City of Fallen Angels

Hi. Do you remember me, blog? I’m your writer and reader. I fell off the face of the earth for a while. I wish I could say it was because I was reading, but I can’t. But I’m back now.

I read my two books in May, I just never got around to posting them. Actually, I read both before the first week of the month was up. I thought I was going to have a very productive month, book-wise, but no. May kicked my butt. And not in a good way.

Anyway, City of Fallen Angels is the fourth book in Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series. I got sucked in by the first book and now I’m addicted. I got to read a very nice new copy of the book though – I was probably the first or second person to borrow my copy from the library.

So, what did I think? Well…it was good. Until the last chapter. Something is up because there’s no way the characters would have allowed what happened to happen. I was talking to a friend who has also read all four and she felt the same way. The characters are too smart and would have been too cautious in a situation like that to do what they did. I don’t want to give it away because, well, there would be little point in reading the whole book if I told you the last chapter.

The only thing that has my hopes up is that at the end of the first book a devastating secret was revealed, but through a series of twists and surprises by the end of the third book (I don’t think it’s the second) it turns out the secret wasn’t quite accurate…

But it’s a good book. Read the first three first and if you can, read the first Infernal Devices book, Clockwork Angel. It’s not essential, but it explains some things quite well…

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

It was time…I hadn’t read any Harry Potter for a very long time and this week I became engrossed in the first book…which means the next six will likely follow quickly!

I picked up some interesting things – like the part where Harry offhandedly mentions that it feels like Snape can read minds…There’s a lot of foreshadow that I had never noticed before – some of it might be coincidental, some of it isn’t. This is why I love Harry Potter – every time I read one of the books, whether it is book one which I’ve read countless times or book six or seven which I’ve only read a handful of times, I find something new!

Goddess for Hire

Okay, before I start, I owe the Fred Factor a few more words...I think I hit post and I wasn't finished or I saved it to finish later, but I hit post by accident (I can't remember...it was too long ago) because I told you nothing other than read it!

The Fred Factor is a motivational book (I've decided) that bases its message on the story of Fred the Postman. Basically Fred provided exceptional customer service to the people on his route - held onto their mail while they were away, kept an eye on their property, was super friendly and very devoted to his job. The message is that we can all be a Fred in some way, every single day. I loved the book. I loved the message. I did not like the Christian Bible stuff that snuck into the last pages, but I'm willing to overlook it because I liked the rest of the book so much...and I've been asking myself almost every day since I read it "Was I a Fred today?"

On to Goddess for Hire. Which is a totally different kind of book. Try chick lit. Bad chick lit.



Basically unemployed, spoiled Maya who lives in LA is the incarnation of the goddess Kali. And she keeps it a secret while tries to harness her powers. At the same time her family (of doctors) is trying to set her up with an Indian husband. Who she hates. And he hates her. Do you get where this is going?

I don't recommend it. It's in the pile for the thrift store. I finished it over 10 days ago and kept forgetting about it. I didn't really like it...I didn't hate it, but it was too mindless for me...

Bonus Book 2: The Fred Factor

This is actually a March book...I just didn't post it before the month was over. My boss has been talking about The Fred Factor for ages - I finally had a chance to grab a copy off her bookshelf at lunch the other day. Seriously, I read it during my lunch break. It took less than an hour. And I think it's a great book - probably one I'd suggest everyone read. I think I might just have to go get a copy for Alex.

Teaser Tuesday: The End of Overeating

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This book isn't allowed to count towards my two books per month challenge (but it can be a bonus book) because I bought it. I couldn't resist it when I saw it - I found the title and cover intriguing.

When layer upon layer of complexity is built into food, the effect becomes more powerful. Sweetness alone does not account for the full impact of a soda-its temperature and tingle, which results from the stimulation of the trigeminal nerve by carbonation and acid, are essential contributors as well.

The End of Overeating, David A Kessler, page 49

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT at Should Be Reading with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your 2 ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

Beautiful Books

Go check out this YouTube video. It's awesome.



(Sorry it's so big - I can't get it to shrink)

EDIT: Right after I posted this I clicked through Google Reader. My friend Anne appears to be doing this to her books too!

Bonus Book: Clockwork Angel

I finished the first half of the Mortal Instruments series last week and moved on to the Infernal Devices. Only the first of the trilogy has been published and I can't wait for the next two...I think number two comes out in September. I'm not sure what it is about these Cassandra Clare books, but I am definitely hooked. And sleep deprived. It's a good thing the next Mortal Instruments books doesn't come out for a few weeks...I've already put a hold on the book at the library...

Clutter Rehab

I discovered the Org Junkie website a few weeks ago and decided to do the 52 weeks of decluttering challenge. And then I discovered the writer had a book. I had to wait for a while to get this book - very popular at the library - and when I did get it, it only took a few hours to read it. It was good and I thought I'd actually go out and buy a copy (I couldn't do that before or it wouldn't count for the challenge!) but as often as I've picked it up in the last few days, I decided I didn't need to go buy it...not right now anyway. I'm trying to reduce my clutter, not add to it. And the website has pretty much all of it on it...I do like holding the little book in my hands though...we'll see, I might cave. But for now, I'm just going to try to keep renewing the book!

If you're trying to organize your life or your home or your office, I totally recommend your book. And if you're one of those well-organized people I aspire to be, I still recommend this book - she had some great tips and we can all use great tips!

Tired Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I have been on a bit of a book tear the first half of this month (for me anyway). I finished my last book last night and I needed something to read today. I picked this up when I got home from work and I'm pretty well half way into it...

At first I thought I was in someone's bedroom, but then I saw a slight Indian man, dressed in a green windbreaker and jeans, rummaging through what was obviously a mini-bar.

That, along with the two double beds, tacky wallpaper, and a shoddy print of San Francisco Bay only a nearsighted person could appreciate, led me to the clever deduction that I was in a hotel room.

