Ongoing Readathon Mini Challenges

Challenge: Book Puzzle from One Librarian's Book Reviews

Can you guess the title?

Readathon Plans and Preparations

We're getting ready to read read read tomorrow!  Here's some preparations we're making:


Cleaning

I usually do a lot (okay some) cleaning on Saturdays, so in order not feel guilty about skipping that, I want the house to be fairly clean before Saturday arrives. So that means I'll be cleaning today!

Food

We bought something chocolaty (mini candy bars) and something salty (pringles) and will make something different (caramel popcorn, which we had last readathon and loved it.) I'm also thinking about making some banana bread. And we have strawberries on hand too. And fruit snacks. As far as "real" food that day, we'll just wing it I'm guessing.

Distractions

I'm afraid we are going to have some birthday parties to deal with that day. But the presents are bought and ready to go. Well, almost. I just remembered there's one more. I think there's four birthdays we need to participate in that day. Who planned that??

Blogging

I think I'll steal/borrow an idea I saw Amanda use last time, which is to just have one blog post for updates... and just... you know.... update it now and then, with the newest update on the top. Will that work? And then perhaps one post just for mini challenges, with the newest challenge on top. I don't know. Maybe I'll try it just to see how that works for me. It will be interesting to see if Twitter feels any different to me this go around. I feel like I understand it just a tiny bit better than last year. We'll see I guess.

Books

I've got a stack of short, quick easy to read books:

And a stack of the books I wanted to read this month anyway:

Maybe I'll jump back and forth between them. But I'd like to at least finish two books.

And Toto plans to read these two picks, and another one if we can find it, but it appears to be lost at the moment:

Location

Last October we read down in the book nook, but I'm thinking I'd rather be up in window where there's light and warmth. Maybe we'll switch each readathon. April up and October down? I like that!

Music

I'm going to put some instrumentals on the CD player that's in that room, and we'll random shuffle through all five until it's done. Then we'll do Pandora some of the time too. Yes, I need a little noise, even to read by.

And I think that's about all we've been getting ready. How's it going for you?

Discussing Books.... with Family

...or.... In Which I Pass Out my Blog Business Cards to Them!!! A happening that I got such a kick out of I thought I better post about it!

So, the other day, we had an extended family dinner. (LDS General Conference equals the traditional Hawaiian Haystack gathering!) At this dinner, there were a couple of new-to-us faces, not family members. Now, normally when I'm with my family we do have a little bookish discussion, mostly it's "what are you reading now?", my answer,  followed by blank stares. Often, I want to talk about blogging, (what I've learned, what I'm doing, how it's going etc.) but usually, that gets even more blank stares and glazed over eyes, so for the most part, it doesn't come up.

But this time, the bookish subject came up again and this is a vague, perhaps even a little (a lot?) exaggerated, reenactment of how it went down:

First the players:
Me
Mom
Sister#3
Brother#3
Sister#2
New Guy
New Girl
many onlookers

Brother#3: So, did you just recently go to an author thing?
Me: Yeah! Markus Zusak? Oh my gosh, it was SO AWESOME!!
Bro3: Who? No, I mean that one with the new kids book?
Me: Oh. Oh yeah. You mean Brandon Mull? Yes, I went to his launch party! So fun!
Bro3: Launch party?
Me: Yeah, so his new book Beyonders just came out, so they had a party. It was crazy!
Bro3: So, is it good? Better than his others?
Me: Yeah, I really liked it. I read it before it came out even you know. So I could tell him "awesome book" when I saw him at the signing.
Bro3: You already had it? How does that work?
Me: An ARC? Advanced Readers Copy? They sent me one. Cool, huh.
Sister#3: So, should I add that to my list of things to read?
Mom: I already gave you a book to read, you can't add more to the list!
Me: Whatever! She can make a reading list! Hello.

New Guy: So what do you like to read?
Me: Pretty much everything, but hey, I heard you are a writer...what are you writing?
NG: Oh, it's a science fiction thing. But I heard SF isn't really selling now, so I don't know...
Me: You could set in the Victorian era and call it Steam Punk! Everyone loves that these days!
NG: What? Really?
Mom: Steam what?
Me: Steam PUNK!
Mom: WHAT?
Me: S T E A M P U N K! You know... Steam..... PUNK!!!
NG: So what is that exactly?
Me: Mixing SF with the Victorian era, or at least set in the past. You know, like Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan? WWI and strange gizmos and gadgets too. Like a ship that's a whale. You know...
Everyone: (Blank stares......)
Mom: Steam WHAT?

