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Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-18T06:57:00.000+11:00

9-11: Artists Respond, Vol. 1

2012-01-18T01:00:00.000+11:00

9-11: Artists Respond, Volume 1 Will Eisner
Published: 2002
Pages: 196

This is probably not a book I would have picked up on my own accord – or rather, it’s not one that I would have gone looking for, but I was talking to my friend Denise, a fellow 00English teacher, about how she would like to use some of the images in the classroom and I was intrigued.

I’m not terribly (okay at all) politically minded and was a little concerned that the collection of comics contained within this volume would be more politically charged than I was prepared to deal with (particularly since this was on the top of the pile for my holiday reading). I was pleasantly surprised, however, to find that the large majority of the comics and images – in fact nearly all of them, focused on the stories of individuals and their experiences. There were quite a few images that had me transfixed – by both the beautiful imagery and the message it contained, and there were even those that had me in tears.

The artistic style employed throughout this collection was extremely diverse, and I would have to say this was a large part of its appeal and, what’s more, one of its biggest strengths. With its large number of contributing artists, many of the submissions are shorter, one page images or strips being the norm and the occasional double or three page spread appearing throughout. I can certainly see what my friend was talking about regarding using it in the classroom, but it made for an intriguing personal read also. I highly recommend it, and will be tackling the second volume next.

Teaser Tuesday (Jan 17)

2012-01-17T06:54:00.000+11:00

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

Brian was moving from gargoyle to gargoyle with the ease of long practice when he heard the voices. He was so startled he almost lost his grip. (77)

A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin

2012 Challenges

2012-01-16T18:27:00.001+11:00

Victorians Challenge 2012

2012-01-16T18:20:00.001+11:00

The Victorian Challenge 2012 will run from January 1st to December 31st, 2012. You can post a review before this date if you wish.
You can read a book, watch a movie, or listen to an audiobook, anything Victorian related that you would like. Reading, watching, or listening to a favorite Victorian related item again for the second, third, or more time is also allowed. You can also share items with other challenges.
The goal will be to read, watch, listen, to 2 to 6 (or beyond) anything Victorian items.

I’m really very excited to be participating in this challenge as I’ve been meaning to fill in the gaps of my Victorian literature for quite some time. I plan to read some HG Wells, Oscar Wilde, Lord Alfred Tennyson, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Jules Verne.

Books Read:

2012 Essay Reading Challenge

2012-01-16T18:06:00.001+11:00

January 1 - November 30

I’m entering into my eight year of university, I’m no stranger to essays. In fact, I make no secret of the fact that I’m an essay-nerd (I was an English major - we love the essays). Having said that I have a few essay collections on my shelf that I have gotten to reading yet and thought this challenge might get me into gear and cross them off my list.

With this in mind I’m picking the 30 essays level of the challenge.

Essays Read:

2012 Sci-Fi Challenge

2012-01-16T17:57:00.001+11:00

Anyone who knows me in person or who has been insane enough to friend me on twitter knows that I’m a sci-fi junkie. But I mostly watch it, not read it which is something I’d like to rectify.

This challenge calls for a book a month, so we’ll see how it goes. No to-read list yet, but I’m planning on a fair bit of HG Wells and Jules Verne.

Books Read:

The Dusty Bookshelf Challenge 2012

2012-01-16T17:46:00.001+11:00

I’m signing up for a few (no really, just a few) challenges this year to inject some excitement into my reading for 2012. This challenge, however, is summing up my main reading goal for 2012: to read off my bookshelf and start to level out the huge tbr pile.

I’m signing up for the ‘cobwebs’ level of the challenge (10-15) books, but won’t make a list of books just yet, instead adding them here as I go. All books, however, will have been on my shelf prior to 2012.

Books Read:

Musing Mondays (Jan. 16)

2012-01-16T17:29:00.001+11:00

Musing Mondays is hosting by MizB at Should Be Reading

What devices - if any - do you read books on? Do you find it enjoyable, or still somewhat bothersome? Or: If you only read the print books, why haven’t you chosen to read on any devices?

This is an interesting question for me as it is one that I still continue to think of often - mainly because while reading ebooks is a fairly new addition to my reading repertoire, reading online certainly isn’t and so I feel as though I’ve made the journey through reading devices.

I remember when we first got the internet on our home computer (and what an ordeal it was convincing my parents it was safe for me to use as I was still rather young at the time). I always enjoyed writing and had several friends who likewise wrote and so I spent a fair bit of time reading these on our family computer.

When I reached high school we upgraded our family computer and the old one took up a new residence - in my room. Oh how excited I was to have a computer of my own! Until I realised… computer yes, but internet no. How was I to continue my practice of online reading? (especially since now I was part of mailing lists and the like dedicated to the writing and reading of stories?) I quickly deviced a system however, involving a stack of about ten 3 1/2 floppy discs and many many txt files. I would fill them all up, read them on my own computer and then traipse back to the family computer to reload. Looking back now, I consider this my first experience of ‘reading on a device’ and it was one that I kept up for many years.

By the time I started university I had a laptop and the house had a networked internet connection so my floppy discs were retired. Uni however also came with an hour and a half bus trip to uni every day and it wasn’t unusual for me finish a book and not have packed a spare. Enter my ipod. Adapting my old system, I would save txt files and utilise the ipods note function, scrolling scrolling scrolling through many books (by this time I’d discovered Project Gutenberg). My highly portable ipod was my first ‘ebook reader’.

My poor ipod (which is still alive) gave way to my old Samsung phone - which with it’s in-build QWERTY I adored. I remember being very excited as I read and wrote on my phone, gleefully thinking it a Star Trek PADD (yes, nerd, I know). Sooner or later however, my jealousy over the iphone’s far larger screen gave way and I traded my phone in. It was here that my ebook reading took flight and I spent a lot of hours squinting at my iphone.

When people started noticing the squinting (oddly enough around the same time I got glasses), it was suggested that I get myself a dedicated ebook reader which would be easier on the eyes. Being the tech lover that I was, I sacrificed some lightness (and a fair stack of money) to purchase an ipad and I haven’t looked back since.

I will always prefer a book over my ipad, but I cannot forget the plain convenience of having my ipad with me in my bag. Many many books at hand, more than I could ever fit in my bag. In built dictionaries and non-permanent highlighting. Note taking functions. Being able to pause my reading and do a little related research with the mere flick of a finger.

And you know what? I find that I read more with my ipad than I would without it. There have been many occasions that I’ve gone to bed without picking up my book first. You know what it’s like once your head hits the pillow - the last thing you want to do is get back up and turn the light on to retrieve your book. Much easier just to grab the ipad off my bedstand!

A Comic Afternoon

2012-01-16T15:13:00.001+11:00

One of the things I like best about being a teacher is that I share a staff room with a large amount of nerdy people. And being an English teacher means that book recommendations are easily come by. While visiting a friend from work, Denise, she retrieved a book from her shelves telling me how much she enjoyed it and that I must read it. Always happy for a book to read (and entering the holidays with lots of reading time making it all the better) I tucked it under my arm to take home.

However it seems that Denise is a little like me when it comes to book recommendations – like me she gets a little excited when people are happy to receive suggestions. I left her house with 13 graphic novels in my possession and the promise of more when I was done.

I’ve been a little busy this holidays after all and haven’t had the chance to sit down and truly enjoy them. But today is a cold rainy day and I’m thinking that I shall settle down for the afternoon with a cup of tea and a collection of comics. What do you think?

Blue Monday, Vol 2: Absolute Beginners - Chynna Clugston-Major
Blue Monday, Vol 3: Inbetween Days - Chynna Clugston-Major
Blue Monday, Vol 4: Painted Moon - Chynna Clugston-Major
9-11: Artists Respond, Vol. 1 - Will Eisner
9-11: Artists Respond, Vol. 2 - Will Eisner
9-11: Emergency Relief - Will Eisner
Y: The Last Man, Vol 1: Unmanned - Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, José Marzán, Jr.
Y: The Last Man, Vol 2: Cycles- Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, José Marzán, Jr.
Y: The Last Man, Vol 3: One Small Step - Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, José Marzán, Jr., Paul Chadwick
Kingdom Come - Mark Ward and Alex Ross’
Wolverine: Origin - Paul Jenkins
Superman/Batman: Absolute Power - Jeph Loeb, Carlos Pacheco, José Merino
Superman/Batman: Supergirl - Jeph Loeb, Michael Turner, Peter Steigerwald

Online Reading

2012-01-12T19:47:00.001+11:00

Being the start of a new year, I naturally compiled my years reading stats for 2011. The thing that stood out for me more than anything is the huge decrease in my reading numbers. Not just in total books read - I knew that already, knew that my reading time had more than halved. But my page numbers count is still less than I would have expected.

So I started thinking about what would count for this. And the answer was obvious: that darn pesky internet worming it's way in. How many hours do I spend reading blogs, travel articles, journals for uni, and yes, biggest of all for me: fanfiction. How many pages upon pages do I read here. These never make it onto my reading count as I have never counted it as 'reading'.

This year I've decided to roughly track just how much I read online (forgoing things like twitter, facebook and the like). And you know what? I read a heck of a lot of online data! Given that most printed pages of a paperback book have an average of 350 words per page, I have already read... wait for it...

