Happy New Year!

I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy New Year!



Anyone have any big plans for the evening? I did, but now we are supposed to have a blizzard! So, I have no idea what I am doing. I was really looking forward to tonight, too, so this is not a very cheery thought. The last part of 2008 was not very great for me, so I was hoping to start 2009 off right. That being said, 2008 started off really well and then sort of fizzled. Maybe it is better if you start the year off snowed in?


Anyway, because I am feeling rather uncheery right now, I am going to see if I can come up with a list of good things about 2008.


1. Trip to Lunenburg. I went to Lunenburg in August with the charming comedian and we actually had a really good time! It is not exactly an exotic trip location (well, for me anyway), but it was nice to get away and spend some time together! We still bring it up and talk about the things that we did, so I am happy with it... Which leads to number two...


2. Finally getting to go for a ride on the Bluenose Schooner. I have taken the tour a bunch of times, but I could never find anyone to go with me! The charming comedian had gone before, but he agreed to go again. I wish it had been a nicer day, but this was something I can cross off the list of 'Things I Wanted to Experience in Life'.


3. Going to Cape Breton. I am not very close to my mother's family. I only see them every few years, so, it was actually pretty nice to get away and see them all. Will they ever return the favour? Probably not. Have we started talking a lot more since? Nope! For that one weekend, though, we acted like we were related, so it was nice. I have my memories, and since my grandfather is not getting any younger, it is very possible that I will never see him again.

4. Reunion of Friends. One of my best friends came home from Alberta this summer and I went to my home town and visited for three days. When I was there, I saw her and two of my other really good friends. Then, we ended up meeting up in Halifax at a later date while she was home. One of the other people from the home town visit was there and then another one of the group. If you are not following, there are five of us (including me) and that was the closest we have been to all being together in years. I am hoping next time we might be able to coordinate five...


5. The funny stories. As I have said countless times... the charming comedian is really random and says the strangest things! I honestly don't think I have laughed as much as I have laughed this year! He said something last night (which could have been taken several ways) and he said 'Thank god you have a sense of humour!' In other words, I chose to laugh at it. I have to say, the chair breaking was by far one of my best memories of the year. I wasn't there for it, but the story... We have been chair browsing lately, and, I have to admit, I can't help but giggle when he is weighing the different options!

6. My cellphone. I swore I would never get one, but I did, and I have to say that despite the fact that it is a piece of junk and keeps breaking on me, I am glad I got it. Through text-messaging, I have reconnected with people that I haven't talked to in years. I still am not a big fan of it, but it serves its purpose.

7. Just Us! Mexican Morning coffee. I am not a big coffee drinker, but I had that earlier in the year and now I love it! And, it is Fair Trade coffee, which is always a good thing.

8. Good television shows. This year I watched all the seasons of Soap. That show went downhill, but it was funny in the first couple seasons! I finally got around to watching Heroes. I will probably be watching the second season soon. Rome. I always saw bits and pieces of that when it was on, so I was happy to watch the first season from start to finish. I was very happy to find out today that I also have the second season, so I will be interested to see where they go! Then, there are shows I have liked all along: CSI, House, and NCIS.

9. All the people I have met this year. I work in the customer service industry so I am always meeting new people. It is the best thing about my job!

10. Reading and blogging. I was rather slack in both this year, but what I did accomplish was great! I also enjoyed meeting new bloggers and getting to know ones I have known for a while better.

Okay, that was actually really hard! I suppose a given one is friends and family. Now, I have to go see if I can rouse the charming comedian (it's 1 in the afternoon) and figure out what I am doing tonight!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Best of 2008

I was a real slacker this year when it comes to recording what I read. It wouldn't be so bad if I actually wrote some reviews once in a while, but I didn't, so I am going to try and do a best of 2008 post. I don't even know how many books I read this year. I know it wasn't the 200 I was tentatively aiming for.

I am just going to list the books that come easily to mind. If I can remember reading them, they must have been good, right?

Fiction Books:
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran
Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs (I also liked Cry Wolf and Hob's Bargain)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
Lords of the Bow by Conn Iggulden (Not as good as the first one, but still good!)
The Serpent Bride by Sara Douglass (The Twisted Citadel was good too...)
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Turtle Valley by Gail Anderson-Dargatz
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Cellist of Sarajavo by Steven Galloway
The Commoner by John Burnham Schwartz
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
The Onion Girl by Charles de Lint
No Humans Involved by Kelley Armstrong
Dragons of the Spring Dawning by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Mary Modern by Camille DeAngelis
The Princes of the Golden Cage by Nathalie Mallet

Favourite Young Adult Read:
Jolted by Arthur Slade
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Favourite Non-fiction Read:
Ghost Rider by Neil Peart (Closely followed by Roadshow by the same author)

Favourite Short Story Collection:
The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke (Really need to read her novel...)

Biggest Disappointment:
Simon R. Green. Not his books, the fact that they released two books that have most of the books that I have left to read in them, and they are not available already! As much as I want to read the series, I am not happy I have to buy each book individually...

But, the book that I didn't like the most was probably Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer... Are we really surprised?

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

Any common reader will enjoy a good laugh from British playwright Alan Bennett's The Uncommon Reader, which can be consumed in a few spare hours. But readers expecting a work as brilliant and scathing as Bennett's plays The History Boys (2004) and The Madness of King George (1991), or even his other short stories, should expect something completely different. A political and literary satire, it pokes fun at the British monarchy while revealing the lasting power of literature. Reviews suggest that The Uncommon Reader should be enjoyed like the sort of reading it espouses: casually, but with a sensitivity to serious things as well.

