Showing posts with label personal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label personal. Show all posts

Saturday, March 05, 2011

Stalled story

For the second time, I'm finding myself stalled in my reading of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.

Like before, I am just shy of the 100-page mark, and yet I'm not yet hooked.

Can anyone advise me? Shall I suck it up and soldier on, or toss?

Saturday, February 05, 2011

apathy and angst

HELLLLOOOO

The winter blues have me in their icy, apathetic grip. It's all I can do to go to work as of late. My ass has been on the treadmill only a handful of times this year, and I have one in my basement. It's not like I have to drive to a gym. But still.

I'm proud to say my reading pace has not slowed. I've been reading quite a bit; you wouldn't know it from the sight of things around here. For one, blogging has seemed like too much of a chore lately, and I've always shied away from anything that has felt like an obligation. Also, the apathy (see above). Also, I've been blogging here for a loooooong time (5+ years now) and I'm just not feeling it lately.

Any advice, y'all? Pack it in? Keep on chugging along? Anyone even there anymore?



Monday, May 31, 2010

Awards!

Although I far from deserve such accolades, several kind bloggers have bestowed upon me some awards. Woohoo!



Cheryl at Wandering (and wondering) through YA Lit and Sarah at Loving Books have given me the Versatile Blogger Award.

The rules of this award are to share seven things about yourself and then to pass this award on to 15 blogs I've recently discovered.

1. Seven things are really hard to think of. This is because I am lazy. There: fact numero uno! Besides, I suppose it's time I face the harsh glare of reality so far as my laziness is concerned.

2. I have three furry children (all dogs) and I love them to pieces. Yes, I am one of THOSE people.

3. Plants vs Zombies never gets old. (See #1.)

4. I love to bake but hate to cook, even though my cooking skills are no longer sub-par.

5. I am extremely anti-social and would probably only leave the house to go to work, if it weren't for my wonderful husband.

6. I am very addicted to celebrity gossip. ONTD, Go Fug Yourself, Dlisted, and (although I hate to admit it) Perez Hilton are my favorite websites.

7. I love cheesy sci-fi / horror flicks, so long as they don't involve mutated insects, dragons, or giant piranhas. Please to zombies, axe-murderers (the Michael Myers kind, not the Saw/Hostel kind), natural disasters, general boogeymen, ghosts, and other creepy (but otherwise impossible) scenarios.

And now for the part in which I side-step out of tagging others, in part because I can't think of anyone who hasn't already received this award and also because I hate to exclude anyone and also because, well ... see #1.





This award comes from Miss Remmers over at Miss Remmers' Review. The rules for this one are pretty simple:

1. Put this on your blog, whether as an entirely new post or on your sidebar.
2. Choose other newly discovered bloggers that you love, and award them!
3. Send them a message/comment to let them know.

I'm going to give this award to the lovelies who have been so kind to me. If you haven't checked out their sites, get on it!

Miss Remmers at Miss Remmers' Review
Cheryl at Wandering (and wondering) through YA Lit
Sarah at Loving Books
Bookquoter at a Thousand Books with Quotes





And finally, Bookquoter at a Thousand Books with Quotes has given me the Prêmio Dardos award, an award to "to acknowledge the importance of bloggers committed with spreading cultural, ethical, literary and personal values, showing their thoughts are alive through their letters and words."

With that in mind, I pass this award on to

Marie at The Boston Bibliophile
Matt at A Guy's Moleskine Notebook
Florinda at 3 R's
Nymeth at things mean a lot



Congrats to ALL book bloggers!! Happy reading, everyone!




Tuesday, March 16, 2010

What is happening to me?

Dude. I'm totally bummed.

It's March 16, and I've yet to finish a book in this godforsaken month.


????????????????????


The problem is due to
a) an incredibly busy work schedule, and
b) the fact that I have about 10 books going at once

Ok, maybe 10 is an exaggeration. But here's what I'm working on:
  • The Savage Detectives (for the readalong)
  • The Collected Short Stories of Daphne duMaurier (I'm almost finished this one, I swear!)
  • Black Hills (I'm having a tough time with this one, to be honest)
  • Footsteps in the Dark (for the Classics Circuit)
  • Daniel Deronda (it's just so...BIG)
  • Accelerando (via DailyLit)
  • not to mention a few others that have been on-going for so long that it's too shameful to even mention them here


SO. That's why I've been full of teh suck recently. At least I expect to finish the duMaurier soon. Today? Let's not get our hopes up.

