Book Blogger Hop 10/29

In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word!  This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books!  It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs to read!  So, grab the logo over at Crazy-For-Books, post about the Hop on your blog, and start HOPPING through the list of blogs that are posted there.

There question this week is:

"What is the one bookish thing you would love to have, no matter the cost?"

Oh the possibilities! If I could have anything I would want a massive 'Beauty and the Beast' type library filled with all manner of different types of books. I would also need it to have a bunch of different comfortable arm chairs and sofa to lounge about on. On a smaller scale, I'd like to have a Kindle or something like it. I prefer the feel and smell of real books but the more I dwell on it the more I think an e-reader would be damn convenient. 

 Thanks for hopping by and please leave a link so I can return your hop. 

Think About It Thursday 10/28

Ok, I'm going to apologize for being fairly mute lately. My sister-in-law moved in, life is kicking my ass and I just can't find time to read lately. I'll try and work on that a little and get some real content going again.

Think About it Thursday is a very little meme I started to discuss bookish topics. This week in honor of Halloween I'm going to take a suggestion I received from the fabulous Roberta at Con-Tain-It. So, in honor of the upcoming holiday (one of my personal favs)...

What are your favorite 'scary' books or stories? 

The first thing that came to mind when I ask myself this question is a fairly obvious one, even though technically it's not exactly a book but a short story, Edgar Allan Poe's Tell-Tale Heart. I love the whole 'haunted by guilt, decent into madness' theme. Of course there is also the obvious choices like Dracula and Interview with a Vampire. For more lighthearted fare I like the Sookie Stackhouse novels that the show True Blood is based upon. It's supernatural fare works well for Halloween and are fun, light reading material.

Now tell me about your spooky favs.

Friday Blog Hop 10/22

In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word hosted by Crazy-For-Books!  This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books!  It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs to read!  So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start HOPPING through the list of blogs that are posted in the Linky list below!!

The Hop lasts Friday-Monday every week, so if you don't have time to Hop today, come back later and join the fun!  This is a weekly event!  And stop back throughout the weekend to see all the new blogs that are added! 


This week's question comes from Becky who blogs at Becky's Barmy Book Blog:

"Where is your favorite place to read? Curled up on the sofa, in bed, in the garden?"

I read either on the couch or in an armchair by my front window. I prefer the armchair because it doesn't matter how awake I feel, if I read on the couch it's almost certain that I will pass out there.

Now head over and add your link to the list and leave a comment so I may return your visit.

Anna Karenina Part 2

I was supposed to finish the second part of Anna Karenina last week and I got pretty close but somehow the last 10-15 pages were really hard for me to finish. There was a new niece born and a sister-in-law moving in with me so it was not subject matter so much as trying to find time. Although the subject matter may be partially to blame as I can usually make time for a book that really pulls me in.This section wasn't awful but it was a bit drier than the first section and seemed to drag on a bit.

I thought this section would be fairly interesting as this is where the affair between Anna and Vronsky heats up but I'm just not feeling it for them. She talks about her love for him but I'm just not buying it. There's no heat between them. Yes, it's a much older book and I'm not expecting anything really steamy but you'd expect to believe that there is some sort of passion there and I don't. I mean you can feel the tension between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett in Pride & Prejudice, which is slightly older. So, I don't think it's a time period thing maybe it's a Russian thing? Either way I'm having a hard time caring about their romance or getting emotionally invested when I don't really feel it. The closest you get to seeing the passion is at a horse race when Vronsky falls and Anna freaks out a bit in front of her husband and everything. So there is a glimmer of hope that this romance will pick up a little speed.

Then we also deal a lot with Levin and Kitty in this part and these two I just want to smack around a little. Both are sort of running away from their problems and wallowing in self pity. Honestly, these two are perfect for each other. They can run away and wallow together, though I don't think Levin would be wallowing anymore in that instance.

Anyways, maybe I'm just reading through this in the wrong state of mind. I don't hate it, it's just a little dry like I said. I have six more parts for it to pick up a little more steam so we'll continue onward and hopefully I can get through it on time from now on.

