Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Published in 1999, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is the story of Charlie, a high school freshman. Charlie is shy, unpopular and unknown. He is scared of high school and his best friend has just committed suicide. The book is written as a series of letters to an unknown person who Charlie randomly chose to write and it follows the entire year.

Over the course of the year, Charlie will have to deal with all of those things that every freshman goes through- school, finals, friendships, first loves, and family problems. Charlie befriends a couple of high school seniors and spends time being an observer, and occasional participant, to a world he shouldn't be in yet. He lets things happen to him and reacts to that, but over the course of the book slowly learns that while that makes everyone else happy it doesn't make him happy. This comes through in his relationships with most of the other characters- his sister, Patrick, Sam, Mary Elizabeth, even his relationship with his long dead Aunt Helen.

There are a few moments where I had to suspend my disbelief but over all, I loved the book. Unlike some reviewers, I liked the way Charlie wrote. I thought it was a good mix of "still a teenager" and "convinced he's a grownup." I liked the way his relationships evolved over time. It did seem that the author was trying awfully hard to hit all the hot topics- drugs? check! Pregnancy? check! Homosexuality? Check! Abuse? Rape? Depression? Check! but I can forgive him for it because I loved Charlie. (I did occasionally think that Charlie needed to butch up and stop crying, because the crying seemed to be contagious, but that flaw aside, I loved him.)

While this probably isn't going to be the best book I read all year, it'll probably be in the top ten. It's good and I'm glad I picked it up. A lot of reviews refer to it as a coming of age story. I tend to think this description is a bit overused (EVERY YA novel is NOT a coming of age story) but in this case I think it really fits.

If you read it, I'd love you read your review. Here's a few that I found with a quick search:

Things Mean a Lot (the review that finally pushed me to request the book)

Mari Reads (a new blogger to me)
books i done read
Bart's Bookshelf

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
MTV Books/Pocket Books
1999
213 pages
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Review: The Book of Vice by Peter Sagal

I've been sitting on this for days and can't think of anything else to add, so I'm posting it. I need to find a book that I really love because it's hard to review a book that you feel ambivalent about.

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Subtitled Very Naughty Things (and How to do Them), The Book of Vice is another entry in the non-fiction/social science/memoir-y category that is becoming so popular lately. Sagal, host of NPR's Wait, wait, Don't Tell Me explores 7 Vices including how and why people do them. Each chapter is devoted to a different vice- Swinging, eating, strip clubs, lying, gambling, consumption and pornography. Sagal claims that he is trying to figure out why people do the things they do- why do swingers swing, why does William Bennett gamble, why did Nina Hartley become a pron star?

The idea of the book is interesting and it is full of interesting facts and tidbits. There are examples of vice that are down right shocking (usually in a monetary way more than in an oh-my-goodness! way). There is some great analysis of some specific examples like Clinton's famous lie and why people who can't afford it buy luxury cars.

There's also an overabundance of Sagal's jokes which tend to get old by the end. At one point he even admits to using a bad analogy because it's a better joke.

Overall, I didn't learn enough to get anything out of it, I wasn't amused enough to recommend it as funny, but I did enjoy it. If I rated books, I've give it a 5 out of 10.

The Book of Vice by Peter Sagal
2007
Harper Collins
252 pages

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Quick tracking question

Does anyone have an easy way to track why they added a particular book to their list? I'm in the middle of The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Chbosky and had to google around a bit to find the reason I read it. (Hi! Nymeth, at Things Mean a Lot.)


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On sleeping, winter, Kevin Bacon, and comments.

From the land of "Wow, that's a random post!"

I got more sleep last night (only got up TWICE!) and yet my brain does not seem to realize it.

I love the sound it makes when you walk through fresh snow.

Does anyone remember (or is it you?) who the blogger is that posted about letting her reading take her from one book to the next? I know we all do that to some extent, but there's someone who specifically posted that she was letting her current book specify the next one. Kind of a 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon, but for books. (Ooh, wouldn't THAT be fun! Quick, someone connect War and Peace to Twilight in six books or less!)

And last, there's been some talk lately about replying to comments. Some people prefer that you reply by email and some that you reply in thread. I'm trying to make a habit of replying by email first, and then in thread. It is easy for me to email from work but not so much to get to the blog so email is just easier. If you don't know (and I didn't until Janssen told me), you have to have an email address in your blogger profile for people to email you in reply to comments (if you use blogger.) If I don't get around to a personal comment, it's not that I love you less. It's that the Bug smells bad and the Pirate desperately needs milk and oh, look, something shiny!

