The Book Blowout

The year is almost half over, which means that I should have read 30 books at this point to meet my goal for the year. I've read 24. Therefore, I am joining the Book Blowout at Blue Archipelago.



The Rules are simple:

How do I join in the fun?

* You can sign up any time between today and July 14 - just because I’m a bit slow to announce this!
* To join you need to post about the Book Blowout on your blog - and set yourself a target number of books you will try to read - go on challenge yourself! (Please note: If you do not have a blog I am perfectly happy for you to post your target in the comments below - and then the list of books in the wrap-up post in August)
* Use the Mr Linky below to link to that post so we can all see how many books you’re taking on in the Blowout
* Post a list of the books you managed to read by the deadline of August 7 to complete the challenge

What rules do I need to know?

* Only books read between July 1 and July 31 count towards the challenge
* You can include re-reads - as long as they are read within the month of July
* Books you abandon will only count as half a book
* If you read to your children you can include all books which have more than 100 pages
* You can include up to two graphic novels
* You can include up to two audio books - (if you have a visual impairment that prevents you from reading then you can use just audio books for the challenge)
* Books you read for other challenges are eligible - use this as an opportunity to catch up!
* If you start a book before July 1 and then finish it during the month of July then you can count is as half a book


To catch myself up, I'll need to read ELEVEN books in July. This is a crazy amount of books, so I'll say 8. Still insane, but possibly doable. That'll be my 5 books for July, and half my deficit for the year. Wish me luck!

If you're following along at home, this puts me in for three challenges: The Chunkster Challenge, the Classics Challenge, and now this. So far I could make them all!

Recent sewing

While my mom was here I had the chance to sew up a few more bags. Unfortunately, they all went home with her! (Blogger is hating me, the inside of the second bag is the darker pink with a stripe of the lighter pink and a flower like the outside. I can't seem to post that picture.)

A Book Giveaway!

Trish at Hey Lady Whatcha Reading? is giving away FOURTEEN BOOKS courtesy of Hachette Books. Some of them look REALLY good. While I really want to win it myself, I'm posting the link here so you can win it too. (And so I get more entries. I'm not that generous.)

(PS I'm also testing the emailing the post to my blog, hope this works!)

Helping Me Help Myself by Beth Lisick

Helping Me Help Myself: One skeptic, ten self-help gurus, and a year on the brink of the comfort zone has a great premise. On New Year's Day Beth Lisick wakes up and takes stock of her life. She's not so happy with where she's at professionally or personally and she's looking for a way to get back on track. Initially full of disdain for self-help books, she decides to read one each month and fully commit herself to it's guidelines. She starts off in January with Jack Canfield's The Success Principles. She'll eventually work her way through Steven Covey's Seven Habits, Suze Orman, John Gray, Julie Morgenstern, 1-2-3 Magic by Thomas Phelan, Julia Cameron, Deepak Chopra, a cruise with Richard Simmons and a night with Sylvia Browne.

As the subtitle would suggest, she's pretty skeptical that all this will help her solve her problems. She disdains the idea of a life coach like Canfield. She spends (literally) the last of her money on a two-week trip to Italy. She sees Chopra as "spirituality lite." She is funny and sarcastic and makes fun of just the right things. She goes on a Richard Simmons cruise and falls in love with the man himself. (Honestly, the Richard Simmons chapter makes the whole books awesome. I find myself a little in love with him now as well!) At the end of the year, Lisick feels a bit smarter, but watching her journey I'm not convinced that she really learned anything. I am also not totally convinced she was completely honest with us- she continues to tells us again and again how very broke she is, but still manages to spend money on things like a trip to Italy. It seems like some aspects of her life are a bit exaggerated to make for a better story. Despite this, I still found the book to be enjoyable, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a very light memoir.

Recent sewing and a contest...

