tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361359582024-02-19T10:19:06.114-07:00One Literature NutBeckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.comBlogger844125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-84912803906701841672016-04-22T15:28:00.002-06:002016-04-22T15:28:37.445-06:00Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon Tomorrow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yes, it's 4/22, and I'm returning to my blog for another readathon. Reading has been a struggle since school started, and while I go in major reading jags, I simply can't settle in to any one book or genre. Simply put, I need a focused readathon to pull me back together. I'm always excited for these readathons, and I've invited my students to participate. Some will, some won't, and some might cheat--true. I really just want to get them to see reading in a different way and to see book culture for what it is, a great community of readers who support one another's reading habits, interests, and likes. What more can I say?<br />
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Tomorrow morning I have to administer a practice AP test, so in the midst of that, I'll be grading and trying to read. I can't say that I'll do much of that though. Once I finish, THEN I can come home and get things rolling. Here is what I plan to read for a bit:<br />
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I'm about 25 pages from completing this AMAZING little book. I am excited to read the final section, close the book carefully, and then contemplate the messages. What a book!<br />
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This one I have on audio, and I think you should always have an audiobook on hand, when you just can't focus or need to get up and do something. This one is narrated by Dan Stevens, from Downton Abbey and other fine films--enough said, and is set during WWI. I've been taking a few classes on WWI, so I wanted to listen to a fictional story set in that era. Gritty, but good so far!<br />
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When I want an emotional read, I'll switch to the follow up novel to <i>Me Before You</i> to keep reading the story that leveled me and left me feeling forever changed. I really want to keep going on this one, but realize that I need a time I can just focus on this one and not be interrupted. Tomorrow is the perfect time!<br />
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I really love this series, and since this is book 2, I would like to wrap this magical read up so I can move into the 3rd book. I've been reading these for much too long, especially considering how much I enjoy them. Here's hoping I get to this one!<br />
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Finally, when all else fails, sleep--I mean READ about sleep. I picked up this new book by Arianna Huffington, as a long-time sufferer of several sleep disorders. As I've gotten older, the sleep issues have changed, and I'm always trying to figure out what works best other than consecutive days in a row of little sleep to send me into one glorious night of sleep. (That method doesn't really work.) I recognize the joy and wonder of sleep, and I'd like to get better about my sleep habits, so I'm eager to dive in with this one as well.</div>
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All right. There's my introduction to the readathon tomorrow. Here's where you can go to sign up and to learn more: <a href="http://www.24hourreadathon.com/">http://www.24hourreadathon.com/</a> </div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Will you be joining in on the readathon tomorrow, and if so, what are you most looking forward to about it or to reading?</b></span></div>
Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-91638316121977519472016-01-26T08:37:00.001-07:002016-01-26T08:37:27.619-07:00Review: The Story Hour by Thrity UmrigarWhat is the true power in a person's stories? I'm not talking about
the ones we make up or read to children before bedtime. I mean OUR
stories; the stories of our life that build the unique individuals that
we really are inside and out. There are the things that have happened
to us, the things we have been taught, and then the things we tell
ourselves about both--which really shape our perception of the world and
who we end up being. It was in this layering of identity that we get
Thrity Umrigar's, <i>The Story Hour</i>.<br />
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<a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392780591l/19144598.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392780591l/19144598.jpg" height="400" width="262" /></a><b>Synopsis: </b>Our
two main characters, Maggie and Lakshmi, come into contact with one
another after an attempted suicide by Lakshmi, the lonely arranged wife
of an Indian man running a local Indian restaurant and store. The
marriage was one of distance, hurt, misunderstanding, and distance.
Lakshmi felt so alone and so unloved or even seen, that she attempted
suicide, which landed her in a state facility. There, she met Maggie,
the psychologist who came to learn the reasons behind her attempted
suicide, and in the process crosses the boundary between doctor and
patient to care very much about Lakshmi's "stories" that have built her
life.<br />
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<b>Review: </b><i>The Story Hour</i> is one of
those novels that sneaks up on you, and before you know it, you care
deeply about the characters involved and want to sit with them to hear
more about their lives. Complex and yet quiet in its complexity, our
two main characters, Maggie and Lakshmi, create a friendship out of a
shared understanding of what it means to feel alone, feel overlooked,
and/or even feel unheard. Maggie learns about Lakshmi's past in India,
and what brought her to the marriage that has left her so lonely; a
journey that somehow feels relatable, regardless of where you're at in
life. Maggie, who has a spectacular marriage and husband, also feels
that something is off-balance in her own life, but examines it more
quietly, through her visits with her patient, Lakshmi.<br />
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thing I found most appealing about this novel is the way that the story
binds and connects the characters and readers to one another. That is a
powerful metaphor and symbol, throughout the novel, that represents and
speaks for that lifeblood that connects us all as human beings. While
the characters were subtle, and not without their flaws, we can relate
to them. These are qualities which make me take their stories to
heart.<br />
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There were moments in the story where I worried
about the direction it might head, and I worried we would be left
hanging at the end, yet there is a satisfactory conclusion to the
problems and concerns our characters find themselves in. Lakshmi is a
woman of courage and deep emotion. Maggie is a woman filled with
conflicting emotions and a lack of foresight. Together, their
lives--stories, help to heal wounds they both carry, and help them to
understand things about themselves they would have ignored had they not
been bound together.<br />
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Overall, I was captured by the
language and emotion of the "story" told. It made me think deeply and
to feel deeply. In short, I walked away with a greater appreciation for
the lives we lead and a respect for the journeys each person must
take. <br />
<br />Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-40261426036935063872015-12-13T18:59:00.002-07:002015-12-13T18:59:51.137-07:00Sunday Blatherings: Maybe It's Time...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's been awhile, and I finally found myself missing the space here to write and share what I'm reading, so I thought I'd give this another shot and see where it goes. Who knows? All I know is that I want to talk about what I'm reading, and thankfully I have my own space to do that!<br />
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To be honest, work stole my mojo for awhile, and I felt like I just wanted to shut it down and focus everything I had into getting the things completed that needed completing, and then shutting out everything that needed shutting out. Books were not on the "shut out" list, but the pressure of finding time to post and separate everything in my life was definitely on that list!<br />
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Things are good now. While I was sad to lose my grandfather this fall, saying goodbye to the last of my grandparents, I felt better equipped to handle it in comparison to where I was at last year. In general, I've fallen back on working hard, playing hard, and embracing the positives in life--not the negatives. That has been a real life-saver for me. Thankfully, I have great family, friends, and co-workers who also embrace that spirit. And at the end of the day, I seriously don't let things bother me. <br />
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Having said that, books never went off the radar. Where would I be without the different perspectives and viewpoints that books afford us? This last year has been a good one for reading, and I've loved so many of the books I've read or listened to. Having discovered <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/programmes/genres/drama/player" target="_blank">BBC Radio 4</a> has turned work time, whether during my prep hour or after school, into something magical! They have had some amazing books and plays broadcast on there, so much so that I'm always scouring their page for upcoming pieces.<br />
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I've also fallen in love with <a href="https://www.futurelearn.com/" target="_blank">FutureLearn</a>'s free online courses, where I have taken a number of amazing literature & history courses. Seriously, as a teacher I sometimes feel like I need to feed the engine that got me into teaching in the first place--the passion behind the practices--books and history. I quickly found that after taking these courses, I feel more knowledgeable in my own classroom, as well as inspired to learn more on my own. What could be better than that? (Okay, so I have some classes that took me a year to get through, but I'm not paying for them, nor getting any credit. It's all good!)<br />
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Okay, let's get to the real deal now and talk about books! I've been on a modern/contemporary classic binge this year, and finished a number of great novels and am in the process of reading some great contemporary reads. Here are a few:<br />
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<i>The Luminaries</i>, by Eleanor Catton, forced me to read with an attention to detail that I haven't in a very long time. The number of characters and story lines were so tightly interwoven that you really had to pay attention with this one. I won't lie, that this book took me well over a year to complete, but so worth it for the richness of the mystery set in New Zealand, and the intriguing characters in that time in history.<br />
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This book, <i>Redeployment</i> by Phil Klay, I listened to as I drove to and from work. Let me not lie here. It was a tough book to hear. The pain, sorrow, anger, and emotional pain that came through each soldier's story made it difficult for me to hit play each day, and yet I couldn't silence their stories. This collection really reshaped some of my thinking about our vets and the psychological toll they suffer by going to war.<br />
**This is a really gritty novel, full of language and graphic experiences. I'm not sure how you would separate that from their lives or characters and still get the full impact of their stories, and I wouldn't ask anyone to.<br />
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<i>All the Light We Cannot See</i> by Anthony Doerr is a jewel of a read that I'm currently in the middle of reading. My school is using this text for honors classes, and I have put it on my AP reading list, even without finishing it! There are certain books that grab at you from the very first page or chapter, and this is one of those. I'm eager for Christmas Break to get here so I can binge-read the last half!<br />
