Cool Writing Desk And It's All Mine

With school, work and writing I desperately needed a space to keep all my various laptops, tablets, books and other paraphernalia.  So here it is.

It's already mess, but it is being used a lot...in fact I'm using it right now to write this post lol.  The only down side is that it is in my book nook so I am constantly being tempted to go grab a book and read instead of study or work...lol  Happy Reading Everybody!

Hiatus...Sniff

Hola Readers!  I have come to a yucky decision.  At the moment I am working three full time jobs,

volunteering and started school full time.   As you can probably imagine, this does not leave a whole lot of time for reading, much less blogging.  Luckily one of my jobs (the one with the most onerous schedule) ends in June, freeing me up to resume my reading and blogging.  So pretty much what I am saying is I probably won't be writing much until then.  I am sad 'cause this is one of my only creative outlets, which is why I'm gonna start right back up in June.  Hope to see you then.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Stuffed Reading

It's birthday season for my nephews...seriously all 6 of them were born within months of each other.  They range in age from 8 months to 9 years and one thing they all have in common is a love of what they call stuffy's.  These are what they call there stuffed animals.  They also love reading...'cause what kid with me for an aunt wouldn't.  Here are a couple literary stuffy's for you tiny tot.

A Bear Called Paddinton

I loved this book so much growing up, it's such a classic.

Curious George

This monkey has been a favorite of every nephew at some point in time.

The Story of Babar

This book series is STILL one of my go to's...I just love it

The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Instant nostalgia with this set

Clifford the Big Red Dog

Who didn't love this canine growing up?

Just a couple of ideas for the little guys and gals in your life.  Of course these are just a few...the possibilities are ENDLESS!  Happy Reading Everybody!

It's Getting Real

Oh my goodness folks!  The move is just around the corner...three more days and I will be waking up in my new home.  At the moment though I am feeling rather desolate as all of my many bookshelves look like this.

It is really weird and oddly monochromatic to have all of my books packed away and nothing but sad empty shelves staring back at me.  Of course the upside to all of this is that in my new house all of my friends are coming with me.

Here are 16 of the 22 boxes that are filled with nothing but books that are coming with me...and that is after I *gasp* actually donated some of them.  I am so ready to be at my new home with my Hubbin, my book nook and all of my literary friends.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Upcoming Awards Event Of Awesome...Need Help.

Hola Readers.  I have decided that I am going to start my own awards event called the Bookies.  This will be a yearly event where I arbitrarily decide winners in various categories based off the books I have read the year before (was that confusing enough?).  I will then make a post of awesome awarding these newly read books and their authors honors beyond their wildest dreams...or just some random like from a book blogger :-)  Anyways where all of you lovely readers come in is helping me come up with the various award categories for this awesome event.  I have some already.

Best Book (my favorite overall book that I have read this year)

Favorite Character (my favorite character in a book I  have read this year)

Best Dressed (my favorite cover of a book I have read this year)

Best Line/Quote (my favorite tidbit in a book I have read this year)

Best World Building (my favorite setting in a book I have read this year)

Character I would most like to see die a fiery death (self explanatory)

Best plot twist (my favorite twist in a book I have read this year)

I think you get the idea, but I want so many more idea's for these awards so send them in.  Keep in mind that these will be based on books I have read in the previous year, so there will be a mix of old school, new release, popular and obscure.  Let's see how this little experiment works shall we?

Happy Reading Everybody!

What Did I Just See On The Bookshelf ?!?

I am in a really weird mood right now...a whole bunch of bourbon and S'mores may have a wee bit to do with it...but anyways...what was I saying...Oh yeah!  To celebrate my mood of weirdness here are a couple of the weirdest books I have ever seen on a bookshelf (DISCLAIMER I have not actually read these so they may be awesome...).

What's Your Poo Telling You?

With expert advice on everything from the color to the "floatiness" of your poo, you will be completely covered in the feces area...bonus activity book sold separately (no seriously, there is an activity book!)

The Pantyhose Craft Book

To be honest I don't even remember the last time I wore pantyhose...much less made a windcatcher out of them...

How to Sharpen Pencils

Because apparently we have all been doing it the wrong way?

