wrapping up and starting over

I think technically round two of the Blame Game was to end June 30, but I hope no one minds if I make June 27 the official end. It's not like it changes anything, after all...I do think it's safe to say that catching Nymeth falls under the heading "impossibility."

There were a few points to be awarded from the time of my blogging break. Though frankly, I think I kept my accumulating pretty low considering the time span. My new measure is comparing myself to Chris...it's easy to look like one's exhibiting restraint when compared to him. :D (And believe me, Chris, it's just one thing I love about you!)

Okay, here's the acquisitions to round out the last game:

The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder. I didn't actually buy this book. The very sweet and generous Jean sent this book to us. Buy she's getting a point of blame anyway, because she told me about this book and made it sound so wonderful that I would have gotten around to ordering eventually. I'm not going to let her escape unscathed simply because she gave me a copy. ;)



Girl Goddess #9 by Francesca Lia Block. Picked this one up from PaperbackSwap after "anyone care to guess who?" mentioned it on her blog. Yep, point for Nymeth.









Carmen Dog by Carol Emshwiller. Another point for the lovely, but soon-to-be-responsible-for-the-collapse-of-our-entire-house-into-the-basement-due-to-the-weight-of-books, Nymeth. Thanks to this review.









Mockingbird: A Novel of Voodoo, Sisters, and Dangerous Gifts by Sean Stewart. Trampoline: An Anthology edited by Kelly Link. Mothers & Other Monsters by Maureen F. McHugh. Now I really think I could make a strong argument for placing the blame for all three of these on Nymeth, too. I never would have seen them on sale for $1 each if it wasn't for that Carmen Dog review and the handy-dandy link she provided to Small Beer Press. But I'm trying to be a big girl, trying to take a little responsibility for my own actions.








The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King. The Dark Half by Stephen King. Forests of the Heart by Charles de Lint. And speaking of $1 books...these all came from the library sale in a neighboring town. Afraid I'm going to have suck up the blame for these ones myself, too.






And there we come to the end. That's all the books acquired over those last several weeks. (Well, until yesterday, that is...but we'll get to that in a minute.)

Sooooooo...the winner of a heaping pile of blame is...Nymeth!!!! She "made" me bring 28(!!!!) books into this house over the past several months. Are you not the slightest bit ashamed of yourself?!! ;) I'll e-mail you in a bit about your prize, Ana.

*****

Yep. Time to start the Blame Game 3! And yes, there's already blame to be dished. You all have been awful lately, writing such awesome reviews, making a girl crave new books. I can't help it, last night I caved. Someone mentioned hitting the bookstore, and well, there was just no will power to call upon.

So, the first points of game 3 go to:

Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger. Like I had a chance after this review! Point for Chris!











My Invented Country by Isabel Allende. Points for both Nymeth and Eva for this one. Sorry ladies, but you're both going to have take responsibility...first Nymeth writes this incredible review and onto my wish list it goes...and then Eva has to go and really put the pressure on with her fabulous review. Seriously, no one can fault me for this.





Into the Woods by Lyn Gardner. This is a point for the much-loved, much-missed Dewey. I've looked for this book in the book stores probably half a dozen times, but no one's ever had it in stock. Always knew I would eventually order it. But then last night, when it wasn't even on my mind, it popped right up on a special display. :)






Plenty Enough Suck To Go Around: A Memoir of Floods, Fires, Parades, and Plywood by Cheryl Wagner. How is one to resist a title like that?!! Anyway, no one to blame here. Just caught my eye. But I have to admit that I have this overwhelming urge to blame Chris. (Would that be okay with you, Chris? Can I just blame anything connected with New Orleans on you, and help assuage my guilt over my own shameless buying?)

And there we have it...game three is off and running...

we interrupt this blogging break...

to do some mini babbling...

Because I'm using these books for challenges, I feel I have to say something about them. In other words, this is my pathetic attempt at assuaging my guilt.

Shakespeare Wrote for Money by Nick Hornby.

*I did a really good job at doling these out sparingly (like one a week) for a while. Then I chucked all willpower straight out the window and simply devoured the rest in one sitting. Oh well. I am somewhat comforted by the fact that I have Songbook sitting on the shelf waiting for me.
*I totally lost count of how many times I laughed out loud.
*An unforeseen event: I am now thinking about NOT reading a book I had long planned to read. And it's not even that Mr. Hornby didn't like the book. He did. But in speaking of The Road, he said, "There are some images now embedded in my memory that I don't especially want there."
*At first I was rather proud of myself for keeping down the number of books to add to my wishlist. By the end, though...well...
--Tender Hooks by Beth Ann Fennelly
--Digging to America by Anne Tyler
--Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx Is Burning by Jonathan Mahler
--Stasiland: Stories from the Berlin Wall by Anna Funder
--Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow
--Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block
--A Disorder Peculiar to the Country by Ken Kalfus
--The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta
--The Ghost by Robert Harris

Looking for Bobowicz and The Hoboken Chicken Emergency by Daniel Pinkwater.




