Sunday, January 31, 2010

January Tally against my Goal

So here's the deal. Last year I kept a running list of book that I read each month. While that was a nice reference, the list quickly became overwhelming and cumbersome when I needed to update it. AND, since I've been participating in What Are You Reading Mondays, I've already got my books listed so I don't need to do it twice. Instead, I'll just do a quick tally at the end of each month as I race towards my goal of 150 books read this year. Without further adieu, here is the total of books that I've read in January of 2010.

*Drum roll*

39

Yes, that is thirty-nine books read in January. Wow. I've managed to impress even myself and I was the one doing all the reading. (Well, with the one audio book exception.) I was hoping to read on book for each day of January, but I surpassed even that small unspoken goal. I had to, you see, as the year goes by my life gets busier so I have to use all the free time I have now to get a brilliant start towards my ultimate goal. Can I just say that I really wish all of life goals and dreams were so easily reached? Someday perhaps I'll have the gumption to tackle the really big stuff, but for now, I'll stick to reading. Besides, reading IS the best past time ever.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

If Time Stood Still

You know how God stopped time for Joshua and the Israelites while they battled the Amorites? Well, I wish He would stop time for me today. I'll try not to give too many details just because I know how long I can go on, just giving the details about something. Here's the deal, I work in an office environment. My job is to support the sales representatives of my company. I only have four actual reps that I personally deal with on a daily basis, however, these four reps provide me with more work than what some of my coworkers receive from their Six or more reps. Anyway, on top of the work from the reps, I also have to answer an untold number of emails each day (my daily average of emails I send is around 30), fill out spreadsheets, and assist my coworkers with work that I may know more about than they do. This all said, I'm busy from the time I begin my work in the morning until 3:30pm when I leave for the day. I do work a full eight hours each day, if not more since I am at my desk each morning by 5:30am. Those are the details of my job. This is my problem: Two of the reps that I deal with are all from one group known as Seattle because the group originated in Seattle. This group does an enormous amount of work and should technically have their very own dedicated operations (that's me) person. They are also VERY picky. and Impatient. They seem to forget that they are not the only reps in the world. They want all of their billing and new orders taken care of the very day that they are sent in. Unfortunately, what they don't see is all of the other work that I have to do each day. This past week, it came to light that I was two weeks behind in my work and let me just tell you that my supervisors have NOT been happy. At the same time, neither one of them cared to listen to my side of the issue. The side that deals with a massive amount of work each day. Now here's where it gets fun. These Seattle people are very on top of their orders. Not a bad thing in the least unless you're already bogged down with other work. There are only eight hours in a work day and no matter which way you push or pull, twelve hours of work is not going to be completed in eight hours. No way. No how. So, because I got behind, Seattle went to the Vice President of my company and complained to him. And you wanna know who is getting all the blame for this mess? Me. The person who has more work than there are hours in a day. And what did my direct boss have to say about it? "I realize you have alot of work, but how are you two weeks behind?" I really didn't even try to explain. It just would have sounded like I was trying to make excuses for being lazy.

So, what would I do if time stood still? Depending on the time that God gave me, I'd get completely caught up on my work then I'd go look for another job and I'd quit my current one before time started again. And I would NOT look back.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Here it is from The Saints' and Angels' Song by John Fischer:
"How do you know her again?"
"She's a retired nurse who knows everybody over at St. Mary's. She's the one who helped out a lot with Ben. That's how we met her. He ran into the back of a Pontiac right in front of her house."
I know I have more than two sentences there, but it makes more sense and is quite funny to finish the entire statement made by Jonathan about Mrs. Fitzpatrick.

Vanity Tuesday


Welcome to the third installment of Vanity Tuesday. I've got so many plates up for the choosing today that I don't even know which ones to pick right now. Let's see...
VT-B4-VA ~ Think states. Vermont before Virginia. I'm pretty sure the driver of this particular car used to live in Vermont.
HER WISH ~ Is My Command? or was the CAR her wish?
APPL3S ~ Apples, of course. Must be the driver's favorite fruit. OR, maybe the driver is a fan of Ever After
SITN HI ~ Sitting High: I think this was a jacked-up truck or a Hummer, but I didn't make a note of the particular type of vehicle for once.
2 D MALL ~ This driver is a shopaholic for sure! "To The Mall!" she exclaims on a daily basis.
Now, here's yours:
ASA FDLE ~ This one took me a few minutes to figure out, but I'll give you a clue. Ready? "If you are in really good physical shape, you are what?"
Good Luck!

