The Sunday Salon, changes edition

I haven't done a Sunday Salon in quite a while. I find that it's hard for me to find time to post on the weekends, or at least to post anything meaningful. I'd really like to get back into the habit of talking about books more though, so I am making some changes.

First, I've decided to keep a running list of books I want to read and why. My old habit was to just add the book to my Paperbackswap list, or the library list and never think again about why, which meant I couldn't hold anyone accountable if the book sucked was great. (KIDDING.) I'm adding this to the list section at the left and will update it as books cross my path. Links go to the review that sold me on the book. I'll post the list in a separate post in a moment. I'd like to give credit to other bloggers who convince me to try something great.

Another thing I'm slowly working on is to add Books Read in pre-blogging days to the list section. This is a very long process, but I think it'll be nice to see. For some of the years I can only copy the list from Library Thing, so they won't be in the order I read them. (Sadly, I still can't find my orginal book journal. This is one of the things I would have saved in a fire, so it's very sad.)

I joined Goodreads yesterday so that I could add the "currently reading" section to the sidebar. I think I like the Library Thing interface better as it seems to have a lot more information about each book, but Goodreads is free and LT is not, so I went with Goodreads. What is everyone else's experience with Goodreads?

I've been playing games with my library this week as well. I've got 18 books checked out, 3 of which are read and can go back but the rest of them I'd like to keep through our vacation. I've finally figured out that if I renew them all tomorrow it'll give me until the day after we get back. I'm just hoping that there aren't any holds placed on them while I'm waiting it out! Next week I'll post a list of what books I'm thinking of taking on vacation, since we're driving I can take a LOT!

I'd like to read that one day!

In which I keep a list of books I'd like to read, and why. This is not a complete list and I'll add to it as I remember.


