Shannon's Book Bag

A diva kitty's love is irreplaceable!
Love is...a good book and a sleeping kitty!
Reading keeps me up at night!

Friday, December 30, 2011

Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge 2012

Outdo Yourself Reading Ch allege 2012
Details:
-Runs January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012 (books read prior to 1/1/12 do not count towards the challenge). You can join at anytime. Sign up on The Book Vixen’s blog.
-The goal is to outdo yourself by reading more books in 2012 than you did in 2011. See the different levels below and pick the one that works best for you. Nothing is set in stone; you can change levels at any time during the challenge.
-Books can be any format (bound, eBook, audio).
-Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.
-Grab the reading challenge button and post this reading challenge on your blog to track your progress. Please include a link back to this sign-up post so others can join the reading challenge too. You do not have to be a book blogger to participate; you could track your progress on Goodreads or LibraryThing.

Levels:
     Getting my heart rate up – Read 1–5 more books
     Out of breath – Read 6–10 more books
     Breaking a sweat – Read 11–15 more books
     I’m on fire! – Read 16+ more books

Its been a pretty slow year, due to the various life challenges, and fully expect I am I can beat my 2011 book numbers in 2011! So, I am challenging myself to:

Breaking a sweat – Read 11–15 more books

That would put me right in line with my previous years numbers (though in truth I wasn't really tracking much prior to 2011). But I am confident I can do it!

Friday Faves - 12/30/11

By Shannon 2:56 PM // 2 comments

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. Vacation! 'Nuff said.

2. Christmas! XMas eve party, lots of fun. Two families of presents and good food. Little bit of travel in between, but home by midnight. Very nice!

3. Cleaning. I like a clean house. My fiance doesn't so much care... We bought a house that was owned by a 96 year old woman which was, needless to say, filthy. Then, I broke my foot and was off my feet for months. So, I spent this past Monday literally on my hands and knees scrubbing floors and using my fingernails to get God-knows-what out of the corners.

Ok, I didn't so much love the cleaning...but LOVED the smell of Pine-sol and clean about the house! Still plenty more to be done, but at least I can use the bathroom without gagging quite so much.

4. Christmas Shopping. For yourself! I went out Tuesday and shopped, literally, until I dropped. Now I admittedly hate shopping and do so rarely (particularly for clothes), so it didn't take so long. But every once in a while its fun to go all-out crazy and splurge on yourself...and even more fun when you're spending gift certificates! I got some new sweaters (all mine are coming apart at the seams) and pants for work, as well as a beautiful flowery button-down shirt (these rarely fit me). I also got some curtains which I hope will go in the living room... Of course, everything was on sale. I am somewhat..."frugal"...and rarely buy anything that isn't.

5. New Years. The fiance and I were discussing earlier today how we often try to have friends over, have tried to set a precedent for parties, that type of thing...and yet we had no plans for the New Year's holiday. Not one friend had invited us to get together. But, while I was at the library today, apparently someone called and we now have plans to hang out with friends (who conveniently live 10 minutes away)! Very cool!

Hoping you all have wonderful New Years plans with friends, family and fun! Be safe!

Merry Christmas to all, every one!

By Shannon 11:28 AM // No comments


Courtesy of Microsoft.com

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

May your day be filled with loved ones and great food!

Friday Faves - 12/23/11

By Shannon 11:23 AM // No comments

1. 4:59pm. I love that last minute before you are officially on vacation! It's like...well, like Christmas! And my present is eleven days off! Yipee!

2. Christmas Carols. Usually by Christmas, I am burnt out on Christmas carols. This year, I've been listening to the country station at work and therefore am not over Andy Williamsed or Burl Ived. I have not, however, heard my favorite...the one where the kid asks "Mommasita, donde esta Santa Clause?!" I love that one!

3. Holiday Parties. Both of my parties last week went very well!

4. Christmas Shopping. I don't honestly enjoy Christmas shopping...but I like it on that last day, when all you need to do is pick up a few last minute stocking stuffers from Walgreen's. That feeling of success and completion is AWESOME!