683 pages of online data

That's a whole book! And a rather large one at that. I'll continue with this study to see what it numbers out to at the end of the year - I'm really rather curious!

Books Read in 2011

2012-01-12T19:36:00.000+11:00

Baum, L. Frank - The Life and Times of Santa Clause
Benjamin, Melanie - Alice I Have Been
Cleary, Beverly - Beezus and Ramona
Cohn, Rachel and David Levithan - Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Collins, Suzanne - The Hunger Games [x2]
Collins, Suzanne - The Hunger Games II: Catching Fire [x2]
Collins, Suzanne - The Hunger Games III: Mockingjay [x2]
Congrave, Timothy - Holding the Man
Dunford, George - The Big Trip
Hanff, Helene - 84 Charing Cross Road
Hoggart, Simon and Emily Monk - Don't Tell Mum: Hair-Raising Messages Home from Gap-Year Travellers
Kitamura, Satoshi - UFO Diary
Logue, Mark and Peter Conradi - The King's Speech: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy
Marsden, John - Tomorrow 2: The Dead of the Night
Marsden, John - Tomorrow 3: Third Day, The Frost
Marsden, John - Tomorrow 4: Darkness Be My Friend
Marsden, John - Tomorrow 5: Burning for Revenge
Marsden, John - Tomorrow 6: The Night is for Hunting
Marsden, John - Tomorrow 7: The Other Side of Dawn
Marsden, John - Ellie Chronicles I: While I Live
Matheson, Richard - I Am Legend
McDonald, Megan - Judy Moody #1: Judy Moody
McDonald, Megan - Judy Moody #2: Judy Moody Gets Famous
McDonald, Megan - Judy Moody #3: Judy Moody Saves the World!
McDonald, Megan - Judy Moody #4: Judy Moody Predicts the Future
McCarthy, Cormac - The Road
McGraw, Eloise - The Moorchild
Mitchell, Todd - The Secret to Lying
O'Malley, Bryan Lee - Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
O'Malley, Bryan Lee - Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Murray, Todd and Jenn Brisson - Rubber Rocks and Apple Boxes
Picoult, Jodi - House Rules
Rhue, Morton - The Wave
Riordan, Rick - Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse
Rosoff, Meg - Vamoose!
Sapphire - Push
Shanower, Eric, Skottie Young and L. Frank Baum – The Marvelous Wizard of Oz
Stead, Rebecca - First Light
Stevenson, Seth - Grounded: A Down to Earth Journey Around the World
Thomson, Alexa - Antartica on a Plate
Willingham, Bill - Fables, Vol. 6: Homelands
Willingham, Bill - Fables, Vol. 7: Arabian Nights
Willingham, Bill - Fables, Vol. 8: Wolves
Willingham, Bill - Fables, Vol. 9: Sons of the Empire
Willingham, Bill - Fables, Vol. 10: The Good Prince
Willingham, Bill - Fables, Vol. 11: War and Peices

Total Books Read: 49

Total Pages Read: 12, 373

Total Authors: 34

New Authors: 18

The Moorchild

2011-09-09T22:54:00.001+10:00

The Moorchild

Eloise McGraw

Published: 1996

Pages: 241

Awards: Newberry Honor Book

It was Old Bess, the Wise Woman of the village, who first suspected that the baby at her daughter's house was a changeling.
For a time she held her peace. Many babies were I'll-favored, she told herself. Many babies cried with what seemed like fury against the world - though this little Saaski had not done so as a newborn. It even seemed to Old Bess that the child had not looked quite like this for the first few months, but somehow she could never quite remember.

Moql was one of the Folk, a young magical creature who spent her time learning the ways of her people and playing on the Moor. Except Moql isn't like the other young Folk. She isn't as skilled as they are - and that can get them all in trouble. Declared a danger to the band, half-Folk, half-Human Moql is banished, exchanged for one of the beautiful human children in the nearby village. She becomes a Changeling.

Banished to human existence, Moql becomes Saaski and quickly forgets the life she left behind. Unfortunately for Saaski, forgetting doesn't make her any more human, and her odd ways quickly make her a target for the other children's hostilities and causes no end of trouble for her and her 'parents'.

It is only on the moor, free to run and roam with her music and Tam, the traveling companion of a tinker, and her only friend, that she has any peace. But what happens when the village people are no longer willing to live with her oddities. What happens when she starts to remember?

I thoroughly enjoyed The Moorchild for it's innocence and old-world charm. Despite the darker passages dealing with poor Saaski's treatment by the other villagers (rather Grimm-like, I felt), the book on the whole had a wonderfully European fairytale atmosphere which was a far cry from the current slew of fairy novels written for children at the moment.

The books was rich in texture, layering local dialects (beautifully reminiscent of The Secret Garden) over old-world folktales to create a very authentic window into this folksy world.

Definitely recommended for fairytale lovers of any age.

4/5

Reading Metrics

2011-08-29T01:24:00.001+10:00

I've always maintained that, as a book nerd and maths class drop out, I naturally shy away from all things numbers - but the truth is that I love statistics and how they feed into my obsessive record keeping tendencies. I say this because this week I added the 750th book into my book archive... which sounds impressive, but is, in reality, simply an excel sheet which I use as a huge table (because I don't really know how to use excel) of all the books I've read.

I had always intended to do more with this file that I so carefully update with each and every book that I read - or remember reading from my younger days - but I never quite knew what it was that I wanted to do. I can tell you how many books I've read each year for the past four years, as well as the number of pages, but still, I went looking for more. I have spent the past week googling my heart out, looking for an interface that provided what I was searching for - I truly thought there would be the perfect app or website out there that would cater to my weird book nerd statistic kick. Sadly I found nothing.

Then I thought to myself, 'Self, remember when, once upon a time, you could just ask on your book blog and someone, somewhere, would have a suggestion, or at the very least would commiserate with you? Why did you let that go?'

Then I felt down in a nerdy blogger kind of way.

So I'm here, on bended knee (well, not really, cause I'm too comfortable to move, plus the cat would glare at me), asking for your insights. Anyone?

Library Loot

2011-02-23T21:35:00.001+11:00

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.

The Complete Polysyllabic Spree: the diary of an occasionally exasperated but ever hopeful reader – Nick Hornby

Library: an unquiet history – Matthew Battles

The Confessions of Catherine de Medici – C.W. Gortner

Commander in Chief [season 1]

House [season 1]

Wordless Wednesday

2011-02-23T20:18:00.001+11:00

Teaser Tuesday (23/2)

2011-02-23T20:10:00.001+11:00

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!

“If you write books – or a certain kind of book, anyway – you can’t resist a scan around the hotel swimming pool when you go on holiday. You just can’t help yourself, despite the odds: you need to know, straight off, whether anyone is reading one of yours.”

The Complete Polysyllabic Spree (p. 19), Suzanne Collins

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-19T23:13:00.001+11:00

Library Loot

2011-01-18T19:31:00.001+11:00

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.

My first trip to the library for 2011. I had intended to spend a month or so reading only from my shelves, but well… I guess that didn’t work.

Beddor, Frank with Liz Cavalier – Hatter, Vol 1: The Looking Glass Wars
Beddor, Frank with Liz Cavalier – Hatter, Vol 2: Mad with Wonder
Beddor, Frank with Liz Cavalier – Hatter, Vol 3: The Nature of Wonder
Kellaway, Lucky – Martin Lukes: Who Moved My Blackberry?
Link, Kelly – Pretty Monsters
Rosoff, Meg – Vamoose!

Teaser Tuesday (18/1)

2011-01-18T19:15:00.001+11:00

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’d been hoping to go back to school when my baby was six months old, but things weren’t going to plan. For one thing, try finding a crèche or a childminder who’ll take a moose.”

Vamoose! (p. 24/25), Meg Rosoff

Musing Mondays (17/1)

2011-01-18T19:00:00.001+11:00

Musing Mondays is hosting by MizB at Should Be Reading

Do you prefer deep, intellectual, “meaty” books… or light, “fluffy” books? Why? Give us an example of your preferred type of book.

As a former English major I feel almost guilty for saying this, but these days I tend to shy away from the deeper more intellectual books. Not to say that I don’t enjoy them, they do have their place (and I’m rather fond of essay collections), but these days, with my reading time being as limited as it is, I really don’t have the time to wade through dense prose on a daily basis.

Having said that, I wouldn’t consider myself a heavily ‘fluff’ reader. I do like a book with a little bit of substance, even if I don’t need a forklift to lift it in the first place. I would imagine that definition of ‘fluff’ would vary from person to person, but I definitely prefer a book with a well thought out plot that will leave me considering it after I’m finished. I don’t like a book that I forget about as soon as I’m done.

--------

On another note: I remember reading somewhere (perhaps last week’s MM, I just can’t remember, sorry) about the blogger who noted that people were signing or marking their library’s romance books to remind them of which they had read. I found this a fascinating practice, and bee lined to the romance section today to see if the practice held in my library and it did! So, to whomever wrote the post, your library is not alone!