May-June 2009
 Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier - raych at books i done read
A Not So Perfect Past by Beth Andrews- Wendy the Super Librarian
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson- Janssen at Everyday Reading
Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan- Nymeth at things mean a lot
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D Schmidt- Janssen at Everyday Reading
The Sky Always Hears Me and the Hills Don't Mind by Kirstin Cronn-Mills- Kristin at Books for Breakfast
Holly's Inbox by Holly Denham- Bookfoolery and Babble (my review)
The Non-Runner's Marathon Guide for Women by Dawn Dais- Bookfoolery and Babble
The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose - Reading Rants!
Coffee With .... the Buddha by Joan Oliver Duncan- Rebecca :) at Lost in Books
Boy's Life by Robert McCammon- Trish at Trish's Reading Nook (my review)
The Luxe by Anna Godberson- Janssen at Everyday Reading
Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler- Abby (the) Librarian
No Angel by Jay Dobyns and Nils Johnson-Shelton- Stephanie at Open Mind, Insert Book
Columbine by Dave Cullen- Liz at A Chair, A Fireplace & a Tea Cozy
July 2009
The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand- Gwendolyn at A Sea of Books
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine- Nymeth at Things Mean a Lot
My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger- Heather at A High and Hidden Place
Black Hills by Nora Roberts- Holly at Book Binge, nath at Books, Books and More Books
How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford- Gayle Forman and Reading Rants!
Hold Still by Nina LaCour- Gayle Forman
Rapture Ready by Daniel Radosh - Stephanie at Open Mind, Insert Book (my review)
August 2009
Sprout by Dale Peck- Amanda at A Patchwork of Books
Going too Far by Jennifer Echols- Ana at The Book Smugglers
Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase- Rowena at Book Binge
The Patron Saint of Butterflies by Cecilia Galente- Corinne at The Book Nest
The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti- Leila at Bookshelves of Doom
Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford- Leila at Bookshelves of Doom
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead- snarly's review on Goodreads
Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles- Liz B at A Chair, A Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- Joshilyn Jackson at Faster Than Kudzu
September 2009
Up For Renewal by Cathy Alter - Nat at Book, Line and Sinker
Liar by Justine Larbalesteir- Liz B at A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy
The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff- Ti at Book Chatter and Other Stuff
Playboy Boss by Kate Hardy- Senetra, Guest Reviewer at avidbookreader
French Milk by Lucy Knisley- JoAnn at Lakeside Musing
Tattoo Machine by Jeff Johnson- Maggie at Maggie Reads
Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr- Amanda at A Patchwork of Books
When Seducing a Duke by Kathryn Smith- Katiebabs at Babbling about Books
Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted- Angiegirl at Angieville
Can't Stand the Heat by Louisa Edwards- Jessica at Racy Romance Reviews
Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher- Abby (the) Librarian
October 2009
One Day by David Nicholls- Michelle at Fluttering Butterflies and Keris at Five Minutes Peace
The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist- Kristen at BookNAround
When Mike Kissed Emma by Christine Marciniak - Liz B at A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy
Methland by Nick Reding- Maggie at Maggie Reads
Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern- Thao at Serenehours
The Ex Games by Jennifer Echols - Adele at Persnickety Snark
Hate List by Jennifer Brown- Staci at Life in the Thumb
Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts - Rowena at Book Binge
Abandoned by Cody McFadyen - Lesley at Lesley's Book Nook
November 2009
A Sportscaster's Guide to Watching Football by Mark Oristano - Ti at Book Chatter
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson- Raych at books i done read
The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes- Keris at Five Minutes Peace
Come Closer by Sara Gran- Nymeth at things mean a lot
Too Good to Be True by Kristin Higgins- Kay at the Infinite Shelf and Leya at Wandeca Reads
Virgin River by Robin Carr- Jaime at Confessions of a Bibliophile
December 2009
See You in a Hundred Years by Logan Ward- Jill at Fizzy Thoughts
How it Ends by Laura Wiess- Leila at bookshelves of doom
Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet- Amanda at The Zen Leaf
The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale- Janssen at Everyday Reading
Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film About The Grapes of Wrath by Steven Goldman- Jennie at Bibliofile
Dishwasher by Pete Jordan- Stephanie at Open Mind, Insert Book
The Sweetheart's Knitting Club by Lori Wilde
When it Happens by Susane Colasanti- Stephanie at Open Mind, Insert Book
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud- Rebecca Reads
January 2010
The Adoration of Jenna Fox- Kelly at YAnnabe
Free for All by Dan Borschert-mjmbecky at One Literature Nut  (my review)
The Sky Always Hears Me and the Hills Don't Mind by Kristin Cronn-Mills- Abby (the) Librarian
Heist Society by Ally Carter- Liz B at A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy
Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell- Janssen at Everyday Reading
Dedication by Janet Mullany- Ames at Thrifty Reader
Lost by Jacqueline Davies- Corinne at The Book Nest
What the Librarian Did by Karina Bliss- Wendy at The Misadventures of Super Librarian  and AztecLady at Karen Knows Best
Her Secret Fling by Sarah Mayberry- Holly at Book Binge
Bossman's Baby Scandal by Catherine Mann (Yes, I KNOW!)- limecello at The Good, The Bad and the Unread
Lead Me On by Victoria Dahl- Kati at Katidom
Almost Like Being in Love by Steve Kluger- Ames at Thrifty Reader
February 2010
Fireworks over Toccoa by Jeffrey Stepakoff- Kim at I Smell Books
Half The Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Cheryl WuDunn- Rebecca Reads
The Magicians by Lev Grossman- Raych at books i done read
The Wrong Man for Her by Kathryn Shay- avidbookreader
This Book is Overdue! by Marilyn Johnson- Andi at Estella's Revenge
Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin - Jessica at Both Eyes Book Blog
March 2010
Nutureshock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman- Janssen at Everyday Reading
The Killer's Cousin by Nancy Werlin- Janssen at Everyday Reading
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins- leila at Bookshelves of Doom
April 2010
The Queen of Palmyra: A Novel (P.S.) by Minrose Gwin - Ti at Book Chatter
Rumor Has It: In a town this small, a secret is hard to keep by Jill Mansell- Bookfool at Bookfoolery and Babble
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell - raych at books i done read
June 2010
Shut Up and Kiss Me by Christie Craig- Sandy M at The Good, The Bad, and the Unread
Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson- Amanda at A Patchwork of Books
The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells- Katiebabs at Babbling About Books and Rowena at Book Binge
What I Was: A Novel by Meg Rosoff- raych at books i done read
July 2010
Start Me Up by Victoria Dahl - AnimeJune at Gossamer Obsessions
My Ridiculous, Romantic Obsessions by Becca Wilhite- Suey at It's All About Books
The Search by Nora Roberts- Casee at Book Binge
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher - Angiegirl at Angieville
Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Randy O Frost and Gail Steketee - Girls Gone Reading
Something About You (Berkley Sensation) by Julie James- nath at Books, Books, and More Books

So, How Do I Look?

