The Sunday Salon: It's Raining!!!

We live in a desert. Even though the mountains are a five minute drive away, the desert aspects of this area seem especially dominant at times. And this summer, they were dominant and we've hardly seen any rain. But today, it's been raining and I love it! It has cooled off and smells sweet and fresh and clean. There's a breeze and we have all the windows open to let it in.

As I've been enjoying the breeze and the smell and the sounds of rain, I've been curled up on the couch alternating between reading and napping all afternoon! Today I'm working on a the very enchanting YA fantasy Magyk by Angie Sage. This one has been on my TBR for years and therefore was one of my choices for my TBR Challenge list.

I picked this one last Tuesday when I was begging for help on my next book choice because I thought it would be easy and I could get it done quickly. But, even though it is easy, I've still been having trouble getting it done quickly because it's been a crazy week.

Why has it been a crazy week? Because I got a job! After being a SAHM mom for the last 19 years almost to the day, I up and got a job! It's just a small, part-time job... with perfect hours for me, working a couple of mornings a week, so I can keep up on all the Mom duties. But still, it's a job.

And where will I be working you might wonder. Well, only the most ideal place ever to be working....The Library! Let me just say it again... The. Library. Yeah! I'm so excited. I'll be working in the administrative offices helping with whatever they need me to do.

So, I started that this last week with a bang, working several hours helping with the huge storytelling festival here in which the library is heavily involved. That was fun. But, not much reading happened. It will be interesting to see if my reading, blogging, and other extra curricular pursuits are affected at all by this job. Or, maybe nothing will be affected, and all my normally wasted hours doing nothing will simply now be used up instead! But no matter what, I look forward to the adjustment.

What the family is reading:

The Mr: who knows

Bud: He just started Cannery Row by John Steinbeck for a school class.

JJ: Totally enjoying The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas.

Moder: Finished The City of Ember by Jeanne DePrau today and ran to find the next one.

Toto: Working on Love That Dog by Sharon Creech.

FieldReport: A Fun Writing Contest Site

Calling all writers and writer wannabes! Come check out this fun writing site that I just learned about. It's called FieldReport and it's a place where you can send in your real life stories to compete for a pretty cool money prize. In order to submit stories, you will need to join the site and become a reviewer first and rate the stories submitted by others. It's a pretty neat system they have going on. It may be fun to join just to review others' stories.... you don't really need to have the goal of being a writer I'm thinking.

Anyway, if this sounds interesting to you, click here for more details on how it all works. I'm feeling tempted, though right now my head is spinning with all the joining I've been doing, so I may have to ponder the idea a little bit first.

Nominations for Book Blogger Appreciation Week Going On Now

Don't forget... nominations are going on now for Book Blogger Appreciation Week! Click HERE for all the details and a list of the categories. Lots of fun ones!

There's only a couple of days left to get your nominations in, so hop to it! :)

One Year Ago...

... I was here!




And here!





Oh, to turn back the clock and live it all over again! Can't wait for next time!

Booking Through Thursday: Stories

Booking Through Thursday

If you’re anything like me, one of your favorite reasons to read is for the story. Not for the character development and interaction. Not because of the descriptive, emotive powers of the writer. Not because of deep, literary meaning hidden beneath layers of metaphor. (Even though those are all good things.) No … it’s because you want to know what happens next?
Or, um, is it just me?

Umm.... no it's not just you! Of course I'm anxious to know what happens next! And usually I don't know because I am extremely lousy at predicting.

However, I am finding that my most favorite books ARE more about the characters and relationships than anything else. So I know I'll like a book if the characters are great, even if the story isn't.

Weekly Geeks #14: Pictures

The assignment for Weekly Geeks #14 is to post bookish pictures. It seems like I did this already not too long ago. There I posted my libraries, reading spots and crazy bookshelves and stacks.

So I've got to think of another take on the theme this go around. I tried to do a montage of my TBR as listed on Goodreads, I couldn't make it work.

So now how about my home dream library? Here's a few pictures of ones I really liked, found through Google Images:

I like the cozy feel. Some of the pictures I found are big spacious rooms, which is cool. But I like cozy better.

R.I.P. III Challenge: Count Me In.... sort of

Wow! Is everyone that has book blog joining Carl's RIP challenge or what? Well, one thing's for sure, I don't want to be left out! But since I am worried about biting off more than I can chew, as they say, I'm opting for the Peril The Third option... otherwise known as the cop out option, or as Carl so nicely puts it "I just want to play along" option!

