the library
I finished Matilda. It did get better. In fact, it did remind me of Harry Potter is a strange way. I.e. child possessed of unusual talents gets misunderstood and downtrodden at home. child goes to school, finds new friends, initial home scene is promptly forgotten, the scene action now taking place primarily at school, and uses talents for fantastic results. all live happily ever after. Well, it's taking several books to get Harry living happily ever, but we all know he's going to defeat Voldemort in the end, as long as V doesn't pull a "Luke, I am your father" trick at the end, but I kind of doubt that. So is this a formula for a children's lit novel or something. I dunno.
I was almost home when the book ended, so happily I went to the public library to get a new one. No such a luck. The library door was locked, lights darkened, and a sign on the door saying that the library closed at 5, and will be closing at 5 for the next week. Why, you might ask? well, Mardi Gras, of course. It's a week away, and it's obvious that public library really needs to be closing early a whole week before Mardi Gras. Hello!?! Librarians go to parades, too! (Thank goodness, for the Hitchhiker's Guide stash. At least I'm not totally book-on-tape-less)