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What can I say? Thrity Umirigar has won my heart and spirit. Both of her novels I received through the Amazon Vine program, and although I'm slow to get through most novels (no thanks to my crazy reading habit of reading about 20 books at once), her novels and characters REALLY speak to me. I love her characters and her ability to craft a story about women and men that you can grow to understand and care about on such a deep level. I'm a little over half way through <i>The Story Hour,</i> about an Indian woman in counseling with her female psychiatrist after an attempted suicide, and I really can't say enough about Umrigar's rich narratives that keep giving. I feel like these women are very real. What can I say? Go look this one up!<br />
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Finally, I recently started, and immediately binge read a huge chunk of <i>The Narrow Road to the Deep North</i> by Richard Flanagan. Confusing at first, I stuck with the splintered narrative to gather who these characters were and the connection to Tasmania, Australia, and the time period--WWII that we get through the narrative. Each character is nuanced, so you have to stick with them so that they will reveal what drives them and why they do what they do. It's an amazing novel so far, and one that sticks with me for days after I read even a short chapter or two. I can't wait to finish this one!<br />
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There's the gist of what I've been up to and what I've been reading, listening, or studying! I'm excited for the holidays and for this next year. <b>What about you? What have you been reading or doing the most of this past year?</b><br />
<br />Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-49452731876892907932015-04-27T21:58:00.001-06:002015-04-27T21:58:38.291-06:00Spring Readathon Wrap Up--Finally<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yes, I'm FINALLY posting my wrap up for the readathon. Between work that I could be doing around the clock right now, holding a practice test on Saturday, and then trying to stay awake to read, this was probably my least "reading" productive readathon in a very long time. Having said that, I was still happy to get to participate for just a bit. Besides that, I got involved doing a bit of cheering this year, which was fun!<br />
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Let's talk stats real quick, so you see what I mean by a not-so-hot readathon, this go around!<br />
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End of Event Meme:</h2>
<ol>
<li><b>Which hour was most daunting for you? </b>All afternoon & evening after I jumped back in to the readathon. When you don't get a enough sleep from the week before, pulling through the day was tough! I kept falling asleep and ended up taking several naps.<b> </b></li>
<li><b>Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? </b>Some years I say read graphic novels or short reads, but I'm starting to think that you just have to read what you love most. That's it. In the end, it's not about finishing things quickly, unless that's what you want to do. Otherwise, find what you love most! I like to rotate books, which means my #'s are low, but I rotate until I find something I enjoy. A good Laura Florand, Lauren Willig, or Harriet Evans novel will always keep me flipping pages.</li>
<li><b>Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? </b>Nope. The readathon is awesome!</li>
<li><b>What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? </b>I love how cooperative it always is, so that we feel supported and part of a group. That really is the best part of it all.</li>
<li><b>How many books did you read? </b>0 = Although I did rotate through about four different books and am close to finishing a couple. </li>
<li><b>What were the names of the books you read? </b>I spent some time reading the following: <i>I Was Here</i> by Gayle Forman, <i>Not Without You</i> by Harriet Evans, <i>Bella Fortuna</i> by Rosanna Chiofalo, <i>The Chocolate Temptation </i>by Laura Florand, and <i>My True Love Gave to Me</i> by Stephanie Perkins.</li>
<li><b>Which book did you enjoy most? </b>Because I'm nearing the end, <i>My True Love Gave to Me</i>. I've really loved reading those short stories, and it's been fun getting into each individual story to see where it take you.</li>
<li><b>Which did you enjoy least? </b>None of them. Life's too short!</li>
<li><b>If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? </b>No. They were awesome, and I enjoyed helping out with that as well!</li>
<li><b>How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? </b>I'll always participate, even if it's just for an hour! I would always love to come back around to hosting a challenge or something, but October might find me just participating, since school will be gnarly this fall!</li>
</ol>
Well, there's my verbose discussion of my somewhat jumbled readathon this year. While I didn't get as much reading done as I would have liked, it sure did jump start a bit more reading on my part. Here's hoping I've turned over a new leaf! Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-53500310761837507022015-04-25T09:22:00.000-06:002015-04-25T09:22:19.659-06:00Readathon Starting Point--Kind Of<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This morning I'm proctoring our last full-length practice AP Literature test at the high school, so I had to get up and get here for that. While I should be doing a number of other things first, such as grading this massive stack of quizzes, essays, and annotated bibliographies looming beside me, I thought I'd hurry and check in! As per my usual style, I thought I'd juggle things a bit and try to rotate my work a little so that I can still participate to refuel my batteries. I'll be a much more efficient teacher--overall--if I can at least do a little "readathoning" today.<br />
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Since the school has blocked the "24 Hour Readathon" site (strangely), I looked it up on my smartphone and will just keep it moving so that I can get back to grading, which will then lead to READING.<br />
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I'll say that I really wish I would have known Dewey. I think I came into the blogging scene right after she passed away, but know that her enthusiasm for the book community was what pulled me in back then. It is THAT community that from time to time I still yearn for and sometimes think I'll come back to. Obviously, I haven't given up my book blog and do think I'll bring it back at some point, but just haven't had the energy or time to do so. For now, it's my readathon central, and that's okay. I can say thank you to Dewey for the legacy of readers and camaraderie she left us with. For that, I feel like I knew her, for sure.<br />
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As for getting started, here we go:<br />
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<b>1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? </b><br />
Well, obviously I'm at a high school in Utah--administering an AP practice test. :) By noon, I'll be back to SLC doing some reading, both of the bookish kind, as well as the AP essay sort.<br />
<b>2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?</b><br />
I actually just picked up Gayle Forman's newest, <i>I Was Here</i> from the library, and I'm really looking forward to mixing it in! I'm a big rotater with all things in my life, including books, so I know I won't just read it straight through. I am, however, eager to start it and see how this new book goes.<br />
<b>3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?</b><br />
I haven't picked anything up yet! :( We're going to stop on our way home, and I'm going to pick up some chips and guacamole, some roasted cashews, and some dark chocolate. I think that will tide me over, right?<br />
<b>4) Tell us a little something about yourself!</b><br />
As you can tell, I'm a high school English teacher, with a bit of a crazy grading and work schedule at times. I really love my students though, which makes all of the essays and grading worth it! I grew up in Idaho, out in the boonies, but ended up going to school in Kansas to get my MA in English. I guess you could say, my entire life has been about books in some way, as that's what I flourished around as a little kid, and that's what I studied as a young adult, and now that's what I teach for my career. <br />
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As for beyond work, I live a pretty quiet, but full life. This summer I'll be heading to Italy and France on a much-planned for trip. We've been saving and planning for this trip for over 10 years, in anticipation of my mother's retirement and my best friend getting out of med school as an anesthesiologist. It's going to be epic! I can't wait. :) And yes, I have a pile of books and e-books that I've been rifling through, deciding what I'll take on the trip.<br />
<b>5) If you participated in the last readathon, what's one thing you'll do different today? </b><br />
I actually don't think I'll do anything different. I've learned to just go with the flow and do my best. I know that I can't participate "perfectly," so why stress? I'll proctor this test, and then head home to do a little grading and read a bit, back and forth. It's just nice to have a community of readers and friends to join up with for this! So many of you I don't talk to as often, so I just enjoy meeting back up with through this forum!Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-12130306984936268762014-10-19T15:36:00.000-06:002014-10-19T15:36:35.514-06:00End of Readathon Wrap Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This year I crashed around 4 am, which was pretty good for me. I still got up at a normal time though, so I'm not sure how happy I'm going to be about this whole thing today. We'll see! I did feel, however, that I got back into my reading mojo. That was SO worth it! I've been so out of the loop and down and out in my reading, that this was an excellent way to get back to it. Let's see where I go from here...<br />
<h2>
End of Event Meme:</h2>
<ol>
<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><b>Which hour was most daunting for you? </b>First, at 9pm, which is a normal bedtime for me. Once I got past that, 4 am--when I noted that I kept blanking out on what I was reading and realized that I kept falling asleep in the middle of my reading. I would literally have to shake myself back awake and re-read what I had just read. That got a bit too annoying and I finally just tossed in the towel! </li>
<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><b>Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? </b>I've thought about this from year to year and can now say that you should pick whatever you feel you can finish. There really is something to be said for feeling like you can finish something (at least it is for me). I left a couple of books for the readathon that I was within 100-150 pages of finishing. That helped me feel a bit more successful and left the high point of the novel for the readathon.</li>
<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><b>Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? </b>Nope. I really appreciate all the hard work that goes into it. I always feel guilty for not taking more of a role in helping out in some way!</li>
<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><b>What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?</b> I really liked the Goodreads page. That was a nice addition this year. :)</li>
<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><b>How many books did you read? </b>4, although I only read one from cover to cover. The rest were books that I finished up from various stages in reading them. </li>
<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><b>What were the names of the books you read? </b><br /><i>Love Life</i> by Rob Lowe, <i>Always Emily</i> by Michaela MacColl, <i>Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe</i> by Benjamin Saenz, and <i>I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005</i> by Lauren Tarshis.</li>
