library loot for a new challenge

Like I wasn't already far enough behind on my blog reading, the internet just had to go out for the much of the day. And I'd really wanted to make this post earlier, so I could finish up my monthly wrap-up post this evening as we've decided to hit the road and go visit Rich's mom tomorrow. Oh well...hardly worth stressing over.

*****

So anyway, the Color Me Brown Book Challenge starts in just a couple of days. I'm so excited about this, and wish that I could just devote the entire month of reading to it. Alas, school planning requirements won't allow that. But I'm shooting for at least four. Which obviously means I have to get a lot more read than I did this pathetic month! As I already personally challenged myself to read all of Susan's unofficial list of great YA by and about women of color, I'll probably overlap a few books here.

*****

(Library Loot is co-hosted by Eva and Marg.)
We hit the library yesterday, and I picked up a couple books for this challenge.










Pemba's Song: A Ghost Story by Tonya C. Hegamin and Marilyn Nelson.
I can't wait to read this...it looks sooooo good! And I believe it's on Susan's list, too.








Behind You by Jacqueline Woodson.
I picked this one up not realizing that it was the sequel to If You Come Softly. Don't want to read out of order, now do I. So I quickly remedied this problem by ordering If You Come Softly from PaperbackSwap.









Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix. This is one I picked up for school, for our history through literature unit. It's about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. I'm sure I'll enjoy it, but frankly I don't feel like reading it...I'm very much in one of those pissy moods where I'm sick to death of being obligated to read things for school. Yeah, I'm being whiny.






Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale.
Total impulse pick-up. When I saw it, I couldn't resist.











*****

Okay, back to our trip now. These are the books I'm bringing:

--The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. (reading for school)
--Oh Pure and Radiant Heart by Lydia Millet. (what I'm currently reading for fun)
--Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix. (in case I finish The Jungle)
--The Best of John Bellairs (in case there is time to read to the boys in the midst of extended family chaos)
--The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci (because Renay asked so very nicely)
--Pemba's Song by Marilyn Nelson and Tonya C. Hegamin (because I'm simply itching to crack it open)
--Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale (in case I get a strong craving for a graphic novel)

Now, seeing how I've read all of three books thus far this month, you may think bringing seven books for a long weekend is a bit of overkill. I'm sure you're right. But somehow it just feels comforting.

*****

Hope you all have a truly fantastic weekend!!!!!

they're here...

I didn't quite manage to summon up the willpower that Chris did when it came to Book Closeouts kids/YA book sale. At the moment, wallowing in the utter loveliness of my new book pile, I'm okay with that. (That may change when I have to actually find somewhere to house them.)

Look at all this incredible reading I have to look forward to:



And yes, some of it comes with blame attached.

*Echo and
*Psyche in a Dress by Francesca Lia Block (To date, I've only read one of her books, but I loved it. Love the way she writes. Am so looking forward to reading Dangerous Angels and Girl Goddess #9, which are already on my shelves. Now I'm looking forward to these ones, too. :D )
*Cupid by Julius Lester (Another mythic retelling involving Psyche. Was fascinated that this was written by Julius Lester. I read his To Be a Slave. Such an incredible and powerful book. This one is obviously extremely different in style and subject.)
*Hauntings and other Tales of Danger, Love, and Sometimes Loss by Betsy Hearne (This one has been on my wish list a long time. Ever since reading this review at Estella's Revenge. Point for Andi.)
*The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci (Becky's review totally sold me on this one. And of course, I needed it for the Printz Project anyway.)
*After by Francine Prose and
*The Book of Lies by James Moloney (I honestly know nothing about either of these, except that the descriptions were too intriguing for me to resist.)
*The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler (Been interested in this one since I first heard of it, but it was Dewey's interview review that sealed the deal. Again, it doesn't hurt that it will count for the Printz Project.)
*I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (Nymeth's review is totally at fault for this one. But somehow I didn't realize this was considered a YA book.)
*Define "Normal" by Julie Anne Peters and
*The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson (I added both of these to my wish list when I searching out possible reads for Amanda's GLBT Challenge. So looking forward to both of these.)
*The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling (I was so excited when I learned of this book through Shanra's review...I love Coyote and Anansi and the like. No resisting this one.)
*The Last Days by Scott Westerfeld (I'm going to pretend that I didn't buy this for me. Actually, I don't need to pretend. I did buy it for Rich, because he loved Peeps--this is the sequel--so much. Who cares that I will eventually read it, too.)
*Black Juice by Margo Lanagan (Okay, despite the fact that Nymeth hasn't actually reviewed this book yet, I'm still pinning the blame for this one on her. The love she expresses for Lanagan's writing made it impossible not to pick this one up. Hey, and yet again, the Printz Project.)
*Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales edited by Deborah Noyes (Includes stories by authors such as Neil Gaiman and Garth Nix...like I could say "no.")
*A Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages (Do you ever get little fixations? I've this one going for the last several months about some of the scientists involved in the Manhattan Project. Not so much the actual science...as much as I love science, physics is like a foreign language to me...but more the scientists, etc. I think it started with a video Annie and I watched called, "Einstein's Letter." Anyway, this YA book is set in 1943 at Los Alamos. Anyway, I'm looking forward to this one, and if it's good, I might just use it for our "history through literature" unit in school this year.)
*The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish by Neil Gaiman. (Didn't already own it. No further explanation necessary.)
*Meow: Cat Stories from Around the World by Jane Yolen (This is actually one of the books I ordered for Max. But I'm sooooo very much looking forward to reading this one with him that I just had to include it in my list.)

