Sunday, November 3, 2013

Sundays in Bed With...Nano

Today was Daylight Savings Time and I spent my extra hour: SLEEPING!!! and it was glorious!

In other news I have started my 2013 NaNoWriMo! I had a great start on Day 1 but yesterday I had to work and ended up babysitting my niece Isabelle and was way too tired to do anything after that. So now I am about 1000 words behind.

I know I have all day to write today but I also have to study study study for my Spanish test on Tuesday! I got a B last time and now I desperately want an A!

Back to my NaNo project...

My biggest challenge so far has been naming my main character. I usually love boy names for girls so I will give names like Dylan or Jordan to my main protagonists. However this year, I'm totally stumped!

Here is the dilemma:

My main protagonists needs to be an every day girl-next-door kind of character. And I want a name that is very unassuming.

I don't want too strong a name, but I don't want a weak name.

I don't want a common name, but I don't want a name that is too unusual.

And I don't want a name that everyone will have some preconceived idea of who that person is.

For example: I could easily assume that a girl named Dylan listens to classic rock music. Emma and Beth listen to pop and mainstream music. And a character named Kate would obviously listen to thrasher heavy metal!

What is funny is the only name I can think of that sounds perfect is...Courtney.

I mean think of it! Courtney is a name that everybody knows but it isn't too common. I looked on quite a few different Top Baby Names lists and Courtney wasn't on a single one!

And it is not a name that when you hear you automatically assume anything about it.

So what's the problem???

Oh, yeah, it's my name! No wonder I love it so much!

My other challenge this year is that for the first time I am taking part in NaNo as a pantser! For those who don't know "pantser" is the term for people who are flying by the seat of their pants instead of planning out what they are going to write. This is very tricky for me because I am normally a planner when it comes to EVERYTHING!!!

I've written a couple of scenes so far and one of the tricks I'm doing is that any time I write something that is specific to my characters I write it on a postcard and tape it to my closet door. So far I've given each of the main characters a specific color and then anything written in black is just basic plot points and then I'm just kind of going from there.

Right now this is what my door looks like but I'm hoping that by the time the month is over it will be far more colorful!

Anyway, if you are taking part in NaNo this year I hope all is going well and I can't wait to hear about how your progress is going! And for everyone else I hope you have a great Sunday!

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Dewey's Read-a-thon Hours 16-20 & Final Post


Total consumption today:

1 bowl of frosted mini wheats
2 cups of earl gray tea
2 cans of Dr Pepper
5 slices of Papa Johns garden fresh pizza
1 hour long nap
3 episodes of Angel 
1 melted fudge brownie cake!!!
1/2 of ice cold milk (to go with the cake)

TBR List:

Odd Is On Our Side - Koontz
House of Odd - Koontz
A Wrinkle In Time - L'Engle - was only able to read about 20 pages
Maybe a Miracle - Strause - I'm about 6 hours in which is just shy of half way!
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight - Smith
Misery - King
Heroes - ? 

Non Read-a-thon Activities: 

English assignment which consisted of reading 12 poems and responding to them! That counts as reading right? 
clean apartment
set up antenna
get hair cut
laundry



There is no way I'm going to make it past hour 20! I'm not even going to make it all the way to hour 20! As I am writing this it is about 2:30 a.m. which is half way through hour 19 and I can not keep my eyes open anymore. I was trying to make a small dent in A Wrinkle in Time but the dent I made turned out to be very Very VERY small...because it was only 20 pages! Just in those 20 pages my eyes started watering like you would not believe!!!

And since I have a full day with friends planned for tomorrow I must get some sleep now and I wont be able to get up in 4 hours to write the last post for the readathon questionnaire. 


So here is my final summary: 

On one hand I feel that this is my best Read-a-thon ever!!! I finished all three of the graphic novels I had on my TBR list for forever and I finished the last half of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight which was really good!

I also started Maybe a Miracle and I got almost half way through that one which is exciting! 

