2012 E-Book Reading Challenge

Here are the rules:
1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate. Create a post about the challenge and link your challenge post up in the linky below.
--Non-Bloggers: Post your list of books in the comment section of the wrap-up post.
2. There are four levels:
--The Mini E-Book Challenge – Read 5 E-Books.
--The "Fun Size" E-Book Challenge – Read 10 E-Books.
--The Jumbo Size E-Book Challenge – Read 20 E-Books.
--The Mega Size E-Book Reading Challenge - Read 25+ E-Books.
3. No Audio or Print books.
4. No need to list your books in advance. You may select books as you go. Even if you list them now, you can change the list if needed.
5. The Challenge starts on January 1, 2012 and goes until December 31, 2012.

Ok, I'm going to do it... I'm going to jump on another Challenge. I own a fabulous, amazing and wonderful Nook Color that has been used exactly...uh...zero times...in the past eight months.

I hate to admit that! I was so excited to get it and am still psyched...but a few short months after I got it for Christmas 2010, I moved.  I was finishing up paper books from my old library.  Then it got packed and by the time I found it I had already hooked up with the new town's library. So, I just haven't tried using it again (I am still kind of stuck on having a hard, page-turning copy in my hand).  But, ITS TIME!  

So, I'm jumping on the wagon for the "The Mini E-Book Challenge – Read 5 E-Books"  I know, I know, that's kind of wimpy but I'm hoping I can beat my own *modest* goals! And hoping that I get so hooked that it becomes natural to read that way.

Here we go... 

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Booking Through Thursday - 11/3/11

Booking Through Thursday - A weekly meme about (mostly) books and reading.   

 

All other things being equal, would you rather read a book that’s hard/challenging/rewarding or light/enjoyable/easy?

As others have noted, it really depends on my mood which is why my TBR list is so large and so varied.  

But...the question does state: "All other things being equal..." 

So, I will say that I would rather read something "light/enjoyable/easy".  Not meant to be an indication of my intellectual pursuits, this is only because reading generally gives me relief from the stresses and craziness of the day. Something light is almost always good to enjoy, whereas something hard or challenging is sometimes too much.  Also, something light and easy enables me to read more books...which, given my TBR List is a good thing!

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Teaser Tuesday - 11/1/11

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.
 

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
-Grab your current read
-Open to a random page
-Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
-Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teasers:

"On December 19, 2002, Justice Charles J. Tejada of the Supreme Court of the State of New York granted a motion to vacate the thirteen-year-old convictions in the infamous Central Park Jogger case. He did so based on new evidence: a shocking confession from a serial rapist and a positive DNA match to back it up... The young men had already completed their sentences, having served between almost seven and thirteen years..."

The Central Park Five: A Chronicle of a City Wilding (Sarah Burns), pg. 1

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Not Afraid of Life - Palin

Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far, by Bristol Palin, is an invitation to sit down with Bristol, have a cup of coffee and a chat. She presents herself in such a relaxed manner, you can't help but see that she is just the girl next door...who's mom just happened to end up the Republican candidate for Vice President!  Eh, things happen, right?


Growing up in Alaska the second child of five of Sarah and Todd Palin, Bristol had a pretty good life. She was popular, pretty, athletic and financially comfortable.  Life was pretty good. 

But "Bristol the Pistol" gets her chutzpah from her mother.  And like her or not, Sarah Palin is a fire cracker! And, Bristol learned well.

Bristol it turns out, likes bad boys.  And despite her family's religious beliefs, she allows that to get her into bad situations. Ultimately, she finds herself a pregnant teen, with an unreliable and untrustworthy boyfriend. Then, John McCain comes knocking and suddenly Bristol can no longer hide out in good 'ole Alaska. She is forced to face her mistakes, along with and at the hands of the rest of the country.


Ultimately, I liked Bristol Palin. Yeh, she's a bit too anti- ex-boyfriend, but she does appear to be justified and she really is just a kid who's been hurt and is dealing with that.  She is also way to "rah, rah mommy" for my taste, but who doesn't love their mother that much?  Ultimately, Palin's memoir is honest and inviting.


I would recommend it to anyone who has any interest in memoirs or politics.

3/5- Good. Read it, have a good time and move on. Or not.