Friday Book Love

2011-01-14T17:56:00.000+11:00

You can see more beautiful book pictures at my bookish tumblr:
the silk ribbon

Percy Jackson continues

2011-01-13T17:32:00.001+11:00

Percy Jackson and the Titan’s Curse
Rick Riordan
Published: 2007; Pages: 294

Could an Olympian parent turn against his half-blood child? Would it sometimes be easier just to let them die? If there were ever any half-bloods who needed to worry about that, it was Thalia and me. I wondered if maybe I should have sent Poseidon that seashell-pattern tie for Father’s Day after all. (92-3)

Since the end of Harry Potter’s reign, it seems as though every new children’s series has been scrambling to fill its void. Now I’m not crazy enough to suggest that Percy Jackson has succeeded in this goal (I have far too many Harry Potter obsessed friends all too willing to whack me over the head with their wands), but I would like to suggest PJ as a contender. Percy Jackson and the Titan’s Curse is the third book in the series and by now things are very much underway – if you haven’t already read the first two books, I highly recommend your tracking them down.

After two years of summers at Camp Half-Blood (and the life threatening quests that come along with it), Percy once again finds himself facing his once friend Luke and the plans to take over Mount Olympus. However Luke has aligned himself with formidable allies that pose more than a passing danger to Percy and his friends.

The time is getting nearer when Percy or Thalia will fulfil the prophecy laid out by the Oracle. One of them will make a choice – a dangerous choice – that may signal the end of the gods’ reign. Will one of them slip? Will they fall prey to the Titan’s curse and, in doing so, endanger everyone they hold dear? This is what lies ahead.

Percy Jackson continues to be an engaging read. There’s enough mythology to keep myth buffs happy, but is unique enough to be entertaining to the uninitiated. Percy is a likeable and relatable hero, one who does what he thinks is right, even though it often results in trouble for himself. The series is progressing in a pleasing manner, and I am looking forward to see what is coming next. 4/5

Grounded

2011-01-13T16:58:00.001+11:00

Grounded: A Down to Earth Journey Around the World
Seth Stevenson

Published: 2010; pages: 304

For her part, Rebecca's been most intrigued to learn that in Mandarin there is no easy way to say "no". It's just not in the language. To express a negative, you can use the word bu - the equivalent of "not" - coupled with the appropriate verb. So if someone inquiries as to whether its raining outside, you could answer, "Not is." Or if someone asks you if you want to go out to a movie, you could say, "Not want." Which, I would argue, sounds much harsher than an unadorned no.

Rebecca, in her endearing way, instantly cottons to this harshness. For a full afternoon, she adopts "not x" as her exclusive means of communicating with me. Rebecca, what time is it? "Not know." Rebecca, do you have the subway map with you? "Not have." Rebecca, this is sort of wearing on me. "Not care!"

I have a not-so-secret secret. Are you ready? I would kill to travel. Really. I’m always insanely jealous whenever anyone leaves the country, and then hang on every word they deem to share. I was pathetically excited to go on a plane to Melbourne. My yen to travel is, in fact, so severe it crosses over into the realm of stereotype (I have the whole map and pins on the wall). Because of this, I have a hidden passion for travel literature. I came across Seth Stevenson’s Grounded while browsing in my local bookstore and my armchair adventure yearning came to the forefront and I had to get it.

Journalist Seth Stevenson and his lawyer partner, Rebecca, have become complacent in their lives. They’ve hit a rut, and this realisation comes at quite the shock to the former free spirits. They decide that adventure and travel is the answer to all their problems as so, casting off all the trappings of their lives, they each back a single backpack and set off to see the world.

But what makes Seth and Rebecca different than any other globetrotter? Well, they have a special goal in mind: to circumnavigate the world entirely by use of ground travel. That’s right, they will cross every line of latitude without the aid of planes. Boats, trains, cars, even bikes – that will be the way for them.

I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed Grounded. Stevenson’s journalistic style is fresh, informative, and just cheeky enough. The relationship between he and Rebecca is faithfully and entertainingly shared, and the personalised knowledge he brings about his locations is charming. It will make you want to travel, and it will make you reconsider the beauty of more traditional transport. Highly recommended for the traveller (armchair or otherwise) in everyone. 5/5

Wordless Wednesday (12/1)

2011-01-12T10:32:00.001+11:00

Musing Mondays (10/1)

2011-01-11T14:38:00.001+11:00

Musing Mondays is hosting by MizB at Should Be Reading

Where is your favorite place to find new books to read?Blogs? The library? Newspapers? Magazines? In the backs of other books? Suggestions from friends/family? Online bookstores? On the shelves of the local bookstores? (I don’t necessarily mean, ‘where do you find books to buy’ — I mean, ‘where do you discover new titles that you add to your to-be-read lists’?).

For me, finding new books is split three ways: blogs, friends and the library.

If I’m looking to buy a book it is usually based on reviews I have read on various blogs, or on the recommendation of a small number of people whom make up what I refer to as my “booky friends”. My book buying budget is, regrettably, limited and even more pressing, the shelf space to store them is nearly out. So if I buy a book it is usually done after a bit of research.

If I’m just looking for a new book to read I head to the library. Once there I spot titles or authors that I have seen reviewed on the blogosphere (again, putting blogs back up there in place #1). I will occasionally pick up an unknown book based on title or cover, but it’s true that most of my ‘new’ books are picked up because I recognise them from reviews.

Teaser Tuesdays (11/1)

2011-01-11T10:30:00.000+11:00

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 could never let that happen to Prim. Sweet, tiny Prim who cried when I cried before she even knew the reason, who brushed and plaited my mother’s hair before we left for school, who still polished my father’s shaving mirror each night because he hated the layer of coal dust that settled on everything in the Seam.”

The Hunger Games (p. 33), Suzanne Collins

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-05T14:31:00.001+11:00

Twelve Apostles, Victoria Australia

Teaser Tuesday (4/1)

2011-01-04T17:38:00.001+11:00

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!

“The cabins were decorated with tiny flickering lights, like Christmas lights, except they seemed to be balls of real fire. More lights glowed in the woods, and, weirdest of all, a fire flickered in the attic window of the Big House, where the Oracle dwelt, imprisoned in an old mummified body.”

Percy Jackson and the Titan’s Curse (p. 53), Rick Riordan

Books Read in 2011

2011-01-04T02:02:00.004+11:00

Baum, L. Frank - The Life and Times of Santa Clause
Benjamin, Melanie - Alice I Have Been
Cleary, Beverly - Beezus and Ramona
Cohn, Rachel and David Levithan - Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Collins, Suzanne - The Hunger Games [x2]
Collins, Suzanne - The Hunger Games II: Catching Fire [x2]
Collins, Suzanne - The Hunger Games III: Mockingjay [x2]
Congrave, Timothy - Holding the Man
Dunford, George - The Big Trip
Hanff, Helene - 84 Charing Cross Road
Hoggart, Simon and Emily Monk - Don't Tell Mum: Hair-Raising Messages Home from Gap-Year Travellers
Kitamura, Satoshi - UFO Diary
Logue, Mark and Peter Conradi - The King's Speech: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy
Marsden, John - Tomorrow 2: The Dead of the Night
Marsden, John - Tomorrow 3: Third Day, The Frost
Marsden, John - Tomorrow 4: Darkness Be My Friend
Marsden, John - Tomorrow 5: Burning for Revenge
Marsden, John - Tomorrow 6: The Night is for Hunting
Marsden, John - Tomorrow 7: The Other Side of Dawn
Marsden, John - Ellie Chronicles I: While I Live
Matheson, Richard - I Am Legend
McDonald, Megan - Judy Moody #1: Judy Moody
McDonald, Megan - Judy Moody #2: Judy Moody Gets Famous
McDonald, Megan - Judy Moody #3: Judy Moody Saves the World!
McDonald, Megan - Judy Moody #4: Judy Moody Predicts the Future
McCarthy, Cormac - The Road
McGraw, Eloise - The Moorchild
Mitchell, Todd - The Secret to Lying
O'Malley, Bryan Lee - Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
O'Malley, Bryan Lee - Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Murray, Todd and Jenn Brisson - Rubber Rocks and Apple Boxes
Picoult, Jodi - House Rules
Rhue, Morton - The Wave
Riordan, Rick - Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse
Rosoff, Meg - Vamoose!
Sapphire - Push
Shanower, Eric, Skottie Young and L. Frank Baum – The Marvelous Wizard of Oz
Stead, Rebecca - First Light
Stevenson, Seth - Grounded: A Down to Earth Journey Around the World
Thomson, Alexa - Antartica on a Plate
Willingham, Bill - Fables, Vol. 6: Homelands
Willingham, Bill - Fables, Vol. 7: Arabian Nights
Willingham, Bill - Fables, Vol. 8: Wolves
Willingham, Bill - Fables, Vol. 9: Sons of the Empire
Willingham, Bill - Fables, Vol. 10: The Good Prince
Willingham, Bill - Fables, Vol. 11: War and Peices

Total Books Read: 49

Total Pages Read: 12, 373

Total Authors: 34

New Authors: 18

Graphic Novel Challenge

2011-01-04T01:57:00.001+11:00

The challenge starts January 1, 2011 and ends December 31, 2011. You can start anytime you want to especially if you want to start early.
The level of participation: Beginner (3 comics or graphic novels),Intermediate (3-10 books), or Expert (10+)
Overlaps with other challenges is definitely okay
Re-reads count
Feel free to post your list at any time

I’m just going to make my list and see which category I land in.