The Beginner's Guide to Sex in the Afterlife

For those of us who can't bear the thought of going without...even after we have shuffled off this mortal coil.

Be Bold With Bananas

So many ways to go with this...so many innuendo's...so much weird!

Ok I'm sure you have all had more then enough of my weirdness today...so just go ahead and tell me the weirdest book that you have ever read/seen.  Happy Reading Everybody!

The Anatomy Of A Good Reading Day

There is nothing like have a few hours to yourself to just read!  The vast majority of the time that is all I want to do, and unfortunately most of my reading is done on the fly so when I get a few solid hours to devote to reading, I want it make it as perfect as possible.  Here is my breakdown of a perfect day of reading.

The Book - Obviously the best part of a reading day is actually reading, so book selection is paramount.  I have found that I enjoy myself the most when my book matches the season/environment/current book craving.  For me this means reading certain books in certain seasons, or maybe gathering a couple of books to really make sure I have the exact right one. This is the most variable of components in a reading day.

The Environment - The next component in a great reading day is the environment.  I like a comfy place that has minimal distractions (I have a hard time reading if there is a tv on...I get too distracted) and a very comfy place to curl up.  This can be any number of places.  I love to read outside, especially int he fall and spring.  Summer time see's me at the pool or beach.  Cold days or tired days you can find me in my comfy reading chair.  I am also a huge fan of pillows/blankets/cushions to really ensure total comfort.  I regularly keep a zillion various cushy items to pad my chosen reading spot and am not above bringing a couple of pillows with me to the great outdoors.  I also really love a unique spot outside of my home zone.  This includes libraries, gardens, restaurants, boats, and well just about anywhere that inspires me.  On vacation my Hubbin has learned to build in at least a couple of hours for me to read in a new local spot.

Libations - I love having the perfect drink next to me while I read...I like it even better when somebody else makes it for me and keeps it full.  I am not horribly picky when it comes to my beverages, I sometimes like to match it to my book, and definitely the weather/environment play a role, but really that's about it.  My favorites include, coffee, tea, wine, Hubbin made cocktails, hot chocolate, cider (hot or cold), occasionally beer or a nice sipping whiskey...pretty much anything that is sippable and enhances the experience.

Snacks - For me it all depends on how I'm feeling as to whether or not snacks are necessary.  Sometimes a certain book will trigger a food craving, or if I'm snacky in general its nice to have some munchies.  My problem is food can get distracting, especially if it's messy, making me pause in my reading to eat.  For the most part any thing I can eat with out utensils or needing to use a napkin after every bite works the best.  I have found a nice box of gourmet chocolates hits the spot.  All that being said, I have on many occasion purposely gone out by myself for a meal at a restaurant with the sole purpose of eating and reading and I find my ebooks work really well for this type of reading day.

Technology - As a general rule, I usually try and banish all technology when I am doing some dedicated reading.  I turn off my phone, tv, computer, and any other distractions and just allow myself to get lost in my books.  The exceptions to this are obviously if I am reading an ebook or if I'm reading something that requires/inspires a quick bit of research...I'll use my phone for that.

If I can get all of these elements to come together at the same time I know I am in for some happy times.  I have spent a lot of time reading and am adept at quickly assembling all components of a perfect reading day anytime I find I have carved out some time.  On that note, it looks like I have a little bit of time now so off I go to brew some coffee and grab a blanket and book.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Book Within Book

One of the many things I love about books and the reading community is how versatile and cross-referenced it is.  I have been noticing in so many of the books that I am reading that other books are referenced, or used as a focal point, or read, or written or some combination of these.  There are ton's of great books out there about books...if that makes any sense and these are always fun if a bit meta.  There are books that use a particular book as a jumping off point, or are referenced through out.  Some books just acknowledge their own characters love of reading.