Why Mama Needs a Caffeine Drip

7:15 pm: With minimal fussing, The Bug goes to bed.
8:30 pm: With minimal prodding, The Pirate goes to bed.
9:30 pm: With sheer joy, Mama and Dadeeeeeeeee go to bed.
10:30 pm: The Bug finds that he can't possible sleep another moment without a hit of boob.
10:40 pm: Mama gets back in bed.
10:45 pm: Now awake, Dadeeeeeeee goes out to surf the internets.
12:15 am: See 10:30 pm.
12:30 am: Mama wakes Dadeeeeeeee on the couch and tells him next time is his turn.
12:32 am: Mama gets back in bed.
3:30 am: See 10:30 pm.
3:35 am: The Bug has a shit fit when he discovers that Dadeeeeeeee does not lactate.
3:50 am: Dadeeeeeee gets back in bed.
4:15 am: The Pirate announces to the neighborhood that he is wet.
4:25 am: After settling the Pirate on the couch in dry clothes, mama gets back in bed.
4:40 am: The Pirate needs another blanket.
4:57 am: See 10:30 pm.
5:00 am: The Bug is convinced that he should go back to sleep without boob.
5:15 am: The Pirate would like to know if he can sleep with us.
5:16 am: The Pirate complains about the snoring.
5:18 am: The Pirate starts petting mama's head.
5:22 am: The Pirate complains about the snoring.
5:25 am: The Pirate tries to suffocate the Dadeeeeeee.
5:35 am: The Pirate removes himself from our bed and vanishes.
6:00 am: The alarm clock goes off.
6:10 am: Mama dozes off in the shower.

I think you get the idea. Mama needs COFFEE.

(Mama and Dadeeeeeeeee are the Bugs two words. Usually cute. Not in the middle of the night.)


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Future Reader

Right after this he emptied that shelf onto the floor. Soon, there will be no books within two feet of the floor. (My earlier post about moving books in another location out of his reach.)

The Sunday Salon

It was a pretty good reading week here in South Dakota. I read 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher which I had mixed feelings on (review here- if you've reviewed it stop by and give me your link. I need to see what other people thought) and Enchanted, Inc by Shanna Swendson (review here). Last night I spent a good bit of time reading The Book of Vice by Peter Sagal. I'm in the last chapter (all about p0rn!) and closing in on the end.

I spent a good bit of time yesterday moving my books around, which always inspires me to read more. (Ok, the Bug spent a good bit of time moving them around and so I spent time moving them out of reach. It wasn't a relaxing review of what I had on hand.) I isolated the books I have already started and moved all of the unreads to the same set of shelves. Previously I'd had 8 or so books that I "really wanted to read next!" on my end table. When it came time to choose the next book I'd forget about them and grab something out of the hundreds in the bedroom- now they are all together.

In the process of moving them I realized how much I DO want to read them, so I'm going to work on that. This means less blog hopping and my reader is already out of control so I'm going to unsubscribe from a few. Most of them are parenting blogs or techy/news blogs that I don't actually read. Just to have them out of there should clean things up! At this rate I might actually meet my goal of 52 books this year.

For today, I have to get up and clean a bit because my father-in-law is coming over after lunch. He and my husband will fix the lighting in my sewing room (YAAAAYYYYYY!!!) and after that we have no plans besides laundry. I suspect sewing might be done this evening, what do you think? I also hope to finish The Book of Vice so that I can start something else (cause apparently reading 6 books at once is my comfort zone. Not counting the two in the bathroom. What? It's the only room in the house that I (usually) don't get followed into!)

And, completely randomly, this is my new favorite song. It's all over the place, but I love it. My husband and I have been singing it to each other all week.

Review: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

(I've really got to review books while they are still fresh. My brain doesn't seem to retain any information at all lately.)

Th1rteen R3asons Why (the actual spelling on the book) has been around and around the blog-o-sphere lately. After reading several great reviews (only ONE of which I specifically remember) I decided that I had to jump in and read it too. I'm not sure that my review is gonna go over well, but here goes!

