The Sunday Salon

Sunday Salon – Home

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Hello everyone.  It’s been quiet here the last week or so thanks to my being far, far away from a computer.  We made it back to the US mid-last week but I was too tired to do anything useful besides unpack the suitcase which was made easy by the fact it was all dirty clothes.  Since it’s Sunday, I thought this would be a good time to get back at it.

And since I didn’t read much while on vacation or write a word either — I finished The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma (very good), The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (not bad), and started Before Versailles by Karleen Koen (so far good) — I thought I would share photos from our trip to Ecuador instead.  I hope to get back to my regular posting schedule sometime this week but while I get myself used to sitting in front of a computer again, I will blind you with photos.  Oh, and by the way, it’s better if you look at them backwards.  I started to post them and realized about halfway through I was doing it first to last instead of last to first so it would make more sense and then decided I didn’t feel like doing it all over again. So if you’re interested in flow, start at the bottom.  🙂

Happy Sunday.

Overlooking Quito at night.

The elevation sign at the Cotopaxi parking lot --- over 14,000 feet above sea level. Crazy feeling.

Cotopaxi Volcano. At the base of the mountain, we couldn't see anything but clouds. It didn't clear completely but we did get to see most of the volcano.

Butterflies of Mindo.

Hummingbird in Mindo.

Monument to the true equator. Ignore the compass, it means nothing at the equator. It was our Flat Stanley. We borrowed it from a friend and didn't have a use for it so we began taking photos of it everywhere.

The monument to the equator. It's not the true equator though...

Relaxing in the hot springs in Papallacta. Yep, my toes.

View from Pinchincha Volcano. You can see a view of Quito between the peaks.

Mary that looks over Quito; blessing or judging, your choice.

The Golden Church in Quito's Old Town. You can't take pictures inside but the name is very appropriate --- everything in the church is covered in gold leaf.

The Sunday Salon

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All this week I kept hearing about BEA, and once more, I’ll be missing it.  It’s been years since I’ve been there and I would love to go again but unfortunately for BEA, it lands around the same time as my anniversary.  Each year we try to get away and spend a few quiet days and this year is no different.  If you’re going, I look forward to your posts and the books you’ve found.  Don’t skimp on the descriptions please.  How else will my already unmanageable list get any longer?! 🙂

Thanks to the necessity of having to buy bug spray and pack all that I can in a suitcase, it will be a rather short post so on with the links.

Critics vs. reviewers.  This is a topic that’s come up on blogs and one I’m sure will never be resolved.  I planned to do a longer post about this today and then started and stopped it several times.  I need to sit down and finish soon.  Here are some thoughts to ponder.

Literary terms you should know.

And grammatical errors to go with the literary terms.

Women and why we love fantasy.  This is another topic I have several thoughts on that I plan to write about in the future.

The book club I want to be part of.

JK Rowling admits favorites.  And, you can vote for your favorite too.

Ahhh, books.  I could sit here all day looking at these pics.

Books covers that spark thoughts.

Happy Sunday.

The Sunday Salon – Back after an unexpected break

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Well, I’m back.  (Gold star if you can tell me what book this line is from.  Hint: it’s the last line.)

Last week turned out to be a bit of a debacle in terms of blogging.  I had no intention of leaving things blank around here but a work conference took up a big part of my life and I couldn’t find the energy to do anything so Just Book Reading went quiet for a week.  Not the end of the world I know but since I do enjoy writing, it was a bit of a disappointment on my end.

While work did manage to suck the energy out of my writing, it didn’t do the same for my reading.  Conference work is boring with a decent amount of downtime so I did manage to read off and on.  I finished:

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen — This one is wicked in terms of the social commentary and very enjoyable.  I only have Lady Susan and Mansfield Park to finish in my Complete Works of Jane Austen book.  And, well, there is Emma but I’ve never been a fan of that one and after several attempts to read it failed, I may skip it once more.

Abandoned by Amanda Stevens — This is a short story prequel to The Restorer which I read over a week ago and liked.  In Abandoned, some parts felt as though they weren’t fleshed out but that also may have been due to the fact that I read this after finishing The Restorer and was expecting it to fill in some additional background on certain characters which wasn’t the point of the story.  Once I got past my expectations, I enjoyed it.

Heat Wave by Richard Castle — I have no idea how this one ended up on my Nook; I think it may have been a recommendation from my uncle but can’t be sure.  After some ghosts stories, a classic take on a gothic novel, and a failed attempt at classic children’s literature, I thought a cop story might just be what I needed.  It was short which was also appealing.  It was goofy, clichéd, I figured out the killer early on, and parts made me laugh out loud, but I found it fun.  Odd how that works some days.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hogdson Burnett — I don’t remember reading this one as a child but I’m familiar with the story from the movie.  I started it earlier in the week but left off on page nine.  I’ll go back but I need to be in the mood for it and wasn’t this week.