So the ONE book that I'm going to FOR SURE read by Halloween is Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier. But, if I find that I can squeeze more in, I'll go for it, because all the books on everyone's list look so wonderful.

Click here for more details on this extremely popular challenge, just in case you haven't already joined up that is!

Tuesday Questions: Where Are You and a Teaser

I've decided it's not a good thing to be between books when Tuesday, and all it's fun booky bloggy questions roll around. I can't answer Raidergirl's "It's Tuesday: Where Are You" Question, and I don't have a a current book for Should Be Reading's "Teaser Tuesdays."

I tried to get into a new book yesterday, but I guess I just wasn't in the mood for Balzac! Maybe next week?

So I've picked two books that I'm pretty sure I AM in the mood for. But I still can't decide. So today, I'm asking you guys to pick for me. To help you, I'll use these two books to answer the two Tuesday meme's that I normally participate in.

IT'S TUESDAY: WHERE ARE YOU?

If I read Magyk by Angie Sage I'll be headed to what looks like an amazing fantasy world complete with a Forest, a Swamp, an Island, a Wizard Tower and a Castle.

If I read A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, I'm quite sure I need to be ready for a good long hike on the Appalachian Trail!

TEASER TUESDAYS

From Magyk page 37: " She was about to lean against it and give it a shove when the door took a fright at the sight of her and flew open."

From A Walk in the Woods page 65: "Perhaps it was the lingering influence of the book, perhaps simply the time of day, or maybe nothing more than the unaccustomedness of being in a town, but Hiawassee did feel palpably weird and unsettling-- the kind of place where it wouldn't altogether surprise you to find your gasoline being pumped by a cyclops."

So... which one should I go for? Not easy, is it!

Review: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

Book: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

Genre: Historical Fiction, Pulitzer Prize Winner

Rating: A

Challenges: Awards II, TBR, Pulitzer

I really feel a sense of accomplishment having finally finished this book. First, because it's been sitting there waiting it's turn for so long. Second, because I've put it on so many challenge lists (mostly because it's been waiting it's turn for so long!) Third, because I tried to start it many times and it just didn't take and fourth, because once I finally committed to it, it seemed to take forever to get done!

Now, that all sounds as if it was a hard, boring, too long, excruciating book to read. But it wasn't! Well, it was long. But it was very interesting and engaging and clever and different. I really enjoyed it.

I was surprised that this is basically an historical fiction book. We learn about the history of comic books and escape acts. We learn about the history of the Empire State Building. We get a different perspective on WWII events, including a stint at the South Pole during the war. We get a wonderful glimpse of New York City during this fascinating time of history. Basically, I forgot while reading that this was a novel. Everything seemed so real.

Then there's the characters. I loved Kavalier the best. He escaped his home in Prague just before things became unbearable there with the Jewish persecution. He came to live with his cousin in New York and they became a partnership in a comic book business. Meanwhile, he's trying to get his family over to NY also. His cousin, Clay, also has his own struggles to deal with, one that made me a little uncomfortable to read about. Then there's the girl, Rosa, who plays a big part in both of their lives.

So, even though it took me awhile to read, I truly enjoyed it and look forward to picking up some others by this author.

The Sunday Salon: Reading, Amazon, Church and Napping

It's been a weird week. The kids went back to school. I went to Education Week (self improvement classes at the university here,) we lost our bird and the next day we found our bird. And many other non-routine things.

And through it all, I continued to work on The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.... finally finishing it on Friday evening, I think it was. Sheesh... that book took me nearly two weeks to read. It's not that I wasn't enjoying it. I was. But it was just plain slow-going. I'd read and read and read and it would seem that bookmark wasn't moving very far along at all.

But I did finish it! YES! A book I've been meaning to read for years and years! Look for a little review very very soon.

So today what did I read? My favorite part of Sunday reading is waking up and reading for an hour or sometimes two, in the morning, before the rush of getting read for church begins. (Currently, church doesn't start until the afternoon.) So, I started reading House and Home by Kathleen McCleary. She's stopping here on her blog tour in a couple of weeks, so I needed to get get going on it. It's been a very enjoyable, easy read so far, perfect for a lazy Sunday morning.