Can anyone commiserate with my reading funk?





Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Bibliolatry's most anticipated books of 2010

Many litblogs, most notably The Millions, has posted a list of highly-anticipated books that are coming out this year. Those lists, however, are not MINE.

With that in mind, I give you Bibliolatry's most-anticipated books of 2010! No need for applause.


Remarkable Creatures
Tracy Chevalier

Arrives: January

Synopsis (via Amazon):From the moment she's struck by lightening as a baby, it is clear that Mary Anning is marked for greatness. On the windswept, fossil-strewn beaches of the English coast, she learns that she has "the eye"-and finds what no one else can see. When Mary uncovers an unusual fossilized skeleton in the cliffs near her home, she sets the religious fathers on edge, the townspeople to vicious gossip, and the scientific world alight. In an arena dominated by men, however, Mary is barred from the academic community; as a young woman with unusual interests she is suspected of sinful behavior. Nature is a threat, throwing bitter, cold storms and landslips at her. And when she falls in love, it is with an impossible man. Luckily, Mary finds an unlikely champion in prickly Elizabeth Philpot, a recent exile from London, who also loves scouring the beaches.


Black Hills
Dan Simmons

Arrives: February

Synopsis (via Amazon): When Paha Sapa, a young Sioux warrior, "counts coup" on General George Armstrong Custer as Custer lies dying on the battlefield at the Little Bighorn, the legendary general's ghost enters him - and his voice will speak to him for the rest of his event-filled life. Seamlessly weaving together the stories of Paha Sapa, Custer, and the American West, Dan Simmons depicts a tumultuous time in the history of both Native and white Americans.


Beatrice and Virgil
Yann Martel

Arrives: April

Synopsis (via Amazon): A famous author receives a mysterious letter from a man who is a struggling writer but also turns out to be a taxidermist, an eccentric and fascinating character who does not kill animals but preserves them as they lived, with skill and dedication — among them a howler monkey named Virgil and a donkey named Beatrice....


The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
David Mitchell

Arrives: June

Synopsis (via Amazon): The year is 1799, the place Dejima, the "high-walled, fan-shaped artificial island" that is the Japanese Empire's single port and sole window to the world. It is also the farthest-flung outpost of the powerful Dutch East Indies Company. To this place of superstition and swamp fever, crocodiles and courtesans, earthquakes and typhoons, comes Jacob de Zoet. The young, devout and ambitious clerk must spend five years in the East to earn enough money to deserve the hand of his wealthy fiancée. But Jacob's intentions are shifted, his character shaken and his soul stirred when he meets Orito Aibagawa, the beautiful and scarred daughter of a Samurai, midwife to the island's powerful magistrate. In this world where East and West are linked by one bridge, Jacob sees the gaps shrink between pleasure and piety, propriety and profit. e


The Hunger Games: Book 3
Suzanne Collins

Arrives: August

Synopsis (via Amazon): There isn't any yet. But we all know it's gonna be good anyway.







So what books are YOU anticipating this year? I know I've probably omitted dozens of good ones.






Sunday, December 27, 2009

Christmas loot!

Santa was, once again, very good to me. Here's a list of all the books I received for Christmas. Have you read any of these?

The Oxford Book of Victorian Ghost Stories
Sebastian Barry, The Secret Scripture
Christopher Buckley, Boomsday
Tracy Chevalier, Burning Bright
Deborah Eisenberg, Twilight of the Superheroes
George Eliot, The Lifted Veil and Brother Jacob
Rachel Klein, The Moth Diaries
Flannery O'Connor, Wise Blood
Arthur Phillips, The Egyptologist
Douglas Preston, The Monster of Florence
Peter Straub, Ghost Story
Terese Svoboda, Trailer Girl
Peter Watts, Blindsight
Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Shadow of the Wind

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Is there anybody out there?



Helllooooo out there!

Am I alive? Dead? Inhabiting a ghostly in-between?

Never fear - I'm here, I'm just occupied with non-readerly pursuits. For the first time ever, I'm participating in nanowrimo, and reading is taking a backseat. While I haven't stopped reading entirely, I'm doing so at a much slower pace, and I intend to post short mini-reviews soon.

I'll return in sounder form come December.




Monday, October 12, 2009

Fall Festival Recipe Exchange

Yay! It's time for the Fall Festival Recipe Exchange, hosted by My Friend Amy!

Disclaimer: This recipe, while yummy, is not my own. Actually, such a disclaimer is probably a good endorsement of the recipe's yumminess, if you knew my cooking skills.