Dear Dewey,

While the circumstances for this reviewing method are anything but cheerful, I have came to the conclusion that I quite like this idea of mine. I think you will have many letters from me throughout the coming year. That's a good thing, though, right? I am trying to read books that you read that are already on my TBR pile (this book is an exception), so with every letter that I write, I am cleaning one more book off the shelves. You are agreeing with me that it is an excellent idea, right? I thought so! (There will probably be lots of exceptions, I know what you are thinking, but we are going to ignore that and just keep our eyes on my halo, okay?)

Moving on... I am going to try and review a book that is just barely over 100 pages. That is not an easy thing to do, you know. You told the story of how the book came into your hands (and then later noticed that you had two copies). My story is not that impressive, I am afraid. I just wanted a new book tonight, so I went to the bookstore and bought this with my gift card. I have plenty of books coming in the mail, but that was the future and I was concentrating on the present... I wanted instant gratification instead of waiting. I have never been very good at waiting!

This was a fun book. As a resident of Canada, the queen is technically still the leader of my country, so it was kind of fun to poke fun at a political system that my country is still a part of. It is amazing how much the author gets into such a short book. He really has a grand ole time poking fun of the British monarchy, and it is things that I could totally see, even if I have never really voiced them aloud! I am too busy paying attention to my own prime minister, as in many ways the queen is just a figurehead nowadays. I am not sure if I liked this book as much as you did, you liked it enough to keep it, so you had to really like it! I am not as picky with the books I keep (though I really should be), so saying I am going to keep it is not the same as you saying you will. I do believe I will read this book again, though, and since I only say that about books that I really really like; I think I have come pretty close to you in terms of my enjoyment level.

It is really too bad that you never had the chance to read this book again... I keep going back to that thought in my head, and I am sorry to be depressing, but I had to mention it. Even though it cannot have very many words in it, I still think it is a book you can read a couple times and keep seeing different things! The book also reminded me that I really should read more classics, but I am going to ignore that insight for the time being. You won't tell anyone, will you?

Until next time...

Marley and Me: A Movie Review

I very rarely go to the movies, but since I loved this book so much back when I read it, I decided that I was going to go see the movie regardless! I had planned to drag the charming comedian, but trying to schedule movies together is pretty impossible, so I found a friend that wanted to go instead. I went yesterday for the matinee. I think it has been years since I was at the movie theatre during the afternoon. Anyway, so I try not to get too many expections when I watch a movie that I read the book of because it is really hard to take an entire book and make the movie true to it. They did do a pretty good job, though. There were many laughter moments, you saw Marley at his best and worst, and you watched the growing of the family around him. I think Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson did a good job. The charming comedian loves Jennifer Aniston, so I think he probably would have went happily if I told him that she was in it ahead of time.

All this book and movie does, though, is make me miss my dogs... It's been over a year since I lost Sandy and I still have moments where I wish she was still here. I really hope I am at a place in my life soon where I can get a dog, because I hate not having one!

Graphic Novels Challenge

January 1, 2009 - December 31, 2009

I had not planned to join this challenge, but then I was spending my gift card and I ended up buying four graphic novels. I don't have any on my TBR pile, so I will have to buy at least two more before the year is. I think that is managable!

Here are the rules:

1. Choose a level of participation:
Minor: Read 6
Major: Read 12
Masters: Read 18
Doctorate: Read 24

2. Challenge begins Jan 1, 2009 and ends Dec 31, 2009. You may join at any point during the year.

3. Can I Overlap? Titles may overlap with any challenges and your list can change at any time.

4. Join the Blog!

I am going with the Minor Level. I enjoy graphic novels, but I have to buy everyone that I read for the challenge, so I don't want to commit to more than I have.

My List:
1. Maus I: My Father Bleeds History
2. Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began
3. Fables: Legends in Exile
4. Fables: Animal Farm
5.
6.

Merry Christmas!

I bought books (of course):

Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History - Paperback (In Stock)

Maus Ii: A Survivors Tale: And Here My Troubles Began - Paperback (In Stock)

Dark Crystal 1 - Paperback (In Stock)

Cant Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain, And America - Paperback (In Stock)

Fables: Legends In Exile - Vol 01 - Paperback (In Stock)

Fables: Animal Farm - Vol 02 - Paperback (In Stock)

Greatest Knight - Paperback (In Stock)

Spectrum 15: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art - Paperback (In Stock)

The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia - Hardcover (In Stock)

I also had a bunch of pre-orders, but I got to the checkout and they now charge $5.99 per book for pre-orders! They are crazy if they think I am paying that!

Now, I have a problem. Labyrinth Vol 1 is out-of-stock at the bookstore that I have gift cards for. So, I only ordered one book for Rhinoa's challenge! I need some suggestions on what to get. Manga suggestions, folks?

Christmas Number One

Since I probably won't see the charming comedian tomorrow, we exchanged presents... well... it was supposed to be last night, but he got excited and gave me mine on the 22nd, so, I gave him his, as well. We are both great wrappers! It's called the bags that they came in... (In my defense, I had planned to wrap it for the 23rd and I spent yesterday wrapping his presents for other people). We bought things for each other throughout the year, so we only bought each other one thing. He got me the second season of Heroes, because we are finished the first season and we want to see what happens next! I bought him the first season of Rome, a show that we both love. We have already watched five episodes of Rome, actually. He wanted to watch Heroes, but I asked if we could have a bit of variety. We also have the first season of NCIS to watch. We both love the show, and that was actually what I had bought him for Christmas, but then I found Rome for an awesome price and knew he would like that much better, so I just gave NCIS to both of us.

