think of anything meaningful or unique to say about the book.

   I am not sure that I take up my role as a reviewer too seriously. I feel I am still an amateur book blogger. However, I do try to read all kinds of books and give an honest opinion on them. And hopefully, blog readers find them useful and entertaining.

What are your thoughts on book blogging, rating, and reviewing? I would love to know how you feel…

Two Hindi Songs I am Tripping on Right now

Bollywood music is really rocking these days. I am currently completely into these ones:

Iktara from Wake up Sid

Aaj dil gustakh hai from Blue

I am going to watch Blue this weekend. Really looking forward to it

What music is running through your head these days?

In Which Post you get two Book Reviews in One

I”ve been a very bad girl of late with regard to completing my reading challenges. In fact, I must say reading challenges have always been a challenge for me. I find it very difficult to read more than a couple of books within a genre continuously. With the result that so far, I have never been able to complete a single reading challenge successfully.

To counter this, the last time I visited Eloor Library, I made it a point to pick up books 3 and 4 of Angie Sage’s Septimus Series (how’s that for alliteration? ) for my Young Adult Reading Challenge. I had loved the first 2 novels in the series – Magyk and Flyte.

I’ve been resisting with Physik (book 3) before finally giving into temptation. Part of the reason I hesitated was because I was wary of finding that third time around would not be a charm. I am gladly wrong in this case and will happily admit so.

Summary and Review of Physik

Physik - The 3rd book in the series

In this book, an evil ghost of a Queen from centuries past wants to dethrone Princess Jenna and take over the palace. Septimus Heap is kidnapped into the past, he travels through time and is forced into apprenticeship with the Queen’s son Marcellus Pye who is an alchemist and physician. Here, he learns how to cure people of various ailments. In the meantime, Princess Jenna and Nicko (his brother) are looking for ways to bring him back to the present day and foil the evil ghost’s plans.

The book starts off a little slow but then once it gets going, it really gets going. I also like that Angie Sage is quite happy to kill of a character when she feels it’s required. The death is not disturbing though. The dead person becomes a ghost and seems to be quite happy being one! So, I guess younger kids may not be too troubled by this.

Summary and Review of Queste

Queste - The 4th book in the series

Queste, the fourth book in the series, was flat out incredible and I gobbled it up in two days. In this book, Septimus Heap is on a mission to rescue his brother Nicko and Snorri who are trapped in time. Villains old and new make an appearance, and reading this book was one hell of an adventurous ride, and I just didn’t want to get off.

I am also loving the hint of romance and possible love triangle that I am seeing in this book. It makes me want to just rush off and start devouring Syren – the next book in the series.

An aside: If you just stumbled across these books randomly and haven’t yet read books 1 (Magyk) and 2 (Flyte) you really should get them and read them first. Although in some series you can pick up any book at any point in the series and be OK with it as a stand alone story – that is not the case in this series. You will definitely not be able to understand/appreciate a lot of the details and references to characters if you hadn’t read the first 2 books. You need the history covered in the first 2 books to really enjoy it. So I would strongly recommend that you start at the beginning and read the first 2 books before moving on to this one.

Another aside: Do not go in expecting any deeper meaning (ala Philip Pullmann or any such books), these are really nothing more than really well-written fun, adventure reads for children.

After reading these books, I feel strangely disloyal to the Hogwarts clan. I am really falling in love with the characters in this series!

All in all, I highly recommend this series of light-hearted fantasy fun for young adults of all ages.

To get a feel for this series, visit the Septimus Heap website – really nice and magyckal

Another Long Weekend Spent Watching Movies

This long weekend was also spent chilling out at home, pigging out on yummy food, and watching random movies.

For this weekend’s movie watching, we chose the following:

• Dil Bole Hadippa - Bollywood movie starring over-the-hill Rani Mukherjee and hottie Shahid Kapoor
• Twilight – Hollywood movie starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It’s a love story between a teenage girl and a vampire

Both these movies have received mixed reviews. Dil Bole Hadippa tanked at the box office, but Twilight has been one of those super-hits, which everyone seems to love to deride.

For both these movies, our movie-watching expectations were pretty low. So did these movies meet our low expectations? Well, read on to find out. First up is…

Dil Bole Hadippa

Dil Bole Hadippa!

This is the famed so-called Rani Mukherjee and Yash Raj Films comeback movie.