I'm working on updating the look of the blog, what do you think? I really wanted to have a third column to offset that BlogHer column and decided to change it all while I was doing it. I'm not completely happy with the new header so expect that to change, I'd like it to be less 'mommy' and more 'life'. I think it looks cleaner and will be more user friendly.

Random Friday

Seriously, BEST PICTURE EVER. The baby isn't paying attention to me at all and the four year old is being a spazz. People, this is my life. (I framed this one for the center of the mantel.)

How do you guys feel about the blogs where you comment and comment and comment, and you really enjoy the blog, but they NEVER reply to your comments either on the post or in email? I understand that people are busy and can't comment often, but I mean the people who NEVER do. The ones who have never come back to comment even once on your blog either. (I'm sure I'm guilty of this, but I try very hard to make it around or comment in email or SOMETHING.)

Our mailbox had to be repaired for the fourth time in five years. Something different has happened to it every time. I think it is jinxed.

I would really like to use my Twitter account more, but when??

I'm reading The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen, it's quite good. (Janssen, he just passed. Awesome scene. I hope that's enough to share my excitement in the scene without giving it away!)

The Firemen in our town are collecting money for charity this weekend. They are hanging out at the grocery stores and in major intersections with empty firefighter boots for us to put money in. I think they intentionally put the (MIKE LOOK AWAY) hot ones out there!

Garden Update: A Strawberry started to turn red so the Pirate picked it and took a big bite. Not surprisingly, it wasn't ripe. Pumpkin plant is huge, zucchini is following suit. The onions got drowned and I bet they don't make it and the okra is faltering. Everything else looks nice and healthy.

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Pride & Prejudice (The Movie)

Here's something you won't see often on Books. Lists. Life.- a movie review. I'm not a big movie watcher. I always feel like there is something else that I could be doing with my time and I absolutely hate to pick a movie up in the middle (my husband has no problem channel surfing right into a movie.) However, one of our good habits is to do all the laundry on Sunday and my part of it is putting it away. (Mike usually does the all day long running up and down stairs to swap laundry.) For the last 5 months, I've been watching Idol Recap on the TV Guide channel while I folded clothes, but Idol is over now so I had to find something else to watch. When I finished Persuasion a few weeks ago, I knew I wanted to watch a movie version. I had to see that last scene played out on screen. So I put a library hold on the movie and for good measure added Pride & Prejudice AND Sense & Sensibility. Sunday night I put Persuasion into the Playstation (what? you don't watch all your DVDs on a Playstation??) and.... nothing. It didn't work. So I watched Pride & Prejudice.

My library didn't have the 1995 A&E/ Colin Firth version of P&P, so I had to make do with the 2005 Keira Knightly version. (I am still on the lookout for the longer one, but I don't want to buy it.) This version was still 2.5 hours long and it doesn't take me quite that long to do laundry, but by the time I was done I was hooked. It's been a couple of years since I read the book now, but it seemed like it followed the plot pretty well. It mostly glossed over the bits with Lydia and Wickham and the parts with Mr. Collins, but I wasn't really bothered by that. I think it is possible that Keira Knightly did a good job as Elizabeth Bennett, but I was completely distracted by her previous role as another Elizabeth, in which she uses the same accent. It is possible that if you hadn't seen her previous work hundreds of times, you might not notice. (There is a reason I call my son "The Pirate".) I was annoyed by her giant grin and I didn't completely buy that she'd fallen for Darcy.

There seems to be unanimous agreement that Colin Firth is THE perfect Mr. Darcy, but I have to say, Matthew Macfadyen does a pretty good job. He does a great job of being misunderstood and a fairly decent job of being in love with Elizabeth. He wasn't hard to look at either.