I think what I love so much about all this meta booky goodness is that it shows just how huge, yet intimate the literary world is. An author can pop in a Shakespeare reference and most readers...no matter age or place or genre can get at least the gist of the quote.  Many classics make appearances that tie together the modern world with the older one.  Pretty much any time a book reference pops up in a book I'm reading, it doubles my literary enjoyment and makes me smile.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Dust Jackets

Do you know what I hate?  Dust jackets.  Yep those paper/plastic covers placed over books (mostly hard cover) that are there to protect and add color and pictures to our tomes.  I usually take them off the minute the book is purchased.  Usually 'cause the sound and the slipperiness of it drives me crazy when I am trying to read, but also 'cause the book underneath is usually so much more elegant looking.  I also like how my series that are in hard back look all similar without the dust jacket and even the most ludicrous of books looks awesome on my book shelf when in it's naked glory.

The funny thing is that as much as I hate dust jackets...I can't bear to throw them away...yep I'm a weird one folks.  I don't know if I feel guilty throwing away any part of a book, or feel at some point I might regret getting rid but for some reason they all get kept.  So I now have a big giant pile of dust jackets stashed on the bottom of on of my book shelves just waiting for me to figure out what to do with them.  If any of you have any ideas let me know.  Until then I've gotta go take all the dust jackets of my new books and add them to my stash.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Yuletide Reading

I FINALLY got my Holiday books and am ready to immerse myself in this wonderful season.  That being said all other reading (except for the one book I am trying to finish) will be put on hold for the next couple of weeks while I try and read and ramble about four holiday tomes.  Hopefully this will all work out...but if not more for next year.

 I will probably pop up a couple non holiday related ramblings and posts both to give the non-holidayers among us something to not roll their eyes over AND to smooth out the gaps between getting a book read and a ramble ready.  Since I am also pretty sick today, I'm gonna go make myself some gingerbread tea and hop in the tub with my new Christmas book.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Christmas Tree Of Books

One of the problems with writing a blog for so long is that you start to repeat your self on occasion.  The up side is while I may repeat a theme, it's usually 'cause I have some fresh material YAY!  So here once again are some fabulous trees made of our favorite thing ever BOOKS!

Red and Books

I love the color and contrast of this picture

EB Tree

I like how this book tree is decorated

Vintage Book Stack Tree

I am really enjoying the mix of old school and originality of this tree

Book Pop Up Tree

This seems like something I could actually do pretty quickly

Book Page Tree

Another DIY...provided you don't mind killing books lol

Now that you are all inspired go out and create me a forest of book tree's my reading minions...and send lots of pics!  Happy Reading Everybody!

Eat It Up

Here in the states it is Thanksgiving time...which means SO MUCH FOOD!  Being the booky that I am I cannot simply have a Thanksgiving dinner, nope I must sneak it as much literary yumminess as possible.  Here are some fun and clever ways to get the books to come to dinner.

Book Plates

Serving up food on these tasty plates would make for a great story.

Pride and Prejudice Spoon

How's this for a well read spoon?

Book Cover Wine Charms

A great way to keep everybody's drink in their own hands

Book Page Tablecloth

Just try to make the pages not too interesting or your guests will be too busy reading to eat.

Literary Teapot

What better way to end a big meal then with a hot drink and a good book.

Since I am not actually hosting the dinner this year, I will have to be tricky and see how many literary elements I can sneak onto the table.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Lost In Literature

Tis the season for corn mazes and what better way to wander then through a literary inspired labyrinth.

Alice in Wonderland

Down the rabbit hole and into the maze

The Maze Runner

A little bit meta, but still pretty cool

Twilight

I guess it's better then a Kardashian maze...

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

A classic scare, perfect for Halloween

Wicked

Just cool...really really cool

Make sure you bring a couple of books, just in case you get lost.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Fall Spruce Up

It is FINALLY starting to feel like fall WOOOOHOOOOO....and of course I work 48 hours this week.  Oh well, that just means more book money.  You may have noticed a few changes around the old blog.  I felt that the previous incarnation of design was a bit wintery and I wanted some COLOR (also I am really liking my shift key today OH YEAH!).  The orange background is inspired by fall leaves and my nephew G-man who LOVES orange.  I have also started going through all of my posts starting with the oldest and sort of sprucing them up, fixing spelling and grammar errors, formatting and link issues, key words, stuff like that. Now that I actually know a bit more on some of the

programming stuff I can at least make them look better.  Reading a lot of my old posts I am tempted to delete or edit a bunch of them as I sound so...new, but I also kind of like looking back and watching my blog develop.  I can't wait for another couple of years to see how far I progress.  Lets see, what else have I done.  Oh yeah  I've added the post "No Apologies" to the main page group because I feel like I reference it a lot and it kind of sums up my views on the blogging/reviewing part of reading.  I hope the changes are to your liking, if not...well it's my blog teeheehee.  But seriously if you have any suggestions let me know.  Happy Reading Everybody!

