So yeah, apparently I suck at blogging this year. In fact, I haven't read anyone's blog since roughly my last post. *waves*
Sorry.
Recaping ever so quickly....I haven't read any of the books I said I was going to, I have read Glass Castle and The Worst Storm Ever (I loved Worst Storm, although it's just completely depressing) and I'm planning on reading The Devil in the White City on the plane Friday. (I've read other books too, but none that I can remember off the top of my head.)
Let's see how I do this quarter, shall we?
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Oh, did you think I was failing already?
Unforeseeable: incapable of being anticipated
Yes, last Friday (err, well, as I started this last week, it's now 2 Friday's ago) I had every intention of coming home and posting about the books I was reading, when something unforeseen happened and I ended up spending the next five days in a place where there was no internet. After, when I was home, I could have updated, except I had more unforeseen events happen, like my car going wonky and a huge pile of work to catch up on. Those last two combined to make me a rather irritable person, one who didn't feel like typing anymore, thank you very much.
However, I've had the past two days to sleep! and finally decompress a bit, so I'm posting away. (Except, it's been so long, that all of the good comments I had about things I've read are fading!)
(Yes, I wrote the above on Sunday...it's now Wednesday. Oh, me.)
I've been doing a bit of reading these past few weeks, even making the tiniest bit of progress in regards to my first self-challenge: I've read through chapter 2 of "Great Feuds in Mathematics". Yup. If I read one a day, I might actually finish the book before the end of the month. It's been interesting so far, but not in a fascinating, I can't wait to read the next part kind of way. This book is feeling to me like brief little snapshots of people who I may or may not have heard of in high school. I'm hoping that in later chapters, it'll become more interesting to me, as we'll be heading to the recent past feuds, as opposed to the ones that happened in the 1600s.
My real life book club just met last night to discuss "The City of Falling Angels", which I have to say I enjoyed much more than "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". I really loved Venice (and long to go back!), so reading about the city brought me back to when I went there several years ago. I didn't see all of the places that the author wrote about, but then, he was living there for several years while I was only there for a few days. The "main" story is about the fire that destroyed the Fenice (Opera House), and the years spent rebuilding it, while the side stories were about the investigation into who/what caused the fire, the Save Venice group, and a dozen different people the author met or became involved with while he was staying there. Still, his main theme was the Fenice, and how people saw it then/now, which I did see as his attempt to keep the story 'together'.
(Some of the people in the group didn't like the various side stories, especially the Olga/Ezra Pound detour, although I thought it was quite interesting. One of the members seemed to also love that section, as, "[T]hey were scandalous lovers people!".)
I picked up "The Rest Falls Away", which was recced by Carl a month or so ago. I have a huge thing for supernatural stories (and shows/movies), so I'll really read almost anything in the genre*, and more often then not, like it**. However, this story, it just didn't grab me, not really, which was a disappointment as I really wanted it to. I mean, Vampires! England! Slayers! I was set up to love this story, and I still can't figure out why I didn't. I'm sort of hoping that it was me (I was stressed, tired, and it was really late), rather than the characters. It wasn't a bad story, there was nothing "wrong"; a nice mix of characters and plots, with some interesting, ala Buffy, twists...I guess it just wasn't what I'd wanted it to be. Which again, could just be me. I'm planning on sending it to a friend who's tastes are pretty much identical to mine to see what she thinks.
(*Yes, I am still reading Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake series, although I really can't give a good reason as to why. I'm not liking where most, if not all, of the characters are going, but I still love Anita (who she used to be/my idea of her, whatever.) I won't pay for another book of her's though.)
(**I picked up "Strange Candy", by LKH from the library right before I went out of town and found that I actually really liked a couple of the stories. "A Lust for Cupids" was my favorite; it didn't involve anyone from the Anitaverse, just fun, cuteness, with a nice bit of rage/determination/vengance that made me happy. "Here be Dragons" was also a nice surprise, as it involves psychics who can kill/torture you by invading your dreams, and what happens when they are the monsters they're supposed to be protecting you from. There were also a couple of stories set in the Anitaverse; "The Girl who was Infatuated with Death" I actually enjoyed, as it did feature Anita, Jean-Claude, and Malcolm, who I think is an interesting character.)
I picked up "The Fallen" on a whim; it's the first in a four book series about Lucas, the child of a woman and a fallen Angel. Interesting so far, although not anything really new, but I'm liking it none the less. It's got Angels who think they're on a mission from God and have to wipe out the Fallen angels, as well as the children like Lucas, Fallen angels who are either hiding, helping, or just trying to get back to Heaven, and Lucas, who really doesn't want anything to do with any of it.
I'm still reading Neil Gaiman's "Fragile Things". I find that I can't read too many of his stories at once, because then I don't get to appreciate them and mull over them they way I want to. He's got such a fascinating way of telling a story, of writing it, that I feel I need to take long minutes to read and think before moving on to the next one. He always puts an introduction to his stories in the front of the book, and I read each one of them after I read the story; I don't want to be spoiled. I think my favorite so far is "The Problem with Susan", which anyone who's read the "Narnia" books by C.S. Lewis will pick up on immediately. (Ohh, he's got a new book coming out, about one of the other short stories that's included in this book: "The Facts in the Case of the Departures of Miss Finch".)
Finally, I'm thinking I'm going to switch "The Awakening" and "Bleak House" around. They're going to reshow the Bleak House movies on PBS later this spring, and I want to read the novel before watching it.
Yes, last Friday (err, well, as I started this last week, it's now 2 Friday's ago) I had every intention of coming home and posting about the books I was reading, when something unforeseen happened and I ended up spending the next five days in a place where there was no internet. After, when I was home, I could have updated, except I had more unforeseen events happen, like my car going wonky and a huge pile of work to catch up on. Those last two combined to make me a rather irritable person, one who didn't feel like typing anymore, thank you very much.
However, I've had the past two days to sleep! and finally decompress a bit, so I'm posting away. (Except, it's been so long, that all of the good comments I had about things I've read are fading!)
(Yes, I wrote the above on Sunday...it's now Wednesday. Oh, me.)
I've been doing a bit of reading these past few weeks, even making the tiniest bit of progress in regards to my first self-challenge: I've read through chapter 2 of "Great Feuds in Mathematics". Yup. If I read one a day, I might actually finish the book before the end of the month. It's been interesting so far, but not in a fascinating, I can't wait to read the next part kind of way. This book is feeling to me like brief little snapshots of people who I may or may not have heard of in high school. I'm hoping that in later chapters, it'll become more interesting to me, as we'll be heading to the recent past feuds, as opposed to the ones that happened in the 1600s.
My real life book club just met last night to discuss "The City of Falling Angels", which I have to say I enjoyed much more than "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". I really loved Venice (and long to go back!), so reading about the city brought me back to when I went there several years ago. I didn't see all of the places that the author wrote about, but then, he was living there for several years while I was only there for a few days. The "main" story is about the fire that destroyed the Fenice (Opera House), and the years spent rebuilding it, while the side stories were about the investigation into who/what caused the fire, the Save Venice group, and a dozen different people the author met or became involved with while he was staying there. Still, his main theme was the Fenice, and how people saw it then/now, which I did see as his attempt to keep the story 'together'.
