Currently: Bloggiesta Edition/Wrap Up

CURRENTLY
(as written on Sunday night, last day of Bloggiesta)

Listening: Hans Zimmer Pandora station... songs like Batman Begins, Lord of the Rings, Crimson Tide, Sherlock Holmes, etc. Love film scores. Love.

Eating: Pumpkin cookies, cooked and uncooked. I think I'm going to be sick.

Loving:  The fact that my email inbox is a big fat ZERO! It started out at 36,000 plus this weekend, I have gone for years without deleting things I guess. I mean,  I THOUGHT I was, but somehow, a lot (okay... a REALLY lot) got overlooked, you know. A new goal... DELETE JUNKY EMAIL!!!

Reading: I haven't read much this Bloggiesta weekend. I miss it. Usually I read a ton on the weekends. I am nearly done with Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, and I am going to start and FLY through Slaughterhouse Five. Yep. That's the plan.

Feeling: Tired from Bloggiesta and deleting email and sick from eating cookie dough. But quite fine other than that!

Watching: Amazing Race  And soon I'll watch Once Upon a Time (we taped it) and my sister Megs sent me this link people.... Downton Abbey season three online RIGHT HERE!!! Who's with me? Want to watch it now... or wait until January?

Wanting: To do more for Bloggiesta, but I think I've run out of steam. I did a lot (see my checked off list here) but there's so much more to do!

Needing: a nap, as always. But now, it's almost time to go to bed!

Thinking: That I will use Pocket a lot and maybe finally figure out Evernote. Thank you Bloggiesta mini challenges!

Enjoying: a nice Sunday evening. Here's to a new week!

Oh, and HEY! If you missed the last Bloggiesta chat here's what we decided:

-- the next Bloggiesta will be March 29-31, 2013
-- we may have mini Bloggiestas in January and July
-- Bloggiesta's getting its own website! 

Thanks to everyone who played along with us!

My Readers.. I have questions for you!

It's time I found out what you think.... again! Yes, I did this survey several years ago, but I'm sure (I hope anyway) that I have some new readers and follows and now I need to know again who's out there and what you think about things around here. And what better time than Bloggiesta time?

So here's a survey for you! It's fast, it's easy, so please make me happy and fill it out. Thanks so much for coming and reading and commenting and being here! You are all AWESOME!



 

Bloggiesta To Do List

September 28-30, 2012
@Bloggiesta
#Bloggiesta

Once upon a time, several years ago, Natasha from Maw Books thought, hey, I'd like to spend some time working my blog! I wonder if anyone wants to do it with me? And you know.. .there were LOTS of people who wanted to and thus... Bloggiesta was born! (Natasha has been taking a blogging break of late, but we still hold out hope she'll be back some day!)

Yes, it's party where we spend all weekend working on our blogs! And commenting and tweeting with other participants doing the same thing, learning from and encouraging each other. How fun is that?

And what are my plans? This weekend, I hope to accomplish some stuff from this list:

1. Print blog posts (see my mini challenge on this here.)
2. Clean up email (for some reason I have a problem deleting. Must fix that!)
3. Update blog roll (I need to add some of you on there!)
4. Update link lists (reviews by author, title, local, books read, etc.)
5. Clean up label lists (what stays, what goes)
6. Not sure I dare to do drop down menus, but maybe I'll look into it!
7. Write and/or think up some discussion posts
8. Do some challenges, lots and lots of challenges!
      I got a POCKET! 
      I graded my blog... I got an 89. Not bad, eh?
      I made a calendar.

9. Add books reviewed to Pinterest (and maybe play with Pinterest boards, that counts, right?)
10. Conduct a reader survey! (It's been years, so I can do it again, right?) Update! Survey is now up here... go and answer questions for me!!
11. Finally, comment a ton and make friends!

Yeah, I don't plan to do anything big this go around, just some cleaning up clutter and such.

Be sure to link up your To Do Lists at the starting line up post over at Danielle's from There's a Book.
And here's the link to all the new mini challenges.
Also, don't forget the Twitter parties!

And as always, I have music for you!!!


And if you don't like THAT kind of FIESTA music, how about:

 

Have a great Bloggiesta to you all! Blog your hearts out!

