Books, Life, & Everything Else (3)

1. | I still cannot seem to find the hours in the day for like, well, anything. I am quieter with blogging, reading, etc so far this year and it is making me sad.

2. | I decided to reactivate my library account because I was hoping it would offset my audio listening. I went through my audio wish list last night and the library has about 3 of the books. So, there goes that idea. I can still listen through my library, but to things that are not necessarily on my wish list. I am not sure if that is a good or a bad thing? I was really surprised by the lack of big titles from last year. I thought they would at least have them... And, clearly my province is not big on fantasy and science fiction because even though I have hardly used my library in a couple years, they still don't have much from either genre.

3. | I am continuing to try and use Marvel Unlimited as much as I can to justify keeping it. I cancelled everything but it and Audible this year. And, my library has never been great for graphic novels. And, I love graphic novels. So, you do what you can, right?

4. | I have the Timehop app on my phone and I am seeing all these books that I got last January. I have hardly had anything enter my house so far this year, so yay, progress! 2017 has to be quieter because 2016 was way too much retail therapy. lol

5. |  Chloe continues to be a source of entertainment. She doesn't meow yet, she does these little squeaks. I am finding they happen more lately when she wants food or when there is a fly that she can't catch and needs help. (Or when she thinks a piece of dirt is a fly...) Casey was always big on bug catching, so it is nice we have a replacement. This morning I was like that's weird, Chloe didn't sleep with us... And then I heard purring by my head. If she thinks you are awake, she starts purring.

6. | I just detoured to put my first books on hold with my new library reactivation. For audiobook, I put Talking as Fast I Can by Lauren Graham. A book I have wanted to do the audio of, but don't need to own. Then I did 4 e-books: The Last Days of Magic by Mark Tompkins (I tried this on audio and there was just too much going on and I couldn't keep track...), Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan, Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien, and The Best Kind of People by Zoe Whittal. I got Gabi, A Girl In Pieces as my e-book test on my tablet. I still haven't decided what to get to test out the audio settings...

7. | Mackie doesn't know it yet, because he is a dog, but he has a play date with Henry today. He will be very excited once he sees where we end up later. They are getting older and my mother is more willing to allow play-dates than she used to be. Henry is actually more hyper than Mackie. I am still always shocked by this fact. Mackie will find a toy and go lay down with it and Henry will be right in his face trying to get him to play still.

8. | I am trying to decide if I want to get the recent Humble Bundle. I love Image comics, but I just did a quick comparison between the recent Bundle and previous ones... And I still have a bunch of unread stuff. But, there is a lot of stuff in the recent bundle that I don't own. Decisions, decisions. lol

Week in Review (13)

Random Thoughts

Another month over and done with. It is crazy how quickly time flies!  I will do a month end post in the next few days. In the meantime, another week of reading is over and done with. The Once Upon a Time challenge is in full-swing. I haven't read as much for it so far as I would like because I am reading Titanic related books for the Titanic Week at Historical Tapestry. It is now a two week event, actually. It will run from April 9, 2012 to April 22, 2012. I am just finishing up The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott for it. Then, I have The House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe to read. It is nice to be reading all these books. I always have enjoyed the Titanic as a subject matter for books, but I have been neglecting it rather badly the last few years. 

I think for the month of April I am going to try and read some fantasy poems to tie in with Once Upon a Time. If you have any suggestions please let me know! Our participant list got a bit small for March, so hopefully we can pick some people up for April. Lu will be posting the wrap-up for the month on Monday. She didn't want it to get lost amongst Bloggiesta posts. There will also be the winner announcement.

Challenge News

I read The Last Dragon by Jane Yolen for the Once Upon a Time Challenge. Speaking of the Once Upon a Time Challenge, the group read of Mistborn: The Final Empire starts today. I will hopefully be joining in! Carl and I will be posting about the first half of Spirits in the Wires by Charles de Lint tomorrow.