*Our first venture into the books of Daniel Pinkwater. Won't be our last. While not our favorite ever read-alouds, they were still nonetheless very enjoyable.
*Written decades apart, these two books follow the stories of two different generations of kids and their relationships with a 266-pound chicken named Henrietta. Yes, a 266-pound chicken can cause a great deal of mayhem. But trust me, she's a very sweet chicken.
*These books have a wonderful, almost-but-not-quite old-fashioned feel to them. Maybe it's just the way Pinkwater very much captured the feelings of my own childhood, the freedom to explore, the need for adventure. Of course, those things haven't gone out of style (just ask my kids!) so I'm not sure why I used the term old-fashioned. I just can't quite capture the feeling I'm looking for here. Oh well.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

*One day, after telling Annie to read the next two chapters of this book, she said, "Good. I love this book...it's so creepy!" And that is exactly how I remember feeling about it when I first read it in middle school. When I read it as a kid, I saw myself on the island and found it very scary. Reading it now, I couldn't help but picture my kids on the island. And that's even more disturbing. A lot more disturbing. One more example of how motherhood impacts my reading. And of course, that's not just true of motherhood but of all our experiences--they all play a part in how any book might affect us.
*I know a lot of people hate this book, but I just can't help but like it. I admit that I'm much more of an emotional reader than an intellectual one. Not that those two things are mutually exclusive by any means. But what I mean is that I'm not all that adept at analyzing what I read. I just go with my gut and my heart. But reading books with Annie tends to make me search a little deeper, and we definitely had some great discussions during this book. Are people born "good" or "evil"? What does it take to be a good leader? What does it mean to be "civilized"? How responsible are we for the well-being of others? Discussions about mob mentality. Racism. Symbolism.
*There were times when the writing frustrated me. Not that it's difficult reading. More that at times I had a tough time visualizing his descriptions. Likely that was just me. At other times, however, I liked the writing a great deal, as here: "He forgot his wounds, his hunger and thirst, and became fear; hopeless fear on flying feet, rushing through the forest towards the open beach." This sentence, in context, was extremely vivid in my mind.
*All in all, while this book may not make my top 5 reads of the year, I really do think I liked it as much this time around as I did as a kid.


Fables: Animal Farm and Fables: Storybook Love by Bill Willingham.

*The Farm really can't be all that far from here...if only I could find my way through their protective spells.
*What are the chances of reading about a pig's head on a stick in two different books on the same day?!!
*Goldilocks--a fomenter of revolution...who'da thunk it?

*As much as I loved Animal Farm, it pained me horribly to see Shere Khan die. In fact, I'm having a hard time accepting it when any of the characters die. I mean, they're just not supposed to, right?!!

*Okay, in moving on to Storybook Love, I have to say I've changed my mind about that last statement. I was more than happy to see a couple someones bite the dust. If they really did. Yeah, I can't really say anything more for fear of spoiling.
*This one started and ended with little side stories that didn't have much to do with the main story arc. While I honestly did enjoy them, especially "Bag O' Bones," I do prefer the main story. And I'm eager as hell to crack open the next one to see what's going to happen with Snow and Bigby!
*Despite the fact that I'm now just through #3 in the series, I'm already soooo sad thinking about getting to the end. I hope no one will hurt me, but I think I may just like these more than The Sandman. Then again, maybe not. That's a very tough call. Especially since I'm not even half way through either series yet.



The Stuff of Life: A Graphic Guide to Genetics and DNA by Mark Schultz.

*This book totally rocked! (Yes, I think my lovable science nerd husband is rubbing off on me.)
*Seriously, if you'd like to learn about genetics, DNA, inheritance, etc., I just can't recommend this book highly enough. It's extremely accessible. In one way, it's a tad cutesy, but it is by no means simplistic.
*Because I read this for the science challenge, I wrote a short review here if you're interested.

Chew On This: Everything You Don't Want to Know about Fast Food by Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson.

*Yep, same guy who wrote Fast Food Nation, which by the way, I am even more anxious to read now.
*This book made me sad. It also made me mad. Usually at the same time.
*Had I not already joined Annie in the meat-free lifestyle, this book surely would have done it. Not that this book is any way, shape, or form an attack on people who eat meat. Honest.
*Frankly, I think this should be required reading in schools. It is that good. And it is that important.

