Sunday, October 04, 2009

Week in Review and Sunday Book Coveting

Random Thoughts

I really like posts that summarize the week for bloggers. I think I am going to start doing something similar! I am not that great at being organized, though, so we will see how this goes!

Today is the day after my birthday, so I suppose I should share my loot. I received money and with said money I bought seasons 1 and 2 of Mad Men and season 1 of True Blood. I watch this stuff during the winter because it snows all the time and I don't really want to battle the snow. I get tired of reading, though, so I watch TV on DVD for some variety. This is a very big splurge for me, but I figured I should buy them while I have the money because I might not later. I also got a gift certificate for the bookstore that I am agonizing over. I will keep you posted on what I end up buying! I also got a bottle of Bailey's. This is a tradition because I really like it but won't buy it myself! Now, if I could only find a chance to drink it...

Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes!

Weekly Reads

Moving on... I thought I would outline what I have read this week. I might say a few things about each book, too, because I am never going to review everything that I have read this year. I am just too far behind at this point!


This book I will be reviewing because it was a review copy. I loved this book, though! It made my best of list for the month and stands a good chance of making the end of year one, too. Historical fiction set in Niagara Falls, Canada during the early part of the 20th century. I have actually been there and know the history, so it was fun to know what the author was talking about! More details to follow hopefully next week!






I will be reviewing this book with Ana (Nymeth), but I just wanted to say that I love the artwork in this book. I wish I enjoyed the story more... I might buy it just so I can look at the pictures! Look for a review either this week or next.









This book is not my normal read at all! I took a chance on it, though, and will be reviewing it with Eva on Tuesday. Be sure to check in and see our thoughts!










Amanda thinks this is like the best book ever! She was so enthusiastic that I had to read it. I am so glad that I did. Such a great book! I think the only reason I didn't love it as much as her is because I am stubborn and this is out of my normal range... Or, something. It is hard for me to word what I am saying. Let's just say that I really like this and recommend it!









This is a review book, too, so there should be a review! Fun book!











This was my second audio read of the year! It is also my first completed book for October. I have seen the movie, but still was curious about the book. I spent it comparing and contrasting. It's such a heart-breaking story!










I read this book because of the title! It's about Newfoundland, but I could see Nova Scotia in it as well. It was really interesting! I seem to be on a Canadian kick lately. I hope it continues!









Currently, I am about 25 pages away from finishing War Brides: The Stories of the women who left everything behind to follow the men they loved by Melynda Jarratt. I love stuff like this and it is for the most part in the women's own words. I should mention it is about Canadian War Brides. I am surprised the title doesn't.

Review: The Outlander by Gil Adamson
Guest Post: Music Munday - Five Soothing Songs for the Recently Unemployed
Sunday Book Coveting: What to Buy!

Library Loot


I knew this was going to happen. I had like no books to check out from the library in weeks and now they are all catching up with each other! This is what I got from the library yesterday:

Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset
Her Royal Spyness by Rhy Bowen
Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky
As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl by John Colapinto
Look Me in the Eye: My Life With Asperger's by John Elder Robinson
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas

I should point out that Eva listed all these great Canadian books that she wanted to read. I own a lot of Canadian books, but for some reason her list inspired me to request a bunch from the library. I think the influx was just what I needed and that maybe now I can tackle some of the ones I own and haven't read yet. We shall see!

Sunday Book Coveting
Dear Me,

The best thing you can do is pretend that there are no books that you want! Yes, you could probably talk about 10 or 15 books without batting an eye, but that just leads to temptation! The important thing is to read some library books and review books. There are so many books that you want to read, and I know it is very overwhelming at times, so just don't think about it. Even listing all the books that you really really want to read is probably a bit too hard on the head, so for this week people will just have to deal with this annoying letter! This happens every fall and you generally read less because you get overloaded, so for this year we are going to try and not think about it! Now, go finish the book you should be done by now and then tackle the next one. What that book will be is anyones guess at this point!

Sincerely,

Me

Okay, this is like my most organized post EVER! It took me forever to do it, but I really like it... Now that I know what I want to include, too, I can be quicker! Any thoughts?

27 comments:

  1. Great post! And I'm late telling you Happy Birthday, but I hope it was beyond wonderful. :D

    You're the second person I've seen make the same comment about Wonderland. Heather at A High and Hidden Place was more thrilled with the illustrations, too, I think. It looks delightful.