I also received presents from my grandmother, father, and uncle. Money was the common denominator (that's my justification for NCIS), but my grandmother also gave me my traditional gift card to the bookstore! (She understood it was a good idea a long time before my mother clued in). I am just waiting for the one from my mother, and then I will be book shopping online...

Returning to the charming comedian. He reads my blog if I show him something, but he isn't very techno-savvy. Anyway, when I posted my Advent Calendar post last night (more like this morning) he saw his nickname and went browsing to see how much I talk about him on my blog. Other people might not find my stories funny, but he laughed as he read the random things I have said about him in the last month!

My Advent Calendar Post!

My turn! Carl and I teamed up to bring you.... something that I hope is different! You have to read his post first, though, to understand what is going on. I had help with my part, so, I can't take all the credit. ha ha! The Charming Comedian helped, so I will take this opportunity to say Merry Christmas to him and to all of you! Enjoy!

The Story:

Until.... Off slides the cover of the sewer drain and four five foot turtles pop up and draw their weapons and look around in four different directions. From the east comes the Joker, from the west comes Doctor Octopus, from the north comes the Grinch, and from the south Kermit reappears with his microphone.

Kermit: "Where's Piggy when you need her?"

(From off-stage comes a voice just as the Ninja Turtles and the villains engage) "Here I am Kermie!"

(Miss. Piggy struts out on stage dressed all in pink leather. After she annihilates all three villains, she is still totally enraged and turns on the Turtles, who flee and jump back down the hole! They know better than to tamper with an angry pig!)

As they disappear down the hole a voice says: "Woah! Let's have pork on our next pizza, dudes!"

(Kermit runs over and embraces Piggy who turns into an alien. Sigourney Weaver runs out and blows her away with her laser.)

(Meanwhile, Fozzie Bear appears in a sleigh, with Rudolph leading the way through the fog.) (Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer plays in the background (the heavy metal version)).

(He lands the sleigh right in front of the First National Bank. Out runs Al Pacino with bags of money and jumps in the sleigh and with Dirty Harry hot in pursuit, Fozzie slaps the reins and proclaims)

"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid!, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

Kermit yells: "Fozzie, how did you remember all that?"

Fozzie shrugs and yells back: “I have just always wanted a reason to say it!”

Kermit shakes his head: “This is Kermit T. Frog...” (Will Ferrell kicks him aside and takes over.) “Beat it frog! Let a real anchorman take over!” Just then, Spiderman swings by and gets shot down by Dirty Harry. “Do you feel lucky, punk?”

And now, for something completely different, John Cleese slaps Harry Potter across the face and says: “Do something, boy!” Harry conjures up a giant dragon which breathes fire and incinerates Will Ferrell (and everyone cheers), Harry Potter bows and walks off stage.

Santa runs in scratching his beard and yells: “Has anyone seen a sleigh with eight or nine reindeer? You can't miss it, the ninth reindeer has a big red nose! It was the strangest thing, I believe I was robbed by a bear telling awful jokes!” <

Kermit walks back out and flips out his cellphone: “Fozzie, can you hear me now?” Captain Kirk walks out, flips out his communicator and says: “Scotty (pause), one fat man (pause) in a (pause) red suit (pause) to be beamed up (pause) on to that sleigh! (pause) And, hold the (pause) criminals and the money (pause) in the brig until I get there!”

Santa says, just before disappearing: “That won't be necessary! I'll drop the money down the bank's chimney as I fly by!”

Tom Cruise runs out, jumps up on the randomly placed couch and yells “Wait! Show me the money!” He hits the couch a couple times in excitement and then runs off.

Three chipmunks run out on stage. A voice in the background yells: “Ready, Simon?” “Yep!” Ready, Theodore?” “Okay!” “Ready Alvin...? ... READY, ALVIN?” “OKAY. DAVE!”

They clear their throats and begin to sing: “Christmas, Christmas time is near. Time for rum and time for beer..” “ALVIN!” “Okay. Dave!” “We've been good, but we can't last! Hurry Christmas, hurry fast! Want a plane.... (And a plane crashes into the stage. The chipmunks take advantage of the chaos and run away.)

Just then, Snoopy lands his dog house right beside it, shakes his fist, and flies away with his scarf flailing in the breeze. (The crowd goes wild!)

Kermit once again shakes his head and says: “Well, you saw it live, right here, folks!”

Just then, all hell breaks loose with alien ships zooming in over every major city on the planet. Will Smith comes out, looks up, and says “Oh, crap, not again!”

Captain Kirk looks at him and says “No fear, they're not Romulans, they are just Klingons. They like to follow me around wherever I go. Get it? 'Kling-ons'?” He walks off stage giggling like a school girl. Fozzie gives him a high five just off stage.

Winnie the Pooh comes out juggling honey pots and says: “Oh, bother! I wish somebody would beam him up, already!” Tigger comes bouncing out singing: “The wonderful thing about Tiggers is Tiggers are wonderful things... “ Piglet walks out holding his ears and yells: “Enough about the springy-thingy! I'm sick of it!”

Kermit scrunches up his nose looking at Piglet: “Do you have an older sister who wears pink leather?” Piglet gives the frog a strange look and walks off stage, followed by a bouncing Tigger and a still juggling Winnie. “Oh, bother!”

Kermit: “Well, I guess it is time to wrap up this crazy story!”

A long-eared rabbit saunters out on stage with a carrot in his hand: (crunch crunch) “Ehhh! What's up, doc?”

Kermit: “Well, if it isn't one of the most respected movie characters in the business. It's... it's... (gulp)...”

Bugs: “Yeah, yeah, yeah, doc! I just came out to tidy things up because you aren't doing so well.”