(Some of the people in the group didn't like the various side stories, especially the Olga/Ezra Pound detour, although I thought it was quite interesting. One of the members seemed to also love that section, as, "[T]hey were scandalous lovers people!".)
I picked up "The Rest Falls Away", which was recced by Carl a month or so ago. I have a huge thing for supernatural stories (and shows/movies), so I'll really read almost anything in the genre*, and more often then not, like it**. However, this story, it just didn't grab me, not really, which was a disappointment as I really wanted it to. I mean, Vampires! England! Slayers! I was set up to love this story, and I still can't figure out why I didn't. I'm sort of hoping that it was me (I was stressed, tired, and it was really late), rather than the characters. It wasn't a bad story, there was nothing "wrong"; a nice mix of characters and plots, with some interesting, ala Buffy, twists...I guess it just wasn't what I'd wanted it to be. Which again, could just be me. I'm planning on sending it to a friend who's tastes are pretty much identical to mine to see what she thinks.
(*Yes, I am still reading Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake series, although I really can't give a good reason as to why. I'm not liking where most, if not all, of the characters are going, but I still love Anita (who she used to be/my idea of her, whatever.) I won't pay for another book of her's though.)
(**I picked up "Strange Candy", by LKH from the library right before I went out of town and found that I actually really liked a couple of the stories. "A Lust for Cupids" was my favorite; it didn't involve anyone from the Anitaverse, just fun, cuteness, with a nice bit of rage/determination/vengance that made me happy. "Here be Dragons" was also a nice surprise, as it involves psychics who can kill/torture you by invading your dreams, and what happens when they are the monsters they're supposed to be protecting you from. There were also a couple of stories set in the Anitaverse; "The Girl who was Infatuated with Death" I actually enjoyed, as it did feature Anita, Jean-Claude, and Malcolm, who I think is an interesting character.)
I picked up "The Fallen" on a whim; it's the first in a four book series about Lucas, the child of a woman and a fallen Angel. Interesting so far, although not anything really new, but I'm liking it none the less. It's got Angels who think they're on a mission from God and have to wipe out the Fallen angels, as well as the children like Lucas, Fallen angels who are either hiding, helping, or just trying to get back to Heaven, and Lucas, who really doesn't want anything to do with any of it.
I'm still reading Neil Gaiman's "Fragile Things". I find that I can't read too many of his stories at once, because then I don't get to appreciate them and mull over them they way I want to. He's got such a fascinating way of telling a story, of writing it, that I feel I need to take long minutes to read and think before moving on to the next one. He always puts an introduction to his stories in the front of the book, and I read each one of them after I read the story; I don't want to be spoiled. I think my favorite so far is "The Problem with Susan", which anyone who's read the "Narnia" books by C.S. Lewis will pick up on immediately. (Ohh, he's got a new book coming out, about one of the other short stories that's included in this book: "The Facts in the Case of the Departures of Miss Finch".)
Finally, I'm thinking I'm going to switch "The Awakening" and "Bleak House" around. They're going to reshow the Bleak House movies on PBS later this spring, and I want to read the novel before watching it.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Content, content, content
1. subject matter of a document, book, etc, 2. meaning or significance, as of an artistic work.
Well, 5 days into the new year and I've yet to start a book off either of my lists...except, that's not exactly true now, is it? I have "Crime & Punishment" listed, and since I did read another 5 pages (yes, 5 whole pages!) this morning, I guess this means I'm actually on track.
Who would have guessed?
However, as "Crime & Punishment" isn't actually either of the books that I truly think I should be reading, I plan on rectifying that this weekend. "Great Feuds in Mathematics: Ten of the Liveliest Disputes Ever" is on it's way to my local library, so I can't start that, but I do have "A Midwife's Tale" here, along with "Awakening". I also picked up several new books at the library today, including Neil Gaiman's "Fragile Things" and "The City of Falling Angels" by John Berendt, which is the book my rl bookclub selected for this month.
I wasn't able to make that meeting (we read "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan", which I liked), so when I checked my email the next day and saw the selected book I had to laugh; I had just started "Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil", by the same author.
When I first bought this book, it was at a book sale, and I'm pretty sure that it was in the "literary fiction" section, which was why it took me by surprise to find out that this novel was actually non-fiction, or mostly so. (Also, wasn't there a movie by the same name, with John Cusack? Yes, yes there was. I might have to rent that now.)
"Midnight" is an account of the death of Danny Hansford by Jim Williams, his boss, friend, and apparent lover. This isn't just a 'one-side' account of a crime though, as Berendt seems to be more telling the story of the people of Savannah (those alive, those dead, the rich, the poor, the drag Queen Chablis, even the story of Mr. William Simon Glover, who every day walks Patrick, the invisible dog), rather than just William's story. Berendt had already moved to Savannah and begun the process of settling in, having become rather enamoured with the city after recent trips, when Williams shot Hansford one night.
Having just finished the novel, I'm kinda surprised to find that I don't think I liked it, not as a story anyway. As a collection of short stories that were merged together, maybe; or maybe an interesting guide to Savannah (I didn't realize that the town was really that cut off from the rest of the state). The problem (for me) wasn't that I didn't get drawn into this book, but more that I didn't get drawn into they story that we were supposed to get drawn into; this book really does revolve around the death of Danny Hansford, and those were the parts of the novel I didn't care for.
I thought that the "side characters" were great; I got a huge kick out of the Lady Chablis (lovely drag queen who calls Berendt her chauffeur and crashes the Black Debutant Ball, although I think that s/he'd drive me crazy in person) and Joe Odom (the town con-man, but he's so damn charming and like-able that even though you know he's screwing you over, you just don't care). Those were the people I enjoyed reading about, and I'm glad that they were featured quite a bit.
Hmm, I'm pretty sure this all counts as content...
Danielle wrote a post just today about a new challenge that's making the rounds (actually, one of like a dozen I've read about this past week!), the Reading Across Borders Challenge (which is actually Kate's) and for a brief moment (very very very brief), I was tempted. I know that the majority of the books I read are written by U.S. authors, with some British and Canadian ones thrown in for good measure,(Easily. Like 98.76% US.) and that I really should be expanding those horizons at least a little bit more.
I took a quick look around at the books I have and counted over 15 different novels that have all been translated into English. It's a sign, right? Clearly, I can do this challenge...and, half of the books would be classics, so right there are my 6 books. The rest of them are all in my to be read piles, which hello, always a good thing to read through them.
So, someone tell me why I'm NOT doing this challenge? Actually, don't, I know why. Really. I think I'm actually asking you to challenge me, but please, don't. Really. No matter how many challenges I mention here, please, don't encourage me. Last year I did way too many and didn't actually meet a single one, so I've decided that this year, I'm not doing any. (Except Carl's, should he do the R.I.P. Challenge again in October. I've already picked out my books.) Still, I'm going to try and follow along with this, just to get some hint about all the great authors I'm not reading and the fantastic novels I've never heard of before.
Well, 5 days into the new year and I've yet to start a book off either of my lists...except, that's not exactly true now, is it? I have "Crime & Punishment" listed, and since I did read another 5 pages (yes, 5 whole pages!) this morning, I guess this means I'm actually on track.
Who would have guessed?