*****

and while I'm at it, I might as well get caught up on meting out the blame...

from the library:


*Javatrekker: Dispatches from the World of Fair Trade Coffee by Dean Cycon (point for Eva!)
*No More Strangers Now: Young Voices from a New South Africa interviews by Tim McKee
*The Sandman: A Game of You by Neil Gaiman
*The Sandman: Fables & Reflections by Neil Gaiman

from PaperbackSwap:



*Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger (point for Eva!)
*Feed by M.T. Anderson
*Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books by Francesca Lia Block
*The Witching Hour by Anne Rice (point for Chris!)

bought with gift card:



*Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris
*Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story by Carolyn Turgeon (point for Melody!)
*Lux the Poet by Martin Millar
*The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (point for Becky, who first made me add it to my wish list, and point for Chris, who shoved me right over the edge and made me buy it!)

from the little closeout books store:



*The Midnighters: Blue Moon (book 3) by Scott Westerfeld
*The Magic Thief: Book One by Sarah Prineas (point for DesLily!)
*The Treasures of the Weatherby by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
*The Epidemic: A Global Story of AIDS by Jonathan Engel

and last, but not least, the books I just wanted so bad I had to order them:



*Bad Science by Ben Goldacre (point for Nymeth!)
*The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel

*****

I will publish May's wrap-up tomorrow, but other than that I'm still on my mission to get through this school year. Will hopefully be back in a few weeks. 'Cause damn, do I miss you all!

blogging breaks and other bits

1. Wow...I'm so not alone, am I? I'm so sorry to hear that so many of the people I adore are feeling as overwhelmed and stressed out as I am. (There is that feeling that it's nice not to be alone, but I swear I would much rather be alone in this than to have others feeling it, too. If that made the slightest bit of sense.)

2. I've decided to take desperate measures. A blogging break. They seem to be quite popular these days. And I think there's good reason for that. Even something we love so much can become stressful when we can't achieve some sort of balance. And that's what I'm off to work on. I just want to focus on getting through this last 6-ish weeks of school and get this house de-cluttered to a state where I don't feel stressed by the mile long list of projects nagging at me. Then I will try tackle that seemingly always out of reach goal of "balance." Homeschool. Family. Housework. Reading. Creating. Socializing/blogging. Being still. There has to be a way to make them all fit.

3. And while I will be gone for the most part from this blog, I will try to visit you all when I can. I think I might perish from sadness if I couldn't touch base with my friends, after all. (And I will probably post my monthly wrap-up, as I just add to my draft as I finish something anyway. It's my personal way of keeping track of what I'm reading and how my challenges are going. The whole list thing, you know. What can I say, I'm an addict.)

4. Before I go AWOL, I thought I ought to get updated on the blame game. So, here's my loot from Mother's Day:



Well, most of my loot. I forgot to put the tin of my favorite cinnamon tea in the picture. And the most awesomely cool bookmark in the world. Gray made it for me, but I'm already using it so I forgot to stick it in the picture. And Annie made me that coyote figurine. Don't you just love it?!! Okay, maybe you don't. When she made it at her art class, all the other kids made fun of her. But I'm completely in love with it...I think it looks like a really cool piece of folk art and it will be forever proudly displayed in our home! And they also gave me Neko Case's Middle Cyclone and Great Lake Swimmers' Lost Channels CDs. And all the rest is books! Books, books, books. With lots of blame to be dished out.

*The Ballad of the Sad Cafe and Other Stories by Carson McCullers (Eva's fault!)
*Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism by Ha-Joon Chang (Eva's fault!)
*Nocturnes by John Connolly (Somer's fault!)
*The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien (Trish's fault!)
*Kockroach by Tyler Knox (Dewey's fault!)
*The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (Nymeth's fault!)
*Songbook by Nick Hornby (Nymeth's fault!)
*Mirabilis by Susann Coral (Chris's fault!)
*Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist (Chris's fault!)
*Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest (Chris's fault!)
*The Upright Man by Michael Marshall (someone may be owed blame for this, but I have no clue who...I have no recollection whatsoever of adding this to my wishlist)
*Does Anything Eat Wasps? by NewScientist
*One Day the Soldiers Came: Voices of Children in War by Charles London
*Jerusalem 1913: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Amy Dockser Marcus
*Eternally Bad: Goddesses with Attitude by Trina Robbins
*Fables: Homelands by Bill Willingham
*Fables: Arabian Nights (And Days) by Bill Willingham
*Fables: Wolves by Bill Willingham
*Troll's Eye View: A Book of Villainous Tales edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
*The New Weird edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer

5. Okay, I'm sort of having a hard time signing off here, knowing that I won't really be back for so long. But there's no point in dragging it out, is there? See you next month. I'll miss you!

what is my problem?!!