Monday, January 25, 2010

Dogs may Stink, but they are SO Cute!

Behold! The two cutest dogs in the whole wide world. This cuteness totally makes up for anything mentioned in the previous post.

Rocky and Mason
Mason is under my chair and Rocky beside it. Since I took the picture with my phone it isn't the best, but you can still see that the cuteness factor is out of this world!
Oh! and I should have put a disclaimer at the bottom of my last post as well. I was not, in any way, really complaining. I just thought it made a great, funny story to share here on my blog. I promise, it's really not a big deal. :-)

Dogs Stink! (or Why I am stuck at home instead of being at work today)

My husband shook me awake this morning. "Hannah. Do you Smell that!?!"

"Huh. What?"

"Do you smell that?" It was more a demand this time instead of a question.

I sniffed. Just barely. For my trouble, my nose was assaulted by the most disgusting smell. "Oh, no. I'm going to kill her!" I rolled over while Joseph told me he was going to turn on the light so I could check on Mason.

"I don't have my contacts in so I can't see a thing, Joseph."

Joseph crawled over to my side of our king sized bed and peered through the shadows of the bed stand lamp at Mason's kennel. "Oh! Man! It's on the carpet!" He let loose a string of a few choice words that definitely let Mason know how he felt about her accident. It was 3:59 A.M.

We both got out of bed and as I went into the bathroom to put in my contacts, we discussed what we were going to have to do. I told Joseph that I would wash her off, but that he should just throw the bedding out since it wasn't the first time she had had an accident on it. I just wasn't feeling another long day of laundry related to dog bedding. Not to mention the fact that I had to work today. I've missed way too many Mondays lately. This was NOT going to be a good day. As if to emphasize my thoughts, Joseph walked into the bathroom with Mason in his arms while I had only one contact in and the other on my finger poised to be placed on my left eye. "Joseph! You're gonna have to stand there and watch her, cause I have to get my second contact in still!" He had placed her in the bathtub.

Thankfully, Mason had mostly avoided her poop, (yes, poop) so I really only had to wash her back half of her body. By the time I finished bathing her, Joseph came to the bathroom door and stated that he was going to lay back down for the next twenty minutes. That was so not going to happen. My alarm had already gone off. I needed to get in the shower and get ready for work. Joseph was just going to have to watch her. "Take Mason and Rocky outside to go to the bathroom." I said. Amazingly, Joseph complied.

Once I was finished with my shower, I got dressed and completed my morning routine. Then, I took over watching the dogs while Joseph got ready. When he finished his shower, I gave him the only two options I could come up with for today. 1. We call Mason's owners (our good friends that went out of town this weekend) and ask them to come get her this morning or 2. I stay home and work from home while paying close attention to Mason.

We opted for the second choice. Unfortunately, what I had forgotten is that my work computer doesn't have a power cord. Well, it does, but I can't find it. Anywhere.

I would have gone back to sleep after my decision was made, but Mason decided that she didn't like the carpet just inside my back door anymore than she liked her kennel this morning. Another mess of crap to clean up. I called Joseph who was already on his way to work. "You know how we were just talking about getting a new carpet for inside the back door yesterday? I'm glad we had that talk because I'm throwing the one we have out with the trash this morning." Can I just say, right now, that I am ever so glad that our garbage men come twice a week? The first day each week that they show up is Monday.

While Mason hasn't had another accident since that second one around 6am, I've been watching her like a hawk. I've got my kitchen timer set for 38 minutes at this very moment. Mason is lying under my chair as I type this, her small body pressed against my legs. Rocky is passed out lying next to my chair, his body angled towards the back of the chair. I thought until just a second ago when I checked, that Rocky was probably face to face with Mason, but I was wrong. She's actually curled up under my chair with her nose smack dab against Rocky's back. Dogs are so cute when they sleep.