Once the day begin, I was informed by the official Nerdfighter in our house that today we had to order Paper Towns by John Green from Amazon. (That's because today is John's birthday and for a secret project, his brother Hank is asking all the Nerdfighters to order his book so as to rise him to best selling status this very today on his birthday for a wonderful cool birthday present. See... I told you we are addicted to the Vlogbrothers and Nerdfighterdom. If all this jibberish makes no sense to you... disregard... it mattereth not!)

So... then... in order to get free super saving shipping, I had to figure out what else to order of course. That ended up being Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale. FUN! But neither one will come until the end of October when Paper Towns is actually released.

Then we went to church. Then we made an absolute mess of the kitchen making dinner. Then we cleaned up the mess. Then I had a nap that was absolute heaven. Then I read some more House and Home. The bookmark is flying through that one!

Which brings us up to this very moment of blogging about my Sunday reading. I hope you're all having a similar lovely Sunday of reading, napping and family.

(Click here to learn more about The Sunday Salon.)

Six Short Quirks

I just recently did a Six Quirks Meme, but since Serena tagged me, I'll play along again. However, this time, I'm taking her lead in just writing short and to the point little quirks!

1. Sometimes I like to have "bread 'n milk." This when you break bread in pieces into a cup of milk, then eat it. It's something my mom used to always do. It's especially good with homemade bread crusts.

2. When I'm writing, my pen is as often in my mouth as in my hand.

3. I'd rather do dishes in the morning, than in the evening.

4. I am a firm believer in the 10 second rule when it comes to dropping something on the floor.

5. I HATE being up in front of people.

6. I can't drink water through a straw. I mean, I CAN, but I don't like it. Ew.

You're tagged if you feel in the mood to share some of your quirks! Go for it!

Booking Through Thursday: Libraries

Booking Through Thursday

Inspired by Booksplease

Whether you usually read off of your own book pile or from the library shelves NOW, chances are you started off with trips to the library. (There’s no way my parents could otherwise have kept up with my book habit when I was 10.) So … What is your earliest memory of a library? Who took you? Do you have you any funny/odd memories of the library?

First let me just say that I definitely STILL read off the library shelves NOW. :)

Some library memories:

• I remember when they used to have camera, or some sort of copy machine thing, actually IN the counter top at the library. The counter top was glass and they would hold the book open to either the title page, or the back of the book with all it's info there or something, and push a button with their foot... then there'd be a big flash! They were taking a picture, or a copy, of the book to check it out to people. Anyone else remember this?
• Both my mom and dad took me to the library. I can't remember how old I was when we first started going a lot. I don't remember ever going to story time, which is something I did a lot with my own kids when they were young.
• I remember learning the card catalogue system. Then shortly after, learning how to work the new fangled computer system. It was a touch screen and full of finger prints.
• I remember once my dad just randomly pulled a book down and said, "This looks good. Read it." I LOVED that book (The Enchanted Cup) and was so impressed that he could do that. Randomly find such a good book.
• I remember just browsing the shelves and hoping for a good book to jump out at me. I haven't done that for so long!
• When I would go spend summers with my grandma who lives on a farm way out in the country, we would go check out books from the Bookmobile. Now that was the coolest thing ever! I loved that!
• I remember checking out record albums with my dad.

I guess I have nothing funny or odd. I should ask my mom. I bet she could come up with something!

Viral Video Wednesday: OUCH!!

Here's another video I've enjoyed and find funny. Also one I figure fits the definition of "viral video" since I've seen it around everywhere lately. Also, don't forget to check out The Kool Aid Mom's blog for TONS more viral videos for the week... all about dancing.

But this one is not about dancing... just a couple of funny kids.. and one you've all probably seen a gazillion times already, but here it is, just in case.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week

I've jumped on the Book Blogger Appreciation Week band wagon. Go check out the details and decide if YOU don't think it looks fun also!

Teaser Tuesday: Stumbling Over the Dead

And now for this week's Teaser Tuesday.

Rule reminder:

Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Please avoid spoilers!

Okay, so since my "main" book is the very same as last week, (I know, it's taking me forever!) I'm taking my teaser this week from my ongoing book, "War and Peace."

From page 958:

"Pierre too bent his head and let his hands fall. Without futher thought as to who had taken whom prisoner, the Frenchman ran back to the battery and Pierre ran down the slope, stumbling over the dead and wounded, who, it seemed to him, were catching at his feet."

Twenty One Years Ago!

Sheesh, time flies!