Goddess For Hire, Sonia Singh, page 15

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT at Should Be Reading with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your 2 ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

City of Glass

I had to wait for a couple of weeks to get this book, the third book in the Mortal Instruments series. I read it a lot slower than I read the other two - partly because I was too tired to read into the night and partly to make it last longer. Yeah right. It lasted four days.

Just before I go on, there are SPOILERS below the picture for the first two books in the series. If you don't want to know what happens, don't read any further. Actually, there are SPOILERS for all three books...so yeah. You've been warned.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!



I liked this one as much as I liked the first two...although I wish I had the first two nearby so that I could check things...it was fine. That doesn't mean that you need the first two for this one to work, but I certainly would have liked it. Because I read City of Ashes a few weeks ago and I read most of it long past my bedtime, I just needed a refresher on some of the stuff that was going on.

I was so glad to see the Clary/Jace romance problem resolved. I felt from the time it was revealed that they were sister and brother that they weren't. There seemed to be hints indicating otherwise and it just felt impossible. This series didn't feel like it was trying to be Flowers in the Attic, so I knew somehow, somewhere, it was going to be revealed that either Jace or Clary was not Jocelyn and Valentine's child. I'm so glad I was right about that.

Anyway, I recommend this series for sure. Now I have to wait until April 5 for the next book to come out and then I have to wait for it to be my turn on the list at the library. Although, I do have Clockwork Angel to read now - the first in a prequel trilogy.

Teaser Tuesday Goes to Rehab

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

As you might have noticed over there, I'm a bit wrapped up in trying to get our life organized and gain a little control over our stuff, so in keeping with that theme:

Just when you think you've got things all figured out at the top of the ride, the roller coaster of life dips down and spins you in another direction. However, with consistent practice and a good seat belt, you'll learn to expect those dips and turns and be ready for them.

Clutter Rehab, Laura Wittman, page 8

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT at Should Be Reading with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your 2 ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

Bonus Book: City of Ashes

Okay, so this is part two. And once again I'm reminded of why I should be using a camera, not a phone to take these pictures. I'll learn. One day. Really.

And this book reminded me why sleep is important. I read it in an evening. After J went to bed at 8:30. I stayed up WAY past my 10:00 bedtime. But it was good. I think it was worth it.

In part two, Clary and company are a hunt to find the bad guy, there are fairies, there are incidents, something happens to Simon, Jocelyn is still in a coma. It's all good...sort of...that's why there is a book three. Which I am waiting for - I put a hold on it at the library, so I hope I won't have to wait long. Paperbacks aren't catalogued by title so I will browse the paperbacks when we head to the library on Sunday and hope for the best!

Oh, and I discovered that my friend Michelle not only has read The Mortal Instruments series, but she owns it. And the companion series has its first book out. And the fourth Mortal Instruments book is coming out in April.

Soooo exciting!

City of Bones

First of all, I need to stop taking pictures with my phone...camera takes much better pictures. Secondly, I need to stop reading way past my bed time...I'm too tired and my books run out too quickly...

But that's not the point.

This book was awesome and you'll soon (probably some time tomorrow) see that I devoured two of them in three days. I'm waiting for the third one to come through the library system.

This book totally reminded me of Harry Potter even though it's very different from Harry Potter. Clary discovers she's actually a Shadowhunter when she sees a boy killed in a club and when her mom goes missing, things get interesting. The first book is all about her discovery of her "new" life and all the secrets that go along with it...I can't wait to see what happens in the third book. I love the characters - Jace and Simon are both very interesting - especially the things that Clary finds attractive in each of them.

So yeah, since I went straight from one book to the next with barely time to sleep, I definitely recommend this book!

Savvy

I'm not sure what drew me to Savvy...maybe the fun cover! I did notice when I was at the library searching for something else the other day that they had about six more copies of this book, so apparently it is (or at least was) a popular book. And it has a Newbery Honor seal on it.

Basically Mibs belongs to a family of people who learn what their special gift, or Savvy, is on their 13th birthday. One of her brothers makes electricity, one creates crazy weather patterns, her grandpa makes earthquakes. Mibs' 13th birthday falls just after her father is in a terrible accident. The local minister's wife decided Mibs needs a party, but Mibs just wants to see her father. She and two of her brothers and two of the minister's kids end up in a pink school bus with a pink Bible salesman on a crazy, detouring trip...and she figures out what her Savvy is...she can hear people's thoughts through their tattoos or writing on their skin.

Part of having a Savvy is to learn how to scumble it...which basically means control and suppress it...Mibs has to learn how to tune out the noise to hear what is important.

In the end they make it to the hospital, but not without first having a few adventures and having some secrets revealed...

I liked this book and I would definitely recommend it - especially to a 10 -13 year old girl - there's lots of important stuff about growing up in there.

I decided this one was a kid lit book too because Mibs turns 13...I can't see someone older than about 14 reading it...so it's not quite a YA novel (even though I found it in the YA section).

Oh, and I discovered there is a companion novel - Scumble - so I will be keeping an eye out for it the next time we're at the library!

Crazy Love

Okay, so I'm probably going to be hated for this, but I did not enjoy this book at all. UGH. I actually put it down. Went back to it. Still disliked it intensely. Skimmed through it. Disliked it even more.

And I feel like I should at least like it, if not love it. I'd never heard of David Martin before, but from what the internet tells me, people wait with bated breath for his latest book. I couldn't find a single negative review about this book.

I'm not going to go as far as to say I hated it, but I didn't like it. Nope. Not at all. And I can't even put my finger on why. The characters seem to be well developed. The story line isn't overly complicated or hard to follow.