5. Giving. I am looking forward to seeing my family this weekend and can't wait to give them their gifts. I am at that age that, while I like getting presents, giving them is truly the best part of the season.

I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas, a Happy Chanukah and a very Happy Kwanzaa!!

Love At First Bark - Klam

By Shannon 11:06 AM // 2 comments

From the streets of New York City to the swamps of post Katrina New Orleans, Love At First Bark by Julie Klam is a short but delightful book about Klam's experiences rescuing and fostering dogs.

Interspersed with anecdotes about her ever-growing pack of dogs at home, her young daughter, and her struggles to maintain a relationship with her husband in light of her busy urban life, Klam tells the stories of several dogs who she discovers in need of her care.

She tells about finding an abandoned pit bull who shows signs of physical abuse. She and her infinitely forgiving husband take their first vacation in years, to visit a post Katrina New Orleans and view rescue efforts. They then get caught up in the search for a stray who is seen with a jar over its head (which it is later determined was not due to its efforts to get food, but by the evil-doings of juvenile delinquents).

Ultimately, Klam shows us that giving is often far more beneficial to ourselves than to the animals receiving.

This book was quite short, but very good reading. I love reading about people's efforts to help animals in need. I am a serious animal lover and have been since I was a child. A serious animal lover:

Me: Nice doggy (as I stick my hand through an alley way fence).

My Mother: Stop! Don't! (as she envisions the "nice doggy" nicely removing the better part of my right hand)

I am the person who, at a party, will be found in the corner petting the family dog or cat, rather than mingling. Honestly, it's like a disease... I was a freshman in college before I was able to watch the animated version of The Grinch Whole Stole Christmas because the big-green dude kept kicking and yelling at the little puppy (it took a good bottle of vodka and a couple of strong, male friends to hold me down to get through it).

In fact, I have avoided reading books in the past (The Yearling, Bambi) because I've been told that animals are hurt or killed in them. I have always envisioned leading such a life, rescuing animals and making life better for them. But, honestly, I would be terrible at it. I would never give a pet away once it lived with me. I would end up living in a zoo and being known as "the crazy dog/cat lady down the street"

But I wish I could.

And I cry every time I see those Sarah McLaughlin commercials!

Klam's writing is funny and heartwarmingly fulfilling. I look forward to reading more of her work.

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

More opinions at:

Caribousmom

Memorable Memoirs Reading Challenge 2012

By Shannon 1:55 PM // 1 comment

What Counts as A Memoir?

I know there's a difference between memoir and autobiography, but for this challenge, we're going to define memoir as a record of events written by a person having intimate knowledge of them and based on personal observation. Published letters, diaries, journals, autobiographies, nonfiction books on the craft of writing memoirs ... in my book, they all count as Memorable Memoirs for this challenge. (Generally, biographies don't, but I could always be convinced.)

The Rules:
Books, e-books, audiobooks, ARCs, NetGalley books are allowed.
Overlaps with other challenges are also allowed.
Re-reads are allowed.
No need to create a list of books in advance (but if you want to, please feel free!)
You don't need a blog to participate.
You must select a level. You can increase your level, but you can't go back down.

The Dates:
January 1 - December 31, 2012. You can sign up anytime between now and throughout 2012.

The Levels (new this year!)
Diarist: read 1-4 memoirs
Autobiographer: read 5-9 memoirs
Memoirist: read 10+ memoirs.

Well, this one was a no-brainer, right? Memoirs. Reading memoirs. Right up my alley!

I am going all in for this one. Going for the big kahuna...and anticipate beating it:

Memoirist: read 10+ memoirs

Bring them on!!!

Teaser Tuesday - 12/20/11

By Shannon 1:20 PM // No comments

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:

"An unfinished To Do list, laundry piled and waiting for her at home, two overtired and cranky children whining at her. This was her life, and most of the time Gilly could ignore these small annoyances that were only tiny details in the much larger overall picture. Embrace them, even.

But not today.

Please, shut up. For five minutes. Just shut up!"