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Crossing the Water - Robb

Cape Cod is known for many things...sun, sand, and summer fun. But few would add juvenile delinquents or lepers to that list. But, in fact, off of the southern edge of Cape Cod lies a little island called Penikese which, due to its remoteness, was once used to quarantine lepers until their eventual death. The colony has since fallen to ruins of course. 

The island was eventually taken over by a group of men who believed that it they took boys, juvenile delinquents, and essentially quarantined them from the "diseases" of their lives: poverty, violence, hatred, and unhappiness, and showed them something better: respect, responsibility, kindness, trust, they might be healed.

Crossing The Water: Eighteen Months on an Island Working with Troubled Boys - a Teacher's Memoir by Daniel Robb charts the author's tenure as a teacher and leader on that remote and beautiful island trying to connect with and teach troubled teen boys using hard work, respect and trust to give them hope and goals for the future. "Sentenced" to Penikese rather than being sent to juvenile hall or, in some cases, jail these boys are given a chance to turn their lives around.

Robb and his fellow teachers see past arrest records and hardened demeanors, cursing and mistrust, to the core of these boys. Using their own experiences (Robb is the product of a single parent home, having watched his own father walk away from his family), they try to touch the core of these burgeoning men and show them that there is a better, safer and more fulfilling way to live. And, in doing so, discover that perhaps the teachers are not the only ones who have something to teach on Penikese. 

I really enjoyed this book, though it took me quite a while to get through it. It isn't a particularly long book, but Robb writes in a expressive, sometimes round-about way leaving me rereading passages often to figure out what he meant/said. But ultimately, I was happy to have gotten a chance to experience his time with these boys and to have seen his own personal growth during that period.

3/5- Good. Read it, have a good time and move on. Or not. 

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Go The F**k to Sleep - Mansbach

My apologies to all who might be offended, but this book was just to darn great to not review it...

A bedtime poem, or lullaby of sorts, for parents who live in the real world, Go The F**k To Sleep by Adam Mansbach is a hilarious look at the reality of the frustration and exhaustion that sometimes boils over when parenting small children. Brutally honest in its frustration and profanity (yes, I realize that not everyone uses such language, but let's be honest...in some cases, there just is no better word that fits a situation than "F**k", is there?!), this book is  funny enough to allow and inspire a parent to laugh in such a trying situation.

This book has been described by others as "pants-wettingly funny" - I totally agree and I don't even have kids!

5/5- Excellent. Keep it, treasure it, reread it. 

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2012 Support Your Local Library Challenge - Signing Up!

As anyone who reads my blog knows... I'm not big on Challenges.  In fact, I signed up for my very first one this past April... and never got out of the starting gate!!  Not even one post!  Humiliation and failure! Life, and a last minute home purchase and move, just got in the way.

But...Jamie at The Eclectic Bookshelf has come up with a challenge I can really get into and may very well succeed at!  So long humiliation and failure!

2012 Support Your Local Library Challenge

Goes from January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2012 

Levels: 

Level 1 - Read 12 library books 

Level 2 - Read 24 library books 

Level 3 - Read 36 library books 

Level 4 - Read 37+ library books

Rules:

-Anyone can join.

-You don't need a blog to participate.  If you are a non-blogger, leave a comment with a link (if you review elsewhere) to your review or with the book(s) you read.

-Audio, ebooks, bound books are ok.

-No re-reads!

-Create a sign up post and post the link in the linky.

Me:

Because, for the most part, all the books I read are library books of one type or other...I think that I am going to succeed in this one. So...I'm going for the big prize! 

I'm challenging myself to LEVEL 4 - 37+ books from the library from 1/1/12 - 12/31/12!!!

I'll keep you updated as I move along...

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Monday - 10/31/11

Sheila at Book Journey hosts this weekly event where we celebrate what we are reading for the week, as well as books completed the previous week.

Currently Reading:

Little Women (Louisa May Alcott) 
     - believe it or not, I have never read this
The Central Park Five (Sarah Burns)
Math for Grownups (Laura Laing)

Just Finished:

Pictures of Hollis Wood (Patricia Reilly Giff)
Not Afraid of Life (Bristol Palin)
Go The F**k to Sleep ( Adam Mansbach)
Crossing the Water (Daniel Robb) 

On Deck: 

Life Is Not a Stage: From Broadway Baby to a Lovely Lady and Beyond 

(Florence Henderson) 

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Sunday Salon - 10/30/11

10/30/11
Happy Halloween (weekend)!