Bugs motions off stage and a tiny frog with a crutch comes out on stage. He clears his throat and clearly says: “God bless us, everyone!”

All three of them together say: “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

Bugs: “That's all, folks!”

They turn around and walk off stage.

-------
Carl says that we are going to do something 'better' next year, but, I think this was a lot of fun! I have good ideas, huh? ha ha ha ha!

Happy Holidays!

The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Advent Calendar!

That's it, there is no more.... UNTIL NEXT YEAR!

Happy Holidays, folks!

Up today, we have:

Carl from Stainless Steel Droppings (Read First)

Me (Read Second)

Sherry at Semicolon (Read Whenever)

The Twenty-Third Day of the Advent Calendar!

I am on the verge of saying 'Bah Humbug', I am afraid! December is not going very well for me. I now have no job, a broken cellphone, and my car decided to join in the fun! I probably didn't deserve the Christmas Spirit Award because I am having a very hard time finding mine this year!

Today on the calendar:

Jane from Janezlifeandtimes

Memory from Stella Matutina

Debbie from Friday Friends Book Blog

Cari from Book Scoops

Fun Stuff...

Okay, so I am alive. I made it home successfully last night. Yay! I guess places around me are losing power tonight, though.... I hope I manage to avoid that! The weather is still not great and the roads are still rather messy, but it is better than it was last night! I have the replacement phone from the last time my cellphone broke, so I am hooked up. Since the weather was terrible, I haven't gone to get my other one fixed yet. I am still really mad about the broken phone, so I won't say very much on the subject.

Tonight, my bloglines just jumped for a manageble number to over 3000 unread posts. I think it is broken... I honestly don't see how most of my blogroll updated 200 times today.

The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier

The compelling story of two women, born four centuries apart, and the ancestral legacy that binds them. Ella Turner does her best to fit in to the small, close-knit community of Lisle-sur-Tarn. She even changes her name back to Tournier, and learns French. In vain. Isolated and lonely, she is drawn to investigate her Tournier ancestry, which leads to her encounter with the town's wolfish librarian. Isabelle du Moulin, known as Le Rousse due to her fiery red hair, is tormented and shunned in the village -- suspected of witchcraft and reviled for her association with the Virgin Mary. Falling pregnant, she is forced to marry into the ruling family: the Tourniers. Tormentor becomes husband, and a shocking fate awaits her. Plagued by the color blue, Ella is haunted by parallels with the past, and by her recurring dream. Then one morning she wakes up to discover that her hair is turning inexplicably red...

Dear Dewey,

Well, it is that time again. I read a book that you read, so I am counting it as one of the reads for the challenge held in your honour. After reading The Road, and getting rather depressed by it all, I tried to find something a little more cheerful. While there are a lot more cheerful moments in this book, though, it is still a rather depressing book. I have to say, if the book cover you used for the review is the one you read, I like your cover so much better than mine! Mine has the same woman on the front, but the top and bottom of her are cut off in order to include the title and the author. Mine is a second-hand copy, though, likely bought with credit, so I guess I shouldn't complain!

I also read Girl With a Pearl Earring and didn't like it as much as this book. I know that people loved it, so I am glad you are with me on it just being okay. I like her writing enough to keep buying her books, though, but I generally wait until I find them at the second hand store. I was interested in reading this book because of the tracing of her family tree and tracking down her ancestors. That is a subject that I have always been interested in, so I enjoy reading books about others trying to figure out where they came from. You said that you liked two things the best about the book: "the French history and Ella’s story". I agree with you there. I don't know a lot about French history, but my family is from France, so I really should study it more. I also really liked learning about Ella and watching her character develop.

There are two main characters to this book because the chapters switch back and forth. One chapter is about Ella, living in the modern time, and the other chapter would be about Isabella, who turns out to be one of Ella's ancestors. Near the end, the two stories become intertwined, though, and I found myself really enjoying that. I do enjoy that we seemed to be of the same mind about this book. What Isabella went through in the past was depressing. I didn't do a very good job finding a more cheery book! As her story progressed I couldn't believe what she went through! You thought the same. I hope that most people would think the same... I won't say anymore. People will just have to read it to see what we are talking about!

Once again it was great to read a book with you!

Until next time!

P.S. I didn't know this was her first book and first came out 11 years ago! I guess I am reading rather out of order!

The Twenty-Second Day of the Advent Calendar!

It's almost Christmas! Today on the Advent Calendar we have four stops:
Think Pink Dana

My Friend Amy

Nicole from Linus's Blanket

Susan from Reading, Raving and Ranting by a Historical Fiction Writer

This is nice. I have to drive home in a stupid snowstorm and my cellphone that they 'fixed' won't turn on! I hate that! I like knowing I can call if anything happens, and now I am phoneless. I am so pissed I had to vent somewhere, and this is where I chose.

New Author Challenge 2009

January 1, 2009 - December 31, 2009
Hosted by Literary Escapism

I normally read a lot of new authors in the run of a year. This year, I am going to keep track!

1. The challenge will run from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009.
2. Since this is an author challenge, there is no restriction on choosing your novels. They can definitely be from other challenges. However, the authors must be new to you and, preferably from novels, but anthologies are also a great way to try someone new.
3. I want this to be an easy challenge, so you state how many new authors you want to try this year and then that’s your challenge. For me, I’m trying another 50 new authors. If you want a number given to you, try for either 25 or 50.
4. Add your name to the Mr. Linky below. If you do not have your own blog, you can join the group blog here.
5. Bloggers or Non-Bloggers alike are welcome
6. When you read a new author, write your review (either at your site or the group blog) and then come back here and post a link to your review.