    Enjoy your new purchases!

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  2. I just started watching Mad Men this Fall, and as we speak, my husband is returning home with the first season's on CD because I love that show! I think it's a good idea to summarize the week; it's interesting for us readers, and probably will help you (or whoever is writing the post: me!) organized. The weeks seem to fly by, and I like marking them somehow. A belated Happy Birthday to you, and congratulations on all your book purchases. I want the new Kate DeCamillo, too!

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  3. Happy Day-after Birthday! I meant to say something yesterday but this bug has me foggy-headed at times.

    I enjoyed your post and like the idea. I hope you do it again and I hope you have a tremendous week! Oh, and have a Bailey's for me, would ya? Maybe it'll chase this bug away!

    cjh

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  4. Happy belated birthday, Kelly! I hope you enjoy Mad Men and True Blood! Hubby and I tend to watch the television DVDs during the summer months when we don't follow any regular shows.

    I am glad to hear you loved The Day The Falls Stood Still. I look forward to reading your full review. It's on my wish list. :-)

    The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is one I hope to get to before the year is out. When I do get to it, I imagine I'll do something similar as you have planned--a compare and contrast with the movie (which I've yet to see, but will after I read the book).

    I have no suggestions to offer in regards to your week in review. You've done an excellent job, Kelly.

    Have a great week!

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  5. I'm glad you enjoyed Between Mom and Jo, even if it wasn't the best book ever. :D

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  6. I really like your Week in Review. I just started doing Sunday Salon, which I think is similar.

    I love that cover of Wonderland. It's made it's way onto my wishlist :)

    Happy birhday wishes :)

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  7. Wonderful post, Kailana, and wonderfully organized. I hope you enjoyed a wonderful day on your birthday. I haven't heard of either of the shows you mentioned, but will watch for them now. I like getting recommendations for tv shows.

    It makes my head spin that you read 6 books in a week. I could surely use your speed reading prowess to put a dent in my shelves of unread books.

    I had no interest in reading The Dy the Falls Stood Still until I read your comments. I watched the movie of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and was totally overcome. It is a heart-breaking story.

    I've read a few books set in Newfoundland, so you peaked my interest with The Lambics. Some of the best memories of my life were of our trip to the maritime provinces. I want to return and books can help me do that.

    I like your letter to yourself. I try to remind myself not to become overwhelmed on a daily basis. Good advise. Have a good week as the year-older you.

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  8. Fun post! As a belated birthday present, I gave you an award! :-D

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  9. I've had my eye on Her Royal Spyness for some time- it sounds like such a fun series! I hope you decide to review it, and if you don't- at least send me an e-mail detailing your thoughts!

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  10. I'm totally in love with this post!! I want to steal it :) In fact, I may steal the template for it and make it my new Sunday Salon post (with credit given to you of course for the template of the post)

    Great reads there!! I'm really looking forward to Between Mom and Jo. It looks like a great book!! Wonderland looks really cool just for the artwork! I have a feeling that I'm going to be adding that one to the wishlist after I read y'alls reviews. And you got Look Me In the Eye!! I'm excited about that even though I haven't read it yet :) I do have it on my TBR though!

    Also excited to see that you got the first season of True Blood! You need to watch that one now! It's so good. Seriously addicting. I can't wait for season 2 to come out on DVD.

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  11. I thought this was a fun post!! You had a lot to say and I enjoyed reading it. I'm in the middle of Magician's Elephant...loving it so far!!

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  12. I loved this post! I'm not organized, either. But, as you say, now you have the format to run with in the future. Like Chris, I wouldn't mind snatching the idea. I'm unlikely to do so, though. I can barely keep track of the days of the week.

    On your comment about Girl Meets God being not your thing at all -- isn't that fun, though? I love throwing something that's "not my thing" into the mix, now and then.

    I passed up the opportunity to review The Day the Falls Stood Still because of the sheer quantity of review books backed up in my household. Might have been a mistake, but I'll eventually get to it, I'm sure. I love the history of Niagara Falls; we've visited twice when we lived in Michigan and it wasn't so far away.

    I'm coveting The Magician's Elephant. I need to write myself a note about that coveting, too. Yours made me smile, so thanks for that. :)

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  13. Can't wait for your post on The Day the Falls Stood Still - I really want to read it, and would like to know more about what you thought about it! :)

    Also - what is the Iambics of Newfoundland about??