I did warn you

Yep. Details from our bathroom. In photo form.

Sorry...I just can't help but be excited that I actually finished one of my big summer goals. The redoing of our bathroom. To say it needed done is an understatement. It's really needed done since we moved in, to be perfectly honest. We're talking peeling paint and whatnot. And while I wish we could have afforded to just have it gutted and professionally remodeled, that would have been overkill. Yes, our molded tub/shower is ugly, but there's nothing actually wrong with it...so having it replaced would just be consumerism at its worst. Something we're making a real effort to avoid these days.

Anyway, we ended up with a bit of a theme in there. A kitchen theme. Sounds kinda gross, I suppose. But see, it came about because I was trying to come up with a creative solution to an eyesore. The cover of the ceiling fan vent was ugly, yellowed, and cracked. And it didn't hang quite right either. Yes, we could have epoxied it up there, I suppose. But in this instance, we felt justified in just getting rid of it. But we didn't want to replace it with another ugly piece of plastic. After wracking my brains for a bit, I came up with the idea of using a colander...an idea my darling husband wholeheartedly supported. But we couldn't find one big enough. Not to be deterred, we scoured the kitchen store until we spotted a pizza pan!

Seriously, I wish this photo did it justice, because in person, I swear it looks really cool! (Yeah, or that may just be us. ;) )




























And the pizza pan just set the tone. I added a hook to hold a hand towel made from an old serving spoon. Made a tieback for the shower curtain from cookie cutters.



















An old creamer for cotton swabs and an old serving bowl for cotton balls. (And a silly bug toy, just because it's cute.)


















And my very favorite thing of all. New artwork! Going with that kitchen theme...I gave each of the kiddos a canvas and set them to having fun printing with all the cool kitchen utensils they could find in the kitchen drawers. Again, the photo kinda sucks, as I just couldn't get good lighting, but honestly they look fabulous hanging in there!





























Okay, I apologize for subjecting you to this. But now that I've finished this major project, maybe I'll find time to actually finish a book one of these days. ;) One can hope, anyways.

inexcusable

I tried to write a post about the racist action taken by Bloomsbury in regards to the cover of the upcoming YA book Liar by Justine Larbalestier. I don't write well when I'm pissed off. Thankfully, Renay does. Please go read these posts, if you haven't already.

good stuff

*I finally finished a book!

The Golden Phoenix: Eight French-Canadian Fairy Tales by Marius Barbeau, retold by Michael Hornyansky. Okay, so it was a very short book at just under 150 pages, but it was a book nonetheless. And quite an enjoyable one. It's not that I'd forgotten that I love folktales, but I think I had forgotten just how much I love them. There wasn't a single tale in this collection that I didn't enjoy. Quite the contrary...this was a wonderful little collection! In my limited experience with folktales overall, I think I've only previously read one French-Canadian tale, "The Talking Cat," so it was great fun to read the tales in this book. They definitely had both their own feel (like containing lots of Jacques and Jean Petits :D ), but they also seemed to contain all those classic folktale elements. Bottom line, I highly recommend this book to folktale lovers of all ages!

*Wonderful blogger friends who introduce me to books that I likely never would have heard of otherwise. Yes, as in the book above. Thank you, Kailana!!!