I think the longer one would be better because it would give the characters more of an opportunity to show the slow falling in love. Despite being over two hours, I don't think it was long enough to really show their early dislike or their change of heart. Overall, a good movie, but not the best it could be either.

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Memorial Day Camping

We had a great camping trip this weekend, despite a little rain. The Bug is going through a clingy stage, which was a bit tiring, and it's still really hard to get them to sleep in the camper but otherwise it was perfect. The dog did not unplug the camper and it was very comfortable inside. We went on a little hike and since we were the only ones on the trail we let Scout run off leash and she showed her good manners by coming back every time we called.

I only got to read for an hour or so total, but as soon as the Pirate goes down for his nap today I plan on picking my book up again.

(I can't wait til he learns about making rabbit ears!)


I wish every weekend were a three day weekend.


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Random Friday

It appears to be taking 12 or more hours for my posts to show up in Reader. This is a new thing. Anyone know how to fix it?

I got my first check for 6 months of BlogHer ads. Whooo! It was: tiny. As in, would not buy dinner for my family at any restaurant that does not have a drivethru. Obviously I need to go to partial feeds so you guys have to click through. KIDDING.

I am obsessed with the idea of coffee milk and coffee syrup. However, it is not available in this part of the country. I don't know that I want to buy a case of 6 bottles before I know if I like it. Any of you live somewhere that sells it? Want to work out a trade for something we have here? I have no idea what that would be, but surely we could figure it out. Maybe I could make you something? Buddy you some PBS credits? Paypal the cost to you? Anyone?

Lilacs are in full bloom here. You can smell them just driving by in some places. I love lilacs.

We are camping this weekend so the weather is supposed to be cool and rainy. I'd say this means I'll get to read, but that's not really true. We smoked ribs to take with us, mmmmm. We'll be back on Sunday night.

Garden Update: One okra down, looks like a dog stepped on it. Zucchini and pumpkin are definately bigger than when I planted them. Strawberries are growing actual strawberries!


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Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Don't you love it when a book lives up to the hype? Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson does.

What's the book about?

Lia and her best friend Cassie make a vow to each other to be the skinniest and to keep each other strong when it's hard to be skinny. At Thanksgiving of their senior year, Cassie checks into a hotel room alone and dies. Before she dies, she calls Lia thirty-three times and Lia does not answer. (This is not a spoiler, btw, it's in the first few pages.) The rest of the book is Lia's reaction to Cassie's death and how it makes her feel about herself.

What did I think about it, the short answer?

I loved it. Anderson has a way of writing that feels like how I think. If you loved Speak, you'll love this one.

And the long answer?

Wintergirls is narrated by Lia and the reader sees just how obsessed she becomes with Cassie's death, and how little she thinks of herself. I've never really struggled with my weight so I can't vouch for this being how someone with an eating disorder thinks, but it sure seems real to me. Lia has such a warped view of her body and her need to be thin, thinner, thinnest is the driving factor in her life. She endlessly counts calories and pretends to eat and weighs herself down with quarters when she's put on a scale. Her life becomes an endless goal to be smaller. It's fascinating to me because at times you think she's quite delusional about it, but at other times she seems to understand that she's killing herself.

The book is really about Lia. It's not about her family or Cassie or anything else, even though those things happen. Yes, Lia has problems with her parents that probably led to this, but those aren't the issues that you see on every page. The book is about her struggle with accepting herself and with Cassie's death. It's about how Lia feels NOW. Lia has to decide if she wants to be like Cassie or if she wants help.

I'm sure you've seen a few quotes from the book, but I can't help by share one. From page 14, when Lia is thinking about Cassie's death:

There's no point in asking why, even though everybody will. I know why. The
harder question is "why not?" I can't believe she ran out of answers before I
did.
.
.
.
Was it easy?

There was another part I loved more, another paragraph that really hit me, but it's got a tiny spoiler so I decided not to post. The whole book hits hard emotionally, and I suspect that for anyone who has struggled with eating disorders it's going to really wallop them. It was a terrific book and will easily be on my favorites list for the year.

