Our Christmas Book Loot

And I thought we weren't  going to get as many books this year as last:

These are the books the whole family received, not just me. Here's a list in case you can't see them well (though clicking on the picture helps that too:)

The Doctor Who Visual Dictionary
The Most Human Human
Daughter of Smoke and Bone
The Girl of Fire and Thorns
Clockwork Prince
Clockwork Angel
Steve Jobs
Shadow Moon
Shadow Star
Shadow Dawn
The Iron Daughter
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Fire
Slaughter House Five
Okay for Now
Return to Exile
Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever
Goliath
The Iron Queen
City of Fallen Angels
City of Glass
Destiny of the Republic

Whew. I really better get out of my reading slump FAST!

And here's what I got from my Secret Santa Exchange blogger.... who only revealed herself as Heather:

What a perfect present, because as you know I've recently had a little issue with The Iron Daughter, what with the missing pages from the book I had and then the store where it came from being totally out. So when I opened this up and saw a new copy of this book, I was very excited and have since been reading pretty quickly through this book! I'm very excited about the other book too, which also makes me giggle, because it's the same book I gave to my exchange person!

Thank you Heather!

Thank you Deanna and Jenny and Santa Claus and SIL Katie and Grandma and Grandpa and everyone! It's been a wonderful bookish haul!

Dear Secret Santa:

Just a shout out to you to say THANKS! And I got your package... but I'm saving it for Christmas, so it's under the tree. Which means, I don't know who you are... yet... but when I do, you can be sure I'll come visiting!

-- Suey

P.S. I already know I'm loving that Mr. Darcy key ring! :)

NaNoWriMo... NOT... and other stuff

I got a kick out of John Green's latest vlog so I thought I'd share.... especially for all you NaNoWriMo types! He cracks me up...



Good luck to all you writers. I wish I could try it, just for fun, but I decided to put that little thought on hold for now. Maybe some year.



In other news....


Want to learn more about my book club? We're featured today over at Booking Mama's so be sure to go check it out!



Oh, and it's time for all the fun blogger Christmas festivities to begin. If you want to participate in the Book Blogger's Holiday Swap, go sign up before Nov. 12. I promise, it's very fun. Then there's the Blog Advent Tour that's coming up during the month of December, so be watching The Written World for more details on that. And finally, we've got the Buy Books for the Holidays cause starting up again too, so don't forget to check that out!



Whew. What fabulous ideas everyone comes up with and all the work and organization that goes into everything. It's very cool.

Book Blogger Christmas Exchange: What I Got!

Finally, I'm remembering to post what I got in the Book Blogger Christmas Swap! I meant to do it all week, but it's been crazy around here and wow, how fast the week has gone.

Anyway, thanks Ruthie for the fun presents! A book, Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast, a bookmark, a cute little journal, a magnetic notepad and a fun little book of sayings. I will enjoy them all! Thanks so much!

(P.S. You can see a little of our new counter tops in this picture!)

The Sunday Salon: Secret Santa Present Arrives!

I'm sure you all are sick of hearing how busy our Sunday's are and how I moan my Sunday reading time. But it's the same story today. Maybe it's a December/Christmas thing and will calm down soon? Anyway, today, instead of reading, I'll be:

• going to church, of course
• fixing, eating and cleaning up dinner, of course
• supervising the putting together a science fair poster
• helping with the typing up of a Cuba report
• hosting the HT's and the VT's (some of you will get that)
• printing, signing and stuffing Christmas cards
• watching the Survivor finale and reunion show
• hoping to watch To Kill a Mockingbird that I checked out from the library
• preparing a church lesson for seven year olds

I think that's the majority of the things on today's to do list. I did get some reading in this morning. I picked up The Moon Below by Barbara Bickmore this week as it's on my TBR list for the year. It's going okay, yet I'm still wondering if I'll bag it for something smaller and quicker... especially if I really want to try to get to the 100 mark by years end. I don't know. Maybe I don't really care, so we'll see.

Oh, and look what I got in the mail yesterday:

YAY! Fun stuff. I debated opening or saving. I guess saving won... at least for now.

Thank you to Ruthie of Ruthie's Book Reviews! I'll be sure to post the unveiling when it happens!

WHAT THE FAMILY IS READING:

The Mr: I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. I'm nervous for his analysis of this once he's done!

Bud: He recently finished Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl.

JJ: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Do you think my love for this author is finally getting through to the family?
Moder: He just finished H.I.V.E. by Mark Walden

Toto: Just started Dark Whisperers by Bruce Coville... the continuation of the unicorn series.

Happy Reading to you all. Enjoy the day.