Hopefully everyone is enjoying the festivities, whether it be an actual Halloween event, or just a celebration of the season. Having no children, and having just moved, we are not sure what the holiday holds for us. We bought candy, just in case, and lit the fireplace this weekend for the first time. It was very calming...and fit in perfectly with the 3-6 inches of snow we got this weekend!

The house wasn't quite ready for the weather...but we were close.

This weekend starts off another show at my theater, Seussical. It should be fun! And I'm hoping for just a few more memberships before year end...if they are coming, it will be during this show.

I had a productive reading weekend, finishing a few books. Reviews will follow soon!


Have a great week everyone!

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Friday's Fave Five - 10/28/11

 

Welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  It's Friday so that makes it time to look back over our week and look for those things we are grateful for.  It may be big or it may be small and you have to dig for it, but there are always things we can be thankful for.  Please join us as we share our favorite five.  If you need the guidelines they are here.

1. Finishing a book that, while I was enjoying it, was just taking me forever to get through. Not sure why, but I was slogging through this one, despite the fact that I actually enjoyed it. Weird.
2. Getting three grants sent out this week at work...of the 10+ going out over the next few weeks! Yeah us!
3. Performing at a local senior's home with my a cappella group - fun, friendship and fame!
4. Setting up a massage appointment for this weekend - can't wait.  Hoping the pending snow storm doesn't screw it up!
5. Friday!  'Nough said!

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Coraline - Gaiman

Coraline by Neil Gaiman is the story of a recently uprooted, lonely and ignored girl who dreams into existence her own "other" world. Beyond a bricked up doorway in her family's apartment she finds her "other mother", who has created an "other life" for little Coraline, complete with flat-mates who know her correct name ("It's Coraline, not Caroline"), delicious meals, and a bedroom full of color, clothing and toys.  But most of all, her "other mother" offers her something she doesn't get at home...attention.

But sometimes attention is not all its cracked up to be. The "other mother's" attention may be a bit too much. In fact, she is willing to stop at nothing to keep Coraline in the "other" world. Coraline must break free of this other world, both physically and mentally, and come to appreciate all she has in her real world.\

A short read, this book was cute, though clearly written for children with active imaginations. Maybe I'm getting old, but I just couldn't get into it enough to truly envision the "other world" fully. Though I've never seen it, I am sure the recently made movie was fabulous. I wish I'd known of this book years ago. 

For children:  
4/5- Great. Push it on your friends and family.


For adults: 
3/5- Good. Read it, have a good time and move on. Or not.

More opinions at:
IMCPL Kids Blog




 

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Teaser Tuedays - 10/25/11

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along, just do the following:
-Grab your current read
-Open to a random page
-Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page - BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS 
-Share the title and author too, so that other participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers...



My Teasers:

"'Look for words that begin with W,' my teacher, Mrs. Evans had said...


'This is a picture of a family, Hollis. A mother, M, a father, F, a brother, B, a sister, S. They're all standing in front of their house, H. I don't see one W word here.'


I opened my mouth to say: How about W for wish, or W for want, or W for 'Wouldn't it be loverly,' like the song the music teacher had taught us?"


Pictures of Hollis Woods, Patricia Reilly Giff, pg. 1

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Monday - 10/24/11

Sheila at Book Journey hosts this weekly event where we celebrate what we are reading for the week, as well as books completed the previous week.

Currently Reading:

Pictures of Hollis Wood (Patricia Reilly Giff)
Math for Grownups (Laura Laing)

Just Finished:

Crossing the Water (Daniel Robb) 

- I'm so close to done, I'm going to call this finished

On Deck: 

Sing You Home (Jodi Picoult)

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Sunday Salon - 10/23/11

10/23/11
A bit behind this week. My fiance has my computer unplugged while he works on another, so I was without it this weekend.

I had jury duty this week (...ah the beloved American tradition, right up there with apple pie, no?!).  Though I haven't been called in years,  I was called shortly after I moved in April ('don't it figure'), and since I don't look particularly good in stripes, I wasn't about to no-show.