<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><b>Which book did you enjoy most? </b><i>Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe</i> was really amazing. I knew it was an award winner and so I had high expectations for it, but I was really surprised by the story's direction and the sensitive way it handled the main character's personal growth.</li>
<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><b>Which did you enjoy least? </b>None of them. I passed up a book if it didn't interest me. The readathon is too short to stick with something for too long! :)</li>
<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><b>If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? </b>N/A</li>
<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><b>How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? </b>Very likely! I really enjoy and appreciate the focused time the readathon gives me. It's a great time to get back into the reading groove. In the future, I need to get more involved and try out some mini-challenges maybe or even host.</li>
</ol>
Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-26941055047155392172014-10-19T00:44:00.001-06:002014-10-19T00:44:33.876-06:00Readathon: Hour 19 Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This just might be my last update for the night, as I know myself too well! I took about a five hour break to finish laundry, make my bed, go get dinner, and do a bunch of grading. Once I felt I had done my duty, I picked up something really short that was one the children's Beehive Award nomination list, <i>I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005</i> by Lauren Tarshis. I've been trying to make my way through some of the children's and YA nominees this year, so it was a nice little walk back into the readathon. Talk about a gripping little tale. I really hope grade school children and middle schoolers are getting the chance to read this one and others in the series.<br />
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To be honest, I hit my "fatigue" point about 9pm, which is when I generally get ready for bed during the week. I had some caffeine and a huge glass of water, so I'm feeling pretty back to my normal speed. We'll see how long that lasts. I doubt I'll be finishing anymore books, but I'd like to make a good dent in a couple more before I call it a wrap for the night.<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Here's where things are at for the moment:</b></span><br />
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<b>Hours Read: </b><br />
Once again, this is tough. I haven't really kept track very well. My guess is that I'm somewhere around 8? It's still not very good though. I've had a lot of little interruptions all day.<br /><br />
<b>Books Read:</b><br />
4--<i>Love Life</i> by Rob Lowe, <i>Always Emily</i> by Michaela MacColl, <i>Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe</i> by Benjamin Saenz, and <i>I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005</i> by Lauren Tarshis.<br />
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<b>Essays Graded:</b><br />
5--Which isn't so hot. I would have liked to have done more than that, but I'll take what I can get. :(<br />
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<b>Drinks & Snacks:</b> Surprisingly, no more snacks, just Wendys for dinner (bad, but so good) and then water, water, water all evening. I'm honestly going to float away at some point, right?<br />
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<b>Number of Readathons I've Participated In: </b>Just for record keeping sake, I went back to see how many of these I've participated in. This will make my 10th readathon. I started participating back in April of 2009, which is amazing and awesome to me. There were two that I couldn't join in on over the years, but otherwise, I've always been here. <br />
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Well, enough nostalgia. I don't want my sleepiness to catch up to me. I have a little energy left and would like to keep it as long as possible. For now, it will be book rotating time. Best wishes to everyone who might still be hanging in there!Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-68624341458279928562014-10-18T16:52:00.001-06:002014-10-18T17:05:53.527-06:00Readathon: Hour 11 & Mid-Event Survey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What an awesome day so far! This has been my most productive readathon, no question. Sometimes I feel like being a social butterfly and zooming around the net to see how everyone is doing, but this time I really wanted to just escape everything and just read! It's been a bad 6 months for reading, so this has been a great time to dive back in--and boy have I.<br />
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Here's what I've been up to!<br />
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<b>Books Read:</b> 3--Granted, I was 1/2 way through all of them before the readathon began, so it would be more like 1 1/2. Still, I'm saying 3. :)<br />
<b>Pages Read: </b> 390<br />
<b>Hours Read:</b> This is always hard to calculate, but I've been reading pretty steady today. I've taken a few breaks here or there to do laundry, get a drink, go outside to read, etc. I'd say at least 4? Not great, but still good for the various interruptions, right?<br />
<b>Challenges or Cheering: </b>Zip. I know! It's really bad this time, but I HAD to get myself out of this reading slump. :( I keep saying I'll host another challenge down the road. Maybe I'll join something later tonight??? I did go stop in on some blogs to say hi and see how they were doing, so that might count?!? <br />
<b>Drinks:</b> 1 Diet Pepsi, 1 16 oz lemonade, and 1 huge glass of water.<br />
<b>Snacks: </b> Well, since I've skipped eating normal meals today, in place of reading (yes, I should go eat something), 1/2 of that bag of Doterra chips & 1/2 an apple.<br />
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<b>UPDATE: </b>I should have realized the Mid-Point Survey was going up right around when I posted this. I just came back in and attached it below.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Mid-Event Survey</strong>:</span><br />
<b>1. What are you reading right now?</b> I'm going to grade some essays and then I'll dive into a few chapters of <i>Invisible Man</i> by Ralph Ellison until I rotate on to something else.<br />
<b>2. How many books have you read so far?</b> 3<br />
<b>3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?</b> I'm still waiting to get back to <i>Landline</i> by Rainbow Rowell.<br />
<b>4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? </b> Well, just household interruptions and the pressure to get my grading finished. That will always be there, so I've been going back and forth between the two.<br />
<b>5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? </b> How much better I do if I stay away from the internet. Sometimes I really like to feel connected to everyone, so I stay online a lot more, but I feel bad about how little reading time I get in. This time, I swore to myself that I would spend as much time as possible reading. I really needed it, so it has been great.<br />
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All right. I think I'm off to go scrounge for some food, get my bed remade after cleaning my sheets, and grading some papers before I can sit back down and read in earnest. I'll be back a bit later though! Good luck to everyone!Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-32279708162388975342014-10-18T12:03:00.000-06:002014-10-18T12:03:45.687-06:00Readathon: Opening Post & Hour 6<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been up for a bit, but as I promised myself, I would spend some time reading as soon as I got up. This has been such a bad year for reading and such, that I didn't want to give myself ANY excuses to wander off from the reading--so that's what I did. I also set myself up for success and left two books that I was nearly finished with, so that I could get up and dive back into them. It's psychologically satisfying to start the day off with a book already finished off, even if it's not a "start to finish" read. :)<br />
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Anyway, here is my opening meme AND my report for hour 6 all wrapped into one! I don't think I'll be back again until later this evening, unless I go a bit stir crazy (although I have a "book walk" planned in to take care of that), so here we go...<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Opening Meme:</strong></span><br />
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Salt Lake City</span></b><br />
<span style="line-height: 1.5;">2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? <b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Landline </i>by Rainbow Rowell</span></b><br />
</span><span style="line-height: 1.5;">3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">My Doterra chips. :) They are these awesome mixed variety of potato chips that include different sweet potatoes as well. Yum!</span></b><br />
</span><span style="line-height: 1.5;">4) Tell us a little something about yourself! <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>I turned 40, 10 days ago today, and it was kind of awesome! (What's with all the 40 angst? It's really pretty cool.)</b></span><br />
</span><span style="line-height: 1.5;">5) If you participated in the
last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is
your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">I started with a couple of books that I was within 100 pages of finishing. That way, as soon as I woke up, I grabbed one of them and just finished it as I was waking up. It started my readathon off with a successful book finish!</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: black;">Here's what I've finished so far:</span></span></span><br />
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I really thought that the last 75 pages of this book was a great choice for me to start my day off today. I've read his previous autobiography, which was interesting and filled with insider information about Hollywood. More important, I appreciate the details he includes about what he has learned about living his life and maintaining strong ties to his family and friends. Those stories were interesting to hear and touching.</div>
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Well, there's my update and starting point! I hope to be back in the next 5-6 hours. Good luck to everyone and happy reading!</div>
<span style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b></span>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-72752384305513056452014-10-17T21:30:00.001-06:002014-10-17T21:30:29.986-06:00I'm Back!Yes, I'm back. Another readathon pulled me from the dark abyss of my own absence. It's not that I haven't been reading, but I will admit to a bit of a reading slump and to needing a major time out from everything. Regardless of the major silence going on here, I have read a few great things and have still been excited about this upcoming readathon! I was especially excited to see that it fell over Fall Break this year, which meant I could actually push things aside and join in (once I knew I was going to be in town). <br />
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Anyway, enough of the boring talk. Yes, I'll be joining in the readathon again and will be posting. I can't wait! I'm a major book rotater though, so I don't anticipate finishing many books. That's kind of okay by me. I might be squirreling myself away this time and not jumping online very often. In the past, that has taken my attention away from my reading, so I might stay away for large chunks of time. We'll see though, who knows. I miss people and I might get really overcome with a need for conversation and jump on!<br />
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Here are the books I have on rotation, with a few more on my iPad that I'll be "e-reading" along the way as well. I'll also be breaking in to grade an essay every couple of hours or so (since that is just the norm around here).<br />