Bloggiesta Mini Challenges September 2012

September 28-30, 2012
@Bloggiesta
#Bloggiesta

Bloggiesta is almost here!

Today, I'm so excited to share with you the list of mini challenges that we have going as part of our Bloggiesta celebration for this go around.

As you probably know, Bloggiesta mini challenges are hosted by several different willing and able bloggers who have something they feel they can teach us about blogging....something they've done and learned from, or something they've researched and learned about and can then share with us. 

Many of the following topics were ones suggested by you at the end of the last Bloggiesta! I hope you are as pleased with them all as I am! Be sure to go around and visit as many of them as you can, give them lots of love, and in the process learn some new things and try some of the challenges proposed by our hosts.

Some of the challenges will have prizes attached... that's up to the individual host to handle, so be sure and follow their stipulations for how to win their prizes.

Remember, Bloggiesta officially starts tomorrow when you can head on over to There's a Book for the Starting Line link up, and share with us your To Do Lists! 

Also over at Danielle's, you'll find links to past Bloggiesta Mini Challenges. If you are looking for how to do something specific, chances are there's a mini challenge for that!

In the meantime, here's the list of all the NEW mini challenges. Go check them out and start adding to your To Do Lists!

Bloggiesta September 2012 Mini Challenges


Organization and Time Management

• Amanda from On a Book Bender teaches us how to be organized by scheduling posts, making lists and using templates. (@BookBender)
• Trish from Love Laughter and a Touch of Insanity shows us how she uses a Blogger Journal and Calender to stay organized and keep her "blogging brain" with her at all times. (@TriniCapini)
• Brianna from The Book Vixen explains how to use a nifty little app called Pocket to save things to read later. (@TheBookVixen)
• Joy from Joy’s Book Blog teaches us  How to Use Evernote to get and stay organized. (@joyweesemoll)
• Suey from It's All About Books shares some ideas on how to Print Your Blog. (@SueySays)
• D.Ann from Overflowing Bookshelves shows us how to organize our books in a spreadsheet using Microsoft Access. (@dann_writes)

Blogging Success and Improvement

• Tanya from Girlxoxo lists 20 (plus) Discussion Post Ideas to get our creative juices rolling. (@iAteApie)
• Jen from YA Romantics encourages us to Step Out of Our Blogging Comfort Zone! (@JenRyland)
• Smash from Smash Attack Reads shows how fun and informative it is to Use a Website Grader.  (@SmashAttackAsh)
• Maria from Once Upon a Story encourages us to Get Personal and write posts about ourselves. (@NoVaLibraryMom)
• Jessica from The Bluestocking Society shares with us Six Techniques to Revitalize Old Content from your blog. (@thebluestocking)
• Hannah from Word Lily challenges us to Catch up on Reviews! (@Wordlily) 
• Melanie from Melanie’s Musings tells us how easy it is to Give and Get Great Guest Posts. (@MelanieFoust)  
• Sheila from Book Journey gives tips and ideas on how to Build Your Blog Audience. (@BookJourney)

Technical Aspects of Blogging

• Felicia from Geeky Bloggers Book Blog tells us all about Photo Copyrights in this mini challenge.  (@thegeekyblogger)
• Jenni Elyse from Jenni Elyse clears up the mystery that is Gravitars and Favicons!  (@Jenni_Elyse)
• Heidenkind from Truth, Beauty, Freedom and Books  helps us deal with the changes that are happening with Feedburner and how to switch to a new RSS Feed.  (@heidenkind)
• Donna from Girl Who Reads shares loads of tips for setting up Guidelines and Policies on our blogs. (@Girl_Who_Reads)
• Rikki from Rikki’s Teleidoscope teaches us some Basic Photo Editing skills in this mini challenge. (@Ailuah)
• Kristen from The Book Monsters shows how fun and easy it is to Use Voki to create an animated avatar. (@TheBookMonsters)
• Vicky from Books, Biscuits and Tea lists for us the differences between  WordPress and Blogger to help you make a decision if you are thinking about switching. (@bookswithacuppa)

What an awesome and amazing list of challenges, don't you think? Have fun checking them all out and here's hoping you are able to participate in as many as you can! Enjoy!