And like I said, I was able to read 20 pages of A Wrinkle in Time but I didn't even touch Misery.

I did get all of my non-read-a-thon activities done and ate some really good food. 

On the other hand I felt like this read-a-thon kind of sucked because I didn't give enough time to reading other blogs or participating in activities. There comes a point in ever read-a-thon where you have to make a choice between how much reading you get done and how many activities you get done. This year I was very much "quantity" focused, just trying to get as much read as I could. Who knows what my focus will be in the spring.

I hope everyone else had a great readathon!!! And enjoy the rest of your weekend in recovery!!!

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Dewey's Read-a-thon Hours 11-15


Total consumption today:

1 bowl of frosted mini wheats
2 cups of earl gray tea
2 cans of Dr Pepper
5 slices of Papa Johns garden fresh pizza
1 hour long nap
2 episodes of Angel 

TBR List:

Odd Is On Our Side - Koontz
House of Odd - Koontz
A Wrinkle In Time - L'Engle
Maybe a Miracle - Strause - I'm about 3 hours in and I'm really enjoying it!
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight - Smith
Misery - King
Heroes - ? - I'm really excited because I started reading this one an hour ago and I'm over half way through! I should totally be able to finish it before I pass out tonight!!!

Non Read-a-thon Activities: 

English assignment which consisted of reading 12 poems and responding to them! That counts as reading right? 
clean apartment
set up antenna
get hair cut

I feel that I have had a very productive day! I'm excited about all that I have been able to read and the other items I've been able to get done today! Now I'm getting ready to go into hours 16-20. I probably wont be able to make it the whole way. I'm going to try to make it to at least hour 19 but we shall see.

My plans for the next section of the Read-a-thon are to finish Heroes and read 75 pages of A Wrinkle In Time and maybe some more of Maybe a Miracle. I am also going to make some brownies and do some laundry. I need to take my dog for a walk so hopefully all of that stuff will keep me up and alert enough to get my reading done.

Did I mention that I am also watching the 1st game of the Red Sox vs. Detroit for the second round of the pennant race for the World Series and that as of this moment we are going into the 8th inning with the Red Sox loosing by 1 run!!! Things are very tense in my apartment right now!


Dewey's Read-a-thon hours 6-10


The last five hours of the Read-a-thon have been pretty fun. I'm starting to feel a little tired though, mainly because I didn't get much sleep last night.

(1 hour later)
So I started to write this post a while ago to get it ready to be posted at the 10 hour mark. And right after I finished putting in the basics (the lists that follow) I laid down to listen to my audio book of Maybe a Miracle and totally fell asleep! At one moment I'm looking at the clock thinking it is 20 minutes until 4pm (CST) and the next thing I know it is 40 minutes after!

I've decided I need to move around a bit more in order to get my second wind. So I'm going to post this, and then I'm going to watch an episode of Angel whilst I do my English assignment (it has to be submitted by midnight tonight so I must get it done) and then I'll go get my hair cut and make it back in time for I think hour 12.

Total consumption today:

1 bowl of frosted mini wheats
2 cups of earl gray tea
2 cans of Dr Pepper
3 slices of Papa Johns garden fresh pizza

TBR List:

Odd Is On Our Side - Koontz

House of Odd - Koontz - I started this one and I have about 100 pages left
A Wrinkle In Time - L'Engle
Maybe a Miracle - Strause - I'm about 3 hours in and I'm really enjoying it!
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight - Smith
Misery - King
Heroes - ?

Non Read-a-thon Activities: 

English assignment
clean apartment
set up antenna
get hair cut

Dewey's Read-a-thon Hours 1-5


The first chunk of Dewey's read-a-thon seems to have flown by!

Of course, I did come in a little on the late side...

but that is okay because I already finished one of my graphic novels!

I have had a surprising lack of caffeine in my system today! I just made myself a cup of tea but I forgot to by coffee creamer last night (I KNOW I KNOW HOW COULD I???) so tea was all I had. But I do have quite a bit of Dr. Pepper chilling in the fridge!