2011 Public Domain E-Book Challenge

2011-01-04T01:53:00.001+11:00

Pick a level of participation for the year:

"newbie"level-read and review 3 public domain books (non bloggers will just post reviews in the reviews comments page)

"advanced" level-read and review 6 public domain books (non bloggers will just post reviews in the reviews comments page)

That's about it-easy peasey:) You pick the book, genre, length, etc. Readers who don't own a e-reader are welcome as well (e-reader apps on phones, etc or just read on your PC). You can cross this over with other challenges as well.

Total: 0/6

52 Books in 52 Weeks

2011-01-04T01:46:00.002+11:00

The challenge will run from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011.

Our book weeks will begin on Sunday.

Participants may join at any time.

All forms of books are acceptable including e-books, audio books, etc.

Re-reads are acceptable as long as they are read after January 1, 2011.

Books may overlap other challenges.

See Books Read in 2011

Still following the Yellow Brick Road

2011-01-04T01:05:00.001+11:00

The Marvelous Land of Oz
Eric Shanower, Skottie Young, and L. Frank Baum

Published 2010; 192 pages

First cab off the rank this year is Eric Shanower and Skottie Young’s adaption of L. Frank Baum’s The Marvelous Land of Oz. Much like its predecessor The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (adapted by same), I was highly impressed by its loyalty to the original. Not only is its plot accurate, it has captured the spirit and youthful energy of Baum’s world superbly.

For those not familiar with the tale, The Marvelous Land of Oz tells the story of Tippetarius, known more commonly as “Tip”. Unlike Dorothy, Tip is a native of Oz who, when he runs away from the evil witch who is his guardian, finds himself entwined with the politics of Oz.

General Jinjur and her army of Ozian girls have marched onto the Emerald City, revolting against the Scarecrow King and the long standing patriarchal rule of Oz... which would be more impressive if the soldier-girls were a little more skilled in their work and noble in their intentions.

Tip and his magical creations Jack Pumpkin Head and Saw Horse join the Scarecrow and the Tin Man in restoring order to Oz.

As I said, this is a faithful adaption of Baum’s book, yet it possesses a charm unique to its form. Skottie Young’s highly stylistic artistry is beautiful and lends the perfect degree of whimsy to Shanower’s treatment of Oz’s political scene.

4/5

Reading in 2010

2011-01-04T00:38:00.001+11:00

I learnt two things in 2010*:

Working full time and studying part time will have a MAJOR impact on my reading. I know, seems fairly straight forward, but I live in a state of denial most of the time, so it was still a shock when my reading stats dropped by 50%.
I miss book blogging – seriously miss it. And the part I miss most? How much book blogging kept me up to date with new books.

So my aims for 2011 is to at least maintain my reading count (hit 54 books in 2010), and get back into reading blogs, hopefully you’ll see me around a little more.

JANUARY

The No Excuses Guide to Soul Mates – Stacey DeMarco and Jade Sky (120p) **ARC**
The Other Boleyn Girl – Phillippa Gregory (532p) **Book Club**
Ariel – Sylvia Plath (81p)
The Babysitter’s Club Graphic Novels – 1 – Kirsty’s Great Idea – Ann M. Martin and Raina Telgemier (187p)
The Babysitter’s Club Graphic Novels – 2 – The Truth About Stacey – Ann M. Martin and Raina Telgemier (141p)
The Babysitter’s Club Graphic Novels – 3 – Mary Anne Saves the Day – Ann M. Martin and Raina Telgemier (158p)
M is for Magic – Neil Gaiman (249p)
Let it Snow – John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle (352p)

FEBRUARY

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood – Rebecca Wells (356)
The Sandman: The Dream Hunters – Neil Gaiman and Yoshitaka Amano (128)
13 Little Blue Envelopes – Maureen Johnson (321)
Portrait Photography – Mark Cleghorn (128)
The Bermudez Triangle – Maureen Johnson (320)
Little Brother – Cory Doctorow (373)
84 Charing Cross Road – Helene Hanff (230)
The Looking Glass Wars – Frank Beddor (376)

MARCH

Girl, Interrupted – Susanna Kaysen (169)
Virgin Suicides – Jeffrey Eugenides (249)
Tomorrow, When the War Began – John Marsden (286) **Book Club**
You Better Not Cry – Augusten Burroughs (206)

APRIL

Anne of Green Gables – L.M. Montgomery (256)
Poems to Live By in Uncertain Times – Joan Murray (ed.) (125)
Anne of Avonlea – L.M. Montgomery (252)
Flowers for Algenon – Daniel Keyes (216)
The Dresden Files Graphic Novel: Welcome to the Jungle – Jim Butcher and Ardian Syaf (160)
The Colour Purple – Alice Walker (261)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J.K. Rowling (223)
Much Ado About Nothing – William Shakespeare (271)
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World – Vicki Myron (277)
The Uncommon Reader – Alan Bennett (160)
The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger (192) **Book Club**

MAY

Raw – Scott Monk (340)

JUNE

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief – Rick Riordan (375)
Looking for Alibrandi – Melina Marchetta (320)
Away – Michael Gow (51)
A Property of the Clan – Nick Enright (57)

JULY

Fables, Vol 1: Legends in Exile – Bill Willingham (118)

AUGUST

Eat Pray Love – Elizabeth Gilbert (349) **Book Club**
Fables, Vol 2: Animal Farm – Bill Willingham (128)
Fables, Vol. 3: Storybook Love – Bill Willingham (190)

SEPTEMBER

Nil

OCTOBER

The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd (374) **Book Club**
Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters – Rick Riordan (265)
Battlestar Galactica: The Manga – Echoes of New Caprica – Emily Salzfass (192)

NOVEMBER

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz [Marvel] – Eric Shanower, Skottie Young and L. Frank Baum (192)
Handle With Care – Jodi Picoult (477)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling (341)
Will Grayson, Will Grayson – John Green and David Levithan

DECEMBER

The Guild [Comics 1-3] – Felicia Day (96)
Fables, Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers – Bill Willingham (240)
Fables, Vol. 5: The Mean Season – Bill Willingham (168)
Serenity, Vol 1: Those Left Behind – Joss Whedon (104)
Serenity, Vol 2: Better Days – Joss Whedon (80)
Superman/Batman, Vol 1: Public Enemies – Jeph Leob and Ed McGuinness (160)
Astonishing X-Men, Vol 1: Gifted – Joss Whedon (152)

UNFINISHED BOOKS OF 2010

Eragon – Christopher Paolini
The Turning – Tim Winton
Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy – Richard Brian Davis
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J.K. Rowling
The Complete Calvin and Hobbes – Bill Waterson

Total Books Read: 54
Total Pages Read: 12, 434

*I’d like to think I learned more than two things, but hey, I’ll take what I can get.

Awesome book posters

2010-09-01T20:56:00.001+10:00

Growing up, I was never allowed to have posters on my wall and because of this I have a special fondness for nice posters. When I came across these one I pretty much fell in love and knew I had to share.

Postertext reproduces the text of the book, arranging the words to show a key event from the book. Posters already created include Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Moby Dick and Alice in Wonderland – with more coming all the time. I can’t decide which one I like best…

…hi?

2010-08-26T21:04:00.001+10:00

*walks up and knocks on screen*

Is anyone still out there?

So I have learnt three things from my self-hibernation.

It was warranted – I have been so crazy busy that I hardly read a thing (sad).
When going into hibernation, it’s probably a good thing to make sure you don’t have a heck of a lot of scheduled posts sitting there.
I miss you guys! I miss JOMP and I miss book blogging. And of course, the moment I decide not to blog is when I want to.

So! Medium-sized story cut short: I’m back. I will DEFINATELY be light on reviews, but I’m back all the same and am looking forward to chatting to you guys again.

Friday Book Love

2010-07-23T20:37:00.000+10:00

There are just too many pretty book pics out there not to share!

Source: * Lily of the Valley *

Friday Book Love

2010-07-16T01:08:00.000+10:00

There are just too many pretty book pics out there not to share!

Source: Claudecf

Friday Book Love

2010-07-09T01:02:00.000+10:00

There are just too many pretty book pics out there not to share!

Source: Matilde B.

Friday Book Love

2010-07-02T01:00:00.000+10:00

There are just too many pretty book pics out there not to share!

Source: Marser

Friday Book Love

2010-06-25T05:53:00.000+10:00

There are just too many pretty book pics out there not to share!

Source: daijiro’s duchess

Friday Book Love

2010-06-18T01:44:00.000+10:00

There are just too many pretty book pics out there not to share!

Source: Bea De Giacomo

Friday Book Love

2010-06-11T00:32:00.000+10:00

There are just too many pretty book pics out there not to share!

Source: M a n d i

Friday Book Love

2010-06-04T00:29:00.000+10:00

There are just too many pretty book pics out there not to share!

Source: Robyn Geering

Friday Book Love

2010-05-28T00:24:00.000+10:00

There are just too many pretty book pics out there not to share!

