OK, I’m retiring “Well Read.” That’s the bad news. The good news is that I started a brand new book blog for the new year! Check it out at:
www.http://yearofbooks2008.blogspot.com/
PS, I Love You Saturday, Jan 5 2008
Uncategorized 9:12 am
PS, I Love You
by Cecelia Ahern
Rating: B-
New Years Resolution: To Read More Classics Sunday, Dec 23 2007
Uncategorized 7:04 pm
January: Jane Eyre
February: The Great Gatsby
March: The Grapes of Wrath
April: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
May: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
June: Pride & Prejudice
July: The Scarlet Letter
August: The Color Purple
September: Wuthering Heights
October: The Crucible
November: Of Mice and Men
December: The Power and the Glory
Alternates (in case I hate one of these so strongly I have to quit): Their Eyes Were Watching God, Beloved, The Good Earth
Classics I plan to read in addition to these and therefore aren’t assigned months: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, 1984, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, A Lesson Before Dying
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Friday, Aug 31 2007
Uncategorized 11:50 am
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
by J.K. Rowling
(Review in Progress)
Rating: A
What A Deal! Tuesday, May 15 2007
Uncategorized 6:18 pm
I haven’t e-bayed much since I’ve been on maternity leave, but when I got a couple birthday checks I popped on and did a “Picoult lot” search for old times sake (after reading, and loving, My Sister’s Keeper I want to read more Jodi Picoult, but her books are usually heavily bid upon.) I came up with an auction for five of her books, all paperback (I hate hardcover) in new condition. No one was bidding on it and it was ending in just over a day. Shipping was a very reasonable $6. I went ahead on a whim and bid $10.01. I wasn’t planning on buying more books, but what could it hurt. Fat chance an auction like that would go that cheap. Well, you guessed it – it did! I outbid the second bidder by .01. See, that trick really works! I can’t believe I got five brand new Jodi Picoult books for the cost of one in the store!
“New Mom” reading.. Monday, Mar 26 2007
Uncategorized 8:49 am
I have several books that are on my “to be read” list sitting on my shelf, and one of my biggest dilemmas is which one to pick up next after I finish what I’m currently reading. One of the most annoying things to me is to realize, 20 pages into a book, that I’m just not in the mood to read that. Usually my dilemma boils down to “chick lit” or “serious fiction.” For a while I was on a “chick lit” run but then I began to crave something that took a little more thinking and have read several “non chick lit” fiction pieces in a row. Part of the problem is that right now, I’m so preoccupied with the possibility of having a baby any day now, that it’s hard to decide if I should be reading something mindless, or something that will keep me engrossed. So far The Time Traveler’s Wife, My Sister’s Keeper, and Good Grief have done well for me. Let’s hope The Secret Life of Bees does too.
I guess I’ve been kind of “saving up” my chick lit under the impression that in my sleep deprived, baby blissed out state of having a newborn, I won’t be in the mood for anything too serious. I do have a good selection of mindless chick lit waiting to be read should the desire strike me, but then today I had a thought – will I really even be in the mood for fiction when I have a brand new baby? Perhaps I’ll be so baby-obsessed that the only thing I’ll want to read is baby-related stuff. So on that note, I managed to pick up on E-bay (for around $10 total, including shipping) two books: “The Diaper Diaries: The Real Poop on a New Mom’s First Year,” and “The New Mom’s Companion: Caring for Yourself While you Care for Your Newborn.” One funny (the prior,) one more serious (the latter) – both rated highly on amazon.com. Hopefully now I will have whatever I am in the mood to read in that post-partum period. Of course, this is assuming that I will be in the mood to read at all – but knowing how I am with reading (a bit obsessive) the chances of me not wanting to read ANYTHING seem pretty slim. I fully accept that the chances of having hours to sit down and read are slim-to-none, but I’m sure I’ll work it in there somewhere. There are a few more baby-related books that I’d like to read at some point (The Happiest Baby on the Block, Babyproofing Your Marriage, Nursing Mother, Working Mother) but I’m going to TRY to force myself to get (at least a few) of these from the library. I’ve been going way overboard buying books lately!
SPOILERS Tuesday, Feb 27 2007
Uncategorized 11:52 am
Just a warning…
I am trying to get away from including spoilers in my reviews, but most of the reviews currently posted here DO CONTAIN SPOILERS.
Book-buying Moratorium Tuesday, Feb 13 2007
Uncategorized 9:00 am
OK, I am officially addicted to buying books. Luckily, my addiction doesn’t come in the form of trips to Borders or Barnes and Nobles, where I would be paying full price for a book, but in the form of e-bay, where I’ve gotten some great deals (I just won an auction for “The Undomestic Goddess,” “The Ex Files,” “Watermelon,” “A Long Way Down”, and “His n’ Hers” for around $5 including shipping.) In the past month or so I’ve probably bought 20 books, between (mostly) e-bay and the Quality Paperback Book Club (which CAN get expensive, so I need to watch it.) However, part of the problem with e-bay is that it’s so accesible, since I work on a computer with Internet access all day. It’s hard for me to stay away.
It’s not the best time for me to ramp up my e-baying, since we are expecting a baby in 2 months. Books aren’t the only thing I’ve bought via e-bay recently, but they are what I’ve bought most. I used to be fine with getting library books, but since Steve (see, I blame him) bought me 2 new books for Christmas, I’ve been kind of addicted to reading books that I own. And I think I’ve kind of given in to my love of books and reading, and I’m enjoying building my book collection.
That being said, after “Jemima J” (which I just bought) and possibly one another book (from that seller, they have great combined shipping discounts which I can’t stand not taking advantage of) I am imposing a book-buying moratorium on myself. Partially for money reasons, but also because my list of “to be reads” that I own is getting pretty big. I do read fast, but I have plenty of books lined up, both chick lit and other, waiting for me to grab off the shelf.
I’m dying to try a Jodi Picoult book but I’m really going to try to stick to this.
Worldchanging Saturday, Feb 10 2007
Uncategorized 7:59 pm
Worldchanging
edited by Alex Steffen
(Currently reading)
Worldchanging is a 500-some page beast of a book that I don’t think is meant to be read cover to cover. But I find it very interesting and really do want to read every page, so I’m going to leave it on the coffee table and pick it up to read a few pages whenever the mood strikes me. This isn’t a book I’m going to be toting from work to home and it will probably take me a LONG time to actually finish the entire thing, but I wanted to add it here anyway.
New Rating System Friday, Feb 2 2007
Uncategorized 8:31 am
I’ve decided to revise my rating system a bit. Instead of using the whole “star system” (which is getting a little ridiculous with ratings like “two and three-quarter stars) I’m going to adopt the following scale. I’ll be going back and updating all of my older posts to follow this format also.
A-I LOVED it!
B-I liked it
C-Eh, it was OK
D-It wasn’t good
E-Ugh, I absolutely hated it!
