| Books 1-4 |
[Aug. 13th, 2010|02:56 pm] |
First four books and first 1000ish pages read! Not too shabby, eh?
Book 1: Billy and the Bubble-Ship by Elwy Yost - 141 pages
A childhood favourite and a fun reread.
Book 2: Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson - 330 pages
I absolutely loved this book! A fascinating and inspiring story. I'm not sure I would like Greg Mortenson much if I met him IRL, but he deserves great credit for all he's doing.
Book 3: The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs - 332 pages
Another fascinating book about a guy who tries to follow the laws of the Bible literally for an entire year. Very interesting!
Book 4: The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester - 230 pages
Interesting topic, but unfortunately the writing was somewhat boring at times. But I was completely captivated by the description of how the Oxford English Dictionally was written. Very impressive!
1033 / 5000 pages. 21% done! |
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| NaNoReaMo #4 |
[Aug. 3rd, 2010|09:56 am] |
Hi all!
I can't believe I FORGOT about NaNoReaMo this year! It's been so much fun the last years (this is my fourth time doing it), so I'm very pleased to get the chance to participate again.
My goal for 2010 is to read 200 books. Last year I got stuck, and only made it to 191 books, however, this year I'm already at 165, so I think I've got a fair shot at making it. Granted, about 65 of those are Baby-Sitters' Club books (I recently found a whole bunch of them as e-books and am giddily working my way through them, greatly enjoying the nostalgia), but books are books, right? :-D
I keep a book review blog at ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.2) bogormen as I review books for a Danish publisher. The pay is pittance, but I get to keep the books I review, so it works out perfectly for me!
My favourite authors include (but aren't limited to) Walter Moers, Diana Gabaldon, L.M. Montgomery, C.S. Lewis, Stephenie Meyer, Peg Kerr, Maeve Binchy, Tamora Pierce, Frank Peretti and Anne McCaffrey. My favourite genre is either fantasy or historical fiction.
My goal for this NaNoReaMo is a #pages-goal rather than a #books-goal, as I don't want to risk choosing heaps of short books just to make my goal ;) I think I'll aim for 5000 pages and then possibly expand if I go on a reading frenzy :)
I haven't (and am not going to) made a certain list of what to read for NaNoReaMo as I'm very much a 'spur of the moment' reader, but I do have a bunch of books I'm itching to get to and that will probably make the list:
The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs
The Debt to Pleasure by John Lanchester
The Crystal Singer Omnibus by Anne McCaffrey
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
How about you? |
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| Guess what? |
[Aug. 2nd, 2010|09:09 pm] |
That's right, it's August. And, as my out of date icon shows, this is the third theoretical month for NaNoReaMo.
I don't know if y'all are up for another round, or if we want to revive the comm for another year, but at the very least, I'm checking in to say hello and remind people that reading is fun(damental).
Bad joke. :) |
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| 15 and 16 |
[Oct. 1st, 2009|09:06 am] |
I was too lazy last night to post these, but I swear I finished them well before midnight!
Love, Cajun Style by Diane Les Becquets 3/5--YA, a bit too obvious for my tastes.
I'm Perfect, You're Doomed: Tales From A Jehovah's Witness Upbringing by Kryia Abrahams 3/5 - This one took a lot for me to finish. Spouse stole it, mostly because he loved reading about the little towns and culture of his own upbringing. Abrahams chose to concentrate on parts of the story that weren't the story I wanted told, if that makes sense.
Now I need a month just for the books I have around my house, started but unfinished. A month to reclaim all my bookmarks! |
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| Last books for the month |
[Sep. 29th, 2009|09:10 pm] |
No real surprise that I didn't get caught up to my goal for the month, but hey, I'm still on track for my goal for the year. :)
In super-quick succession, here's what I've finished off lately in ebook form:
Doranna Durgin's Ghost Whisperer: Ghost Trap, a media tie-in novel to the TV Show Ghost Whisperer. Not bad for what it is, although I went in not knowing a thing about the show or its characters. Some decently creepy moments, and I've always liked Durgin's writing.
Jennifer McKenzie's Legend Hunter, a paranormal romance about a woman who was the daughter of a Bigfoot hunter she caught faking evidence--and now, ohnoez! A legitimate paranormal investigator wants to hire her to prove once and for all whether Bigfoot actually exists! Again, not bad for what it is. There's a murder mystery to solve along with the paranormal bits, which is what attracted me in the first place; it slants more to suspense than pure romance, so that worked for me.
And, Loreth Anne White's Manhunter, again, romantic suspense. I snurched this one because it's set in the northern territories of Canada, and the hero's a Mountie. Woo! ^_^ Also, points for a First Nations heroine, and a suitably tense and suspenseful hunt for the escaped convict who's come for the hero's head and is quite happy to take out anybody around him to do it.