The story opens with Clay Jensen receiving a box of cassette tapes from a classmate- Hannah. Only Hannah killed herself several weeks prior, so it's a bit of a shock. As Hannah explains in the first tape, there are 13 reasons why she killed herself and there are 13 (half) tapes in the box- one for each person who is a reason. They are each to listen to the tapes and then pass them on to the next person. Clay is shocked and scared. He had a crush on Hannah and can't think of anything he ever did to make her want to kill herself. Throughout the course of that night Clay wanders town and listens to all 13 reasons.

While it would seem that the book is about Hannah, it's really about Clay and the other 12 reasons. The first person on the tapes is Hannah's first boyfriend. Despite what rumors you might have heard, not much happened with him. Too bad he felt the need to say things did. That rumor snowballed (a frequent description in the book) until everyone believe things that weren't true and treated Hannah accordingly. Hannah explains in detail how everyone is connected and how one little lie can have huge consequences.

I have mixed feelings about the book. Asher does a great job showing how something that is seemingly minor can affect someone, especially someone who is a bit fragile to start. He really made me see things from Hannah's point of view and he did a really good job of showing Clay's reaction to it. However, I felt that the book was really manipulative. There are two incidents at the end (and if you've read it, you know what I'm talking about) that taken together are just too much. One of them would have been believable (one or the other, doesn't matter) but I thought that adding the second one (or the first, your choice) was just for shock value. The author takes advantage of the reader's sense of guilt (and yes, you start to feel guilty for anything you might have done or said in high school) and just plows into you with it.

Hannah is awfully thin-skinned. To say this sounds like I am blaming the victim and it's pretty hard to even say, but she is. She even admits that there are times she could have stood up for herself more and countered the rumors and didn't. In a lot of ways it felt like she was wallowing in the self-pity. I KNOW. People, especially teenagers and especially suicidal teenagers do this. So yeah, it's probably accurate. It still got old. You know that person, the one who gets to the point where everything is ABOUT THEM and INTENTIONAL. I feel like I would be one of her reasons, because I would get tired of listening if she were alive and complaining. I also hope that I would take her seriously and notice the signs of suicide and then DO SOMETHING about it. I am not totally without sympathy!

Clay is perfect. Hannah knows it, Clay knows it, the reader knows it.

Even with all this complaining, I did like the book. It did a great job of connecting one event to the next to the next in Hannah's downward spiral. My husband was inspired to read the book after me, and read it in one sitting. It's generated a good bit of conversation between us. This is his verbal review :

"It was well written and exciting, but the characters never gain any depth and by the end of it you just feel manipulated. On some level I felt bad for her, but rumors happen to every kid. She's a freaking drama-llama and Clay is too perfect. End of story."



Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher
2007
Razorbill
288 pages

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TBR Day: Enchanted, Inc by Shanna Swendson

Today is the first day of the 2009 TBR Day Challenge, hosted by avidbookreader. This year she's changed the focus a little to be more geared towards romance, which is fine, but I was not able to meet this month's challenge which was Category Romances. (If you're not a big romance reader, this means the Harlequins and other little paperback romances that are new every month.) Short of going out to my garage and raiding the incredibly old TBR out there, I didn't have even ONE category book on my shelves. I decided to go with a chick lit style book assuming there would be some romance in it.

Enchanted, Inc by Shanna Swendson is a cute little book. It seems like a cross between real urban fantasy (Briggs, Hamilton, Butcher) and fun chick lit like Kinsella and Meg Cabot. The basic plot is that Katie is a normal girl from Texas who moves to New York and discovers that magic is real. Unlike most people, Katie is immune to magic, which means she doesn't see illusions and she does see things like fairies and gargoyles. Katie assumed that the weird things she was seeing was just weird New Yorkers and that since she was the "hick" that she would eventually become accustomed to seeing them. As it turned out, most people don't see what she does. This makes her valuable to the magic side because she can run interference for them and see when someone is trying to pull something over on them.

There's a little bit of a romance in the book, but I certainly wouldn't classify it as a romance. Throughout the entire book there are different potential suitors- her roommate fixes her up every weekend, her boss is hot, her other boss is charming (but it's an illusion!), she kisses a frog who becomes (what else?) a prince. There isn't a sequential falling in love storyline in this one, but when I went to Amazon for the link just now I noticed that it's a series of 4 books, so I assume it'll be a running thread through the entire series.