However, as "Crime & Punishment" isn't actually either of the books that I truly think I should be reading, I plan on rectifying that this weekend. "Great Feuds in Mathematics: Ten of the Liveliest Disputes Ever" is on it's way to my local library, so I can't start that, but I do have "A Midwife's Tale" here, along with "Awakening". I also picked up several new books at the library today, including Neil Gaiman's "Fragile Things" and "The City of Falling Angels" by John Berendt, which is the book my rl bookclub selected for this month.
I wasn't able to make that meeting (we read "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan", which I liked), so when I checked my email the next day and saw the selected book I had to laugh; I had just started "Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil", by the same author.
When I first bought this book, it was at a book sale, and I'm pretty sure that it was in the "literary fiction" section, which was why it took me by surprise to find out that this novel was actually non-fiction, or mostly so. (Also, wasn't there a movie by the same name, with John Cusack? Yes, yes there was. I might have to rent that now.)
"Midnight" is an account of the death of Danny Hansford by Jim Williams, his boss, friend, and apparent lover. This isn't just a 'one-side' account of a crime though, as Berendt seems to be more telling the story of the people of Savannah (those alive, those dead, the rich, the poor, the drag Queen Chablis, even the story of Mr. William Simon Glover, who every day walks Patrick, the invisible dog), rather than just William's story. Berendt had already moved to Savannah and begun the process of settling in, having become rather enamoured with the city after recent trips, when Williams shot Hansford one night.
Having just finished the novel, I'm kinda surprised to find that I don't think I liked it, not as a story anyway. As a collection of short stories that were merged together, maybe; or maybe an interesting guide to Savannah (I didn't realize that the town was really that cut off from the rest of the state). The problem (for me) wasn't that I didn't get drawn into this book, but more that I didn't get drawn into they story that we were supposed to get drawn into; this book really does revolve around the death of Danny Hansford, and those were the parts of the novel I didn't care for.
I thought that the "side characters" were great; I got a huge kick out of the Lady Chablis (lovely drag queen who calls Berendt her chauffeur and crashes the Black Debutant Ball, although I think that s/he'd drive me crazy in person) and Joe Odom (the town con-man, but he's so damn charming and like-able that even though you know he's screwing you over, you just don't care). Those were the people I enjoyed reading about, and I'm glad that they were featured quite a bit.
Hmm, I'm pretty sure this all counts as content...
Danielle wrote a post just today about a new challenge that's making the rounds (actually, one of like a dozen I've read about this past week!), the Reading Across Borders Challenge (which is actually Kate's) and for a brief moment (very very very brief), I was tempted. I know that the majority of the books I read are written by U.S. authors, with some British and Canadian ones thrown in for good measure,(Easily. Like 98.76% US.) and that I really should be expanding those horizons at least a little bit more.
I took a quick look around at the books I have and counted over 15 different novels that have all been translated into English. It's a sign, right? Clearly, I can do this challenge...and, half of the books would be classics, so right there are my 6 books. The rest of them are all in my to be read piles, which hello, always a good thing to read through them.
So, someone tell me why I'm NOT doing this challenge? Actually, don't, I know why. Really. I think I'm actually asking you to challenge me, but please, don't. Really. No matter how many challenges I mention here, please, don't encourage me. Last year I did way too many and didn't actually meet a single one, so I've decided that this year, I'm not doing any. (Except Carl's, should he do the R.I.P. Challenge again in October. I've already picked out my books.) Still, I'm going to try and follow along with this, just to get some hint about all the great authors I'm not reading and the fantastic novels I've never heard of before.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
The Year in Review
I started this blog with the sole purpose of keeping track of my reading activities; the books I wanted to read, the books I was reading, and my thoughts about all of it. Looking back at my posts, I don't think that I did too badly. Granted, I've had several lapses here due to a variety of reasons (and yes, some of them could have been avoided), but I never stopped reading, so I'm going to say that overall, it's a win.
Now, last December, my first post, I posted several things that I was going to try and do this year, reading-wise. Out of the four of them, I have to say that only one of them was a success. I've posted 67 books in the sidebar, which means that I read 17 more than I "had" to. I only managed to read 5 classical books (I'd hoped for 21) and 5 to be read books (I'd hoped for 12)...hmm, I was almost halfway to meeting that second goal there, wasn't I? In any case, I'm still seeing them as wins, despite the fact that I didn't met my goals, because hey, in each case, I read 5 more in 2006 than I had in 2005. I also managed to read a few books that weren't fiction, although not as many as I would have liked; but a win is a win, yes?
So this year, I'm going to do the same things again: post reading resolutions.
I just have to come up with some first.
Resolution 1: Read more non-fiction.
I know, I always say this, and I always mean it...yet it never seems to happen. I've got dozens of books I want to read, on a variety of topics, but I never seem to even start them. In an effort to do so, I've put 6 of them on hold/reserve/what have you at the library; one for every other month.
1. Great Fueds in Mathematics: Ten of the Liveliest Disputes Ever by Hal Hellman
2. Altered States by Catherine Fisher
3. Catching a Wave: Reclaiming Feminism for the 21st Century edited by Rory Dicker and Alison Piepmeier
4. Literature and the gods by Roberto Calasso
5. Before the Fallout: from Marie Curie to Hiroshima by Diana Preston.
(Okay, this one is kind of cheating, since I'd read almost 2/3rds of this work before I had to give it back. Still, I didn't get the chance to finish it, so it's going back on the list.)
6. A Midwife's Tale by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Resolution 2: Read more classical novels
Well, seeing as how I managed to read 5 of these starting in the later half of the year, I think that making a goal of reading 6 should be no problem; yes, one for every other month.
1. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
2. Bleak House by Charles Dickens
3. The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy
4. The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles
5. The Vampyre by John Polidori
6. The Inferno by Dante
(7. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky)
Resolution 3: Post weekly, and with content.
Honestly, I think this one is going to be the hardest out of all of them, unsurprising, I'm sure.
And that's it, three goals. I'm not going to bother with the 50 books goal, or trying to read in an alphabetical list (although I might post one if I seem to be reading in that direction). No, instead I'm just going to concentrate on reading these 12 books this year (1 a month, could I have set myself easier goals?) and posting my thoughts.
Happy New Year!
Now, last December, my first post, I posted several things that I was going to try and do this year, reading-wise. Out of the four of them, I have to say that only one of them was a success. I've posted 67 books in the sidebar, which means that I read 17 more than I "had" to. I only managed to read 5 classical books (I'd hoped for 21) and 5 to be read books (I'd hoped for 12)...hmm, I was almost halfway to meeting that second goal there, wasn't I? In any case, I'm still seeing them as wins, despite the fact that I didn't met my goals, because hey, in each case, I read 5 more in 2006 than I had in 2005. I also managed to read a few books that weren't fiction, although not as many as I would have liked; but a win is a win, yes?
So this year, I'm going to do the same things again: post reading resolutions.
Resolution 1: Read more non-fiction.
I know, I always say this, and I always mean it...yet it never seems to happen. I've got dozens of books I want to read, on a variety of topics, but I never seem to even start them. In an effort to do so, I've put 6 of them on hold/reserve/what have you at the library; one for every other month.
1. Great Fueds in Mathematics: Ten of the Liveliest Disputes Ever by Hal Hellman
2. Altered States by Catherine Fisher
3. Catching a Wave: Reclaiming Feminism for the 21st Century edited by Rory Dicker and Alison Piepmeier
4. Literature and the gods by Roberto Calasso
5. Before the Fallout: from Marie Curie to Hiroshima by Diana Preston.
(Okay, this one is kind of cheating, since I'd read almost 2/3rds of this work before I had to give it back. Still, I didn't get the chance to finish it, so it's going back on the list.)