Since mom has been here, I've had time to actually go downstairs and do a little sewing. She keeps me company and holds the baby bug and I get to sew. So far I've completed a fun little purse for her, and a little tote bag as a gift. We've laid out the fabrics for another tote bag and are contemplating some little water bottle holder things. Today (while I should have been working) I drew up a little sketch of a purse for myself. All those things mean is- I need some fabric! Lucky for me i have to say is opening a brand new etsy store full of gorgeous stuff. She is celebrating my giving away some of that pretty stuff, and you can win it by leaving her a comment. Here's the contest post. Hopefully I can wait til the contest ends before BUYING something!

(Pictures of completed projects to come soon!)

Entertainment Weekly's New Classics

I've been absent even more than usual lately- my mom is in town through Saturday, so I've been busy! So that you all don't forget me, I'm going to jump on the bandwagon with this list. Trish, how does this match up with the new classics on your challenge? Just scanning the start of the list looks like we picked a lot of them!

I've read the bold ones, and would like to read the italicized ones.

1. The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006)
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
4. The Liars' Club, Mary Karr (1995)
5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)
11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
12. Blindness, José Saramago (1998)
13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
16. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988)
18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)
19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
20. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)
21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000)
22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)
23. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)
31. The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien (1990)
32. Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (1988)
33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)
34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
36. Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)
38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)
39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
42. LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)
43. Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (1988)
44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)
45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (1988)
46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
47. World's Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)
51. The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)
52. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
54. Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)
55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
56. The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)
57. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
58. Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)
59. Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)
60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
61. Money, Martin Amis (1985)
62. Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)
63. Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)
64. Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)
65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
66. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)
69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
71. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)
72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)
76. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (1998)
77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
80. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)
81. Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)
82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
84. Holes, Louis Sachar (1998)
85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)
86. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)
88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
89. Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)
90. Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)
91. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)
92. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)
95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)
96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)
97. Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)
98. The Predators' Ball, Connie Bruck (1988)
99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)

TBR Day: Summer Knight by Jim Butcher

Summer Knight is the fourth in the Dresden Files series. After it's slow take off for me, I think this series is really picking up. It almost seems like the first one or two were warm ups and Butcher has hit his stride. Harry is much less whiny, much less needy, and his need to be a hero has acquired a little common sense.

In this installment we see Harry working for the Winter Queen to find out who killed a rival faerie. The vampires are going to war with the wizard's White Council because of what happened in book three. Harry has been called before the Council for his part in those events, and if he can't disarm the coming war with the vampires his career as a wizard is over. Unfortunately, the war between the Faerie is much more imminent and much more dangerous. Like the others, the action is non-stop. I'm pretty sure Harry doesn't sleep for days.

The recurring characters are mostly good. Murphy isn't overwhelmingly "you HAVE TO TELL ME, Harry!" The werewolves are back and in good form. Lea is great. Bob isn't in it nearly enough. The person from Harry's past was good, but I don't know that I like the idea of bringing them in just for this storyline. Almost made it TOO easy to make Harry get involved by throwing them into it. Overall, I think this was the best one yet.

On a related note, series books are almost impossibly hard to review. There's not a lot you can say without giving away the plot to the previous books. I almost hesitate to even mention the plot summary off the back of the book for fear it will spoil something for someone. I find myself reading more and more series books lately, so this is getting to be more of a problem. Off the top of my head, unfinished series waiting on my shelves include: Kim Harrison, Rachel Caine, Laurell Hamilton, J. D. Robb, Charlaine Harris (ok, the last one isn't on my shelf, yet), and Janet Evanovich (ditto), and the rest of the Dresdens. Soon this blog will turn into: "Yep, it was good."

Wedding Sewing

A co-worker of mine got married this weekend, and as part of her bridesmaid gifts had me make some little bags. She provided me with the brown/black/white floral fabric which was also used to make all the table runners (not by me!) In the first picture there are 9 little round jewelry bags. You've probably seen these bags around, they open up to be a circle with little pockets for jewelry and pull shut with a drawstring. The second picture is of 5 little clutch bags. They are simple little bags with a magnetic clasp. Lindsey had them personalized by purchasing little labels for the inside with their monogram and wedding date. They turned out really cute.

A Random List of Things

Good thing I don't have a partial feed because I suspect the beginning and end of this list won't have anything to do with each other!