I am going to aim for 10 new authors, but I will add all of them as the year progresses, even if i go over the ten.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

The Pub Challenge 2009

January 1, 2009 - December 31, 2009
Hosted by Michelle from 1morechapter

Okay, so I didn't sign up for this last year, but I could have easily done it! I read a lot of ARC's this year... And then I bought a few books here or there. So, I decided to join in this year.

Here are the 2009 rules:

1. Read a minimum of 9 books first published in 2009. You don’t have to buy these. Library books, unabridged audios, or ARCs are all acceptable. To qualify as being first published in 2009, it must be the first time that the book is published in your own country. For example, if a book was published in Australia, England, or Canada in 2008, and then published in the USA in 2009, it counts (if you live in the USA). Newly published trade paperbacks and mass market paperbacks do not count if there has been a hardcover/trade published before 2009. Any questions on what qualifies? Just leave a comment here, and I’ll respond with the answer.
2. No children’s/YA titles allowed, since we’re at the ‘pub.’
3. At least 5 titles must be fiction.
4. Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
5. You can add your titles as you go, and they may be changed at any time.

My List:
1. Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs (Feb 3, 2009)
2. Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs (July, 2009)
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

The Twenty-First Day of the Advent Calendar!

Today we have four stops on the Advent Tour! Do we know what it being the 21st means?!? I will be sad to see the tour finish... Anyway, the stops are: Rhinoa from Rhinoa's Ramblings, Melissa from Remember to Breathe, The Bluestocking Guide, and Michelle from Fluttering Butterflies. Enjoy!

Christmas Spirit Award

Julia presented me with the Christmas Spirit Award! She also thanked me for an award that I had given her at some point and time and said such wonderful things! I am glad that the Advent Tour was a big help to you last year and thank you so much for the award!

Here are the rules for the Christmas Spirit Award:

"You must be a true Christmas lover to receive this award.
The person to whom you give the award must also be in love with Christmas.
Link back to the person who gave you the award.
List 5 things that you love about Christmas. If you can't limit it to 5 things, then keep going till you run out of space!
Pass the award along to as many people as you like. That can be 1 or 50. It's up to you! But keep the Christmas cheer going!
Let your recipients know that you have tagged them by leaving them a comment. Also, link back to the person who gave you the award."

Five Things I Love About Christmas:
1. Santa Claus.
2. Christmas Trees
3. A White Christmas
4. Christmas Villages (the little towns and things... I so want to start one of those!)
5. Christmas Music
6. Mincemeat Pie (only time of year I eat it)
7. Christmas Lights

Now, who shall I give the award to? I know so many people that are all about Christmas spirit this year, so it is so hard to choose! Here is my list:

Marg, my co-leader of the Advent Calendar, is a given.

Alabama Bookworm
Joanne from Lost in a Good Book
Susan from You Can Never Have Too Many Books
Louise from Lou's Pages
Penelope from Life's Sweet Passions
Booklogged from A Reader's Journal
Lisa fromBook Lists Life
Alison from The Homeschooler's Guide to the Galaxy
Ladytink from Ladytink's Neverland
Kim from Page After Page
Vickie from Scrapbooking and Tidbits
Rob from The Snig's Foot
Andrew from The View from Arizona Marny the Bookworm
Kerri from Latte' Buddies
Becky from Becky's Book Reviews
Melissa from Book Nut
Amy from Passages to the Past
Alyssa from By the Book
Raidergirl3 from An Adventure in Reading
Sherrie from Just Books
Kerrie from Mysteries in Paradise
Dolce Bellezza
Chris from Book-a-rama
Bookwormom
Mister Teacher from Learn Me Good
Bigsis from Through the Eyes of the Creator
Trish's Reading Nook
Nymeth from Things Mean a Lot
Lisa from Book Ahoy
Suey from It's All About Books
Emily from Dreaming on the Job
Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic
Cindy from Nocturnal Wonderings
Natasha from Maw Books
Somewhere in Between
Wendy from Caribou's Mom
Strumpet from Strumpet's Life
Chris from Stuff as Dreams are Made on
Tammy from Omah's Helping Hand
3M from 1 More Chapter
Stine from The Washingtonium
Kim from Sophisticated Dorkiness
Alex from Daemonwolf Books
Leya from Wandeca Reads
Julia's Book Corner
Hope is the Word
Laclau from Conversacions de Cafe
Krissi from The Swim Mom
Morgan from Insert Clever Name Here
Jessica from The Bluestockings Society
Naida from The Bookworm
BookClover
Book Thingo
Rhinoa from Rhinoa's Ramblings
Melissa from Remember to Breathe
The Bluestocking Guide
Michelle from Fluttering Butterflies
Think Pink Dana
My Friend Amy
Nicole from Linus's Blanket
Jane from Janezlifeandtimes
Memory from Stella Matutina
Debbie from Friday Friends Book Blog
Book Scoops
Carl from Stainless Steel Droppings
Sherry at Semicolon

Sorry if I missed anyone! Thanks to everyone that participated in the third annual Advent Calendar and made it a great success! I hope you will join again next year!

***Note: I actually commented on everyones blogs (I hope). Yes, the comments are all the same, no I didn't actually read the post I was commenting on in many cases, and yes, I hate word verification!

The Twentieth Day of the Advent Calendar!

Sorry! I ended up going out of town unexpectedly! I am just getting back now. Part of the province is having a snowstorm, apparently, and we got stuck in it.

Jessica from The Bluestockings Society, Naida from The Bookworm, BookClover and Book Thingo were the stops for today!

The Nineteenth Day of the Advent Calendar!