*The wonder of imagination.

This adorable little munchkin (I'm his mom--I'm allowed to be biased) lost the first of those all-important top front teeth. I asked him if he thought the tooth fairy would be paying him a visit that night. He answered, "There is no tooth fairy." Oh man, my heart just sank...how could he be growing up so fast?!! But then I asked him where the money came from and where the lost teeth disappeared to. His answer: the Tooth Cloud. Huh? Well, according to young Maxidoodle, the Tooth Cloud drops down the money and then sucks up the tooth. This was a totally new one to me, so I asked him who told him about the Tooth Cloud. "Nobody. I just heard it in my head. And I'm pretty sure I'm right."

(Yes, the Tooth Cloud did come through for him.)

*Wonderful blogger friends who send me e-mails that make my heart smile. For all kinds of different reasons. Thank you, Nymeth and Shanra!!!

*Silliness. Plain and simple.

















*Surprise visitors.






















*Book lists.

Don't lists of books just make you giddy right down to your toenails?!! Well, I just found one I'm super excited about. Susan at Black-Eyed Susan posted her unofficial list of great YA by or about women of color. It's my new personal reading challenge to read them all. Susan is pretty new blogger to me...and she's so awesome. Renay kind of awesome. Nymeth kind of awesome. Eva kind of awesome. Dewey kind of awesome. You know, that kind of awesome that speaks up about things that matter. The kind of awesome that makes a difference.

still residing in the land of disorganization

Can't quite figure out where I'm going wrong this summer. Or maybe things aren't really going wrong so much as there's just not going as I'd envisioned. So little reading getting done. Actually that's not even true. It's more like so many books are being read, but so few are being finished. I'll get there eventually.

*****

I have managed to do a little scrapbooking. :D This makes me happy.

*****

And speaking of making me happy:



I LOVE THIS!!!! It's by Gustavo Aimar, an Argentinian artist. Isn't it gorgeous?!!

*****

So what have I been doing with my summer thus far? Lots and lots of school stuff. As usual.

*****

But also working a bit around the house. YAY! I finally got the bathroom painted. And mostly "redone." Just a couple more little projects to do, and I shall call it good. Maybe I'll even share a couple pictures, because there's a few things we did that I totally love. Yeah, I'm sure you're all just dying to see pictures of our bathroom. ;)

*****

One goal of this summer was a major decluttering of the whole abode. If I plan to finish, I'd better step up the pace. Did the bathroom, of course. Have done half of the boys' closet. Gotten through half of one movie cabinet. (Which means, Kara, if you want them, I've got a box of videos/DVDs for the little guy.) And I've started on the library. Yeah, not getting far, am I? But see, the library part is where it gets interesting. I'm trying very hard to be ruthless! We are overflowing with books. There is no shelf space left, and books are being piled on the floor, the coffee table, etc. So I must weed! Okay, I've only managed to get through a few shelves so far, but I have pulled out three or four books. Which, when I ever get my act together (in other words, don't hold your breath), I plan to give away. Some are used books, and some are brand spanking new. Books that hopefully someone will enjoy. In fact, probably books I would enjoy...but I'm trying to be realistic about just how much I can actually get read in my lifetime.

*****

This dusting/weeding task of mine led to an interesting discovery. And it leads me to a question for you all. What's your opinion on dust covers? Like them? Hate them? Don't really think about them? Leave them on? Get rid of them? Take them off but save them?

As for me, I hate them. Not sure why, but I do. And yet I leave them on. I was talking to Rich last night and discovered he hated them, too. We just like the look of books better without them. I'm trying to decide if I should just go with my heart and ditch them all.

Oh, but that interesting discovery made while dusting and rearranging books.

As you can see, this is Lisey's Story. With its bright red dust jacket.



Now, I have no problem with red. In fact, it's my very favorite color in the world. But for whatever reason, I happened to lift off the dust jacket and found one of the most beautiful book covers I'd ever laid my eyes on!



Yes, I realize that admitting that I only just now discovered this strengthens the argument that I must live in a cave. That's okay. Because it just totally brightened my already happy evening last night.

Sunday Salon...

Been a long time since I've Sunday Salon-ed. (It is okay to turn that into a verb, isn't it?) The reason for my long absence: I'm always so impressed with others' SS posts...they're so well-written, so thoughtful, so relevant...but me...well, I just tend to ramble. But. I've decided it's time to stop worrying so much all the time...I need to stop apologizing for being me.

