Monday, March 16, 2009

mishmash Monday

Hmmm...where to begin...

Many thanks to our lovely hostesses, Eva and Alessandra.










Quirkology: How We Discover the Big Truths in Small Things by Richard Wiseman.

I read about this one at the site where reviews for the Science Challenge are posted, but I can't really award a point, because I don't actually know who wrote it. Just sounds like a very fun read.





The Sandman: Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman.

Couldn't believe it was actually there. :)










...I never saw another butterfly...: Children's Drawings and Poems from Terezin Concentration Camp, 1942-1944 edited by Hana Volavkova.

I'm sure many tears will be shed reading this one.







Cat, What Is That? by Tony Johnston.

Bet you can guess why I picked this one up, huh? Yep, a read for Maxidoodle and me. Wish I could have found a bigger image of this one...the paintings are so beautiful!

I realize that's not a huge pile of library loot. Yet still I'm going to try to cut back for a while. I keep finding myself not able to read the books I'm eagerly wanting to read from my TBR shelves because I'm always feeling the pressure of "due dates" for all my library acquisitions. We'll see how it goes though...as we go to the library every week for school. And I'm not exactly known for my wealth of willpower.

*****

Okay, and what purchases entered my home in the previous week? The answer should have been "none" as I'd put myself on a book buying fast. But see, I also started a battle with the scale. And fighting both these battles at once was just too much for this weary old lady. So I bought a couple books...

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld.

I HATE this cover, but it was the only one they had. Anyway, after Nymeth's review, I knew it was only a matter of time. I was able to "rationalize" a bit though, saying I was sort of buying it for Rich. Sounds like one he's going to love...in fact, he started reading it last night. Point for Nymeth!




River Secrets by Shannon Hale.

Man, I really HATE this cover, too. But what are you gonna do, huh? Anyway, it seems like I waited forever for this to come out in paperback, and by the time it did, it had sort of fallen off my radar. But I saw it the other night, and I tried to resist...





*****

Okay, so what else is new? I already admitted that I joined Becky's It's the End of the World Challenge. Guess I should now 'fess up...I joined her Elizabeth Scott Challenge, too. Excuses: a. I have one of her books that I've really been wanting to read anyway, b. I can use these books for other challenges, and c. come on, it's Becky hosting!

*****

And finally, the sweet and lovely J.Kaye is now hosting It's Monday. What Are You Reading?.

Books I read last week:

*American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
*The Sandman: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman





Books I'm currently reading and am determined to finish this week:

*House of Stone by Christina Lamb
*Down to a Sunless Sea by Mathias B. Freese
*The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
*What If We Do Nothing? Poverty by Cath Senker

Books I'm currently reading but won't finish this week:

*Africa: A Biography of the Continent by John Reader
*The Scientists by John Gribbin
*Looking for Bobowicz by Daniel Pinkwater

Books I hope to start this week:

*Cat, What Is That? by Tony Johnston
*Lives of the Artists by Kathleen Krull
*The Dead & The Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
*Summer for the Gods by Edward J. Larson

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Steve read Mathias B. Freese's book and really enjoyed it. I'm curious how you'll feel about it.

Literary Feline said...

I love that word: Quirkology. :-) It sounds like you have some good reading ahead of you.

The book with the drawings and poems from the concentration camp sounds like it will be really interesting--and sad. Please do let me know what you think.

I wish I was more adept at reading more than one book at a time. I think it land me in a big rut though. LOL

Enjoy your books!

Robin M said...

What a great list of books. Enjoy.
My post is up here

Ana S. said...

Oooh, Quirkology sounds fun. And I never saw another butterfly sounds amazing. I hadn't heard of it before, I don't think.

Peeps! Do let me know what Rich thinks :D I think you'll both enjoy it.

I want to read The Merchant of Venice too. I want to read more Shakespeare, period. Maybe you'll give me the encouragement I need :P

serendipity_viv said...

Wow - your reading seven books at a time - I am impressed! I want to read the Neil Gaiman one too. Quirkology sounds very interesting - can't wait to hear what you think.

You made me laugh with the ban on book buy against the scales. I swear my book buying has stopped my food cravings. Every time I get a food craving, I hit the charity shop instead and buy a book! Costs pounds, but I also lose pounds!

Louise said...

I hear a lot about Neil Gaiman - he is not a writer that I know, but maybe I should put one of his books on my TBR-wishlist as many people seem to love him....

chrisa511 said...

Well I thouroughly enjoyed Mishmash Monday! :D So much bookish stuff that my brain exploded a little bit! I'm so excited that you got Peeps. I really want to read that one too..I think I'm going to get it next time I head over to the library.

DesLily said...

yikes! I'm lucky I can read one book at a time!!

Carl V. Anderson said...

Quirkology does sound very, very fun. I look forward to your review to see if it is worth picking up.

Kailana said...

Quirkology sounds like something that I would enjoy! I will have to check that out. I read Peeps... still haven't reviewed it... and I had that cover too. I really don't like it, either! I am not big on Shannon Hale's new covers either. I liked Peeps, though. I have the sort of sequel here to read sometime in this century...

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

That's a lot of books started and hoping to start!! And by the way--willpower is overrated, huh? :)

Susan said...

I love how many books are on this post! and the willpower thing - my husband came home with 4 for me tonight to help me recover with my bad back! He's such a dear. And he bought them, so he couldn't complain about the money (though he tried). I'll post about what they are tomorrow. I like the sound of what we're reading on Mondays, I might join that. Fun post, Debi and I know all about reading several books at one time!!! lol