Man, December is really flying by! The Advent Calendar will be finished soon! I hope people will plan to do it again next year! Today's participants are Laclau from Conversacions de Cafe, Krissi from The Swim Mom, Morgan from Insert Clever Name Here and Mariel from Where Troubles Melt Like Lemon Drops.

The Saga of Darren Shan Book Two: The Vampire's Assistant

The nightmare continues as Darren Shan struggles with his new life as a Vampire’s Assistant. He tries desperately to resist the one thing that can keep him alive—blood—but a gruesome encounter with the Wolf Man tests his resolve to the limits.

So, it is 2 in the morning and I just finished the second book in Darren Shan's Saga. That's rather unusual for me, I don't normally read books by the same author one right after the other, but I guess there's a first time for everything! Not that I need more series to read.... I should probably finish some of the ones I already have on the go, but that would make too much sense, right?

Anyway, so this book takes place about two months after the first book in the series. In the first book, Darren was not a Vampire's Assistant until near the end, so in this book is is a lot about Darren coming to terms with who he is and what his purpose is now. Everything he had known before has been changed. He didn't even know there were such thing as vampires, and now he suddenly he is working for one. This book is a real page-turner, I must say! There was just enough action to keep me engrossed in the story, so I will be very interested to see what happens in the next book!

I am kicking myself, though, because the second-hand bookstore had books 3 to 11 the other day and I never bought them! When I went back today they only had books 3 and 4. I was trying not to add too many books to my house, but it was rather stupid of me. I did buy the first two, but I don't really want to have to pay for the rest of the series.... I have my fingers crossed the second-hand bookstore gets more in, but if I am looking for something I can never find it!

Feats of Generosity

So, I get the mail today and I have a book that I have been wanting to read forever! I am right excited, so I push everything else aside with the intention of reading it next. I had supper with the charming comedian before he went to work and we were talking about how bad we are at buying Christmas presents when I remembered my book and went to get it! You know what happened? He decided that it would be the perfect present for one of the people he has left to buy for, so I go browsing online to see if he can get it in time for Christmas.... NOPE! So, now his person is getting my copy and I am forced to WAIT to get my own copy again. Isn't it great that I am such a nice person? (He is also giving the same person another book that I recently received. Me and my big mouth, I had to say 'If you think she would like this, she would probably like this one too...')

It's not like I am mad or anything, I volunteered, I am just annoyed that the stupid bookstore here doesn't have either book in stock! That means that I am going to have to order online, and it will be like January before I get them. So, instead I am reading Darren Shan, and then I have two books that would work for Dewey's Challenge to read. Oh, and what were the books? See the pictures....

Very Sad News!

Well, I was very sad to hear that Majel Barrett Roddenberry had passed away! As someone who greatly enjoyed Star Trek, it is quite the loss. I loved her as Lwaxana Troi. In many ways the episodes where she made an appearance were some of my favourite.

Head over to SciFiChick's blog where she has posted a video someone did on YouTube.

The Saga of Darren Shan Book One: Cirque du Freak

Darren goes to a banned freak show with his best mate Steve. It’s the wonderfully gothic Cirque Du Freak where weird, frightening half human/half animals appear who interact terrifyingly with the audience. Darren – a spider freak – ‘falls in love’ with Madam Octa – an enormous tarantula owned by Mr Crepsley. Darren determines to steal the spider so that he can train it to perform amazing deeds. But his daring theft goes horribly wrong. The spider bites Steve and Darren has to sell his soul to Mr Crepsley – a member of the vampire clan – to get the antidote. Something out of the ordinary is set against the background of children’s normal lives to chilling effect. Atmospheric, funny, realistic, moving and… terrifying.

I have heard of this series for years, this book came out in 2001 or so, and it was always on the list to read one day, but I had yet to pick up a book. Nicola has been reviewing them this year, though, and I must say she caught my attention. I had a bit of money as a Christmas present, so I decided to buy the first two books in the series and see what happened! I am rather picky about young adult books. There are many series out there that everyone loves and have been recommending to me over and over again that I just did not like at all! This one, though, I think I am going to enjoy!

I stretched out on the couch with a blanket, some fluffy slippers, comfy clothes, and orange juice and dived right in. I wasn't really scared, it takes a lot to frighten me, but I was caught up in the atmosphere and the creepy feeling that this book gave off. You knew right from the beginning that something bad was going to happen, so I had to keep reading to find out what that was! It's not a large book, but it is compelling enough that when you finish it you will want to read the next book (which I might just do) so that you can see what is going to happen next. You were right, Nicola, I think this is my kind of series!

Cardathon Challenge

I almost forgot I was in this challenge! And, then I was worried I didn't complete it, but I did. Yay!

Books from 2008:

The Onion Girl by Charles de Lint
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

Books from Late 2007:
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
The Golden Fool by Robin Hobb

There are probably others but I didn't keep a list of what books I read in 2008, so I can't remember when I read what books anymore. The only book I read by Orson Scott Card was Ender's Games. I think it might be about time I got around to reading more! If this challenge had ran any other year, I think I would have a big list, but my head wasn't in the books this year, I'm afraid!

The Eighteenth Day of the Advent Calendar!

The big day will soon be here! Today on the tour we visit Alex from Daemonwolf Books, Leya from Wandeca Reads, Julia's Book Cornerand Hope is the Word. Enjoy!

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

"Bah Humbug!" That's how Ebeneezer Scrooge feels about Christmas--until the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future decide to show the crotchety old miser the error of his ways. Together they travel through time, revisiting all the people who have played an important role in Scrooge's life. And as their journey concludes, Scrooge is reminded of what it means to have love in his heart, and what the true spirit of Christmas is all about. A timeless story the whole family will enjoy!