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Viking Juvenile

2009

288 pages

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Test post!

This morning I posted a review of This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen. It never showed up in Reader. I'm trying a test post to see if it goes through!

*crosses fingers*

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This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

(My apologies if you get this twice in Google Reader- 6 hours after I first posted it it is still not showing up for me.)

I suspect that I've picked up more books because Janssen told me to than any other blogger. She made me read The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (she blogged about it ELEVEN times!) She made me read Bloom by Elizabeth Scott (not because she loved that one so much, but because she read a lot of Elizabeth Scott at once and I had to see what the fuss was about.) My library stack overfloweth and I think it is possible that EVERY SINGLE ONE is her fault*. It was hard to choose what to read next because I had all this potential goodness, so I choose the one with the shortest checkout time and read This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen.

(Because I'm having a hard time writing reviews lately, I'm going to modify Ti's lovely new review style to suit my own style. I asked, she said it was fine!)

What's the book about?

Remy has just graduated from high school. She's looking forward to leaving for Stanford in the fall and running as far away from her family as possible. Her mother has been married five times and Remy wants to stop managing things for her mom and be free from obligation. She doesn't believe in love or attachments and she intends to have a carefree summer. Obviously, this can't happen or we have no plot. Enter Dexter. Dexter is a musician (a no-no in itself) and is a bit of a mess. He needs someone to manage him. Can Remy forget that love isn't real and allow herself to care? Will Dexter be the summer fling she hopes to have?

Quickly, what did I think about it?

It was good, but not great. It hit all the "right" plot points and the ending was very satisfying.

Ok, now explain yourself:

Remy is so sure that she knows how relationships work. She has a schedule, a Speech, and a formula to determine when she'll break up with a guy. She does not date musicians. She's known as a bitch, an image she cultivates so that no one gets attached to her. Of course at heart she's not REALLY one, right? This was my main problem with the book, I thought Remy herself was a cliche. Dessen seemed to have a checklist- ok, bitch in situation A, B, C, softhearted here, conflicted HERE, etc. I didn't really like Remy, which lessened my enjoyment of the book overall.

Dexter is cuter than cute. He's funny and charming and sure of himself. The flap hints at him being a bad boy, but I didn't get that at all. From the minute he launches himself through her window, I loved him. The Truth Squad (his band) was also a bit of a cliche, but it didn't matter so much because they worked in this situation.

The whole novel is about Remy figuring out that she can take a risk and love someone, even though it doesn't always work out. It's about her emotional turmoil while she discovers this about herself- but I didn't really buy it. I couldn't figure out if I thought she really believed from the beginning or if I just didn't like the obviousness of her realization or what, but it didn't quite work. Other people might not have the same reaction and it didn't actually ruin the book for me, but it did keep it from being a top favorite. I did love Dexter (a lot) and felt he really made the book worth reading.

*The Library list in it's entirety. Janssen, please tell me which of these you didn't talk about:

Someone Like You- Sarah Dessen

The Truth About Forever- Sarah Dessen

That Summer- Sarah Dessen

Ten Cents a Dance- Christine Fletcher

Perfect You- Elizabeth Scott

I'm currently reading Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (from the library) and today I have to pick up:

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

(and a couple of Jane Austen movies, no idea when I'll watch those!)

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

Viking Juvenile

2002

304 pages

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Weekend Goodness

We had a crazy busy weekend, again. I wonder if this is setting a precident for the summer?

Saturday we got up early and cleaned the house (this is turning into a Saturday tradition.) The Pirate and Mike went to the hardware store to get a Dingo (a small bulldozer thing) and the Bug and I ran an errand. Then Bug and I went to see a friend graduate from college (YAY!!) and were supposed to go to a BBQ for her, but the Bug fell asleep almost before we got out of the parking lot (I AM NOT EXAGGERATING) so we went home. Then the boys napped while Mike and I moved dirt. Then we moved more dirt, and then we moved some more, and then the garden boxes were full. We moved the swing set to a better location. (That sucker is HEAVY) The boys played outside until everyone was filthy.