Finally, a quick reminder, Twitter Parties will be held at the following times:

@Bloggiesta #bloggiesta

Friday: 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern time (EDT)

Saturday: noon to 2:00 p.m. Eastern time (EDT)

Sunday: 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern time (EDT)

See you there!

Bloggiesta Mini Challenge: Print Your Blog!

September 28-30, 2012
@Bloggiesta
#Bloggiesta

I've been a journal keeper for a long long time, ever since my dad gave me a blue notebook when I was 12 and said, "Here, write in this!" I've loved writing over the years.... it's waxed and waned in its regularity, but there's always been something.

My first journal, started in 1977 when I was 12.
(Totally giving away my age, but you all already know I'm old, right?)

A little glimpse of the inside, this entry detailing my 13th birthday .

The journaling went through several changes over the years. Of course in the beginning, I just sat with pen in hand and wrote (in high school I wrote weekly about 10 pages or more each entry.) Then in the early 90s I started keeping it on the computer (just using WordPerfect) and printing it off. Then, I thought that was too impersonal, so I started handwriting it again (which I think was a big mistake since I have terrible handwriting and it's hard to read!)

And then I started blogging.

Suddenly, I felt like my journal was online. Strange feeling. I found myself NOT doing my original mainstream "normal" journal anymore. Besides, I liked what I was doing online, it felt more me anyway.... sort of... in a different way. So I figured this was my new method. And then I thought, so if I want to "save" this in a form that will be accessible no matter what happens (think apocalypse,) I need to print it! I need a hard copy! If this is now my journal, for real, I have to have something tangible to show for it.

So I began to copy and paste my blog posts. At first it was pretty ruthless and ugly, I'm not sure why I had such a struggle, but those first posts are nevertheless copied and in a binder no matter their state of beauty!

My second blog post ever
 (on my first blog which was not the book blog)
 was a monthly reading wrap up!

 Slowly, I figured out a system, which is still copying and pasting, and even though it takes a lot of time (not to mention paper and toner) it seems to go smoother. But despite the issues with doing this, I must say, having a hard copy of my thoughts makes me feel so good.... and complete.

Here's a page from November 2006
(still the original blog and not the book blog yet!)
My first Josh gush...I think.
It looks a little prettier than the above page, yes?

Then I wondered if this is something you all do? Are you feeling the need, as I do, to have a printed hard copy version of your blog? Have any of you found a perfect cost effective way to do this? I have since realized that there are several online places to help with blog printing. Here's a list of the most popular:

These sites will print your blog and turn it into a bound book... for a price that ranges from not much to quite a bit! Depending on the number of pages and the quality of the book:

Blurb.com
Blog2Print.com
Lulu.com

On these sites, you plug in the URL of your page and it will spit out a printer friendly version, which you then print yourself:

PrintFriendly.com
PrintWhatYouLike.com

And a more recent printed post,
a Sunday Salon from early last year.

As for me, I think I'll stick with just the copying and pasting using this simple method:

HOW TO PRINT YOUR BLOG

1.Go through your blog, a month at at time.

2. Make a folder for that month in Google docs (or wherever you like to save your documents)

3. Copy the whole post, pictures and all, if you feel it worthy to be saved. (I don't copy every single one, but certainly personal posts, lists, reviews of books I loved, random posts, anything that would show my posterity, or anyone in the future, who I am)

4. Paste them into the folder you've made (in chronological order,) then go through them all and fix the pictures, or delete them if they are not good, or resize them, etc. and make sure the headings and dates are bold and nice-ish looking. (I also change everything to a small point size, usually about 10... sometimes I change the font, sometimes the colors, whatever my mood and time allows.)

5. Print them! (For me, each month usually ends up being about 20 pages or so, that's a post a day though as I said I don't print them all.)

6. Then three hole punch them and put them in a big binder. (I can fit about two years worth in a big 2 inch binder from Costco.)

All my journals and blog binders.
Big ones on the left are the blog binders.
Little binders in the middle are when I was journaling on the computer.
Random ones on the right are my first handwritten notebooks.

