10 on Tuesday!

If your definition of Tuesday is Wednesday. 

1.  Halloween is tomorrow!  WHOOO!   CANDY CANDY CANDY!!!  I steal all the good candy from my children.  I am not ashamed of this.   CANDY!!!!

2.  Treadmills are the bane of my existence.  There are a lot of reasons why I dislike living so far north,  but up close to the top of that list is the fact that I have to run on a treadmill from October through April.  I'm hopeful to get an outside run in this weekend. 

3.  My boy qualified for EI.  I'm not too surprised,  but I'm overwhelmed.   I don't know how the parents of sick kids keep their shit together.  My kid isn't sick but he needs some extra help and I'm juggling appointments, tests, insurance, bills, referrals, and my other kid's schedule.  Craziness!

4.  Go Red Sox!!  Let's take Game 6 and win again!!! 

5.  I really truly mean #4.  I want the Sox to win.   So please don't kill me when I admit that I think the beard thing is stupid and can't wait for it to be over.

6.  I need to be more patient with my daughter.   I'm not sure how to accomplish that,  but I think it involves wine.

7.  I bought myself a new sweater from Old Navy this past Saturday.   I've worn it twice since then.  I saw one of my friends both times I was wearing it.  She probably thinks I have no other clothes.  She wouldn't be that far off from the truth.

8.   I'm reading IT right now - I know, like 25 years late with that one.   HOLY GOD, WHAT IS WRONG WITH STEPHEN KING?  Seriously,  are all his horror books like that?  I've only read 11/22/63, none of his horror books.   That books is not okay.  Not okay at all.  Should not be allowed.   PENNYWISE THE CLOWN IS COMING FOR ME AND IMMA DIE.

9.  My daughter LOVES to walk through the "girl" toy aisles at Target.  But she doesn't realize you can buy those toys and bring them home.   I will cut the person who clues her into that fact.  Cut.

10.   CANDY!!!!!!!!!!!!

books books books

I'm in book overload here.    Last night we decided our next book club book would be 11/22/63, which is GREAT because I finally got myself a copy (BPL, we are still in a fight over this... get more ebooks.  That should be your New Years Resolution). 

However, I am still trying to force myself to finish Mayflower.  I started it on the recommendation of a few friends,  but I really do not like it.   It's non-fiction, which isn't always my cup of tea.  And honestly, I'm so confused about King Philip's War that my head is spinning when I sit down to read it.   I don't know what to do,  I'm about halfway through it so I feel that I just should just finish it... but I really do not like this book.

Add to the fact that I've been trying to read A Feast for Crows... which Goodreads is telling me I started in June,  though I'm pretty sure it was before June.   So I've been reading (or trying to read) this book for over 6 months and I'm still not finished.  Really?  6+ months to read a book?  I read the last Harry Potter in 4 hours! 

So I have two books hanging out there and I need to start 11/22/63 soon.   I cannot have three books going,  my life is too scattered as it is.   So what's a girl to do?

I'm thinking the answer may be to read some trashy "historical romances" instead :)

You don't have to take my word for it!

The next book for my book club is Gone Girl.   Anyone heard of it?  Apparently it's insanely popular - I'm on the waiting list for it from Boston Public Library,  along with 443 other people:

You are patron 174 out of 444 on the waiting list. Library copies owned: 63

444 people want this book?   For reals?  This is the description I got from Goodreads:

Marriage can be a real killer.
   One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. The Chicago Tribune proclaimed that her work “draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction.” Gone Girl’s toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn.
   On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?
   As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?
   With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.(less)

You are telling me 443 other people want to read that book?  Okay, so maybe I shouldn't be so judgmental.  Just because I would rather stick a hot poker in my eye than read a murder mystery, doesn't mean that everyone else in the world has the same good literary taste that I happen to possess  (ie, no murder mysteries.  Ever.)

And I really hope the people ahead of me on the waiting list read quickly,  I need to have this book read by September 15th.  I could buy it.... but I don't buy books.  

And this means A Feast for Crows is once again being put away for awhile.   Maybe that's a good thing,  I'm actually starting to get stressed out over Bran's fate, and where the hell is Rickon?

quick shot

* I'm a day and a half early with May's picture,  but better early than never... or something.