Internet Issues

 I had a bit of drama with my internet connection the last few days. They came to bury my line and screwed it up instead. It's all fixed now but I'm a little behind on all things web related. Should be back to normal soon.

Can I tell you how much I LOVE talking to idiot tech support people for hours? How hard is it to understand that I didn't have a problem until your guys came and dug holes outside, therefore the problem is probably not n my house or with the way my cables are hooked up? People drive me crazy when they won't listen to the whole issue first!

OK, done venting. Thanks for listening.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (non-list)

At the urging of my daughter's Sunday school teacher, and just about everyone I know, I decided to deviate from the list for a few days and read the uber-popular The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

I think it was a good idea. I'm enjoying my other read, Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, but it's nice to read something a little lighter and funner. Ok, well I'll clarify that the subject matter of The Hunger Games isn't exactly light but the reading itself is. Sometimes you have to put down the heavy classics and pick up a nice YA book to give yourself a break.

For the two or three of you who don't know, The Hunger Games takes place in a future society located in what was North America now called Panem. There are twelve districts placed around the Capitol. In punishment for a past rebellion, the Capitol now holds a yearly, reality-show type competition in which they require each district to send one boy and one girl to find to the death, gladiator style while the entire country watches on TV. Katniss Everdeen volunteers to go in order to spare her little sister.

I was intrigued from the beginning but it wasn't until the games started that I really got sucked in. I think I finished the last half of the book in just a couple of hours. It was one of those books where you tell yourself 'just one more chapter' but when you get to the end you just have to keep going and see what happens next.

Thankfully I was able to borrow both the first and second book from my daughter's teacher and I'm excited to start the next one.

Think About It Thursday 10/7

Think About It Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by yours truly. It's just a fun way to discuss topics related to reading and literature. Please join in and add your voice to the discussion.

This week's question is:
How do you decide which books to read? Recommendations? Other blogs? Best seller lists? Which influence your decisions most?

This seems like a silly question to ask, especially for me, but I'm tired and it's been a long week. Obviously most of my book choices come from the 1001 Books list. However, I still check out other blogs for ideas. If I notice several blogs touting the same book, or read a really great review, then I"ll make a mental note to check it out. I'm also a sucker for a great cover. If I'm walking through a book store or library and a cover catches my eye I'll stop and read the synopsis to see if it's something I might enjoy. I don't have time to read many non list books but I'll make a note to read it later. I heard enough about The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins to convince me to pick it up. It helps that my daughter's Sunday school teacher let me borrow hers too.

So, those of you who have more freedom than I do in choosing their books, fill me in on how you decide.

Anna Karenina Read-a-Long Part 1

I finished part one Anna Karenina yesterday and so far I'm pleasantly surprised. I'll admit I came into this book with a little apprehension. I mean it's Tolstoy, for one, and it's huge! I was looking at this 800 page book and worrying that it was going to be some strange, Russian, complicated epic and would be painful to get through. Granted, I'm only 117 pages in so far but it's far less scary than I'd anticipated.

Part one dealt mostly with introducing a ton of people, who all go by so many different names you need a cheat sheet to remember it all. However, once you get past the confusion of all the names, the storyline and the thoughts and feelings of everyone involved are things you see all the time. There's a couple dealing with the aftermath of infidelity, a woman torn between two men, and another woman fighting an attraction to a man who is not her husband. In other words, there's some juicy stuff going on. Looking forward to part two.

I'm not sure how many people are still reading a long with me so I thought the easiest way to share our thoughts on part one would be a blog hop type linky. If you are reading along please link to your post so the rest of us and check out your thoughts. I'm curious to see what the rest of you have to say about Anna Karenina

September Progress Report

Ugh, it's October already. This year is going by entirely too fast. Worst of all, October brings the birthday of my baby girl. On Sunday my sweet girl turns five. I hate how fast she's growing up.

I'm going to apologize for any typos that may pop up in this post. I tripped on the curb today while carrying my daughter and we both hit the concrete. She walked away with a few scratches but I seriously messed up my wrist. It's my left hand but it's still hard to type with it all wrapped up in an ACE bandage. Not to mention it hurts like mad!