Thanks to everyone who answered the question about how many books you have going at any one time. I wasn't alone in smiling at Wendy's use of the term "monogamous reader." But when I started thinking about carrying that analogy further, well... Seems I'm one promiscuous little hussy. ;) Perhaps I really should think of settling down. Keeping so many books happy all at the same time really isn't an easy thing to do, after all. But who do I kick to the roadside?

Oh, how I love my quiet moments with Twelve Moons by Mary Oliver.
And well, I've neglected Starry Rift for far too long as it is. The first several stories brought me such pleasure earlier this year. Do I now just toss it aside and forget simply because I'm busy?
And then we have Affluenza and The Jungle. I've made commitments. I must stick with them, for the sake of the child (in other words, they're for homeschooling).
And well, speaking of for the sake of the child, there's College-Prep Homeschooling.
And then there's The Scientists, Africa: A Biography of the Continent, and Collapse. Yes, I've fulfilled my commitments to them. I read as much of them as I needed to for school. But considering the time I've already invested into our relationships, do I now just say "good-bye" without seeing where they might lead?
And finally, there's Oh Pure and Radiant Heart. She's new. She's exciting. She's making me look at the world in fresh ways. I don't think I can bear to lose her right now.

And so you see my dilemma. Perhaps I'm just not meant to be a one book kind of woman. I've had a taste of playing the field, and I just can't seem to go back.

*****

Elsewhere in my bookish world...

I'm rarely one to indulge in retail therapy. Honestly. I'm more likely to drown my sorrows in plate of chocolate chip cookies. But I'm afraid this week my feelings of "overwhelmedness" coincided with Book Closeouts big kids/ya book sale. Yeah, I went a tad overboard. But allow me to rationalize just a bit...a.) how often can you get 29 books for $75?!! (and that includes shipping!), b.) they weren't all for me--I not only bought books for all three munchkins, but I picked up some gifts as well, and c.) some of these books were ones that were high on my wish list so not buying them now for $1.99 would have been stupid when I likely would have paid full retail for them sometime in the next few months.

Okay, before my lovely box of books arrives, I think I should just go ahead and update the Blame Game 3. Not many acquisitions, but all but one come with points to be handed out:

The Planets by Dava Sobel.

Though I've seen this book around since, it was Carl who first brought this book to my attention. Between the nice things he had to say about Dava Sobel's Galileo's Daughter and the extraordinarily beautiful cover on this one, well, I just couldn't help but order it when I saw it on PaperbackSwap.






Normal by Amy Bloom.

No question. Point for Eva. Absolutely couldn't stop myself from immediately hitting our library website and ordering this one after her awesome review.









Where the Wild Things Were: Life, Death, and Ecological Wreckage in a Land of Vanishing Predators by William Stolzenburg.

No points. But I am clinging to the excuse that we're likely going to read this for environmental science this year.








The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness.

I can't tell you how excited I was to find this book at B&N yesterday! Ever since reading Nymeth's review, I have been dying to get my hands on this. And every time we went to a bookstore, I looked for it but no one ever had it. I'd pretty much resigned myself to ordering it, and I almost didn't even bother to look for it yesterday since they didn't have it the last time we were there. But anyway, Hooray!




*****

Do you enjoy sitting outside during the summer, reading and drinking a nice cold beer? Uh, forgive me...I couldn't find any other way to make this next little tidbit bookish in nature.

I'm so excited...we're going to start brewing beer again! (Okay, truth in advertising time: "we're" is probably more accurately stated as "Rich." But I'll help him as needed, and I'll enjoy the fruits of his labor. :D )

just curious

Don't Miss Out! Go get yourself registered for BBAW (Book Blogger Appreciation Week)!

(How Amy pulls this all together is beyond me!!!)

*****

A "just curious" question: How many books do you generally have going at once?

I miss the days when I only read one book at a time, and yet I can't seem to go back.

the bad, the good, and the blame

Excuse the lame title. I'm really tired.

The Bad: the month is nearly half over. And I've only read two books! I've read quite a bit in some longer non-fic books I've got going, but I doubt I'm actually going to finish any of those this month. Of course, the month I actually do finish all those is going to look like a killer reading month. I've also done a lot of textbook reading in preparation for the coming school year, but of course, that never counts toward my reading totals.

