I've Sort of Moved Cyber Homes

You may (or may not) have noticed that I seldom blog here anymore. The reason for that is that I'm not really sure what I was setting out to do with this blog. At first, the idea was that it would be a book blog and I would use it to record all of the books I'm reading, but Goodreads does a great job of that (click my link and you'll be taken to my profile).

For the past few months, my book club girls and I have been working on a new blog that is all about our in-person book club. We're pretty proud of what we have so far, but there are still lots of things we want to do with it. First we have to learn how to do those things, and secondly we have to actually do them.

So please take a moment (or two) to check out my new blog. It's a lot prettier than this one, and has more content. It also features the writing talents of two other individuals.

Future hopes for us are author interviews, giveaways (sponsored by us, so we can't do much, but we'll certainly try hard to make them drool worthy), local bookstore reviews, and more.

Please check it out, and let me know what you think of it! I've got a Contact Us link on one of the pages, so you can reach me through there if you are so inclined.

Maybe I Will Set a Goal...

After reading an article about a YA book I read this past year, I've realized there are a great number of classical novels that I haven't read yet. So now I do have a goal in mind for next year. Each month of the year, I will read one book that I have had on my TBR for years that has great significance in the literary world. First up is...

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

This book has been nominated two different years in my book club, but it's never been a popular choice. I think I bought this book when the 1998 movie came out. It goes without saying that I am long over due to read this book!

What books fit this category on your TBR?

Hello, 2011!

Looking back at the past year, I have read almost 230 books. That is a LOT of books. I've been checking out how other bloggers have done this year, and I think I'm on the high end of some of the numbers I've seen. Honestly, I don't know how I managed doing it, and I've no idea if I can repeat it in 2011.

A lot of people are setting new reading goals for the New Year, but I don't do that. I don't want to disappoint myself if I can't make them, and I just want to keep reading FUN. If the last two years are any indication, I keep outdoing myself, and I'll probably be pretty close to 230 next year. Maybe over, maybe under...we shall see!

But to be fair, this year I've read a lot of YA titles, and those can be finished in just a few hours. I had a few carry-overs from the previous year, which boosted my numbers early in January. I will have to carry over a few books to 2011 just because one of them is an enormous brick, and the others I've just barely started.

So how did you all do this past year with your reading goals, if you have them? What's your "game plan" for 2011?

September Dollar Tree Bargain Find

I'm going to start a new feature on my underused blog that I hope you will all find interesting.

I live about a block away from a Dollar Tree and I have found that it's a good source for books. I'm an active swapper on paperbackswap.com and sometimes I want to play "Wish List Fairy" and share a brand new book with someone who's not expecting it! Brand new hardcovers for just a buck? You can't get much of a better deal than that.

Today was an unplanned trip while I was on my way to Chili's for lunch with my daughter and I decided to stop in since it is just a few buildings away from the restaurant. There were a lot of copies left from some of my previous purchases, but if I am patient enough I can almost always find something that looks interesting to me, or that might interest someone on paperback swap.

Why I want to read this: The cover really captured my attention. I love the feather floating on water and the sun shining through the clouds. I'm always happy to discover a stand-alone title that won't suck me into a series; I already read too many and there are still many more that I want to read.

What it's about:

From Publishers Weekly

Two worlds wrapped tight in gloomy gothic trappings vie for dominance in this engrossing, elaborately staged exploration of consciousness from O'Connell (The Skin Palace). Sweeney, an Ohio pharmacist, brings his comatose son, Danny, to the Peck Clinic, "a sandstone monster on fifty acres of private land near Quinsigamond's western border." Danny is all Sweeney lives for; he even studies the comic book Limbo, featuring a troupe of circus freaks led by the visionary Chick the chicken boy, for what his son may have imagined when his brain functioned normally. Like Stephen King in Richard Bachman mode, O'Connell digs for darkness as Chick and his companions, who inhabit the fantasy realm of Gehenna, encounter Dr. Lazarus Cole, "The Resurrectionist" (stoned to death only to walk again) and dread the inevitable showdown with their nemesis, "the mad doctor called Fliess," in his "enormous laboratory castle, the Black Iron Clinic." Meanwhile, in the real world, cultists kidnap Sweeney in hopes of using fluid from Danny's brain to transport them all to Gehenna. This strange brew is sure to enhance O'Connell's growing cult status.


I absolutely LOVE the idea of two worlds blurring into each other, and I'm a sucker for anything with a fantasy element. I can't wait to check out Jack O'Connell, and I hope now you want to as well!

Last Year vs. This Year

As of August 31st, I beat my reading count for last year. There are 4 more months in 2010 and I have surpassed my own expectations for the reading I would accomplish. I figured it would stay around the same number of books I read in 2009, but I will have exceeded that by a generous number come the end of the year.

I am eager to see what the final total will be for the whole year! Is it even going to be possible to beat that number in 2011? Looking back, I read nearly a book a day in January. That's crazy! How on earth did I find the time?

In 2011, I will have a 3-year-old. I'm not sure how different that will be from a 2-year-old, or how that might affect my reading. By next year, my daughter will be speaking in more complex sentences. She will be wanting to spend even more time outside. Chances are I will have to scale back on this fun endeavor, but I'm certainly going to enjoy it while it lasts.

How many books have you read this year?

The Carrie Diaries Giveaway

Sex and the City is absolutely one of my favorite TV shows EVER, and I'm so excited for the new book by Candace Bushnell called The Carrie Diaries.

If you'd like an opportunity to win a free copy of this exciting new release, head on over to Daisy Chain Book Reviews to enter now:

http://daisychainbookreviews.blogspot.com/2010/05/competition-time-win-carrie-diaries-by.html

The giveaway ends on May 28th, so hurry before it ends!

Getting LOST in a Good Story

You probably think I'm going to tell you about an amazing book, right? You're wrong. I'm going to tell you about amazing story-telling told in the form of a television show.

I finally gave in to a friend's insistence that I watch LOST and see for myself what has her so captivated. So just about 4 days ago now I began my own journey through the many seasons of LOST. I'm already on Season 2, and must admit that very little time has been devoted to sleeping, eating, and reading because of this show.

I wish I could remember where I was when the first episode aired. What was I doing instead of getting hooked on the show? What about it didn't appeal to me then that all of a sudden has now? Part of me thinks it was just the hype. EVERYONE was watching it. Well, "everyone" watches American Idol and I've never been fond of that show.

When I watch LOST, I analyze it much like I do when I read a novel. I pay attention to the characters, especially their dialogue, and I make predictions about what the next "page" will have in store for me. It's too soon to say if I am right about anything, but I was pleased with myself for some revelations that I watched today.

There are these two characters, Kate and Jack. They obviously are attracted to one another, but have some differences that might get in their way. Jack is the classic "hero", always wanting to fix things and solve problems. He was a reluctant hero at first, but has now grown into his role. Kate is a bit broken, and admires Jack. He is everything she wants to be, but doesn't know how to be. And then there's a third character, Sawyer. He outwardly displays all of his emotions (except for his obvious love for Kate) and Kate is both attracted to him yet repulsed by him.

All of this information about these characters was expertly portrayed through their words and body language. I loved analyzing them to death. I probably dream about them too.

So if I read less this month and someone out there is actually paying attention, you now know why. It's going to be a thin month for read books. If all television was as enticing as this piece of juicy fruit TV, I probably wouldn't spend my time reading ink on dead trees. :-)