Honolulu's 62nd Annual Book Sale -- PLEASE SAVE ME

After 12 boxes of books shoved into a storage unit (which surprised me...I thought I had more), you would think I'd shy away from this sale. Besides, I mailed three boxes over here for the summer. What's wrong with me?!? Please save me!!! Should I go? Can I pass this up? Will I get away from the sale with empty hands? What will I do with all the excess I collect? Sigh...

Well, if you're on Oahu June 20th through June 28th, you might check it out. After all, it is supposed to help the state economy, as they are running a huge deficit. You can count it as a good deed, right?

See Friends of the Library of Hawaii for additional information.

48 Hour Marathon FINAL WRAP UP

Wow. This was a lot more difficult to focus on than I thought it would be. I really have been so worn out from the end of school and moving, that I got here to my mother's place and collapsed. Not only was I tired, but I also hadn't seen my mother since Thanksgiving, so it's hard to just rush off to ignore her! Having said that, thanks to MotherReader for hosting this fun challenge! Here are my stats:

Hours: 48
Reading Time: 15
Books Read: 3
Pages Read: 659 (from those I've finished--over 1,000 total)
Blog Post/Reviews: 6 posts (including this one) & 1 review (with two to come)
Blogging/Twittering: 7
Working Online Job: 6
Other Challenges Met: 2 (1 for 1% Well Read, and 1 for ebook Reader Challenge)

I'm proud of myself for finishing a really hard book, The Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai. It took me back to those grad school days, especially the week my seminar-level course was asked to finish Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children. I still remember reading around the clock, days on end, and only getting through about 30 pages an hour because the material was so dense. The novel was SO thick, that most of us put in marathon hours to get it read by that next week, some students reporting drinking binges and falling asleep under tables to get it finished! (No, I didn't go that far, but I did spend some major sleepless nights.) Desai's novel was very similar; the material was so postmodern and dense, that it took about an hour for 40 to 50 pages. I finished it though, and am so proud of myself!!!

Here's what I read during the marathon:

Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, by J.K. Rowling

The Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai

I also read about 6 chapters of Club Dead, by Charlaine Harris, and 9 chapters into Bones of Faerie, by Janni Lee Simner. Overall, not too bad. Next time, I'll choose smaller books maybe? In this case, I don't think that number of pages, nor number of books that I've read really show much, but considering what I got through, I'm okay with it.

48 Hour Marathon #4 -- Hour 31

Okay, it's that time again.

Hours into Marathon: 31
Reading Time: 10 (total) & 4 (today...so far)
Books Read: 2 & 3/4 -- Suze Orman's Action Plan for 2009 and The Tales of Beedle the Bard. On page 202 of 324 in The Inheritance of Loss, and Chapter 6 of Club Dead.
Working Online Job: 3 (TOTALLY frustrating to be online, but working...not reading or working on blog.)
Bottles of Water: 5!!! (I have this bottle I keep refilling, and I find that while I read, I'm constantly sucking down water.)
Walks on the Beach: 1 (People must have thought I was a nut job walking with a book in my hands! I also had a couple of waves hit me that splashed me up to my waist...fun.)

I have to say that this challenge has taught me some interesting things about myself; that I am easily distracted, that little things in your day can take you away from what you're reading, that choosing a brain-challenger like The Inheritance of Loss was pretty tricky, and that those in your life hanging out while you read get bored and want to go play! :) Since I'm still a bit jet lagged, and getting over being sick and the big move, I find that I drowse off after about two hours of continual reading.

Well, time to get off of here and keep on! I'll review books later. I'm really enjoying the challenge so far. Let's see if I can finish strong.

48 Hour Marathon #3 -- Hour 19

Let's start with the stats...

Hours: 19
Reading Time: 6
Books Read: 1 & 1/2
Blog Post/Reviews: 4 posts (including this one) & 1 review
Blogging/Twittering: 5
Working Online Job: 3

Wow, when you break it down, it makes me feel like a real flake! This is my first "marathon" of any type, and it's a lot harder to focus solely on the reading than I thought. Things keep interrupting! I actually got about 3 1/2 hours of reading in before I crashed last night. Right now I'm reading The Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai. It's such a dense read, but SO good. I thought I'd need to break it up with other things, but I haven't wanted to. It pulls my "numbers" down little because it's not a quick read, but a good one! It also counts towards my 1% well read challenge, which is excellent. Right now, I'm on page 147, which is about half way through.