September was a slow month for me. Life got hectic and it hasn't really slowed down much. Just one thing after another and I only managed to read two books bringing my total to 35 books. 
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
and
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

Here's hoping for a more productive October.

Fall Blog Hopping

 

In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word!  This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books!  It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs to read!  So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start HOPPING through the list of blogs that are posted in the Linky list hosted at Crazy-For-Books!! Today's question is about promotion. 

"How do you spread the word about your blog?
(e.g. Social Networking sites, Book Blog Directories, comments on other blogs...)"

In the beginning, I tried everything I could. I hit up every directory, add my link to any list I could, etc. Now I'm a little less zealous in my promotion. I still like to to hit up the blog hops (obviously) and I will visit and comment on other blogs but not as often as I used to. Now I just comment when something peaks my interest or I have something to add to the discussion. I do wish I had time to visit more blogs and check out the Book Blog Ning but this has been a crazy time for me so I don't. I'll have to work on it. 

 

Thanks for stopping by! Please leave a link so I can return your hop.  

Think About It Thursday 9/30

Think About It Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by yours truly. It's just a fun way to discuss topics related to reading and literature. Please join in and add your voice to the discussion.

Today's question is:
Tell us about your usual reading environment. Big cozy chair? Out in the yard? On the bus? Complete quiet or ambient noise? Where do you do most of your reading? 

I am unemployed and stay home with 3 kids so I do most of my reading at home during the day. It doesn't matter how rested I am, if I read on the couch I WILL pass out. So, I usually read in the armchair in the living room. I like it there because it's next to the front window and bright with a nice breeze from outside. I'd love to say it's quiet as well but I did mention that I have 3 kids. So, I usually read with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse playing in the background.

So, tell me. Where do you get your read on!

Teaser Tuesday and #100

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of ShouldBeReading. 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! 

Mine comes from Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy which I started yesterday. I'm hosted a casual read-a-long of the book, reading one section each week. It's not to late to join in! We just started part 1 yesterday. This comes right from the beginning, pg 4. 

"There was no answer, except the general answer life gives to all the most complex and insoluble questions. That answer is: one must live for the needs of the day, in other words, become oblivious."

Ok, so link me to your teasers so I can go check them out and grab Anna Karenina and read this massive book a long with me and a few others. Everything is easier when you do it in a group! Check out my post on it here.

One last note. This is my 100th post! Woot! So I'm taking a second to celebrate.

Ok, done now. Have a great Tuesday!

Anna Karenina Read A-Long

Anyone wanna read Anna Karenina with me? It's a massive book so I thought it might be nice to have company while I pushed through it. If you're interested, I plan on starting on Monday and am hoping to stick to a schedule of one part a week. That's 8 weeks, which I think is fairly leisurely. Let me know if you're interested in reading along. Should be fun!

Friday Blog Hop 9/24

In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word! This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs to read! So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start HOPPING through the list of blogs that are posted in the Linky at Crazy-For Books. 

This week she asks:
When you write reviews, do you write them as you are reading or wait until you have read the entire book?

I usually write my reviews right after I finish the book. I try to get to it as soon after completion as possible while everything is still fresh in my mind. 

Now head over and get your name on the linky and join in the fun. 

Think About It Thursday 9/23

After a brief hiatus last week, Think About It Thursday is back in action. This little meme is meant to meant to ask fun sometimes deep questions but I'm worn out this week and we're going to keep things light and easy today.

I want to know if you have kids (or nieces, nephews, grandchildren, whatever) do you read to them and what are your favorites?

I am going to admit that the question is for purely selfish reasons. My kids are 9, 6 and 4 and we've been blazing through Harry Potter trying to finish the series before the new movie comes out. I'm trying to look towards the future and get some ideas for books to start when we're finished. I respect all of your opinions so who better to ask right?

 Feel free to link to your post in the linky list or in the comments and as always, please shoot me an email if you have a question suggestion for future weeks.

Thanks for playing!