6. A Midwife's Tale by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Resolution 2: Read more classical novels
Well, seeing as how I managed to read 5 of these starting in the later half of the year, I think that making a goal of reading 6 should be no problem; yes, one for every other month.
1. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
2. Bleak House by Charles Dickens
3. The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy
4. The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles
5. The Vampyre by John Polidori
6. The Inferno by Dante
(7. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky)
Resolution 3: Post weekly, and with content.
Honestly, I think this one is going to be the hardest out of all of them, unsurprising, I'm sure.
And that's it, three goals. I'm not going to bother with the 50 books goal, or trying to read in an alphabetical list (although I might post one if I seem to be reading in that direction). No, instead I'm just going to concentrate on reading these 12 books this year (1 a month, could I have set myself easier goals?) and posting my thoughts.
Happy New Year!
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Oh, snap
SNAP.
I really did not mean to let this happen again, but. Well. Good intentions vs the road to Hell. Welcome to my life.
Let's just gloss over that shall we, and get back to the books.
Oh, how I love my precious, precious books. (Also, I need more bookcases because the dear things are super crowded.)
When we left off, I had finished "The House of Mirth" and was starting "Crime and Punishment", with the sole purpose being to complete one challenge this year, dammit (and no, I didn't). I've only been able to read the first 'book' so far, since time, that precious commodity is seemingly so rare these days. I was getting to work early, so I could quickly read a chapter before going to the office, but with the way Seattle traffic has been lately, well, these days I'm starting to feel lucky that I'm making it to work, much less on time. Still, I will continue reading "C&P", since I really am enjoying it.
(Right now, he's just killed the old lady and her sister and is kinda sitting around going 'well huh, I guess I did it.')
I've also missed my last two book club meetings, not because I didn't read them, but I had plans (Baltimore and then the Rolling Stones Concert), so it kind of hit me on Monday that hey...you have a book club meeting coming up and wait, what's the book? ("The Glass Castle", by Jeannette Wells) Oh, right. So, when are you going to read it? Uh, yeah.
I bought it that night and was able to read it Tuesday, which is good as both yesterday and today are crammed full of things to do and places to be.
It was a really quick, and surprisingly entertaining read, for all that her stories about her life growing up were actually pretty damn sad. Her father was an alcoholic who had dreams of making it rich by finding gold and then building the glass castle for his family to live in; he might have been successful as he seemed highly intelligent and creative except he kept drinking away and and all money the family had. Her mother, an artist, really didn't want to be bothered by raising her children or dealing with her husband and so chose to mostly live for her work. Both parents would pretty much leave the kids to themselves, letting them learn and grow and experience for themselves, which sounds like *yay*, but really. It's not. They had rarely seemed to have food, clothes, money, or even a decent place to live. They'd move from town to town whenever the bills got to high and the creditors came looking, sponging off Jeannette's grandmother when they could.
Still, Jeannette has a way of writing these story that make them sound like fun times and not something horribly sad, which I suppose is the point. You know, the whole what doesn't kill you makes you stronger thing.
I really did not mean to let this happen again, but. Well. Good intentions vs the road to Hell. Welcome to my life.
Let's just gloss over that shall we, and get back to the books.
Oh, how I love my precious, precious books. (Also, I need more bookcases because the dear things are super crowded.)
When we left off, I had finished "The House of Mirth" and was starting "Crime and Punishment", with the sole purpose being to complete one challenge this year, dammit (and no, I didn't). I've only been able to read the first 'book' so far, since time, that precious commodity is seemingly so rare these days. I was getting to work early, so I could quickly read a chapter before going to the office, but with the way Seattle traffic has been lately, well, these days I'm starting to feel lucky that I'm making it to work, much less on time. Still, I will continue reading "C&P", since I really am enjoying it.
(Right now, he's just killed the old lady and her sister and is kinda sitting around going 'well huh, I guess I did it.')
I've also missed my last two book club meetings, not because I didn't read them, but I had plans (Baltimore and then the Rolling Stones Concert), so it kind of hit me on Monday that hey...you have a book club meeting coming up and wait, what's the book? ("The Glass Castle", by Jeannette Wells) Oh, right. So, when are you going to read it? Uh, yeah.
I bought it that night and was able to read it Tuesday, which is good as both yesterday and today are crammed full of things to do and places to be.
It was a really quick, and surprisingly entertaining read, for all that her stories about her life growing up were actually pretty damn sad. Her father was an alcoholic who had dreams of making it rich by finding gold and then building the glass castle for his family to live in; he might have been successful as he seemed highly intelligent and creative except he kept drinking away and and all money the family had. Her mother, an artist, really didn't want to be bothered by raising her children or dealing with her husband and so chose to mostly live for her work. Both parents would pretty much leave the kids to themselves, letting them learn and grow and experience for themselves, which sounds like *yay*, but really. It's not. They had rarely seemed to have food, clothes, money, or even a decent place to live. They'd move from town to town whenever the bills got to high and the creditors came looking, sponging off Jeannette's grandmother when they could.
Still, Jeannette has a way of writing these story that make them sound like fun times and not something horribly sad, which I suppose is the point. You know, the whole what doesn't kill you makes you stronger thing.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
The House of Mirth
I just finished "The House of Mirth" and man, am I ever depressed now. I started off really not liking Lily Bart one bit, and then I was annoyed with her for being so naive about Trenor, etc, but at the end, oh, I felt for her, I really did.
I don't know that I liked this work, and it certainly took me long enough to read it, but I will say that Lily won me over in the end.
Now, off to "Crime and Punishment". Or, maybe Monday.
I don't know that I liked this work, and it certainly took me long enough to read it, but I will say that Lily won me over in the end.
Now, off to "Crime and Punishment". Or, maybe Monday.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Interesting, interesting
This, R.I.P reading challenge looks rather interesting. I won't be joining it (not with only a month and a huge desire to finish "THoM"), but if I was, I think my books would be:
1. Fahrenheit 451
2. Vampyre
3. Bleak House
4. Coraline
5. Ghost Stories (by Edith Wharton)
Guidelines: pick out any 5 books that you want to read that you think meet the very open, broad criteria of being scary, eerie, moody, dripping with atmosphere, gothic, unsettling, etc.
1. Fahrenheit 451
2. Vampyre
3. Bleak House
4. Coraline
5. Ghost Stories (by Edith Wharton)
Guidelines: pick out any 5 books that you want to read that you think meet the very open, broad criteria of being scary, eerie, moody, dripping with atmosphere, gothic, unsettling, etc.
October = Not sunny in Seattle
Well, now that the summer here in Seattle is over (hello rainy fall days), I think it's safe to say that I finally feel like reading again. I just could not get started, or finish, anything, despite picking up several different books. I'm never sure if it's the sudden heat, or the sunny days, or what, but picking up anything more than a comic or a magazine just doesn't happen. (That said, I read a lot of comics and gluten free cooking magazines over the past two months.)
Despite my lack of wanting to read (or post, or read blogs!), I did do some reading. I got my hands on a copy of "Danse Macabre" by Laurell K Hamilton and found it surprisingly decent, compared to the last few in the series. (You were right Colleen, this was pretty good, and much better than the last few). It's still got nothing on the first couple of books, but I'd like to take this as a positive sign.