So, here we go, 2 months into 2011 and I have two books on the list of books I'm not going to finish. I still feel a bit guilty, but I'm trying to remind myself it's just a book and I don't have to like every book I pick up...

I got this book in a stack from Alex's dad before Christmas. There were about 10 books in the stack and most of them were pretty much new. Like I don't think the spine had ever been cracked on this one...I hope the rest are better received by my brain.

Stephen Harper's Book Club

Or Yann Martel's book club.

Or, because I can't resist a challenge, something new for me to do in my "spare" time.

So, when I saw the link to this, I was a bit skeptical, because really, what would Stephen Harper read? And what would he have to say about what he read?

I shouldn't have worried myself.

Stephen Harper's book club's book were chosen by Yann Martel (of Life of Pi fame).

Yann Martel pledged to send Stephen Harper one new book every two weeks for the duration of his term as Prime Minister of Canada. With each book, Yann Martel included a letter.

Last week Yann Martel announced he had sent the last book, even though Stephen Harper is still Prime Minister.

The list of books he sent to the Prime Minister is intriguing. I went through it and I'm curious and excited - yes, I'm a dork. I've read 9.5 of the books lists (.5 because #61 is two books and I have only read one...Where the Wild Things Are. It's actually on the table at home. J picked it out at the library on the weekend). So, in addition to my other book challenge, I'm going to try to read through this list. 100 books sent every two weeks is 200 weeks - just a couple of months shy of four years. I can do this...it just might take a while! And books from this challenge will count for the other challenge (providing they meet the criteria!) I love that the list isn't just fiction or non-fiction, it's not just about current issues, and it's not just Canadian works.

Oh, and I sort of feel sorry for the Prime Minister's Executive Correspondence Officer. How many boring letters like the response letters to you think (s)he has to write every day.

What do you think of the idea of a Prime Minister's book club? How many of the books have you read?

Books I have already read - but I'll likely reread them. It's been a while since I read most of them:

2. Animal Farm
13. To Kill A Mockingbird
14. Le Petit Prince
15. Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit
31. Their Eyes Were Watching God
33. Persepolis
37. A Modest Proposal
51. Julius Caesar
61. Where the Wild Things Are
79. Charlotte's Web

Oh and I couldn't decide where to post this - it fits with both blogs, so it's posted twice. Sorry if you got it twice...

Bonus Book #3: Her Fearful Symmetry

I loved Her Fearful Symmetry. I don't know the last time I stayed up way past my bedtime finishing a book...well, maybe Room, but anyway...

I loved Audrey Niffenegger's first book, The Time Traveler's Wife, so I hoped this one would be good too!

This book is a ghost story...When Elspeth dies she leaves her flat and all her belongings to her nieces with some conditions. They have to live there for a year before they can sell it and their parents are never allowed inside. The girls meet Elspeth's neighbours and get pulled into their lives, but no one, not even Elspeth, bargained for Elspeth to still be there...

I loved that this book was set in London, in Highgate, which is close to where I lived...I also loved that while London was the setting, it didn't end up being a character like it often does...the cemetery, well, it was a character, but that was definitely okay.

It wasn't until I finished the book (into the wee hours this morning) that I realized that symmetry and cemetery sound the same when said with certain accents. Not mine. But some. Hmmm...or maybe it was the lack of sleep.

I found the twins creepy. I was shocked that Elspeth could do what she did to her own daughter. I think I actually found both sets of twins creepy...but you don't really ever see Elspeth and Edie together so the creepiness isn't as pronounced. I loved the relationships between the neighbours in the building.

This is definitely a book I would recommend. Go read it. It's excellent.

Bookshelf Porn

My friend Heddy is in the process of moving...and moving means sorting through books.

I think moving also means procrastinating...I know when it's time for me to pack, there are a million things I'd rather do - clean grout with a toothbrush, wipe down baseboards, stare out the window...

Anyway fellow book lovers, here's a link provided by Heddy to some lovely bookshelf porn.

Enjoy! (Yes, it's completely safe for viewing at work!)

Bonus Book #2: The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World

So, I loved From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil R. Frankweiler. I loved it. I wanted to run away to a museum, but the museum in Kelowna was NOTHING like the museums I read about in books. There was a big stuffed bear and a carriage that was roped off. There were a couple of rooms of changing exhibitions. There was the funny little display up the stairs that was very creepy. There was a street with an assortment of stores. And a Kekuli. That's probably where I would have had to sleep if I'd run away to the Kelowna museum. Not in some fancy old-fashioned bed in a fancy musuem. I haven't been to the museum for a long, long time, so I probably should give it a visit next time I'm in Kelowna.

So, because I loved From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil R. Frankweiler, when I saw this E. L. Konigsburg book while J and were choosing pictures books on the weekend, I had to bring it home. The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World is rated for 10-14 year olds, so I've called it kidlit (as opposed to YA). But I liked it.

Amedeo moves to Florida from New York City with his mom and makes a new friend, William. William's mother is a liquidator and is working in Amedeo's next door neighbour's house. Amedeo ends up helping William and his mother. Amedeao's chapters alternate with his godfather Peter's chapters. I wasn't sure how Peter's story was going to tie into Amedeo's, but in the end, it worked really well.

This was the perfect book to read while I was stuck home with a sore throat...it was easy enough to figure out where I was if I fell asleep with the book and lost my place. It was easy to go back a few pages if I was confused (because I fell asleep...)

Teaser Tuesday: from the couch...

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I have spent the last two days on the couch. With a sore throat. Really, I'd rather be at work. My throat is so sore I can't concentrate for very long on my book, but that's okay. Sleep is probably what I really need.

Today's sore throat teaser is four sentences, not two. Oh well. I like it.

She was from Italy. No one asked from where in Italy. It could have been Rome, or it could have been Rimini. It didn't matter. She was Italian, and she was beautiful, and she spoke three of the Romance languages.