Okay, so our library sale started Friday. We were there as the doors opened. Of course. So I'm walking around, scouring all the tables, and all the boxes under the tables, and all I could think was that this year's sale was a big disappointment. And this is where the "problem" comes in. See, I came away with 10 books! And I'm thinking this is a disappointment?!! I fear I may not have been happy unless I needed a U-Haul to carry my purchases away. I'm out of control. It's quite sad. I need help.

So anyway, here's what I got:



And yes, there is some blame to be apportioned:

*Sowing the Dragon's Teeth: Land Mines and the Global Legacy of War by Philip C. Winslow
*Troll Bridge: A Rock 'N' Roll Fairy Tale by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple (Point for Nymeth. Okay, so she didn't actually review this particular book, but it is nonetheless her fault entirely. Because of this review for Pay the Piper, which I already acquired but haven't yet read.)
*Jerk, California by Jonathan Friesen (Point for Becky, because of this review.)
*History of the Present: Essays, Sketches, and Dispatches from Europe in the 1990s by Timothy Garton Ash
*Lizard by Banana Yoshimoto
*Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss (Point for Alison. I was intrigued by this book the moment I first heard of it, but it was this review that assured that it would eventually make its way onto my TBR pile.)
*A Pocketful of Poems: Vintage Verse selected by David Madden
*Second Nature by Alice Hoffman
*The Magic Circle by Donna Jo Napoli
*On Beauty by Zadie Smith (Point for Nymeth. Yep, this review.)

*****

And, for no reason other than I'm trying to put off making a science test, I thought I'd share some proof that spring is truly here in our neck of the woods:

seriously unable to get my act together

I can't believe that April is almost over. Yikes. Last week, it was spring break here, which is part of the reason I haven't been around reading everyone's blogs. I've also been busting my butt trying to get caught up with school. I really, really, REALLY can't wait until this school year is over! Seriously, I'm not complaining...I love homeschooling; I'm just ready for a break. The weather around here the last few days hasn't been conducive to being inside on the computer either. Man, it's been gorgeous! Weird, but gorgeous. It was in the 30s and snowing Thursday morning. It was in the 80s on Friday. Seriously weird.

Anyway, I never did review the books I read during the read-a-thon. So here's an extremely quick look:

The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech. Sweet, funny, feel-good. Fairy-tail-esque. Perfect for read-a-thon. Perfect for Once Upon a Time. Not terribly deep or complex, but wonderfully enjoyable.








Skim by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki. Okay, I will say that I absolutely loved this book. And I will say that Kim, the main character in this graphic novel, felt very authentic to me, and I really adored her. But other than that, I'm just going to wimp out and give you links to Chris's review and Annie's review. (We all read this book on the same day.)





The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. Wow...bittersweet. I enjoyed this even more than The Tale of Despereaux, the only other of her books I've read. Yes, it made me cry, but it certainly left its mark on my heart. I know there's loads of reviews out there, but I'm trying to get this done before the boys get home from school so I'm going to skip linking them at least for the moment.



And this is also the reason, I'm going to keep the "blame" short and sweet.

In the bought/paperbackswap column:

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. Point for Nymeth.
Skellig by David Almond. Another point for Nymeth.
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart.

And for Library Loot (thank you to our lovely hostesses, Eva and Alessandra!):

Girl Meets Boy: The Myth of Iphis by Ali Smith. Point for Nymeth.
The Tale of One Bad Rat by Bryan Talbot. Points for both Dewey and Nymeth.
Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories by Gilbert Hernandez. Point for Nymeth.
Shooting the Boh by Tracy Johnston. Point for Eva.
one of those books where the mother dies by Sonya Sones. Point for Becky.
Aesop's Fables: A Classics Illustrated Edition.
The Scaredy Cats by Barbara Bottner and Victoria Chess.
The Cat Who Walked Across France by Kate Banks George Hallensleben.
The Girl in the Castle Inside the Museum by Kate Bernheimer and Nicoletta Ceccoli. Point for Nymeth.

mishmash Monday again

I've totally been off my blogging game lately. Not posting much. Not commenting much. Sickness in the house. Mostly just busy. Hope to get back on track a bit this week in preparation for Dewey's Read-a-Thon. Oh, and speaking of the read-a-thon, Annie would love some help in narrowing down her book pile. If you'd like, pop over here and vote for the first sentences that sound most intriguing to you. I haven't made my pile yet, but am really looking forward to it. :)