Weekly Reads

My uncle is a history buff like me, so the other day my mother asked for a gift suggestion. I chose this book so I could read it, too. Yes, I am just that nice! It was actually really interesting. I enjoyed reading about the Halifax connection to the Titanic. The rest of the book touched on the actual sinking and other events that I have read about several times before. It made me think I need to read a book on the Canadians on the Titanic and my library had a copy. (Borrowed)

Well, I found this rather boring. The pictures were nice, but the story didn't do much for me. I don't know if it was my mood or what... Just one of those things! (Library)

It is always nice when you can't spell so then you wind up wasting lots of time trying to find a picture you know is saved on your computer. Anyway, this book was a very readable book about the Titanic. It reads as a novel, which I could appreciate. It wasn't really dry at all and that's a high mark for non-fiction. I also enjoyed the way the author chose to look at things. If you are looking for a Titanic non-fiction I suggest this one. (Personal Copy)

I have heard lots of good things about this book, so I was happy that my library had a copy. It was a very interesting look at the correlation between women bikers and the feminist movement. I enjoyed it! (Library)

Currently Reading:

The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott

Spirits in the Wires by Charles de Lint

Dark Frost by Jennifer Estep

Weekly Posts

Week in Review (12)

Review: The Bigtime Trilogy by Jennifer Estep

Poetry: Read More/Blog More - A Monthly Event - Month 3

Announcement: Titanic Week at Historical Tapestry

Friday Reads - 10th Edition

Saturday Snapshot - March 31, 2012

New Additions

I am doing really bad with keeping track lately... 

Bought:

My Jennifer Estep and Ilona Andrews order arrived!

Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear (gift card)

Received:

um, let me think here...

The House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe (Harper Collins)

Gilded Lives, Fated Voyage by Hugh Brewster (Harper Collins)

Borderline by Allan Stratton (Harper Collins)

The Calling by Kelley Armstrong (Random House)

Loaded:

Harper Collins Canada shared this post about Titanic related books. I was going to buy them, but well, Gutenberg had most of them... So, I got:

Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters by Various Authors

Letters from the Cape by Lady Lucie Duff Gordon (Passenger)

A Journey in Other Worlds by John Jacob Astor (Science-fiction by Passenger)

The Loss of the S.S. Titanic by Lawrence Beesley

Three Weeks by Elinor Glyn (Sister of Duff Gordon. This is credited as a first in romance.)

Letters from Egypt by Lady Lucie Duff Gordon (Passenger)

The Wreck of the Titan by Morgan Robertson 

Titanic by Filson Young

Maybe I will read some and see about guest posting on The Project Gutenberg blog.

I also have from NetGalley:

Dark Frost by Jennifer Estep

American Rose by Karen Abbott

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace by Kate Summerscale

Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen by Donna Gephart

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

And then for a TLC blog tour I have an advance e-copy of:

Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis (which is saying I only have a day left to read it! I hope that is a mistake...)

Borrowed:

I will just post everything:

Every You, Every Me by David Levithan

Camp Nine by Vivienne Schiffer

Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

This Dark Endeavour by Kenneth Oppel

Down These Strange Streets edited by George R.R. Martin

Shockoholic by Carrie Fisher

A Million Suns by Beth Revis

How to Read a Poem by Molly Peacock

A Good American by Alex George

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Wheels of Change by Sue Macy (Read)

Collision Course by Gordon Korman 

Sorry for the overload! I was a bit slack this month... And, now, I am off to finish The Dressmaker so I can speed-read my way through Out of the Silent Planet in case it really does expire tomorrow. Enjoy your Sunday!

Week in Review (3)

Random Thoughts

One of the things I have been concentrating on lately is reading books off my own piles. That is not to say that I don't want to read books from the library and support them, but I also don't want to overdo it either. I was very surprised when I was adding my two most recent reads to my Reads in 2012 list that they were the first two books I have read from the library so far this year. I also have one on the go. That's it. Now, I have only read 13 books to begin with, but still, I am very happy with those numbers. If I keep that up for the rest of the year my TBR pile will go back to fitting on one bookshelf. Obviously there are some e-books in there which don't really change anything in the physical world, but I wouldn't want to neglect my eReader either. 

I have been messing around with pages along the top of my blog and then deciding what to put on my sidebar. It is a work-in-progress at the moment. I am currently working on my Blog Roll. It was insanely outdated and I thought it took up too much space on the sidebar, so I made it a page and I have been working on it for the last couple days. It is no where near complete, but if you are curious you can see it up there with my other pages or by clicking this link. I will probably work on it a bit more today. 

Another thing I wanted to share was the pretty button that Alex made me for my blog. I had never had a The Written World button before and I decided now was the perfect time. Isn't it pretty?

Lastly, don't forget that on January 31st you should post about poetry as part of the monthly event Lu and I are hosting to get poetry to be read and blogged about more. You can read the post with all the details by clicking here and I will probably add something about it to either by sidebar or the pages above. It will be a few days before my new template is entirely organized.