The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World, E. L. Konigsburg, page 39-40

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT at the link above and/or here with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post or share your teaser (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

Bonus Book: 29

Okay, so not the best picture, but whatever.

This was a super fast read. As in I got it at the library at lunch time yesterday and I was done around J's bedtime last night. And I'd done stuff in between like, you know, making dinner, tidying the house, going to the park, playing with J, J's bedtime routing...etc.

The premise of this book reminded me very much of Freaky Friday, although the author, Adena Halpern, says that book had no influence on this one.

A grandmother wishes she could be 29 again (for one day) on her 75th birthday. And she wakes up the next morning and she's 29. Life was different for her than the last time she was 29 - she's single and when she was 29 for real she was married and had an 8 or 9 year old daughter.

She gets to relive being 29 and spend the day with her 25 year old granddaughter. Her very glamourous, fashion designer granddaughter who happens to have a very handsome, single, millionaire friend.

Anyway. The day is full of adventure and some long standing personal relationship issues are resolved. And it pretty much ends happily ever after. And I'm okay with that. It was a good get-lost-in-another-world kind of read. Perfect for a rainy Sunday or a day at the beach or a long plane ride.

Out of interest I took a peek at the book club questions, which were pretty standard, but I thought about number five for a long time...

5. Lucy is thrilled at the chance to spend a day with her newly young grandmother. Think about your own grandmother-can you imagine doing the same with her? What do you think she would have on her "to do" list?

My grandmother and I are somewhat like Ellie and Lucy (except there's no way I would ever be a glamourous fashion designer!). She was married a full 13 years before I was (in terms of age, not real time) and by the time she was my age today, she had six kids aged 3 to 16. When she was 24, she had four kids aged 5 and under. When I was 24 I was living in London, doing whatever the heck I felt like doing on a daily basis...I travelled, I spent money frivilously, I regularly had a few too many alcoholic beverages...that said, I'd love to have had the chance to spend a day with her...I've heard stories...I've seen letters to and from her parents when she was in her late teens. I think she'd be a lot of fun. I think we'd probably get up to a lot of trouble, but I think it would be a day worth remembering! My grandmother is pretty outspoken and very open minded today - I'm sure there are many things she'd like to do that she didn't have the opportunity to do 50 years ago!

So yeah, this book was a fast read. And it was just brain candy. But it was good. I liked it...it was nice to go on a silly vacation with Ellie!

Darkwing

When I worked somewhere that I don't work now, I was fortunate to be involved (peripherally) on a project involving Kenneth Oppel's book Silverwing. I read the trilogy and I enjoyed it - I think I need to reread it though because I remember Firewing being more difficult to follow than Silverwing and Sunwing...but that's not anything to do with this book. You can find some clips of the show on YouTube.

Anyway. Darkwing.


I've been meaning to pick this book up for a while - not only is it another Kenneth Oppel bat book, but there are dinosaurs. And I was going to be a paleaontologist. I was. Really.

Anyway.

I really enjoyed this book - it was a fairly quick read, but it was good. There were some pretty big themes in the book - discrimination and stereotypes being two of them - but they were dealt with so well, they were almost invisible. I'd like to reread Silverwing for sure now (I think it's in my bookcase!) because I felt like maybe I remembered some of those themes being the same...

The naming of the animals was well done - particularly the leader of the Felids being called Patriofelis, the rogue, meat eating Felid, Carnassial and his eventual mate Panthera. I love names...

This book is definitely worth picking up...

Room

So, yesterday I was a bit worried I wouldn't make it to two books this month because I ended up not finishing The Vegetarian Myth. Today I don't think I really need to worry all that much. With more than half the month stretching before us I have finished my first book for January.


Room, by Emma Donoghue has been on my list of books to read since BEFORE it came out. Check out the trailers on her site and on the indigo Community site. There's even an interactive floor plan (you might want to wait until you've read the book to click).

I thought the voice in the book was amazing...the five year words and way of speaking were captured so well. I believed a five year old was telling the story. I couldn't put this book down...somewhere along the lines, I must have mentioned to J that there was a Jack in this book because before she went to bed she asked me if Jack was okay and if I was still reading him.

This book held me captive - it was touching and heartbreaking and funny and horribly awful, all at the very same time. They say little kids are extremely resilient and while they are often resistive to change, it is easier for them to adapt to change than it is for adults and this book showed a very resilient and adaptable little boy.

It was interesting how I didn't really know what Jack looked like until close to the end of the book. He never describes himself (but you know he has long hair because he talks about his pony tail) and it isn't until close to the end when he sees tv reports and reads a newspaper article about him and his mom that the reader gets an idea of what he may look like. To me, he was a little boy. Yes, he was living in horrible conditions, but he still saw the world from a little boy's perspective...

I would definitely recommend this book...and I'm holding on to my copy, sort of. Rebecca has asked to borrow it, but when she gives it back, I think I need to reread it...I'm certain I missed a whole lot!

PS Room + an episode of Criminal Minds just before bed = crazy, twisted dreams

Teaser Tuesday returns

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

So, my teaser is:

So many of us believe we can get healthy by losing weight. The truth is we must be healthy to lose weight. [author's emphasis, not mine]

The Hormone Diet, Natasha Turner, page 5

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your 2 ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

The Vegetarian Myth

Do you remember rule number 1? I sure do. And today I'm oh so glad I put it in my rules for this challenge.

Rule number 1:

If I cannot, absolutely bring myself to finish a book, I will not. I tend to torture myself and force myself to finish books even when they're not keeping my interest and I'm not enjoying them. I'm not going to do that for this challenge.

and as a result of rule number 1, rule number 2 also applies:

If I don't finish a book, I will still blog about it. Then I will attempt to read another book in that same, now truncated, month.

