Confession time: I read in the bathroom. I think most people do, honestly, but not everyone is willing to admit it. So why am I confessing this? Today's ongoing books are about my 'Bathroom Books'.
4000 of Uppity Women: As the title alludes, this is about women throughout history. Typically only 2-3 pages per woman, which makes it a perfect bathroom book!
Weird Encounters: True Tales of Haunted Places: Another book with only a few pages per place, making it another great bathroom book. I've really just begun this book, but scary stories are never a bad thing.
The Whistling Season: This is a novel, not short stories, it's more of a bathtub book, but I don't take baths....Anyway. I really enjoy the parts of the book that tell of the family living on the Montana prarie. Those parts remind me of the Little House on the Prarie books, which I love. However, some parts are told from later in the protagonists life and I don't find them as enjoyable yet. I have not gotten to the point where these two stories blend together, and I really hope they do.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
Ongoing Books: Part 1
I'm one of those people that read multiple books at the same time. Often people ask how do you keep the stories straight? My response: how can you not? With the variety of books I read, it's pretty easy to not confuse them.
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: This is all 5 of the books in one edition. Technically, I've finished the first book and have started the second. However, since it's all together, Goodreads counts it as 1 book. So far, I do find this book rather amusing, but it seems to be mostly puns and one-liners. It feels like each paragraph is a set up for the next joke, but I do see why this book is so popular.
The Three Musketeers: 10% done with this one. The first of my 'classics'. I have always found the classics to be a bit challenging, due to the antiquated language used. Not to say that I don't understand what's being said, but as they are more flowery with words and not at all how I speak or what I typically read, I am much slower at getting through them, than say, a Stephen King novel. However, I have found a few amusing passages that I'd like to share with you. (Again, this is a kindle edition, so locations not page numbers are what I have to reference.)
Location 775:
Getting Things Done: I have heard good things about this book, and a co-worker recently mentioned she had trouble with time management. I suggested we both read this book and have a mini-book club about it, so that we can support each other in improving our work-selves. I'm only a few pages in, and while I don't recommend reading it on a comfy couch when you haven't had much sleep the night before, so far it seems to be filled with very practical advice. I hope to make a lot of progress on it this week.
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: This is all 5 of the books in one edition. Technically, I've finished the first book and have started the second. However, since it's all together, Goodreads counts it as 1 book. So far, I do find this book rather amusing, but it seems to be mostly puns and one-liners. It feels like each paragraph is a set up for the next joke, but I do see why this book is so popular.
The Three Musketeers: 10% done with this one. The first of my 'classics'. I have always found the classics to be a bit challenging, due to the antiquated language used. Not to say that I don't understand what's being said, but as they are more flowery with words and not at all how I speak or what I typically read, I am much slower at getting through them, than say, a Stephen King novel. However, I have found a few amusing passages that I'd like to share with you. (Again, this is a kindle edition, so locations not page numbers are what I have to reference.)
Location 775:
How do I know that this is not his Eminence who has honored you with the commission to procure my head? Now, I entertain a ridiculous partiality for my head, it seems to suit my sholders so correctly. I wish to kill you quietly in a snug, remote place, where you will not be able to boast of your death to anybody.Location 901:
...parrying like a man who had the greatest respect for his own epidermis.
Getting Things Done: I have heard good things about this book, and a co-worker recently mentioned she had trouble with time management. I suggested we both read this book and have a mini-book club about it, so that we can support each other in improving our work-selves. I'm only a few pages in, and while I don't recommend reading it on a comfy couch when you haven't had much sleep the night before, so far it seems to be filled with very practical advice. I hope to make a lot of progress on it this week.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
The Thirteenth Unicorn
Synopsis:
"While spending the summer with their grandparents on a remote farm in South Carolina, Ben Alderman and his sister Casey uncover a hidden world of magic; a world their grandmother is secretly visiting. It is a world where elves and dwarves are locked in mortal combat against a witch who is trying to free the last surviving wizard from exile. The witch has been defeated once before but with the combined power of the wizard, no one will be able to stand against them. Much to Ben's dismay, he learns that he is the one foretold in the ancient elfin prophecies to bring about the downfall of the witch and save this exciting new world from destruction." Synopsis from Goodreads.com.
My Review:
We meet Ben and Casey Alderman at the end of the school year. Their mother has been in a coma for 2 years, and their father must go away on business - off to Grandmother's House for the summer! Turns out, there's a bamboo patch on the farm, with a magical Merlin Tree, that transports those who walk through it to the world of Camelot. Camelot is in danger. An evil witch is hunting the thirteenth unicorn, while snakers roam the land.
This is an ok adventure story written for the very young adult crowd. The writing isn't too stellar, and the action is swift at best. Example: "The battle was over as quickly as it had begun." Literally. I wish the battle scenes had been more fleshed out and more exciting, and the danger had been more intense - but as a whole, I liked the concept of the book, and found myself wanting to go to Camelot.
Definitely not recommended for those looking for a literary masterpiece - but for young readers looking to get in to the fantasy genre, it's not a horrible start.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Fifty Shades of Terrible
Synopsis:
"When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.
Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.
Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.
This book is intended for mature audiences." Synopsis from Goodreads.com
Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.
Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.
This book is intended for mature audiences." Synopsis from Goodreads.com
I hated this book so much. I'd like to reiterate a few things from my Goodreads Review:
1) I knew this book was labeled "ladies porn" and/or "mommy porn".
2) I did NOT know this book was fan fiction.
3) I did NOT know this book was Twilight fan fiction.
4) I don't know why I did not know these things.
5) I wish I had known 2-3.
I hated the Twilight series - there is no worse character in literature than Bella Swan. So, to base a fan fiction on that series is just.....despicable to me.
2) I did NOT know this book was fan fiction.
3) I did NOT know this book was Twilight fan fiction.
4) I don't know why I did not know these things.
5) I wish I had known 2-3.
I hated the Twilight series - there is no worse character in literature than Bella Swan. So, to base a fan fiction on that series is just.....despicable to me.
The writing is terrible and the sex is boring. Yes, this bondage-sex is BORING. It should be dangerous, and leave you feeling a bit weak-kneed and unsure if you were really supposed to enjoy that, because you did. This book did not deliver. It is AWFUL! If it were possible, I'd give it -5 stars.
Do not purchase this book, do not read this book, do not even think about this book.
Also, there will be a book burning in my parking lot next week, so come join me. Normally I'd never burn a book, but this deserves it.
Ex Libris
I decided it would be fun to participate in Goodreads Reading Challenge and what better way to help keep myself on track, than to blog about it? In 2013, I am challenging myself to read 50 new-to-me books. I am very much a re-reader, and find myself going back to my favorite books/series over and over again, so 50 new books should be challenging but doable. I also hope to have a good many of these reads be classics.
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