Sis3: So what should I be reading?
Me: So, umm.... I have a blog, it has, like, tons of lists on there. YOU SHOULD LOOK AT IT!!!
Her: It makes my head spin.
Me: It has Top Tens, and all time favorites, tons of reviews, etc.
New Girl: Hey, I need ideas for what to read. I'll go look at it.
Me: Really?
NGirl: Yeah, how do I find it. (rips out paper.. starts to write)
Me: sueysbooks, dot
NGirl: What... Suey? Like how do you spell that?
Me: Ummm. actuallly, I have a card.....
NGirl: Well, it's okay, I've started writing this.
Me: sueysbooks.blogspot. com
NGirl: sueysbooks.... what?
Me: (getting cards): Here's my card....yeah.. .. so I made them for the blogger party, see...
Mom: WHAT? You've never given me a card!
Me: Here Mom... my card!
Me: (passing card to Sis3 and New Guy, and Bro3)
Me: (passing to Sis2)
Sister#2: Um... I know how to get there already!
Me: Yes! YOU comment!!! :)
Mom: So, what's this @sueysays thing?
Me: Yeah, so that's my Twitter....
Mom: Your WHAT? Oh brother....
Me: Um, Twitter?Yeah, so you have to Twitter if you want to stay in touch with the whole bookish/bloggish community you know.
Sis3: And besides, Josh Groban is on Twitter. Maybe I'll join and I can follow you and Josh.
Me: Do it!
Mom: (rolls eyes)
New Guy: (rolls eyes)
Everyone: (rolls eyes)
Me to New Guy: Yeah, if you become an author you WILL have to get one. And a blog. And a website. And then go do signings. And everyone will fall in love with you. And you'll have groupies, and stalkers!  And it's going to be great!
New Guy: Hmmm... maybe I better re-think this whole author thing....
Sis3: So, does Markus Zusak have all that?
Me: Ummm... no actually. But... he's a unique case!

Mom: Markus who?
Me: Zusak... only the best author ever.
Mom: So, what did he write?
Me: The Book Thief of course... for one.
Mom: (with the golden question) So what's it about?
Me: (quoting Markus exactly!) It's set in Nazi Germany, narrated by Death, everyone dies, 560 pages long... YOU'RE GONNA LOVE IT!
All onlookers: (rolls eyes... except for)
Sis3: (whipping out phone and adding it to her ongoing Facebook wall list of books to read!)


Yeah, so that was sort of the feel of the thing. I thought it was funny, especially that my mom was all put out I'd never given her a card. And that I ended up passing out a whole bunch to everyone. And now I wonder if anybody came here to take a look around, and if it made their head spin? WAVE TO THE FAMILY. Family, you can comment. Use your Google account, you all have one! New people from the family dinner, you can comment too. It's allowed. Comments make bloggers happy, just so you know.

Maybe I'll have to start passing out my cards more often... even to the "obvious" people!

So, how do family bookish/bloggish discussions sound at your place?

Review: I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak

Book: I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak
Genre: YA... sort of... Fiction
Rating: A
For: Re-read for author appearance
From: I bought this one so long ago I can't remember where

As you know, I decided to re-read at least one Markus Zusak book before he came, now a week plus back. Since I'd already read The Book Thief twice, I went for a re-read of this one. Ah, what fun it is to do re-reads of his books because, even though you are just as much into the story, you can concentrate less on that and give more attention to the words and the unique style. Very fun.

This is the story of Ed Kennedy. He reminded me a lot of Holden Caulfield (I hadn't yet read Catcher in the Rye when I read this the first time around) only he's not as obnoxious. He is drifting, and aimless and feeling sorry for himself much of the time. He wonders what his purpose in life is and he feels bad that he hasn't made much of himself. He has wacky group of friends and they waste a lot of time playing cards and drinking and sitting around. His dad has died, and his mom seems to hate him. And the girl he loves thinks he's too good for her. Because really, he is a good guy.