I started Poison by Sara Poole yesterday and that will probably be my reading for today.

Some links to peruse:

A peek inside homes of writers.

Culinary book clubs.

People aren’t using the iPad to read.  Not surprising to me.

That’s it for me.  Happy Sunday.

The Sunday Salon

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It’s been at least two weeks since my last Sunday Salon.  Life’s been slightly busier than usual but this weekend has brought everything back to slow and relaxed which means I have time this morning to write a post and read a few.

Oddly, I don’t have a ton to discuss book-wise as my reading has been somewhat slow.  I’m reading a non-fiction book this week (Livia, Empress of Rome by Matthew Dennison) and non-fiction tends to take me longer to read.  On a whim, I decided to start a second book (The Hypnotist by MJ Rose) which I rarely do being the one book at a time person I am so now I’ve got two going and I’m not sure I’m making progress on either.  Both are good, it’s just been a slow week on the reading front.

Since I don’t have much to talk about and I don’t feel the need to moan about work or really anything else for that matter, I’ll leave you with some links.

Impossible books titles.  We’ve all seen them; we love to hate them or mock them ruthlessly.

This falls under things that baffle me.  While I love to read, I don’t think I actually want to smell like a book.  Just weird.

There are always discussions about what being well-read means to people and here’s one more to add to the list.

Bad movie adaptations.  Ya know ya want to look.

The ways digital books have changed our lives.

The Sunday Salon – Audiobooks

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I’ve never been one for audiobooks.  No reason really.  I’ve tried them, liked them even but unless I’m in a car for a very long period of time, I find it hard to listen for only a few minutes and then stop.  My interest wanes, I have trouble remembering characters and what they’ve done, settings, plots, etc.  However, I haven’t given up entirely and have found an activity that might fit perfectly.

Swimming.  I know, electronics and water not a good mixer, but hear me out.  The gym we belong to has a pool, and in an effort to have my jeans not fit so snuggly, I’m attempting to go regularly.  I’ve always loved swimming and to be honest, it’s really the only exercise I don’t loathe.  My husband had the idea to get me a waterproof case for the iPod so I could listen to music while doing laps.  Whole-heartedly agreeing this was an excellent idea, we bought all the things needed to make the iPod useable for total water immersion which as it turns out is not really much.  Now I am ready to be entertained while exercising.

Then I had an idea.  I would put audiobooks on the iPod.  My husband, the music person he is, looked horrified at my announcement then shrugged and walked away.  Now, a few days later, I’m still wondering what audiobooks to get.  Should I go with a book I’ve read since I will actually be occupied while listening at first?  Should I try something completely new?  What I need is a recommendation…so have any recommendations for me?

Interesting links this week —

In case you can’t get enough Harry Potter related stuff, you can now follow the Dark Lord on Twitter.  As a warning, he’s prone to using four letter words and isn’t nice.  So what I’m trying to say here is you need a dark sense of humor to appreciate some of the 140 character musings.  Not all of it’s funny to everyone and I wanted to put that out there so no unhappy reader reports she/he showed this to a child.  It’s not child friendly, in some case NSFW either.  Just puttin’ it out there.  Disclaimer end.  Thanks for listening.

Last words in literature.

Finally, being a dog person, I couldn’t pass up a link to authors and their dogs. 

The Sunday Salon – Movies

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First, I have to get this out of the way; daylight savings time is ruining my life today.  I planned to have a nice relaxing day — brunch with a friend, maybe a little shopping, maybe a museum, maybe a movie depending on how we’re feeling after a brunch full of goodies — but now I feel as if I’m already an hour behind!  Really hate that.  I’ll get over it in the next few minutes but putting it out there for anyone else that’s hates losing an hour of beloved sleep on the weekend.

Moving on to movies.  Jane Eyre came out this Friday and I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time and since my husband has already said I need to recruit a friend (there was no way he was going) I’m going to try and convince a friend to see it with me today.  A trailer is below for the curious.  It looks absolutely delightful.  I read the book for the first time last year and adored it so I have very high hopes for the movie.  Has anyone seen it yet?  What did you think?

I fit in some good reading this week too.  To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis was wonderful and I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to find her.  Needless to say, I’ll be reading more.  This book reminded me how much I love science fiction.  I started The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V.S. Redick yesterday but I’m not having much luck with it.  Right now it’s a lot of characters and one really giant ship and I’m having trouble seeing where it’s going even after reading the end.  Not so sure about this one.  I may give it till to the end of the day to make a decision about finishing.