* Baby Girl developed a strange fear of slides and we don't know why.  She usually loves slides.  I think she's just tapped in the head.

* It's really time for me to get back to Storm of Swords or Clash of Kings, or whatever the hell the 3rd book in the Game of Thrones series is.  It's not a good sign that I can't even remember the name of the book that I'm reading.   I got really frustrated with the lack of progress that Ayria seems to be making and a I took a few months off.   Bad idea.

* My book club book for June is Moloka'i,  which I cannot find at Canton public library or Boston public library available in ebook format.  That is driving me crazy, I don't like to pay for books!  Meh!  (it looks really good though,  here it is)   Just the cover makes me want to go to Hawaii.

* After the June book club,  I will be able to join the rest of my friends in the required vat glass of wine everyone else enjoys while discussing the book gossiping.   I'm excited.

Sunday... Funday?

We have big plans today.   Home Depot, Lowes, and maybe Bed Bath and Beyond if we have time  (no, really.... we actually may not have enough time for BBB).   Winter Sundays are just so exciting. 

I re-read my Santorum post and I notice so many errors... the last sentence doesn't even make sense.   I'm not fixing it though.   That's what Santorum does to me - makes me so crazy I can't even see or type things correctly.  

Anyway.   Santorum.  Enough of him.   (for reals..... enough already.  Go home)

The Oscars are on tonight.   I'll watch for a bit,  but since all the Hollywood types seem to think that just because you live on the East Coast then you must go to bed after midnight on a Sunday night,  I won't see much of it.    I've only seen two of the movies up for Best Picture and only seen two of them (Moneyball and The Help).  To remind you,  these are the movies that are nominated.

The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Llife
War Horse

I would like to see Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close..... other than that, I'm not really into any of them.  The next movie I see will be the Hunger Games which I am so excited about.   Had the Little Guy been a girl,  there's a good chance her name could have been Katniss Everdeen.   

Speaking of the Little Guy,  I was at Marshall's yesterday and I went over to the children's section to look at some summer clothes for Baby Girl.   I searched through the racks for 10 minutes, but didn't find much.  It wasn't till I have halfway out of the store until I realized I also need to look for little boy summer clothes.  Whoops.   As a second child myself I am determined to not treat this kid as your typical 2nd child,  but I am already forgetting to buy clothes for him.   That can't be a good sign of things to come.    But I have gone though the Spring 2012 Mini Boden catalog and picked out an entire wardrobe for him (that he could fit into in about... 18 months) so I'm ignoring him completely..... kind of.   Sorry Little Guy...  I feel for you,  I'm a 2nd child too.  We can commiserate together. 

free stuff!

Want some free K-Cups?   Here you go! Sign up soon,  they do tend to run out of these samples kind of quickly. 

Want a free audio book?  (if you've never listened to an audio book,  I highly recommend them)  Here you go! On that one,  you do have to sign up for an Audible.com membership.  You will NOT BE CHARGED unless you forget to cancel your membership, and you can cancel the membership as soon as you have downloaded your audio file.   If you have an Amazon account (and let's be real here, who doesn't have an Amazon account?) you don't even have to put your credit card information in,  it uses your saved one.    Just don't forget to cancel your audible account! 

I signed up for the free audio book for the sole purpose of getting Room by Emma Donoghue.   It's my book club selection for November, and I need to get started on it.   Much to my dismay,  it was not available in ebook format at Boston Public Library!  What?   I have a $7.00 late fee at my local library,  so I can't place a hold on the physical book.  I'm firmly against paying late fees,  so I'll probably never be able to place a hold on a physical book again at my library (still can get ebooks though!).   What's a girl to do?  I don't pay for books.   I find it offensive, much like paying late fees.  I do have a gift card to Barnes and Noble, and it was only $9.99 in Nook format,  but still - $10 for a book?  No thank you!   Luckily, I remembered about my free audio book that I've been hearing about on the Stuff You Missed in History Class, and Stuff Mom Never Told You podcasts,  so off I went.    VICTORY IS MINE!   Another free book!   

quick question

I finished rereading the Harry Potter series (and yet again I'm still left underwhelmed by the ending/epilogue) and I have no library books. Even though I have a Nook and don't have to worry about space, I'm still not down with buying books. Andrew has the Game of Thrones series in epub format, so I can read it on my Nook.