As with all fantasy, there is a point where you have to suspend disbelief and just go with the magical elements. For the most part, I thought the author did a good job of explaining it to be believable, but then she'd throw in a little detail that was an exception to the rule. The exception would be there solely to move the plot along, sometimes with details that could have just been left out entirely. She occasionally talked around the explanation in a way that seemed purposely hard to follow and I got the feeling that we were just supposed to take it at face value and not try to parse out the explanation. This doesn't bother me too much, as it IS a light weight fantasy. It's not trying to be Harry Potter or Kim Harrison's excellent world. It's a slim book, 308 pages, there's just not a lot of time to full flesh out the details. I would assume she does so in the later books.

Overall a good book, but not a great one. If you enjoy both Kim Harrison and Meg Cabot, I think you'd enjoy it. If you like a little more meat to your fantasy, skip it.

Giveaway Winners!

I had big plans to compile all your favorite songs and deserts and blogs into one awesome post full of links and stuff. I even had yesterday off work and NO CHILDREN. But then I had a tiny bout of food poisoning and spent my precious free time in bed instead. I don't want to put off choosing winners any longer, so I'm going to do a quick post of the winners and then later I'll do a post to at least list all the favorite blogs, k? Since I'm at work (shhhh!) and there is no Pirate here to draw names for me, I'm using Random.org.

In the Delurking giveaway there were 28 entries, the winner is #21, which if we skip Serena's second post (sorry, Serena!) gives us Eva!

In the 401st post giveaway we have 21 comments on the main post and another 12 over at madebylisah (skipping Gina's second post, which she posted to test something for me). Random.org says # 25- Heather at A High and Hidden Place (who has the best blog header picture ever, go take a look.)

Ladies, I have no idea what I'm going to send you, but drop me a note (email in my profile) and I'll think of something fabulous. (Or at least something.)

Thanks to everyone who commented!

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The Sunday Salon

I actually read a book this week! Can you believe it? On the suggestion of many of you, I read 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher. I'm still pondering my reaction to it, but hope to get a review posted tomorrow. Regardless of my final verdict, it was a gripping book and I zoomed right through it. I'm dying to talk about it to someone about some of the points.

I wish I had better luck picking books like that because I'm pretty stalled on everything else I'm reading. I have 6 half read books sitting here beside me and none of them inspire me to pick them up. Wednesday is avidbookreader's TBR Day which is the only challenge I've successfully completed so I'm inspired to have a review ready. She's changed the focus a bit towards more romance this year and I'd have to start yet another book to meet that goal. The six I have going are:

• For a Few Demons More by Kim Harrison
• Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos (barely started)
• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyle
• The Freedom Writers Diary (yawn)
• The Book of Vice by Peter Sagal
• Kitty and the Silver Bullet by Carrie Vaughn

I think the only one that would NOT qualify for the challenge is The Book of Vice. I'm the closest to finishing The Freedom Writers Diary so perhaps I'll finish it, even though I find it boring. How much fun would that review be to read (and to write!)

The boys napped well today, so I got a little sewing done. I have 5 items ready to list in the new store (once I take pictures). I also started sewing some little giveaway items and managed to mess all 4 of them up. Doh! I'll blog about my sewing adventures once I have some pictures to back me up.

I'm supposed to be drawing names for my two giveaways today, but I'm lazy so I'm giving you one more day to enter if you haven't already. I have tomorrow off work for Native American Day (if you live in SD) or Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (if you live anywhere else) and the boys have daycare so I'm spending a day getting myself in order and then sewing sewing sewing. I can't wait!

401st post GIVEAWAY!

Hey! I just noticed that my last post, for Delurking Day, was my 400th post! Since I missed the chance to do a big 400th post Giveaway! I've decided to do a 401st post Giveaway! (Handy how you can make your own rules with a blog, huh?) I have no idea what I'm going to give away, probably a mix of things that may or may not include: things I made, books, book marks, gift cards, candy... I'll be making it up once I see who wins!

So, how do you enter?

There are two ways!

First, leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite blog is- it can not be your own blog and (sadly) you can not kiss up and say mine is.

Second, head on over my my BRAND SPANKING NEW sewing blog made by lisah and leave a comment there. The new shop isn't quite off the ground yet (still needs to be filled with products) but the new blog is getting close. I still need to spruce up the layout a little, but the header is up and I've done a few little posts. I won't be posting at Sew What Bags any more, so if you're one of the three people who subscribe to it, be sure to move your link.