Follow this link for more awesome recipes by FoodieFarmgirl. Follow this link to see both Amy's recipe and links to other participants.


Enjoy!

Farmgirl's Spicy Pumpkin Pecan Raisin Muffins
Makes about 18 large muffins (or dozens of small muffins)


INGREDIENTS

1 cup raisins
3/4 cup orange juice
3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg (slightly less if freshly grated)
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup (2 sticks) margarine or butter, melted*
1 cup golden brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup honey
3 eggs
1 15-ounce can packed pumpkin (or 1 pound fresh pumpkin puree)
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (toasted if desired)


DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place raisins and orange juice in a small bowl and microwave for 2 minutes; set aside. Grease muffin tins.

Combine flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a large bowl and set aside. Combine margarine, brown sugar, honey, and eggs in a large bowl and mix well. Stir in pumpkin. Gently fold in dry ingredients, alternating with the raisin/juice mixture. Stir in the pecans.

Generously fill muffin tins. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. (Bake baby muffins about 15 minutes.) Cool muffins in tins for 15 minutes, then remove from tins and serve warm, or let cool on wire racks. Store in an airtight container for up to three days or freeze.

*Lowfat version: Simply omit 1/2 cup (1 stick) of the margarine or butter.




Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Reunited, and it feels so goooood

About a year and a half ago, I posted this lament for a lost friend. Well, cue the chorus of angels (which I actually heard last night), for I have found my old friend.


um, why are they singing Miss New Booty??


I had been reviewing and restacking my library, ruthlessly culling books to be removed from my library. As much as I hate to get rid of books, I have more than a few that simply do not deserve shelf space in my life. (Larryisms, I'm looking at you.)

Anyway, I was debating the merits of one particular book when, lo and behold!, my old friend fell into my hand.

The gods be praised!




Friday, March 20, 2009

Breakdown

I couldn't do it. I bought two books yesterday. I had a coupon. I got free shipping.

Still. The shame.

Anyway, here's what I got.




The Suicide Collectors
David Oppegaard











Drood
Dan Simmons












Have you read these? Any thoughts?

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Twitter?

It seems like I've been hearing about this newfangled Twitter everywhere I've turned for the past few months. Seems like, much like methamphetamine, everyone is doing it. Always one to join the crowd, I'm now on Twitter too.

The problem? I have no idea what I'm doing. Please help. Or friend me, or whatever one does on Twitter. Is Twitter basically a facebook status thingee? What are the advantages to Twittering? Is this another worthless website I've gone and become a member of?

Oh brother.

Friday, January 02, 2009

Reading Resolution

I don't, as a rule, join reading challenges, preferring instead to read what I please, when I please. This won't really change in 2009, but I am hereby naming 2009 the year of my Reading Resolution. (Admittedly, it is rather like a challenge, except that it is for me alone and doesn't follow a theme.)

The following is a list of every unread or unfinished book currently in my possession. Some titles are new, others I've been meaning to read for years, and still others I've been in the process of reading for longer than I care to remember.

My reading resolution for 2009 is to read most, if not all, of these books. Can I do it? How long until I add a title to this list? Will I go mad from the effort? I suppose we'll have to see.

I'll be adding this post to my sidebar, and I'll be crossing off each title as I complete it. Please feel free to post with recommendations, ideas, or even some simple encouragement.