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Okay. I have about six more essays to grade before I can head to bed, so I need to get to it. I look forward to getting to my reading in the morning, so I'll see everyone bright and early!Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-83166780801156897682014-04-27T20:21:00.001-06:002014-04-27T20:21:53.205-06:00Readathon Finish Line<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I finally crashed last night about 3 am after finishing one last graphic novel and trying to read a bit more from goodness knows what else. I just know I fell asleep my iPad next to me and the television on. That's the sign that I needed to just call it a night!<br />
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Today I'm feeling a bit haggard, which I wasn't expecting. I've been taking it easy and just doing some light reading and even took a little cat nap. Very strenuous day, eh?<br />
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Well, here's my readathon wrap up!<br />
<ol>
<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Which hour was most daunting for you?</b></span> 3 am, when I finally threw in the towel!</li>
<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?</b></span> <i>Eleanor and Park</i>. I didn't get it finished, but I really enjoyed what I started and can't wait to finish it this week. I've learned that the key it diving into a book that makes you forget about the pages your turning and the time that's passing. </li>
<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?</b></span> Not really. I just really enjoy being involved and appreciate all the time and effort that everyone puts in to putting it together for us. THANK YOU so much!</li>
<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?</b></span> The hourly posts and all of the constant communication. It was easy to see where we were at and how everyone was doing, which was nice.</li>
<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>How many books did you read?</b></span> 3, but they were pretty short. I read a book of poetry, 2 graphic novels, and several hundred pages in a couple young adult novels.</li>
<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>What were the names of the books you read?</b></span> <i>Poems from Homeroom</i>, <i>Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children</i> Graphic Novel, and <i>The Uglies</i> Graphic Novel.</li>
<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Which book did you enjoy most?</b></span> The book of poetry was a nice diversion and had some great stories.</li>
<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Which did you enjoy least? </b></span> None of them. I liked them all.</li>
<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?</span></b> No. They were great!</li>
<li style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?</span></b> Well, I need to see how things are going in the fall and how busy I am. I'd love to try to host a challenge, if things are going well. Sometimes it's all I can do though to just participate.</li>
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Well, I'm off to get ready for a busy week! Thanks again to all those who put this together. You all did an amazing job! Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-3406334748643899142014-04-27T00:14:00.001-06:002014-04-27T00:14:47.396-06:00Readathon Update: My Late MidPoint Survey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's getting close to Hour 19 now, and close to midnight. Sleep is hard to ward off when you're used to crawling in bed before 10 pm so that you can be up before 6 am every day, but I'm hanging in there for the moment. We'll see how much longer I last though!<br />
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Since I started WAY later than everyone else, I figured I'd catch up with the Mid Point Survey.<br />
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<strong>Mid-Event Survey</strong><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>1. What are you reading right now?</b></span> Well, since I just finished<i> </i>a graphic novel, I'm going to move back to a novel. I think I'm going to bounce between <i>Eleanor and Park</i> and <i>Diamonds and Deceit</i>. Both are YA novels that keep things moving, which I need right now. <br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>2. How many books have you read so far?</b></span> 2--amazingly enough, considering when I started. I finished a short book of poetry and <i>Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children </i>Graphic novel version. I've also read over 100 pages so far in <i>Diamonds and Deceit</i> and listened to a bit in an audiobook. <br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?</b></span> Well, since I'm probably in my final stretch, I think I'll settle in with those listed in #1.<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?</b></span> No. I really should have, but this has been my first day "free" for weeks, so after sleeping in and then running a quick errand, it was not quite the full day that I would have wished.<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? </b></span> More than I expected. I'm always surprised by the little things that interrupt a readathon. Oh well! You just dive back in and go back to reading. :)<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?</b></span> The crazy weather we've had that has made reading perfect. We've had non-stop, constant rain here, which has been glorious! When you live in a desert, the sound of rain on the windowpanes is absolutely hypnotic. <br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? </b></span> Not that I can think of.<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? </b></span> Start earlier. <br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">9. Are you getting tired yet? I live with tired, so that's a given!</span></b> :) Yes...I don't think I'll make it much longer.<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something
you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?</span></b> Finding a good story that makes sleep the farthest thing from my mind is always the best thing possible. Really, that's the key.<br />
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All right, it's time to fight the good fight and see how much I can read in these final hours. Good luck to the rest of you as well!Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-10110774478383544112014-04-26T15:33:00.001-06:002014-04-26T15:33:35.475-06:00Readathon Kickoff: SO Late!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yep. I'm just kicking off here. Let's state the obvious and get it out of the way. I haven't posted in forever!!! What better way to "try" to get my groove back than with a readathon though, right? Life has really kicked me in the rear end in so many ways over the past six months, that it has been crazy. I don't even know if I've read/finished a book in the last month, which is sad enough as it is, so I'm just happy to be here! Work always overwhelms me with all of the grading & responsibilities for one. But my grandmother passed away the first of this month, so I'll admit it--I clammed up a bit. Not always my best quality, but now I'm ready to step back out. <br />
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Thank goodness for a readathon to move things along though! The grades have been graded, the sleep has been slept, the errands have been erranded (ha, ha). Let me get reading now! <br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?</span></b> Salt Lake City<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?</span></b> <i>Eleanor & Park</i>, <i>Allegiant</i>, or finishing up <i>The Chocolate Touch</i> (It's all about the escape read for me today!)<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? </span></b> Crackers & Cheese--I picked up some of those fancy water crackers w/ sesame seeds. I love, love, love them. I'm a bit more of a savory gal than a sugar fan, so this is what I'm actually getting ready to snack on. <br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">4) Tell us a little something about yourself!</span></b> I'm a book "rotator," (20 books at a time to be exact--yes, it's an illness, I think) so I'm worried that I won't actually finish a darn thing with as little time as I'm giving myself! I have a feeling I'm going to get going and will flip to something else. I might have to grab a graphic novel just so I feel like I can accomplish something before it's all said and done.<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll
do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most
looking forward to?</span></b> Relax. I've learned it doesn't do me any good to fret over what I can't do. I can't do it perfectly, so do what I can do and enjoy my time here! It's just great that we have a community of readers who enjoy doing this in the first place. I'm just thankful that there are amazing folks who are still so willing to put it together. THANK YOU!!!Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-73169441958435651242014-02-18T21:01:00.001-07:002014-02-18T21:01:55.676-07:00Review: The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Synopsis:</b> From <i>Goodreads</i>, "<span id="freeText5891656085422798861">In the ancient town of
Ephesus, Mary lives alone, years after her son's crucifixion. She has no
interest in collaborating with the authors of the Gospel—her keepers,
who provide her with food and shelter and visit her regularly. She does
not agree that her son is the Son of God; nor that his death was “worth
it;” nor that the “group of misfits he gathered around him, men who
could not look a woman in the eye,” were holy disciples. Mary judges
herself ruthlessly (she did not stay at the foot of the Cross until her
son died—she fled, to save herself), and is equally harsh on her
judgment of others. This woman who we know from centuries of paintings
and scripture as the docile, loving, silent, long-suffering, obedient,
worshipful mother of Christ becomes, in Toibin’s searing evocation, a
tragic heroine with the relentless eloquence of Electra or Medea or
Antigone. This tour de force of imagination and language is a portrait
so vivid and convincing that our image of Mary will be forever
transformed."</span><br />
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<span id="freeText5891656085422798861"><b>Review: </b>When the long list for the Booker Prize came out, I saw <i>The Testament of Mary</i> and was pretty intrigued by the idea of Mary's story and what she might have had to say about her son's life and death. Having visited Ephesus and the home that is believed to have been Mary's home, this all felt like a story that really was waiting to be told by someone. The question was whether someone could tell it in a way that would feel honest and with the right tone, not fearing the backlash that might come from taking on such a character. </span><br />
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<span id="freeText5891656085422798861">We pick up the story after Christ's death, with Mary reflecting on her son's life and those who she seemingly felt might have pushed and pulled him along the way. Her tale is a sad one, filled with the words a mother might speak about her lost child; however, in this case, that child is one whom she has lost in a most horrifically jarring way. Yes, he was a religious figure, but she was his mother. Her thoughts are a mother's thoughts, and we see her filled with anguish over the mortal actions and decisions surrounding her child. Mary speaks not as a mother heralding the Son of God, but as a mother concerned for a child who might have been pushed and pulled in too many directions in his short life.</span><br />
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<span id="freeText5891656085422798861">I found this short novella to be incredibly moving, and an interesting tale to be told. Granted, this was a piece of fiction, and not a piece of Biblical writing, and yet the title and characters lend themselves to that immediate and strict judgment and comparison. I simply couldn't do more than listen to the story being told and consider how Mary, as presented, really felt. Wouldn't her isolation, hiding, frustration, and deep sorrow make sense to any person at this point in the story? Her lines were haunting to read, but so interestingly moving and thought-provoking. This is one of those stories that will stick with me and have me thinking for some time.</span>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-30312978930782053912014-02-11T08:00:00.000-07:002014-02-11T08:00:00.972-07:00Blog Tour Stop & Giveaway: R for Rebel by Megan Mulry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday I featured Megan's fourth in the Unruly Royal series about the youngest sister Abigail, <a href="http://mjmbecky.blogspot.com/2014/02/review-r-is-for-rebel-by-megan-mulry.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>. <b>Today, I'm excited to welcome Megan Mulry back to talk about her newest installment.</b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Megan:</span></b> Hi Becky! Thanks for having me at One Literature Nut.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Becky:</b></span> I'm always excited to have you here!<br />