Because this book fits in to that rule. I had to request The Vegetarian Myth (and the university didn't have it!) and my name came up two days before we left to go away for Christmas. So I took it with me.


Um. Yeah. It's not exactly a Christmas reading kind of book. It required that I pay attention and file information in my brain for a later date.

So I decided I'd wait until I got back. Well, it's going back to the library today. I can't renew it because there is a long list of other people who would like to read it. For a while I fooled myself into believing I'd add my name back onto that list, but really, I'm not going to.

I was really interested by the topic of the book and it was recommended by a couple of people as I looked up more information about the GAPS diet. Lierre Keith is a former vegetarian and former vegan who argues that a vegetarian diet creates as much or more destruction to animal life and to plant life as a meat diet does. It's an interesting thought and the way she arrived at her arguments was compelling, but after 70+ pages, it felt like torture.

I started the weekend hoping I'd have it done by the time Alex heads to work tonight - then no late fees because he can drop it in the box. But sometime on Saturday I realized I couldn't do it. As fascinating as it seemed, I just couldn't get into the book. Lierre Keith mentions a couple of times that she was a staunch vegan, set in her beliefs and, (I can't remember if she explicitly says this or if I made it up, reading between the lines) somewhat preachy in her views, but that after a time of illness and research, she has changed her stance. But I kind of felt this book was preachy...just the opposite preaching to what a vegan would preach.

So, if you've read it, I'd love to hear what you thought of the whole book. Maybe one day I'll pick it up again...or maybe I won't. But I tried.

And yes, I will try to read two other books this month...not sure what they will be yet, but I have a stack on the go.

What are you reading?

As you can see by my list of currently in progress books over there ---> I probably don't need any more books to read. But I do. I'm trying to get a list together of books I would like to read and books other people have suggested so that when I reach a point in time where I just don't know what to read, instead of staring mindlessly at my book shelves or walking into the book store and impulse buying a book, I can get out my list and find something at the library.

Also, I really like to hear about what other people are reading and why they do or do not like their current book...

So...what are you reading?

I'm going to make this a regular post - maybe every couple of weeks or so.

I'll start...the two on that list that I'm actively reading are Room and The Vegetarian Myth. Room is making me a little sad and I'm finding it's a fairly quick read that is slowed down a bit by the five year style of prose (that is not a complaint...I love that a five year old is the narrator). The Vegetarian Myth is annoying me. I'm not sure it's the book so much as I haven't been able to sit and read it for more than 15 or 20 minutes at a time because I'm not finding it before I go to sleep material, so that means the other times I have to read are limited because of the toddler who lives at my house. I have nothing planned tonight so I'm going to try to make some headway. It's due back at the library this week and there's a hold on it so if I decide I want to finish it, I'll have to return it and put another hold on it. (That is my only frustration with library books...the ones I need more than three weeks to read are almost always the ones that have a long list of people who want to read them!)

And The Good Daughters goes to....

EDNA!

I didn't use random.org because, well, I can figure out who randomly gets the book when only one person wants it!

I will try to do a few more book giveaways in the next little while. We're sorting out our books...we did five shelves of books today and we tossed 68 I think...they were mostly Alex's books, so I'm not giving them away - lots of hardcovers and mostly sports and biographies.

Mine are going to take a bit longer to go through...there's some I think I might get rid of, but I want to either reread them first of at least glance through them.

Edna, I will do my best to make it to the post office tomorrow, but the first day back after two and a half weeks off could make it hard...if not tomorrow, Wednesday for sure!

The Challenge changes...

Happy New Year!

So, I did it! I made it through my first year of the challenge and managed to read one book a month. Okay, so November's book might have been a cop-out, but in the seven months of the challenge, I read eleven books. Even taking out the cop-out book and the one that didn't count because I bought it myself, I still average 9 books over 7 months, so I did it.

No matter how I look at it.

Which brings me to the 2011 part of the challenge. This year I am challenging myself to read two books a month. I'm going to try to read two each month, but if I read 24 books by the end of the year, I will be happy. Life with a toddler is a bit of a gong show and there are periods of chaos and periods of relative calm, so 24 books for the year it is.

Oh, and I've made one modification to my no rereads rule (you're still free to reread as much as you want) - I can count rereads for up to half of the 24 books...after I read 12 new and 12 rereads (or some other combination of 24 where number of new reads > number of rereads) I can reread as many as I want!

What are your reading goals for 2011? Anyone out there still with me on this challenge?

Book Summary for 2010

Okay, I found this book summary somewhere and figured I should do it. My stats are a bit off because I didn't really pay attention to what I was reading until June. I know I read more books than 11 plus the book of Negros. Maybe I got up to 15? I'll keep better track in 2011 because my goal is 24.

What about you? What did you read in 2010?

How many books read in 2010? I'm not sure - I didn't really keep track at the beginning of the year, but 11 since June

Fiction/Non-Fiction ratio? since June almost 50/50 - 6:5

Male/Female authors? since June 4 male, 7 female

Favourite book read? The Book of Negroes - I read it before June, so it's not on here...

Least favourite? Hmmm...I guess the Constant Princess...I lucked out this year and read mostly good books!

Oldest book read? I think it was Mrs. P's Journey...a lot of the books I read were published in the last few years

Newest book read? The Good Daughters

Longest book title? Crazy Aunt Purl's Home Is Where The Wine Is (9 words)

Shortest book title? A bunch with 3 words, but I'm too lazy to count letters...sorry...

How many re-reads? none

Books in translation? three

Most books read by one author this year? three

How many books were borrowed from the library? a bunch

Name a book you've read this year which was recommended by a blogger? Mrs P's Journey

Giving it away...

Okay readers, I have a copy of The Good Daughters, my copy to be exact, that I want to give away. Melynda mentioned she wanted to read it after I wrote about it, but I didn't email her fast enough and her husband had already downloaded it to their e-reader.