It's Monday, What are You Reading?

What are you reading on Mondays? is a meme hosted by J. Kaye. This is our opportunity as bloggers to share what we've read in the past week and what we plan on reading this week. If you'd like to join in (it's really fun), go to J. Kaye's Book Blog and add your name to the list.

What I Read This Week:

Naruto Vol. 38 - Masashi Kishimoto
Naruto Vol. 39 - Masashi Kishimoto
Naruto Vol. 40 - Masashi Kishimoto
Naruto Vol. 41 - Masashi Kishimoto
A Taste of Blackberries ~ Doris Buchanan Smith
Sarah, Plain and Tall ~ Patricia MacLachlan
Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys ~ Kate Brian
The Shy One ~ Dorothy Nathan
The Apache Gold Mystery ~ Eileen Thompson
Sing-Song and Other Poems for Children ~ Christina Rossetti
Far to Go ~ Noel Streatfeild
Infected ~ Scott Sigler (my very first audiobook EVER!)
Thunder on the Tennessee ~ G. Clifton Wisler
Where's Aggie ~ Betty K. Erwin
Black and White ~ Paul Volponi

What I Started, but didn't Finish:

Miracle at Clement's Pond ~ Patricia Pendergraft
I just couldn't get into the whole, 1990s mystery thing. I'll try again soon.

What I am currently Reading:

Saint Ben ~ John Fischer
The Innocent Libertine ~ T. Davis Bunn, Isabella Bunn

What I want to Read This Week:

The Changling ~ Philippa Carr
Saints and Angels Song ~ Joh Fischer


The Hidden Valley Mystery ~ Helen Wells

I also want to read through the Trixie Belden books that I have since I just recently patched up a few holes in my series list. (as in, I bought some of the books that I was missing.)

There you have it, my star week so far this month. However, since I'm stuck home today (I'll explain in my next post), I MAY just beat last Monday's record of 7 books in one day. And, yes, I realize that four of those seven were manga. They're STILL books!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Vanity Tuesday (A Day Late)


I know I'm a day late for this, but I do have a good excuse. Last night after my piano lessons were over, I got to talk to my best friend (who lives in Pennsylvania) for two and a half hours.

Here we go:

WRSHP: Obvious, right? It's Worship. The only time I saw this vehicle was on my way home from church on Sundays. I have a feeling they were on their way home from church too.

GOONIE: Either this owner was a big fan of the movie The Goonies or he considers himself a goon. I'm going with the first thought on this one.

I MISS B: Again with the choices! This could be " I am Miss B" or the driver could just be Missing B. Whoever "B" is. Another option is that the plate is a memorial to someone or something that was special to them. Now I'm actually beginning to wonder.

CURIUS: About what? Is this driver just curious in nature? Personality, perhaps? Looks, even? He seemed normal to me so I'm thinking he's curious in nature. Yeah. That's gotta be it.

HI DER: "Hi There" This plate reminds me of the bumper sticker that says, "I may be slow, but I'm in front of you." So, is this driver super friendly or taunting?

Now here's yours:

SMRT NUF

What does this one say?

I know I went short on this post tonight, but I promise I had a good reason. Humor me and tell me what you think of the last plate I listed.

Monday, January 18, 2010

What are you Reading this Monday?


Just like last week, I am participating in J-Kaye's What are you reading on Mondays?
Books Read:
The Opposite of Love by Julie Buxbaum
The Ghost at the Waterfall by Helen Wells
Girls' Night In - a book of short stories
The Martyr's Song by Ted Dekker
Love You, Soldier by Amy Hest
Books I am Currently Reading:
Sing-Song and Other Poems for Children by Christina G. Rossetti
Books to be Read this Week:
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
A Taste of Blackberries by Doris Buchanan Smith
Far to Go by Noel Streatfeild
Miracle at Clement's Pond by Patricia Pendergraft
The Shy One by Dorothy Nathan
The Apache Gold Mystery by Eileen Thompson
Jack and Jill by Louisa May Alcott
Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys by Kate Brian
Yes, I realize that most of the above are children's books. I actually acquired all but the last two just this weekend when I was in Pennsylvania visiting my family. Now, I just need to make sure that I want to keep them.
So, it wasn't as productive a week as I would have liked when it comes to reading, but it was decent considering everything I did around my house instead. Oh! and all the book shopping I did online!
Now, I'm off to visit McKay's cause I picked up my $30 credit slip that I had left in PA a few months back. Wish me luck finding some of the books off my list of needs.
~Hannah

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Vanity Tuesday

I think I may make it a weekly post to list a few vanity plates for your consideration. With that in mind, I'll be playing around with the post title each week until I find one that suits me. Let's begin.