TITLES IN MY 2009 READING RESOLUTION

Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Ahmed, The Land of Invisible Women
Bachelder, Bear v. Shark
Balzac, Cousin Bette
Balzac, The Unknown Masterpiece
Bambara, The Salt Eaters
Bolano, The Savage Detectives
Cather, Death Comes for the Archbishop
Cervantes, Don Quixote
Chabon, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Collins, The Moonstone
Conescu, Being Written
Connolly, Nocturnes
Coupland, JPod
Davidson, The Gargoyle
Davis, The Thin Place
Diaz, The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao
Dick, Martian Time-Slip
Dick, Dr. Bloodmoney
Dick, Now Wait for Last Year
Dick, Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said
Dick, A Scanner Darkly
Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov
DuMaurier, Rebecca
Eco, The Name of the Rose
Eliot, Daniel Deronda
Ferris, Then We Came to the End
Fforde, The Fourth Bear
Freund, I Never Saw Paris
Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love
Gottlieb, Now You See Him
Groff, The Monsters of Templeton
Hall, The Raw Shark Texts
Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge
Hickey, The Painted Kiss
Hill, 20th Century Ghosts
Hugo, Les Miserables
Hyde, The Abortionist's Daughter
Irving, The World According to Garp
Keret, The Girl on the Fridge
King, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
Largo, Final Exits
Lehane, Mystic River
Lippman, What the Dead Know
Mabanckou, African Psycho
MacDonald, Fall on Your Knees
MacLean, Why the Long Face?
Mann, Death in Venice
McCabe, The Butcher Boy
McEwan, On Chesil Beach
Meek, The People's Act of Love
Millhauser, Dangerous Laughter
Moody, Right Livelihoods
Moore, Fool
Oates, We Were the Mulvaneys
Oates, Because it is Bitter, and Because it is my Heart
O'Nan, Songs for the Missing
Oyeyemi, The Icarus Girl
Parker, Ovenman
Peace, Tokyo Year Zero
Pears, The Dream of Scipio
Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Powers, The Echo Maker
Price, Clockers
Przekop, Aberrations
Pyncheon, V
Radcliffe, The Italian
Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho
Rice, Blood and Gold
Russell, St. Lucy's Home
Sijie, Mr. Muo's Travelling Couch
Stewart, The Ivy Tree
Stross, Accelerando
Sturgeon, Selected Stories
Teuthold, The Necromancer
Thomas, The End of Mr. Y
Thomson, Soft
Thomson, The Book of Revelation
Tinti, The Good Thief
Tolstoy, Anna Karenina
Tolstoy, War and Peace
Trollope, Barchester Towers
Wallace, Oblivion
Wharton, The House of Mirth
Wharton, The Buccaneers
White, The Aunt's Story
White, Voss
Zweig, Beware of Pity


Whew -- that's quite a list! Wish me luck!


CURRENT PROGRESS: 33 / 88

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Happy New Year!



Happy New Year!

May 2009 bring you much health and happiness -- and, of course, many, many great books.

Friday, December 26, 2008

A Boon of Books

Joy to the world -- a boon of books is mine this Christmas! Not surprisingly, I have no idea where to start, but start I will, even though it means ignoring the seven or so other titles I've already got underway. I'm good at juggling -- I can hack it.

Below are the titles I received yesterday (and a few I won't receive until next week). Please leave your thoughts as to those I should read first.


From husband:





From mom:







From gift certificates:







Any thoughts on which title I should honor by reading first?

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

A great loss

I've tried to write this post several times since first learning on Monday that one of my favorite bloggers (book or otherwise) passed away. Each time, I deleted the post. The words weren't right.

I've since come to realize that there's nothing I can say about Dewey that those who knew her didn't already know, and many are better than I am at putting words to their grief.

I can honestly say that Dewey was someone I admired, envied, and emulated, even though I never met her in person. She was a voracious reader (I couldn't come close to reaching her numbers), an engaging book blogger, and, most importantly, a community builder. Through her I have been introduced to some great books and even better people. I hope Dewey knows how much she is missed by all of those she touched online.

Please keep Dewey and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Spreading the infection

I can't stop playing, so I thought I'd infect as many others as possible.

Enjoy, kiddies.

http://www.addictinggames.com/occupationsite.html

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?

The Millions posted an interesting question recently: When it comes to the books you collect, New, Used, or Antiquarian?

My answer is not as simple as it once would have been. The me of a few months ago would unequivocally answer "new!" while sneering at the idea of a lowly, used book.

The me of today isn't so sure.

Of course, there is nothing like a new book; as Beecher knew, human nature is never so weak as in a bookstore. (I assume he meant a bookstore specializing in new books -- if he didn't, then forget him.) I love the feel, the smell, the promise of a new book. Unfortunately, when I spend my heard-earned dollars on a new book that ends up being -- to put it rather bluntly -- a major piece of shit, I get angry, which, of course, leads me to consider purchasing used books.

However, I don't really like used books. I won't totally avoid them, so long as they are in good condition; I don't like to see creases or other people's writing. Basically, if I can pretend it's new, used is okay.

And as for antiquarian? Yeah, right. I have neither the money nor the space.

Speaking of both money and space, I've had to come to terms with the fact that I've been spending way too much on books as of late. While I'm not a big spender when it comes to clothes and shoes, that doesn't mean I can make up for it with books, especially when my limited book-space is becoming increasingly endangered. For this reason, I've taken to -- don't keel over, now -- the library. I'm still getting used to the idea -- I don't like having to part with a good book once I've read it, but I also can't afford to buy and store everything I read, especially when not every read is worth the expense.