• Today is my birthday. I am 33. Crazy.
• I started reading My Sister's Keeper by Picoult. So far it's easy to read, but I am terrified that the sister dies. Can I handle it if she does?
• I had a giant vanilla latte today, my first caffeine in weeks. It was lots of fun.
• I really like the way Maw Books always posts the best seller list for the week, indicating which ones she's read. I'd SO do that, but I am so far behind on best sellers it might be pointless. Here's her list from last week. I've read 6 of them. I might start doing part of it- fiction and non-fiction, not the advice or children's though.
• I'm almost done with Helping Me Help Myself by Beth Lisick. I'm having problems getting through the chapter on money. Identify much?
• I'm too lazy to link to book titles. Ya'll know how to use Amazon.
• This weekend is Father's Day. I have not yet placed my Amazon order. Shhhhh. Perhaps he won't notice?
• If I have to buy you a gift, and I don't know what you want- you get books.
• Next Tuesday my mother comes to town.
• I am going out to dinner tonight for my birthday. WITHOUT THE BOYS (the little ones, the big one is paying.)
• Did I mention it's my birthday?
• I hope someone buys me shoes.
• I love Etsy. I could spend so much money there.
• Which reminds me, the wedding sewing I did is finally done, so hopefully I'll be posting things for the shop again soon.
• No, not my wedding. A small sewing commission. Whoo! Pictures to come soon.
• New blogs on my reader: What I Wore Today, Mighty Girl, ArdentlyPinkReads (among others)
• Ok, I'm annoying myself with the lists.

Picture of the week

I just had to post this one!

This is the end of my second week back at work. It's gone pretty well so far, but by about 3:00 in the afternoon I'm just dying to go scoop the baby up. I'm really happy this is the end of the week, I'm looking forward to holding him for the next two days. He's sleeping so much better at night now that I'm not drinking any coffee at all (wah!) He's plumped up nicely too (almost ready to eat) and I can't wait to see how much he weighs next week.

Recent reading and book lists

Now that I'm back to work full time (boo) reading has slowed to a snail's pace. This does not mean that I don't think about books or collect them. While I was on maternity leave I had my Paperbackswap account on hold so only received a very few books while I was ok. When I released the hold I got a TON of offers. Fortunately, I had credits built up to allow this. (I also got a ton of requests, yay!) So what new books do I have on the way or that have just gotten here?

• The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald (for the Classics Challenge)

• Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes


• The Devil Inside by Jenna Black


• We Are Not Afraid by Seth Cagin


• Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life by Irwin Kula


• Bridget Jones Diary by Helen Fielding (saving this for my bonus round in the Classics Challenge)


• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (I have read 1/4 of this one now, it's *excellent*)


• The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

In addition to all these great (ok, potentially great) books, we took a family trip to the library last night and I picked up a half dozen books there as well. All of these are from the "New Books" section, even though they aren't all new books. With two kids in tow, I don't get to look at the main stacks.

• Go Green, Live Rich by David Bach


• Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson (memoir of the author of The Lottery)


• Helping Me Help Myself by Beth Lisick (I've already started this one)


• Where Does the Money Go? Your Guided Tour of the Federal Money Crisis by Scott Bittle


• Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife by Irene Spencer

I just finished reading Jim Butcher's Summer Knight and will have a review soon. I'm starting to think about what I want to read for this month's TBR Day and I'm thinking it might be My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. I am really wanting to read 19 Minutes by the same author, but My Sister's Keeper is on my list, so I'll start there. I've read the first couple essays in The Polysyllbic Spree by Nick Hornby and think that'll be a fun one. I'm also reading the two I noted as such above, but they are all so different that it's not at all confusing. All this reading and books floating around, you'd think I'd finish more than a book a week, wouldn't you?

I've got 10 or so books to add to Paperbackswap this week, so hopefully the outgoing will keep up with the incoming (library books not included!) I still need to make my list for the Classics Challenge (Great Gatsby, Huck Finn, maybe some Austen?) and I need to check the dates on the Chunkster Challenge to be sure I finish it on time.