Has anyone read it and liked it? There aren't a lot of genres that I flat out refuse to read, but I can honestly say fantasy is pretty far down on my list, so I'm hesitant.


Opinions?

Nook!

One of the reasons I changed my opinion on E-readers is the Lendme option on the Nook (which I believe is now available on the Kindle, or will be shortly. Don't quite me though, once I decided on the Nook I stopped keeping up with Kindle updates) and the ability to borrow from the library. I've said it a million times before, but I would go broke if I had to buy all my books, so it was pretty important I still had a way to borrow them.

My local public library doesn't have a ton of eBooks for borrowing right now, but the number of books is slowly increasing. I have heard it's worth paying money to join a larger library just to get more content, so I need to look into that. When I was in high school, anyone in MA could belong to the Boston Public Library, so that might be an option. I was in high school a long time ago, so clearly more research will be needed.

A week or so ago I went through my library's catalog of eBooks and placed a bunch of them on hold and one of them was available for check out today. Getting the right software installed on my computer was a daunting task and there is no way I could have done it without Andrew's help. But now I have a nice new book waiting for me on the Nook! The one drawback - it will disappear in 14 days. Good news: no late fees! bad news: I may not be done with it!

My mother gave me a Barnes & Noble gift certificate for my birthday and I already bought a book. I was still trying to plug through The Secret Garden (I'm a sucker for all those older free books that are available!) so I never started it.

Now I need to start 3 Willows: The New Sisterhood Series, Book 1. When I'm done with that, it's on to Heart of the Matter by Emily Griffin. I have no idea what 3 Willows is about - I'm not even sure why I placed it on hold. It looks like a young adult book, but that's never stopped me from reading a series before!

good and bad

good: January is over! February is short month! Winter is slowly chugging along!
bad: We are supposed to get 20 inches of snow over the next 48 hours

good: Monday is over!
bad: Still 4 more days till the weekend

good: I went to the gym today!
bad: apparently, I'm still chubby

good: Andrew made dinner tonight
bad: now I have to clean up

So that's my current status.

My copy of Black Heels to Tractor Wheels shipped today!!!!! Because we have a problem with UPS delivering to our building (881 SF of hell, what?) I have all my packages shipped to my parent's house, and with the copious amounts of snow coming, I doubt I will see my parents till the weekend - so I won't get to read it right away. But my husband would tell me I need to feel the burn, so I'm probably not going to get a lot of sympathy. I'm not done with with The Girl Who Played With Fire yet - what should I do? See what trouble Lisbeth Salander is getting into now, or put it aside to read about the Pioneer Woman and her hawt Marlboro Man?

INTERNET!!! TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!!!

More than meets the eye

I want to be Optimus Prime for Halloween.

Anyway, we signed up (again) for Netflix, so we've been watching more movies lately. Like Transformers. And Transformers, Revenge of the Fallen. Our next movie is Shutter Island, which still kind of freaks me out. I already read the book, but the previews for the movie just looked creepy.

All this movie watching means we're falling behind on TV and I haven't touched my scrapbook stuff in weeks. I need to get more organized, I hate when I fall too far behind on my scrapbooks. I'm thinking I need to dedicate a specific night to my scrapping.

In non-related news, I read The Help this week. (SPOILERS AHEAD!) I requested it from the library back in June and I got it last week - remind me just to buy the next crazy popular book I want to read. I really liked the book, though I hate not knowing what ultimately happens to Aibileen. Never having lived in the South, and never lived at all in the 1960's, it's hard for me to believe that people actually are that racist. Oh, I know racism is alive and well in all 50 states, but not like it was in Mississippi in the early 60's. Building a bathroom off your garage so the person who is raising your children and cleaning your house doesn't have to use yours? What? Why? I know that it happened, I'm not naive. But it's not something that computes in my head. There's just no logic there. I'm interested to see how the movie is when it finally comes out.

And I think I hear some noise coming from a crib, I must go investigate...

Old Skewl!