Challenge News

I read A Midsummer's Night Dream as the first selection for Reading Shakespeare.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline will count for the Science-Fiction Experience.

Then, I watched Horrible Bosses and Valkyrie for the 2012 Movie Madness Challenge.

Weekly Reads

I am so happy that I finally read this play. I have wanted to for ages! I was a bit worried when I started it because I don't think I was reading it all that well and sort of lost track of what was going on. As a result I restarted it and read it in one-sitting. That worked a lot better. The only distraction was a cat running by occasionally. This is Shakespeare's play that includes fairies and I have seen several movie representations, but this is the first time I have read the actual play. I think it could easily become my favourite by him simply for the elements that are used. I will talk about it in more detail soon. (Personal Copy)

I have heard about this book all over the blogosphere and then I was lucky enough to get a copy for Christmas from the guy. I had other books on the go, but I really just wanted something a bit different and on the shorter side to feel accomplished. I really enjoyed her approach to the written world and the women that make it up. It looked at not just the characters themselves by the women behind them. It makes me think I would like to reread the ones that I have read and read for the first time the ones that I have not. (Personal Copy)

I am getting a bit tired of young adult books, but I was curious about this book in 2011. I was very lucky to receive a copy from Cat at Beyond Books. She's so great! I wanted to read it since it arrived, but my reading was so bad I didn't want to ruin the experience. I ended up picking the book up to just glance at it and I was quickly caught up in the experience. I read book almost all in one-sitting, which really doesn't happen that often any more. I just really enjoyed that this was a book with a female character that has some self-confidence issues, but grows at the book progresses. And, she doesn't need men in order to do so. There is a bit of a love triangle, though. It isn't handled like some of the other books out there, so it isn't as bad as it could be. I am looking forward to the sequel. (Personal Copy)

I was listening to this on audio, but my mp3 player was borrowed. I was enjoying the audio experience, though, and when I switched from listening to it to actually reading it I had a hard time getting my head around it. It worked out in the end, though, and I wound up sitting down with the rest of the book and reading it in one sitting. I loved this book! It was so much fun and suited my tastes to a tee. I think when there was a whole chapter dedicated to the Canadian band Rush, though, I knew it was going to make my best of list for the year. There is so much to gush about this book and I look forward to reviewing it soon with Melissa from Book Nut. (Library Copy)

So, my library has the first two volumes in this series and then stopped buying them. I didn't really feel like I had to own them, so I hadn't decided what I was going to do yet. Then, the library bought volumes 3, 4, and 5. I think they missed volume 6 or I missed adding it to my holds. Anyway, I don't love this series like other people do. I enjoy it, but it doesn't blow my world or anything along those lines. If the library never bought the rest of the series I wouldn't have been devastated. Also, I am thinking I need to get all 6 books at the same time and read them one right after another because it took me a bit to remember what the heck was going on. (Library Copy)

Currently Reading:

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs, And Some Other Things by Various Authors

Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer

Naked by David Sedaris

Weekly Posts

Week in Review (2)

Foundation by Isaac Asimov (Foundation Trilogy, Book 1) - A Group Discussion Part 2

Review: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

What Are You Listening to Wednesday - Week 9

Tuning in on Thursday - Week 10 and Friday Reads 3rd Edition

New Additions

Borrowed:

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness by Bryan Lee O'Malley 

Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Mister Creecher by Chris Priestley

Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante

Library Loot

I am still not reading.... It's rather sad because look at what I have out from the library right now:

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt

The Death Catchers by Jennifer Anne Kogler

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Fateful by Claudia Gray

Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier

There are others, but this is my most recent loot. This is just the library loot. There is lots of other books I own and have kicking around that look interesting...

Library Haul - First Week of August, 2011

Since I didn't include my library loot on my Week in Review post this week, I thought I would just do a post about it. This computer is so slow it is driving me nuts, so this post is uncomplicated. The library bought me books, so I am excited! If my webcam was hooked up and thought there was a chance in heck it would work on this computer, you might have seen another vlog. I just didn't figure it would upload.

Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire - This author has a lot of positive buzz and the library bought the entire series. I happened to notice when I was searching for something else and quickly got my name in.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs - This is one of the books the library bought because I asked them to. I think it looks great and lots of people that I trust have enjoyed it.

Resistance: A Woman's Journal of Struggle and Defiance in Occupied France by Agnes Humbert - Sassymonkey told me to! (Anna and Ana, this sounds like something you two would like, too.)