Then one day the bank is robbed and he gets mixed up right in the middle of it and saves the day. After that, people suddenly are calling him a hero, and then, he begins to get mysterious notes in the mail, on playing cards. After some deciphering on his part, the notes lead him to many different people who appear to need his help in some way or another. Some in a big way, some in a small.

And the way he feels after helping these people changes his whole outlook on life.  And it's a fascinating thing to watch happen. I love the lesson to be learned from this book, which to me is, that in helping others you find yourself. And that everyone has a story and problems and we all need friends to get us through life.

For quotes from this book that I loved (just a few) I'll refer you back to this post. Just know, once again, I'm blown away by the writing. Simple as that.

Bottom line: I loved it... again!

P.S. Be warned, there is quite a bit of language up front (no F words) but I noticed two things this time around... First, I must be getting desensitized to this because it didn't bother me as bad as the first time through, and second, the bad language seems to disappear as the book goes on which to me is sort of a suggestion as to how Ed himself improves. Nice.

Other Reviews:

My first review way back when I first started this blog.
Book Harbinger
Kay's Bookshelf
Fluttering Butterflies
Stacked

Review: My Jane Austen Summer by Cindy Jones

Book: My Jane Austen Summer by Cindy Jones
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: B+
For: TLC Blog Tour
From: The publisher (Harper Collins)

This is the story of Lily, a huge Jane Austen fan, who is struggling with her boring, sad, mundane life. Actually, maybe a life where too many unpleasant things seem to be happening. She gets dumped by her boyfriend, she loses her job, her mom has recently died, and her dad is getting remarried way too fast. I mean, could it get any more pathetic? No.... and that's why she jumps at the chance to go to England and participate in a Jane Austen literary festival where this year they will be acting out scenes from Mansfield Park.

However, once she gets there, she finds out things aren't so rosy there either. The organization is facing bankruptcy, Lily ends up with really no part to play in the production, her roommate, who wasn't supposed to show up, does and is a trip and a half, the landlady is on the brink of death which means the cool old house where they run this show could be sold out from under them, and then, to top it all off... .she meets a mysterious guy in the attic!

I expected this book to sort of be the escape of a modern woman into the world of Jane Austen. While it was a fun intriguing story, it didn't quite fit that escape scenario. I was a little disappointed at this. Instead of hearing about all the financial stress, and business side of the festival, I was hoping to have more Jane Austen-ish type situations befall our heroine.

Even so, all the Jane Austen references were very fun, and I learned quite a bit about her. There were many other non-Jane Austen literary references that I enjoyed too. This is truly a book lovers sort of book. But my most favorite part was how the character in the story, Lily, had her own personal Jane Austen (which she dubbed "my Jane Austen") that followed her around and had a reaction to pretty much everything that happened to Lily. Very fun idea. She was truly a tangible character and very much a part of this story.

One of my other favorite parts of this book is what I found at the end, where the author Cindy Jones, suggests ways to find your very own Jane Austen friendship. These include:

1. Read all six novels, without fail. (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Mansfield Park, Persuasion, Northanger Abbey)
2. Read a Jane Austen biography.
3. Pick your favorite Jane Austen novel and study it to the point that you can read between the lines and decide what you think she was really saying.
4. Join a Jane Austen fan club or society like JASNA
5. Become obsessed. Blog hop, lurk on forums, etc. Learn all you can!

Author Cindy Jones says that after she read all six Jane Austen novels and realized there would be no more, she went into withdrawals and found herself struggling to fill the void. She then realized she could write something to fulfill what she was missing and bring Jane to life. She says, "I envisioned gothic elements and characters immersed in enactments and discussion so immediate it would seem Jane Austen were present. I found myself inventing a literary festival where Jane Austen's novels assume relevance in the life of a troublesd young woman. Spending five years writing My Jane Austen Summer thoroughly satisfied my Austen craving." She has always dreamed of living in a novel, and she has discovered that now, through writing, she CAN live in a novel for the best part of the day!

Other Links of Interest:
Cindy's Blog: First Draft
My Jane Austen Summer Facebook Page
Other tour stops and reviews

Weekly Geeks 2011.12 and A Sunday Salon: Spring Quarterly Report

At first I wasn't going to report on my reading so far this year, but since it's a Weekly Geek assignment this week,and since I'm wanting to take a break from my day book sort of Sunday posts that I've been doing a lot of, I figured I'd give this report a go.