I also read "The Birth House" by Ami McKay, which I thought was phenomenal. Very beautiful writing, the way she set the tone with a few lines really grabbed me. I did have particular things that I loved, but unfortunately, I was on a plane while reading this and getting access to my bag was impossible. I'll have to re-read it again sometime and try and remember the things that grabbed me. The second book I read while traveling was "Labyrinth" by Kate Mosse, which really didn't grab me at all. It wasn't the going back and forth Alise and Alice that bothered me (which I liked) but by the absolute predictability of it all. I got it because it looked interesting, but I only finished reading it because I was on a plane and had nothing else.
I completely "failed" the Summer Reading Challenge, and while that wasn't unexpected, I really thought I'd do "better" than I did. (I knew I wouldn't read all 14 of those books, but I thought I'd get through at least 8 of them.) That said, I'm still incredibly proud of myself for reading those 4 books; it's more than I'd read the previous summer (0). I'm still working on "The House of Mirth", and to keep myself motivated, I'm doing Sassymonkey's October reading challenge. I've made this one much easier on myself, at least I think so. All I have to do is finish "THoM" and then (re)read "Crime and Punishment". (I know, I know, but I haven't read that book since I was 18 and I since I really liked it, I'm thinking that this one I can do.)
I've been slowly catching up with people's blogs (some of you got quite a few comments from me today) and adding your recent reads to my library list. I've been doing pretty good about not putting too many books on hold all at once, although I think I have about 6 in transit to me now. Speaking of libraries, I'm down to just one now. The King County library system changed their rules/agreement with the SPL because of some sort of imbalance, so now, if you live in the Seattle area, you can't put things on hold at a KCLS library. (You can still check them out, but having two libraries to put things on hold at was the great thing.) And while the SPL is a great library system, I've always thought that KCLS had a much broader selection of books (seems odd, I know, but really, they do).
So I think that's it for now; I still have a few more blogs to (try and) get through today, and I'm toying with the idea of writing down a list of all the books I want to read for the remainder of 2006. Steven Brust has a new one out, but it's been years since I read his last one that I'm thinking a reread of the series is in order.
Despite my lack of wanting to read (or post, or read blogs!), I did do some reading. I got my hands on a copy of "Danse Macabre" by Laurell K Hamilton and found it surprisingly decent, compared to the last few in the series. (You were right Colleen, this was pretty good, and much better than the last few). It's still got nothing on the first couple of books, but I'd like to take this as a positive sign.
I also read "The Birth House" by Ami McKay, which I thought was phenomenal. Very beautiful writing, the way she set the tone with a few lines really grabbed me. I did have particular things that I loved, but unfortunately, I was on a plane while reading this and getting access to my bag was impossible. I'll have to re-read it again sometime and try and remember the things that grabbed me. The second book I read while traveling was "Labyrinth" by Kate Mosse, which really didn't grab me at all. It wasn't the going back and forth Alise and Alice that bothered me (which I liked) but by the absolute predictability of it all. I got it because it looked interesting, but I only finished reading it because I was on a plane and had nothing else.
I completely "failed" the Summer Reading Challenge, and while that wasn't unexpected, I really thought I'd do "better" than I did. (I knew I wouldn't read all 14 of those books, but I thought I'd get through at least 8 of them.) That said, I'm still incredibly proud of myself for reading those 4 books; it's more than I'd read the previous summer (0). I'm still working on "The House of Mirth", and to keep myself motivated, I'm doing Sassymonkey's October reading challenge. I've made this one much easier on myself, at least I think so. All I have to do is finish "THoM" and then (re)read "Crime and Punishment". (I know, I know, but I haven't read that book since I was 18 and I since I really liked it, I'm thinking that this one I can do.)
I've been slowly catching up with people's blogs (some of you got quite a few comments from me today) and adding your recent reads to my library list. I've been doing pretty good about not putting too many books on hold all at once, although I think I have about 6 in transit to me now. Speaking of libraries, I'm down to just one now. The King County library system changed their rules/agreement with the SPL because of some sort of imbalance, so now, if you live in the Seattle area, you can't put things on hold at a KCLS library. (You can still check them out, but having two libraries to put things on hold at was the great thing.) And while the SPL is a great library system, I've always thought that KCLS had a much broader selection of books (seems odd, I know, but really, they do).
So I think that's it for now; I still have a few more blogs to (try and) get through today, and I'm toying with the idea of writing down a list of all the books I want to read for the remainder of 2006. Steven Brust has a new one out, but it's been years since I read his last one that I'm thinking a reread of the series is in order.
Friday, August 18, 2006
I know I know I know
Right, so I haven't been doing any reading lately. Not even an on line newspaper (although I have been reading the online version of TV Guide; does that count? Yeah, didn't think so).
I kinda feel bad about this, but at the same time, I just don't want to read. The urge isn't there, which is a problem.
I mean, not only am I completely failing the SRC (still on "The House of Mirth"), but I've got to have "Saturday" read before Tuesday's book club meeting.
However, I have received several new books from my boss-boss (a voracious reader, he decided to unload quite a few from his collections), including:
"The Professor and the Madman" by Simon Winchester. It's been on my list for a few years now, so I'm quite happy with this one.
"The Devil in White City" by Erik Larson. I already own this, so this one will go to my cousin for Christmas.
"Menace in Europe" by Claire Berlinksi...dunno. The title grabbed me.
"On History: and other essays" by Michael Oakeshott. I don't know if he wrote all of these, or collected them, but the name was familiar, so I stole it from my boss's hand.
"Europe: a history" by Norman Davis. I like history, and despite taking AP Euro History, remember very little. Except 1066 was when William conquered England and 1666 was the Great Fire of London.
and then...
"The Scarith of Scormello: a tale of Renaissance forgery" by Ingrid Rowland. Apparently based on facts from a case of forgery during the seventeen century.
"The Meaning of Treason" by Rebecca West. I grabbed this solely because I remember Pages Turned was reading her works.
"The Ice Museum: In Search of the Lost Land of Thule" by Joanna Kavenna. Grabbed this because I remember Collene from chasing ray mentioned...well, something about Thule.
The last two, "Infamous Scribblers: the Founding Fathers and the rowdy beginnings of American Journalism" by Eric Burns and "Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker" by James McManus, I picked solely because of my unholy love of Rory Gilmore. (Yes, tv. Evil thing, I know.)
Her character is/will be/wants to be a journalist, hence the first book. During an ep, she was at a poker game where somebody mentioned "fifth street". That's been bugging me for two years.
So that's the new haul, haven't read any of them yet, and probably won't for a while. I'm going out of town this weekend, so I'm hoping that I'll at least START "Saturday".
(Also, my uncle is in the hospital and it is/was pretty serious so that was..well, distracting. Much better now.)
Man, I hope I can kick this summer slump soon.
I kinda feel bad about this, but at the same time, I just don't want to read. The urge isn't there, which is a problem.
I mean, not only am I completely failing the SRC (still on "The House of Mirth"), but I've got to have "Saturday" read before Tuesday's book club meeting.
However, I have received several new books from my boss-boss (a voracious reader, he decided to unload quite a few from his collections), including:
"The Professor and the Madman" by Simon Winchester. It's been on my list for a few years now, so I'm quite happy with this one.