I put my finished printed blogs in 2 inch binders from Costco.

Currently, I'm a year behind in printing! So as part of my Bloggiesta list I hope to catch up on this!

For your challenge,  I'm encouraging you to print at least a month's worth of your blog! Use one of the sites above, try my way, or figure out your own method. Comment here with how it went.

If you have other suggestions for printing blogs and/or/if you are much more experienced than I am, please, let us know in comments what works for you. I'd love to hear everyone's ideas.

Participant Prize: From those participating through comments, I'll choose a random winner using random.org to receive a book (paperback) of their choice from Amazon. I'll do the picking a few days after Bloggiesta is over, say Friday, October 5.

Now go buy some toner, paper and binders, then have fun printing!!

(If you are stumbling on this post and have no idea what a Bloggiesta mini challenge is, click here to learn more and join us! We officially start on Friday, September 28.)

Bloggiesta Twitter Parties!

I just wanted to make sure everyone participating in Bloggiesta knows about our scheduled Twitter chat/parties!

Last time we had a blast getting together to talk over how our blog projects were going and to give suggestions and ask for help.  Come join us for one or for all. Hopefully, we'll see lots of you there.

Times we plan to meet:

Friday: 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern time (EDT)
Saturday: noon to 2:00 p.m. Eastern time (EDT)
Sunday: 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern time (EDT)

I have found that using Tweetchat.com for these sorts of events works really well. It automatically puts in the hashtag (#bloggiesta) for you and then you can just chat away and see what everyone else using the same hashtag is saying, without stress. Awesome.

I've tried to gather all the participants who are on Twitter and put them in this list. Let me know if you are not on the list but should be. It will also help to be sure and follow @Bloggiesta too!

Happy Bloggiesta!

Book Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Book: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: YA Paranormal
Rating:★ ★ ★ ★ and half :)
For: Fun and Review
From: NetGalley

After loving The Scorpio Races I knew I'd be reading this, the latest Maggie Stiefvater book. When I finally got my hands (eyes?) on it, I dropped all other books and dug in.

This is a book about a girl named Blue who lives with a bunch of her physic relations... her mom, her aunts, and their friends. But she, of course, is not. However, she does have SOME sort of power, the ability to enhance magic and boost the physic abilities of the others. That's how she finds herself sitting at the church during St. Mark's Eve helping her aunt, waiting for the almost dead (those who will die that year) to make their appearance. And that's when she finds out who her true love will be.

Speaking of her true love, her family has warned her for her whole life about a particular feeling that they have, a very strong feeling, that if she kisses her true love, he will die.

Meanwhile, at the nearby posh all-boys prep school, four friends are on a quest to find a long lost, but not dead (only sleeping) king! And to do that, they must find the ley line which they are certain is in this very area. To help them, they come to the psychics!

How's that for a wonderful plot set up? I love it! I was fascinated by the ley line magic, a sort of magic that feels very real to me. So it was a blast learning about that.

And then there are the boys! Yes, the raven boys themselves! Four such very different, yet all wonderful personalities.  There's the typical prep boy type, cute and and rich and smart, or at least that's what he appears to be; there's the shy quiet stick-to-the-background boy; there's the rough and tough kid with a back story that tears you up; and then there's the tall gangling boy who's so sweet and nice and yet he feels like he belongs no where. I couldn't decide which one I liked best, so I just loved them all.

Once they get together with Blue, they are off on to such fabulous adventures complete with sweet magic and even a mystery that I could get into.

But, then it ended. Not necessarily on a cliff hanger, but before I was ready for it to nonetheless. There was so much more to tell! I felt incomplete. And now we wait....

Bottom line: Loved it!

Other Reviews:

I can use any number of glowing adjectives to describe it - striking, haunting, and beautiful to name a few. From Book Harbinger

And I love Ronan with seven kinds of crazy stupid love....But it is Adam that has the jagged edges that worry me (and that ultimately endear him to me forever). From Angieville

But once the action gets going, watch out! It grabs on and won’t let go. From Proud Book Nerd

I met a lot of interesting characters and look forward to visiting them again soon. From Milk and Cookies

This book as amazing and just as good as The Scorpio Races. From My 5 Monkeys

Pin It and Do It: October Episode

It's time for another Pin It and Do It Challenge! I skipped the last installment of this fun challenge, but now...October, I can do! I'm finding a renewed interest in Pinterest!  And so I plan to do all sorts of things this coming month.