Dear Mr. Dickens,

It might seem strange that I am writing a letter to a man that has been dead for many years, but it also seems very fitting. A Christmas Carol is a ghost story, so let us pretend that ghosts are real and that Mr. Dickens has the ability to read all the things written about him after he died. He was, in many ways, an author that was only appreciated after he was deceased, so it is nice to think of him being able to revel in the praises of the generations that have came after him. At the same time, it is rather creepy to think about a ghost reading these words over my shoulder! I just find that writing letters is more my style. I can write 'formal' reviews, but I was finding them a chore. The few letters I have written this year have been a lot more fun, so I think you might see me slowly moving in that direction.

Anyway, Mr. Dickens, I have quite gone off-topic, something I am very good at, so I should probably get back to the book that is at hand. I love A Christmas Carol. I have read it many times over the years and I never tire of the story. You have written a story that is very fitting for the ages because within these pages you have shown what Christmas is really about. I just love every word. I do not believe there is a wasted one anywhere in the story. And, it sticks with you. I might not be able to say passages word for word, but there are sentences that stick with you even after you have long closed the book. When I sit down to enjoy this book and see the opening sentence: "Marley was dead, to begin with", I feel like I am coming home. It is like visiting with old friends. And, even though there are no longer any surprises, I still feel the emotions like I am reading it for the first time: outrage at Scrooge, sympathy for his over-worked clerk, a little creeped out by the ghost of Christmas yet to come, etc. It is truly a master that can make people feel for characters over and over again.

While you might not really comprehend the phrasing 'classic literature' because classic literature was very different in your day, you have to understand how rare it is for me to sing the praises of a classic, to me, author. I just love this book! There is really no other way to describe it. I get caught up in the story everytime and I am always sad when I finish. There is just something magically about the world that you have created. In many ways, while this is not necessarily a fantasy story, it is probably the story that moved me in that direction when I was very young. I like to believe that anything is possible, and in this story, three ghosts visit a cranky, rude, older man and show him the true meaning of living. They show him what will happen if he doesn't learn the error of his ways, and he gets a second chance. It is not forced on him, he could have come out of those experiences still not seeing the errors of his ways, but he doesn't. It's just the way the world should work, everyone should have a second chance.

This is really all I feel I have to say. I think everyone and their dog is familiar with the basic story, even if they haven't actually read this book. I am telling you now, though, you can not truly appreciate the magic of this book if you don't read the original. I am sure Mr. Dickens would agree. I am totally going back to my yearly tradition of reading this story. I have missed it. It was wonderful to visit with old friends this holiday season! Thank you, Mr. Dickens. I have read many other of your works, (and actually plan to do some reading of you in the New Year), but this will always be my favourite.

Until next time!

It Snowed Again...

You know, it is not even officially winter and it has snowed several times already! I am already sick of shoveling snow! And, I swear, everytime it has snowed I have been somewhere without my winter attire and I am stuck shoveling my car out in sneakers!

Actually, a good way to know that a person is from Canada, is that they are the ones that are walking around in a snowstorm in an unzipped jacket, sneakers, no gloves, and no hat. That's me in a nutshell! I did have gloves but they were annoying me so I took them off... It's the 'out of towners' that walk around in 'appropriate' winter attire...

The Seventeenth Day of the Advent Calendar!

I can't believe it is almost Christmas! I am hoping for a white one this year! Today on the tour we have 3M from 1 More Chapter, Stine from The Washingtonium and Kim from Sophisticated Dorkiness.

The Sixteenth Day of the Advent Calendar!

Today on the tour we visit Strumpet from Strumpet's Life, Chris from Stuff as Dreams are Made on and Tammy from Omah's Helping Hand.

The Rest of the Advent Calendar...

You can still join if you are interested! Just leave a comment!

16 December
Strumpet from Strumpet's Life
Chris from Stuff as Dreams are Made on
Tammy from Omah's Helping Hand

17 December
3M from 1 More Chapter
Stine from The Washingtonium
Kim from Sophisticated Dorkiness

18 December
Alex from Daemonwolf Books
Leya from Wandeca Reads
Julia's Book Corner
Hope is the Word

19 December
Laclau from Conversacions de Cafe
Krissi from The Swim Mom
Morgan from Insert Clever Name Here
Mariel from where troubles melt like lemon drops

20 December
Jessica from The Bluestockings Society
Naida from The Bookworm
BookClover
Book Thingo

21 December
Rhinoa from Rhinoa's Ramblings
Melissa from Remember to Breathe
The Bluestocking Guide
Michelle from Fluttering Butterflies

22 December
Think Pink Dana
My Friend Amy
Nicole from Linus's Blanket
Susan from Reading, Raving and Ranting by a Historical Fiction Writer

23 December
Jane from Janezlifeandtimes
Memory from Stella Matutina
Debbie from Friday Friends Book Blog
Cari from Book Scoops

24 December
Carl from Stainless Steel Droppings
Kailana's Written World
Sherry at Semicolon

The Fifteenth Day of the Advent Calendar!

Today we are visiting Natasha from Maw Books, Somewhere in Between and Wendy from Caribou's Mom!

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER
National Book Critic's Circle Award Finalist

A New York Times Notable Book
One of the Best Books of the Year
The Boston Globe, The Christian Science Monitor, The Denver Post, The Kansas City Star, Los Angeles Times, New York, People, Rocky Mountain News, Time, The Village Voice, The Washington Post

The searing, postapocalyptic novel destined to become Cormac McCarthy's masterpiece.

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food-—and each other.

The Road is the profoundly moving story of a journey. It boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, but in which the father and his son, "each the other's world entire," are sustained by love. Awesome in the totality of its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation.