Eon: Dragoeye Reborn by Alison Goodman - I have had this book out before...

Holding Still For As Long As Possible by Zoe Whittall - This author is on my list to read and this book sounds interesting. I also saw a review recently....

A Stir of Bones by Nina Kiriki Hoffman - I am thinking maybe Eva?

Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol - Another book that the library bought because I asked. It sounds really good, but with the exception of Fables I don't buy graphic novels.

Sweet Tooth: In Captivity by Jeff Lemire - Another book bought because I asked. I read the first book and now there are three, but the library stopped buying at book 1. I think I will have to ask them to buy book 3 next.

Inter-Library Loan Overload!

I don't know what happened, but 9 ILL's came in for me at the SAME TIME!

Needless to say, while I do read fast I am not sure I can read all that in the time that they give you. So, pick for me!

A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

Wise Children by Angela Carter

Dangerous Angels by Francesca Lia Block

Mirablilis by Susann Cokal

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

The Man in the Picture by Susan Hill

We Wish to Inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families by Philip Gourevitch

The Spiritualist by Megan Chance

That's just terrible. I am sad.

Library Pile - November, 2010

I have posted a list of what I have out from the library in a while, so I thought I would share:

Picturing Canada : a history of Canadian children's illustrated books and publishing by Edwards, Gail

The supergirls : fashion, feminism, fantasy, and the history of comic book heroines by Madrid, Mike

The child thief by Brom

Fish for dinner : tales of Newfoundland and Labrador by O'Neill, Paul

Is it just me? : or is it nuts out there? by Goldberg, Whoopi

The secret history of the pink carnation by Willig, Lauren

This cake is for the party : stories by Selecky, Sarah Lucille

Curiosity : a love story by Thomas, Joan

The imperfectionists : a novel by Rachman, Tom

I shall wear midnight by Pratchett, Terry

Finding Nouf by Ferraris, Zoë

The case of the missing marquess : an Enola Holmes mystery by Springer, Nancy

The sky is falling : a novel by Adderson, Caroline

By nightfall by Cunningham, Michael

Annabel by Winter, Kathleen

Cities of refuge by Helm, Michael

Mort by Pratchett, Terry

The Sea of Trolls by Farmer, Nancy

Letter to my daughter by Angelou, Maya

Ballad : a gathering of faerie by Stiefvater, Maggie

Keeping you a secret : a novel by Peters, Julie Anne

Scarlett fever by Johnson, Maureen

Any thoughts on them?

Library Haul - Near the end of June, 2010

I haven't done a library loot post in a while, but things had been a bit slow for a while there. In the last few weeks I brought back pretty much everything I had checked out and now I am slowly building the pile back up again. It is what happens when you read blogs and ask people for book recommendations!

The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O'Connor McNees - Book Recommendation

Iron Butterflies: Women Transforming Themselves and the World by Birute Regine - Read about on a blog, maybe?

Sima's Undergarments for Women by Ilana Stranger-Ross - Buddy Read

The Silver Door by Holly Lisle - Re-loot. Really liked book 1.

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan - New book by a great author.

The Dark Divine by Bree Despain - Blog review?

Bone - Volume 7 by Jeff Smith - Next book in the series.

A Woman of Independent Means by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey - Blog review

The Gift of Rain by Twan Eng Tan - Blog review

The Eye of Jade by Diane Wei Liang - Blog review

The Day I Became an Autodidact and the Advice, Adventures, and Acrimonies that Befell me Thereafter by Kendall Hailey - Blog review

Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh - Blog review

The Black Book of Secrets by F.E. Higgins - Blog review

Yummy: Eight Favourite Fairy Tales by Lucy Cousins - List of books that my library recommends

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien - Buddy read.

Library Loot - April 21, 2010

I cannot believe it has been six days since I updated my blog. I keep meaning to and then things happen and apparently I don't. I actually read and commented on blogs lately and the problem with that is my library pile is going back up in size. Do not read blogs and have the library website open at the same time. That is my advice to you! Especially when you are really far behind in blog-reading. You will get an overload of cool blogs to read.

The books I just recently took out from the library are:

Reading by Lightning by Joan Thomas
A Short Guide to a Happy Life by Anna Quindlen
Undercover by Beth Kephart
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
Calamity Jack by Shannon Hale
Bone - Volume 6 by Jeff Smith

Then, I have 7 books waiting for me that I will likely pick-up today:
Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson
Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett
Too Many Curses by A. Lee. Martinez
The Bone Magician by F.E. Higgins
The Musician's Daughter by Suzanne Dunlap
Sounding Line by Anne DeGrace
The Dead and the Gone by Susan Pfeffer

Hopefully I will get some reading done today, but at the moment I am reading the new John Green, which will not really help the library pile at all! What about you, what are you reading?