Precious and Fragile Things (Megan Hart), pg. 9

Monday - 12/19/11

By Shannon 5:06 PM // No comments

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:

Precious and Fragile Things (Megan Hart)
Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
Math for Grownups (Laura Laing)

Just Finished:
What Alice Forgot (Liane Moriarty)
Love At First Bark (Julie Klam)

On Deck:
hmmm....

Sunday Salon - 12/19/11

By Shannon 3:28 PM // No comments

12/19/11

Must.make.it.through.week...must!

Goodness I am tired. And grouchy. Sorry co-workers. Sorry students. Sorry family. I am nearing the end of my proverbial rope and there are still three more days of work to make it through before I am finally on vacation.

Work and family

The past couple weeks have been crazy-busy due to a death in my staff assistant's family. She's been out and I've been covering her work, as well as mine. Typically, a weekend would rest me up and I'd be ready to keep going. But this past weekend was packed full with holiday responsibilities and here I am Monday morning (late for Sunday Salon, missed my Friday Faves) exhausted. Barely making it through the day. And did I mention grouchy?!

I attended my parent's holiday party on Saturday. It was a great time as always...though I always come away from those things feeling old (seeing the next door neighbor's daughter who is in her mid-twenties, though the last time I saw her she was like seven). Oh well.

The fiance has been sick for a few days and opted to stay home...despite wanting to go really badly.

Arts

I spent both weekend days at the theater, selling membership at our holiday fair. It was a nice time and I sold a couple, so it was worth the time.

My a cappella group is gearing up for 2012. We have an audition on New Year's Day for a cabaret thing we've done for a few years. More about that later, assuming they make a place for us.

Also, we have a Chocolate Lover's Night event the weekend before Valentine's Day. We did it last year and it was really great. Besides the tons of chocolate desserts that are available, the event is a full Purely Vocals performance. We often do gigs where we share the stage, but this is a chance to perform a full set list (1-2 hours). Tiring, but fun! And we get paid, which is very nice as that means I get reimbursed for the website costs!

Books and Reading

Downtime at the holiday fair allowed some good reading time... Reviews are coming, though I may have to wait until after the holidays to fit them in. Once again no trip to the library, but hopefully this Friday before I finish my holiday shopping.

Hope your holiday plans are coming together!

Sir Isaac Newton's Birthday Bash!

By Shannon 10:24 AM // No comments

Today is my work department's first holiday celebration in, what I understand is, over a decade!

Last year, my first at the company, I asked about a holiday party and folks just kind of put it off. We are a diverse group... Of course that shouldn't matter, it should add to the festivities! Folks just seemed unmotivated to celebrate the season.

This year, I had support from some new faculty...and another year's seniority! So, I started shaking the proverbial holiday tree/menorah! I broached the subject with my boss and got the go ahead. Yipee! Except that this put the whole event on my shoulders...OY!

Unfortunately, I started very late and thus the planning for the event has been stunted. But folks are finally signing up to attend and saying they will bring treats. I am very much hoping that it is a success!

Now, it just so happens that Sir Isaac Newton's birthday is the 25th (on the old calendar, on the current calendar its the 4th of January or something), but since I work in a department of physicists we decided to bill the party as a "Birthday Bash" for one of the world's most famous physicists. Hopefully that will take some of the holiday party feel out of it and folks of all denominations will attend!

I am really hoping it is a rousing success and that everyone has a good time!

Otherwise, this may just be the last party for the next decade...

All art courtesy of microsoft.com

Library Loot - 12/14/11

By Shannon 9:50 AM // No comments

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

Sadly, no time this weekend for a library trip... I popped by to drop off a few finished books and am hoping to stop in some night this week:

New Loot:

Nada...