Source: polkadotandplaid

Musing Mondays

2010-05-24T00:41:00.000+10:00

Dear Musing Monday-ers,

If you’re a regular here at JOMP I’m sure you’ve noticed that my posts have becoming fewer and fewer over the past few months. Since finishing up at uni, and now finding work (yay!) I’ve found that my reading time – not to mention my blogging time – has all but dried up.

I’ve tried to ignore it, thinking that it would magically return to be, but sadly I don’t think it’s going to. So it’s with great reluctance that I’m putting JOMP on indefinite hiatus. Not to worry though, because Musing Mondays is returning to it’s original home over at Should Be Reading – head on over there now as of this week.

I’ll still be around and blogging on my general/crafting journal here – I can’t help myself, I don’t want to leave the book blogger world entirely. I can also be contacted directly via twitter.

I’ve loved blogging with all of you and hope to continue chatting with you in one form or another.

Love,
Rebecca

Friday Book Love

2010-05-21T00:21:00.000+10:00

There are just too many pretty book pics out there not to share!

Source: ansy

Teaser Tuesday (May 18)

2010-05-18T20:05:00.001+10:00

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

If you’re reading this because you think you might be [a half-blood], my advice is: close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mum or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief – Rick Riordan (1)

Library Days

2010-05-17T19:58:00.001+10:00

I’ve been most quiet on the blogging front of late, as I’ve found regular work at the local high school, but I thought I’d take the chance to tell you all what I’ve been up to. Why? Because this week I’ve been working in the library!

I’m teaching at my old high school, so though I’m English trained, and don’t actually start my library training until next month, they’re being very kind to me and letting me cover for the librarian when she’s away. I’m coming to teaching with mixed emotions (let’s just say my childhood ideals were quite neatly dashed), but my days in the library are … *sigh* wonderful.

The librarian is very enthusiastic in her duties and so the library is a lovely one to work in with quite a nice little community of readers among the students with whom I’m becoming acquainted.

I’m very much looking forward to tomorrow when the “Reading Cafe” meets tomorrow. This is like a reading club that the kids can apply to, and they meet of a recess and lunch and have a hot chocolate and a biscuit as they read. I’m playing host tomorrow and so am very excited (wish I had this at school!). Now, off to pick what book to take with me…

Philip D Armour Elementary School
(how cute is this library?!)

Musing Mondays (May 17)

2010-05-17T19:31:00.001+10:00

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about movies based on books…

What happens when you see a movie based on a book/story, especially one you’ve not read? Do you feel the need to track it down and read it?

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

If I know a booky-movie is coming up I try to make sure I read it before it comes out, but sometimes I just don’t have the time or it sneaks up on me.

Last night we went to see the new Robin Hood and, after being hit multiple times for my gleeful bouncing, I left that theatre in full RH mode. I wanted to read the stories, I wanted to do some research on the time period; I basically went into full book/movie mode.

I was just wondering if this was just me?

Friday Book Love

2010-05-14T00:17:00.000+10:00

There are just too many pretty book pics out there not to share!

Source: mechanics

Musing Mondays (May 10)

2010-05-10T00:15:00.001+10:00

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about the war books

Do you have to carve out time in your day for reading (due to work and other obligations), or does your reading just happen naturally? (Question courtesy of MizB)

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

Normally, I’d say no, I don’t have to set time aside for my reading. I was/am unemployed and act as a carer for my mother and so spend a fair amount of time in doctors waiting rooms etc. So my reading was done mostly in 10 minute increments, but I was usually guaranteed two or three of these sessions every day.

This past month I’ve managed to find some casual teaching work near to my home (man oh man I want to die – I feel like I haven’t slept!) and so POOF! there went my reading time! I think I’ve read maybe 20 pages in the past three weeks.

I’m sure it’s all a process, learning to find that balance, but who knows, I may have to set aside some time!

Friday Book Love

2010-05-07T00:12:00.000+10:00

There are just too many pretty book pics out there not to share!

Source: Maggie Fortson

Teaser Tuesday (May 4)

2010-05-04T01:11:00.000+10:00

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

Life at The Burrow was as different as possible from life in Privet Drive. The Dursley’s liked everything neat and ordered; the Weasleys’ house burst with the strange and unexpected. (37)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling

April Wrap Up

2010-05-03T21:29:00.001+10:00

Thank you readathon for getting my reading back on track this month!

Total Books Read: 11
Total Pages Read: 2, 929
2010 Books to Date: 31

Musing Mondays (May 3)

2010-05-03T03:31:00.000+10:00

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about the war books

Do you frequent second hand book stores? Have you ever bought a book home only to find anything interesting within their pages?

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

I’ll confess, I’m asking this question, purely so I can share this story. It made my week and I just wanted to tell you all.

About a year ago, a friend and I went into the city and did the Town Hall book shops – Kinokuniya, Galaxy Books, Kings Comics, and Elizabeth’s Bookshop. It was a great day and I was very happy to come home with my little pile of finds. Among them was a copy of Neil Gaiman’s Fragile Things which I’ve been reading on and off ever since (I like to make short stories last).

This week, I was flipping through it trying to find something for my brother when I found … this:

Absolutely the best second-hand book find ever! Especially since I only paid $10 for the book in the first place!

Mini-review Catchup #1

2010-05-02T12:05:00.001+10:00

I’ve decided the best way to catch up would to just do some mini-reviews over the week or so.

Ariel – Sylvia Plath
81 pages; published 1965

This was my first exposure to Sylvia Plath, which I was rather surprised about – you’d think I would have come across her in one class or another. I absolutely LOVED Plath; I adored the beautiful melancholy of all her poems. Favourites from this collection include: The Applicant, Lady Lazarus, Tulips, A Birthday Present, and Years. 4/5

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood – Rebecca Wells
356 pages; published 1996

From the first time I saw this movie I was a huge fan – and when I learned it was based on a series of books, I very quickly tracked down the first one Little Alters Everywhere. This is the second in the series, and the one the movie was based on – though if you’re a fan of either the book or the movie I’d highly recommend reading the rest. Told through a series of interconnected stories, Divine Secrets throws you into the deep end of a family and leaves you to move with the eddies that constantly churn between them. 5/5

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-28T23:52:00.000+10:00

Teaser Tuesday

2010-04-27T22:05:00.001+10:00

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but i don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, my parents would have about two haemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them. (1)

The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger

Musing Mondays (April 26)

2010-04-26T02:09:00.001+10:00

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about the war books

With yesterday being Anzac Day, I thought I’d ask a theme question this week. Are you a reader of war books? And if so, do you have any favourites?

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

I am a fan of war books, actually – though I hesitate to use the word ‘fan’ when the subject matter runs to the horrific.

I think the first war-time book I ever read, or at least can remember reading was Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl. I read it while still in primary school and it was the first time I really started to understand what war meant on an individual level – up until then war had simply been a concept talked about during history.

I have also enjoyed John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Morris Gleitzman’s Once, and Geraldine Brook’s March – but these are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. I’m sure you’ll all remind me of the ones I’m forgetting.

Lest We Forget

2010-04-25T13:57:00.000+10:00

They went with songs to the battle, they were young. Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow. They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted. They fell with their faces to the foe. They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-21T21:03:00.001+10:00

Teaser Tuesday

2010-04-20T23:12:00.001+10:00

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

She seems so cool, so focused, so quiet, yet her eyes remain fixed upon the horizon.

You think you know all there is to know about her immediately upon meeting her, but everything you think you know is wrong. (207)

Fragile Things – Neil Gaiman

Musing Monday (April 19)

2010-04-19T01:37:00.001+10:00

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about the ‘best’ books'.

Last week I had you all to suggest your top 5 books – and I was surprised by just how different all your choices were! There’s no real question this week, except to look over the list and consider it. Do you agree with the choices? Is it more worth of a “Best Book” title?

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

Books that had more than one vote were listed first, then they were listed alphabetically by author.

