Random Thoughts

Trip to the Library

2010-11-21T10:26:00.002-05:00

A few days ago, I went to the library to pick up a book that I had requested. I then looked at through the new books section like I normally do and then picked up some books that have been on my to-be-read list. When I got home I realized that somehow all of the books that I selected related to WWII in some way. This was completely unintentional but I found it hilarious.

Results

2010-10-10T09:45:00.003-04:00

With one last chapter squeezed in, the read-a-thon came to an end. I didn't do as well as I hoped but considering that it was my first I feel I gave it a good shot.

Book Finished: The Magicians and Mrs. Quent

Book Started: The Vaults

Total Pages: around 420 since i had started The Magicians and Mrs. Quent earlier I started counting from where I started during read-a-thon hours

Time Read: While I didn't keep exact figures it was around 5 and 1/2 hours

What will I do differently next time: Well, I will certainly try to pick a book to start with that is a little less dense than The Magicians and Mrs. Quent because I think with a shorter book I wouldn't have had to take so many breaks. Also, I think I will try to switch back and forth between a few books instead of my usual reading method of finishing a book before starting another.

Update #3

2010-10-10T06:26:00.004-04:00

Success! I finished The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett. After reading a total of 4 hours and about 300 pages I took a break and watched Friday's episode of Supernatural with my sister and ate a little. Now, I am currently 38 pages into my next book The Vaults by Toby Ball. With an hour and a half to go, hopefully I can make some good progress.

Update #2

2010-10-09T22:06:00.003-04:00

Ok so I have been slacking on the reading front. After I read about 40 more pages, I promptly fell asleep for a few hours. That is what I get for reading on my bed. New goal for the read-a-thon: Finish the book I am currently reading!

Word Scramble

2010-10-09T20:41:00.003-04:00

Here are my answers to the Word Scramble meme for the read-a-thon.

1.yfferil enal- Firefly Lane

2.aste fo eend- East of Eden

3. retwa orf pntshleea- Water For Elephants

4.ot lkli a ckomgnrbdii- To Kill A Mockingbird

5. het gtaer ysbtag- The Great Gatsby

6. yrhra tetrpo dna eth lyhdtea wollsah- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

7. ht e rat fo nrgcai ni eht nair- The Art of Racing on the Rain

8.eth mite reslveart efwi- The Time Travelers Wife

9. eht rlig ithw eht gnodar ooattt- The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo

10.ydira fo a mypiw idk- Diary of a Whimpy Kid

11.a kwrlnei ni emit- A Wrinkle in Time

12. het rpoal sxprese- The Polar Express

13.vole dewlak ni- Love Walked In

14.reehw eth dwli hingts rea- Where the Wild things Are

15.eht ginnhsi- The Shining

16.dnohogigt oonm- Goodnight Moon

17. vwtienrie hwti a pvmarie- Interview with a Vampire

18. eht cretse file fo eesb- The Secret Life of Bees

19. eht raesch- The Search

20. het pelh- The Help

Update #1

2010-10-09T13:51:00.004-04:00

Off to a bit of a slow start today. I don't really have much to report. I haven't finished any books yet but I am getting close with one. I have read a total of 200 pages and have read about 2 hours. I participated in the hour 2 meme about favorite children books. After a brief visit to the library to return so overdue items, I am set to start reading again.

24 hour Read-a-thon!

2010-10-09T08:16:00.004-04:00

The read-a-thon has now officially started! This reminds me of when I was in middle school and we had the Book Bowl. The school divided everyone up into teams and you kept track of how many pages you read over a month with the team with the most winning a prize. I sadly never won because I would some how always get the slacker team that thought reading was lame.

To kick off my reading here are my answers to the meme:

Where are you reading from today?-the lovely state of Ohio

3 facts about me …

1)I have 2 cats and a dog

2)I work in retail which is not a barrel of fun

3)The Vampire Diaries is my guilty pleasure Tv show that I usually lie about watching

How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?-only 4 right now but I might pick up more at the library

Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?-nothing really specific besides to read as much as i can as long as I can which is do-able because I managed to get the day off of work

If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?-first time read-a-thoner but some good advice I've read is to take breaks when your getting tired or else it feels like work