The Good: Two books. Who cares?!! One of them is my favorite read of the year so far! (See previous post.) And frankly, I don't see it being knocked out of that spot. Of course, I am willing to have some book try. :D

The Blame: It's been a while since I've updated points for the Blame Game. Mostly because I just haven't been accumulating many books. Not sure what's gotten into me. Anyway, here's what has made its way into our house:

Scary Stories Treasury collected from folklore and retold by Alvin Schwartz with abundant artwork by Stephen Gammell.

Had to buy it. Couldn't resist. It has all three of the Scary Story books combined into one collection. They're just such fun little stories. I'm hoping to read lots and lots to the kids this fall. And I love the art (though a lot of it really creeps Gray out).


Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper.

I've never read anything by her before, and I'm not even sure if I've ever heard of her before. But I was looking for fairy tale retellings on PaperbackSwap and this one caught my eye. When I looked into her a bit, I found she's actually quite prolific. And I was intrigued by the fact that some say she has an ecofeminist slant. Anyone read this book? Or any of her others? What did you think?




Sunshine by Robin McKinley.

And here we have a point to be awarded. Susan wrote this wonderfully fun post about her favorite books of the last decade. Somehow I fear this is only the first book from that one post that will be earning points for Susan...several more made their way onto my wish list, too.






Ever by Gail Carson Levine.

We stopped in the book closeout store yesterday. I only bought one book for myself...I think I should get a reward or something. (Oh yeah, I think that was my excuse for eating that piece of cherry pie last night...guess I did get a reward.) I have yet to read any of her books, but I have this feeling that I'm going to be completely charmed. Hope I'm right on that score.




And finally, from the library, we have one lonesome book:

The Golden Phoenix: Eight French-Canadian Fairy Tales by Marius Barbeau, and retold by Michael Hornyansky.

And the blame for this one falls squarely on Kailana's shoulders because of this review. I have to admit that I'm still basking in the afterglow of Nation, and can't seem to think about starting a new novel. But I think I might start this collection today as a way of easing myself back in. ;)





See, I've been very well behaved lately, haven't I? Oh, and before I go, if you'd like a way to shirk a little responsibility for your book accumulation habits, don't forget that Chris is hosting The Bad Bloggers meme. Go add your link so we can all see who's responsible for your sagging bookshelves. :D

Nation...random thoughts

Nation by Terry Pratchett.

Where does one begin?!! Yeah, it's a gushfest book for sure. Definitely straight to the favorites list.

Okay, since I've given up on stressing so much over this book babbling thing, and writing a brief, non-spoiler glimpse at the book is always so hard for me, I'm just stealing these lines from the jacket flap:

Mau is the Only one left after a giant wave sweeps his island village away. But when much is taken, something is returned, and somewhere in the jungle Daphne--a girl from the other side of the globe--is the sole survivor of a ship destroyed by the same wave.

Together the two confront the aftermath of catastrophe. Drawn by the smoke of Mau and Daphne's sheltering fire, other refugees slowly arrive...

A few of the many things I loved:

*The questioning. This aspect of the book spoke to me so much. I loved watching Mau deal with matters of faith he'd always taken for granted. I think this must be a fairly universal process when one is raised in a faith, whatever the beliefs might be. It seems everyone must reach a point where they need to question the things they've been taught as fact. For many their faith stands up to their questioning, and for others, like me, it just doesn't. But what I think is important, no matter which outcome is reached, is that the questions were asked in the first place. Due to the abrupt and catastrophic events that completely change his life, Mau is almost forced to deal with these questions. And yet his questioning never feels rushed. It feels so authentic. At first, the questions, and doubts, pop into his mind unbidden. But soon they become a second tidal wave to Mau. I won't tell you how things play out there, but I just had to say how very much I loved this part of the story.

*The writing. Okay, I admit it...I don't notice "writing" as much as I think many people do. I'm more of a tell-me-a-good-story-with-good-characters type of gal. There are exceptions...I think I could happily drown in a sea of Ray Bradbury's words. But for the most part, I'm pretty oblivious. So what was it about Terry Pratchett's writing in this book that made me take notice? I'm not sure I know exactly how to answer that. There was a simplicity that somehow managed to contain such power. He made me feel so deeply with so few words. I could literally pick out dozens and dozens of little snippets that did this to me. Just a few examples:

It rained. It was heavy rain, muddy rain, full of ash and sadness.


There were two dogs, too, and that almost broke him. The people, well, the horror was so great that his mind went blank, but the twisted bodies of the dogs twisted his soul.