Leftover Loot:
What Alice forgot / Liane Moriarty.
Voluntary madness : my year lost and found in the loony bin / Norah Vincent.
Tiger, tiger / Margaux Fragoso.
Project Rebirth : survival and the strength of the human spirit from 9/11 survivors / by Robin Stern
Townie : a memoir / Andre Dubus III.
Handle with care : a novel / Jodi Picoult.
Unbearable lightness : a story of loss and gain / Portia De Rossi.
A secret gift : how one man's kindness--and a trove of letters--revealed the hidden history of the G
Salt marsh diary : a year on the Connecticut coast / Mark Seth Lender.
Love at first bark : how saving a dog can sometimes help you save yourself / Julie Klam.
The road / Cormac McCarthy.
The dry grass of August / Anna Jean Mayhew.
Precious and fragile things / Megan Hart.
When we were friends : a novel / Elizabeth Joy Arnold.
The tale of Despereaux : being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread /
Take me home : an autobiography / John Denver with Arthur Tobier.
Scattershot : my bipolar family : a memoir / David Lovelace.
Losing my faculties : a teacher's story / Brendan Halpin.
Miss American pie : a diary of love, secrets, and growing up in the 1970s / Margaret Sartor.
The Brothers' lot : a novel / by Kevin Holohan.
These things hidden / Heather Gudenkauf.
Paradise road : Jack Kerouac's Lost highway and my search for America / Jay Atkinson.
Wrecker : a novel / Summer Wood.

What Alice Forgot - Moriarty

By Shannon 2:00 PM // No comments

Alice Love awakes one day to an aching headache and finds herself lying on a gym floor. She has fallen and hit her head in spinning class, but she doesn't know what spinning is and she hates gyms. Turns out, that's the good news.

In What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty, Alice Love has developed amnesia and forgotten the past 10 years of her life. Last she remembers, she was twenty-nine and several months pregnant with her first child. She and her loving husband had just recently bought their first house. Life was good.

But Alice isn't twenty-nine anymore, she's thirty nine. Her first pregnancy has blossomed into three children she doesn't remember. And, her loving husband and she are in the midst of a not-so-friendly divorce.

The lives of her loved ones have changed dramatically. Her sister has married a bear and is struggling with infertility. Her mellow, widowed mother has married her pushy and outgoing father-in-law. Worst of all, she has changed. She is no longer the laid-back, girl-next-door. She has become a skinny, prissy, "soccer-mom" and doesn't even recall the friendship, and loss, of a supposedly dear friend.

What follows is Alice's efforts to remember her lost years, to accept the new parts of her that are valuable, and to recapture what she has lost of herself that was invaluable.

I had seen others' reviews and knew that it wasn't going to be the light read that many expected. But I also didn't expect it to be amusing and fun at times too. I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions.

More importantly, though this book is written in a woman's lit style, it really makes you stop and think. If you woke up tomorrow and you were ten years older, what would you think about yourself? Would you like your life or would you be disappointed? Would you like yourself and who you became? What would you regret or miss? And, what would you do to recapture those things?

As life moves forward, it is good to look back sometimes. It is good to evaluate where you are and where you are going. It is good to ask yourself if you are still someone you would be proud of and enjoy knowing. In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it!"

I enjoyed this book quite a bit and think others will enjoy it just as much.

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

More opinions here
S. Krishna's Books
Booking Mama

Monday - 12/12/11

By Shannon 11:56 AM // No comments

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:

What Alice Forgot (Liane Moriarty)
Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
Math for Grownups (Laura Laing)

Just Finished:
Give a Boy a Gun (Todd Strasser)

On Deck:
Love At First Bark (Julie Klam)
Precious and Fragile Things (Megan Hart)

Fridays Fave Five - 12/9/11

By Shannon 9:15 PM // 2 comments

1. Updating files. I finally took the time this week to update my address book. No easy task, this involved combining my work calendar/address book, my gmail account (which links to my phone), my yahoo account, my facebook account, and emails from folks with updates. It was well overdue and organization always makes me feel better about life.

2. Holiday Cards In... I got my first holiday card this week. Its nice to receive a piece of actual snail mail sometimes!

3. Holiday Cards Out... I was a good-doobie and buckled down and sent out our holiday cards. I wish I'd have done a bit more pre-planning and had the cards made with a "before" picture of the house...with a follow-up "after" card next year. But, one can only move so many mountains on one's on!

4. Holiday events. Two weekends ago was my theater's holiday show. Every year its so much fun and it really is my holiday season kick-off! This past weekend, we attended the symphony orchestra's (in a local town) holiday show. My fiance's parents purchase a table each year and its become a wonderful tradition! This coming weekend I've got an arts/craft fair at the theater both days and then my parents sort-of annual Christmas party. I am so looking forward to it!

