- Clementines that peel easily
- Putting on a pair of brand new socks
- Home made butterscotch sauce
- The satisfaction of beating a high score
- Neat handwriting
Synopsis rom GoodReads: Zinzi has a Sloth on her back, a dirty 419 scam habit and a talent for finding lost things. But when a little old lady turns up dead and the cops confiscate her last paycheck, she’s forced to take on her least favourite kind of job – missing persons.
Being hired by reclusive music producer Odi Huron to find a teenybop pop star should be her ticket out of Zoo City, the festering slum where the criminal underclass and their animal companions live in the shadow of hell’s undertow.
Instead, it catapults Zinzi deeper into the maw of a city twisted by crime and magic, where she’ll be forced to confront the dark secrets of former lives – including her own.
I read this as part of Ellie’s Sci-Fi read along challenge for 2012. Sadly for me since I read it on the kindle I didn’t get the pretty cover above, one of the downsides of not reading real paper books I suppose!
Zoo City is a novel based in South Africa, which isn’t a country I know a massive amount about and whilst I didn’t find that detracted too much from the story it always bothers me when books write certain words in other languages and fail to translate them. (See Lloyd Jones’ Hand Me Down World for that annoyance, too).
Overall I enjoyed this book but I felt really let down by the ending. I felt like the loose threads were lingering and things that could have been explained weren’t. I don’t want to give too much away for the people still reading it (Hi, Amy) but the premise of people carrying animals as a signal of guilt is a good one. I enjoyed His Dark Materials and whilst this is similar in nature the storyline is obviously more complex.
Things I liked: The idea that each animal brings with it it’s own magic ability is a good one, altho I’m not sure why people who have been found guilty of murder have been rewarded with a magic gift.
Things I didn’t: So many loose ends! How did she end up killing her brother in the first place? What exactly is the undertow? I didn’t feel like the death of the old lady really tied in with the rest of the book, some bits felt forced or jammed in to make the rest of it work.
Favourite character: Definitely the sloth. Most of the people in this book were bad to the core.
Other books to try: His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman, The Ask and The Answer by Patrick Ness.
Rating: 3 out of 5
I hit my reading challenge for 2011 (more on that in another post) but next year is going to be busy with the wedding so I’m not going to set myself another large challenge. I’ll still track my books, of course, but instead of trying to read another hundred I’ve signed up to join Ellie in her 2012 Sci Fi Reading Challenge instead. One sci fi book every month for 2012. That sounds doable, right?
You can find out (and join in) here. If you’ve got any sci fi recommendations feel free to leave them in the comments 
Monday is done for another week, you can breathe easy for a little while.
(I know things have been quiet around here. The pace may pick up, it may not. Right now living offline has become more important to me than living online and I’m not sure if that will change soon)
* Fudge
* Bacon jam
* Mussels in an aromatic coconut broth
* Braised pork with pak choi and leek
* Banana and butterscotch ripple mousse
Dinner party for nine was ambitious but a lot of fun. (phew)
* Fudge
* Bacon jam
* Apple butter
* Dry roasted spare ribs
* Salted caramel sauce
It’s over. It’s done. 1001 days after I started it, my challenge to complete 101 things is finally over. Did I complete it? Hahahaha. No. No I did not. I got pretty close tho, which is nice. This is the second time I’ve done this but I won’t be signing up for a third – I’ve got enough lists and things going on my in life not to really need it.
Completed goals in September: 3
8. Delete all mp3s I don’t like
FINALLY. All of the mp3s in my iTunes library are rated 3* and above, everything else is gone.
45. Post at least once a week to www.exquisitefunction.com for a year.*
*amended to: reach 250 posts on Falling Forward.
I hit 252. Such an overachiever 
82. Nothing from McDonalds for the full 1001 days
I’m amazed that I actually managed to complete this, but I did. I had a McDonalds on the drive home from my sister’s wedding and I’m not going to lie, the fries were awesome. I’ve wanted one every day since then tho, which isn’t the best outcome, ha.
Completed goals overall: 84
Unfinished goals: 17
I don’t think that’s too bad, do you?
- Friends – Joey. Towards the end of the show they started giving him the greatest lines, it was a joy to watch.
- How I Met Your Mother – Barney. One word – legen..wait for it..dary.
- The Big Bang Theory – Raj. The way he brutalises Sheldon is genius.
- The IT Crowd - Moss. So cute!
- Black Books - Bernard. I saw Dylan Moran live once and he was a bit of a let down, but as Bernard he’s just sublime.
This is day seven of a week of lists. you can find them all here.
- across. I seem to be putting two c’s in lately, no idea why.
- copyright. As Amy pointed out, I usually spell it as copywrite. D’oh.
- fluorescent. I had this nailed once because I had to write it a lot but I’ve lost it again.
- conscientious. Too many vowels! Actually words beginning with vowels are usually my major downfall in Scrabble and Boggle, my brain just doesn’t reach for them, ever.
- referral. You’d think I’d know this one since I worked in a hospital but I always think it’s double f, single r.
Everyone has this, right? Blind spot words? I’m usually a pretty good speller, but I always have to come back and correct these.
This is day six of a week of lists. you can find them all here.