They didn't know why these things were funny. Sometimes you laugh because you've got no more room for crying. Sometimes you laugh because table manners on a beach are funny. And sometimes you laugh because you're alive, when you really shouldn't be.


...And now it was two weeks later, and a lot had happened. The most important thing was that time had passed, pouring thousands of soothing seconds across the island. People need time to deal with the now before it runs away and becomes the then.

*The world. This is my first experience with a story in such a setting. It is set in the 1800s on Earth, and yet Earth is not really Earth. A parallel universe. I realize that most of you are quite familiar with this type of setting, but still being new to fantasy and science fiction, this was a fun new adventure in reading for me. The island is in the Great Southern Pelagic Ocean, which seems as if it must be in the area in which the Pacific Ocean lies. But it is not the Pacific that we know. But we are, it seems, at the same time really on Earth, because before the tragic shipwreck, Daphne went to meetings of the Royal Society with her father and met people such as Charles Darwin. As I said, I realize that many of you are probably quite used to this kind of merging of realities, but for me it was quite new. And I absolutely loved it.

*The science. And if you haven't read it, and aren't big on science, please don't let that scare you. No, this wasn't full of scientific facts and figures. But without beating one over the head, it beautifully emphasized the importance of science. And that's just something I feel passionate about. (Brief unimportant note: Though I thoroughly love Daphne, I am going to have to disagree with her a bit on her ranking of scientists. ;) )

*The humor. My goodness, but Sir Pratchett is a gifted man. Understatement, I know. As I was reading this, Rich asked me if it was a funny book. (He still has the experience of his first Terry Pratchett book to look forward to.) I tried to explain to him that, yes, it definitely was, but at the same time it was so deeply meaningful. He said, "So he's like Vonnegut?" I hadn't linked those two in my mind before that, and while they are very different writers, I was immediately drawn to the comparison. I know my reading experience is not nearly as broad as it is for many, but there are no two other authors I've read who so effectively use humor to express the most profound truths, to dig through the layers and get to what matters in this life.

*The depth. Yes, I found myself smiling, even giggling, throughout this book, I also found myself awed. I don't want to say too much and give anything away, but wow...this book just gets to the heart of being human. And while I smiled, I also cried. Sometimes over things so big it's hard to shrink them into mere words. Other times, what I cried over was easier to grasp. There was one short passage that so simply, and yet so heartbreakingly, conveyed the tragedy of colonialism that I just had tears streaming down my face. I guess what I mean to say is that if you read this book, be prepared to feel.

Hmmm...I just read over what I've written here. And while I stand by everything I've said, I know I haven't conveyed the sheer awesomeness of this book. Know that that is my fault, not the fault of the book itself.

And for other perspectives:

*Nymeth at Things Mean A Lot
*Valentina at Valentina's Room
*Chris at Stuff As Dreams Are Made On
*Dewey at The Hidden Side of a Leaf
*Kailana at The Written World
*Bart from Bart's Bookshelf
*Shelley at ChainReading
*Anastasia at Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog
*Melissa at Book Nut
*Darla D at Books & Other Thoughts

If I missed your review, accept my sincere apologies. And then leave me a link in the comments, and I'll add it above. Thanks.

today I am...

...wondering if it defeats the purpose of participating in Wordless Wednesday to make this post.

...thankful for all my wonderful blogging friends that so graciously shared their thoughts and experiences about the process of writing "reviews."

...relieved that the kids' trip to the dentist this morning went smoothly and held no horrible surprises.

...determined to set aside at least two solid hours for "fun" reading.

...thrilled that the boys are so excited about starting karate tonight.

...hoping to finally come up with the rest of my goals for my 50x50 list.

...behind on my blog reading. Again.

...debating whether I should do a load of laundry when the sky is looking so iffy.

...practicing my procrastination skills.

...loving this wonderful, if less than exciting, life of mine.

Wordless Wednesday...formal wear

Wordless Wednesday found here.

a quick question for you all

Concerning book reviews. Which in my case, I don't even call "reviews" but instead opt for the term "book babble." Reason being that I don't ever have anything intelligent enough or insightful enough to say to actually call it a review. (Please do NOT try to be sweet and argue with me on this point! I mean it, that is so not the point of this post!) It's just that I like to talk about books, and it's my blog so I should be able to talk about them however I want, right? Okay, so why do I stress myself out over writing my little book babbles then? And believe me, I seriously do stress myself out. It takes me forever to write a book babble post, and even so I'm never happy with them. Yes, I realize it's just not one of my talents, and that's perfectly okay...I do have other things I'm good at so it's not the end of the world. But I have to admit that I sometimes feel guilty posting them at all, when everyone else's reviews seem so effortless and intelligent and well-written.