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I have loved that your first two novels were about the male royals and now the last two are from their sisters' perspectives. What story spark drew you to putting together these American + British royal couples?<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Megan:</b></span> The first spark was this desire to do a Regency romance in a contemporary setting, and because some of my favorite Regency romances (like early Judith McNaught) had a feisty American heroine who knocked the socks off a British aristo hero, that's what I did first.<br />
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After I got the seed of the idea, I started researching contemporary British aristocrats and one thing led to another. I'd always been a complete anglophile, so it wasn't really a stretch. Throughout his life, my father sent me clippings and obituaries about eccentric Brits, and this one about the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1398385/The-Duke-of-Norfolk.html" target="_blank">17th Duke of Norfolk</a> never left me. That became the inspiration for the fictional Northrop family.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Becky:</b></span> You have such a fun social media presence on twitter (<a href="https://twitter.com/MeganMulry" target="_blank">@meganmulry</a>). Which of your characters do you think would have an active online media presence, and which ones would absolutely avoid it? (Just FYI, for some reason, I keep thinking all of the American ones would have one. Why is that?!? I don't think Twitter is totally gauche or anything, but I've thought someone like Claire, for instance, would avoid it, while many of the others might actively participate.)<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Megan:</b></span> I love this question! Obviously Bronte is a total media whore, so she would be on Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Tumblr, Facebook—you name it—all the time. (I picture Max throwing her cell phone into the Thames on a regular basis).<br />
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I think Devon would probably have a secret Twitter account so he could stalk everyone without having to actually put himself out there.<br />
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Sarah would have a business account for the shoe company, but I don't think she'd feel totally comfortable with the self-revelatory nature of that kind of social media; maybe she'd have a Tumblr with lots of shoe shots from fashion shows and awards dinners.<br />
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I think Claire would actually thrive on Pinterest; her love of color and design and fabrics is a perfect match for that. One of my childhood friends who reminds me of Claire--temperate, creative, loving--surprised me when I learned about her very extensive social media presence.<br />
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I think Abby would hate it all. She barely carries a cell phone, except to sext Eliot, and I think she'd inherently dread putting herself before her cause for any reason. Eliot probably has some super stylish twitter account with a mix of cool philosophical sayings and candid pictures of Italy and Paris and Miami mixed in, with about 300,000 followers.<br />
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I think Ben would say, "I'm too old for Twitter." <br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Becky:</b> </span>Oh my goodness, I love it! :) If it wouldn't take an inordinate amount of time, I'd love to see an account from any of these characters. To be honest, the end of <i>R is for Rebel</i> had a nice spot for some blabbing on social media by some of these folks and a few others! It would have been hilarious to see what they were thinking.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Megan:</b></span> Thanks so much for having me!<br />
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<b>Thank you again so much to Megan for stopping in and sharing a little bit more with us about her Unruly Royals series and <i>R is for Rebel</i>. Check out the series and this newest release.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikB5LO7ukBL40UJg9TnmtQ0sKPS5W3xSgOKIwJgCrowMoPpLQY0VODuUQIWmn1LPpxKHRM0HmL4HXQT_n43B6ra78ShD2r-yJlcojIryU6Z7lsUIa45sMs6EbWW-5S-B8mvlMl/s1600/Mulry_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikB5LO7ukBL40UJg9TnmtQ0sKPS5W3xSgOKIwJgCrowMoPpLQY0VODuUQIWmn1LPpxKHRM0HmL4HXQT_n43B6ra78ShD2r-yJlcojIryU6Z7lsUIa45sMs6EbWW-5S-B8mvlMl/s1600/Mulry_1.JPG" height="200" width="133" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>About the Author:</b></span></span><br />
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Megan Mulry writes sexy, modern, romantic fiction. She graduated from Northwestern University and then worked in publishing, including positions at The New Yorker and Boston magazine. After moving to London, Mulry worked in finance and attended London Business School. Mulry is a member of RWA. She has traveled extensively in Asia, India, Europe, and Africa and now lives with her husband and children in Florida. Her latest book is <i>R Is For Rebel</i>, out now.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Now for a little giveaway: </b></span> </span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;">I'll make this simple this time around! Do <u>you</u> have a thing for British royals/aristocrats in a story or not and why? <b>Respond
to this simple little question before Monday, February 17th by midnight (MST)
with your response and email address for the chance to win one copy of <i>R is for Rebel</i></b>, <b>U.S. & Canada only.</b></span></span>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-28383781277473609602014-02-10T08:00:00.000-07:002014-02-10T08:00:00.993-07:00Review: R is for Rebel by Megan MulryTomorrow I'll be featuring a Q&A with author, Megan Mulry, along with a book giveaway for her newest in her series. Read more about her book below and then stop by tomorrow to hear from Mulry, herself!<b> </b><br />
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<b>Synopsis: </b>From <i>Goodreads</i>, "<span id="freeText13923814369640307895">Abigail Heyworth is a
rebel heiress, bucking the restrictions of her royal family every chance
she gets. After ending a long-term relationship, she finds herself
inexplicably drawn to the sophisticated American, Eliot Cranbrook.
Despite all their differences-he's a self-made businessman; she's a
royal hippy-they fall hard for each other. When the intensity of their
affair escalates and Abigail is forced to look at the nature of her
rebellion, she has to decide if she has an entirely different kind of
courage."</span><br />
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<span id="freeText13923814369640307895"><b>Review:</b> We enter the 4th in the series with the decided relationships of Abigail's three older siblings firmly in place and Abigail simply trying to figure out what direction she wishes to go in her life. The book starts off with a solid friendship with her brother's business partner Eliot Cranbrook, but their romance seems to frighten Abigail and make a relationship that seems simple from the outside more complex and filled with problems than either of them could have expected.</span><br />
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<span id="freeText13923814369640307895">When I started reading this fourth installment, I was a little startled at how quickly this couple jumped all-in to their romantic relationship. I wondered where the conflict was at, and I feared what I couldn't see ahead. Surely they liked one another too much, too soon? Sure enough, there was so much more coming, and that really was what kept me reading. </span><br />
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<span id="freeText13923814369640307895">Abigail is a difficult character to wrap my mind around, and I'm sure she must have driven Eliot batty. Although she has all of this strength of character and experience with philanthropy, she reserves her own heart and fails to express what she is really feeling and shuts people out. It was infuriating at times. Honestly though, I wonder if Eliot would like Abigail in the long-term if she wasn't a bit more of a fight, as odd as that sounds.</span><br />
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<span id="freeText13923814369640307895">By the last third of the book, there is a crazy, dramatic twist that you just can't see coming. In some ways, it would have felt like a romantic comedy with its twists and turns if the heightened emotions weren't so gut-wrenching. I ended up enjoying the way Mulry handled it, but do wonder if she had a few other endings that she played with a bit. While Abigail was once a bit of a rebel, I think she just refused to ever do anything in her life half-hearted, include love. Thankfully, I don't think that will be her problem!</span><br />
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<span id="freeText13923814369640307895">*FTC Disclosure: This review was based on an advanced review copy of the book. </span>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-8571457395396539502014-02-06T16:43:00.000-07:002014-02-06T16:43:53.895-07:00Review: And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As an AP Lit. teacher, I'm always trying to keep current with the newest books out there, and yet that's NOT why I read Khaled Hosseini's newest novel <i>And the Mountains Echoed</i>. I read this newest novel, because to not read his any one of his novels would feel to me like a deprivation. To say that I've loved his novels would mean that I've enjoyed them, which isn't really the right word choice. In fact, I think the correct way of describing my reading experience with each of Hosseini's novels would be provoking. I mean that in a moving and meaningful sort of way, but in a manner that always leaves me feeling something deep and thoughtful. For that, I am always drawn to anything Hosseini has published, and I was not disappointed by <i>And the Mountains Echoed.</i><br />
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<b>Review: </b>The story begins with a tale or myth of sacrifice that parents might recount to their children as some type of bedtime story. In this opening chapter, the father in the story tells his young son and daughter this myth as he walks across a vast desert--the young son only along on the journey because he wants to help push his much-beloved younger sister into the city. Little did he know that the sacrificial story his father told him would echo into his own life.<br />
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In marvelously poetic language, each chapter is woven like a thread in the tapestry of the tale, adding another character that is important and touches the lives of the original brother, sister, or impoverished father. We travel from the farmland that the father took his children across the desert into the city, into the streets of Paris, across the sea into Greece, and even farther into the busy streets of California, each adding a character and another layer to the story of this family.<br />
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While the constant change in direction can feel jarring in the beginning, it soon becomes apparent that these tales each play a vital role in the development of the plot. In essence, the storyline is linear and circular all at the same time, if the reader will only be patient enough to see it through. We meet many different characters who intersect in the journey of these two little children at the beginning of the book, or who impacted them in some way, and what made these people into who they were in the present moment. In short, Hosseini reminds the reader that we shouldn't judge until we have walked in someone else's shoes.<br />