So far this year I've read 22 books, which is three short of where I should be if I'm to make it too 100. In fact Goodreads has even given me the message... "not bad but pick up the pace!" Ha! We'll see about that. You try reading a 1000 page fantasy in the middle of everything Goodreads! :)

Here are the questions posed over at Weekly Geeks that I'll attempt to answer:

• Books published in 2011 you've read that have lived up or NOT to the hype

I haven't read any really hyped up books. Wither was great. Beyonders was great. Hush was okay, My Jane Austen Summer was okay. But there's nothing I've read that bombed in my eyes... yet.

• Something new or different you've added to your blog

Nothing new about the blog really. Same old same old. I seem to have few new readers though! That makes me happy. I added a few new pages and rearranged things a bit back for Bloggiesta in January, but nothing major. Do I need to change something up? Any suggestions? I'm a little scared to mess with things for some reason these days.

• Organizing books - do you have a new system, new bookcases, or are you simply getting rid of things to make room for the new?

Oh wow, I need to organize them somehow. They are getting away from me again! What a mess!

• Changes you are making from the first part of the year to the second part of the year

Hmmm ,well, according to Goodreads I need to pick up the pace! Maybe if I read some "easy" books I can get my total back on track, when I give the 1000 page fantasy thing a bit of break. 

• Most anticipated book releases in April, May and June 2011

There's a lot of local author releases coming up that I'm looking forward to. Back When You Were Easier to Love by Emily Wing Smith, The Forgotten Locket by Lisa Mangum, Possession by Elana Johnson... to name a few.

• How your reading changes from the winter months to the warmer days of spring

Nothing much changes. In June, though, I do hope to read brain candy easy type books while on vacation. Suggestions?

• Is there a book you've read in the first three months of the year which you think will make your top ten list for the year? Share it with us!

Book that I've read so far this year that I'm pretty sure will make to my top ten of the year are Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, Room, The Glass Castle, Paranormalcy and I am the Messenger, if we can count re-reads. 

Other stuff to report:

• I've read five out of the ten books I listed in the post "books I must read in 2011."
• I'm on track with at least one NF book a month.
• In looking at my bookish resolutions, I'm really not doing that well, except for the NF, and perhaps the local author thing. 
• I need to read more classics, more Printz, and more buzzed about books.

And I guess that's about it that I can think of to report on regarding my reading so far this year. I just know that I look at my piles and wish I could read more faster. Know the feeling?

How's it going so far for you?

Random Thoughts for the Day

Some stuff I'm thinking today:

** Anxious to see the new Jane Eyre. I'm very much in the mood for this movie.

** Don't ever, ever, let your scrapbook piles get behind for four plus years!

** I guess I'm more addicted to Twitter than I thought!

** I don't like April Fools Day, so don't mess with me...

** That girl last night on Mobbed? Let's hope she didn't have dreams of planning a wedding.

** Have you ever watched Legend of the Seeker? I think I might try that one for me next Hulu viewing pleasure.

** I'm half way through Lord of Chaos... whew, this one is hard this go around.

** I wish it was last Friday, and I could meet Markus Zusak all over again. :)

** We tried Texas Roadhouse for the first time last night. Wow, that was a noisy, rockin', hoppin' place! And yummy food! Very fun.

** I had a fun talk with Yamile on my porch yesterday when she came to get her book. You should hear her beautiful accent and how she pronounces Carlos Ruiz Zafon and Isabel Allende. So cool!

** I was sad to miss seeing/meeting/listening to/partying with Carrie Ryan the other night. I'm also sad that I didn't know about Dan Wells being in the vicinity until it was too late.

** James on American Idol is really growing on me.

** We have a talent show tonight, which for me means hauling the drum set up the stairs and figuring out how to pack it in the car, driving it over to the school, hauling it in, then doing it all over in reverse. Keep this in mind if you ever let your kids play the drums.

** Thinking about a staycation for spring break. Can I make that work and be fun?

** I wish you could pick to worry about either food or exercise, but not both.

Wow, I guess I'm full of thoughts today! I better stop and go get ready for work. See you around!