The Sunday Salon: I've Got Nothing

Well, I have not much to report this lovely Sunday. Still working on Kavalier and Clay. I've been enjoying it all week, but for some reason, it's slow going. I read a bit more on it this morning, but since then, haven't had much of a chance. We got side-tracked just now with a movie we rented and intended to watch last night, but the the teenagers booted us out, so we watched it this afternoon instead. It was 21... you know... that movie about the kid from MIT who got mixed up in a group that went to Vegas on weekends and made big bucks counting cards. Interesting stuff really.

The list of family books being read hasn't changed much either. Many of the ones on last week's list have been finished, but no new ones have been picked up. School starts tomorrow, so we'll see how the family reading changes now anyway.

So, NOW I plan on going off to read for a bit. We'll see if I can manage it for very long without falling asleep too fast.

Happy Sunday to you all!

What is Jason Castro Reading?

So, it's no secret by now that you all know my favorite American Idol (even though it should be David A. since he's from nearby here) is Jason. Every Tuesday I look forward to what he calls his "date night" where he posts a video blog about his experiences on tour. However, this past week, he was late! And now.... finally I get to my point... we know he was late because he stayed up all night reading! I know, I know.... the next question is... reading what?

Well, I decided you need to watch as he explains himself and what he thought of the book:



Who knew Jason was a bit of a reader? And something as hefty and deep as The Kite Runner! One of my all time favorites? And in the middle of touring, and staying up all night? "It rocked me... it was so intense and sad." Anyway, I thought this was so cool I just had to share. Jason talking about The Kite Runner! I love it! :)

And We Have a Winner!

Last night, we (I involved all the family that was here anyway) drew names for the Farworld: Water Keep giveaway. Julie P at Booking Mama is the winner! Congratulations to her! (I'll be emailing you for your address so we can get that out to you!)

Thanks to everyone who participated! I imagine I'll do another one again one of these days!

Book Buzz Tag!

I've been tagged! Twice! Both Jessica at The Bluestocking Society and Serena at Savvy Verse and Wit have tagged me to try the latest book meme floating around the blogosphere. This one was originally started by Amy at My Friend Amy. She says this:

I am going to list three categories of books. 3 MUST Read Books, 3 Keep Your Eyes on These, and 3 Look For These Soon. Keeping with the theme, I am going to tag at least 3 bloggers. They should put these same lists on their blog but SUBTRACT one book from each list and ADD one of their own. Then they should tag at least 3 more bloggers. It will be fun to see how the lists change as it goes around the blogosphere. Please come back to this post and leave a comment so I can see how the lists are changing as they go around the blogosphere. Since this is Book Buzz…please keep your lists to titles released in 2007-2009.

So now here's where it gets tricky because I was tagged with two different lists... so I'm going to just take one off of both lists, and add one. That leaves me with five on my list. Hmmm... oh, well. (I've starred my additions

3 (or 5) MUST Read Books:

When We were Romans by Matthew Kneale
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson
The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
**A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

3 (or 5) to Keep Your Eyes on

Monique and the Mango Rains by Kris Holloway
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
Blind Submission by Debra Ginsberg
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
** Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale

3 (or 5) Look for These Soon

The Graveyard Book By Neil Gaiman
What Happened to Anna K by Irina Reyn
Cross Country by James Patterson
The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran
** Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

And now to tag someone? How about:

Becky's Book Reviews

Bloggin' Bout Books

Passion for the Page

Last Chance!

One final reminder... tomorrow is the last chance to enter the giveway I'm promoting for Farworld: Water Keep! So, if you were thinking about entering, but just haven't managed it yet, now's the time!

Click HERE for that post, complete with review and interview and all the details.

Booking Through Thursday: Gold Medal Reading

Booking Through Thursday


You, um, may have noticed that the Olympics are going on right now, so that’s the genesis of this week’s question, in two parts:

First:
Do you or have you ever read books about the Olympics? About sports in general?
Fictional ones? Or non-fiction? Or both?

And, Second:
Do you consider yourself a sports fan?
Because, of course, if you’re a rabid fan and read about sports constantly, there’s a logic there; if you hate sports and never read anything sports-related, that, too … but you don’t have to love sports to enjoy a good sports story.
(Or a good sports movie, for that matter. Feel free to expand this into a discussion about “Friday Night Lights” or “The Natural” or whatever…)

Firstly, I don't think I've ever read a book about the Olympics, though I'm quite sure I'd enjoy it! And I can't think of any other book I've read about sports either, except maybe Seabiscuit, which is about horse racing, a subject I know nothing about and have never been interested in, yet Seabiscuit is one of my all time favorites. So I'm sure that if there's some really good sports books out there, I'd like 'em. I just wouldn't pick them up on my own.

