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May wrap-up OR is it really June already post

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I woke up this morning thinking today was June 1st. Like most people, you probably know it’s June 2nd because you checked a calendar yesterday or at some point paid some attention to your phone or some other device that told you what day it was. Me? Well, obviously I didn’t or would have noticed that today was not the day I thought it was. So, instead of a review, I thought I’d do a wrap-up post to see where I am with a few things.

May was an average reading month for me with 7 books read and no DNFs. Looking over the list, I read more than I thought I did considering my job gets crazy in May which always cuts back on my reading time.

The Ark by Boyd Morrison

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova

Persuasion by Jane Austen

The Summer We Read Gatsby by Danielle Ganek

The City & The City by China Mievielle

In Great Waters by Kit Whitfield

Shakespeare Undead by Lori Handeland

Three books stood out — The Summer We Read Gatsby, The City & The City, and Shakespeare Undead.

I’ve been meaning to, and maybe I’ll get to it this week for a Sunday Salon post, go over the status of the challenges I’m participating in. I’ve tried to keep track of everything but I fell behind and need to take a closer look to see where it all began to crumble. Not the challenges, just my record keeping for the moment. I suspect I’m probably doing better than I appear to be.

As for reviews, I’m woefully behind. Last night I wrote down a few notes for books I read while we were on vacation but I still need to put butt in chair and actually type them up so in the coming days I hope to accomplish that goal.

Tomorrow I plan to get back to regularly scheduled programming. Unfortunately, my brain still thinks it’s in vacation mode…

The Sunday Salon

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Finally, my crazy work week has ended. 🙂 After a few evenings of naps before bed and a late morning on Saturday, I think I might be human again. What I’m really excited about is having my alarm clock on a more reasonable setting. As far as I’m concerned, there is absolutely no reason in the world to get up at 5 AM unless something great is going to happen. Work does not qualify for the great category. Is it obvious I’m not a morning person…

I didn’t get much reading done over the last week but I did manage to finish up The Swan Thieves and get several chapters into Persuasion by Jane Austen.

So many people loved The Swan Thieves and I wanted to also and while I didn’t not love it, I didn’t really love it. Does that make sense? Probably not. Allow me a moment to explain. My hopes were very high for this book. I’ve read and loved Kostova’s other book, The Historian, so I was ready for a long meandering story filled with wondrous and beautiful characters and places. I found instead a few people that I had no attraction to. They were nice and even lovely and illuminating in some instances but, in the end, it was sort of like a date that was nice but there was no chemistry.

Yesterday I started Persuasion by Jane Austen. I love my Jane Austen, especially Sense & Sensibility and Pride & Prejudice (two of my favorite books), but there are several of her works that I have not read and this year they are all on my list. My husband was kind enough to download The Complete Works of Jane Austen to my Nook when I wasn’t looking and we spent Saturday afternoon sitting outside reading. It was an excellent day.

Today we are having brunch with a few friends and I hope to get in a bit more of Persuasion. It’s moving fast and, as always, I’m thoroughly enjoying the antics of her characters.

Well, I think that’s it for today. I’ve got some blog reading to do, some email to sort through, and some time to spend curled up on the couch with my book. Happy Sunday!

The Lord of the Rings Read-Along: The Final Installment

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Well, the Lord of the Rings Read-Along is finished. I re-read all three books and felt nostalgic about each and every one, found something new to love in each, and even came across a few things I had over looked in previous readings.

I thought about doing a review but then decided not too. A lot of people participating in the read-along wrote some great reviews and I don’t even know where to start with a review (it would have been more like a thesis than a review) so that idea was quickly thrown out. I thought about not posting anything but since I did posts for each of the others, and I like things in even numbers, I decided to do one final goodbye to the Lord of Rings after all.

So, I give you Hobbit Holes!!!

My city has some great architecture and my neighborhood in particular has some truly beautiful buildings. On one street not too far from our house there are a few little entrances that have always made me smile and make me think of Bilbo, Sam, and Frodo. I, with the help of my husband and his trusty blackberry, took a few photos to show you these little places that always make me smile.

Enjoy.

Teaser Tuesdays

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. The idea is to give everyone a look inside the book you’re reading.

1.) Grab your current read

2.) Open to a random page

3.) Share two teaser sentences from that page

4.) Share the title and author so that other participants know what you’re reading.

Be careful not to include spoilers. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!

I’m finishing up The Fellowship of the Ring and the last of The Magicians & Mrs. Quent so I thought I’d share a teaser from a book I’ll be starting later this week.

A wind was coming from the north, blowing rain clouds like dust until they coated the sky gray. Henry sat on his cottage doorstep, the wind filling his mouth and nostrils, blowing the compost smells of the bog into his stomach.

The Girl with Glass Feet by Ali Shaw, page 115.

The Girl with Glass Feet

My Nook Arrived!

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Yeah, my birthday present has finally arrived! My birthday was in the beginning of December so I’ve been waiting a while and not always patiently. 🙂

After spending an inordinate amount of time trying to get the thing out of it’s packaging (Hi, Barnes & Noble, do you need to make it so difficult? You know that some of us just want to read right?) and letting it charge, I spent some good quality time with my little Nook. Until my husband, (who admitted that my birthday present was a bit of a ruse since it was him that really wanted one of these things, although to be fair, it didn’t take much to convince me) got home and completely took it over.

We got it registered (Again, Barnes & Noble, why so many steps?) and ordered two books — True Compass by Ted Kennedy for him and Noah’s Compass by Anne Tyler for me. No, the compass theme was not planned, we did that separately. I didn’t add any additional books last night since I want to take a look at my list to see what I really want. When I finish a book on it, I plan to do a longer review to let you all know how I like it.

November 2009 Reading List

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Well, I’m a day late with the November wrap-up but I’m not ready for it to be December yet.

I read 10 books in November which is not bad considering I took a week off for Thanksgiving. A few good reads and a one dud so actually a pretty good month.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Covenant with the Vampire by Jeanne Kalogridis

A Highlander’s Temptation by Sue-Ellen Welfonder

Kristin Lavransdatter: I The Bridal Wreath by Sigrid Undset

Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

Fallen by Lauren Kate

The Archer’s Tale by Bernard Cornwell