Here is the list of my progress:

TBR LIST:

Odd Is On Our Side - Koontz
House of Odd - Koontz
A Wrinkle In Time - L'Engle
Maybe a Miracle - Strause - I started this one but I've only gotten about an half hour in
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight - Smith
Misery - King
Heroes - ?

None Read-a-thon activities

English assignment
clean apartment
set up antenna
get hair cut

Now I'm trying to decide on lunch....

I was thinking I would run and get some Qdoba but now I'm all snuggled in with my books and don't really feel like leaving the house...conundrum!

Dewey's Read-a-thon kickoff


Good Morning One and All!!!

I had this whole plan where I was going to get up early and go get breakfast, get out of the house, get moving, get a good start on this falls Read-a-thon! However, I stayed up until 2 in the morning watching old episodes of Sex and the City (Why? Because Netflix kept trying to buffer while I was watching Angel)

So, anyway, I over slept and now I'm coming into the read-a-thon about 2 hours late! No Bueno! 

To get me started here are my answers to the hour one questionnaire: 

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
I'm reading in Norman OK!

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
I'm most looking forward to finishing The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight!

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
I bought brownies and I can't wait to make them! Also I'm thinking I might get Qdoba for lunch! 

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
Last night I was in a funky mood when I was walking through the hair dye aisle at my local Wal-Mart and I ended up going for a drastically dark shade of burgundy called "Black Cherry" - my hair is normally a light auburnish/ soft brown color and now it is really really really dark! Moral of the story: Don't shop for food when you are hungry and don't buy hair dye when you are emotional! 

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today?
This year I've added more graphic novels to my selection because they are good for jumping back and forth between novels and graphic novels. I have found that it works best for me to mix things up and don't try to sit with one thing for too long! 



And here is my TBR pile for the day: 


Odd is On Our Side & House of Odd
graphic novels by Dean Koontz as part of the Odd Thomas series
A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle
I started this one as part of Banned book week and wasn't able to get very far
Maybe a Miracle - Brian Strause
I have the audio version so I'll be listening to it through out the day
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight - Jennifer Smith
I have about 90 pages left on this one so I'm excited to finish
Misery - Stephen King
perfect for a spooky October book
Heroes Volume One 
this has been on my tbr shelf for just over 2 years, I hope I get to it today!

That is my tbr stack, and here is the list of things I still need to do today that aren't a part of read-a-thon: 

1. Submit my assignment for my online English class
2. Clean my apartment
3. set up my antenna to my tv in time for the kick off of the OU vs TX game
4. go get my hair cut

Here is wishing everyone a very successful Read-a-thon!!!

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Banned Book Week: #bookphotoaday 9.27&28.2013


#bookphotoaday is hosted by Megan at megancstroup.blogspot.com
Thanks Megan!!!

I'm really disappointed in myself because I was doing so well on posting every day for this activity and then I totally botched it the last two!

Tonight I had book club and we were reading Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys. I was listening to the audio version but I hadn't listened to more then just the first few hours by last night so I had a lot of last minute listening to do. So last night I set to trying to get farther into it 
....and ended up falling asleep.

I meant to post yesterday and even had my photo ready to go! Since the theme was "currently reading" I had taken a screen shot of my phone showing me listening to Out of the Easy.


Even though the time only says 9:24 PM I fell asleep not too long after taking this image and was unable to upload it. 

Then today I needed to take a picture of the library but it was pouring rain this morning so I couldn't go by and then after book club I had to race home and complete my assignments for my online class before midnight. 

But anyway, here is a photo I found online of my local library. 


I have many fond memories of this place! 


Thursday, September 26, 2013

Abducted by Eleanor & Park

images (2)THE HEADLINE: “Two misfits, one extraordinary love.” Taken from the inside book jacket because I couldn’t think of a more fitting headline!