This one I saw just today on my way home from work.

I AM AMAC - I wonder if that's Justin Long's vehicle...

ANDRE-T7 - First thought. Mario Andretti fan. Second thought. WOW! What a TERRIBLE driver!! He seriously almost caused an accident right there!

HUNY BZ - Go figure, this car was covered in "beekeeper" bumper stickers. I have a feeling the driver like honey bees. What do you think?

This next one is my VERY favorite. Wish I had thought of it for when Joseph still had his yellow truck.

L8R POPO - Yes, the license plate really did read "later popo". I wonder how many times that driver gets pulled over JUST because of his plate.

PT NUT - Hmmm. You don't think she like her PT Cruiser, do you?

MIKES PT - When you consider the fact that this was on a PT Cruiser as well, you just want to give yourself a forehead smack while saying, "Duh!" I NEVER would have guessed that it was MIKE'S pt. For sure.

RACENON - ( Racing On) This guy might be the only rival to L8R POPO's number of being pulled over just for a plate.

WRK2RD - (Work to Ride) I'd like to think the driver also owns a motorcycle and that he only suffers through the work week because he knows that the weekend signifies yet another weekend trip on his bike.

R 5 BRATZ - Boys. They HAVE to be boys. I can't IMAGINE calling girls brats. Nope. Not at all.

TEONEUP - ( Tee one up) Check it out! Another golf lover.

Here's yours. Tell me what YOUR comment on this one is:

Y U LATE

Give me some good ones this week!

Off the Beaten Path

Obviously I've been posting alot about books lately, but I wanted to take a few minutes to write a post about something else. To give you a little idea of what I've been up to lately other than reading.

Joseph had 11 days off for Christmas and New Year's vacation this holiday season. (I wanted to say year, but since Christmas was 2009 and New Years was 2010...yeah. you get the point.) Anyway, he put his time off work to wonderful use. He and his dad (well, mostly his dad) spent about five days painting the main floor of my house. Yay for color! I'll have pictures of the rooms that were painted very soon. I didn't have anything to do with the painting, but I sure did have a hand in the cleanup.

Also, last Sunday Joseph and I started a 1500 piece puzzle that we (I) just finished on Friday night. I'll post a picture of that for your viewing pleasure.

Of course, I've been reading. I just finished my 13th book last night.

Oh yes, about the cleanup part of painting. I kinda extended that cleanup into taking down all the Christmas stuff that was still lingering around my home. I even have the scratches on my arms to prove it. Did you know that Christmas trees are worse than cats!?! The other room that I cleaned was my office. Actually, I didn't just clean it; I revamped it. My desk got moved. Joseph added some more shelves for my Mary Kay stuff. I sorted through magazines, books, and TONS of loose papers. and now...it looks beautiful! It's still not quite finished, but at least I can handle going in there to work again.

On the to do list for this week:
Inventory my Mary Kay products
Clean out my closet in my bedroom
Shampoo the carpet in my bedroom
Start sending in payments for my Sentria
Scrub down my kitchen
and hopefully Make a few meals in advance that I can freeze or at least store for later in the fridge.

That's not much at all, right? I have to admit this is HUGE for me. I can't remember the last time I've been motivated to get things done for more than two days in a row. This has been going on since January 1st and I LIKE it! Wish me luck.

Monday, January 11, 2010

National Just Read More Novels Month


I know, I know, I KNOW that I said I would try to limit my posts about books, but I'm on a roll right now so why stop just yet, right? Actually, I do have other posts planned, but they actually require me posting from home as opposed to posting from my work office (like I am now).
With that said, let me introduce you to the latest challenge that I've joined. The challenge is exactly what it says - to read more novels in January. There are a few rules so if you feel like joining, be sure to check them out by clicking on the picture above. Wish me luck!