5. Precious gifts. I am thankful for the precious gifts I have in my family, my dear finance, and my most perfect kitty. I am gifted every day I wake up and know they are part of my life!

Sunday Salon - 12/11/11

By Shannon 8:50 PM // No comments

12/11/11

I love the holiday season. I used to love Christmas as a child. Then, I kind of hated it as a young adult. Everyone said, "Oh, you'll change your mind when you have kids!" But, I never had kids... Thankfully, as I've gotten older I am appreciating it a bit more again. It helps that Christmas shopping is minimal these days, everyone basically wants gift certificates, cash or stuff I can get via the Internet. Thank goodness for the Internet!

Along with preparing for the holiday, its been a crazy week at work...

My staff assistant was out for a couple vacation days, then her mother got ill and passed away. So I've been on my own for this week and while its under control, its also very busy. We are just going into finals too, so things are just going to get busier. But I'm glad she's taking time to be with her family. Its the worst to lose someone you love right around the holidays.

Anyway...

I'm also trying to motivate my coworkers to have a holiday party. Apparently, they haven't done so in like...a decade! One thing about working with a bunch of physicists, there aren't a lot of social butterflies. I'm doing my best to spark some interest!

Of course, I'm also counting the days as I will be on vacation again soon! Yippee!

Its been a busy season at my theater as well. We had our holiday show last weekend and this coming weekend we are having a holiday fair with a local art gallery. It should be lots of fun and is another chance to have a membership sales table.

I'm also looking forward to a family Christmas party this coming weekend. Its my favorite part of the holiday and am really glad my parents are doing it again after taking a few years off.

Oh, and did I mention my baby brother (born some 20 years after me....) is turning 21 tomorrow?!?!?! God help us all! But, especially, God help me because I am officially OLD!!!

I hope all of your holiday preparations are going well!

Happy Accidents - Lynch

By Shannon 4:05 PM // 1 comment

I am a Gleek. I am.

I am an artsy-fartsy, music loving, geek who loves the show Glee.

And, I am a big fan of good humor. So, Jane Lynch's Happy Accidents seemed like a great read for me. She is on Glee, she is a theater pro, and she is funny as all heck!

Well, at least she was for a couple chapters...

Jane Lynch's childhood dream was to be an actress, like her idols Ronnie Howard, Anson Williams and Vicki Lawrence. So, she sent a letter to some Hollywood casting companies and was promptly, but nicely, told to go away and get some training. So, she did. She joined a school production of The Ugly Duckling, and then quit days later because she had stage fright. Things were not looking good...

The path was not an easy one. Struggling in high school with being not only a theater geek, but also a lesbian, Lynch eventually became an alcoholic to hide her discomfort with others. In college, she hid behind a mean, judgmental streak in order to avoid her fears about her own self worth. As an adult, she finally had to admit that a serious theatrical actress may not be her route, perhaps comedy suited her better.

Ultimately, with the help of some "happy accidents", she found herself being offered great parts and making her living. Then, her happiest accident occurred while at a convention. She met the woman she was to fall in love with and marry.

Lynch talks about how focused she can get, sometimes to the detriment of all else. This was, unfortunately, apparent. Several chapters in, Lynch gets so focused on telling us her story she forgets to be funny. Yes, there are a few ha-ha moments here and there. But, overall the book wasn't nearly as funny as the first 2-3 chapters.

This was a really great story and I, personally, really enjoyed reading about Lynch's experiences. If you are really interested in hearing her story, and not just her jokes, this book is a great read. But, if you are really looking for a funny, light read this just isn't the one.

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

Give A Boy A Gun - Strasser

By Shannon 2:52 PM // No comments

Todd Strasser's Give A Boy A Gun was written in response to the horrific events at Columbine High School Tuesday, April 20, 1999. It is a heartfelt call to arms against guns and violence.

A fictional story about an occurrence of school violence, the story is written in snippets of comments from people involved...the perpetrators' suicide notes, the victims, the families, teachers, school administrators, etc.