Secondly, I would not consider myself a sports fan, though I have been known to scream and yell my head off now and then at a game. Mostly back in high school and college years. But since then, I just don't really care. Unless my kids are playing, but they haven't been much into sports either.

But, as you say in the question above, that doesn't mean I don't enjoy a good sports story. Book or movie or TV show. Friday Night Lights is one of my favorite TV shows. And there's TONS of great sports movies that I love ... way too many to list.

So go for it people! Tell me what great sports books am I missing out on and need to read right now!

Review: The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Book: The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Genre: YA SF

Rating: A

What if you lived in a city where the only light comes from light bulbs? And those light bulbs are run by an ancient generator and that generator is about to die! And the supply of light bulbs are running out, as is the supply of everything else the city needs to survive. What if you found a paper, written in ancient computer lettering, that seems to tell of a way to escape? If only you could actually read what it says! See, this is a problem because your 2 year old sister chewed it all up before you realized it was something important!

Aw... I loved this book. Where have I been to only get to it now? It's been around for awhile. But what's great about that is that there's more to come in two sequels that I have right here on the shelf and hope to get to soon. Plus, there's a movie too, with which I really hope they do a good job. You know how that goes sometimes.

Viral Video Wednesday: All About Moms

Here's another favorite video to share. I have a feeling most of you have seen this one already, (it truly fits the "viral" discription!) but if you're a mom and for some reason you haven't seen it yet, you really must watch.

Teaser Tuesdays: "He's a very small boy."

There's another weekly event going around called Teaser Tuesdays. It's easy, so I'll give it a try. Here's the idea:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
• Please avoid spoilers!

My book: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

My sentences from page 259:

"He is a very small boy, "Joe said. "For his age. He would not occupy very much space."

(Hmmm... I guess that's technically three sentences... but I'm leaving it.)

Ten Thoughts... If I Have Any

1. There was a bit of chill in the breeze this morning. I welcome you fall!

2. I'm not sure we'll make it until school starts next week. Melt down is looming.

3. I'm anxious to get the book club(s) going again after our summer break.

4. It's nearly time to start thinking about the book fair at the school already!

5. Hey! I'm going to be part of another blog tour, (thanks to Lisa and Trish at TLC Book Tours)this time for Kathleen McCleary and her book House and Home. I'm excited. Look for that in September.

6. I have two missing kids this week. I think that is adding to the boredom of the remaining two kids.

7. I put a couple of books on hold at the library forever ago that I'm very anxious for (The Adoration of Jenna Fox and Suite Scarlett) and they are taking forever to come available!

8. Who made those pumpkin cookies yesterday? How dare they!

9. Later today, in order to try and combat the above mentioned boredom and melt downs, we hope to go out and use a bunch of coupons for free food items that we collected at the library this summer. Wish us luck!

10. NOW... I'm going to read.

Review: The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

Book: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Genre: Classic (sort of a recent classic I'd say)

Rating: A

Because my oldest son says this is his favorite book, and because John Green's been talking about it lately, and because it can count for the Classics Challenge (I hope, even though it wasn't on my original list).... I decided to go ahead and finally read this book once and for all!

What a strange little book this is! So, it's simply about this kid, Holden Caulfield, who decides to leave his boarding school a bit early because he's getting kicked out anyway. Then, he goes off on this "adventure" of sorts, wandering around New York City because he doesn't want to go home and face his parents with the news.

Meanwhile, he slowly goes a bit mad. All I could think during the whole book was, could someone please go and be a friend to this kid!! Please! He needed someone so bad. I wanted to give him a hug or something and tell him he's okay and things will be alright. Seriously. He needed a real hug big time.

Anyway, nothing really happens except he makes himself crazy wandering around and thinking crazy things about everything and everyone around him. Then it just ends! We assume, since it's all a flashback, that he manages to "fix" himself somehow... but still. Quite the abrupt ending I thought.

Anyway, even though it has rough language. (Holden needs a little clean up there too I'm afraid), I loved it. I don't know why. Like I said, it's a strange little book. But I loved it anyway. So glad to finally know what all the fuss is about regarding The Catcher in the Rye.