To Kill a Mockingbird	Lee, Harper	6
Pride and Prejudice	Austen, Jane	3
The Chronicles of Narnia	Lewis, C.S.	3
The Time Traveler's Wife	Niffenegger, Audrey	3
Harry Potter (series)	Rowling, J.K.	3
The Book Thief	Zusak, Markus	3
Little Women	Alcott, Louisa May	2
Hunger Games (series)	Collins, Suzanne	2
The Shining	King, Stephen	2
Anne of Green Gables	Montgomery, L.M.	2
Lord of the Rings	Tolkien, J.R.R.	2
The House of the Spirits	Allende, Isabel
Sense and Sensibility	Austen, Jane
Hasse Simondochter	Beckman, Thea
The Manual of Detection	Berry, Jedediah
The Moon Below	Bickmore, Barbara
Fahrenheit 451	Bradbury, Ray
Jane Eyre	Bronte, Charlotte
Arthur (series)	Brown, Marc
A Scandalous Freedom	Brown, Steve
Cold Saddy Tree	Burns, Olive Ann
Enders Game	Card, Orson Scott
Gifted Hands	Carson with Cecil Murphey, Dr. Ben
Kushiel's Dart	Carey, Jacqueline
Graceling	Cashore, Kristen
Death Comes for the Archbishop	Cather, Willa
The Canterbury Tales	Chaucer, Geoffrey
Seventeenth Summer	Daly, Maureen
The Maze Runner	Dashner, James
Loose Change	Davidson, Sara
Life is So Good	Dawson, George
Libra	DeLillio, Don
Great Expectations	Dickens, Charles
Going Too Far	Echols, Jennifer
Invisible Man	Ellison, Ralph
Middlesex	Eugenides, Jeffrey
One for the Money	Evanovich, Janet
The Great Gatsby	Fitzgerald, F. Scott
The Likeness	French, Tana
Outlander	Gabaldon, Diana
American Gods	Gaiman, Neil
Memoirs of Cleopatra	George, Margaret
Old Yeller	Gipson, Fred
Lord of the Flies	Golding, William
An Abundance of Katherines	Green, John
Looking for Alaska	Green, John
Paper Towns	Green, John
The Boleyn Inheritance	Gregory, Philipa
The Eden Diet	Hancock, M.D., Rita
An Eye for an Eye	Hannon, Irene
Switch	Heath and Dan Health, Chip
Catch-22	Heller, Joseph
Losing the Moon	Henry, Patti Callahan
Goblin Quest	Hines, Jim C.
Never Let Me Go	Ishiguro, Kazuo
Fire and Hemlock	Jones, Diana Wynne
The Phantom Tollbooth	Juster, Norman
Nancy Drew (series)	Keene, Carolyn B.
Mountains Beyond Mountains	Kidder, Tracy
The Unbearable Lightness of Being	Kundera, Milan
She's Come Undone	Lamb, Wally
The Girl Who Played with Fire	Larsson, Stieg
The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo	Larsson, Stieg
Devil's Bride	Laurens, Stephanie
Shutter Island	Lehane, Dennis
Shoot the moon	Letts, Billie
Dare to Dream	Littauer, Florence
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks	Lockart, E.
The Light Princess	MacDonald, George
16 Lighthouse Road	Macomber, Debbie
Daughter of the Forest	Marillier, Juliet
Son of Shadows	Marillier, Juliet
The Necklace (series)	Martin, Kay
Esther: It's Tough Being a Woman	Moore, Beth
Sula	Morrison, Toni
The Forgotten Garden	Morton, Kate
Mozart's Sister	Moster, Nancy
Cat on the Edge	Murphey, Shirley Rousseau
The Last Surgeon	Palmer, Michael
First to Die	Patterson, James
Sunday at Tiffany's	Patterson, James
The Adoration of Jenna Fox	Pearson, Mary E.
Life as We Knew It	Pfeffer, Susan
Boneshaker	Priest, Cherie
His Dark Materials (series)	Pullman, Philip
The Lightning Thief	Riordan, Rick
Ride the Wind	Robson, Lucia St. Clair
The Sparrow	Russell, Mary Doria
The Forest of Hands and Feet	Ryan, Carrie
Once an Arafat Man	Saada, Tass
Walk Away the Pounds	Sansone, Leslie
Romeo and Juliet	Shakespeare, William
Frankenstein	Shelley, Mary
Beneath a Marble Sky	Shors, John
The Corner	Simon, David
I Capture the Castle	Smith, Dodie
The Changeling	Snyder, Zilpha Keatly
Raven Stole the Moon	Stein, Garth
East of Eden	Steinbeck, John
The Grapes of Wrath	Steinbeck, John
Shiver	Stiefvater, Maggie
The Help	Stockett, Kathryn
These Granite Islands	Stonich, Sarah
The Hobbit	Tolkien, J.R.R.
The Thief	Turner, Megan Whalen
It's All Too Much	Walsh, Peter
Tipping the Velvet	Waters, Sarah
Brideshead Revisted	Waugh, Evelyn
Uglies	Westerfield, Scott
A Certain Slant of Light	Whitcomb, Laura
To the Lighthouse	Woolf, Virginia
My Enemy's Cradle	Young, Sara
The Pigman	Zindel, Paul

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-14T22:34:00.001+10:00

Musing Mondays (April 12)

2010-04-12T01:52:00.001+10:00

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about the ‘best’ books'.

There’s been some discussion on my blog this week about what should or shouldn’t make a ‘best' books’ list. What elements do you think lands a book in that ‘best’ category? Think of your top 5 best books and tune in next week to see the collated list.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

Okay, I know I asked the question, but can I take it back? It’s too hard!

I suppose for me, for a book to put into the ‘best’ category, it needs to be well written, have a good story, characters, be original … but that seems obvious.

When it all comes down to it, I guess the ‘best’ books are the ones that , once I’m finished, I just HAVE to go tell someone. My book friends, my non-reading family, the cat – anyone who’ll even pretend to listen.

On the other hand, there’s something to be said for an old favourite. I’m not likely to run to Wendy and say “Oh my gosh, I just read Little Women, you HAVE to read it!” I’ve read it a hundred times, I know she already loves it, so there’s no need – but this doesn’t diminish it’s status high on my ‘best’ list.

So I guess it’s a bit of both.

Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
Anne of Green Gables (series) – L.M. Montgomery
The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenigger
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
The Book Thief – Markus Zusak

Readathon Wrap-up

2010-04-11T22:05:00.001+10:00

I can’t say that I read as much as I would have liked this readathon – my time being punctuated by some good old fashioned family interruptions – but I had fun all the same. I do so enjoy the dedicated reading time the readathon affords.

I had no real aims except to try to meet last years results (which I did not) and get through some books from my tbr pile (which I did).

I’d like to thank all the AMAZING cheerleaders who came to visit over the past 24 hours – you’re all the best cheerleaders I ever did see!

Readathon Update #4

2010-04-11T21:48:00.001+10:00

Accumulated Reading Hours: 15

Books finished this session: 1 (and a half)
Pages read this session: 246

Accumulated Pages Read: 846
Total Books Read: 3.5

Flowers for Algenon – Daniel Keyes
Dresden Files Graphic Novels: Welcome to the Jungle – Jim Butcher and Ardian Syaf
The Colour Purple – Alice Walker

Currently Reading:
Chronicles of Avonlea – L.M. Montgomery

Readathon Update #3

2010-04-11T16:50:00.001+10:00

Accumulated Reading Hours: 10

Books finished this session: 1 (and a half)
Pages read this session: 340

Accumulated Pages Read: 600
Total Books Read: 2

Flowers for Algenon – Daniel Keyes
Dresden Files Graphic Novels: Welcome to the Jungle – Jim Butcher and Ardian Syaf

Currently Reading:
Chronicles of Avonlea – L.M. Montgomery

The Colour Purple – Alice Walker

Notes:

discovered I’m not a fan of T.S. Eliot
my cat was true to form and showed her jealousy of the readathon. Don’t read, pay attention to me!

Readathon Update #2

2010-04-11T12:11:00.001+10:00

Accumulated Reading Hours: 6

Books finished this session: 0
Pages read this session: 44

Accumulated Pages Read: 260
Total Books Read: 1

Flowers for Algenon – Daniel Keyes

Currently Reading:
Chronicles of Avonlea – L.M. Montgomery

The Colour Purple – Alice Walker

Notes: Just like last time, I laid down for a nap and ended up sleeping seven hours. Next time I’m moving to a time zone that doesn’t start at 11pm ;)

Readathon Update #1

2010-04-11T03:14:00.001+10:00

Accumulated Reading Hours: 5

Books finished this session: 1
Pages read this session: 216

Accumulated Pages Read: 216
Total Books Read: 1

Flowers for Algenon – Daniel Keyes

Currently Reading:
Chronicles of Avonlea – L.M. Montgomery

24 Hour Readathon

2010-04-10T18:55:00.001+10:00

This is my second attempt at the readathon – any excuse to have a designated reading day! Last round I managed to read six books off my tbr list so this time I’m aiming for seven… okay, to be honest I’ll be happy to get through whatever I get through.

Like any animal settling in for their hibernation I’ve set up my nest with all the essentials: blanket (yes, the same comfy blanket that was dragged out for last time), pillow, cat, chocolate, tea (well soon), and of course BOOKS.

This is the pile I picked out, but now that I look at it, I realise that a fair few of them are ‘in between books’ that I picked out at the library this week, I’ll likely do some wondering to the bookshelf.

The pile as it stands

Flowers for Algenon – Daniel Keyes
The Colour Purple – Alice Walker
Avalon High Graphic Novels #1-3 – Meg Cabot and Jinky Coronado
The Chronicles of Avonlea – L.M. Montgomery*
Selected Poems – T.S. Eliot
Elizabethan Sonnets – Maurice Evans
Collected Poems – Sylvia Plath
The Dresden Files Graphic Novels: Welcome to the Jungle – Jim Butcher

*I know the picture has Anne of Avonlea but I picked up the wrong one and I’m too lazy to retake the photo – you’ll forgive me, yes?

‘Best’ books

2010-04-09T15:49:00.001+10:00

I try to reply to comments directly through email, but not everyone who commented on my last post had attached emails, and enough people made the same/similar comment that I thought I’d do a follow up post.

I’d certainly agree with you that the books on the Dymocks Booklover list are not the ‘best’ books – I think we can all agree that if we were to compile our own list (now there’s an idea), that Twilight would not be in top billing.