You are welcome to comment at each place, for a total of two entries. You can also enter the giveaway at the Delurker post (and you don't have to be a lurker to do that, you can be a regular) but you can NOT win BOTH prizes. I'll leave both giveaways open until Sunday, and then use Random.org to draw winners. Or I'll have the Pirate draw a name out of a hat, if it doesn't seem too daunting to write your names out.

And, Thanks everyone, for making me blog 401 times. Ya'll are great!

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It's Delurking Day!

(I know, it's 8 pm, I just saw this!)

Delurk, leave me a comment telling me 1) your favorite desert and 2) one song that has either meaning or a specific memory for you. This can be "your song" with your S.O. or your senior song or even the song that was on the radio when you got your first car. On Friday, I'll draw a name for a little surprise from the pool of people who answered both parts.

The Week Ahead...

Such a busy week here!

The specifics:

Monday- Post TO DO list. Mail some PBS books at lunch. Spend time in sewing room after the boys crash to prep for Tuesday.

Tuesday- Half day off work since I'm working on Saturday for my slacker friend who is going to VEGAS. Ahem. Will do some sewing in the afternoon. Gotta take the Bug for his 9 month checkup at 4 (shots!) and will have to take the Pirate along. That ought to be a BLAST. Then, American Idol!!!

Wednesday- Post a picture from the weekend for Wordless Wednesday. Final design promised on shop artwork. I bet it's another couple of days before I approved it all though.

Thursday- Nighttime sewing.

Saturday- Work 8-12:30.

General to do- Write thank you notes for Christmas so the Pirate can sign them. Finish The Book of Vice by Peter Sagal. Make a dent in Kitty and the Silver Bullet. By Sunday night, have 10 items ready to list in the new shop. Finish packing away the Christmas stragglers. Nag until the basement lights are fixed. Balance checkbook.

Ok, so it doesn't look so bad! I'm really excited about my sewing, I've got more ideas than I have time for and by the time the boys crash I'm pretty wiped myself. It's too bad you can't just brew up a pot of discipline for yourself. (That's discipline as in: willpower not discipline as in: smack your hands with a ruler.)

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I'm sorry, but...

this is making me crazy.

Surely I am not the only one?

Review: Lady of Quality by Georgette Heyer

Georgette Heyer is often regarded as the queen of romance and is credited with creating the romance novel. Review after review sings the praises of Heyer while simultaneously decrying the romance genre. People who would never dare be seen reading romance will happily praise Heyer and seek out title after title. When I first began noticing this several years ago, I made a mental note to give one of her books a try. I believed that since I do enjoy romance novels that I would LOVE Heyer. Right?

Last summer I was lucky enough to win a copy of Lady of Quality from Lezlie at Books N' Border Collies. FINALLY, here was my chance to see what all the hype was about. This was my first Heyer (if you haven't caught on to that yet) so I really have nothing to compare it with, but it would seem that it is very much written like the others. Here's the basic plot summary from Amazon.com:

Miss Annis Wychwood, at twenty-nine, has long been on the shelf, but this bothers her not at all. She is rich and still beautiful and she enjoys living independently in Bath, except for the tiresome female cousin, who her very proper brother insists must live with her.

When Annis offers sanctuary to the very young runaway heiress Miss Lucilla Carleton, no one at all thinks this is a good idea. With the exception of Miss Carleton's overbearing guardian, Mr. Oliver Carleton, whose reputation as the rudest man in London precedes him. Outrageous as he is, the charming Annis ends up finding him absolutely irresistible.

Well, that could be any of dozens of romance novels on the market today! For all my romance reading, I don't read a lot of traditional Regencies so that may be where my problem comes from, but I was pretty eh on the book. I started reading it shortly after I received it last summer and I finally finished it up last week. It wasn't bad but it wasn't riveting. It was slow paced and nothing much happened. Ever. In a romance novel, this isn't necessarily a bad thing as a full story can be written of just the falling in love aspect. I didn't find this to be true of this book. The plot is slow and the falling in love is so subtle that I didn't even notice it. That IS a bad thing. In a romance novel you should certainly notice when the main characters fall in love.