The Sunday Salon: My Quest to Read The Amazing Adventures of.....

My big main reading goal for today's Sunday Salon was to get going, once and for all, on The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. This book, if I ever manage to read it, would count for THREE different challenges! (Awards, TBR and Pulitzer) I tried to get into it a long while back and only made it to chapter 2. Today, I did much better! I made it Part Two, chapter two!

So I think I can say, I'm officially into it. However, about that time, I got sidetracked, and ended up on the computer and listening to music, and moping around the house.

While on the computer I finally signed up to be part of the Book Blog Ning thing. Check that out here.

And hey! I just passed my 300th post! Does that deserve some hoopla and fanfare? YEAH ME!

Oh, and let me just take this opportunity to beg yet again for you to check out my Farworld post and comment for a chance to win this great YA fantasy book.

Also, as part of my Sunday Salon post I thought it would be fun to list "what the family is reading."

What The Family Is Reading:

The Mr: almost done with Oil by Upton Sinclair
Bud (18 year old son): working on Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer... shhhh... don't tell anyone!
JJ (16 year old daughter): finally finished Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer... now we can finally talk about it around here
Moder (13 year old son): finished The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan today and loved it.
Toto (9 year old daughter): reading The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Weekly Geeks #13: Author Answers

Just in case you had a desire to know what authors I posted this past week for the Weekly Geeks Author Picture assignment:

1. Favorite authors (some): Jane Austen, Cornelia Funke, Markus Zusak, Khaled Hosseini

2. Authors of the books I'm currently reading (well, back during the orginal post anyway!): Stephenie Meyer, Leo Tolstoy, Jessica Day George

3. Athurs I've met in person: Shannon Hale, Orson Scott Card, Stephenie Meyer and Brandon Sanderson

4. Youtube of an author I've heard speak: Gail Carson Levine

5. Photos of myself with an author: Brandon Mull

6. Author that I most recently finished: J.D. Salinger

7. The hottest author: Markus Zusak! (one more picture anyone? )

Jessica of The Bluestocking Society answered five of my authors correctly. Way to go!

A Meme: These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Saw this on Twiga's blog awhile back. Decided today was the day to take a turn.

What's your favorite:

(NOTE: Only one answer! Which quite possibly could drive me crazy! Seriously.)

Sport: basketball I guess... not a very sportsy girl here
Game: Nertz (a fast-paced card game)
Color: lavender
Movie: The Princess Bride
Broadway play I have seen: You Can’t Take It With You
Broadway Musical I have seen: Les Miserables
Song: Awake by Josh Groban



American city I have visited: San Francisco
Foreign city I have visited: London

Book: Pride and Prejudice
Children’s Book: The Secret Garden
Classic television show: I Love Lucy
Recent television show: Heroes





Actor: Orlando Bloom
Actress: Sandra Bullock
Perfume: cucumber melon lotion
Food: taco salad
Dessert: chocolate mousse pie
Chain Restaurant: Macaroni Grill
Local Restaurant: Magleby’s Fresh
Car: the Batmobile
Condiment: fry sauce
Kitchen Appliance: fridge
Home Appliance: computer
Beauty Product: Bath and Body Works lotion
Piece of clothing: my Harrod’s sweatshirt
HGTV Show: I guess I haven’t really watched any of their shows... tell me... what am I missing?
Food Network show: Take Home Chef, but now I'm thinking that's actually on TLC, which is really my favorite cable channel, speaking of favorites!
Author: Markus Zusak
Male Songwriter: Richard Marx
Female Songwriter: don't have one I guess
Holiday: Christmas
Ballet I have seen: The Nutcracker
Disney character: Belle
Flower: daisies
Alcoholic drink: n/a don’t drink :)
Non-Alcoholic drink: homemade root beer
Magazine: mental-floss
Animated movie: Toy Story
Television network miniseries: North and South
Season: Fall
Male vocalist: Josh Groban, surprise, surprise!
Female vocalist: Enya
Day of the week: Monday
Household Chore: laundry
Ice Cream: cookies and cream
Candy: Peppermint Pattie
Artist: Dr. Suess

Booking Through Thursday: Other Worlds

Booking Through Thursday

Question suggested by Miko

Are there any particular worlds in books where you’d like to live?
Or where you certainly would NOT want to live?
What about authors? If you were a character, who would you trust to write your life?
(This came to me when reviewing a Jonathan Carroll book - I’m not sure I’d like to live in the worlds of his books.)