What are you reading on Mondays?

This is my first time going on record with this particular weekly post. I would love to list the books that I read last week, but I really don't recall all of the titles so I'm just going to post about the books I'm reading right now.

First up is The Opposite of Love. I actually got this book through Facebook, I believe, for free as part of a promotion from the author. The Opposite of Love is Julie Buxbaum's first novel. Honestly, the story is intriguing and I definitely want to read through to find out how everything is going to work out, but right now, I'm NOT impressed at all at the language in the book. (By language, I mean, four letter words/cuss words. Don't like that at all. Won't be keeping the book once I'm finished reading it.)
Second up is the third Vicki Barr book that I own. I was thrilled to find a few Trixie Belden books at a large flea market back home in PA a few months ago and the owner of the booth I found them at offered the Vicki Barr books in addition to the Trixie Beldens at a discount because she was trying to get rid of them. Heeeellllooooo! I will TAKE them!
The Ghost at the Waterfall is the 11th book in the Vicki Barr series. I don't have anything to say about it right now merely because I seriously just started a few minutes ago and am only two chapters in. So far it's a typical Vicki Barr story.

The next section of my post should be the books that I'm planning on reading this week, but I haven't decided that yet. I have one that I've set aside, but all the rest are just on a shelf that I'll walk by and pull one off of. So, here's the next one on my "To Be Read" list:
The Martyr's Song - Ted Dekker
If you'd like to join in the fun and let everyone else know what you're reading this week, stop by J-Kaye's Book Blog and add your name to the Monday list.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Flashback

I had another blog before this one. But I had to delete it. The following fun was an idea that started with my old blog. I think this is my first time to use it here.

Vanity Plates

I live in Northern Virginia and if you followed the link above to Wikipedia, you may have noticed that Virginia has the highest percentage of vanity plates in the U.S. Out of all of the license plates in VA, 16.19% are vanity plates (as of 2007). These are just a small sampling of what I see every single day:

NOON ISH - Either this guy/gal has a fetish that has to do with the clock striking 12pm or they are always late to work

KNOWAY - "no way" - Maybe there is 'no way' this driver is going to let you in front of them in traffic or they were arguing with their significant other about what the license plate was NOT going to read

RSDNTL - "residential" - I think. I don't know what else it would mean. I suppose this person lives in one of the many large developments in NoVa. Perhaps not.

WLVRNE - Would you believe my husband, the biggest Wolverine fan I know, didn't "get" this plate when he first saw it? Nerds. Ya can't live with them. Ya can't live without them.

CRBBGE - Black Jack is NOT an option. It's only cribbage for me, my man.

JOGHER - Yes, a runner owns this one.

R6 GIRLS - I. Would. Kill. Myself. SIX girls!?! Heaven forbid! Can you imagine the number of Shoes that dad has to pay for? Yikes!

TOP STEP - This driver might be short. Or they just like the top step.

PANAMA 5 - I can't think of anything interesting to say about this one. There was nothing special on the car other than the license plate so I don't have any clues to the reason behind this plate.

SHINE 09 - I think this may have been a Mary Kay consultant's car.

And now I leave you to come up with a description/ short silly comment/ reason for this Vanity Plate:

IDRVSLW

Don't fail me ya'll! I know there's only a handful of you that read my blog, but would you please humor me and leave a comment about " my driving"?

Because you haven't heard enough

Books, books, books. That's all she ever writes about! Well, not technically, but pretty close. Books are a safe subject for me. I can never run out of books to write about, but I really DO try to limit the number of posts that I devote to books. So, this will be my last for the night.

I need to set a new goal. Last year's goal was to read 100 books. I read 117. While being realistic, I really do want to set a higher goal. and reach it. What's reasonable? What's realistic? I've already read 7 books this year and it's only 5 days in. By the time I go to sleep tonight I will have finished at least one more. Should I shoot for 120? That's only 12 books a month. Pittance! Perhaps 142 - 13 books a month. But then, why not go for 8 more and make it a nice even 150?

Yes, I think that's what I will set my goal at. 150 books read in 2010. Good luck to me. I'm going to need it!