Library Loot - April 12, 2010

I haven't posted anything from the library in a while, but I thought I would share today's pick-ups. They actually stretch from last week, too, because the dates were different because of the holiday weekend. I am hoping to actually get some reading done this week. I have been keeping my number of library books out down to a low number because of the decrease in reading.

The Lost City of Z: a tale of deadly obsession in the Amazon by David Grann - Re-loot. I have heard nothing but good things about this book, so I really need to read it.

Flow: the Cultural History of Menstruation by Elissa Stein - I think I found this on the site for the new books at the library and thought it sounded interesting.

A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore - Re-loot. Just didn't get a chance to read it the first time around.

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher - Buddy read with Heather from Capricious Reader.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe - Book club read, if I can actually read it... I haven't read for that book club in like a year or maybe two.

Guilt About the Past by Bernhard Schlink - Collection of essays. Liked what I have read by Schlink before, so thought I would give this a try.

Library Loot - February 17, 2010

I thought I would share the list of the books I have out from the library... If my reading picks up, you might actually see reviews, too!

The Heart Specialist by Claire Rothman
The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley (re-loot)
The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters (I actually think I am going to return this. I don't know the sisters very well and I am having an information overload. Think I need to start with maybe a biography...)
Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia

I have more to pick-up at the library. I was going too today, but the weather sucked, so I am going to get them tomorrow instead.

Library Loot - January 19, 2010

I am not sure what is wrong with me so far this year. I have hardly read anything and I am hardly updating my blog and I am hardly visiting other blogs! And, that was a long sentence...

The Gates by John Connolly
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
My most excellent year by Steven Kluger
Literary Hoaxes: an eye-opening history of famous frauds by Melissa Katsoulis
White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi
Muse and Reverie by Charles deLint
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

I really want to read all of these books, but my reading sucks. It's sad following my best reading year in a long time...

Library Loot - January 13, 2010

Hi everyone! As a result of the holidays and little spare time I had a crazy library day yesterday! I picked up 16 things... I was only going to get some of them, but if I didn't get them yesterday they were not going to go away and the pile would just keep getting bigger! I am not sure how often I will do library loot, but since yesterday was a strange day I decided to at least share that largish pile.

Austenland: A Novel by Shannon Hale - I really like her young adult stuff, but have never read anything adult by her. I may hate it, but I just wanted to give her other stuff a try. She has a new young adult book out, but I will buy that at some point because I have the rest of the series.

The Factory Voice by Jeanette Lynes - Once in a while books show up for me at the library that I cannot remember why I requested them. This is one such book... It sounds really good, though, so there must have been a reason!

Miki Falls - Volume 3 - Autmumn by Mark Crilley - I read books 1 and 2 in this series in 2009. I was thinking I was going to have to buy books 3 and 4 because the library doesn't have them, but they bought this one the other day. Now, I hope they buy book 4!

The Miles Between by Mary E. Pearson - I loved The Adoration of Jenna Fox in 2009 and this is the authors new novel. I was supposed to buddy read it with Heather from A Capricious Reader, but my copy took longer to come in than planned. Still, looking forward to it!

Amulet - Volume 2 - The Stonekeeper's Curse by Kazu Kibuishi - I read the first volume near the end of 2009. This is the second volume. I have to admit that I hardly remember the first book, so it is not the best series ever by any means...

Fish for Dinner by Paul O'Neill - Stories from Newfoundland and Labrador. I saw this on the new releases page and thought it sounded interesting.

Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott - Up for Canada Reads this year. Up for a few other awards when it was released, too.

Ice Land by Betsy Tobin - Heard really good things about this and my library just bought it.

The Lost City of Z by David Grann - This book got a lot of positive reviews for the Non-fiction Five, so I thought I would give it a try. I have been waiting a while for it to come in.

The Tudors: The Complete First Season - A DVD set. Not something I normally request from the library, but I really want to watch this show.

Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Death and Dementia - This might have came to my attention through the Cybils. I can't remember.

What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell - Looking forward to this book. Hope I get around to it because it has to be back to the library soon.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King - I keep hearing good things about this series, so even though it is not my normal read I wanted to give it a try.