THE ABDUCTOR: Eleanor! I’m feeling horrible right now because I can’t remember Eleanor’s last name and I couldn’t find it on Goodreads and I only have 45 minutes to try to get this post up so I don’t have time to hunt for it, but yes! Eleanor completely abducted me in this story! I could relate to her in so many ways that it was scary!

TIME IN CAPTIVITY: Sometimes the hardest reviews to write are for the books you love the most! And my love for Eleanor & Park knows no bounds so this review is almost painful to write!

So here is what you need to know…

The story is about two teenagers who meet in high school and fall in love. Eleanor isimages (1) trying to deal with some troubles at home and because of this she is struggling with stress and fear but also some insecurities. She meets Park and together they form a friendship and a relationship that is real and honest.

Rainbow Rowell is an amazing author who created compelling and genuine characters and featured them in a story that, as Booklist said, was “breathtaking and, of course, heartbreaking, too.”

PICK UP LINE:
He made her feel like more than the sum of her parts.

POINT OF ABDUCTION: For me the point of abduction was the moment on the bus when Park realized that Eleanor was reading his comics over his shoulder. I loved how innocent their relationship started. I loved how the first few gestures of friendship were as small as him waiting a beat longer before turning the page so that she would have time to finish reading the page as well.

ABDUCTION RATING:

I'm giving this book a double rating of 5 making it a total 10 because I loved it that much! I can't wait to read it again!

Banned Book Week: #bookphotoaday 9.26.2013


#bookphotoaday is hosted by Megan at megancstroup.blogspot.com

Today's photo is of cover art. I had trouble picking out my "favorite" so I decided to feature a pic of a book that I specifically bought because the cover art caught my eye. 



The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter is one of the many books on my to be read shelf that I have actually bought and haven't read yet. In fact I still have the receipt inside the book and it shows that I bought this book on February 9th, 2011! 

I remember walking through Hastings while talking on the phone with my friend Kate who was telling me about how she had just found out that her niece Sam was pregnant! I wasn't really looking for anything in particular I was just randomly looking at books while talking on the phone. I came across The Kneebone Boy and the gothic looking cover art really caught my eye. 

Here is the blurb on the back: 

I was the one voted to tell you this story because I read the most novels, so I know how a story should be told. Plus, I'm very observant and have a nice way of putting things, that's what my teacher, Mr. Dupuis, told me. I can't tell you which Hardscrabble I am - Otto, Lucia, or Max - because I've sworn on pain of torture not to. They said it's because the story belongs to all three of us, and I suppose they're right, but it seems unfair since I'm doing all the work. No one can stop you from guessing though. 

Doesn't that sound like a fun book!?!

I really should read it one of these days!

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Banned Book Week: #bookphotoaday 9.25.2013


#bookphotoaday is hosted by Megan at megancstroup.blogspot.com!

Today's photo is of our favorite quote from a book.

Now normally my go to answer has always been the classic opening of David Copperfield...


I love this quote...there is just so much possibility that goes along with it.

But the truth is that I've never actually read David Copperfield.

And there is another quote, one that I have also always loved and one that the truth of it lingers with me in my daily life...



"Such anger is the fluid that love bleeds when you cut it." 

Sometimes when you are fighting with someone and you are so angry that you think you want to kill them, it is hard to remember why you care in the first place. But the truth is, you do care. And such anger can't exist without being rooted in love. 

Anyway, thanks to Megan for hosting such a fun activity for Banned Book Week! My schoolwork is keeping me pretty busy so even though I have started A Wrinkle In Time, I am starting to doubt if I'll be finishing it by the end of the week. Posting these photos is a great way for me to still feel like I'm participating.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Banned Book Week: #bookphotoaday 9.24.2013


#bookphotoaday is hosted by Megan at megancstroup.blogspot.com! Thanks Megan!

Today's photo is of a bookmark. My favorite bookmark is the one featured bellow that my dear friend Andrea picked up for me in Italy! It is beautiful and red (my favorite color) and it has my initials on it, and it is currently holding my place in The Two Towers!