So, to finally answer the question: I prefer new, but used is also acceptable, and library books are appearing in my hands more and more.

What do you prefer, New, Used, or Antiquarian?

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Oversharing Meme

Everyone knows I'm a sucker for a good meme, and I couldn't ignore this one I found over at So Many Books.

Here we go.



1. Name the singer/band/performer you are most embarrassed to admit you actually paid good money to see in concert.

My first concert was quite embarrassing, although my mother paid for it, not me. It was the Monkees reunion tour, and I was dismayed to see that Davy Jones was not as young as I had thought he was. It was still a good concert – although my most vivid memory from that night is of the girl who sat in front of me: she had a braid in her hair and annoyingly bobbed her head to EVERY. SINGLE. song. Plus, she blocked my view of the stage. Stupid bobbing head.

2. Which reality TV show have you watched more than once (come on. I don’t believe you if you say “none,” unless you don’t own a TV)?

I’m not ashamed to admit that I LOVE reality TV. It’s a stain on my character, I know, but it’s hard for me to turn away from a good reality show. Currently I’m enjoying So You Think You Can Dance?.

3. Which complete trash novelist have you not only read but enjoyed enough to read more than one book of his/hers?

This is a tough one. I’m not sure I can answer it. Maybe Jodi Picoult? I’ve only read one book by her, but I’d read another (although I wouldn't pay for her). I’m not sure she classifies as “trashy” but it’s the closest I can come. Ooh - maybe Anne Rice? She's trashy, what with all those bi-curious vampires running around with their long nails and hair. (For the record, it's the long nails that always grossed me out. It's just so unnecessary. JUST LOOK AT THEM.)

4. What sappy musical could you watch over and over and over again?

I can honestly say I’m not a big fan of musicals. Well, at least not any that have come out in recent memory. I’m a sucker for The Sound of Music, though. I always wanted to be a Von Trapp. Does The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Last Unicorn count as musicals? Probably not.

5. Who was your first celebrity crush?

See #1, since I think Davy Jones was it. I was about 8, and little did I know that the television program I was watching was, in fact, a rerun of a show whose heyday was about twenty-ish years earlier. He was dreamy, though. That bowl cut got me every time.


6. Who is the most embarrassing celebrity on whom you have a slight crush today?

Lil Wayne and James McAvoy. I’m don't get it either. I guess I'm a woman of many contradictions.


7. What movie that everyone else and his cousin and even his dog has seen have you never seen?

A TON. I’ve never seen The Godfather (or any of its sequels), Schindler’s List, Scarface, Saving Private Ryan, any of the Saw franchise; the list goes on and on. I’ve never seen Dirty Dancing all the way through, nor have I watched all of Pretty Woman, either.

Movies bore me, since I feel glued to the screen for at least two hours and I can’t do anything else while I’m watching it. Movies kinda make me feel like I’m slowly dying, since I’m passively watching minutes tick away while not doing anything productive, like surfing the internet and checking my site stats.

How’s that for a downer?

Anyway.

8. What were you drinking the first time you ever got drunk?

Either a 40 of Old English or bottle of Mad Dog 20/20. I rolled tough back in the day. Maybe that explains my current crush on Wheezy? Hm.



9. Which old re-run will you still pause to watch if you’re flicking through the channels and see that it’s on?

I don't usually watch reruns, because what's the point, really? But I still love Seinfeld reruns, and even some old Buffy episodes when I find them. I love Blind Date reruns, too. I'm sure there's others, but I generally ignore TV and film - the internet is my biggest time-waster.

10. What book/movie/t.v. show that only a fifteen-year-old would think is funny makes you laugh?

Silly movies, like Shaun of the Dead, Super Troopers, Half Baked, etc. always make me laugh. Naked by David Sedaris sends me into convulsions. I'm sure there's been others but it's difficult for me to remember.

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Sunday Shopping

I decided to splure on some books today (odd, I know; I never do that), so look for these titles at some point soon.

African Psycho, Alain Mabanckou
Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments, Alex Boese
Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries, Neil deGrasse Tyson
The French Lieutenant's Woman, John Fowles
Then We Came to the End, Joshua Ferris
No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy
Strike Sparks: Selected Poems, 1980-2002, Sharon Olds
The Penguin Book of the Sonnet, Various, Phillis Levin (Editor)

Saturday, May 31, 2008

The picture says it all


Somehow, I've survived another year.

Daily posting will resume next week -- in the meantime, I've got beers that need drinking.

It's gonna be a glorious summer.