To read all the details and to link up with other participants, head on over to this post at Trish's from Love, Laughter and a Touch of Insanity. 

I'll be committing to the second level of excitement, Pinterested, which is 4 to 7 pins.

Follow me on Pinterest here if you'd like to see some of the crazy stuff I enjoy (and let me know where to find you if I haven't already!) I plan to rearrange and rename and add boards, so hopefully that won't get too annoying to followers, but right now, it's driving me crazy... the haphazard pinning I've been doing. I've gotta get organized!

Some of the pins I plan on doing will be Halloween crafts, pumpkin/fall recipes, journaling ideas, more quilting perhaps, homemade gift ideas for Christmas, etc.

Let's get to it! Pin It and Do It!

Top Ten Tuesday: I'm Behind!

There are SO SO many series that I've not finished! How to do this prompt today? The Broke and the Bookish have asked, which series have you not finished. Well, here's a few that it especially bugs me that I haven't managed to get around to:


Top Ten Series I'm Bugged that I've Not Finished!

1. The Iron Fey by Julie Kagawa
2. The Immortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare
3. The Graceling books by Kristen Cashore
4. The Leviathan books by Scott Westerfeld
5. Those Matthew Swift books by Kate Griffin
6. Those Jonathan Stroud books, you know the ones?
7. The wolf books by Maggie Stiefvater
8. I started the Obernewtyn Chronicles by Isabelle Carmody and I'd like to keep going on them.
9. The Outlander series... I'm thinking I should attempt this one again.
10. And finally of course.... The Wheel of Time series! Ah man, will I EVER get this one done?

I'm so behind! Which one do you think I should concentrate on first? Do you have a favorite that I've listed above?

Book Review: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Book: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Genre: YA
Rating:★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ 
For: Fun
From: library ebook

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, only that so many of you raved about it and that it was emotionally intense. I wasn't sure if the title should make me think it could be considered for a RIP read, but now I must say after reading it.. .no.. it's not THAT kind of book, or that kind of monster. And I'm still not quite sure how to categorize it.

That being said, I can tell you that it's about a young boy dealing with his mother's sickness. Basically, he is holding on to her and he needs to let her go. The imagery and the symbolism portrayed by the monster that he "calls" is terrifyingly real and for anyone who's been through such an experience, I'm sure it's heart wrenching and spot on.

And there's really not much more to say about it! It is, as I mentioned above, very emotionally intense. I wouldn't read it for awhile if you are feeling at all unstable!

Bottom line: Despite this intensity, I really enjoyed it. The writing is amazing. Oh, and I forgot! The pictures! Also amazing.

Other Reviews:
(I'm going to try the blurb thing! Let me know what you think.)

I have no doubt that by the time you finish reading A Monster Calls that you will find yourself in a puddle of tears and grateful for having read such a brilliant piece of literature. From There's a Book

It's a book that tells a story on multiple levels and is emotionally affecting and universally true. From My Friend Amy

It makes me gladder than I can say to know that a book like this is out there in the world, within reach of those who might need a monster just as much as Connor did. From Things Mean A Lot

Absolutely you must read this beautiful book. From Book Addiction

Currently: Muse, Michael and Me

CURRENTLY
(as written on Saturday night)

Listening:  to Madness by Muse.... soon... very soon, the album comes out:



Eating: OUT! With Jessica and Jenny! After we visited with a bunch of authors at Barnes and Noble and talked with a couple of bloggers, we went to Chilis. Yeah, that was fun! :)

It's me, Jenny, Shanda (who's picture this is, though my daughter DID take it!) and Jessica!

Mette Ivie Harrison in the middle, Jessica Day George and then Kristen Chandler.
I didn't catch the name of the author on the left, and who's that in the back? 

Loving: that there's so many bookish events coming up. TONS I tell you. I'm going to have to skip some because there's no way I can go to all. 