One of my goals for 2011 is going to be reducing the number of books we own - not just sticking to the book diet. I figured since, while I enjoyed The Good Daughters, I probably won't read it again, I'd pass it along. (I am going to try to pass on a few other books as they come up too...)

What do you need to do?

1. Leave a comment telling me what your big resolution/goal/change is for 2011 OR what your reading/writing goals or aspirations for 2011 are OR both (I'm interested in both!)
2. Link to your blog (where I can find an email address to get in touch with you) or leave your email address in the comments. If you're not comfortable leaving your email address (and you don't have a blog) be sure to check back on Monday to see if you're the lucky recipient.
3. When you're done with the book (and if you think you won't read it again) pass it along to someone else - a friend, relative, coworker, neighbour, some random blog reader, a second hand bookstore, a thrift shop, leave it on the bus, in a plane, on a train, donate it to the library or hospital, whatever...it's up to you.
4. OPTIONAL - Come back here and tell us what you thought.
   

That's it. This giveaway isn't affiliated with anyone or anything. It's just me. If there's more than one person interested, I will get random.org to pick a "winner."

You have until 11:00 pm PACIFIC TIME on Sunday, January 2, 2011 to leave a comment. I will try to announce the recipient by 12:00 noon Pacific time on Monday, January 3, 2011 and attempt to get the book in the mail to you on Tuesday, January 4, 2011.

The Good Daughters

I finished my December book in about two days and read most of it on Christmas Day. We had a very relaxing Christmas this year...just how I like it!

Alex's parents gave me Joyce Maynard's The Good Daughters for Christmas. It was one of the three books I brought with me (the other two are non-ficiton).

Alex, who claims he doesn't read (but I know otherwise) actually read the bulk of this book over my shoulder. Which is amazing. Because he doesn't read fiction and this book didn't really fall into the chick-lit genre, but its audience was certainly female.


This book is hard to categorize...it is well written but it felt a bit like a beach book...you know, the kind that you read when you want to read a book, but don't necessarily want to think too hard.

When I read the jacket blurb, I thought I might have figured out the plot. Then after I read the first two chapters (that's how far I got the first night before I had to go to sleep), I knew I'd figured it out. And somewhere in the next couple of chapters, I thought maybe I'd figured out the twist. And it turned out that I did.

And sometimes that makes a book a not very good read (and apparently sometimes that makes my grammar horrible). But this was an enjoyable read even though I knew the end. What made it enjoyable what how the book got to the end. There were a few things that were a bit surprising and there were a few plot devices that were used in different ways than I thought they might be.

The book is written from the perspective of two women, Ruth and Dana, and the chapters alternate between the two voices and I really liked the format. The chapters were a good length...some were only a couple of pages, some much longer, and they were perfect for reading when there was a two year old around who needed attention.

Overall, I think I would recommend this book...especially if you're looking for something that's light on the brain work, but still well written and not fluff.

Does anyone know...

The title of a book, written by a woman, with a yellow cover, about our disposable society that overspends?

It's a one word title if that helps.

It might be something like Spend or Buy or Consume or Cheap. But it's none of those four.

I checked.

The writer lives in New York. There's at least one paragraph about paying for a parking spot.

I think it was published in 2009.

I saw it when we were on Salt Spring Island this summer and decided that I'd get it from the library instead of buying it. I took a picture of it with my phone. But when we got home, it appears I actually took a picture of the floor.

I saw it on a book blog a while ago and went, AHA! That's the name of the book.

But do you think I thought to write it down.

No.

Because apparently I'm not smart like that.

Anyone have any idea?

Thanks.

PS this might show up twice in your RSS feed because I posted it here and there. Sorry if you got it twice.

Everything Men Know About Women

So, November was brutal. I spent the first week of the month in bed with a lung infection. I was sleeping, oh, at least 15 hours a day. Then I decided that I needed some help with fatigue and ended up on the GAPS diet which resulted in a healing crisis. Ever try to read during a healing crisis? No? That's probably a good idea. The healing crisis is pure evil and trying to read just makes it worse.

Because November was brutal, I pulled this book off my shelves and figured it was time to take a look.

It's a gift from a friend.

What does that post-it hanging off the side say? Open here? Okay.
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Ooops, it's empty! And the back claims it's based on years of research and that it's "frank and brilliantly insightful" (more on Amazon, scroll down, way down!)

So that's my book this month.

Next month I will try to return to reading books with words. I did read quite a bit of The Final Act of Mr. Shakespeare, Nourishing Traditions, and Santa Claus: A Biography, but I didn't finish any of them. (Heck, I don't think I'll ever really "finish" Nourishing Traditions since it's a cookbook)

I'm looking at this and wondering how I will ever do the next step of the challenge - reading two books a month in 2011...eep! Oh well, we'll deal with that when we get there!

Teaser Tuesday - Christmas is coming!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Christmas is coming...I gave this book to Alex a few years ago for Christmas. I *know* he hasn't read it, but I thought I'd give it a try. I'm just a handful of pages in, but I'm enjoying it...I wish I had more time to read!

We spend at least one month out of each year of our lives under the spell of the planet's most widely celebrated holiday. At no other time are our feelings as intense; at no other time are we so caught up in a relentless round of preparation, enjoyment, and recovery.

Santa Claus: A Biography, Gerry Bowler, page vii

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your 2 ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This book doesn't count for the challenge because, well, it's a reread...but it does count for this!

By Easter my recasting was complete. And I felt new things had become natural.

French Women Don't Get Fat, Mireille Guiliano, page 48

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your 2 ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

Teaser Tuesday...I'm back!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I'm back...hopefully I can keep doing this every Tuesday. I have a new book now too...finally! Yay for a new month!