"The Devil in White City" by Erik Larson. I already own this, so this one will go to my cousin for Christmas.
"Menace in Europe" by Claire Berlinksi...dunno. The title grabbed me.
"On History: and other essays" by Michael Oakeshott. I don't know if he wrote all of these, or collected them, but the name was familiar, so I stole it from my boss's hand.
"Europe: a history" by Norman Davis. I like history, and despite taking AP Euro History, remember very little. Except 1066 was when William conquered England and 1666 was the Great Fire of London.
and then...
"The Scarith of Scormello: a tale of Renaissance forgery" by Ingrid Rowland. Apparently based on facts from a case of forgery during the seventeen century.
"The Meaning of Treason" by Rebecca West. I grabbed this solely because I remember Pages Turned was reading her works.
"The Ice Museum: In Search of the Lost Land of Thule" by Joanna Kavenna. Grabbed this because I remember Collene from chasing ray mentioned...well, something about Thule.
The last two, "Infamous Scribblers: the Founding Fathers and the rowdy beginnings of American Journalism" by Eric Burns and "Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker" by James McManus, I picked solely because of my unholy love of Rory Gilmore. (Yes, tv. Evil thing, I know.)
Her character is/will be/wants to be a journalist, hence the first book. During an ep, she was at a poker game where somebody mentioned "fifth street". That's been bugging me for two years.
So that's the new haul, haven't read any of them yet, and probably won't for a while. I'm going out of town this weekend, so I'm hoping that I'll at least START "Saturday".
(Also, my uncle is in the hospital and it is/was pretty serious so that was..well, distracting. Much better now.)
Man, I hope I can kick this summer slump soon.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Back on track
(I hope!)
Right, so I left off at finishing "1984". Immediately after reading that, I started "Animal Farm", which, looking back, was something of a mistake.
"Animal Farm" was an incredibly quick and easy read, but so similar to "1984" that it was all I could do to finish the book. Again, rather a depressing book about life and dictatorships and never getting ahead and being lied to, but at least it was written in an interesting way; I can see why this book is usually assigned in High School English classes.
After that, I started and finished "Tam Lin", by Pamela Dean. I think I heard about this over at ChickLit, but I can't be sure. I know they had a discussion about it though a while back. I skimmed through it because I was hoping that someone else had already compiled all the literary reference that Dean threw in (someone did). If you don't know, Dean rewrote this (Scottish) ballad, setting it during the 70's in a college in Michigan. I have to be honest, while I figured out who "Tam Lin" was, as well as the Fairy Queen, I had no idea about Nick and Robin. That one took me by surprise.
Now, I've started "The House of Mirth" by Edith Wharton, but I'm only 5 chapters in. While I'm enjoying it, especially Lily, I'm getting a bit antsy for the "story" to start...which I think is the wrong mindset. From the bit I've read about this story (and it wasn't much because I didn't want to be spoiled for the ending), the whole story is part and parcel and I just need to keep reading. For some reason though, it's a bit difficult this time around.
Taking stock, since starting the SRC (and I've yet to update since "Sense and Sensibility"; the very first book!), I've read 4 of my 14 books. It would have been 5, had I been able to slog my way through the last half of "The Beautiful and the Damned"...
I knew going in that the odds of me actually meeting my self-imposed challenge were slim, but I really thought I'd have gotten up to at least 8 books read. I know that there's still a bit of time (23 days, right?), but I don't know that I can read 4 classical books (The House of Mirth, Crime and Punishment, The Awakening, and Bleak House) in that length of time.
Still, I'm so going to try.
Right, so I left off at finishing "1984". Immediately after reading that, I started "Animal Farm", which, looking back, was something of a mistake.
"Animal Farm" was an incredibly quick and easy read, but so similar to "1984" that it was all I could do to finish the book. Again, rather a depressing book about life and dictatorships and never getting ahead and being lied to, but at least it was written in an interesting way; I can see why this book is usually assigned in High School English classes.
After that, I started and finished "Tam Lin", by Pamela Dean. I think I heard about this over at ChickLit, but I can't be sure. I know they had a discussion about it though a while back. I skimmed through it because I was hoping that someone else had already compiled all the literary reference that Dean threw in (someone did). If you don't know, Dean rewrote this (Scottish) ballad, setting it during the 70's in a college in Michigan. I have to be honest, while I figured out who "Tam Lin" was, as well as the Fairy Queen, I had no idea about Nick and Robin. That one took me by surprise.
Now, I've started "The House of Mirth" by Edith Wharton, but I'm only 5 chapters in. While I'm enjoying it, especially Lily, I'm getting a bit antsy for the "story" to start...which I think is the wrong mindset. From the bit I've read about this story (and it wasn't much because I didn't want to be spoiled for the ending), the whole story is part and parcel and I just need to keep reading. For some reason though, it's a bit difficult this time around.
Taking stock, since starting the SRC (and I've yet to update since "Sense and Sensibility"; the very first book!), I've read 4 of my 14 books. It would have been 5, had I been able to slog my way through the last half of "The Beautiful and the Damned"...
I knew going in that the odds of me actually meeting my self-imposed challenge were slim, but I really thought I'd have gotten up to at least 8 books read. I know that there's still a bit of time (23 days, right?), but I don't know that I can read 4 classical books (The House of Mirth, Crime and Punishment, The Awakening, and Bleak House) in that length of time.
Still, I'm so going to try.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Postscript
So...I realize (after reading a couple of comments), that I might have sounded a bit harsh on "1984". It wasn't that I didn't like the book, it was that I felt bogged down in the middle section (Goldstein's book). It actually reminded me of why I don't enjoy Ann Rand; her whole montage for pages just drives me nuts.
I liked the beginnings of the novel, the idea that Winston knows what he's doing is wrong-especially the photograph of the three framed party members, the first meeting with Julia, the shop owner (I've forgotten his name). I'd actually forgotten how they'd gotten caught, so him being a member of the Thought Police was a nice "surprise". I liked the ending too, well, the part where O'Brian is trying to convince Winston that four is five...it reminded me (Oh God) from an episode of Star Trek: TNG (Oh God) where Picard has been captured by the Romulains (Oh God) and he's being tortured and to get it to stop, all he has to say is that there are five lights (there are four).
(Yes, I used to watch Star Trek: TNG. I like Patrick Steward; he rocks. And I was 15. Wesley was cute.)
Anyway. I think what I didn't like was the idea of living like that. Where you had no say, no voice, no hope. You couldn't read, write, love, have a life. That scares me, which did colour my overall impression of the book. I think that "1984" is going to be put up there along with "The Grapes of Wrath" on my "well written, descriptive, thought provoking, but never want to read again" list.
I liked the beginnings of the novel, the idea that Winston knows what he's doing is wrong-especially the photograph of the three framed party members, the first meeting with Julia, the shop owner (I've forgotten his name). I'd actually forgotten how they'd gotten caught, so him being a member of the Thought Police was a nice "surprise". I liked the ending too, well, the part where O'Brian is trying to convince Winston that four is five...it reminded me (Oh God) from an episode of Star Trek: TNG (Oh God) where Picard has been captured by the Romulains (Oh God) and he's being tortured and to get it to stop, all he has to say is that there are five lights (there are four).