Reading: Ah, The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater... yes, it showed up for me on my Kindle from NetGalley the day after the book itself was released. That was weird, but then again, I know nothing about how it all works. So, I'm reading it and really liking it a lot. Wonderful characters! I also read A Monster Calls this past week, and re-read The Handmaid's Tale for book club. Need to review them for you!

Feeling: Really quite well, especially compared to last night when I felt like crap! It was a headachy week, but I think we've pushed through it yet again!

Watching: Merlin clips on YouTube. Yep. And earlier today I watched the first half of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Yes sir. And then earlier this week, I watched the season premier of Survivor, though it was the next day because we actually FORGOT to watch it on opening night! Yep! (And that show made me want to watch The Facts of Life and have memories.) And... I watched some Prison Break episodes, just because... I missed Michael. :)

Wanting: to finish the bedroom "remodel" and get new furniture. Maybe Christmas?

Needing: the smoky skies to go away once and for all. Just opened my window to get the evening breeze and now the whole room smells like a bonfire. Enough already!

Thinking: about Bloggiesta coming up this week and what I need to do to be ready. 

Enjoying: having too many books to read. It's fun, right?

What's up with you this week?

Where In The World Are You Reading.... While Waiting?

It's time for another installment of Where In the World Are You Reading? a monthly meme hosted by Trish, Lisa and Kailana. The theme for the month is... Waiting! You can head on over to Lisa at Books. Lists. Life. to see where people read while they wait.

As for me....



I read while waiting for the day to start
or the night to begin.

I read while waiting for the kids to come home
or jump in the car for a ride.



I read while waiting in a waiting room
or a for a movie to begin
or a play to start.

I read while riding in a car to get somewhere
and sometimes I even read right in the middle of the afternoon while waiting to get some energy back.

I read while waiting
for dinner to cook
clothes to wash
and the house to get clean.

I read some books while waiting for other books to be released!

It would be safe to say that I'm reading pretty much while waiting to do anything.

How about you? Where do you read and wait?

A Classics Challenge September Prompt: Merry Robin Hood Music

At the beginning of the year I had great aspirations of posting a thought on whatever classic I was reading or had read, using the prompts found over at November's Autumn  every month. I think I've done ONE! That's so frustrating!

But this month, I want to participating in answering this prompt by sharing what MUSIC I think goes with my current classic reading. Sounds like one I can't pass up, right?

The book I've been reading all summer long now is The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle. What a fun book! I love the writing and the language. Hopefully a review will be coming soon, but then, let me just say, that it's made up of a bunch of different Robin Hood adventures, some more engaging than others, so perhaps that's part of my issue with just getting it read already!

Anyway, everyone is always happy and jolly! Lusty and merry! I picture them strutting about and dancing and having such a grand old time. Here's a passage that I read just last night to illustrate:

After jolly Robin had left Little John at the forking of the roads, he walked merrily onward in the mellow sunshine that shone about him. Ever and anon he would skip and leap or sing a snatch of song, for pure joyousness of the day: for because of the sweetness of the springtide, his heart was as lusty within him as that of a colt newly turned out to grass.

I'm totally hearing music! Aren't you. And lucky for us all, I found just what was in my head!

Here it is:




Well, at least for me, that totally fits! What do you think?

Here's hoping I can do some more of these prompts. Maybe I can even go back and catch up on a few. I bet no one would care! :)

Book Review: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

Book: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
Genre: Thriller/Suspense
Rating:★★★★★
For: RIP Challenge Read Along
From: the library

It seems like I'd heard of this book a few years ago, remembering vaguely a bunch of bloggers enjoying it way back then. So I thought "why not" when The Estella Society decided to do it for a read along to kick off RIP this year.

It takes place in England just after WWII. There's this old house, and this sort of run down family living there. They used to be rich and famous, but now, things are falling apart.

There's also this doctor who remembers the house and family back in the good old days and has always been fascinated with them. So it's with great surprise and pleasure that he suddenly finds himself a frequent visitor to the family and in fact, becomes a pretty intimate friend.

But things aren't all good there. There's something sinister going on, and one by one, little by little, everything spirals out of control and the doctor finds himself right in middle of it all.