*****

Don't you just love the feeling you get when you finally get someone to read a book you just love? Yeah, like with Herding Cats. And it's even more fun when you get to witness it in person. Thanks to Carl's Once Upon a Time III Challenge, I was able to convince Rich to finally read American Gods. Just a few of his comments thus far--"This guy can sure write an engaging story, but I don't have a clue what the hell is going on yet" and "I just encountered the most bizarre sex scene I've ever read!" And yes, in case you're wondering, he really is enjoying it. :)

*****

And I do have some new acquisitions. With points to award! Now, this pile might seem a bit large--well, not when you compare it to Chris's normal hauls ;) --but I have a lot of excuses to throw out there. First being that I skipped posting last week, so this is actually two week's worth. (Other excuses will be forthcoming.)

Mission Planet Earth: Our World and Its Climate--And How Humans Are Changing Them by Sally ride and Tam O'Shaughnessy. Guide to the Planet by Matthew Murrie and Steve Murrie. Ready for another excuse? See, these two wonderful looking books can't be counted against me because I won them from the lovely Amanda. Thanks again, Amanda! I think they both may end up in my read-a-thon pile (unless Gray asks to take them with him on their boys weekend out, that is).

Okay, so as far as excuses go, I'm going to have to go with that old standby, "But these were free!" This next batch all came from PaperbackSwap. And while I will take no responsibility myself, I'm more than happy to pass out the blame. ;)

King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green. Okay, I'm actually going to award two points for this one. While it may seem a bit unfair to blame Nymeth for this one when I asked her directly for a recommendation for a place to start with Arthurian literature, I'm going to do it anyway. After all, she didn't need to be such an enabler, did she? ;) And well, Becky's getting herself a point, too. If not for her Arthurian Challenge, I might have been able to resist ordering this book for a little while yet.

Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce. Straightforward case of blame. Another point for Nymeth.










Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson. Hmmm...no one to blame. But hey, it was still free.











Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland. Nymeth narrowly avoids blame for this one because her recommendation to Chris might have been enough to push me over the edge...if I hadn't already been pushed over the edge by this review. Point for Rhinoa.







We Never Talk About My Brother by Peter S. Beagle. I manage to avoid responsibility for this purchase by pointing out two things. One, it was a purchase worth making beyond anything having to do with me. (For explanation, read link at number two.) Number two, Nymeth is a wonderful sales person. And I actually did order it the day she wrote about it, they just had some slight problems getting things shipped out...but all is fixed up now. Anyway, yet another point for Nymeth.


Crap. My excuses seem to be getting weaker and weaker here. All I've got to go with on this next group is that they were on sale. But it was a really good sale! Book Closeouts had all their Manga on sale for 99 cents each, so I let Annie pick out a whole truckload for herself. And well, I figured at those prices it wouldn't hurt to pick up a few I wanted too. Seriously, you can't argue with that logic, can you? Well, pretend you can't.




The Dreaming 1 and 2 by Queenie Chan. I really wanted to read these after reading Rhinoa's reviews. And our library supposedly has them, but no one can find them. :( But this made it very exciting to find them priced so inexpensively. Two more points for Rhinoa.

Legend of Chun Hyang by CLAMP.












A Midnight Opera 1-3 by Hans Steinbach.
























And finally, this last bunch were all picked up at B&N yesterday. Rich gave me a gift card for Easter. What could I do?

How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer. Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change by Elizabeth Kolbert. These are actually the two books I went into the store determined to buy. These points really belong to Nick Hornby.


The Monsters of Morley Manor by Bruce Coville. Juliet Dove, Queen of Love by Bruce Coville. An Enemy at Green Knowe by L.M. Boston. A half-price sale on all their used books led me to these three, each only costing $1.50. And Eva gets a point for the last one, because she's talked so lovingly about the Green Knowe series. Of course, that means there will be more points in her future, as I'll need to read others in the series first.

The Robe of Skulls by Vivian French. The Garden of Eve by K.L. Going. The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech. As I was hanging in the kids' section with the boys, these three just begged to come home with me...what could I do, right?











Whew. If typing this post wasn't enough to make me stop acquiring books, I don't know what will.

*****

Annie really wants me to do the first sentence game to weed down my read-a-thon pile, too, so perhaps I'll do that tomorrow. Of course that means actually gathering up my pile to start with. And yes, I know from previous experience that it will need some serious weeding down.