For those not in the know, the Dymocks list is compiled mostly by (I believe) the VIP customers/members. Each year a poll is set up on the Dymocks website where you can submit your all time favourite book. This data is collated and used to formulate the this.

Unfortunately ‘favourite’ and ‘best’ do not always coincide – I’m sure we all have at least one chicklit-y, escapist book amongst our favourites!

But why don’t you start thinking about what you consider to be the ‘best’ books – come up with your top five. Start thinking now – I plan to make it next week’s MM.

The 2010 Booklover’s Best 101 List

2010-04-08T23:37:00.001+10:00

I get very excited when Dymocks updates their Booklover list. Seriously. There’s markers and stickers involved.

I pull out the one from the year before and I look to see what’s risen and what’s fallen – and the worthiness thereof. Much consideration is given to the new books that find their way onto the list. Are they really the BEST? Or just new?

All in all, I sit there at the dining room table squealing with nerdy glee while the rest of my family runs away in fright.

Anyways, for those NOT lucky enough to get the catalogue, I thought I’d share. I’ve marked the ones I’ve read – why not see what you’ve read yourself?

1 The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer
2 The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
3 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
4 The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
5 The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
6 The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
7 To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
8 The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson
9 My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
10 The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
11 The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
12 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
13 Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
14 The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
15 Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
16 Magician by Raymond E. Feist
17 Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
18 The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
19 Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
20 The Host by Stephenie Meyer
21 Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin
22 Atonement by Ian McEwan
23 The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
24 Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
25 A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
26 Cross Stitch by Diana Gabaldon
27 Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
28 The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
29 Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
30 Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
31 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
32 Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden
33 Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody
34 The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
35 The Inheritance Series by Christopher Paolini
36 The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
37 Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
38 The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
39 The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
40 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
41 Ice Station by Matthew Reilly
42 The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
43 Persuasion by Jane Austen
44 Tully by Paullina Simons
45 Seven Ancient Wonders by Matthew Reilly
46 Breath by Tim Winton
47 The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare
48 Life of Pi by Yann Martel
49 A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
50 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
51 Emma by Jane Austen
52 The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
53 The Bible
54 Six Sacred Stones by Matthew Reilly
55 A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey
56 We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
57 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
58 Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
59 The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
60 The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
61 People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
62 The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
63 The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
64 Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
65 Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
66 The Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris
67 Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
68 Five Greatest Warriors by Matthew Reilly
69 On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
70 The Princess Bride by William Goldman
71 The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
72 Wicked by Gregory Maguire
73 Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
74 Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
75 Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
76 Dewey by Vicki Myron
77 Dirt Music by Tim Winton
78 Marley and Me by John Grogan
79 Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
80 Dune by Frank Herbert
81 The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
82 The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
83 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
84 War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
85 The Road by Cormac McCarthy
86 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
87 The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
88 The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
89 Possession by AS Byatt
90 Finnikin of The Rock by Melina Marchetta
91 No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
92 Graceling by Kristin Cashore
93 The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
94 The Secret History by Donna Tartt
95 Silent Country by Di Morrissey
96 Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
97 Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
98 The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
99 Still Alice by Lisa Genova
100 The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
101 Gallipoli by Les Carlyon

Anne of Green Gables Challenge

2010-04-05T23:12:00.001+10:00

Those participating in the Anne of Green Gables reading Challenge can now visit the blog to post their reviews!

Musing Mondays (April 5)

2010-04-05T16:53:00.001+10:00

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about the upcoming readathon.

Are you planning on participating in the upcoming readathon? Why not tell us a little about your plans: reading solo or with a partner/group? How long to do plan to read? Do you have your books chosen? If not reading, do you plan to be a cheerleader? The floor is yours.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

I really enjoyed participating in last years Readathon and so I’ve definitely signed up for the one on the 10th. I haven’t made any concrete plans yet, beyond a general ‘hmm, I might read [insert book from trb pile here]’. This is, in fact, the main reason I’m asking this question – I like to hear what other’s have in mind.

I do plan on reading books from my tbr pile – it’s getting to the ‘staggering’ end of the spectrum – with some poetry (already borrowed from the library) in between.

I’ll be reading solo again this readathon, but my family were very good last year in leaving me be and providing regular cups of tea, so I imagine things will go well.

March Wrap-Up

2010-03-31T21:47:00.001+11:00

Books read:

Girl, Interrupted - Susanna Kaysen
Virgin Suicides – Jeffrey Eugenides
Tomorrow, When the War Began – John Marsden
You Better Not Cry – Augusten Burroughs

Musing Mondays (March 29)

2010-03-29T00:25:00.001+11:00

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about multitasking.

Do you – or are you even able – to do other things while you read? Do you knit, hold a conversation, keep an eye on the TV? Anything?

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

Week before last I had a birthday present to knit up that – I’ll admit – I had left to late. Several people I talked to said they couldn’t imagine me having any problems, after all, I’d just knit while I read right?

I can’t quite manage this – I don’t have enough hands for the book and the needles and, well, it’s just not pretty (and I know, you’re going to suggest audio books, I’m just not entirely sold yet).

In fact, while I consider myself to be a fairly skilled multi-tasker. There isn’t actually a great deal I can do while reading – not beyond listening to a bit of music anyway.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-25T00:00:00.001+11:00

And some words (yes I’m cheating): If you scroll through my blog you’ll notice that I’ve been a terrible blogger of late. I hope to shake this bug I’ve had and get caught up on the reviews.

In the meantime I’m going to bed with the book I haven’t finished for bookclub – see, I’ve been a bad reader too!

Teaser Tuesday (March 23)

2010-03-23T02:14:00.000+11:00

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

"I have deceived even your very eyes: what your wisdoms could not discover, these shallow fools have brought to light, who in the night overheard me confessing to this man, how Don John your brother incensed me to slander the Lady Hero." (5.1)
Much Ado About Nothing – William Shakespeare

Musing Mondays (March 22)

2010-03-22T02:06:00.001+11:00

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about tbr books.

Where do you keep the books on the top of the tbr pile? Not the bunk of the mountain, but just the tip of the peak – the ‘almost up to’ books?

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

I did a little tidying this week and realised just how many books had migrated from my bookshelf to my bedroom. There were… well quiet a few. In doing this I sent some shuffling meekly back to the shelf and put the rest in their usual tbr spots.

The books I’m reading now plus one or two ‘next’ books sit on the shelf above my bed for easy reach – nothing worse than having to leave a nice warm bed to grab another book.

I also have another pile tucked up on the corner of my desk. I consider this to be my ‘priority tbr pile’ and is made up of library books, borrowed books etc.

What about you? Where do you keep your tbr books?

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-17T23:46:00.000+11:00

Musing Mondays (March 15)

2010-03-15T00:35:00.000+11:00

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about picture books.

Do you have a favourite picture book, either from your own childhood, or reading to you children?

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

One of the little girls I babysit, my cousins three year old daughter Kaitlyn, is a budding book worm. I walk in the door and she comes toddling out with books under her arms, wanting to be read to. I don’t mean that she comes out with one book, or even two – no, she brings out a pile. As such, I’ve been reading more picture books over the past six months than I can ever remember having read before.

My #1 favourite picture book is still Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are (was very excited to see the movie, and yes I did enjoy it). But it’s not my only favourite. I decided to go cover gathering…

Musing Mondays (March 7)

2010-03-08T00:53:00.000+11:00

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about dust jackets.

Do you prefer books with a dust jacket? What do you do with your dust jacket while reading? Leave it on or take it off? (Question courtesy of Kim from Page after Page)

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

I don’t actually have a great many books with dust jackets* – mostly because harcover books are just a little out of my price range. But when Kim mentioned dust jackets on her blog last week it got me thinking. I do like them in principle; it is, after all, a good idea to protect the book cover. But when it comes to my books they don’t really serve this purpose.

The whole time they’re on my shelf that dust jacket stays on, keeping them nice and cozy. But as soon as I take them down to read, that dust jacket comes straight off and stored somewhere safe till I’m done. After all, I wouldn’t want the jacket to get damaged! Somehow, I think this is defeating the purpose.

But what about you guys, how do dust jackets fare in your library?

*Okay, I just counted, I have 15, which I have to say, is more than I thought I did.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-04T11:48:00.001+11:00

Wordless Wednesday

Anne of Green Gables Challenge

2010-03-03T17:27:00.001+11:00

After talking about it last week, several people seemed interested in an Anne of Green Gables reread challenge, and so I set one one – always happy to have some good Anne company!

Head on over here to check it out.

I’m a hopeless completist, so I went for option 3.

Option 3: The eight central books in the series:

Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Avonlea
Anne of the Island
Anne of Windy Poplars/Windy Willows
Anne’s House of Dreams
Anne of Ingleside
Rainbow Valley
Rilla of Ingleside

as well as any related material.

Literary Lusts: Friedrich Bhaer

2010-03-02T16:05:00.001+11:00

Literary Lusts is a meme hosted by Elena over at With Extra Pulp, wherein we discuss any literary characters we may have had developed a crush on.

Sometimes – okay, ALL the time – I forget to post my responses to memes, especially when they don’t, quite handily, have the day in the title. This is why I’m doing the Literary Lust post today, instead of yesterday.