To Kindle or not to Kindle, that is the question. I am anti-Kindles. And Nooks. And every other eReader that is out there. Is it E-Reader? or ereader? or Ereader? I don't know.

Here is my problem with the Kindle (I'm just going to use Kindle to mean all the e-readers, mainly because Kindle did the best job with branding their name, and also I don't feel like looking up how to spell Ereader). I don't buy my books.

I couldn't - there is no way I could buy them, I would be flat broke. I have to get them from the library. I do own a lot of books (more than a lot... stacks and stacks and boxes and boxes). But if I bought every book I read, I would have no place to live and no money left to pay the bills. Or buy more books. I read a lot. On average, I go to the library every 2 weeks and get at least 2 books out each time I go.

So what am I supposed to do with a Kindle? I can't borrow books for the Kindle, can I? Is there some giant Kindle library out there? Because if there is, I am all about it. However, I am reasonably sure there isn't, which means I would have to buy all my books. The Kindle does solve the space issue that comes with buying all my books, it doesn't solve the cost factor. How can I afford to buy so many books?

BUT.... they're kind of cool. I kind of want one, but I don't want to buy my books.

So what am I supposed to do??

And we're back to the beginning: to Kindle or not to Kindle.

Also, have you donated yet?

riding in my car...

I have a really long commute - usually about 65, sometimes 70 minutes. It's awful. Not what I signed up for, but beyond my control.

In order to make the afternoon commute better, I usually listen to books on tape. I tried NPR, but NPR from 4pm - 5pm, the 60 minute span that I am in my car, is not very good. It's the middle of All Things Considered which isn't always interesting. So books on tape (er.. books on CD actually) it is. I don't always listen to books that I would normally read, but my library doesn't have a huge selection of audio books so often times I just have to take what I can get.

This all brings us to this morning. Normally, my morning commute isn't too bad. I get on the highway at 6:30 and go against traffic. I eat my Fiber One bar (mmmm... oats and chocolate), drink my DD iced coffee, and listen to the local pop station's morning show. I've been listening to that morning show since I was in 4th grade. The host is now in his mid 60's, hates pop music, constantly complains that he doesn't have a sports radio show, and constantly interrupts the entertainment report because he never knows who anyone is or what TV show they are talking about. I love it. Best morning show in Boston.

BUT.... I hate when the host isn't in and they play the "best of" clips. And he apparently had the morning off today, so that's what was on.

(GETTING TO THE POINT NOW) Ergo and henceforth, I put in my audio book I got from the library a few days ago. It's a book called Somebody Else's Daughter. I'm only a few chapters in, and I already know this is not a book that I'll like. This morning as I was listening to the narrator read the prologue which is just a letter a father wrote to his (I'm assuming) adult daughter about her first few weeks of life and the pain of giving her up for adoption, and him physically handing her over to her adoptive parents, I lost it. Sobbing in the car. Not just my eyes welling up with tears - actual gut wrenching, not being able to breathe sobs. And then I had to walk into my office. After crying for an hour.

Over a book.

A non-fiction book.

I was a real prize this morning. Puffy red eyes. Splotchy face. Ragged breathing.

I think next time I should just put on another morning show.

Read me!

Are you a reader? Yes? Good. (if the answer is no, go pick up a book. It will be good for you).

A few years ago (January 2008) I joined Good Reads. For those of you unfamiliar with the site, it's essentially a website to keep track of the books you have read, that you want to read, and that you are reading. You can rate and review each book. You can look at your friends' lists of books and get ideas, or you can just browse through categories and read reviews that way. I'll admit I have not always been great with keeping up with the site, but I am trying harder these days.

I get most of my books out of the library (if I bought every book I read, I would be broke!) so I love the "to-read" category. Any time I have nothing to read, I go on to Good Reads, see what I marked down to read and request it from the library. Then they email me when it is available and I'm good to go.

My biggest problem is I only have 2 friends on there who actually update their lists. And one of them has a drastically different taste in books than I do, so her input is no good to me.

More people need to join and be my friend on there! I really have found a lot of books on there that I probably would not have read, had I not joined the website. So join. Add me as a friend. And UPDATE those lists!