This is the first book that I read for Dewey's Books Reading Challenge. I have some great taste, there. Let's make the first book I read incredibly depressing! Anyway, after a lot of deliberating I think I am going to write these reviews in letter format. Let's see how this goes, okay?

Dear Dewey,

I have had this book since it was made an Oprah book. I know this because of the snazzy sticker that graces the front of my book. While I have wanted to read Cormac McCarthy for years, this is the first time that I have actually done so. I guess it took the events of the last few weeks to finally interest me in some hidden treasures found on my TBR... mountain. While I have read many of the books that you read, there are still many others that I own and just have never got to.

I just read your review of this book to brainstorm just what I was going to say and it made me a little sad, but I was sad upon completion of this novel anyway! To get over this you had some chocolate chocolate chip Haagen-Dasz and watched an episode of Family Guy, so maybe I will have to do something similar. I was happy to see that we had some of the same ideas about this book. I also was often caught up with atrocious punctuation. Sometimes, I would get reading along and then there would be so many things wrong with a sentence that I would just have to stop and try and figure out what he was thinking! When I think about it, though, I am caught up in the idea that this is showing the energy that the characters had when they were speaking. The better things were going for them; the more words that they uttered. I actually loved the whole idea of this, but like you, it took me until they found the supplies to get caught up in the story. For a while, I was just reading the book to finish it and try and understand why people enjoyed it so much!

You had three things that you were wondering about in the course of the book:

1. How old is this boy?
2. What the hell happened to the world to make it
this way?
3. How did these two survive when most people are dead?

I found myself wondering about these same things. The boy would be talking or his father would be reflecting on something and I would find myself trying to picture him in my head. You came to the conclusion that he was about seven, while I was thinking about eight, so we were both on the same wavelength. I also have to admit that I found myself wondering what their names were. Especially at the end when the little boy says his father's name three times. I wondered what it was that he was saying. Not necessarily anything important to the story, just something to satisfy my own curiousity.

I am happy that I am not the only one that wasn't super fond of the ending. I will just leave it at that because there are still some people, I would think, that haven't read this book! Anyway, Dewey, thanks for reading this book and leading me to it. While I didn't love it, I didn't hate it, and I am glad that with this letter we have sort of shared the reading of it.

Charles Dickens

For Christmas, I received eight of Charles Dickens' novels in six hardcover books. (Yes, I got them early...) Because it has been so long since I read some of them, I am making myself the challenge to read as many of them as I can in the next year. It is time that I spent some time on Dickens, and then once I have read the eight that I own, there are a few others that I have never read at all that I really should invest in.

1. A Christmas Carol (Review forth-coming)
2. The Chimes (Review forth-coming)
3. The Cricket on the Hearth (Review forth-coming)
4. Great Expectations
5. David Copperfield
6. Oliver Twist
7. A Tale of Two Cities
8. Hard Times

The Fourteenth Day of the Advent Calendar!

Today's bloggers for the Advent Tour are Emily from Dreaming on the Job, Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic, and Cindy from Nocturnal Wonderings.

The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirit by Les Standiford

As uplifting as the tale of Scrooge itself, this is the story of how one writer and one book revived the signal holiday of the Western world.

Just before Christmas in 1843, a debt-ridden and dispirited Charles Dickens wrote a small book he hoped would keep his creditors at bay. His publisher turned it down, so Dickens used what little money he had to put out A Christmas Carol himself. He worried it might be the end of his career as a novelist.

The book immediately caused a sensation. And it breathed new life into a holiday that had fallen into disfavor, undermined by lingering Puritanism and the cold modernity of the Industrial Revolution. It was a harsh and dreary age, in desperate need of spiritual renewal, ready to embrace a book that ended with blessings for one and all.

With warmth, wit, and an infusion of Christmas cheer, Les Standiford whisks us back to Victorian England, its most beloved storyteller, and the birth of the Christmas we know best. The Man Who Invented Christmas is a rich and satisfying read for Scrooges and sentimentalists alike.

I have always been a big fan of Charles Dickens. Over the years I have read several of his books, but it has been a while. When I saw that this book was available, though, I knew I had to remedy my not having read him in a while and see what Standiford had to say about one of my favourite Christmas books of all time, A Christmas Carol. I really only know the basics about Dickens life, so it was interesting to get a more detailed look at what his career was like before and after this novel. I think we should be glad that this book was such a success for its time, because if it wasn't, we probably wouldn't have got all the great books that came after it.

Standiford looks at what Dickens early childhood was like and the struggles that his family went through just to pay the bills. As a result of his father not being able to keep up with things, Dickens childhood ended very early and he found himself working to keep the family afloat. So, to become an author after struggling your entire life just to eat was a very brave thing. While he doesn't go into detail, Standiford talks about the early books and their impact. He looks at what Dickens thought of America when he came here on a book tour. The big subject matter, though, is how he was floundering until he decided to write this little Christmas story. While A Christmas Carol was popular and sold very well, though, it did not solve all of Dickens problems. It just brought him the recognition he needed to be able to slowly pull himself out of debt.

The rest of the book is dedicated to what life was like for Dickens after the book was released. It mentions three other 'Christmas' books that I had never read before. I always thought that he only had the one Christmas book, and he technically did. The others were released around Christmas, but did not actually have Christmas in them. I am the first to admit that classic literature is not really my thing. Just because it is a classic and everyone should read it, doesn't mean that I will like it. Dickens, though, is one of those exceptions where I have always enjoyed what I have read, so it was worth it to give this book a chance and see more about the person behind these great novels.

My thanks to Random House for sending me a copy of this book!