Today we got up and spent an hour pushing a Dingo with a dead battery down our backyard until the extension cord would reach it. It only weighs about a ton (not exaggerating!) and the wheels do not turn when it's not on. Then off to the hardware store for vegatable plants and a brief stop for milk and bread. Home for lunch, then we (I) started planting. I planted tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, swiss chard, cucumbers, okra, red onions, pumpkins and brussel sprouts. The boys came out and we did a bunch more yard work before turn on the sprinkler for the first sprinkler runs of the year. Both boys ended up cold, wet and muddy, but it was fun. The whole family had showers before dinner. We just finished dinner and the Bug is already snoozing. The Pirate can't talk right he's so tired, but he insists he doesn't want to go to bed.


This is the backyard from the backdoor. I'd try for a better picture, but I'm already in my jammies and the neighbors are out.


I'm a little sore for the planting, the pushing, and the raking. My arms are lightly pink. I think I'm going to have an adult beverage and read a few pages before an early bedtime. I hope everyone else had weekends as satisfying.

Next weekend: camping!

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Random Friday

I love the way Ti is reviewing books now. I might have to start copying that style.

I unfriended someone on Facebook for posting who got voted off American Idol within minutes of it happening. I don't care if you spoil it in a day, or even in a couple of hours, but geez. Some of us have DVRs and like to get a late start so we can skip commercials. That said, it was the person I wanted voted off.

We leave for Alabama 4 weeks from today. I have soooo much to do before then sewing wise. Be prepared to see more posts about it. (Did I mention that we're planning to drive? 1300 miles? with The Bug and The Pirate?)

How cute is this necklace?

I unsubscribed to a blog this week because her posts were so very needy and depressed. She doesn't trust her partner and it sounds like a bad situation that will only get worse. It was a new blog to me, I just added last week because I liked her pictures, but her desperation and despair were too much for me. I feel a little guilty for just leaving, but I don't know her and it brings me down. Do other people struggle with things like this?

The picture at the top has nothing to do with anything except that I took it May 15 of last year. It's Random.

What's your random thought today?

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The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

You can hardly open Google Reader these days without seeing someone loving The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, and this will be no exception. Frankie is brilliant. Tired of being overlooked and underestimated, Frankie makes it her goal to infiltrate and undermine a secret, all-male society at her boarding school. She is often torn between being the girl people want her to be and being the girl she wants to be, but she does it all with flair. I really enjoyed the book a lot. I loved the wordplay and the smartness of it (I think Lockhart might do it better than John Green!) I enjoyed Frankie and was a wee bit in love with Alpha (the nemesis, if there were one.) I'm always a big fan of the boarding school setting and invariably end up comparing it to my boarding school experience. (My school had a lot more rules than Frankie's or Alaska's!)

The last chapter takes a turn towards introspection and trying to add something meaningful to the book and was totally unnecesary, but it didn't ruin the book for me. The book is quite a lot of fun with the planning and execution of the pranks, and the overall smartness of it all. I would have loved to read more about Frankie and think it would have made a great little series.

Here's the summary from the flap, if you're on the fence:

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:
Debate Club.
Her father's "bunny rabbit."
A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15:
A knockout figure.
A sharp tongue.
A chip on her shoulder.
And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy,
word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.Frankie Landau-Banks.
No longer the kind of girl to take "no" for an answer.
Especially when "no" means she's excluded from her boyfriend's all-male
secret society.
Not when her ex-boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places.
Not when she knows she's smarter than any of them.
When she knows Matthew's lying to her.
And when there are so many, many pranks to be done.

Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16:
Possibly a criminal mastermind.

This is the story of how she got that way.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Hyperion Books

2008

352 pages

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I swear, he only had one beer!

KIDDING!







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Lost my mojo and library piles.

Brilliant post title, huh?

I have lost my blogging mojo. I wrote out a really long post about our crazy weekend and when I went to proofread it I realized that it bored me. So I didn't post. (The short version: Mother's Day was great, the boys bought me a new pillow. The rest of the weekend: also great, but tiring.)

I did manage to do a little reading this weekend, and last night I finished up The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, which was great right up until the last chapter. The last chapter took a turn towards making the book meaningful, which I didn't think it really needed. I'll try to post more of a review tomorrow.