Pyongyang by Guy Delisle - Saw this on a list for the Graphic Novel Challenge and thought it looked interesting.

The Photographer by Emmanuel Guibert - I have seen good things about this book and my library finally bought a copy.

Amelia Earhart: the thrill of it by Susan Wels - Not sure where I heard about this, but I like reading about Amelia Earhart.

So, there you have it! Lots and lots of books. The sad thing is that I won't get to read them all and I really want to be able to read all of them!

Week in Review - January 10, 2010

Can you believe it is 10 days into 2010 all ready? It raises interesting questions. Are we really at the beginning of a new decade, or does the decade only really start on the next New Year's Eve. Major publications and news broadcasts are talking about the best of the decade, but are they jumping the boat a bit? The charming comedian has been debating this issue for days now. It doesn't seem to matter to him if the other person is on the television and incapable of arguing back. What do you think? Are we at the start of a new decade?

Last night was an adventure. I turned the washer on. It is in the basement, but there is only an outside entrance. The dryer was going to take about 50 minutes or so, so I waited for it to finish before going to check on things. I get to the door and I can hear water running... Water should NOT be running! Needless to say the washer went through all the cycles but water came pouring out for all of them. I turned the water off and came running upstairs to tell the guy that there was two inches of water on the floor and the stupid person that built the basement didn't put in any drains! I don't think he really heard me. It was almost funny when he joined me in the basement and saw the water everywhere. I was busy trying to coax the washer into draining and spinning so I could at least put the clothes in the dryer... Good thing for wet/dry vacuum cleaners!

Weekly Reads

So far 2010 is off to a slow reading start. I have only read:

The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye: Five Fairy Stories by A.S. Byatt (272 pgs)
Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere by Mike Carey & Glenn Fabry (graphic novel)
Dracula Adapted by Michael Mucci, Ben Caldwell, and BIll Halliar (graphic novel)
Black is for Beginnings by Laurie Faria Stolarz (graphic novel)


I have a few more books on the go that shouldn't take very long to finish, but they will count towards next weeks totals. Hopefully I can get back into a routine and getting some reading accomplished soon!

Library Loot

I thought I would share a list of some of the books I have out from the library at the moment.

Prelude by Madeleine L'Engle
Candle in the Darkness by Lynn Austin (Christy Reading Challenge)
Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody
The Cello Suites by Eric Siblin
Cheers! by Nicholas Pashley
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
The Passion by Donna Boyd
Day After Night by Anita Diamant
Avalon High by Meg Cabot
Princess in Pink by Meg Cabot
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Rum-Running by Allison Lawlor
Nikolski by Nicholas Dickner
Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt
Dracula by Michael Mucci
Detroit Metal City Volume 1 by Kiminori Wakasugi
Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor
Used and Rare by Lawrence Goldstone
Redwall: The Graphic Novel by Brian Jacques
By the Mountain Bound by Elizabeth Bear
Black if for Beginnings by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Week in Review and Sunday Book Coveting

Random Thoughts

I was a bit slack with my blog posting this week! I missed yesterday because of writing emails for the Holiday Swap. I got a late start because of some technological issues, but then I wanted to finish because there are so many things I want to accomplish this week! Actually, there is so much I want to talk about in this post that I think I will do it in more sections than normal!

Virtual Advent Calendar

One of the most important things about today is that sign-ups have started for the 4th Annual Advent Calendar! It is hard to believe it has been four years. My blogiversary is coming up and I will have been blogging for four years at that time. Crazy how fast time goes! Anyway, it is hosted by Marg and myself again this year and I hope that lots of people will join up! The calendar officially starts on December 1. To sign-up just head over to the blog. I look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with this year!

November Reading Challenge

How is everyone making out with my unofficial reading challenge? I finished one book this week: Tatiana & Alexander by Paullina Simons. I even reviewed it! Nymeth read a book for it, too, and you can read her review by heading over to her blog. Anyone else? It is not too late to do so. The goal is to simply read a book that is related to World War I, World War II, etc in honour of Remembrance Day (or whatever it is called where you live!). Hope to see a few more reviews before the month is over with.

Dewey Reading Challenge

It was planned back at the beginning that I would do the mini-challenge in December for the Dewey Reading Challenge. I still plan to do so! There will be an official post about it on either Wednesday or Thursday. Basically, though, the point of the challenge is to do things you would likely do anyway. Dewey was all about the blogging community, and even her own community, so all you have to do is do something for either the blogging community or your own community and post about it. Easy, right? When I announce it formal I will set-up a Mr. Linky. I hope people will join in!