(Yes, I used to watch Star Trek: TNG. I like Patrick Steward; he rocks. And I was 15. Wesley was cute.)
Anyway. I think what I didn't like was the idea of living like that. Where you had no say, no voice, no hope. You couldn't read, write, love, have a life. That scares me, which did colour my overall impression of the book. I think that "1984" is going to be put up there along with "The Grapes of Wrath" on my "well written, descriptive, thought provoking, but never want to read again" list.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Books
Oh my...it's hot. It's supposed to be somewhat of a record heat weekend for us here in Seattle. In fact, it's as hot in my apartment as it is outside of it...maybe hotter.
But that's not important right now.
Nope.
What's important is the fact that I have, just now, finally, on the 5th week, finished 1984.
Fi.Nal.Ly.
Let's take a second shall we, the heat is making me faint. Or maybe that's hunger.
I just, this book...dry. Especially the middle, where we're reading Goldstein's book and that dry and long and lecturing and so not keeping me focused. I enjoyed more the parts where Winston (and Julia) are "disobeying" Big Brother, living their lives, or trying too.
I don't think I'll ever be able to make myself read this again; I've pretty much forced myself to finish the last half of it. Seriously, once we started reading Goldstein's book...it all went down hill.
That said, I'm glad I did read it. Really. It's a rather interesting novel, with some rather bleak subject matter.
And for the record, if we were living in that 1984, I'd want to be a prole.
But that's not important right now.
Nope.
What's important is the fact that I have, just now, finally, on the 5th week, finished 1984.
Fi.Nal.Ly.
Let's take a second shall we, the heat is making me faint. Or maybe that's hunger.
I just, this book...dry. Especially the middle, where we're reading Goldstein's book and that dry and long and lecturing and so not keeping me focused. I enjoyed more the parts where Winston (and Julia) are "disobeying" Big Brother, living their lives, or trying too.
I don't think I'll ever be able to make myself read this again; I've pretty much forced myself to finish the last half of it. Seriously, once we started reading Goldstein's book...it all went down hill.
That said, I'm glad I did read it. Really. It's a rather interesting novel, with some rather bleak subject matter.
And for the record, if we were living in that 1984, I'd want to be a prole.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Follow up
A few months ago, I read "The Bookseller of Kabul" for my real life book club. I can't say that I liked or related to this book (it's the story of one family's life in Kabul), but it was interesting. Last I'd heard, the bookseller was suing the author because of the way he'd been portrayed.
Bookseller of Kabul's wife applies for asylum
gacked from bookslut
Bookseller of Kabul's wife applies for asylum
gacked from bookslut
Saturday, July 15, 2006
1984, by George Orwell
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two equals four. If that is granted, all else follows.
1984, page 69
It's been stuck in my head since I read it.
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Don't get used to this.
Grandma's kicking new hair....
And an old
It would have been wonderful
Oh, how I slack.
I have just now (well, actually last night) caught up with your (incredibly prolific, damn you) posts from the last three weeks.
It's really putting me off righting my own...which will read something like this:
SRC Update
Right. I finished the second book (Wives and Daughters) back on June 27th and it was just okay. The story was interesting (all about Molly Gibson's life), but I don't think that I enjoyed it. Molly was too much a pushover for me to relate too. She didn't really ever speak up about her feelings or wants, instead, she just let everyone decide things for her. That's not to say she didn't stand up for the people she cared about, because she did, just never really for herself. My other complaint is that the book was never finished, due to the author's untimely death. Granted, I knew that before I started reading the book, but it was still disappointing not to have it "finished". (Her editor/publisher was someone that she corresponded with regularly, so he put in something of a postscript after her death, so at least we get to know how and where she was going to end her novel.)
So yes, book 2 was finished on week 5 (Yea gods, I'm so behind) and I started book 3, "The Beautiful and the Damned" by F.Scott Fitzgerald. And oh, how I despise it. I tried to read it, really. I tried to imagine myself in the '20s, all full of illegal alcohol and idleness....but all it made me do was drink. Or want to drink, depending on where I was reading. Anthony and Gloria were some of the most boring, self-centered, and annoying main characters I've ever tried to read. I managed to get halfway through the book, but on Tuesday, I had to put it down.
Which means that I've got to know read my first alternate..."Paradise Lost". I think.
But in the meantime, I've picked up book 3, "1984" by George Orwell...and book 4, "Animal Farm". Well, I tried to pick up book 4... See, it was a book sale purchase, so I didn't peruse it at the time. I just grabbed it and went...and found out on Wednesday that the first 27 pages were gone. So now I've got to read my second alternate too..."Woman in White". And...jump to book 5 (while reading book 3 still), "The House of Mirth".
Sigh. I so called it. I knew it was going to be like this.
Other readings
Um, have there been any? Oh right...
"Captain Alatriste" was just...okay. Not thrilled like it, at least not how I wanted to be. I'm a big fan of the author, but it seems like every fourth book or so, he writes something that I just can not get into, which disappoints me. However, this is the first book in a series, so I'm thinking I might give the second book a chance. Maybe. I've got a year or so to think about it.
"Skinner's Drift" was also okay. Again, not wowed by it, but it was something of an interesting read, as I've never read anything set in South Africa before. It was written from the point of view both before and after apartheid, again, a subject I haven't read much on. I think that was the most interesting part...the story didn't really grab me either.
And I read the last of "The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants" books...which was again, eh. (Is it me?) It ended the trilogy nicely, but I was expecting certain things to happen, which didn't, based on the way the first two books were written. Still, I'm not unhappy with it...and I've heard rumors that they're going to continue the series.
"Black Powder War" was good. (That's right..I'd nearly forgotten I'd read that.) I didn't enjoy it as much as the first two, but we were introduced to a bunch of new characters, including a pack of feral dragons (hee, they were fun). The French seem to be winning the war though, and as an enemy of Teremarie is helping them...well, let's just say that it got almost ugly there. But they live.
As for the library books...I'm giving up the ghost on them. I've returned nearly all of them by this point, and I did little more than scan the titles for most of them. I'm going to implement a new policy once I've gotten through them all. No more than 2 books checked out from the library at a time. This means that I put no more than 2 books on hold at a time and if I have to wait 5 weeks to get a book, so be it. I have more than enough books here to keep me busy. (And I'm really behind on my knitting!)
That's how the post would go, if I was writing it. The SRC forum update would be something similar too...although I might have to flesh it out a bit, explain more why I despised "The Beautiful and the Damned" a bit more.
Which I'm not. Maybe tomorrow I'll write it.
P.S. Grandma is still doing good. Tragically though, the purple is all gone. Sad really.
I have just now (well, actually last night) caught up with your (incredibly prolific, damn you) posts from the last three weeks.
It's really putting me off righting my own...which will read something like this:
SRC Update
Right. I finished the second book (Wives and Daughters) back on June 27th and it was just okay. The story was interesting (all about Molly Gibson's life), but I don't think that I enjoyed it. Molly was too much a pushover for me to relate too. She didn't really ever speak up about her feelings or wants, instead, she just let everyone decide things for her. That's not to say she didn't stand up for the people she cared about, because she did, just never really for herself. My other complaint is that the book was never finished, due to the author's untimely death. Granted, I knew that before I started reading the book, but it was still disappointing not to have it "finished". (Her editor/publisher was someone that she corresponded with regularly, so he put in something of a postscript after her death, so at least we get to know how and where she was going to end her novel.)