It took a while for the Bible to leave the room. Shakespeare's solemn phrases hung in the air like the afterglow of a shooting star.

The Final Act of Mr. Shakespeare, Robert Winder, page 47

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your 2 ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

Mrs P's Journey

I'm a couple of days late posting about October's book...

After I read about this book on Ann's blog, My Villa Life, I had to search it out. Partly because I love maps. Partly because I love London. Partly because I was intrigued by this woman's story.



I have read a bunch of background and it's hard to say whether this is a true, non-fiction biography or a historical novel. Certainly it's based on facts and many of them from Phyllis Pearsall, but there is a lot that the author had to fill in herself. I had trouble categorizing it...

I also had trouble finding it. It appears it is out of print in North America and the VPL didn't have it. But the UBC library did. So that's where I finally got it. I don't often get books from the UBC library mostly because you only get them for two weeks, not three. But, unlike the VPL, you can renew them as many times as you want as long as there are no holds.

Phyllis had a colourful childhood and yound adulthood and it definitely helped frame how the A-Z was born, but I loved the last part of the book that detailed how the A-Z came about. I love the A-Z. One of my favourite things to do when I lived in London and had enough of people was to get on the underground and get out and wander with only my A-Z as company. I figured it was pretty hard to get lost in London - if you had an A-Z you could figure out where you were and if you could find a tube station (the A-Z could tell you) then you could home. Maybe you could find yourself not knowing where you were, but you weren't lost!

I liked this book and if you like London or maps, it's definitely something worth reading. The editor side of me wasn't happy with a few things that were missed (how many siblings did Bella have? Five or eight?) but overall, I was happy with my choice.

Thanks Ann for writing about it...I never would have known it existed otherwise!

Making time to read...

How do you make time to read?! I need to figure that out...

I'm not sure the last time I picked up a book I wanted to read. I've read lots and lots and lots of How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You, Elephant, I'm Gonna Like Me (yes, I know she's too young, but she loves it,so I figured it wasn't going to hurt anything), and Sometimes I Like to Curl Up in a Ball in the past couple of weeks, but not a lot of adult books. I've had a ton of reading to do for work, but it's not going on here...

For a while I was going to bed half an hour early so that I could read...this worked, kind of...either I'd read for half an hour, I'd fall asleep (or put my book down early) or I'd stay up WAY TOO LATE. This week if I went to bed half an hour early, I can guarantee that I'd be sound asleep before I even opened the book (I might just do that tonight, because, hey, sleep is good...

Strategies for getting more reading time in anyone?!?!

It was a gift...really...

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Apparently this book changed the lives of my brother-in-law and my sister-in-law. So my mother-in-law thought I might be interested in it...umm...anyway, when (IF) I finally get through this, we can talk about that more....

When you are feeling good feelings, it is communication back from the Universe saying, "You are thinking good thoughts." Likewise, when you are feeling bad, you are receiving communication back form the Universe saying, "You are thinking bad thoughts."

The Secret, Rhonda Byrne, page 33

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your 2 ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan

I know, I know, I'm posting this a day late. But. September was nuts.

Crazy.

So glad it's gone.

And reading, ha! That's a pastime for those who are retired, independently wealthy, or who aren't trying to juggle a toddler with a new daycare and essentially a new job and, because of a temporary change at their spouse's workplace, all of the meals and grocery shopping and most of the housework life.

I seriously went to bed last night a bit disappointed with myself. I thought I'd failed September.

I have about three books in progress. I've been writing tons. I've been reading tons, actually, but for the purposes of this challenge I had to finish a book. And magazines, they don't count. And browsing through cookbooks, that doesn't count. And reading about 50 million blogs a day, that also doesn't count (although on that note, I have culled a number of blogs from my feed. This morning there were only 96 posts for me to read. I skipped most of them. It makes me sad.) And reading articles and papers for work, well, that doesn't count either.

So sad. I only survived three months of my challenge.

But then I remembered this AWESOME birthday gift from my brother-in-law.


It's not literature. It's not a biography. It's not thoughtful or instructional. It might qualify as thought provoking.

But it made me laugh. And cringe. And possibly throw up a little in my mouth.

And, best of all, IT'S A BOOK!

The premise: A woman found her grandmother's (she assumes, since no one will own up to actually being the original owners) set of Weight Watchers recipes from the 70s. She keeps them, because, wow, easy laughs! And the book is great. It pokes fun at the actual recipes. It pokes fun at the names of the recipes. It pokes fun at the staging of the food.

I loved it! I don't know which recipe was my favourite, but this book had me cracking up. Even Alex read a good chunk of it.

What I do know now though, is WHY people lost weight (and probably lots of it) on Weight Watchers in the 70s - the food was just too gross to eat. And if they did eat it, it probably made them have tummy aches, so they didn't eat much.

I'm glad Weight Watchers uses a healthier model for weight loss these days!

I just googled the book and you can see some of the cards and commentary here.

EDIT: Also check out this page - it's got Weight Watchers information from the 1970s...scary stuff!

Teaser Tuesday - Mrs P's Journey

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I haven't forgotten...really...just, September came. And with it came the insanity of back to school. But now that September is almost over, well, now I can get back to routine...maybe.

This week's teaser:

In the swirls of her subconscious and memory, it is highly likely that Phyllis interpreted her family's erratic dashes around Europe when she was between the ages of four and ten, and their perpetual moving house as a soothing, lulling momentum. For on such a trip the happy package of mother, father, sister and brother were tightly tied together, and the attention of both parents was bound to their children.

Mrs P's Journey, Sarah Hartley, page 43

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your 2 ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

Day 30: Is there an author who you will read anything they write?

(UGH again with the weird sentence structure!)

Irène Némirovsky. Suite Française was super! I loved it. I didn’t want it to end. And when it did end, I wanted more. Fire in the Blood was also excellent. This is a woman who’s life ended too early and who I wish had had the opportunity to write more. If you haven’t read Suite Française, I can’t recommend it enough!