Other Reading Challenges/Events

I also just wanted to take a moment to mention Historical Tapestry. Believe it or not, I do still blog there! We have launched a new feature this week called The Alphabet in Historical Fiction. The details are as follows:

Each fortnight you have to write a blog post about an historical fiction book of your choice (it might even be something you already read before), but it MUST be related to the letter of the week.

You have several possibilities:

- the first letter of the title
- the first letter of the author's first name or surname
- the first letter of a character's first name or surname
- the first letter of a place where an historical event took place

You just have to choose one of them and participate.

The fact that you can reuse old posts is a very big draw for me. I might actually manage to participate! This week is brought to you by the letter 'A'. Sorry, I couldn't resist! Tell me you know where I get that from... At least, it is sort of quoted correctly. I haven't watched Sesame Street in a number of years...

I also wanted to do some advertising for Marg and her reading challenge. She has decided to do a Terry Pratchett one. I have been working on Terry Pratchett this year. I read Nation, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, and The Tiffany Aching trilogy. That means that it will be soon time to read the actual Discworld series. Since I plan to be reading it anyways it makes sense to make it a challenge! I actually have three Pratchett books on hold for me at the library, so I will just hold on to them until December 1 when the challenge starts. Head over to Marg's blog for all the details.

hm, I am starting to think I should have made this two posts!

Weekly Reads

At time of posting I managed to finish 8 books!

Wintersmith (Tiffany Aching Trilogy, Book 3) by Terry Pratchett - Speaking of Terry Pratchett, I finished the third book in this trilogy just this week! It was a fun book. I really enjoy Tiffany. I am also very happy to finish a trilogy! (This usually means I start another one... The sad thing is I did all ready. You will soon see!)

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession by Allison Hoover Bartlett - I read this book because it was blogged about a lot for a bit and I thought it looked interesting. It is about a man that is obsessed with stealing books and the people that book stealing concerns. Nothing ground-breaking, but it was a good read.

Let it Snow: Three Holiday Romances by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle - I read this because John Green has a story in it, of course! Although, I really like Maureen Johnson so far, too. I have never read Lauren Myracle before. I am going to be buddy reviewing this with Amy from My Friend Amy, so stay tuned!

Bone - Volume 2: The Great Cow Race by Jeff Smith - The second book in the Bone series. I am really enjoying this series so far! It is about time I got around to reading it. It's a lot of fun! I look forward to book 3 when it comes in for me at the library.

Tatiana & Alexander (Bronze Horseman Trilogy, Book 2) by Paullina Simons - I read this for my unofficial reading challenge. I have even reviewed it all ready! Go me!

Project Princess (Princess Diaries, Book IV and a half) by Meg Cabot - As I said last week, finishing up this series is a priority for me. I have too many series on the go! Mia kind of annoys me, that's why I stalled in this series, but they are still fun books... I have the next book on hold for me at the library.

Avalon High Coronation -Volume 1: The Merlin Prophecy by Meg Cabot - See? I finished one trilogy and started a series! It has Arthurian connections, though. I was looking for the book above and found this one and decided to give it a go. It is manga. Apparently there is a novel that is technically book one, so I have that and the next manga on hold for me at the library. I like Arthurian re-tellings...

The Father Christmas Letters by J.R.R. Tolkien - I love Tolkien, but yet I don't read him. I was looking for Christmas-related books and this one popped into my head. I had a total fangirl moment because one of the letters in the book mentions Nova Scotia! I live in Nova Scotia. I mean, Tolkien actually knew that Nova Scotia existed! That made me unnecessarily excited, but I feel the need to share. I even got the cc to read that letter! (The cc doesn't like Tolkien! Mind you, he has only tried to read The Hobbit, so I don't think he has given him a fair chance.)