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One of my favorite chapter-tales was story of the American doctor who arrived in Afghanistan to do foreign aide work and service. During his time, he realized how selfish he was and even how selfish his own children were back home. Without giving away the entire story, I was blown away by how easy he was to relate to and how completely he affected me. Why? Because he returned home and ever so slowly grew numb again to all that he had awakened to in his time in Afghanistan. I sobbed into those pages and felt the air crush from lungs, because I could see so clearly how mind-numbingly easy we are to forget. We. Simply. Forget. Rather than hang onto our endeavors to change the world and make things better, it's easier to forget and grow numb; it's easier to live in our simple lives and forget that life is not so easy for others. In short, this chapter hit way too close to home. The mirror was held up to me, and I cried.<br />
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After that chapter. I had to set the book aside for about two weeks. I would look at it and close my eyes with real sadness. What power Hosseini had used in language, words, and story to show me my own weaknesses. That chapter wasn't just about mankind. It was about <i>me</i>, and I've thought about it ever since.<br />
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In short, I was blown away by <i>And the Mountains Echoed</i>. While some readers have felt the narrative thread was not as cohesive as they would like, in that it was not a linear story with the main characters followed throughout, I have to say that I thought this was his most powerful novel to date. The echoes of what human connection, family, and kindness can do were not lost on me. This was a game changer in a novel and whispered of action in ways that telling me never would have done. Brilliant. Just brilliant.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Have you read Hosseini's newest novel? If so, which of the chapter tales most stood out to you?</span></b> Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-57993596272159158062014-01-26T23:14:00.000-07:002014-01-26T23:14:46.506-07:00Review: Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Synopsis: </b>From <i>Goodreads</i>, "<span id="freeText11066890405110458532">Meet Sloane Emily
Jacobs: a seriously stressed-out figure-skater from Washington, D.C.,
who choked during junior nationals and isn’t sure she’s ready for a
comeback. What she does know is that she’d give anything to escape the
mass of misery that is her life.<br /><br />Now meet Sloane Devon Jacobs, a
spunky ice hockey player from Philly who’s been suspended from her team
for too many aggressive hip checks. Her punishment? Hockey camp, now,
when she’s playing the worst she’s ever played. If she messes up? Her
life will be over.<br /><br />When the two Sloanes meet by chance in
Montreal and decide to trade places for the summer, each girl thinks
she’s the lucky one: no strangers to judge or laugh at Sloane Emily, no
scouts expecting Sloane Devon to be a hero. But it didn’t occur to
Sloane E. that while avoiding sequins and axels she might meet a hockey
hottie—and Sloane D. never expected to run into a familiar (and very
good-looking) face from home. It’s not long before the Sloanes discover
that convincing people you’re someone else might be more difficult than
being yourself."</span><br />
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<span id="freeText11066890405110458532"><b>Review: </b>In this fun story, the seemingly implausible becomes plausible. What if you really didn't want to face a challenge that everyone expected of you and there was another person with your name and looks to take your place? Okay. So it seems, as I mentioned, implausible; however, in <i>Being Sloane Jacobs</i>, we get to run with the possibility. One Sloane wants to escape the high pressure of figure skating, while the other thinks a break from hockey camp might be nice. Why not just switch places? They'll both be on ice, right?</span><br />
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<span id="freeText11066890405110458532">Although it felt far-fetched at times, the story and characters were so fun that I quickly got lost in the idea and just threw that aside and went with it. I liked these "Sloane" characters and genuinely wanted to see what this experience did for both of them. My prejudice going into it said that I wanted Sloane Devon, the hockey player, to have some big epiphany, but Sloane Emily was interesting to watch as she went from ice skating into hockey. I loved watching their preconceived ideas about one another crumble, while other character traits they had obviously ignored start to flourish a bit more. </span><br />
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<span id="freeText11066890405110458532">This really was a fun book. While you felt you knew where things were headed at times, you still couldn't know for sure and had to keep flipping pages to find out. These characters came to life and were fun to watch. I had a great time reading this book and almost felt like I needed to go put in a good session at the gym after all their training sessions! Thankfully, I won't need to take body slams from anyone or have to do flips on a single blade--as entertaining as that might be for anyone watching. Overall, I have to say this was a great read.</span>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-84599070615856470372014-01-23T08:00:00.000-07:002014-01-23T08:00:00.847-07:00Mini Reviews: YA Catch UpHere are some YA novels I need to play catch up on. I thought I'd do some short mini reviews in an effort to share what I've been reading.<br />
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<i><b>Insurgent</b></i><b> by Veronica Roth</b>--In book two of the Divergent series, we find the fall out from the simulation and Tris trying to deal with her initiation into Dauntless. Book two picked right up where the first left off and there is a lot of back and forth in this one. We learn more about the role of the other factions and find that there is still a lot of intrigue confusing Tris about who is good and who is bad, who could be right and who could be wrong. I really liked this installment, but will say that at times I was exhausted by what was not shared between Tris and Four. I found myself yelling at Tris to just trust Four and tell him what was really going on! Since I have just started <i>Allegiant</i>, I happen to know that will come up again, so I will be hearing more about that later on... Still, an amazing read. The last 75 pages or so really locked this one in for me.<br />
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<i><b>Everbound</b></i><b> by Brodi Ashton</b>--Yet another second book in a series, this is the next in the Everneath series. Book one, based on the Persephone story continues here with Nikki grieving her boyfriend Jack and his sacrifice for her into the Everneath. How can she explain his disappearance and how can she get him back? In this installment, Nikki has to enter the Everneath and figure out how to stay connected to Jack. While I sometimes got confused with the layout of the Everneath at times, by the end, I was shocked and flipping pages like crazy to find out what was going to happen! This is an exciting follow up to book one and not a disappointing sophomore follow up at all. In fact, I'm eagerly waiting for the third book.<br />
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<b><i>Out of Line</i> by Jen McLaughlin</b>--Technically considered "New Adult" more than Young Adult, this was a book I had seen discussed a bit online, so I decided to read it and give it a try. I'm not sure I should have done that though, as my reading experience was a bit painful. The story was about Carrie, the daughter of a Senator being tailed by Finn, the Marine. However, Carrie thought she was away at college and free, not realizing that she was being tailed by secret protection. Finn and Carrie became friends and then more than friends, but then how could Finn tell Carrie that he was being paid to protect her? Honestly, I really should have stopped reading this book around page 50. The story became pretty predictable and I found it irritating that the lies and sexual tension were the main crux of the story. I understand that the heightened tension, adult situations, and age of the characters all put it in the category of New Adult, but I can't shake the predictability of the story or the non-stop lies that kept the story rolling. Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-46986693471631700942014-01-21T08:00:00.000-07:002014-01-21T08:00:02.027-07:00Review: The Passions of Dr. Darcy by Sharon Lathan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Synopsis: </b>From <i>Goodreads</i>, "<span id="freeText9781738179346453649">While Fitzwilliam Darcy
is enjoying an idyllic childhood at Pemberley, his vibrant and beloved
uncle, Dr. George Darcy, becomes one of the most renowned young
physicians of the day. Determined to do something more with his life
than cater to a spoiled aristocracy. George accepts a post with the
British East India Company and travels in search of a life of meaning
and purpose.<br /><br />When George Darcy returns to Pemberley after many
years abroad, the drama and heartbreak of his travels offer a
fascinating glimpse into a gentleman's journey of self-discovery and
romance."</span><br />
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<span id="freeText9781738179346453649"><b>Review: </b>In previous novels by Sharon Lathan, we've been introduced to George Darcy, and yet we've known very little about his back story. In this stand alone novel, we finally learn about the talented doctor and why he gave Fitzwilliam the advice he gave him in the other books--his life is an obvious collection of love and pain that he tidily tucks away and uses judicially.</span><br />
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<span id="freeText9781738179346453649">As a young doctor, George set off for India to serve there and learn. He is taken on by an amazing Indian doctor and taught local medical practices that go beyond any of his western medical training. Over time, George grew in talent and respect as a doctor, yet love continued to be elusive in a traditional sense. We find that over time, George has almost a series of experiences that we follow with him. He experiences love and loss, along with professional success, and yet stays in India far from his English home until his story intercepts with Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth's and he returns home with an ocean of experiences in his heart. As readers, it now makes perfect sense why he is the person we have read about in previous installments of Lathan's series.</span><br />
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<span id="freeText9781738179346453649">In characteristic, romantic fashion, Lathan has crafted another beautiful tale. In the beginning I was sad for what seemed like continual changes to George's life, but I could see that over the course of the novel how the experiences George had, created the self-assured man that he was in the end. The journey seemed long and painful at times for poor George, but I think that while fictional, he definitely became real to us as readers. Once again, I enjoyed Lathan's tale of the Darcy clan. These are romances with romantic moments, but so worth it for readers.</span><span id="freeText9781738179346453649"> </span>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-50976871581795873732014-01-20T18:44:00.001-07:002014-01-20T18:44:13.730-07:00Long Weekends & Martin Luther King DayI'm back to the keyboard today--finally. Life spun maniacally out of control after Christmas Break with our end of term at school, so I literally got next to no sleep for ten days. I had 20 hours of sleep over six days, then crashed one day, went right back to four hours of sleep a night for one more week of school to start a new semester. It wasn't just at school, but in my online job as well. They had finals, so it was the mania of students who had procrastinated an entire semester and decided to do everything in two weeks. As you can imagine, I'm happy to now collapse into a heap of fatigue over this three-day weekend and try to finally log back on! <br />