Short and Sweet

* True Blood on HBO. I'm not 100% sold on it yet. The first episode hooked me and the second one creeped me out. This week's looks even crazier, so it could possibly be the make or break episode. If you aren't watching and you get HBO, you should watch. If nothing else it isn't like anything that is out there now.

* I'm home sick today. Once I got past the guilt and worrying about tomorrow, I rather enjoyed it. I haven't stayed home sick since February of 2007, so this is not a common thing for me to do. Maybe I'll do it again in 19 months.

* The Pillars of the Earth. I'm 265 pages in, and still waiting to see what all the fuss is about. But I'll keep plugging along because I have never met anyone who didn't like this book.

* Matt Cassel. Not bad. Also, cuter than Tom Brady.

Things I've read recently

The quality of books I have been reading in recent months has gone a bit downhill, mainly because I don't have time to read a lot. So I tend to gravitate towards easy reads; chick-lit if you will. I love those books, but they don't take a lot of mind power to comprehend. Which is exactly what I need while still muddling through school. But I decided in the calm between the storm (ie before finals start) to try to branch out. I didn't like what I chose.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Wall
Jeanette wrote her memoir about her life growing up with her probably-mentally-ill-but-is-never-mentioned-as-such mother and her alcoholic yet intelligent (when he's sober) and loving father. He does demonstrate his love, but clearly his priorities are not in line. Jeanette has an older sister, a young bother, and a younger sister and they grow up in utter poverty, though Jeanette doesn't realize this until she is much older. It makes you sad that children can live this way. But it's a very well written book and at least I couldn't make myself hate the father, even after seeing what he put his family through. The mother.... well... that's a different story. I'd like to give her a piece of my mind!

The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue.
Not my style. That's really all I can say about this book. It is about a boy who is stolen by a changeling, so the changeling can steal his life and grow up among humans. Meanwhile the human boy is changed into a changeling and forced to live as one of them. The book follows the two stories of the Changeling Henry Day who is living as a human and the human Henry Day who is know a changeling called Aniday. Henry Day lives in fear that someone will find out who he really is (and drags his new wife to Germany to research his former human self) and Aniday longs to be a human again and wants to go home to his mother. Personally, I would skip the book, but then I already said it wasn't my style.

So my adventure into heavier reading did not fare well for me. But after finals are done, I might read Jane Erye or Pride and Prejudice because I haven't read either one. I don't know how I managed to get through high school without having to read them, but I didn't. We'll see if I can get through them now.

I really enjoy books on tape and CD. Even though my little car is a 2004, it still has a tape deck which is good because most of the recorded books at libraries are still on tape. I guess the CD's cost too much. Anyway, right now I have a Danielle Steele book on CD, called Sisters. I'm about 6 chapters in right now and it is classic Danielle Steele - way too much drama and nothing every really happens. I swear the first 4 chapters all said the same thing, only in slightly different words. Anyway, the drama in this one made me cry. It's slightly odd to be crying in your car for anyone to see. People probably thought I recently lost a loved one, or was in a fight with my significant other, or some other sad event. Nope. Just listening to whomever is reading the book to me describe in his soothing, yet oddly monotone voice the carnage and wreckage that killed a beloved mother and sent a promising young woman (one of the aforementioned Sisters) to the ER fighting for her life. It's a good thing my windows are always rolled up this time of year.

I've listened to a lot of books on tape/CD. I know some people think I am crazy, but I'm in the car a lot. I started getting into them when Andrew lived in Manchester and if he wasn't coming down here to see me, I would be going up there on the weekends. Let me tell you about the traffic on a Friday night from Boston to Manch. It would take over 2 hours sometimes. But the time just melts away when you are listening to a good story. I do enjoy music, but I'm not as into it as some people and listening to someone tell me a story makes time go by so much faster than music alone. I don't think that I could listen to a non-fiction book. It's got to be fiction; it has to be a story.

Even books that I have ready many times over, like the Harry Potter series is great on audio book being ready by a proper English gentleman. Listening to him say Hermione's name is priceless.

So check out your local library. As I said, the CD selection is smaller than the tape collection, but there usually is a decent selection of CD's. And you can rip them onto your iPod and listen at your leisure.

But you don't have to take my word for it! (Take a look, it's in a book, Reading Rainbow!)