My paperwork was clear that I had moved, but the court officer left it to the judge.  After sitting through introductions, the video, a break, the case explanation/questions and being told that the case would last 2 and 1/2 weeks minimum(!), the judge asked if anyone thought there was reason they should not sit on the jury. Nor surprisingly, I was one of the few who did not respond. 

At that point, I thought for sure I was stuck. But I was one of the first folks called and was released for the day because I am in a different county and therefore out of their jurisdiction. Thank goodness! I don't mind doing my share for my country and all...but 2 and 1/2 weeks, seriously?!

My membership drive is holding steady but our next production, Seussical, is coming up quickly. I hope to build my numbers by at least a few more!


I also had a private performance with my a cappella group Saturday, which went very well. And Sunday was another fix-the-house day. So this week was a slow reading week. I hope to finish the book I'm currently reading tonight and move on to a YA/children's novel I've been wanting to read for years, Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff.


What are you reading this week?

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Teaser Tuesday - 10/18/11

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! 


Just do the following:
-Grab your current read
-Open to a random page
-Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
-Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
-LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

 
 
My Teasers:


"We stopped in the house. It was rough-hewn within, with huge knees taken from ancient boats wrecked on the island's coast used as beams and supports. A massive wood-burning stove and chimney stood in the center...; homemade couches gathered around another big wood stove there, and books lined the walls. This was home"

Crossing the Water (Daniel Robb), pg. 25




It does sound homey, doesn't it?!

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Speak - Anderson

Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak is well-known and highly acclaimed.

The story of a young teen trying to find herself after experiencing a rape at a party at the start of her freshman year in high school, she finds herself hiding literally, in janitorial closets, and figuratively by avoiding speaking.  Since her friends (and, in fact, the entire school) has shunned her for calling the police during the party, there is no one with whom she can communicate. What can she say? No one would believe her as the rapist is a well-known and like football player.

But she is still valued and loved by some, least of all by herself. And ultimately she finds her way out of her closet.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I vaguely recalled the story...I'm not sure if someone told me about it, if I saw the movie, or if its just similar to another story. But it was interesting anyway. And, I felt it was quite in touch with how teens (at least teens 10 years ago) thought. I can't help but wonder why I took so long reading it...

3/5- Good. Read it, have a good time and move on. Or not.

more opinions at:
YAMuses 
Fyrefly's Book Blog
Maw Books Blog

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Transition - Bono

In his memoir Transition, Chaz Bono (formally Chastity, the only child of Sonny and Cher) recounts his life from childhood through his present 40-something years.  Despite having written previous autobiographies, in Transistion he opens up and admits to deeper secrets, about not feeling like the growing and maturing woman his body indicated he was, about not quite fitting into the lesbian community despite being attracted to woman and years of working as an advocate for the community.  


After almost 30 years, Chaz finally admits his inner struggle and accepts that he is not who nature has told him he is. He admits to himself, and ultimately his family, friends and the public, that he is a man. He is not, and has never been, the little cherubic, blond girl the public remembers from his parents television show from the 1970's. 

He is so "OK" with that fact that the reader can not help but be also.  In fact, he is relieved. He no longer needs to live a lie for others' sake. And, despite spending his life bending to the needs of others, he finally takes control of his life.  Though it takes his family members a while to adjust to what many already knew, he ultimately finds acceptance. And, with the love and strength of his family, friends and bi-sexual girlfriend, he embarks on the process to change his physical gender to match his inner existence, having his breasts removed and taking hormone therapy to transition his body from female to male (FTM). He even speaks candidly, though briefly, about his plans to move forward with additional surgery and how he and his fiance live with their decision.


This memoir was surprisingly readable. Bono has a writing style that puts you at ease...like you are sitting on his couch and chatting over a coffee. Admittedly, at moments, I'd wished he had remembered that we barely knew each other, those few moments of "TMI" (too much information) were rare and were presented in a manner that avoided too much discomfort.

This book has been described as "groundbreaking" and "candid", and it is likely both. Though there are many books on GLBT issues, I know of only a few about transgender issues, none of which were written by a celebrity. While I would typically consider this book a "3", read it or not. In this case, I think that just about everyone could learn a little something about acceptance and being different. Therefore, I consider this book...

4/5- Great. Push it on your friends and family.

more opinions at:
Anyone???
 

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Monday - 10/17/11

Sheila at Book Journey hosts this weekly event where we celebrate what we are reading for the week, as well as books completed the previous week.