Currently Reading:
Peter & Max by Bill Willingham
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt
The Dragon Book: Modern Tales from the Masters of Modern Fantasy edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois

Weekly Posts

Music Munday: Review - To the Limit: The Untold Story of the Eagles by Marc Eliot

A Bookish Day
Remembrance Day 2009
Review: Tatiana & Alexander by Paullina Simons

Library Loot

The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices by Xinran (Women Unbound Challenge)
Letters from Burma (Women Unbound Challenge)
When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmerelda Santiago (Women Unbound Challenge)
Blue Noon by Scott Westerfeld (Carry on with series)
Prelude by Madeleine L'Engle (Finish off a trilogy)
Avalon High Coronation -Volume 1: The Merlin Prophecy by Meg Cabot (Read)
Project Princess (Princess Diaries, Book IV and a half) by Meg Cabot (Read)
Curse of the Blue Tattoo by L.A. Meyer (Carry on with Series)
Death Ship of Halifax Harbour by Steven Laffoley (Canadian)
The Father Christmas Letters by J.R.R. Tolkien

Since this is all ready a really long post, I am going to skip Sunday Book Coveting for this week! Okay, I think I am going to go read or something because I just stared at the computer for a really long time writing this post!

Week in Review and Sunday Book Coveting

Random Thoughts

To start things off, it is almost time for the read-a-thon! Since my next post of this nature will be afterwards, I just wanted to wish everyone participating good luck. I have seen the piles and all of the plans. I think it is going to be a lot of fun! I'll be around, I am sure, but I am not going to actively participate. Maybe in the spring I will read, but otherwise I have always been a lurker for the read-a-thon. Or, a cheerleader. When the read-a-thon first happened Dewey actually had a hard time finding cheerleaders compared to readers, so it is good to see that isn't the case anymore! Anyway, happy reading!

On another note, three years ago I hosted a very informal reading challenge on my blog. This was back when reading challenges were not nearly as popular as they are now! I have been thinking the last few weeks about doing it again and then Sassymonkey brought it up in an email that she sent me. It only lasts the month of November and the goal is to read fiction or non-fiction dealing with one of the major wars. There is no book limit, or really any rules. It is just because it is Remembrance Day in Canada, Veteran's Day in the U.S., etc. I look at it as a way to support those that gave their lives for our countries. I hope people will informally join in! (And if you are thinking about it, let me know!)

Weekly Reads

This week was a bit of a slow one in some ways. I read good books, but I felt like it took me forever to accomplish it.

I am so glad that I read this book. It was the perfect vampire and paranormal novel for Halloween. It was creepy, that's for sure. I look forward to more books in the trilogy as they are released. There were a few graphic scenes, but otherwise it was a good read.

I read American Born Chinese earlier this year, so when I saw that the library had another book by the author I decided to give it a try. It turned out to not be as good as his first book, but I still liked it.

I really, really liked this book! I read Garden Spells earlier this year. Still haven't reviewed it, but I really liked that one, too. I think I might review both books together. I honestly didn't think the books were for me, but the magic realism made the book something I had to continue with. This one had a woman that books appeared to. The minute I read that I knew I was going to be spending some time with the book!

I mentioned on Twitter one day that the library had all the books in this series but this one and how annoying that was. I ended up getting two offers o f copies! It arrived in the mail yesterday from Harper Collins in the U.S. I think I will probably see how far I get in this series I get by the end of the year and then talk about the progress. This is book 3 and I have book 4 on hold at the library! I wouldn't say this is the best series ever, but I do enjoy it!

I feel like I have had this book out from the library forever, but I finally read it! Very proud of myself. I really liked it, too, so that was a plus. Disappointed that the library is going to make it complicated to read the rest of the series, but I will survive!

I really like non-fiction books about animals. I have wanted to read this book for a while and was happy to see it sitting on a display at the library the other day. It was good, but there were a few dull parts that I didn't really care about and I skipped most of a chapter because I was a bit bored, but still glad I read it!




As for what I am reading right now: I am very disorganized and have a small pile of books on the go. Very rare for me nowadays! We will see what winds up getting read this week...

Weekly Posts

Six Sentence Saturday
Review: Rampant by Diane Peterfreund
Review: Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb
Review: The Love we Share Without Knowing by Christopher Barzak
Review: Wonderland by Tommy Kovac
Guest Post: Music Munday: Josh Groban

Library Loot

The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Dewey: The small-town library cat who touched the world by Vicki Myron
IWK: A Century of Caring for Families by Stephen Kimber
Prairie Tale: A Memoir by Melissa Gilbert
Tigerheart by Peter David
The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan
Canuck Rock: a history of Canadian popular music by Ryan Edwardson
The awakening by Kelley Armstrong

Sunday Book Coveting

I have started making Sunday Book Coveting books that I really want to read. In most cases I own them... I covet my own books because there are not enough hours in the day. It is as simple as that!

What books do you really want to read? I have way more that I could post about, but that's nothing new. That's sort of the point of a TBR pile, right?

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!