Review: Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan

Talk about a stressful way to start off the reading challenge! I've actually posted about this book, back when I first picked it up to read. Many of you know that I'm in the process of buying a townhouse. That is, if the builders can get their financing! The entire process has been extremely stressful, and had me rethinking it a million times, and wondering if I can do it. Yes...I think I can, but Orman's book sure makes me rethink it once again!


Synopsis: In 2008, seeing where the economy was headed, Suze Orman sat down and wrote a new plan for 2009. Knowing that things were going to be tough, that the market was going to tank, that people were going to lose their jobs, and that the real estate market would head south in a serious way, Orman outlines strategies and challenges for how Americans can save their own finances and get out of this recession with their families and lives in tact.

Review: Although I had looked over the worksheets several weeks ago, so that I had my own "financial health" mapped out as I headed into getting my mortgage (and felt good about it), Orman's information and challenges had my stomach in knots. I definitely think she's being realistic, but she doesn't sugar-coat things for one second, nor does she make you think that "everything will be all right" without major effort on each of our parts. The book has 10 chapters, and each one focuses on a different financial issue, such as: paying for college, planning for retirement, buying a home, spending, etc. Each chapter then lists a series of questions that real people might ask Orman.

While this book stressed me out...major, I do feel like there are things I can do to reduce my own debt (ha, ha...even with a mortgage coming around the corner), and ways that I can secure my financial freedom. For instance, she suggest some of the following:

• Put away at least 8 months of salary as a fall back.
• DO NOT dip into your 401k.
• Pay down credit cards as much as possible.
• Keep your FICO score above 700, preferably above 720 by making payments on time.
• Make sure your family has health insurance.
  
• If buying real estate, you should be able to make the 10-20% downpayment, or you're probably not ready to buy!

She also issued a challenge that I think I'll try some time in the next month:

1. Do not spend money for one day.
2. Do not use your credit card for one week.
3. Do not eat out at a restaurant for one month.

Overall, a great resource, and one that I'm glad I have. It's not fun to read, and is quite sobering, but one that I think we all need in this recession. Even though it's tough to face the facts of this economy, the education Orman can give in this book are invaluable and comforting.

For more information, see: Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan

*This also fulfilled my second in the e-book Reader's Challenge.

48 Hour Challenge #2

First off, let me mark off my stats for the 48 Hour Challenge.

Hours: 5 1/2
Reading Time: 2 (What! Why so few...let me explain)
Books Read: 1
Blogging/Twittering: 2
Working Online Job: 1
Talking to Stressed out Friend Studying for Boards: 1/2

I will admit that I've had a slow start. Since I've had a lot of interruptions to my online availability and time, I don't think it's strange to see my 2 hour start to this challenge with nonstop blog reading and twittering. I now am pretty well caught up, and feel "back on my feet" again. Sigh. Feels good to be back to my old self (sort of). Also, it's interesting that since I'm here in Hawaii, I'm 4 hours behind my home in MST and I'm noticing people heading off to bed. I'll be up for a bit, as I'm pretty wired to really dive into the books I've lined up. So, here's what I have planned. (FYI--My book boxes haven't arrived yet, so I'm reading what I have here.)

1. Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan -- DONE
2. The Inheritance of Loss (Which I won't be able to read straight...I'll trade off on this one.)
3. Club Dead (Book 3 in Sophie Stookhouse series.)
3. The Tales of Beedle the Bard (Nope. Still haven't read it!)
4. The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns (New Release)
5. The Grand Sophy (New Release)
6. Wings (Fairly new, but one I picked up at the Provo Book Festival.)
7. First They Killed My Father (For school)
8. Fablehaven (Also picked up at Provo Book Festival)
9. The Host

Alternates...if I get bored:

10. New Moon
11. Small Changes, Big Results (For my Rejuvenate & Renew Challenge.)
12. Tumbling Through Time

No, there is no way I'll get through those. I'm just not that speedy, and I do still have to do my online job in the middle of all of this. I also have promised my mother that I'd go to a movie with her tomorrow. For now, this is my stack of reads ahead. I'm going to finish my review, then head back to reading. I'll try to update when I head to bed though!

48 Hour Marathon #1

With the time difference here in Hawaii, I knew 8am (4 am here) would be impossible, so I'm starting my 48 hour challenge at 2 pm (Hawaiian Time), and will finish up 2 pm on Sunday. We have a few things to do tomorrow, and I have an online class that started today that I'll be having to work on, but other than that, I'm off to start reading, blogging, and reviewing! Thanks ahead of time for any cheering you might give me to keep me going and the jet lag at bay.