That gives me, I believe, seven books completed for the month. Still working on seanan_mcguire's Rosemary and Rue, so we'll probably be calling my total 7 1/2. :) |
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| Books 11-14 |
[Sep. 29th, 2009|10:35 am] |
The Cowboy Wally Show by Kyle Baker --3/5 One of the stranger comic collections handed to me. This one was weirder than expected. It had some quick laughs, but I'm still not sure I would recommend it to others. Apparently some people really really like it, though.
Zot! Book 1 by Scott McCloud --4/5 - A very young Scott McCloud started publishing an alternate universes comic in 1984--it's very bright graphics with a glossy surface story and a bunch of stuff beneath.
Girl from Mars by Tamara Bach - 3/5 Translated from the German, perhaps a bit awkwardly. I had issues with the flow of the book, and didn't love it as much as I wanted to.
Freefall by Anna Levine-4/5 This one, though, I was hooked from the first page. Yummy writing style. And cute older boys always help.
Still have a few more 'part way done' books sitting here, and I think several of them are due back to the library today...Let's see if I can squeak one or two more in... |
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| Book 10 and 11 |
[Sep. 29th, 2009|12:02 pm] |
Book 10: Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier, 221 pages.
This came very highly recommended... too highly unfortunately, as I ended up rather disappointed. It's an okay book, but glorifies adultery which I absolutely despise. Very nice character developments though.
Book 11: Naked Empire by Terry Goodkind, 660 pages.
Book 8 in the "Sword of Truth" series. I love Terry Goodkind's universe, and after the disappointment of Pillars of Creation he was back in his stride here. Read it in two days and loved it!
4390 / 5000 pages. 88% done!
Another 610 pages in 2 days? Not terribly likely, but I'm going to give it my best shot! |
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| Books 8 and 9 |
[Sep. 25th, 2009|02:37 pm] |
Book 8: Rebel Angels by Libba Bray, 548 pages.
The sequel to A Great and Terrible Beauty but unfortunately not nearly as good. It was as if Libba Bray tried to bite off more than she could chew - there were too many plot-lines, too many twists and even she seemed to have difficulties keeping it all straight, making it cluttered and confusing. I'll probably still read the last book in the trilogy as I like to finish what I start, but I'm not in any rush to do so.
Book 9: Prayer - Does it Make a Difference? by Philip Yancey, 395 pages.
Interesting book about prayer - why prayers sometimes are answered and sometimes aren't. I'm still processing it, so I'm not yet entirely sure what I think of it, but definitely well written.
Only 5 days left of the month. Looks like for the first time ever I won't make my goal :(
3509 / 5000 pages. 70% done! |
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| Book #3: "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J. K. Rowling |
[Sep. 25th, 2009|02:27 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  bouncy | ] |
I finally finished the third book I set myself to read for this month. Even with the target of five books, I don't think I'm going to make it. But I can always hope of course.
The third book was Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which is one of my favourite books in the series. I think the trips to the department of backstory are the things that do it for me. Getting to know Lord Voldemort better. Agreed, the two final books are a bit heavy on the backstory side, but I think it worked much better in this book than in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
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| Ok, fine, I'll put down the books long enough to list them... |
[Sep. 24th, 2009|05:27 pm] |
I'm part way through at least half a dozen books right now, so hopefully I can get close to doubling this list in the next six days. And yes, I borrowed a ginormous stack of TPBs from a friend.
10) Into The Volcano Wood, Don - Graphic novel for the younger set, though the story is pretty darned dark and complicated for said set. He's still learning how to do a graphic novel, but this is a valiant first effort. 3/5
9) Emily the Strange 1: Lost, Dark & Bored Reger, Rob - Ok, I've read it. A few drips of genius, a few chuckles, but not all I'd hoped for. 3/5
8) Dragonbreath Vernon, Ursula - Very cute. I need to let my kids read these. 4/5
7) Swamp Thing Vol. 1: Saga of the Swamp Thing Moore, Alan - OMG. This was almost 5 stars. I want posters of some of the pages. 4/5
6) Girl Genius Vol. 2: Agatha Heterodyne & The Airship City Foglio, Phil - The plodding picks up quite a bit, thankfully. 4/5
5) Girl Genius Vol. 1: Agatha Heterodyne & the Beetleburg Clank Foglio, Phil - This was recommended by a friend, so I stuck it out. It started to go somewhere... 3/5
4) Ps238 Vol V: Extraterrestrial Credit Williams, Aaron - See #3. 4/5
3) PS238 Vol. VI Senseless Acts of Tourism Aaron Williams - Really cute series of elementary-school superheroes. It's starts with the cliches, but has some surprising depth. I'm sort of in love. 4/5
2) Stoner & Spaz Koertge, Ron - Kudos for having a protagonist with Cerebral palsy AND a libido. And no easy answers. I just wished I'd liked it more. 3/5
1) Ecological Intelligence: How Knowing the Hidden Impacts of What We Buy Can Change Everything by Daniel Goleman - A little glossy, but some interesting perspectives on green economy. 3/5 |
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