I took a look at my library list to see what I needed to read next- it seemed like I have a lot of book out, many of which had short holds. As it turns out, the only two that couldn't be renewed were This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen and The Hunger Games by Susanne Collins. One of them will have to go back unread and I'll add my name back to the list. I brought The Hunger Games with me today, but I suspect that it is not the kind of book that I will read quickly (freezer book!) so perhaps it will go back.

I also have That Summer, The Truth About Forever, and Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen, Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott and Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher checked out from the library. It seems that YA fiction has taken over. Additionally, there are another 5 or 6 books that I own that I'm dying to read. It's summer and I want to be outside, sewing is comsuming my brain, and it's almost the finals of American Idol. When is someone gonna invent a time machine?

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Happy Mother's Day

Happy to Mother's Day to you all.

Random Friday

Long one today! (If you skip most of it, please read and comment on the very last one!)

New favorite picture of the Pirate!

Last night I was happily reading my book (The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks- it's very good, thanks everyone who said it was!) when suddenly I started seeing things. The left half of my vision went all wobbly and swirly. I assumed it was foreshadowing a migrane, so I quick packed it up and went to bed. This morning it's all gone. SO IS MY BOOK. Where did I put it???

This memory card is cooler than hell. It sends your pictures wirelessly to your computer or Flickr so you don't even have to take it out of your camera.

Speaking of cameras, I think I might have fixed mine! I still need to take some pictures to test it, but it looks promising.

I just discovered that TBR Day is on the 20th, not the 13th. This is SO MUCH BETTER. We have a busy weekend planned (NONE of which is about Mother's Day! Boo!) and I don't think I could have gotten something read.

I am having a bit of an identity crisis. I have business cards for the shop that include a link to the made by lisah blog. I want to hand them out around work, but the made by lisah blog has a link to THIS blog. And, of course, both at listed in my profile, and I like it that way. However, I feel like I'm missing an opportunity by not giving certain people my card. What would you do? Take the big obvious link off (even though it has a super cute little badge) and assume they won't poke around more? Most of my co-workers aren't so technologically advanced. Hi, co-worker who is reading this!! I'm not talking about you!

Here's a question for everyone: Does "partly cloudy" mean more clouds than sun, or more sun than clouds? What about "partly sunny"? Our house is divided on the issue. I'll put the real answer in the comments for those of you that are interested.

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Persuasion by Jane Austen

Ok, so a couple summers ago I decided that I'd like to read all of Jane Austen. I started with a re-read of Pride & Prejudice, which was even better than I'd remembered. I read Sense & Sensibility which was also good, but not so good as P&P. Then I started Persuasion and it lingered and lingered. I'm reading them all in my email via Daily Lit, so it was easy to just forget. A couple weeks ago I decided to pick it back up. To my amazement, it wasn't hard to fall back into. Sure, I'd forgotten a few of the supporting cast, but they kinda all blend together in Austen anyway.







Persuasion is about Anne Elliot, a 20-something spinster whose looks are fading and whose family is running out of money. Her father spends more than he has so they have had to rent out their home and move. Anne goes to visit friends in Bath (of course she goes to visit someone, they always do in Austen novels!) and while there runs into Captain Frederick Wentworth. Some 8 years or so in the past, Anne and Captain Wentworth had fallen in love, but a family connection persuaded Anne that it was an undesirable match due to his station and Anne called it off. Now Anne is thrown into a situation with Captain Wentworth where he is actively seeking a wife, and they are forced to pretend the past never happened. A previously untrustworthly cousin shows up to court Anne soon after his first wife's death and Anne spends a lot of time wondering how honest he's being and if she wants to consider marrying him. There's some other stuff going on, but we all know the real story is about the romance, right?