The story revolves around a Punjabi girl Veera Kaur (Rani Mukherjee) who has a dream to play cricket for India. I don’t exactly know where she lives because sometimes they mention Amritsar but they are showing a village and Amritsar is not a village.

There is a friendly competition between Vicky (Anupam Kher) who is an Indian and Lucky (Dilip Tahil) who is a Pakistani. They hold a cricket match between Indian Tigers and Pakistani Champions annually to celebrate their old friendship. The only problem is that Indian Tigers have been losing from the past 8 years.

Therefore, Vicky calls his son Rohan (Shahid Kapoor) from England, who is the captain of a county team, to train the team.

Veera Kaur would like to try out for the team but she is not eligible because she is a woman. Therefore, she dons a turban, fake moustache, and beard, calls herself Veer and gets selected for the team. Meanwhile, Rohan is falling in love with Veera…and so the story goes.

My thoughts on this movie:

I found the first half of this movie extremely slow. The director really took his time setting up the characters and the situation. It was a good thing that I was also reading a (very engrossing) book while watching this movie, because otherwise I would not have been able to sit through it. The second half was somewhat better as the movie picks up pace; I actually put down my book to watch certain scenes!

Shahid emotes well, and dances pretty well. He brings some amount of freshness to this rather stale movie.

Rani has received good press for her performance. However, her acting was very jarring and unappealing for my taste. As Veera, she is very loud (I am rather tired of that hoary stereotype that Punjabi village belles are very loud and outspoken). Surely, not everyone can be like that!

As Veer, initially she did look credible as a man. But as the movie wore on, I found that although she tried hard, her male persona is just not believable at all. Her body frame is petite and curvaceous, and this is a big disadvantage when you are supposed to play a man. In addition, the drawn on mustache and beard would not fool anyone. Her body language and emotions are distinctively feminine – the sway of her hips, the rolling of the eyes, her voice.

I just could not help feeling that another actress might have been physically more suitable for the role. How about Lara Dutta, who is quite tall and muscular? She could have passed for a man far better than Rani. She might also have given a subtler interpretation to Veera’s character.

If Yash Raj Films could take a chance with Shahid, why not with the heroine as well?

Apart from the 2 lead characters, there are also an unnecessary Rakhi Sawant and Sherlyn Chopra. I read in the newspapers that Sherlyn Chopra was upset about her role. And after seeing this movie, I think she has every right to be. The only thing she seems to do (repetitively!) is wear extremely short shorts and halters and apply sunscreen in a rather provocative manner right in front of the Indian team practicing cricket. This movie has done her no favors; she is definitely not going to escape the “item girl” tag after this role. I also disliked the way she was portrayed as a “modern girl” from Chandigarh who is advised by Veer to learn how to make parathas to win her man. How much more cliched and regressive can you get!!

The film made innumerable references to previous Yashraj hits, a practice I’m getting quite sick of. I mean I’m all for touting your success, but I do not need to be reminded of them in every Yash Raj Films movie!

All in all, I am glad that I watched this movie on DVD, rather than at the cinema hall. My review would have been even more scathing if I had had to fork out mucho bucks for this crap.

Now on to Twilight:

Twilight - the movie

This movie is based on the best-selling novel Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I did not like the book that much. To know why, click here. So, I wasn’t expecting too much from the movie.

To my surprise, I found the movie to be much better. I quite liked Kristen Stewart as Isabella Swan. She totally looked and acted the part. I found Robert Pattinson as Edward okay too. I do think he was feeling a bit uncomfortable by the fact that he had to wear so much makeup and lipstick in order to look the part .

But, while the book meandered on almost unbearably, the movie was very crisp and concise, yet very beautifully shot and poetic. The cinematography was extremely beautiful and I loved the background music score.

Some scenes were much more effective pictured than in the book – such as the baseball game, the car crash scene, and the big vampire fight at the end. What was a disappointment was the scene of Edward glittering in the sunlight. He looked sooo ridiculous.

I must say the movie wasn’t as bad I had feared it to be and I actually enjoyed it The faults I did find in the movie were those that were in the book as well – a weak ending, and a lack of plot. It would be nice if this series of movies would not stick quite so closely to the book plot. I like the basic theme of these books very much, just wish they had been written and plotted better.

What about you? Would you want the Twilight series of books to be a faithful interpretation of the books? Or would you want the movies to move in a different direction?

And how did you spend your long weekend?