So, I pretty much loved this one. For me, it's like those movies where, you know... nothing really happens, but you THINK it's going to around every corner! There's the virtual sinister music and the idea in your head that something is there which is all you really need to have in order to get good and creeped out!

Actually, this book wasn't really THAT creepy for me, but just nice and building at a slow and steady pace to the final weird thing that made me go, what? I loved the writing and the crazy characters. And of course, the creepy old house is for sure included  in that character list.

Thanks for getting me to read this one guys!

Bottom line: I really enjoyed it! I may have to try another of her books soon.

For other reviews, click on over to The Estella Society for links to everyone's final thought posts.

Top Ten Tuesday: Meeting Bookish Sorts

I could make a list a mile long from the prompt today from The Broke and the Bookish, which asks this question.... what bookish people do we want to meet. Just ten? Really? Okay, fine.

Top Ten Bookish People I Want to Meet

Authors
(I don't think anyone will be surprised by this list... they end up on pretty much every author list we have here.)

1. Markus Zusak... again.... of course.

2. John Green, puff and all.

3. Neal Shusterman.... he came once, but I couldn't go

4. Melina Marchetta... if MZ can come all the way from Australia... so can she!

5. Robin McKinley.... I think she would be fascinating to listen to.

Bloggers
(There's so many I want to meet, BUT, let start with these ones!)

6. Deanna from Polishing Mud Balls
7. Kelly from The Written World
8. Danielle from There's a Book
9. Trish from Love, Laughter and a Touch of Insanity
10. Gayle from Texas!

And you know... I just think it might happen some day, with the bloggers anyway. With the authors, even they might be possible! Never say never, 'cause I said that once, and then, it happened.

Who do YOU want to meet?

The Classics Club: My List

After this featured post for BBAW about The Classics Club, I wondered... so, why have I not done this already? I'm slow jumping on this one I guess! But I don't know why I wouldn't do it because it's pretty much in my plan anyway, and this would just help to make it happen.... hopefully.

Are you wondering what I'm even talking about? Reading classics again, that's what!

Last week, we talked a lot about the pros of blogging. I have one con though, and that is that somehow my reading changed to NOT include the classics as much, which has always made me sad. This "club" is to encourage us to try and read 50 classics (at least) in the next five years. Doing some math (I can almost handle this math even!) that's ten classics a year, which is a lot more than I've been doing lately, but still very doable if I step it up.

So, in order to join, all I have to do is list my 50 (or so) books here, ones that are on my radar right now to read, keeping in mind that I can add and delete as we go along.


Classics Currently Reading at the time of this post:

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle (read Oct. 2012)

Classics I have on the shelf already that I assume I wanted to read someday:

Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
Twenty Years After by Alexadnre Dumas
Felix Holt by George Eliot
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
Lady Chatterlye's Lover by D.H. Lawrence
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain
Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck
The Warden by Anthony Trollope
Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
Evelina by Fanny Burney
Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
The Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory
Eugenie Grandet by Honore Balzac
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin

Classics that I just plain want to read:

Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
The Old Curiousity Shop by Charles Dickens
Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster
The Winter of our Discontent by John Steinbeck
Clarissa by Samuel Richardson
A Modern Comedy by John Galsworthy


Classics that I started once upon a time and never finished and maybe might if I try hard again;

The Wings of the Dove by Henry James (this one is really iffy... what a HARD book!)
War and Peace by Loe Tolstory (I could do this one, really)
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie (I've no idea why I never finished it)
The Idiot by Fydor Dostoevesky (I'd have to start over again for sure.)
The Netherworld by George Gissing

Wilkie Collins books get their own category:

Poor Miss Finch
Basil
No Name
New Grub Street
Hide and Seek
The Law and the Lady

Classics I want to Re-Read
(I'm sure there will be more in this category, but this one tends to be off the cuff and spur of the moment, know what I mean, so we'll see what gets added as the years go by!)