This is my third post on this subject, and I’m a little concerned that I haven’t run out of people yet…

Friedrich Bhaer
from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women

I know he’s not a major character (not right away, at least) but think about it. He’s a well-learned, extraordinarily kind and gentle man. He’s wonderful with children, believes in honesty, and has an accent to boot. He not only puts up with Jo’s temperamental ways, but actually loves her all the more, and compliments her so well. At the risk of being pelted with tomatoes, I was never disappointed that Jo turned Laurie down – I knew she would find her Friedrich.

You’ve got to love a kindly literature-nerd*.

When it comes to movie adaptions of Little Women, there are of course several Friedrichs**, but my favourite will also be the version of my generation: Gabriel Byrne. Really, would you turn down this man:

* My love for Friedrich is in no way connected to my long-standing wish to be Jo. No. Never. Not at all.

** In looking for Professor Bhaer pictures I discovered that William Shatner and John de Lancie were in a production of Little Women together, as Friedrich Bhaer and Frank Vaughn respectively. This makes the nerd in me very happy … and very giggly.

Teaser Tuesday (March 2)

2010-03-02T15:02:00.001+11:00

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

The seclusion room etiquette was, If you weren’t locked in, anybody could join you. A nurse could interrupt your yelling to try to find out why you were yelling, or some other crazy person could come in, and start yelling too. (147)

Girl, Interrupted – Susanna Kaysen

February Wrap-Up

2010-03-01T21:09:00.001+11:00

I mentioned it earlier this week, but things have been a little busy round my neck of the woods – in fact, blogging wise, this month has been pretty much non-existent. I have, however, gotten a far bit of reading done (all in 5-minute, waiting room snatches), and am now being punished by a nice stack of unreviewed books. Must get onto that.

Books read:

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood – Rebecca Wells
The Sandman: The Dream Hunters – Neil Gaiman and Yoshitaka Amano
13 Little Envelopes – Maureen Johnson
Portrait Photography – Mark Cleghorn
The Bermudez Triangle – Maureen Johnson
Little Brother – Cory Doctorow
84 Charing Cross Road – Helene Hanff
The Looking Glass Wars – Frank Beddor

Books not yet finished:

Girl, Interrupted – Susanna Kaysen

Challenges completed:

um. none.

Musing Monday (March 1)

2010-03-01T14:55:00.001+11:00

Sorry for today’s question being up later than usual – I spent all yesterday freaking out about there being a tsunami morning and all today cursing the storms for knocking out my net. I guess my priorities were a little skewed.

I hope that anyone living in areas affected by the earthquake or resulting flooding is doing okay, and my thoughts are with them.

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about a story format.

How do you feel about books written in a differing format – whether this be journals or letters (epistolary), verse novels, or any other form? Is this something you enjoy? Or do you prefer straight forward chapter prose.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

I find that reading books with a different format – whether that be in verse, shorter chapters, letters, what have you – makes me more aware of what I’m reading. This can be both good and bad: good because I feel that I’m concentrating more on what I’m reading, but bad because I don’t feel absorbed into the book like I would with really good prose.

That having been said, I really enjoy this in a book. This question came up because I just finished reading Susanna Kaysen’s Girl, Interrupted. Though I’ve seen the movie several times, and knew the main character to be a writer, I’ve never picked up the book before. I expected it to be a journal, and was surprised by the short chapter, topic-like contents. This format have it such a beautiful focus, and I’ve been wondering if it would have been as effective if it were told another way.

TO DO… everything

2010-02-26T16:32:00.001+11:00

Things have been a little hectic round here lately, and once again my blogging has taken the fall. Right now I’m looking at quite a healthy little pile of books that I’ve read, but not reviewed – must put this on my to-do list.

*witness not so subtle segue*

I’m a big fan of to-do lists, which is why I thought I’d share this website I found. I’m not sure whether or not I’ll actually use it – or whether or not you’ll find it useful – but it’s worth checking out the video alone.

TeuxDeux Demo from TeuxDeux on Vimeo.

Literary Lusts: Atticus Finch

2010-02-22T23:12:00.000+11:00

Literary Lusts is a meme hosted by Elena over at With Extra Pulp, wherein we discuss any literary characters we may have had developed a crush on.

So I was thinking about who I was going to pick for my Literary Lust character this week – and I was thinking, and thinking, and then it hit me!!

Atticus Finch
from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird

and then of course, I fend really bad that I didn’t think of him last week – thank goodness Wendy’s on blogging hibernation or I’d never live it down.

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my all-time favourite books. I read it for the first time when I was in tenth grade – it was the first book I ever really studied seriously, and I remember being so excited about it (I’m even nerdy enough to admit that this probably played a big part in my love of this novel).

I fell in love with Atticus Finch before I’d even finished my first reading of the book. My English teacher that year really set an example! He’s intelligent, moral, and articulate to boot. He’s just the all-around perfect man! My only qualm is that he refuses to step out of the book into reality.

And now come on, let’s be shallow for a minute. Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch is just gorgeous!

I challenge anyone who’s read To Kill a Mockingbird to disagree with me. Is there really anyone out there who doesn’t just adore Atticus?

Musing Mondays (Feb 22)

2010-02-22T00:44:00.001+11:00

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about a keeping books.

Do you keep all the books you ever buy? Just the ones you love? Just collectibles? What do you do with the ones you don’t want to keep?

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

In the past I have always kept all my books. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to get me to actually hand them over. I think that this is because growing up, while I never wanted for books, new books weren’t an every-day occurrence.

When I started working I’ll confess to having gone a little book-buying crazy (you mean I can buy a book whenever I want? Really??) which did result in my bookshelves exploding just a little. And let’s face it, ,most readers want a huge home library and are therefore a little loathe to give them away anyways.

However now that I’ve starting buying the bulk of my books through the library or second hand bookstores, I find I’m far more willing to pass them on. I like having a book that someone else has owned, and so like to pass it on so someone can have it for awhile.

If it’s a book I think someone in particular will like I will pass it one (which usually means either my cousin, or Wendy) but for the most part I usually save up a little stockpile and then drop them off at the Blue Dragon, the second hand bookstore/book exchange I like. This week I dropped of some books and ended up with a $25 credit… not that I ever leave the store with any credit left!

Wordless Wednesdays

2010-02-17T20:04:00.001+11:00

Wordless Wednesday meme here

Anne of Green Gables

2010-02-15T17:29:00.001+11:00

So it turns out that everyone thought Gilbert Blythe was pretty nice, and that the Anne series was pretty popular among us book bloggers.

Answering Elena’s question, and then reading everyone’s comments left me wanting to reread the series – so I was wondering if anyone else was up for it? If there’s enough interest, maybe we could do a reread challenge. I’ve never hosted a challenge before, but it could be fun.

Let me know if you’re interested.

Musing Monday (Feb 15)

2010-02-15T10:52:00.001+11:00

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about a reference material.

Do you keep reference books on your shelves at home? What’s your first port of call when you need information – the internet or a book?

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

I do keep some reference books on hand, though I’ll admit to most of them being book or craft related.

If it’s something specific I want to know the answer to (eg. “How tall is the Eiffel Tower?”) I tend to prefer the internet – Google is my friend. If I’m looking at something broader, wanting to learn more about a general subject, then I usually head of the the library for a while.

What about you?

Literary Lusts: Gilbert Blythe

2010-02-14T12:53:00.001+11:00

Literary Lusts is a meme hosted by Elena over at With Extra Pulp, wherein we discuss any literary characters we may have had developed a crush on.

This week Elena went for the broody Mr. Rochester from Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. I seemed to head for the opposite end of the spectrum in my choice:

Gilbert Blythe
from L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series.

I really don’t know how anyone who has read the Anne books couldn’t be completely enamoured with Gilbert. He’s smart and kind, funny and generous. Not to mention absolutely enamoured with Anne.

Right from their earliest rivalry I was cheering for Gilbert, waiting for Anne to realise what every reader already knew: that Gilbert was a catch, and that they were perfect together. And you’ve got to give the boy credit, he really did stick it out, despite all her rejections.

Good on you, Elena, now I want to read Anne!

For those of you who haven’t read the series (and you really should), the first book can be found here.

And did anyone else know that there is an Anne and Gilbert musical? I didn’t! See, this meme is educational, too.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-02-10T22:45:00.001+11:00

click here for the Wordless Wednesday meme

Musing Mondays (Feb 3)

2010-02-08T01:49:00.000+11:00

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about a random book.

I’ve seen several bloggers mention reading multiple books this week. Do you frequently read more than one book at a time? Do you try to limit this to a certain number? Do you have different books for different purposes/topics?

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

When I was younger I always read more than one book at a time, as I always liked to have the choice. Now, however, I usually read one book pretty solidly and then pick a new one.

In asking this question, I thought about it a little more and realised that this isn’t actually the truth. I only have the one book that I’m actively reading – which I pick up and take with me everywhere – but I also have several ongoing books that I’ve been reading for several months.

Collections of poetry, for instance, are something that I like to savour, and read a bit at a time, so I have had a book sitting by my bed for a while now. And I’ve also been reading The World of Books (a lovely gift from my friends when I left the library) section by section because I want it to last a while. So in this regard yes, I do read more than one book at a time.