BookList 2009 - It is Finished!

January

Sandry's Book ~ Tamora Pierce
Tris's Book ~ Tamora Pierce
The City of Ember ~ Jeanne DuPrau
The Mary Kay Way ~ Mary Kay Ash
Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg ~ Gail Carson Levine
Teddy Jo & the yellow room mystery ~ Hilda Stahl
Teddy Jo & the ragged beggars ~ Hilda Stahl
Teddy Jo & the magic quill ~ Hilda Stahl
Land of Hope ~ Joan Nixon Lowery
Land of Promise ~ Joan Nixon Lowery
Boxers for Dummies ~ Richard Beauchamp
Fairy Haven and the Quest for the Wand ~ Gail Carson Levine
Ellen Foster ~ Kaye Gibbons

February

Coffee with Plato ~ Donald R. Moor
A Time for Witches ~ Lynne Hansen
Reckless Revolution ~ Lynne Hansen
Gilded Delirium ~ Jordan Stokes & Mattew Belinkie
The Mark on the Mirror ~ Margaret Sutton
A Thousand Goodbyes ~ Jim Hube
Coffee with Mark Twain ~ Fred Kaplan
A Member of the Family ~ Cesar Millan
The People of Sparks ~ Jeann DuPrau
Tanglewreck ~ Jeanette Winterson
Alanna The First Adventure ~ Tamora Pierce
In the Hand of the Goddess ~ Tamora Pierce
The Woman Who Rides Like a Man ~ Tamora Pierce
Lioness Rampant ~ Tamora Pierce
Trickster's Choice ~ Tamora Pierce
Trickster's Queen ~ Tamora Pierce
The Wednesday Letters ~ Jason F. Wright

March

Coffee with Shakespeare ~ Stanley Wells
The Good Guy ~ Dean Koontz
Shadowfires ~ Dean Koontz
A Wife After God's Own Heart ~ Elizabeth George
The Fairy's Return & Other Princess Tales ~ Gail Carson Levine
The Princetta ~ Anne-Laure Bondoux

April

City of Bones ~ Cassandra Clare
City of Ashes ~ Cassandra Clare
City of Glass ~ Cassandra Clare
Bloodhound ~ Tamora Pierce
Net Force: Virtual Vandals ~ Tom Clancy
Miracles Happen ~ Mary Kay Ash
Flying Blind ~ Frank Peretti
Dragonsong ~ Anne McCaffrey

May

A Haunting in Williamsburg ~ Lou Kassen
The Lioness and the Lily ~ Barbara Cartland
Kiss from a Stranger ~ Barbara Cartland
The Kiss of the Devil ~ Barbara Cartland
The Complacent Wife ~ Barbara Cartland
Call of the Heart ~ Barbara Cartland
The Impetuous Duchess ~ Barbara Cartland
The Husband Hunters ~ Barbara Cartland
A Knight in Paris ~ Barbara Cartland
Beauty Is a Beast ~ Jane B. Mason & Sarah Hines Stephens
A College of Magics ~ Caroline Stevermer
Love In Pity ~ Barbara Cartland
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ~ Ian Fleming

June

Early Sunday Morning ~ Barry Denenberg
Hatching Magic ~ Ann Downer
The Great Good Thing ~ Roderick Townley
Treasures ~ Carolyn Ann Aish

July

Eight Cousins ~ Louisa May Alcott
Castles ~ Carolyn Ann Aish
Kingdoms ~ Carolyn Ann Aish
The Musician's Daughter ~ Susanne Dunlap
Rose in Bloom ~ Louisa May Alcott
Mark of the Demon ~ Diana Rowland
Coffee with Einstein ~ Carlos I. Calle
My Life in France ~ Julia Child
Civil War Hospital Sketches ~ Louisa May Alcott
The Black Tattoo ~ Sam Enthoven

August

Cobwebs ~ Karen Romano Young
Blue Moon ~ Alyson Noel
The Solitary Envoy ~ T. Davis Bunn & Isabella Bunn
A Sword to the Heart ~ Barbara Cartland
Dr. Franklin's Island ~ Ann Halam
Once Dead, Twice Shy ~ Kim Harrison

