Week in Review and Sunday Book Coveting

Random Thoughts

I had so much fun doing this last week that I am back again! It makes me look organized, and since I am really not most of the time I figured I wanted to grab hold of something that makes me look good.

Last week was my first week as another year older. It was actually a pretty good week! I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed this summer very various reasons, so it is nice to notice myself evening out a bit. I know that there are more troubles ahead for me, but I am going to enjoy the quiet while I can.

I have a question, though. I posted the short-list for the Giller's this week and people said that they didn't know what it was, hadn't read any of the books, etc. Would anyone be interested in me pretending organization again and maybe coming up with a reading challenge of sorts? I was thinking either with the Giller or the Governor General awards, but the GG's have lots of categories and might be a bit complicated. The Gillers are just a straight award.

An addition to the post this weekend is going to be read-a-thon suggestions. I asked on Twitter if people would be interested and got some positive response, so while I have the idea in my head I am going to act on it. I apologize if this post is rather long, but I will have labels for each section, so you can always skip something if it doesn't interest you.

Weekly Reads

This week marked the kick-off of my Giller-a-thon. I read two of the five shortlisted books so far and I have until November 10, so hopefully I will accomplish it!


This book was actually rather interesting. I know a woman that was a WWII war bride, but I have never really thought about it beyond that because I haven't seen her in years. Now I want to know her story! In most cases this was the women's actual stories about what it was like to come to Canada from another country. The contrast in some cases was pretty impressive!








This is actually the fourth book in the series. I do plan to review the whole lot of them eventually, but not sure when that will be. I really enjoy this series for the most part. Jack is hillarious and you meet a whole cast of characters that was missing from Fables. I look forward to more in the series when I can justify buying them...







My first Giller-a-thon book! I should point out that this is not the Canadian cover, but that doesn't matter. Anyways. I ended up really liking this book. The characters were so well developed, but I wasn't sure about the story. It was going good, but then something bad happened and I was worried, but it worked out to be handled very well and I wasn't as concerned as I thought I was going to be. So far, this is the book that I want to win, but I still have three more books to go...






A Canadian author, but an African book. This was so very well written (a previous years Giller nominee) and I am so happy that I finally read it! This is going to be a buddy review this week, so tune in then. (I really must work out my 3rd Canadian Challenge list because I am beyond done, but still say '0' on the actual tally because I haven't sent in any of my reviews!)








This book was good, but not in an 'Oh my god! You have to read this right now!' sort of way. Another Giller nominated book. I learned a lot because it was about a situation in history that I never really paid a great deal of attention to; but otherwise it wasn't anything special.







Another book that I discovered through the wonderful Eva. I was kind of interested not because I am a parent (because I am not), but because I wanted to see if I was a 'good girl'. I am! I wasn't really surprised... I'm not in some ways, though, which was good to see. I think my review on this will be long and rambly, but for now I will just say that I have read over 300 books this year and when people compliment me on it, I brush it off like it is no big deal because I don't want to seem like I am bragging! Perfect example of one of the traits of the 'good girl'. The funny thing is that I brag it up to the cc whenever I talk to him... Maybe because he doesn't read?



Currently, I don't know what I am reading. I have a few books sort of started, but I am very moody with my reading lately. It took me three tries to find a book to interest me on Saturday. Now that I have finished it, I have no idea what to read next! I have books I am suppose to be reading, but that only works if they interest me. I don't force myself because what's the fun in that... I read for fun above anything else!

Read-a-thon Suggestions

I should point out that I have never read for a read-a-thon. I have been around since the very first one, but have never actually actively participated. Even if I cheerlead I never sign up ahead of time; I just do it if the time is available. It's insane the increase in participants. There is still a ways to go and there are all ready 200 people planning to read for it! I really hope that Dewey is aware of the lasting impression she has had. So, as I was saying, I have never read, but I have watched and I think I know the type of books that work for it. I am only going with books I have read this year.

The Sense of Accomplishment:
Fables by Bill Willingham. I consider this a given. It is a series of graphic novels that are retellings of fairy tales. There are pretty pictures and not a lot of words. You can read one relatively quickly, so it will help make it seem like you have actually read something when you are wondering if you have anything to show for all the hours...

The Sense of the Otherworld:
With Halloween on its way, it is the perfect time to read books about vampires, werewolves, witches, and other paranormal creatures. Plus, they work for the R.I.P. challenge that many people belong to. For this category I recommend either Patricia Briggs or Kelley Armstrong. Briggs begins with Moon Called and Armstrong begins with Bitten. The perfect authors to put you in the Halloween mood! (Colleen Gleason is good, too, but I didn't read her this year...)

The Sense of Doom:
Starting to feel overwhelmed? The perfect time to read something about people that have it even worse than you do! Plus, it ties in with Bart's reading challenge! For this I recommend Scott Westerfeld (mainly his Uglies series) or Lois Lowry (The Giver and sequels especially).

The Sense of Horror:
Another thing that ties in with the Halloween season is horror. I don't read a lot of it, but I did read Queenie Chan's manga series this year and I recommend it! It is called The Dreaming and it can be pretty creepy. It also ties in with the R.I.P. Challenge.!

The Sense of History:
Starting to feel like your brain cells are dying off from lack of sleep but still want to keep reading? What better time than to read Laika by Nick Abanzis or Maus. Both are graphic novels that pertain to actual events, but they are still short enough that you won't be overloaded by information in those early hours! Or, you could read The Day the Falls Stood Still because I think it is one of the best books of the year and it conveniently fits in this category...

The Sense of the Unknown:
Starting to wonder if you will make it through the night? When your own fate is starting to feel unknown, then why not read some books where things that hard to grasp are the main topic. There is The Adoration of Jenna Fox, which looks at at superhumans, or Skelligs, which looks at something best left for you to discover.

The Sense of Country:
What? Not Canadian? Oh, well, let's pretend, okay? Everyone should read Jolted by Arthur Slade. I am that serious! What? I didn't read that book this year... Right... So, read The Hunchback Assignments or Dust! Just read Arthur Slade because not enough people do! Or, you could read Douglas Coupland because he is one of the kings of Canadian... something... I never know what to call his books! Or, Charles de Lint because he is fantastic!

The Sense of Self:
Starting to feel the bone-tiredness set in but still want to read something great? Now is the perfect time to read Skulduggery Pleasant and it sequels by Derek Landy. The best young adult trilogy about bones!

The Sense of Greatness:
If you want to feel great, you should read some of the authors that I love: Audrey Niffenegger, John Green, Melissa Marr...

Okay, I only made it through 100 books! If you would like a part two, just let me know, but for now I am going to leave it at that!

Weekly Posts

Six Sentence Saturday - Take Five
Review: Meg Rosoff Times Two (Just in Case and The Bride's Farewell reviewed)
Review: The Day the Falls Stood Still
Giller-a-thon (Giller short-list)
Review: Girl Meets God
Guest Post: Music Munday: The Empowerment of Music

Library Loot

Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd edited by Holly Black
Goldengrove by Francine Prose
Bottomfeeder by Taras Grescoe
The Strain by Guillermo del Toro
1421: The Year China Discovered the World by Gavin Menzies
The Calligrapher's Daughter by Eugenia Kim
Why Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller by Jeff Rubin
The Curse of the Good Girl by Rachel Simmons

Sunday Book Coveting

Just some of the books that I would love to read very, very soon!