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  14. I like what you're doing here, Kelly! I am so looking forward to your joint-reviews. Keep 'em comin'!

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  15. Great post! I look forward to your reviews on these books soon! ;)

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  16. Very organized! I've never been good at organization either, but you've done quite well. I'll look forward to hearing what you think of The Day the Falls Stood Still. I've heard such great things and that cover is so catching!

    Have a great week (and loved your letter to you...perfect).

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  17. Season 1 of True Blood was great! Hope you enjoy it! Looks like a great week!

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  18. Looks like a great summary post to me! I often get a whole flood of requested library books at the same time, too. My new libraries are strict with the hold policy, so it probably won't happen much these days!

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  19. Looking forward to your DAY THE FALLS STOOD STILL review. I have that one in my pile.

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  20. This was definitely a nice, organized post. I definitely want to read The Magician's Elephant and maybe get some of my kids to read it too.

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  21. My thoughts? Kelly, I loved this post!!! Seriously loved it! I'd love to do something like that each week, too...ha! but I'd have nothing to say!
    (Well, I could list a lot of books I'm coveting.) Can't wait for your review of The Day the Falls Stood Still...that sounds really good!

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  22. So much bookish goodness in this post!

    A few things, off the top of my head:

    I've seen that Day the Falls Stood Still book in Atlanta bookstores (imagine, a Canadian book on display in a Southern bookstore! I almost fell over.) Glad to hear you enjoyed it!

    I have had Iambics of Newfoundland on my wishlist for awhile, but before I get that one I have to read Theatre of Fish, which is a similar type book.

    And finally, I see Moloka'i in there - I hope you like it!

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  23. lol, your letter to yourself cracked me up :D We all need to learn to take it one book at a time :P

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  24. I was just pondering a bottle of Bailey's yesterday! I saw a mint chocolate one that seemed would be excellent in hot chocolate this winter.

    I like the organized post, I'd do something similar myself but I don't read nearly this much!

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  25. Andi: Thank you! Yes, the story needs some work, but the art was great!

    Bellezza: I sort of started watching it. I made it through most of the first episode, but then the phone rang and then I started watching Glee and haven't tried again! I am glad you enjoyed the post!

    CJ: Thank you! Yay for Bailey's. :) I am hoping to do this post every Sunday, but we will see how that works out.

    Wendy: I don't really follow any shows any time of the year, so TV on DVD works for me! Thanks!

    Amanda: I will review it, just not sure when...

    Bella: The art in Wonderland is great! Thanks!

    Booklogged: Thanks! Both shows are interesting judging by the first episode... That's as far as I have gotten so far! I hope you enjoy the books that you discovered today!

    Aarti: I will! I plan to review everything, but that doesn't always work out...

    Chris: Thanks Chris! I got Look Me in the Eye because of that big list of books on your TBR pile that you gave me one night on Twitter!

    Staci: Thanks!

    Nancy: I enjoy reading something that isn't normal for me once in a while, too. It's fun! You have to read The Day the Falls Stood still It is such a good book!

    Court: The Iambics is about life in Newfoundland... I will try to review it soon because it seems to have captured some attention!

    Alice: Thanks!

    Melody: Thanks!

    Trish: Yeah, I am not organized in very many things. Just my bookshelves as I tell people and they are not even very organized at the moment!

    Jenn: I hope I enjoy True Blood!

    Meghan: Thanks! It overwhelms me sometimes, so I returned 16 books unread the other day to get the pile down. I can always get them again when I want to read them more!

    Lenore: I hope you enjoy it!

    Kristen: The Magician's Elephant was cute!

    Debi: Thanks Debi!

    Lesley: Did I get Moloka'i from you? It sounds possible... I will have to look at Theatre of Fish. :)

    Ana: lol, thanks!

    Lisa: Bailey's is the best. I normally buy the caramel kind a couple times a year. This time it was the regular kind, but it was still good!

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  26. Anonymous1:50 PM

    Oooh, nice post layout! (No suggestions on it, by the by, but if you continue to use it, you might end up changing it around a little as you grow more comfortable with it.)

    Again, happy birthday! (Although it's belated now.) Those purchases/gifts sound lovely and I hope you'll enjoy them! ^-^

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  27. libritouches: Thanks. Once I get going I will probably change stuff, but I like it the way it is for the moment. :)

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