Princess of the Midnight Ball

2010-03-29T04:27:00.004-04:00

By:Jessica Day George

Rating: pretty good, 3.5 stars

The Brothers Grimm tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses is vibrantly retold and set in a fictionalized nineteenth-century Europe. Galen, a soldier (and knitter) returning home from war, encounters an old woman who gives him an invisibility cloak and yarn possessing magical powers. While working as a gardener at the palace, he encounters the princess, Rose, and her 11 younger sisters. Because of a secret bargain their mother made with the evil King Under Stone, the princesses are cursed to dance each night till their shoes are worn ragged.-Amazon.com

When I read reviews of this book on other blogs (who I unfortunately don't remember), I was super excited. This was one of my favorite stories when I was little and to see it re-imagined was the best thing ever. It started off great and I was really enjoying learning more about Galen and the princesses. And then it got to the end. The ending was mostly a let down. (Gets a little spoilerly from here. Fair warning.) The suspense just kept building and building and then finally the King Under Stone kidnaps the princesses so then of course I expect a long trial for Galen to get them back. No, he basically just gets in to the castle, kills the king and some of the princes, and saves the girls. And all that happens in about 30 pages. It was just too easy. Until I got to the end this book was going good for a 5 star but with the ending it finished as a 3.5.

Favorite series

2010-03-25T08:39:00.005-04:00

Yes, I am once again trying hard to write in this blog and yes I am probably not going to but hey, stranger things have happened. Since I really haven't written much I thought I would list my favorite books of the moment and series I re-read whenever I get the chance so people have more of an idea of what I enjoy.

All time favorites:

-of course Harry Potter. That goes without question really.

-the Bloody Jack series by L.A. Meyer. Seven books in and I'm still wanting more. They are great adventure books and you really can't help rooting for Jacky and hoping she will finally get her chance to be with Jaimy (or Randall, or Joseph Jared, or Captain Allen, or any of the other men she seems to meet)

-the Secret Society girl series by Diana Peterfreund. Sadly this series is finished but it is still great. They really capture the feel of college and give you a great mystery at the same time. And of course a little bit of romance doesn't hurt.

-the Gardella Vampire series by Colleen Gleason. Another series that has sadly ended but a great vampire novel as well. With the interesting background of 19th cen. London, Victoria Gardella Grantworth must deal with coming out into society, finding a suitable husband, and fighting the vampires just like her family has done for centuries...and that's just the first book.

Recent favorites:

-the Dresden files series by Jim Butcher. I didn't think I would like this because I'm usually more of a fan of fantasy not science fiction, but this series is a nice blend of a lot of different elements. They're detective novels with a bit of magic and a few fantasy creatures mixed in with pop culture references. Oh, and the touch of romance adds some intrigue as well.

-anything by Jasper Fforde. Seriously this guy is fantastic. I love all of his books and I don't know why it took me so long to read them.

So, that's a few for now. I will hopefully write about a few of the books I just read and maybe the great movie I watched just the other day soon. Keep your eyes peeled!

My Rating system

2008-02-20T03:16:00.007-05:00

Okay so i feel i should clarify how it is that i rate the books i read. i decided that i would use the same categories i use to classify movies. just a warning that some times they aren't really specifically set, some books can move around in the system but i like it this way b/c nothing is ever definite

Categories:

Loved it: these are books that i absolutely fell in love with. i could read them over and over again without ever really getting tired of them. the corresponding star rating would be 5.

Great: This one has a lot of similarities to the previous category the only difference being these are books that i don't obsess about. i still love them and would give them about a 4 or 5 but i would eventually get tired of these and put them aside for a while. there can be some over lap between the two if i lose obsessiveness about a book and it falls into this category.

Pretty good: These books are decent. they entertained me for the moment but they didn't have that special something. its kind of hard to describe what i mean but its like the kind of movie you would wait to see on DVD b/c its not quite worth the price to see it in theaters. this would be about a 3 star book

eh...: in comparison to a tv show, these are the nothing else on kind of books. they can hold your attention, but if there was anything else better on you wouldn't really watch it.

Hated it!!!!: these are books that i flat out hate with a passion. not really too many fall into this category.

Incredibly stupid: just what the name says, stupid but you could sit through it if you had the willpower to do so

like it but is bad: these are books i like, they entertain but critically aren't up to par with the greats. the movie equivalent i have is bring it on. a funny movie that you enjoy but not the greatest piece of cinematic genius. sort of the mindless comedy