My Book Is Falling

One of the hazards of my job...well my life in general, is that any down time I get seems to me struggling to stay awake long enough to read a couple of pages.  This usually results in a couple of things.  One, I get really strange dreams incorporating snippets of what ever I tried to read in various strange ways (this can actually be kind of cool sometimes) and two, my books fall off the bed.

This is sad 'cause while I am all for using my books to there fullest, it is still sad to wake up and peek over the edge of my bed and see  my book sprawled open on the floor.  Sometimes if I am lucky, Hubbin comes in and gets the book before it falls, but then I wake up in a panic 'cause I can't find my book.  I'm not sure what this post is about, or what I'm trying to say really, just that I wish I had more time to read and that I could skip sleep more often.  Happy Reading Everybody!

What Am I Reading?

Myth or legend?  Novel or novella?  Comic or graphic novel?  Sometimes it can get difficult to classify the type of book/story I am reading, so I did some research.  Since I like to babble ad nauseum about things I discover, here is what I found out.

Myth - A myth tends to be a world view story, usually a story that explains something unexplained.  We see this most often in creation myths, seasonal myths, and attributing courses of nature to gods, demi-gods and the ilk. These tend to be of a more religious nature.

Legend - A legend is usually told as historical fact.  As in "my great-great-grandfather once..."  These tend to have a basis in fact, but may have been exaggerated, or embellished as time goes on.

Folk Tale/Fairy Tale - These stories tend to be regional, set in and around local areas with local flavor.  These stories also tend to have an element of magic, or magical beings in them. These tend to be more magical then religious in nature.

Fiction - This is a story that is made up, at least in part.  There may be some partial truths, or actual fact in them, but the story itself is actually untrue.

Non-Fiction - This would be the opposite of fiction.  These books are supposed to be completely true, thing biographies, how-to books, histories and so forth.  These books may have opinions in them, but on the whole are based in fact.

Short Story - A short story is meant to be read in one sitting and is usually between 1,000 and 20,000 words with most being between 4,000 and 7,500 words.  These stories tend to focus on a single element of a story instead of the big three (story, world building and characters).

Novella - This is a story in length between a short story and a novel.  In general a novella is no more then 40,000 words.  A novella offers more opportunity for development, but often focuses on a single element, with little to no sub-plot.

Novel - Here we have our full length book, usually over 40,000 words and have a fully developed plot, characters, world and sub-plots.  This is where we see multiple idea's fully fleshed out.  These tend to be the most common of "books" that are read.

Graphic Novel - Even though these are called "novels" they tend to be shorter then your average one.  Graphic Novels are classified by a story told by a "comic" style illustration with the story told more through visuals then words.

These are the basic definitions of the various types of books/stories one might read.  Of course with the zillions of books out there, there is bound to be some overlap, and some books that do not fall in the standard definitions.  All of this to say, when I use these terms in my posts, this is in general what I mean.  Hope this is helpful to some of you.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Picking The Next Book

The other day, somebody asked me how I pick my next book.  After careful consideration of this question I have found several different factors can be included in my book choosing process.

What Else Am I Reading? - I usually have about five books going at once, so if I'm already reading a dragon fantasy book, a short story collection and a reread, then I will probably pick something entirely different for my next book so I can keep a good variety going.  This actually helps me finish books faster because I am never bored so long as I keep the variety going.

What Did I Just Finish Reading? - A lot of the times what I have just finished reading will greatly affect my choice of next book.  If I loved the book I just finished, I will probably go for a similar genre, or something by the same author, or the next book in the series.  If I hated the book, I will probably go running to my favorite book shelf and quickly devour a book I know I love to get the bad taste of the icky book out of my brain.