 

Currently Reading:

Crossing the Water (Daniel Robb)
Math for Grownups (Laura Laing)

Just Finished:

Speak (Laurie Halse Anderson)

Transition (Chaz Bono) 

On Deck: 

To be determined...

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Sunday Salon - 10/16/11

10/16/11

Life this week was less chaotic, thank goodness, though just as busy. Less stress at work and Saturday being lazy, reading and taking a break from "the house". Today will be busy though, back to the grind!

I was reminded again this week of how much I read as a child, but still cannot figure out what the heck I was reading since there are so many fabulous children's books out there that I have never read (Charlotte's Web, Little House on the Prairie series, etc.). I recall lots of Judy Blume...but that's about it.  Yet, I read constantly...WHAT was I reading?!

So, on my weekly library trip I grabbed a bunch of books that I have been meaning to read for a while from my new library's fabulous kid's section. I'm looking forward to digging in and, attempting at least, to read both a child's book and an adult book simultaneously. We'll see how that goes as I don't typically read more than one at a time.

What are your reading plans for the week?

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Book Blog Hop - 10/14-17/11

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop!

Are you a book blogger? Are you a reader? Then welcome to the place where all of us connect over the weekend and chat about books!

How it Works

As long as you meet the qualifications of a book blogger, you may add your book blog link into the linky list below. But before you do that, there are a few requirements. Read up, to save yourself a headache with the linky!  

1. Before you add your link, you must post about the Hop on your blog and link directly back to THIS POST (not just my domain, but the direct post for this Hop). The linky is going to review the link that you enter in your submission, looking for a link to this post on your blog. If it doesn’t find one, your link will not be approved. This is called back linking and I had to institute it because people were taking advantage of the Hop and getting some free advertising without promoting the Hop themselves. You can read more about this here.

2. While you are creating your post, answer the following question (there’s a new prompt each week)!

3. Now it’s time to enter your blog link into the linky below (after the list of instructions!).

Instructions:

• Click on: You are next – Click here to enter
• A new page will open
• In the “Link Title/Blog Title” box, please enter the NAME OF YOUR BLOG and in parentheses after your blog name, please state the main genre that you review (i.e. Crazy-for-Books (contemp. fiction))
• In the “Link” box, please put a direct link to your blog hop post
  (i.e. http://crazy-for-books.com/2011/10/book-blogger-hop-1014-1017.html)
• There is a note about the Back Link requirement. Please make sure you have linked back to this blog hop post in the post on your blog or your link will not be accepted! Be sure to read this important note!
• Please enter your e-mail address in the box provided in case I need to contact you about your link submission.
• The list is randomized, so your link will not appear in a specified order. If you are looking for your link, I suggest you do a Ctrl-F on your PC keyboard and type a few letters of your blog name so you can find it easily.

That’s it! Now you can start hopping around, visiting other links in the list, meeting fellow bloggers and chatting about their blogs and books they are reading. If you aren’t a blogger, this is a great opportunity for readers to find new sites to follow and meet some new friends who enjoy reading the same things that they do! I strongly encourage you to take some time to visit these blogs and spend some time with your blog friends. We all work hard on our sites and we enjoy getting company, so let’s read more than just the blog hop post – let’s connect! That’s what the Hop was created for! Happy Hopping!

“What is your favorite spooky book (i.e. mystery/suspense, thriller, ghost story, etc.)?”

My Answer: 

I am, admittedly, not at all a fan of mysteries, suspense or ghost stories. I read quite a bit in high school, but lost my taste for it when bad things started happening whenever I read them...

Seriously!! 

For example, I had stopped reading Stephen King for this reason. Then, I started reading a book one day without realizing who the author was.  An hour or so later, my prom date called to inform me he couldn't go after all. I was heartbroken, and stumped since he was just a friend (no weird date issues there).  When I sat down a bit later, I discovered the SK thing... I dumped the book, literally, and the next day my date called and all was fixed. The prom was back on.  Silly and superstitious, perhaps, but this sort of thing has happened to me more than once!

But...if I had to choose, I would go with a classic like Steven King's Carrie. A great story and I can't help but envision Sissy Spacek covered in blood!

See?!  I just tried to upload a picture and it wouldn't upload...then it froze my computer!  I'm just saying...

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