There are some great characters in Lady of Quality. Both Annis and Oliver are well done and the secondary characters have personality. Lucilla, the runaway, is as charming as a young girl can be and Ninian, the runaway's childhood friend, is appealing. The witty banter is, well, witty. (But I think Julia Quinn does it better.) Overall, it is a perfectly acceptable book, but I doubt it makes my top ten this year. It's enough that I'll attempt a second Heyer, but with only one title under my belt, I don't see how Heyer gained such a rabid following.

Have YOU read any Heyer? What did you think? Did you read Lady of Quality? I know at least one other blogger did, but I can't seem to remember who...


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Sleep glorious sleep

We've been having some sleep issues around here lately. I think we might be on the way to recovery, but there for a while there was a small boy who thought he needed to eat every three hours again. Plus, this morning when I went to get him he was standing up in the crib! Fortunately, he was standing on the back/wall side, not the front. This evening, we lowered his mattress.

Now we just have to retrain the bigger one to stay in HIS bed and we might get a good nights sleep!

(I really posted all that so I had an excuse to post a picture of a sleeping baby. I love when they sleep with their butt up in the air.)

Why Insurance Companies Suck

Ok, follow along if you can- The Pirate's Cousin's Cousin (or, my brother-in-law's brother's son) (got it?) is a very sick little boy. In the fall of 2007 they discovered that he had a tumor in his brain. He had surgery and got all better. Then he wasn't better and had some super scary sugery last summer. Now his insurance is refusing to pay for treatment that they are calling "experimental." With treatment, he has a 80% chance of survival. I do not even want to think about what his chances are without the treatment.

Cooper and his family are (or were, before this) often at my in-law's house for family events and birthdays. They go to ball games to watch The Pirate's cousin play ball, games that we also go to. These are not strangers to me. Cooper and The Pirate are the same age.

The family is trying to raise the money to pay for the treatment, but the hospitals require a hefty amount down before they will proceed. The treatment itself will be about $400,000. Could you find $400,00 in your pocket if your insurance company denied your kid treatment? I couldn't. In my real life, I am a loan officer. I give people loans for cars that cost 1/20th or 1/10th the cost of his treatment. I do home equity loans for 1/4 the cost of the treatment. But I can't do a loan for medical bills, because that is "risky." This family has to have chili suppers and raffles and collect money for Ronald McDonald house so that their little boy can live. They have a little fund at a local credit union and are begging for money. How's that right?

Our local paper just had an article about Cooper and his whole struggle (and I stole their picture.) I'm not an overly religious person, but if I were, I'd ask that you keep the family in your thoughts and prayers.

Reflections on Balance

Today feels like the first day of the year, doesn't it? It's the first day of the first full work day of the year. It's back to school day in my neck of the woods, not that my kids are in school. They are back to regular day care for the first time since the 24th. It feels like things are ready to go back to normal.

Yesterday I posted my resolutions for 2009, along with a lot of other bloggers (well, they mostly posted theirs on the 1st. I'm a bit behind.) I've seen over and over the need for balance this year. For a little less focus on one thing- a certain genre, or a need for stats, or reading all your review copies, or blogging in general. I'm right there with you all! Three posts in particular stand out to me: Bookfool's post on balance (and reading goals), Brandie's post at A Journey of 1000 Stitches on her 2009 goals and jenclair's post about wanting a Renaissance Mind. This leads me to a little bit of introspection and I've been putting a little thought into how I want this year to turn out.

As I've mentioned several times, I'm working on updating and rebranding my little Etsy shop. I want to make a real effort to make it work this year (and I promise not to mention it all the time.) I'm starting a dedicated blog for my sewing, which I'll announce here as well, so that when I want to ask picky little questions like "how do you store your scraps?," the rest of you aren't forced to hear it. I'll still post about some projects here, but not the details that non-crafters won't care about.

Despite my grand plans for success (and million$) in that arena, I am hoping to find a little more balance between work and play this year. I am planning to treat the shop like an actual JOB for a while, something that isn't optional. Once I see if it'll work, I'll loosen up a bit. This means I'll have less time for wasting online. I want to comment MORE, so I need to make a real effort to use my time wisely. This weekend I spent as much time blog hopping as I wanted and still found time to read a book. How? I didn't get sucked into shopping for shoes I don't need or checking out the deals at Amazon.com or any of the inane conversations on various message boards that I don't even POST on- I just waste time at. (Don't worry, it's no one you know.) Or Facebook.