What Am I Watching? - Movies, TV, video games, all of these will have an influence on what I am in the mood to read.  Am I watching a BBC show? Then of to a book set in England I go.  Did I just finish an awesome movie based on a book, well then I am probably downloading the literary version as we speak.  Playing a video game in space, well the SciFi shelf it is for me.

What Season Is It? - As I have mentioned before, I am a huge seasonal reader and tend to crave certain types of books depending on what season it is.  In fact I have a shelf of books that I reserve for reading only during certain seasons and will go to them whenever the weather changes.  On the flip side, I find it very difficult to read books out of season and may put off a book I'm excited about until the weather is right.

What Did I Just Buy? - Every trip to the bookstore results in some new exciting find that demands to be put on top of the TBR pile.  Sometimes it's a book I've been looking for forever, sometimes it's a book that just happened to catch my eye, and sometimes it's a book that just happens to be pertinent to something that is going on at that moment.  Regardless, these books tend to nudge up to the top of the list.

What Did I Hear About? - Sometimes I hear about a book from a website, a friend, or just randomly and for some reason must read it immediately.  I can't always pin point it, but something about the description, author, circumstances, whatever it is catches my attention and demands to placed on the top of the list.  I have had hit's and misses this way, but have learned to ignore this impulse at my own peril.

What Do I Want To Read Right This Instant - Every once in a while I just want to read some random book.  Sometimes it is a new one, sometimes it is a reread, sometimes it is just the book that is closest to me.  This impulse can strike any time, any where and involve any book. It doesn't matter how many books I am reading at this given moment, if the urge to pick up a certain book strikes it does no use to try and fight it, I just give in and read whatever it is that is stuck in my brain.  I have been known to wake up in the middle of the night and dig around my bookshelf in the dark to satisfy whatever insane literary craving has struck.  Trust me, it does no good to fight it.

These are all factors that go into picking the next book from my endless TBR pile.  It is messy, random, and usually has the result of a multi-personality list, but it gets the job done.  Now it is off to search my bookshelves for the next read. Happy Reading Everybody!

Sleeplessness

Sooo...I didn't sleep again last night...or the night before...or...well you get the idea.  I have no idea where this insomnia comes from, other then the fact my Mamma and both my sissy's have the same issue.  The plus side to this is a little extra reading, the down side is that my life is so chaotic right now that I need every second of sleep I can get.  Sigh.  That being said, you may have noticed my posting is a wee bit spotty.  Instead of apologizing every couple weeks (though I am sorry) I thought I would make one explanation/apology post to let you know what was up.  I am now a full time EMT (WOOHOO!) and this makes me very happy...tired...but happy.  Before I had a big girl desk job and was able to pretty much post everyday before 9am without fail, now I have to plan ahead and try and get a bunch of posts up in a scheduled format.  This makes it a bit less spontaneous (sad face), but still allows me to run this blog, which I dearly love doing.

Lali (Super Cool Site, go check it out!)

 Essentially it comes down to this, my schedule is not set and some weeks between work and volunteering I can put it 80-90 hours in a 7 day period.  These shifts vary in times and length, sometimes I work a 10 hour day shift, some days a 24 hour shift and sometimes, like next weekend they go for 45 hours.  I will try and be as consistent as possible as I love love love writing this blog, but if I miss a couple days here and there, this is why.  I am continuing to upgrade the pages, and Hubbin is working on some super cool ideas on how to make this blog super easy, super informative, super book buying, super linky, and just super cool, so I am excited about that.  I also changed the appearance of the blog for winter, you know 'cause I have so much time on my hands :-)  Ok I'm gonna try and snag a couple hours of sleep before I head back to the station...or maybe I'll read a couple of chapters instead :-)  Happy Reading Everybody!

Book Hoarder

I DID IT!!!!!!  I didn't think I could get it done, but I did.  I reorganized my entire book collection. It is now uniforminzed (still a real word).

It took some rum, some patience, and some extra bookshelves, but it is done.  I will post "after" pictures in a little bit, but I'm a wee bit exhausted.  Now off to read all my newly discovered books!
Happy Reading Everybody!