There's many futuristic worlds I would NOT want to live in. I would not want to experience the world of Uglies, Pretties and Specials. I wouldn't want to be in the world of The Giver, or the world created in the Shadow Children series. Or Brave New World or 1984.... all those books are much much too bleak and sad and scary.

Fantasy worlds would be too hard for me too. Middle Earth? Too scary. Mistborn? Too scary. Twilight? Vampires... too scary. It appears I'm a wimp!

Jane Austen's world. Hmmm... some good stuff and some bad stuff. To live without modern conveniences... too hard. But to live in a slower-paced world... a world where you go for walks a lot, and sew, and read, and talk, and play cards for your evening entertainment... that sounds kind of nice actually.

So a world where I'd like to live.... hmmm... maybe Shannon Hale's Bayern after all the problems are finally solved. Her world doesn't seem too scary really. Oh... I know! I want to go live in Green Gables with Anne! Perfect! Yeah... there's my world!

And as for an author that I'd trust to write my story? Another hard hard question here. Can I stick with Shannon Hale again? I can think of TONS I'd rather not write my story. Stephen King comes to mind right off. I'd love for Markus Zusak to attempt it, but my life is much much too boring for him I'd think.

Wow... enough rambling on the BTT question this week! 'Till next week then.

Review: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Book: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Genre: YA... Romance? SF/Fantasy? Paranormal? Hmmm....

Rating: A

I'm done! I started the book Monday evening and finished yesterday evening, with most of the reading being done Tuesday. Yesterday, I lingered through it. I put it down often. I dreaded the ending, first because of what I thought might happen and didn't want to read about, second because I just didn't want it to be over... like Christmas you know. Something you look forward to forever, and then it's over way too fast.

Anyway. About the book and my reaction... without any spoilers. How to do that? Obviously, it's the continuation of Bella, Edward AND Jacob's story. Yes, people, Jacob is a major part of this story! And has been from the beginning. I know some seem to be in denial of that fact. But he is, and I'm glad he is. I like him. A lot.

The direction this book took surprised me. Like, I didn't see it coming AT ALL! I hope I'm not the only clueless one out there. But it's quite possible that I am. Quite. But, despite the fact that I was so surprised, and despite the fact that there were several uncomfortable moments, I still loved the book. I loved how everything was answered and wrapped up and....

....okay... no spoilers. I'm going to do Kookiejar's trick (dang I miss Kookie!) and continue the discussion... complete with MAJOR spoilers.... and tons of random thoughts.... in the comment section.... so join me there if you dare... please?

Other Reviews:

Kristina's Favorites

Viral Video Wednesday: Heroes

The Kool Aid Mom is starting a fun thing.... once a week (on Wednesday), she's asking us to share some of the favorite videos we come across. She's calling it Viral Video Wednesday. So I thought it would be fun to participate.

But then I realized I didn't know what a "viral" video was. I was just thinking I'd share videos I liked. So I looked it up and learned this: a viral video is one of those videos that spreads in popularity through cyberspace... just like a .... yep... virus!

So then I wondered if the videos I planned on sharing would count. But then I decided... how else does a "viral"video start if not by someone just sharing whatever they liked in the first place. Right?

Last week I mentioned how much we are loving the Vlogbrothers at our house, so I first wanted to share one of my favorites:


But this week I wanted to share some videos that show clips of some of my favorite books and movies:

This one gives me chills with how well it's edited.



And another most excellent one:



Well, there's lots lots more where those came from... but I'll just keep it at the two for now. See if you can pick out which books/movies they are! Fun stuff!

Weekly Geeks #13: Author Pictures!

This week's Weekly Geek Assignment: to answer the following questions using pictures only. And you, my readers, are invited to guess who these authors are. I'm thinking my choices are very easy, so... have at it!

Favorite Author(s): (a random few I picked here... this list could be huge obviously.)

Author(s) of the book(s) you’re currently reading

Any author(s) you’ve met in person (even very briefly)

Youtube of (an) author(s) you’ve heard speak

Photo(s) you may have of yourself with an author:(makes me wish I would have taken a camera along more often.)

Author of the book you’ve most recently finished

The hottest author: (an obvious choice for me! and if you'd like to be even more smitten, take a listen )