The event is written to have a very close similarity to Columbine (the perpetrators personalities, for example), though the actual event is much less violent and horrific than the actual event was.

When I started reading the book, I really didn't like the set up with snippets. After coming back to the book a day later, I was finally able to get my brain around the system and get into the story.

Maybe I am just a really bad young adult novel reviewer...

Or maybe I just expect too much because I read a lot memoirs where the real facts are expressed as they supposedly occurred...

But, the ending of this book was just anti-climactic. It just wasn't realistic or fulfilling. It was almost like the author didn't want to actually delve into the nasty dirty horrible facts of gun violence...

I guess I should understand that, given it is a young adult novel. But, isn't it young adults who are not only imagining, but actually doing, these horrible things? Why avoid showing them the reality of what such a horrible event could/would be like? To avoid giving them ideas, perhaps?

Overall, the whole book seemed a bit too moral focused to me. I don't want to ruin it for anyone, but...the jocks treat the geeks bad, the geeks respond, and the geeks are paid back for their horrifically bad decision.

The book ends with basically no one else really learning anything from the event. But, then maybe that is exactly the point. Nothing is gained or learned from such horrible acts of violence. Real life is not a movie. The jerks don't suddenly "get it" and beg forgiveness and all is better.

I just kind of wonder if there wasn't a more interesting way of expressing that.

2/5- Just okay. Choose with extreme prejudice.

More opinions here
Mr. K-C's blog

A-Z Book Challenge - Yup...another one!

By Shannon 10:16 AM // 2 comments

How It Works:

This challenge will run from January 1st, 2012 until December 31st, 2012.

You can join anytime.

If you are blogger, leave the link to your actual post about this challenge.

If you are not a blogger, leave a link to where you will be keeping track of this challenge.

So there are two different ways you can set up your own A-Z challenge...

A - Make a list now of 26 books, picking one for each letter of the alphabet. For example: A - Atonement B- Black Beauty C - The Count of Monte Cristo D - Dances with Dragons etc.

OR

B - The lazy way: Make a list on your blog from A-Z. Throughout the year, as you go along, add the books you are reading to the list. Hope that by the end of the year you have read one book for each letter. Towards the end of the year, you can check and see which letters you are missing and find books to fit.

Each month, I will add another challenge to this main challenge. It might to read a book with both A and Z in the title or to read a book with 3 words that all start with the same letter. I might host a few random giveaways too for good measure. If you've got some idea for the mini-challenges, send them my way!

Since it is really hard to find titles beginning with X, the letter X just needs to be in the title somewhere.

So to join along....
1. Write a blog post about this challenge and whether you are going go with A or B.
2. Add the button to your blog.
3. Attach yourself to the linky.
4. Follow my blog so that you can see when I post the monthly challenge!

Well, I'm beginning to see why so many blogger say these Challenges are addictive!

I had no intention of joining any Challenges, ever. I hate being told what to read! I approach my reading choices by the seat of my proverbial pants and at the whims of my mood, which admittedly changes hourly, which is why I often post an "On Deck" book on my Monday What Are You Reading over the weekend and then return it to the library before the post goes live Monday morning (oh yeh, love those mood swings baby!).

But, as Challenges come up I can see how much of my typical random choices could fit into many Challenges. So I figure what the heck I'll give it a shot.

And here I go again. I think an A-Z Challenge could be fun and, for the most part at least, easy to fulfill (except for a few letters, perhaps).

Clearly I am going to go with the suggested " B - lazy way" as prechoosing reading is just never going to work for me! Keep you eyes peeled to see how this all works out!

Teaser Tuesday - 12/6/11

By Shannon 3:26 PM // 2 comments

"I'm twenty-nine, Jane." Alice was irritated by Jane's dramatic tone. What was she getting at? "Same age as you."
Jane sat back up and looked at George Clooney triumphantly.
She said, "I just got an invitation to her fortieth birthday."
That was the day Alice Mary Love went to the gym and carelessly misplaced a decade of her life.

What Alice Forgot (Liane Moriarty), pg. 13