I want to spend more quality time with the boys. I want to have my days organized in such a way that I don't spend the time thinking of what else I could be doing. I don't want to be playing Cariboo while I'm thinking about sewing or stacking blocks while I'm thinking about doing dishes. Or even thinking about how I have to get ready for work in an hour while I could be relaxing with my morning coffee. I need to work on slowing down my mind. I think if I can better organize my time that I can allow myself to live in the moment instead of worrying about the future. Easier said than done, right?

I'm going to start by conciously paying attention to my online time. I'm not going to set a timer, but I'm not going to just sit there aimlessly clicking around. I have hundreds of posts in my Reader, but who cares if I comment on them a week later? I'm going to schedule 2 or 3 nights a week as my "shift" in the sewing room. I'm going to try to be more efficient in the mornings, so that I can relax instead of having to rush at the last minute. I'm going to make a point of telling myself that no one will remember how clean my house was/is, but they will remember what kind of mom I was/am. I'm going to keep the table clear for impromptu castle building and "projects" with the Pirate and Mancala games.

Is this doable? Who knows! But I think it's a fine goal to have.

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2009 Resolutions, a work in progress

Good morning all! I am up way earlier than I'd like to be due to a redistribution of children to beds. Amazing how a 18 lb infant can take up half a king size bed, and the 40 lb 3 year old is on the couch so hey, ya'll get to hear me ramble. Everyone around here is posting New Year's Resolutions and while I usually do that too, I haven't really had a chance to sit down and focus on what I'd like to do this year. There are always the old standbys- lose weight, eat healthy, save money- and heck yeah, I'd like to do those. There are also the more mental resolutions to be made, so I'm making categories.

Concrete, measurable resolutions for 2009:

• Pay off debt. At the very least, one credit card and the l.o.c.
• Lose the last 10-15 lbs so that I can wear the clothes I like that I already own. (This would take me to pre-baby. I'm pretty close to where I was when I got pregnant.)
  
• Take family pictures. Take more pictures in general.
  
• Sew more.
• Keep the house picked up more, so that we don't spend all our time cleaning.
  

As a separate category, the blogging/ online resolutions:

• Add a third column to Books. Lists. Life.
• Comment more on other blogs, while wasting less time online. (what? it should be possible. I just can't spend 30 minutes shopping at Old Navy when I know I'm not actually gonna buy anything.)
  
• Make a very real effort to be successful with the New Shop, which includes promoting it and maintaining it and blogging regularly (there, not just here.)
• Blog better. (Uh. don't use this post as an indication of "better")
  

And the spiritual type:

• Be a better friend and wife, focus more on other people. Spend more time with my kids, actually paying attention. Remember that they are growing so fast, and not rush them. Enjoy that the Bug can't walk. Enjoy that I still have to read to the Pirate. Enjoy that the Bug doesn't understand gravity and be amazed when he doesn't realize he can't just leap from your arms. Don't be in a hurry. Slow down. Try to live in the moment more, instead of thinking ahead to dinner, to baths, to bedtime, to what needs to be done next. Actually, this is true for everything in my life.

Ok, so looking back to the last two years, these are very similar. At least I'm consistent in what I'd like to do! Hopefully this year will be a success. I have high hopes for 2009. I know the economy is in the toliet, but hopefully it won't matter and the year can still be what I (we) make of it. I hope everyone else has a great 2009 too.


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2009 Reading Goals

I'm making my 2009 reading goals with the thought in mind that I have also made a commitment to really make a go at my Etsy shop (New Shop announcement coming... soon?) Last year my goal was 60 books and I really tanked, so I think this year I'll say 50 books. Slightly less than a book a week. I'm not setting any goals like "5 classics" or "more non-fiction" and I'm probably not going to join any challenges beyond avidbookreader's TBR Day, if she does it again. I am going to do a personal TBR Challenge, so I might seek out that challenge to do. (This is slightly different from TBR Day, which requires posting on a certain day.) I would like to concentrate more on reading 2009 books IN 2009 (so that I don't get further behind) and not letting the incoming books outnumber the outgoing books (or rather, the read books. I don't care if they stay here, so long as I'm reading.) I'd like to review, really review, not just summarize, more books, which means I need to think a little more about what I'm reading (series books are really hard for me to review.)