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Today is a monumental holiday in terms of humanitarian work and giving back, as Martin Luther King Jr. was an amazing humanitarian, activist, and leader who heralded a change that called for the good in all of us to come forward. I've thought a lot about his bravery today and ways that I can be brave in my personal and professional life. I don't want to go off on a long, philosophical post, but I think we can agree that there is much that we can still do to achieve King's dream of equality for so many. <br />
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Well, I hope that over the coming days and weeks I can find some balance and write a bit more. I'm hoping to do some mini book reviews and even get onto some film reviews before the Oscars in March. For tonight, I'm off to write a few posts and then escape into some more reading before this long weekend is over!<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">What have you been up to this weekend? </span></b>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-70559677299461750262013-12-31T21:00:00.002-07:002013-12-31T21:01:02.903-07:00Best Books of 2013This year has been one of the strangest reading years I've had in a very long time. Professionally speaking, I've felt more pressure to split my reading up so that I can not only find great reads to take into the classroom, but also keep up on my A game and know about great literary reads for my AP students. In the end, that means that I now have a new 3 part reading personality: a YA/Pop Lit. reader, a classics/literary reader, and an I-don't-care-what-this-book-is-as-long-as-it-helps-me-escape reader.<br />
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Having said that, let me share my three categories with you! Let's start with my top reads in the <span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">YA/Popular Lit. category for 2013</span></b></span>.<br />
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What was not to love about this book? I loved the escape to Paris, the realism in the way the characters dealt with their situation, and yet the total, "Holy crap! I would never run away to Paris for one day like that!" that I felt when reading it. Seriously, I loved this YA read in 2013.</div>
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I'm not often a huge sci-fi reader, but James Dashner's <a href="http://mjmbecky.blogspot.com/2013/10/review-eye-of-minds-by-james-dashner.html" target="_blank"><i>The Eye of Minds</i></a> came out of nowhere and really knocked me off of my feet! This book was insanely action packed and full of Inception-like ideas such that I couldn't stop flipping pages. Honestly, I couldn't stop recommending it enough to my students and friends. Now I have to wait around the next read...</div>
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Okay. Yes, I am a bit of a <i>Man of Steel</i> fan (*cough* Henry Cavill *cough*), but I've always been a bit of a Superman fan, believe it or not. I just didn't remember some of these old school comics. I've been picking up some of the new <i>All-Star</i> comics, but I wanted to go back and read up on some of the pivotal comics that shaped Superman mythology. How can you pass up the one where Superman literally gives up his life to battle Doomsday? I Rest. My. Case.</div>
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Now, let me share my favorite <span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">AP English/Literary Reads for 2013</span></b></span>. This was an interesting category for me. I didn't set out looking for favorites in this category, but actually just sat down and picked out my favorite reads for the year and noticed how many of them fell under this category. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXih8iV7T2vz5GA6uRUv9Bl9z1uxZPZqiN5YebZbC3KQmjkku4E7ssjf9pkOZ6oC99eC6s6qShHU-tXwZSDWWIVAaAuMS2aL8KAlfnyHUIQl8czd2KT9nC3St1Ap1qCeZawrA8/s1600/16115612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXih8iV7T2vz5GA6uRUv9Bl9z1uxZPZqiN5YebZbC3KQmjkku4E7ssjf9pkOZ6oC99eC6s6qShHU-tXwZSDWWIVAaAuMS2aL8KAlfnyHUIQl8czd2KT9nC3St1Ap1qCeZawrA8/s400/16115612.jpg" width="262" /> </a></div>
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This was voted Best of 2013 on Goodreads, so I don't think I'm alone in saying this book was amazing! I still haven't even written my review because I haven't put full brain energy behind what I read, and now I'm not sure I can go back and really give it justice. Needless to say, I really loved it. This is probably my favorite of the three books he has written.</div>
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When I started reading <i>Wolf Hall</i>, I started to question all of the crazies who had given it 5 stars. Seriously? How in the world did they keep all of the characters straight, not to mention the simple pronoun "he" matched up with the right character! I thought I was going batty at some points. By the time I hit about page 300--and yes, that's a long way into the book--I started to feel connected to the story of Cromwell and Henry VIII's court. I think I'm geared up to keep moving on to the second book now!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNy7uc6vGgaNcPaIopV9xJQ0uUlG-9hOikwRxdqUnc_JaMG16uZfQWCFqireZo3EJawP5sU5F1Zuyg3EkJgnFsUF6dbUCI37jC2__mORyRBwZl4zJJ47-uh-8crf8KCZVEy7MO/s1600/the-world-we-found.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNy7uc6vGgaNcPaIopV9xJQ0uUlG-9hOikwRxdqUnc_JaMG16uZfQWCFqireZo3EJawP5sU5F1Zuyg3EkJgnFsUF6dbUCI37jC2__mORyRBwZl4zJJ47-uh-8crf8KCZVEy7MO/s400/the-world-we-found.jpg" width="267" /> </a></div>
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I'm now a Thrity Umrigar fan. Sold. Going back and looking up her previous novels. Now. I really found myself drawn in by this novel of four friends battling family, religious, and political tensions beyond our imagination. <a href="http://mjmbecky.blogspot.com/2013/08/review-world-we-found-by-thrity-umrigar.html" target="_blank"><i>The World We Found</i></a> was sobering, yet powerful, and made me a fan of Umrigar for life.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwX_YdgbUW2dhDsfLujMZFztIC3KNQy2oHmvXVu63yCAQwnLzCm6SAUHmoLEpo4nPbfJG8Re7SW4C748iedbfqpj15bruOBkxgougxCQBG0hppC08wnJsrEAd8Ma_oqDDPj1sc/s1600/628x471.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwX_YdgbUW2dhDsfLujMZFztIC3KNQy2oHmvXVu63yCAQwnLzCm6SAUHmoLEpo4nPbfJG8Re7SW4C748iedbfqpj15bruOBkxgougxCQBG0hppC08wnJsrEAd8Ma_oqDDPj1sc/s400/628x471.jpg" width="246" /> </a></div>
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This was just a short novella by Elie Wiesel about his open heart surgery last year, which might sound strange that I selected it as one of my favorites for the year, but it was so touching that I as still thinking about it. Having gone through a life threatening surgery or my own, I was blown away by the beauty of language that Wiesel found for something like facing mortality. <i><a href="http://mjmbecky.blogspot.com/2013/06/triple-review-time-to-do-little-catch-up.html" target="_blank">Open Heart</a></i> captures his own vulnerability in a really beautiful way. </div>
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The final category is really my <span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Favorite "Escape Read" Category for 2013</span></b></span>, which deserves an extra award for helping me unwind from the stresses of life! I did notice that a lot of these books tend to fall into the romance category. What can I say? At the end of the day, let me get away from what I normally do with a fun, modern chick story. Here were some of my favorites this last year.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTzTvysBOl17ZJ8rjhBuwQTElHFgMEAeam4Mj5q0anM2zpQDPnHR3XYOVpGbf6n_JOcjYmALQvqXjqZsTkQYvBk-oO-cAjc_n4ICduovXrS4hYkJiHSRyQyAB5zeBtpcr6gzZF/s1600/17985896.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTzTvysBOl17ZJ8rjhBuwQTElHFgMEAeam4Mj5q0anM2zpQDPnHR3XYOVpGbf6n_JOcjYmALQvqXjqZsTkQYvBk-oO-cAjc_n4ICduovXrS4hYkJiHSRyQyAB5zeBtpcr6gzZF/s400/17985896.jpg" width="300" /> </a></div>
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This was <a href="http://mjmbecky.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-case-for-bridget-review-of-mad-about.html" target="_blank">my last review</a> for 2013 and such a great one to go out on. Honestly, I love Bridget Jones and felt that Fielding did a good job of honoring her story and staying true to her characters. No, the situation was not ideal, but the story was still honest and real. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1QQq2Uz9LkPzSW3f_69SNCjshxToEeDlI_Wm4oWAruOZpUDDvdQ46n9J11GjjdkfxAWyMImNk1Pk8Qu93Msu3mY0hyd3Fh3vWs7HPXIqW92Km0HUQ5B2hNWqPfO-4LRzep-5/s1600/13585501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1QQq2Uz9LkPzSW3f_69SNCjshxToEeDlI_Wm4oWAruOZpUDDvdQ46n9J11GjjdkfxAWyMImNk1Pk8Qu93Msu3mY0hyd3Fh3vWs7HPXIqW92Km0HUQ5B2hNWqPfO-4LRzep-5/s400/13585501.jpg" width="263" /> </a></div>
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<i>The Chocolate Thief</i> was the book that snuck up on me from nowhere! I saw several book bloggers raving about these books by Laura Florand, such as <a href="http://www.angie-ville.com/" target="_blank">Angieville</a>, and had to give them a try. Around Fall Break, I checked this out from the library and devoured it in one sitting. Now that's an escape read! My only regret was that I didn't have a box of chocolates to eat when I read this sweet read!</div>
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Here was another read that I couldn't put down! <a href="http://mjmbecky.blogspot.com/2013/09/blog-tour-stop-giveaway-blackmoore-by.html" target="_blank"><i>Blackmoore</i></a> was a book that had me in tears and flipping pages almost faster than I could read. This was a book that I handed out and passed around to my friends, but ended up losing to someone! That was how popular it ended up being. Such a great read. I highly recommend it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBbhpCSbCtVRIqpB04h3dmq75-ueAgwSvkrxl6Ilkd8C_O_-ePIvDM_0vhMbb-PDAd17P588NPeMfKUQajaBcJsiOOfwE5p05uBWt7cvK7TZuaxgeEiSRdmy6Fd_b7lhUnFFoM/s1600/9781402269974_custom-d7b6191747ee367c0dcdbbcb7103415fa3678d33-s6-c30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBbhpCSbCtVRIqpB04h3dmq75-ueAgwSvkrxl6Ilkd8C_O_-ePIvDM_0vhMbb-PDAd17P588NPeMfKUQajaBcJsiOOfwE5p05uBWt7cvK7TZuaxgeEiSRdmy6Fd_b7lhUnFFoM/s400/9781402269974_custom-d7b6191747ee367c0dcdbbcb7103415fa3678d33-s6-c30.jpg" width="261" /> </a></div>
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Megan Mulry has quickly become one of my favorite contemporary romantic reads. I've loved this <i>Unruly Royals</i> series so much! Her characters show a lot of range and I love to see what they are each going to do. These are sexy little reads, so hang on for the ride! I've loved each and every one of them, but I have to admit that I keep thinking about <a href="http://mjmbecky.blogspot.com/2013/03/review-royal-pain-by-megan-mulry.html" target="_blank"><i>A Royal Pain</i></a>, about Bronte Talbot. Maybe it was because Bronte was the first one to learn her guy was a royal and that's an exciting prospect, but I really liked this first book and it was my introduction to Mulry's fun style. I'm excited to read more in the coming year!</div>