I had wanted to complete a readalong of the Lord of The Rings prior to the Hobbit coming out, however I never made it past the Two Towers and in fact my last post about it went up on September 18th 2012!

According to my trusty bookmark I only had 117 pages left to go!!! I should really finish that one of these days!

Monday, September 23, 2013

Banned Book Week: #Bookphotoaday 9.23.2013


#bookphotoaday is hosted by Megan over at megancstroup.blogspot.com and today's pic is of where we like to read.

Usually I like to read sitting up on my couch or in my chair in my living room. But I've recently had a friend come to stay so the living room has sort of become her room so now I've taken to reading in bed...


I didn't intend for my picture to be so small, and believe it or not I actually do know how to fix it, but it is almost 10:30 at night here and I'm really tired and have a big test tomorrow, so I think this one will do just fine. 

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Banned Book Week: #bookphootoaday 9.22.2013


bookphotoaday2013

The photo a day challenge is hosted by Megan at megancstroup.blogspot.com

Today’s challenge was to feature your favorite banned book.

This could get complicated because so many books are challenged and banned in so many different states, but I chose to narrow it down by picking my favorite banned book from the list of Top 100

Banned/Challenged Books:2000-2009 featured here:


So once I looked through the list I pulled out all of the books that I owned that are featured on the list and here is what I got:
20130922_113647 (2)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hossenini
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
Angus Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging
and I threw in Looking for Alaska by John Green because even though it wasn’t on the list I know it is a commonly banned book and it is also my favorite Green.

20130922_113750 (2)Out of those books it feels like Harry Potter is the obvious answer. Everyone loves Harry Potter and it is such an engaging book that it is crazy that it still gets banned.

But when it comes to these kinds of challenges it almost feels like Harry Potter is also the easy answer.

So, not including HP I would say my favorite banned book is…

20130922_113854 (2)

It may not be as dramatic as The Kite Runner or stand the test of time like To Kill A Mocking Bird, but I loved Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging! It is such a sweet book and it really made me laugh!

Sundays in bed with…9.22.2013


SundaysInBedWithSmall

Sundays In Bed With…is hosted by Kate over at Midnightbookgirl.com. It gives us a chance to share what books we are reading on Sundays, or which books we wish we were reading!

I woke up this Sunday with a slight crick in my neck which has lead to me getting a later start then I had planned. Which sucks because I have a lot of stuff to get done today!

First of all…the books!
download



This past week I started reading The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith. Just last night I got to my abduction point so now I can’t wait to get back to it. I’m hoping to get in another three chapters today but I have so much other stuff to do that I will have to be careful.

download (1)The other book I will be starting today is A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.

I am reading this one as part of Banned Book Week so my hope is to start it today and be able to finish it on Thursday so I can write my review and post it that day. It is only 230 pages so this is very possible…if it wasn’t for the other books I want to read and that pesky thing called school.


In my search for a Banned Book Week graphic to add to this part of my blog I came across this…


bookphotoaday2013

This sounds awesome so I am totally going to try to participate!
out of the easy



Anyway, another book I have to start today is Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys.

This is the book chosen by my book club for this month and we are meeting this coming Saturday so I must finish this one by then!

And on top of all of that I have a Spanish test on Tuesday so I must estudiar mucho!

So, I guess with all of that stuff to do I better go get started!

Tener un buen Domingo!

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Abducted by Monster

download
THE HEADLINE: When there's something strange in your neighborhood, who you gonna call…Monster

THE ABDUCTOR: I was abducted by all of the demons in this book. Every chapter there was some new creature attacking the different characters and each one was crazier and more creative then the next! Maybe it is because I have been watching so much of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel lately, but I was eating this up!

TIME IN CAPTIVITY: Monster was the first book by A. Lee Martinez that I read but it will not be my last.

It is the story of a guy, Monster, who is a demon catcher and Judy, a girl who seems to be attracting a lot of them…demons that is. Their paths cross pretty early on and continue to intersect as the story unfolds.