So, to summarize:

• 50 books.
• Books published in 2009, read in 2009.
• Better reviews.

My personal TBR challenge for this year, which I will use for TBR Day as well, in random order:

• Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
• Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
• 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
• Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
• Cathy's Book by Stewart/Weisman/Brigg
• Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
• The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory
• The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
• Chill Factor by Rachel Caine
• Anybody Out There by Marian Keyes
• Heat by Bill Buford
• ANYTHING by Jodi Picoult

I'd ask what YOUR goals are for this year, but most of you are posting your goals anyway.

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My 2008 Reading Year in Review

2008 wasn't a great reading year for me. I was too distracted by everything else (TWO kids! a fledgling etsy shop! all you awesome bloggers taking up my free time!) and didn't really focus on books like I wanted to do. In the end I read 41 books, missing my goal by 19.

This post will be my 2008 roundup, I'll post my goals for 2009 in another post. The 2007 version can be found here, 2006 here.

I didn't seem to read a lot of stand out titles this year, but the top five of what I DID read are:

1. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson,
   
2. gods in Alabama by Josilyn Jackson,
   
3. Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs,
   
4. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audry Niffenegger,
5. Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs. (I love Patricia Briggs.)
   

Links to my reviews at the end of this post.

41 books read (titles listed at the end)
Of those:
9 adult fiction (including chick-lit)
5 YA fiction (including Meg Cabot, I couldn't decide where she belonged.)
2 romance
3 mystery
8 urban fantasy
14 non-fiction

Published in:
2008-7
2007-7
2006-7
2005-4
2004-3
2003-5
2002-3
2001-2
2000-2
1996-1

NO classics.
17 New to me authors (listed at the end.)
24 by women
13 by men
4 collections of essays
5 of the 12 on my personal TBR list.

So how did I do on my goals?

• 60 books (5 a month) FAILED
  
• 5 books off The Big List. The Big List is an ongoing list of books I “should” have read. These are mostly classics, and since I read 4 of them last year, I figure 5 is doable this year. FAILED
  
• 1 book of short stories. FAILED
  
• 1 Russian novel. FAILED
  
• More by men. (only 14% in 2007) SUCESS
  
• More non-fiction of any type. SUCESS
  
• Try to read anything published in 2008 IN 2008. MODERATE SUCCESS
  
• Complete my personal TBR Challenge list. This list is made of books that were hugely popular last year and that I own, but never got around to reading. FAILED
  
• Continue blogging about what I’m reading. SUCESS
  

Not so good. This years goals will be simpler that's for sure!

The new to me authors were: Stephenie Meyer, Audrey Niffenegger, Shannon Hale, Jim Butcher, Barack Obama, Nick Hornby, Diane Setterfield, Katrina Firlik, Michael Lewis, Lisa See, James Lee Burke, Diablo Cody, Chris Rose, Beth Lisick, Laurie Halse Anderson, Josilyn Jackson, and William Bass & Jon Jefferson.

The full list, with links to reviews (when reviewed):

1. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
2. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
3. 50 Greatest Love Letters of All Time edited by
4. Austenland by Shannon Hale
5. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
6. Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume, Jennifer O’Connell, editor
7. Sex and Sensibility, Genevieve Fields, editor
8. Storm Front by Jim Butcher
9. Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs
10. In the Midnight Rain by Ruth Wind
11. Moneyball by Michael Lewis
12. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
13. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
14. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher
15. The Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke
16. Dedication by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
17. Candy Girl by Diablo Cody
18. Bonk by Mary Roach
19. Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris
20. Toddler edited by Jennifer Margulis
21. 1 Dead in Attic by Chris Rose
22. Summer Knight by Jim Butcher
23. Helping Me Help Myself by Beth Lisick
24. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
25. Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding
26. The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby
27. The Lost Duke of Wyndham by Julia Quinn
28. gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson
29. Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich
30. Heat Stroke by Rachel Caine
31. Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot
32. Death’s Acre by William Bass and Jon Jefferson
33. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
34. Another Day in the Frontal Lobe by Katrina Firlik
35. Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs
36. Size 14 is Not Fat Either by Meg Cabot
37. Death Masks by Jim Butcher
38. Mike, Mike, & Me by Wendy Markham
39. Complications by Atul Gawande
40. Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich
41. Coraline by Neil Gaiman

2009 goals to come soon!