So yes, book 2 was finished on week 5 (Yea gods, I'm so behind) and I started book 3, "The Beautiful and the Damned" by F.Scott Fitzgerald. And oh, how I despise it. I tried to read it, really. I tried to imagine myself in the '20s, all full of illegal alcohol and idleness....but all it made me do was drink. Or want to drink, depending on where I was reading. Anthony and Gloria were some of the most boring, self-centered, and annoying main characters I've ever tried to read. I managed to get halfway through the book, but on Tuesday, I had to put it down.
Which means that I've got to know read my first alternate..."Paradise Lost". I think.
But in the meantime, I've picked up book 3, "1984" by George Orwell...and book 4, "Animal Farm". Well, I tried to pick up book 4... See, it was a book sale purchase, so I didn't peruse it at the time. I just grabbed it and went...and found out on Wednesday that the first 27 pages were gone. So now I've got to read my second alternate too..."Woman in White". And...jump to book 5 (while reading book 3 still), "The House of Mirth".
Sigh. I so called it. I knew it was going to be like this.
Other readings
Um, have there been any? Oh right...
"Captain Alatriste" was just...okay. Not thrilled like it, at least not how I wanted to be. I'm a big fan of the author, but it seems like every fourth book or so, he writes something that I just can not get into, which disappoints me. However, this is the first book in a series, so I'm thinking I might give the second book a chance. Maybe. I've got a year or so to think about it.
"Skinner's Drift" was also okay. Again, not wowed by it, but it was something of an interesting read, as I've never read anything set in South Africa before. It was written from the point of view both before and after apartheid, again, a subject I haven't read much on. I think that was the most interesting part...the story didn't really grab me either.
And I read the last of "The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants" books...which was again, eh. (Is it me?) It ended the trilogy nicely, but I was expecting certain things to happen, which didn't, based on the way the first two books were written. Still, I'm not unhappy with it...and I've heard rumors that they're going to continue the series.
"Black Powder War" was good. (That's right..I'd nearly forgotten I'd read that.) I didn't enjoy it as much as the first two, but we were introduced to a bunch of new characters, including a pack of feral dragons (hee, they were fun). The French seem to be winning the war though, and as an enemy of Teremarie is helping them...well, let's just say that it got almost ugly there. But they live.
As for the library books...I'm giving up the ghost on them. I've returned nearly all of them by this point, and I did little more than scan the titles for most of them. I'm going to implement a new policy once I've gotten through them all. No more than 2 books checked out from the library at a time. This means that I put no more than 2 books on hold at a time and if I have to wait 5 weeks to get a book, so be it. I have more than enough books here to keep me busy. (And I'm really behind on my knitting!)
That's how the post would go, if I was writing it. The SRC forum update would be something similar too...although I might have to flesh it out a bit, explain more why I despised "The Beautiful and the Damned" a bit more.
Which I'm not. Maybe tomorrow I'll write it.
P.S. Grandma is still doing good. Tragically though, the purple is all gone. Sad really.
Friday, June 30, 2006
My grandmother rocks
Oh, where to begin.
Right, my grandmother. She's much better. Much MUCH better. In fact, she was released from the hospital (again) yesterday and is now at my aunt's house in Hardin. (The again bit...she was released last Thursday from the hospital in Billings and sent to a rehab hospital in Hardin, and so we left on Friday. However, when we were halfway to home, we got the call that she'd gone critical again and had been sent back to the hospital in Billings. So we turned around.) Good news all around, and I had the added bonus of spending some time with relatives I hadn't seen in oh, a decade.
Grandma also has purple tipped hair and bright orange fingernails, courtesy of yours truly. Heh. (And then I dyed my own hair a deep, but bright, red.)
As for reading while I was away, it seemed like every time I picked up a book, someone would want me to do something, go somewhere, or begin to question me about what I was reading, and then why. So I didn't get a whole lot done. I did finish "Wives & Daughters", and have started "The Beautiful and the Damned", so I'll post my thoughts over at the SRC forums. I also read "Skinner's Drift", "Captain Alatriste", and "Black Powder War". I'll try and write up my thoughts on them this weekend, although "Black Powder War" was the only one I really enjoyed.
I've got big plans this weekend, full of finishing "The Beautiful and the Damned" (which I'm struggling with) and a couple of other books that are suddenly due back. (I'm so behind on my SRC plan...I think I'm supposed to be on book 5 by now.) Oh, there are the fireworks and friends too. And graphic novel buying...I think Polly #6 came out while I was gone.
And of course, 2 weeks of you all to catch up with.
Right, my grandmother. She's much better. Much MUCH better. In fact, she was released from the hospital (again) yesterday and is now at my aunt's house in Hardin. (The again bit...she was released last Thursday from the hospital in Billings and sent to a rehab hospital in Hardin, and so we left on Friday. However, when we were halfway to home, we got the call that she'd gone critical again and had been sent back to the hospital in Billings. So we turned around.) Good news all around, and I had the added bonus of spending some time with relatives I hadn't seen in oh, a decade.
Grandma also has purple tipped hair and bright orange fingernails, courtesy of yours truly. Heh. (And then I dyed my own hair a deep, but bright, red.)
As for reading while I was away, it seemed like every time I picked up a book, someone would want me to do something, go somewhere, or begin to question me about what I was reading, and then why. So I didn't get a whole lot done. I did finish "Wives & Daughters", and have started "The Beautiful and the Damned", so I'll post my thoughts over at the SRC forums. I also read "Skinner's Drift", "Captain Alatriste", and "Black Powder War". I'll try and write up my thoughts on them this weekend, although "Black Powder War" was the only one I really enjoyed.
I've got big plans this weekend, full of finishing "The Beautiful and the Damned" (which I'm struggling with) and a couple of other books that are suddenly due back. (I'm so behind on my SRC plan...I think I'm supposed to be on book 5 by now.) Oh, there are the fireworks and friends too. And graphic novel buying...I think Polly #6 came out while I was gone.
And of course, 2 weeks of you all to catch up with.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Friday, June 16, 2006
Change of Plans
Well, my mom called a little after 1pm to tell me that my grandmother (her mother) had been taken to the hospital and was in critical condition.
So, we're leaving for Billings, MT tonight. By car. (Apparently, it's very expensive to fly into Billings and there are only a couple of flights a day.) Just me, my mom, and my cousin Cort. It's anywhere between a 12 to 16 hour drive, and I think she wants to do it nonstop. No clue when I'll be back; my mom says a week minimum, but I don't really think I can stay any longer.
We'll see.
Someone pray for us all. Positive thoughts, whatever.
I've got 10 books stuffed in a bag, 2 for the SRC. No idea if I'll be able to post or not, although some of the family there has internet access.
So, we're leaving for Billings, MT tonight. By car. (Apparently, it's very expensive to fly into Billings and there are only a couple of flights a day.) Just me, my mom, and my cousin Cort. It's anywhere between a 12 to 16 hour drive, and I think she wants to do it nonstop. No clue when I'll be back; my mom says a week minimum, but I don't really think I can stay any longer.
We'll see.
Someone pray for us all. Positive thoughts, whatever.
I've got 10 books stuffed in a bag, 2 for the SRC. No idea if I'll be able to post or not, although some of the family there has internet access.
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