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Okay. Like everyone else, this book blew me off my feet and probably blew out a few tear ducts! I had seen this one floating around a bit and really didn't think I'd be interested, but how in the world could so many people be giving it a solid 5-stars on Goodreads? I finally folded and checked it out on audio book at the end of October to listen to back and forth from work. The audio book was really amazing, but it was too slow to listen to, so I had to return it before I could finish it and had to buy a used copy of it to tear through the end of the book on my own. Yes. I cried and then reread the ending. I'm still thinking about it. That's a great read.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Well, that's my year! 2013 was a great year for reading and I look forward to seeing what 2014 has in store. I hope you all have a great one as well and would love to hear what book(s) you loved this last year!</span></b>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-59693742291288114192013-12-28T21:13:00.001-07:002013-12-28T21:13:53.567-07:00A Case For Bridget: Review of Mad About the Boy by Helen FieldingBack in 2011 I explained, however briefly, my own connection/relationship to this quirky character, Bridget Jones in a blog post about the music from the film: <a href="http://mjmbecky.blogspot.com/2011/10/fiction-to-film-to-fantastic-music.html" target="_blank">"Fiction, to Film, to Fantastic Music Friday: Bridget Jones Diary."</a> So how do I put into words how many mixed emotions I had about this third book coming out? First off, I immediately pre-ordered it in hardback, because I have the previous books in hardback and am compulsive enough in this situation that I had to complete my set. I then sat back and watched and listened as the world exploded into mass discussions about bits of the leaked story and how unhappy they all were with it. Listen, I couldn't NOT read this novel if I wanted to, and I would NOT choose to just let this story go. In the end, I firmly believe we all have to look at what Helen Fielding meant to do with these novels. She wrote a story about a character named Bridget Jones, and this is quite possibly the culmination of her story. How could I let it go when I had let her into my life so fully before this? Yea. Wasn't going to happen. Like it or not, I HAD TO KNOW what happened!<br />
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***Spoilers Ahead. If you have not heard anything about what has had the interwebs up in arms about this novel, then my review might not be a good place to start.***<br />
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<b>Review: </b>Life's not perfect. Is that not one of the reasons that we somehow love and connect to Bridget Jones? Things always get messy for her, and yet it worked out for her in the end. We saw ourselves in her, and wanted and hoped for a certain amount of our own stupid imperfections to be overlooked. For this reason, I walked into book three knowing full well that this was going to be Bridget's story. Helen Fielding wrote these novels about Bridget to begin with, and that's what I expected and have grown to love. I care about her and her silly hang ups, and in the end, am willing to see where they take her. Because of that, this book honestly took me on a strange journey that I didn't see coming. Maybe I'm a few years older than when I read those earlier happy-go-lucky twenty something tales, but I really loved this book, and shed some pretty heartfelt tears on several occasions in reading this book. Bridget is still Bridget. I don't know what readers expected? We find that Bridget is still clumsy, making silly choices, thinking irrationally, and feeling lonely. But, she has matured and been through a lot, which is shown to us over the course of the book. That, I completely appreciated.<br />
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Yes. Mark Darcy is dead. There, I said it like Dickens said it in <i>The Christmas Carol</i>. I mean no disrespect, but some of the biggest nay-sayers I've seen to this book have been so hung up over this fact that I want to lay that out as the fact that it is. Yes, we're in the present day, and Bridget is now 50 with two small children to raise. The story doesn't take up immediately after the fact, and the children were too young to completely remember him, so no the story does not wax on poetic about it. He's not eliminated from the story or some sort of afterthought, but realistically, what happens to a person/character when life isn't the "Happily Ever After" that they think it will be? What we do end up getting in the story are appropriate flashbacks and scenes, that show how she has handled the loss and the rearing of her children. Honestly, I thought it was handled well and on point for this character. Where would we expect her to be five years after the fact? <br />
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One thing that Fielding 100% nailed was the grieving process after a
certain number of years. Somehow Fielding captured these moments where
Bridget would remember something about Mark, no matter how fleeting, and
they were just perfect. She didn't wallow in them, because she didn't
have time to, but you could see how completely present they still were
in her life. Perfect. That is real. <br />
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Bridget does wander, wholeheartedly, back into dating. It's rather uncomfortable to watch her efforts at times, but when you consider the uncertain Bridget in her 20s and then imagine this woman in her 50s with two children who has lost such an amazing husband, how would I expect her to bounce right back into dating with ease? Of course, she has that certain air of insecurity that you wish you could shake out of her, that even her kids see in her. (Is it the same insecurity she saw in her mother?) Maybe these are things that, in a sense, we really do end up working on our entire lives. We can insert our own moralities and ideologies onto Bridget, but from her own worldview, family, and friends, she's doing the best she can.<br />
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Sincerely, I loved <i>Mad About the Boy</i> and have no problem adding it to the rest of the collection. Was it the ending I hoped for or envisioned? No way, but honestly, life has a way of doing that, so I'm okay with it. Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-62087696135103811762013-12-23T08:00:00.000-07:002013-12-23T08:00:02.004-07:00Review: Sugarhouse: Turning the Neighborhood Crack House Into Our Home Sweet Home by Matthew Batt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Synopsis: </b>From <i>Goodreads</i>, "<span id="freeText17947001875445952132">An improbably funny account of how the purchase and restoration of a disaster of a fixer-upper saves a young marriage<br /><br />When
a season of ludicrous loss tests the mettle of their marriage, Matthew
Batt and his wife decide not to call it quits. They set their sights
instead on the purchase of a dilapidated house in the Sugarhouse section
of Salt Lake City. With no homesteading experience and a full-blown
quarter-life crisis on their hands, these perpetual grad
students/waiters/nonprofiteers decide to seek salvation through
renovation, and do all they can to turn a former crack house into a
home. Dizzy with despair, doubt, and the side effects of using the rough
equivalent of napalm to detoxify their house, they enter into
full-fledged adulthood with power tools in hand.<br /><br />Heartfelt and joyous, <em>Sugarhouse </em>is the story of how one couple conquers adversity and creates an addition to their family, as well as their home."</span><br />
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<span id="freeText17947001875445952132"><b>Review:</b> Since I live in the Salt Lake area, I was intrigued by the premise of this novel when I saw it at the library, and am also a bit of a sucker for stories about grad students on a bit of a life journey. In this case, it involved a major renovation. In this area, those renovations can involve some major-league fixer-uppers, but worth a pretty penny if done correctly in the area of the valley he's written about. In short, this novel was well worth the time and I will say up front that I really did enjoy it.</span><br />
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<span id="freeText17947001875445952132">As an English major, Matthew Batt knows how to craft language. His writing and observations about minute details in Salt Lake could be biting and funny at the same time. Many of the chapters in his book stood out as individual short stories that I wanted to hang onto. When he talked about searching for the perfect home in the valley, getting help at the local hardware store, or trends in construction he noticed in their home from 50 years ago, his storytelling really was so keen and spot on that I could hardly put the book down. I'm not sure how he managed to make all of that so entertaining, but he really did. I loved the details about ripping up the flooring to find lovely hard wood floors underneath that was riddled with nails from the laminate they had covered it with. A nightmare that anyone who has restored an old home might recognize. It was those details that made the story sing.</span><br />
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<span id="freeText17947001875445952132">One strange part of the story that I didn't connect with was his detour into his grandfather's life. That sounds odd, considering families generally shape a person's life and add interest to a story, however, I kept feeling like it was distracting from the story at hand. I wanted the story to center more on his relationship with his wife and how she factored into this home they were working on. Instead, the grandfather and family outside of Utah kept having this continued impact on the story that turned it into a type of "finding himself" journey that I hadn't expected. Maybe that was the point, that they had been impacting this remodel more than anything else? Since this was a true story, the author's family might have played just as much of a role in this remodel and in his marriage as anything else? I simply felt my own curiosity pulling me back to his home and life he had "built" here in Salt Lake. </span><br />
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<span id="freeText17947001875445952132">The writing in this book was really top notch. Certain sentences caught my attention, and I found myself rereading them, and then marking them so that I could come back to them later on. While I could understand the inclusion of the author's family, I would have liked more about his marriage that was started out in the beginning and in the title. Overall though, a very interesting book with some great writing.</span>Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615570638950821876noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36135958.post-39608832868525973452013-12-22T15:45:00.000-07:002013-12-22T15:48:26.550-07:00Sunday Blatherings: Let the Holidays & Reading Begin!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yes, I am one happy girl today. My holidays have officially begun, and I have a STACK of books to read! *Insert Jazz Hands Here* Yes, a STACK! In fact, I listened to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15768463-the-passion-of-the-purple-plumeria" target="_blank"><i>The Passion of the Purple Plumeria</i></a> by Lauren Willig (#10 in the series) yesterday while I was doing laundry and some massively ignored house work. Talk about a nice introduction to the weeks ahead.<br />
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Okay, so I wish I could say that I don't have grading over the break, but I do. Not the normal load that I have had in the past, and at least I have two weeks to pick away at it, and not just a millisecond or my bedtime to do it all. I'm ready for sleep and plenty of reading. I'm still not sure why this year is kicking my butt, but it is, and I just have to keep at it until I have breaks where I can collapse into a heap of fatigue. Sounds delightful and cheery of me to share, doesn't it? There is no Scroogery going on here! There is only happy, good will!<br />
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Now, do I really have a "Top of" list for 2013??? That's the next thing I have to put my brain to this week. Maybe I'll read something fantastic that I can add to the list.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">What about you? Have you read anything great so far that you know you'll add to the list? And, what will you be reading over this holiday break?</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;">By the way, you really should check out Neil Gaiman reading <i>A Christmas Carol</i> at The New York Public Library in the link below. It really made my day to get a little of that holiday cheer. His reading starts at about minute 11:00. Enjoy!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>
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