So I'm just curious...what is writing a book review like for you? How long do spend writing a review? Is it effortless, or do you perfect, perfect, perfect? Does writing reviews stress you out, or is it just a fun and easy exercise to you? Yep, just curious.

too tired to think of a title

We're back from the annual family reunion. I love my extended family. Honest. I do. A lot. They're good people. But sometimes they drive me freakin' crazy! That's perfectly normal, right?

Anyway, it's over. Now maybe I'll find more time for reading. I've been pathetic so far this summer. Almost two weeks in on our unofficial start date, and I've only finished two books. Two. Isn't that sad? Of course, the not sad part is that I really loved them both. I read The Garden of Eve by K.L. Going on the way to the reunion. Loved it. Hopefully I'll get around to reviewing soon. But Kailana already wrote this great review, so I'm not going to stress myself out about getting it done.

Something I know I'm not going to get done is catching up on all your wonderful posts from this weekend. I so hate clicking that mark as read button...but man, it's amazing how fast that reader fills up, isn't it?!!

I'm so totally rambling here, aren't I? I apologize, but that's how the old brain is functioning this evening.

I should just throw on my pajamas and curl up in bed. I'm so excited...I'm going to start Terry Pratchett's Nation tonight!!!! :D Maybe I shouldn't, since I have so many other books going right now (Africa: A Biography of the Continent by John Reader and The Scientists by John Gribbin, both of which Annie and I read about half of for school last year and both of which I would like to just finish now because they're very good; The Starry Rift edited by Jonathan Strahan, because I have so many short story anthologies started and I want to finish some of them up this summer; The House with a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs, the book I'm currently reading to the boys; and Affluenza by John De Graaf, David Wann, and Thomas H. Naylor and Collapse by Jared Diamond, both of which I'm reading in preparation for the next school year), but to hell with "shouldn't"! I'm going to do it anyway, because I just really, really want to!

Someone needs to shut me up, don't they? Yeah, the rambling is only getting worse...

challenge update

This won't be pretty. I will inevitably shake my head and think, "Why can't you stop yourself from signing up for these things?!!" But it is a good way to avoid all the things I should be doing right now, like packing, and making massive amounts of muffins, and cutting up 30 pounds of fruit, and...we leave for my family reunion tomorrow morning.

Four challenges ended during the last quarter: I thoroughly bombed Exploration: Reading Latin America, I didn't finish either Book Awards 2 or Spring Reading Thing '09 but did far better on both than I did last year, and I did actually successfully complete Once Upon a Time III.

And still on tap, we have...

Ending September 9th:
999 Challenge 23/81
Countdown Challenge 33/45

Ending September 30th:
Non-Fiction Five 2/5 (I've actually read more non-fiction than that since this challenge started in May, but I decided not to count YA non-fiction)

Ending October 9th:
End of the World 2/4

Ending October 31st:
Classics '09 1/5

Ending December 3rd:
42 Challenge 18/42

Ending December 31st:
9 for '09 Challenge 0/9
Suspense and Thriller Challenge 2/12
Dewey's Books 6/5
Manga Challenge 3/6
Graphic Novels Challenge 18/12
Herding Cats II 0/5
Read Your Own Books Challenge 16/29
Elizabeth Scott Mini-Challenge 0/2
What's in a Name 2 4/6
Support Your Local Library 12/12
Science Challenge 1/3
Essay Challenge 4/30 or 45/30 (depending on how I list them)
World Citizen Challenge 3/7
World War II Challenge 1/5
Dewey Decimal Challenge 6/10
Dream King Challenge 1/7
Young Readers Challenge 10/12
21 Cultures Challenge 8/21
Young Adult Challenge 6/12
Colorful Reading Challenge 0/9
The Challenge That Dare Not Speak Its Name/GLBT Challenge 0/6 (but it just started yesterday)

Ending March 31st (2010):
(Another) 1% Well-Read 2/13
Arthurian Challenge 0/2

No deadline:
100 Shots of Shorts 30/100
Lambda Reading Challenge 0/5
The Printz Project 2/50

Yeah, I've got a lot of reading to do. But hey, it could be worse...