According to Martinez, magic is all around us, we just can’t always recognize it and tend to forget about it
once it passes. I loved the way that Martinez incorporated the magical elements, mythical creatures, and ancient ruins into our world.

Monster is a fast paced, action packed, funny read. I was sucked in pretty fast and was enjoying my time with it, but towards the end it started to lose me a bit. There was this crazy cat lady and her story line just seemed a bit ridiculous. Which I guess is saying something considering my favorite character was a talking paper gnome named Chester who can fold himself into any shape his boss needs and lives in another dimension.

PICK UP LINE:

The universe was filled with secrets, and he understood now that one of the biggest was that no one needed to know them all. 

POINT OF ABDUCTION: From the moment someone said their was a yeti eating all the ice cream at a grocery store.

ABDUCTION RATING:  I gave Monster by A. Lee Martinez an abduction rating of 3. Because like I said, it was a fun read but the climax of the novel lost me.


Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Top Ten Tuesdays…Sept 17th

images

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

This week’s list is all about our Fall To Be Read books.

I’m horrible about making a TBR list for certain time frames and actually following through with them, but this one I think I might actually keep.

These are the 5 books that I plan on reading during the October 12th read-a-thon!

20130915_205831 (2)1. Heroes Volume 1 graphic novel

2. Misery by Stephen King

3. & 4. House of Odd and Odd Is On Our Side Dean
Koontz’s Odd Thomas graphic novels

5. Maybe a Miracle by Brian Strause



And here are the rest of the 5 books I hope to finish this fall…



6. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. I’ve already started this one so hopefully I’ll finish it soon.

7. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. This book is comm20130915_205952 (2)only a banned book so I hope to read it next week during Banned Book Week.

8. Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella with the World Series just around the corner I’m feeling very basebally so I’m hoping to make time for this one in October.

9. & 10. Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers and Startled By His Furry Shorts by Louise Rennison, seriously will I ever finish this series???

So those are the books that I am hoping to finish this fall. I have high hopes for the October read-a-thon so I’m feeling very confident about this list.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Sundays in bed with 9.15.13




SundaysInBedWithSmall

Sundays In Bed With…is hosted by Kate over at Midnightbookgirl.com. It gives us a chance to share what books we are reading on Sundays, or which books we wish we were reading!

I know this post is going up pretty late but I did literally spend my Sunday in bed with a book so I wanted to go ahead and post about it.


images
I spent my Sunday in bed with Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell.

Okay friends, I have a confession to make.

I broke my New Years Resolution.

I made a resolution that I wouldn't buy any books this year. And for the most part I have been remarkably good about this.

Until Thursday.

I borrowed an ARC copy of Eleanor & Park from Andrea who borrowed it from Jessie (thanks again girls!!! seriously, THANK YOU!!!)

I had read a few pages but had to put it on pause for a few weeks while I got settled into school and then I was finally able to pick it back up on Tuesday. I read until 2 in the morning that night and then picked it back up as soon as I got home on Wednesday.

I finally finished it at 1:30 in the morning on Sept 12.
images (1)
I woke up the next day, went to class, tried to study, tried to watch Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but I couldn't stop thinking about this book.

I related to Eleanor in such a personal/intimate way that it physically pained me to not own this book. So that night I went to Hastings, and panicked when they didn't have it. Then I went to Barnes and Noble and was able to start breathing again as soon as I was able to get my hands on my very own copy.

So I paid for it, full price I might add, went home and immediately started re-reading it. And I didn't even just start from my favorite parts either. I started from the very beginning and devoured it all over again!

I woke up this morning and stayed in bed all day finishing it!

I finally forced myself to get out of bed around 2 or 3 so that I could continue watching Angel and Buffy and semi-clean my apartment.

And for those of you keeping up on my Angel and Buffy progress I can report that I am on season 2 of Angel and season 5 of Buffy and I have 5 episodes left of each.

images (2)download

I hope everyone else had as great a Sunday as I did!
 
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