Life.... Or Something Like It....

Well, for a month at work, I was working 12 at night until 8 in the morning. It was just training, so now I am back on regular hours. This has resulted in me not being about to sleep at night. Yesterday I was up at 5:30 after only about two hours sleep. This morning I have been up since 4:30, or a bit before. I at least went to bed early last night, so it could be worse. I have to work 8-4 today, so I am not going to be able to go back to sleep. I just hope the few hours I did get are enough to get me through the day because right now I am wide awake! Hopefully I readjust to regular hours soon!

On Christmas Eve, we decided to celebrate Christmas this year. I had to work today, so I wanted to celebrate on a day when I did not have work to look forward to. So, last night we opened presents. I only get one book for Christmas each year. Unless I make an extensive list for my mother, she would rather buy me gift cards. This year, she accidently bought me two gift cards because she forgot about one of them, so I ended up with 150 dollars to buy books with. Then, my grandmother bought me another one for fifty dollars, so yesterday I spent 200 dollars on books. I preordered some of the books I am looking forward to this year, as well as ordered a few books that are out right now and I have been waiting to read. The final list is as follows:

1. Sisters in the Wilderness: The Lives of Susanna Moodie and Catherine Parr Traill by Charlotte Gray. I read Reluctant Genius by her this year and I really liked her writing style. Moodie and Traill were two of the first women in the newly settled, what is now, Canada.

2. I've Got a Home in Glory Land: The Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad by Karolyn Smardz-Frost. I first added this book to my wish list when it was nominated for the Governor General's awards this year. It went on to win the award, but you would never know it. It looks really interesting, so I knew I was going to have to get it soon.

3. Mary Modern by Camille Deangelis. I asked Carl what book I should get with my gift card money, and this is one of the books he recommended. I had it on my wish list and I really like the cover, so it seemed like a good choice.

4. The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by Gordon Dahlquist. Heather really liked this book, so much so that it moved up my list. I really wanted it, but the cover I like is fifty bucks. I gave in, though, and just bought the other cheaper cover. Carl also recommended this book based on what he had read of it, but I am not sure if he has actually finished it yet.

5. Queen's Handmaiden by Jennifer Ashley. I have heard good things about this young adult book, so I decided to add it in. It was actually a last minute decision when another book I had planned to get is now not coming out until April. I didn't want to preorder too ahead of time.

6. Daughter of York by Anne Easter Smith. This is the sequel to A Rose for the Crown, so it was an automatic purchase. The first book was one of my favourite reads of 2006, so hopefully this will be one of my favourites of 2008.

7. The Bleeding Dusk by Colleen Gleason. I read her previous two books in 2007, so you know that I need to see what happens next! I look forward to the third installment of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles.

8. The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin. This is the sequel to Mistress of the Art of Death, another favourite from 2007, so I look forward to seeing if this one lives up to it.

9. Fire Study by Maria Snyder. The third book in the trilogy that includes Poison Study and Magic Study, it was not supposed to be out until the fall, but now it is saying the spring. I really hope that is not a typo!

10.Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine. The third book in the Morganville Vampires series. Not a fabulous series, but enjoyable.

11.The Blue Castle by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Finally! You have no idea how many times this has been in my shopping card, but replaced by something else in the end. Many people consider it their favourite by her, so I am excited. I am going to try and read the large pile of books I have by her next year, and then I hope to start reading her diaries.

12.The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies. Nominated for the Booker Award, this one really interested me, so I have been planning on getting it at some point all year.

13.The Gathering by Anne Enright. The winner of the Booker Award and a book that is making many people's favourite fiction books of 2007, I decided to see what all the hype was about. This is the only non fantasy or historical fiction book on my list. My plan is to cut back on genres because I read too many now, and it is too hard to keep up!

14.Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs. The third book in the Mercedes Thompson series. I have to see what Mercy is up to now, and then later on this year I will get a new series from Briggs! I am looking forward to having more than one book from her a year, although I still have her older books to read....

And, book 15, my mother bought me for Christmas. I received Darkmans by Nicola Barker. It was nominated for the Booker Award, but a bit hard to find for a while there. I saw it at the bookstore one day, and my mother offered to give it to me as a gift.

I still have a bit of book money left over. I plan to purchase The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray when it comes out, so that is where some of it will be going. I hope the bookstore gets it in, because I left it off these orders. I thought I would have a better chance of getting it soon if I just bought it at the store. There are still many other books on my to be bought list, but 15 are now gone. Now, I just have to stay away from the bookstores until about March!

I will share my other gifts later. This post is a bit long. If I am awake after work I plan to take some pictures with my best Christmas present of all! My Camera! Which is all paid for now. Yay! With my crazy hours lately I have been sleeping when it is light out, so I have not had a lot of chances to play with it. Now that I am back on regular hours I hope to spend a lot of time with it and the books that come with it. I also have a few books on photography that I plan to read, so this should get me through the rest of the winter.

And, yes, I am still in love with these pictures by Rob Gonsalves.