Now some fun things:

Tips on how to make your books last a long, long time.

Awesome bookends.

Dolly Parton, while I’m a country music fan, I do admire her for the work she does to promote literacy.  I had the opportunity way back in the day when I worked for the publishing industry to meet her and some of the people who work with the Imagination Library program and it’s wonderful group of people who care a lot about what they do.  She deserves a hand for making new readers every day.

The Tournament of Books is in play. Fessing up, when I play along with the NCAA tournament, I pick by color and mascot if I don’t know anything about a team (my husband is full of useless useful basketball knowledge so this doesn’t happen as long as he can stop me from falling back on my old ways) but I would have picked winners by cover.  Cuz I’m a cover lover.

The Royal Mail is putting out some Harry Potter love.

That is all I have for today.  Enjoy your 23 hour day.  Happy Sunday!

Sunday Salon – Why I Shouldn’t Go to Going Out of Business Sales

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Yesterday, while out enjoying the lovely weather (it’s raining today so getting out yesterday was imperative) we crossed paths with the Borders that’s closing in our neighborhood.  We decided to browse a bit and that’s how I came home with six new books.  In bookstores, browsing and buying are the same thing for me.  My TBR pile is officially out of control but it’s all good because I managed to pick up several books on the mighty big list so I’m considering it a win-win.

The Gates by John Connolly – a young kid goes trick or treating a few days early and finds out his neighbors have managed to open the gates to hell.

The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley – a writer using history as inspiration starts to wonder is she’s dealing with an ancestral memory.

Poison by Sara Poole – a young woman searching for her father’s killer finds herself in the position of poisoner for Cardinal Borgia.

The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse – a man traveling in the French Pyrenees during a snowstorm crashes his car and ends up at a small tavern where he meets a woman with a tragic story to tell.

The Mistress of Nothing by Kate Pullinger – a lady’s maid finds a new life but also finds out it’s not one meant for her.

Devil’s Brood by Sharon Kay Penman – the last days of the marriage of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Recently, these books also made it into the house:

Livia: Empress of Rome by Matthew Dennison – present from my husband who knows how much I love ancient Rome.  It’s my next non-fiction read.

Don’t Breathe a Word by Jennifer McMahon – LibraryThing Early Reviewers Give Away.

Twice a Spy by Keith Thomson – from the publisher.

And from the library:

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis – for the Time Travel Challenge.

The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V.S. Redick – other than being fantasy, I don’t know much about it.  I found it searching but it looks interesting.

Busy the next few weeks?  I will be. 🙂

Last week I had the chance to read an ARC of The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen and if I had to describe it in one word it would be wonderful.  I’m planning to finish Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran today — another favorite author — and from there I have no idea what’s next but at least I have options.

A few fun things to share this week:

Harry Potter Quiz at The Guardian.

Life instructions, Jane Austen or JWwow (she’s on MTV’s Jersey Shore  if you don’t know who she is and since I had to Google that I wanted to share that bit of knowledge so others don’t have to look it up).  Trust me, you’ll go with Jane Austen.  Somehow this one made me feel old but smart then vindicated.

Minis Tirith out of toothpicks.

What your books do when you aren’t home.

New David Foster Wallace story to appear in The New Yorker. It’s been a few years since I’ve read one his books but I still don’t think I’m ready to tackle Infinite Jest.  I may never be but it will always be on my list.

Happy Sunday.

The Sunday Salon – A Slow Week

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I didn’t do much posting this week which is ironic because I’m caught up on my reviews but for some reason I didn’t find the time to post anything much.  I finished Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (amazing), Emily and Einstein by Linda Frances Lee (fun), and I’m about half way through Fathom by Cherie Priest (interesting) so while the posting was slow, the reading was good.

Being honest, this will probably be rather short today too because I want to go to the Hirshhorn Museum to see an exhibit by Blinky Palermo.  At some point this week I will get some blog karma back and return to normally scheduled things though.  Admittedly, I’m a bit overscheduled so once that clears up all will be well.

Some more sharing…

Middle-earth According to Mordor – Salon article about a Russian author who re-tells the Lord of the Rings from the evil perspective.

Chicago Tribune article about the killing of the Dewey Decimal System – it seems my library or at least certain portions of it are going along with the trend.

The 2011 Tournament of Books begins March 7, 2011.

If you have an e-reader and don’t want people to know you’re reading it, you can make this nifty cover.

Happy Sunday.