The Sunday Salon

The Sunday Salon – Everything

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Yesterday, for reasons my husband was unable to explain adequately, our wi-fi stopped working. It was highly annoying as I couldn’t read twitter or check silly facts online. Today, it’s back!

With no wi-fi yesterday, I parked myself on the couch with a book — Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson. I would say the book is funny but that’s such a bad description. Yes, it’s funny but funny in that way that makes you laugh out loud and people in the room (husband) start looking at you all strange so you decide that you’ll just laugh to yourself instead of out loud. For me, that means I giggle. When I giggle I start crying because I’m trying not to laugh. So, almost all of yesterday I spent curled up on the couch alternately laughing out loud, giggling, and looking as though I was watching something on TV that was so very sad. In fact, the hockey playoffs were on TV so that wasn’t case at all. It was the book. I don’t want to ruin it so I’ll save it all for the review.

And speaking of reviews, um, I need to write some. I have a stack of books sitting on my desk right now that are basically a daily reminder that I’m a bad book blogger. I haven’t written a review in a minute (read minute as days and days please). Wait! The reviewathon is coming up and I’m saving them all for next Saturday. Yep, that’s it. What I’m saying is, you might see some reviews soon.

Since the wi-fi was being unhelpful yesterday I didn’t get to visit all the people participating in the Red Seas Under Red Skies read along. I will do this today!

Now, I’m going to convince my husband that we must take a walk so I can buy some coffee. This is day two of writing without coffee or editing and while it’s been fun, I want me some coffee. I’d make it at home but I make the worst coffee on the planet. Seriously, I do.

Happy Sunday!

The Sunday Salon – Re-Cap

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I had a wonderful post all planned out for today but I can’t find the piece of paper I had it scribbled on so today’s going to be a re-cap of sorts.

  • I finished The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley earlier this week. I’m such a sucker for a Scottish setting and it’s a good story too.
  • After The Winter Sea, I picked up Anne Enright’s The Gathering. It’s a short book but it took me most of the week to read it. I haven’t read a book this depressing, and good, in a very long time.
  • I spent most of yesterday buried in The Watchers by Jon Steele. I’m enjoying the setting (Switzerland) and there’s short list of good characters to cling to.
  • We watched Rise of the Planet of the Apes last night. The ape parts were all good, the people parts were meh.

The last one is not about books but it happened and I added it because it’s still in my head this morning.

I’m planning to find a quiet spot to read more of The Watchers today and then finish planning out our vacation. That’s my day people. Now I’m off to get some coffee and find a quiet spot to read. Happy Sunday.

The Sunday Salon – And, what shall I call you?

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I know this happens to you so don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. 🙂 When I’m reading and I come across an oddly spelled name, or even a location, and I don’t know how to pronounce it, I make up a pronunciation in my head and that becomes the character’s name or the location. Usually for eternity because I don’t go around asking strangers how they pronounce fictional names and places. I guess that held true until I started this blog…

Why bring this up? I was participating in The Lies of Locke Lamora Read Along and one of the characters’ names was particularly odd. It was Nazca. During the Q&A time of the read along, a few fellow readers ruminated over the correct pronunciation of her name. It got me thinking about other fictional names and places I have surely pronounced wrong.

One of the books where I’m sure I’m the biggest offender of proper pronunciation is The Lord of the Rings. From a young age, I’d made up pronunciations for the characters and locations for almost everything in the books. And then the movies came out and I realized I was wrong on pretty much every name and place and everything in the movie sounded utterly wrong to me.

What do you do in situations like this? Do you make something up or research it? I don’t like to break from reading when I’m lost in a story so I go the make up a name route and keep going. If you research it, I’d be curious as to your sources.

It looks like a nice day is about to erupt here and I’m hoping for some outdoor reading time with The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley. Happy Sunday all.

The Sunday Salon – Books, Books, and More Books

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This week I went on a book buying bender. Here’s a few of my purchases:

Soulless by Gail Carriger – I keep hearing about this one and decided to finally give it. It’s on my steampunk reading list too so obviously, a must for me to buy.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle – This is the April book for the Book Hoarders Anonymous book club.

Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch – I’m participating in The Lies of Locke Lamora Read Along and it’s so good there was no way I would not continue with the series.

A Dance with Dragons by George RR Martin – I held out as long as I could.

The Duchess by Amanda Foreman – While my husband was working Friday night I watched the movie The Duchess with Keira Knightly. I ended up googling the Duchess of Devonshire and then buying the biography the movie was based on.

The Sylph by Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire – I couldn’t help myself.

Of course, this I what I get when I keep my Nook near while sitting on the couch watching TV.

Happy Sunday.

The Sunday Salon – Self-Published Books

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Over the years, I’ve read self-published books. If the author can tell me a good story, entertain me, enlightenment me, I’m along for the ride. Many bloggers don’t read or review self-published books and I understand why they have that rule. I’ve had bad experiences with self-published books too —formats don’t work, copious spelling and grammar mistakes, poor editing, and in some cases, obviously no editor at all. This post isn’t about the problems with self-published books though so I’ll stop with the examples.

Now, and this is an important point — I’m not asking to be sent self-published books. Please don’t do that! Also, I’ve stopped accepting all review copies for the time being. See my review policy here. Yes, I have rules too.

What I’m saying is, I have paid for self-published books and enjoyed them. I’ve found some through my Nook (my e-reader of choice), and some on websites and blogs of self-published authors.

Why mention this? Maybe I was feeling today should be a book blogger confession post. In fact, you’ll be seeing a review for a self-published book soon. It was a book I enjoyed and was happy to find out recently that a sequel is in the works.

I have no problem supporting authors with my reading, be it those published through traditional publishing houses and those that have taken the self-publishing route. Writing is not an easy job but I want to support the ones I find entertaining by purchasing their books and will continue to do so as long as I enjoy their writing.

I’m absolutely sure somewhere in the publishing industry an editor has screamed out loud and would hate me for saying any of this but I see no reason not to say it. I talk about books, all types of books, and read a vast array of books. I’m not going to not talk about some just because the books are self-published.

Do you read self-published books? Thoughts on self-published books — good, bad , no opinion?

The Sunday Salon: On Re-Reading

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This year, I decided I would re-read several books I feel I’ve been missing for some reason or another. I even have a list to show how serious I am:

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Salem’s Lot by Stephen King

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

Actually, if you know me, I love lists but they have absolutely no bearing on how serious I am about anything at all. I just love making lists! My husband will defend this statement. I believe he secretly hates my prodigious list making skills, mostly because I tend to put them in places he can see them and they’re usually to do lists.

Right now (more like all of February), I’m working my way through Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell as part of a read along and now that I look at the list again, I can’t wait to get to the others. The Mists of Avalon maybe coming up soon. I love me a little Arthur…

Do you re-read? Do you make crazy book lists? You know you do, just admit it. 🙂

Happy Sunday, a little on the late side.

Confessions of a Supposed Read Along Addict or Amy’s Weird Year of Reading, So Far

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 In the few years I’ve been a blogger, I’ve only participated in two or three read alongs. The reason for this — I like to read at my own pace and I usually only participate if it’s a book I really (really!) want to read. In most cases (for instance The Lord of the Rings and The Historian), the read alongs featured books I was planning to re-read anyway so I signed up. This year, two months into 2012, I’ve signed up for two. It’s like I can’t help myself.

Here’s how it went down.

Iris at Iris on Books said she was planning to read Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell this year and asked if anyone would be interested in joining her. Having already decided to re-read this one, and probably early in the year, I raised my hand, yep, I would join her. And so I did. More info here if you want to join.

Then The Little Read Reviewer goes and posts this about a Lies of Locke Lamora read along. I hesitated. Two read alongs? Yes, I would do it. And yes, I would buy this book.

Seriously, it’s like I can’t so no anymore.

So, I’m two for two on the joining this year. I’m a notoriously bad joiner. I’m beginning to wonder if I’m involuntarily pushing myself to join more this year as if it were some unknown resolution only my brain knows about and is keeping from me. Yeah, that doesn’t sound totally paranoid.

I should probably not write when tired.

Anyway, there you have it.

Happy Sunday.