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (Read Dec. 2012)

Newer-ish Books that I'm Calling Classics:
(I have no method to this madness, just what feels newer to me,and yet feels like a classic, or a soon to be classic)

The House on the Strand by Dahne Du Maurier
MaryAnne by Daphne Du Maurier
Extremely Loud and Incrediably Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Anthem by Ayn Rand
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut (Read Oct. 2012)
A Mercy by Tony Morrison
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
My Friend Flicka by Mary O'hara
Roots by Alex Haley
The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett
A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath


So, let's check back in five years on September 15, 2017 and see how I'm doing, shall we? :) The idea is that I'll link to my reviews here as I complete things.

What say you? Want to come play too?

Currently: A Journal Post

Saw this journaling idea on Pinterest the other day, and so I thought I'd use it for my Sunday posts for awhile and see how it goes, see what I think, and see what you think. Okay? It's very similar to the other format, but different. Maybe easier, I don't know. And of course, I've modified some words!


CURRENTLY
(as written on Saturday night)

Listening: to a football game, by default. It's on but I'm not really listening/watching. I got into football once upon a time when I could march at halftimes and/or play in pep bands and such, but now... meh... even when it's the big rival game!

Eating: We went out for curry today! And then had leftover tiramisu cake from Costco. Yum.

Loving: this teaser video by Josh Groban for his upcoming next album. Watch it, it's only 17 seconds. What silly guy!


Reading: I started A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness today. Wasn't sure if this one could count as a RIP read, but I'm thinking not. I don't know how to categorize this book! Also started a re-read of A Handmaid's Tale for book club.

Feeling: Tired, and coughy and headachy... had a cold this week. The tickle lingers. I hate that.

Watching: I watched a Spanish movie last night called Under the Same Moon. Very good, but the ending left me wanting. And it was a bit depressing actually too. I'm anxious to watch more Teen Wolf, and to keep going with Buffy and to get started with some fall shows.

Wanting: to figure out how to fight the food/fat fight, as always

Needing: more time to read, as always.

Thinking: that it's crazy that I've been working for four years now. Wow, time flies. Also thinking I may have a Pinterest revival.. have given it a break, but I might be in the mood again.

Enjoying: the beginning of fall weather, though it was a bit hot again today. The mountains are looking beautiful these days! I can't wait for it to REALLY be fall. I saw the first pile of pumpkins at the store today. Almost took a picture, but refrained. It makes me sad we never actually planted our own this year. Oh, well.

How's life for you all these days?

In Which I Watch Teen Wolf!

The other day Jenny commented somewhere in regards to Teen Wolf... "what are you waiting for?" For some reason, that prompted me to actually push the button and watch this show... the whole first season actually! (There's only one season currently on Netflix, and it's only 12 or something episodes long, so it was easy. )

And of course, just like she knew, I enjoyed it.

Though I feel a bit weird admitting that. I think a lot of fans of this show feel the same, and I've decided it's because of the title. Couldn't they have come up with something else? I don't know... you'd think....

Anyway, so of course you'll guess that it's a werewolf show. This geeky kid (Scott) gets bit by one and he suddenly has powers that make him a bit more popular, which is a coincidence because just that very day the new girl moves in! Lucky him!

Scott, when he's not a wolf.

So, he has this romantic life just getting started, his first experience at such a thing, at the same time he is dealing with full moons and the urge to kill people. His best friend and sidekick, Stiles, helps him along the way and they discover all sorts of interesting things about werewolves, betas and alphas and those that hunt them.... and past histories and strange things that have occurred in the neighborhood.

Scott... when he's turning.

Anyway, the show is done really well and not near as hokey as its name makes it seem, very suspenseful in parts, cool music, and a laugh a minute from Stiles who completely steals the spotlight. What a dude! He is awesome!

Stiles, being sort of normal here....

...and a little more silly here.

And now, things have become really REALLY complicated and the season ends. What's next? Is there a season two. Why, yes, I just looked it up and there is! Full episodes online and everything! Well, so, I guess I'm not done yet, hmmmm?

So yeah, a new-ish show that fans of Supernatural, Buffy and Vampire Diaries will also love.

Have you watched it? What do you think? Do you think I'm crazy for watching it? :)

Meanwhile, I've got a good start on season three of Buffy. Wow, the emotional level HAS risen a bit, yes?