Anne and Captain Wentworth are both perfect, of course, except for the fact that she dumped him so long ago. Handily, we can blame that on someone else. I really think Captain Wentworth could give Mr. Darcy quite the run for his money! The two spend the entire book circling each other and thinking about the past and wondering if each is noticing the other. Being Austen, there are a lot of big scenes about other people and you really have to pay attention to notice the parts that are about the romance. It's subtle in parts, but it's there in the details. If this were a modern romance it'd be much more in your face and obvious. The two of them slowly fall back in love and near the end is perhaps the world's best ever love letter. The scene surrounding the love letter is perfect- each of them is hyper aware of the other and is evesdropping on the other to look for clues of the other's feelings. You can feel the tension in each of them (not tension in the room between people, but the inner turmoil and desire.) It's perfect and delightful and I saved that installment to read again and again.


I think prior to the ending this was going to be my 3rd choice (of the 3 I've read) but now I'm madly in love with it and think it's a close tie to Pride & Prejudice for my favorite. I need to find a copy of the movie, because I'd really like to see that last scene played out.




This leaves me Mansfield Park, Emma, and Northanger Abbey. I hope it doesn't take me three years to wrap them all up.



(I did not like any of the covers, so I went with the modern looking one.)


Persuasion by Jane Austin
Penguin Classics
1818
272 pages

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The first camping trip of the year

So despite the Pirate being under the weather (turned out he had an ear infection, which responded very well and very quickly to ibuprofen and the pink stuff) we bravely decided to take the camper out on it's inagural run on Saturday. We chose to camp at one of the campgrounds in Custer State Park that has electricity. The weather was fairly chilly and we thought if it were too cold we'd sit in the camper with the heater on and watch movies on the laptop.


We arrived around lunch time and set up camp at the very far end of the campground, right next to one of the bathhouses (which turned out not to be open yet for this season so we had to walk to the other end of the campground to use the bathroom. Or those of us who don't pee standing up did.) The camper is really easy to set up, it took about 15 minutes on our first try, not counting bedding. We made a few sandwiches and had a little lunch.


The Bug didn't want to nap in the camper (Too Much Fun!) so we decided to take a little "hike." We walked a ways down this nicely paved bike path and then turned back and hit the playground.

The Bug decided he was tired after all.

(At this point I realized my camera is now broken, and you will see no more new pictures until I can find the money to replace it. This makes me very very sad. Donations are welcome. Feel free to make shop purchases as well, if you'd like to fund my new one. I'm kidding! Well, not about the camera being broken, it really is.)




We then discovered that one of the other 6 campers in the park belonged to my husband's cousin, who he hasn't seen in years. Crazy. After a brief visit we headed back to the camp and make dinner- burgers grilled on a tiny grill. Mmmm. It was cool out, but not unbearable and we had fun playing a bit before bedtime. That's when chaos hit. The boys were not willing to sleep in this fun new place. Nuh uh. Mike ended up taking the Bug for a nice little drive and I read a book (Star Wars Choose Your Own Adventure!) to the Pirate until everyone was sleepy. We all retired early.


At some point in the middle of the night it got really cold. Like, cold cold. The Pirate and Mike were on one bed and the Bug and I huddled together on the other. The camper has a heater and heated mattresses and I laid there shivering and cursing our crappy broken BRAND NEW camper. Morning finally rolls around and the Bug woke us all up (the Bug is a morning person. A REALLY EARLY morning person.) Everyone was excited to be in the camper, but it was still cold. A check of the car thermometer revealed that it was 34 degrees out.


That's when we discovered that Scout had UNPLUGGED THE CAMPER.


Anyone want a dog?




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Random Friday

The apple tree outside my window is full of Goldfinches. We have a finch feeder but they never noticed it until today.

Both my kids are sick. The Pirate cried that his ear hurt from about 2 am until about 5. He's finally consented to some ibuprofen and what do you know? He's feeling fine. Still gonna take him in, but MAN I wish he'd have taken the drugs at 2.

We were supposed to camp this weekend. I guess with sick kids we probably won't. It'll be 3 weeks before we get another chance.

Have you seen Bench Monday? I love flickr.

Trish's Non-Fiction Challenge starts today. I'm in.

Which Jane Austen do I read next? Emma, Northanger Abby, or Mansfield Park? I just finished up Persuasion- review to come next week.

I am almost done with I Love a Man in Uniform by Lily Burana. I'll be reviewing that next week, and hopefully having some fun with Lily herself. The book is excellent.

I could use a cup of coffee.

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