Day 29: What author do you avoid?

Dr. Laura Schlessinger. UGH. And even more so since she went on her rant a few weeks ago.

When I was in university, I worked at a fast food place one summer. The girls who decorated cakes had a work station in the back next to the break table. And they listened to Dr. Laura on the radio. And she drove me nuts.

Then my grandma gave me The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands as a shower gift. She hadn't read it (which is strange for her, she usually reads everything before she gives it away so she can discuss it with you) and I don't know that she would have given it to me if she had. I think maybe Dr. Laura is a misandrist. And she's narrow minded. And she gives bad advice. And she makes me mad. MAD.

So I avoid her. Because I don't like being mad!

Day 28: What book do you wish you had never read?

Lolita. I hated it. I was very uncomfortable the whole time I read it. It bothered me. But I finished it. And I wished I'd never picked it up. We read it for our book club with Reading Lolita in Tehran. I enjoyed that, but not Lolita.

Day 27: What book would you write if you had all the resources?

I don't know. I've never really thought I’d write a book. So I don't have the next great Canadian novel floating around in my head.

Do you have the next great novel (Canadian or otherwise) buried in your imagination? Or is there a non-fiction book you would write?

Day 26: What is a book you wish would be written?

I sort of wish there was more Harry Potter. But maybe not. I feel like the epilogue tied everything up nicely and if there was more Harry Potter, it would be boring. Or boring compared to the first seven books.

I don't really have a lot to say...I figure if there was a book that I really wished would be written, then maybe I should write it myself!

Day 25: What is your favourite autobiographical or biographical book

(Ummm...again with the weird sentence structure...isn't “What is your favourite autobiography or biography?” better???)

Almost French: love and a new life in Paris by Sarah Turnbull. My copy is lost and I'm very sad. I loaned it someone who loaned it to someone else who doesn't remember what happened to it. I don't know if you can get it over here, my friend in Australia read it and thought I'd enjoy it and posted her copy on up.

It's about a woman who met a man in Eastern Europe. She went to France to visit him. And the story goes from there. I'm not going to spoil it. Anyway, besides their relationship, it's about her adventures in adapting to French culture. She describes how she was dressed when she arrives – flowing broomstick skirt and Birkenstocks I think – and how it contrasts to the French women around and how eventually her style evolves.

I really enjoyed this book. I read it a few years after moving back to Canada after spending the better part of three years abroad. I was still adjusting (some days I think I'm still adjusting and I've been back for eight years). I was wrestling with what to do with my own life and her story gave me some perspective and possibly, unknowingly, some advice.

I am off to see if I can locate a copy of this at the library or online. I want to reread it now!

Day 24: What book did you later find out the author lied about?

A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. That's the only one I could think of, maybe because it was big news when it came out that he lied. I didn't care that he lied. I figured it was a novel and while it was based on his life since it was a novel, why shouldn't he expand, elaborate and create when the story line needed it? I never saw or read his interviews with Oprah or anyone else, so I don't know exactly how he presented himself, but if he's promoting his book, maybe it was all part of the show? Who knows.

Day 23: What is your favourite romance novel?

Well, this took some thought. And then I settled on two – though one might not be classified as a novel and the other might not want to be classified as a romance...I'm not sure.

The first one, definitely a novel, is Gone With the Wind. I first saw the movie when I was six or seven – well, parts of the movie – I was at my grandma's house and she was watching it for the twenty eighth time or something and she kept turning it off and then turning it back on. So I wouldn't see things like Bonnie (that's her name, right?) falling off her horse. And then I saw parts of the movie many times over the next few years. It's a long movie and I wasn't up to sitting through it. I'm not sure when I first saw the whole thing – maybe when I had a retreat at Chez Piltz in 2002? Possibly when I had my wisdom teeth out, but anything I watched then doesn’t count.

But the book, I have read the book! When I moved to London there was an extensive library where I was living, made up mostly of books that were donated or left behind by travellers or staff who were moving on. I was there for six months and there wasn't a lot of time for reading, but I decided that I'd try to read Gone With the Wind because I should be able to do it in that amount of time! I know it took me a while because I was in one room for the first three months and another rood for the last three and I have memories of reading it in both rooms.

Part of me loves reading epics – they tend to last longer than other books and that makes me happy. Part of me hates reading epics – they tend to last longer than other books and that can be frustrating. With this book, I was happy. I knew the story fairly well and I really enjoyed reading it. Scarlett drove me nuts sometimes because she was so self-centered, but she evolved and while she could still be very self-centered, she became a stronger person. Rhett just drove me nuts. Ashley and Melanie were a bit whiny, but overall, I really did just like reading it.

So, what did you think about Gone With the Wind (I know there's at least one differing opinion out there!)?

The second romance I mentioned is Pioneer Woman's story of how she met her husband, Black Heels to Tractor Wheels. I couldn’t stop reading it. It's broken up into blog posts and I had to limit myself to three a day or I would have just wasted all my time with Alex and J and all of my time at work to reading it as quickly as possible. Not a good use of my time...Check it out! And I think I heard she has expanded it and it's coming out in book form.

So – does that count as a novel? What is your favourite romance??
 

Day 22: What is your favourite series?

Harry Potter.
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What? You want more?

I love Harry Potter. Earlier in the challenge I wrote about Harry Potter. I could also have written about Harry Potter as my favourite book. But I didn't. Because which book is my favourite? The Philosopher's Stone? Prisoner of Azkaban? The Half-Blood Prince?

Exactly.

Favourite series.

Because I can reread them over and over and over. And never get bored. And find things I missed the last time. And they help get back into the reading groove when I've fallen out. And, well, I just love them. That's all.