September

Fragile Eternity ~ Melissa Marr
Shad Run ~ Howard Breslin
The Kingdom Keepers ~ Ridley Pearson
The Mystery of the Million-Dollar Penny ( A Power Boys Adventure) ~ Mel Lyle

October

Twilight ~ Stephanie Meyer (second time reading it. gotta re-read since New Moon shows in theaters 11/20)
Coffee with Aristotle ~ Jonathan Barnes
Tom Swift & His Rocket Ship ~ Victor Appleton II
Naruto Vol. 32 ~ Masashi Kishimoto
Wild Magic ~ Tamora Pierce
Wolf-Speaker ~ Tamora Pierce
Emperor Mage ~ Tamora Pierce
The Realms of the Gods ~ Tamora Pierce

November

New Moon ~ Stephanie Meyer (see comment above about Twilight)
Alcatraz versus The Evil Librarians ~ Brandon Sanderson (MUCH better when my younger sister Rachel reads it aloud, but still pretty funny.)
First Test ~ Tamora Pierce
Page ~ Tamora Pierce
Squire ~ Tamora Pierce
A Rebel Princess ~ Barbara Cartland
Hangman's Curse ~ Frank Peretti
Lady Knight ~ Tamora Pierce
ArchEnemy ~ Frank Beddor
The Medici Secret ~ Michael White
The Bluebird and The Sparrow ~ Janette Oke GOAL - 100 books!!!
The Perilous Gard ~ Elizabeth Marie Pope
Round the Corner in Gay Street ~ Grace S. Richmond
The Game ~ Diana Wynne Jones
Eclipse ~ Stephenie Meyer
Breaking Dawn ~ Stephenie Meyer

December

The Original Girl's Handy Book ~ Lina Beard & Adelia Belle Beard
A Great and Terrible Beauty ~ Libba Bray
Rebel Angels ~ Libba Bray
Uglies ~ Scott Westerfeld
Pretties ~ Scott Westerfeld
Specials ~ Scott Westerfeld
The Boys Next Door ~ Jennifer Echols
Something Borrowed ~ Catherine Hapka
The Sweet Far Thing ~ Libba Bray
The Christmas Dolls ~ Carol Beach York
The Demon King ~ Cinda Williams Chima
Extras ~ Scott Westerfeld

And so ends my year of books with a total of 117 books read. I think I did pretty well. Now I just have to set my goal for 2010.

New Year's Readathon with Kristen



Okay. I have no idea how many hours I read. 9 - I think. I feel like I read more, but when I look at my book list I know that's not possible. Here's the breakdown:

New Year's Eve:

Extras - Scott Westerfeld = 1 hr.

New Year's Day:

Finished Extras = 2 hr.
Magic or Madness - Justine Larbalestier = 3 hr.

January 2:

Martha's Secret Wish - Ella Gibson = 1 hr.

January 3:

A New Name - Grace Livingston Hill = 2 hr.

To be completely honest with you, I expected to read ALOT more than what I actually did however, life always seems to get in the way. On Sunday, for example, I started a 1500 piece puzzle with my future sister-in-law. I'm still working on the puzzle today and on Sunday, I only read and finished one book. Terrible! Oh well, at one book per day since January 1st, I'm still well on my way to my goal.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Reading into the New Year


So I joined the Reading into the New Year readathon last night. You can see the original challenge at Bookworming in the 21st Century. The idea was to read through midnight. Whether you were starting 5 minutes before the year changed or hours before, but to finish reading after 12:01am. I read Extras by Scott Westerfeld last night. On and off for hours before midnight, but I definitely made sure I was reading while the clock changed. This was definitely something different for me. Usually I'm the one yelling the loudest when the ball in New York hits the bottom. It was rather thrilling to read instead. A little out of place, but thrilling nonetheless.

I actually sat in the basement with my little family last night while I read. Joseph was watching TV, while Titus, Shayla, and their friends, Matt and Jessica stood around the ping pong table. Joseph isn't normally the person that lets me read through something, but he let me do it this time so that was HUGE! very fun. I'm totally gonna be doing this again!

I figured doing this challenge was a great way to get myself into the mood for my own personal goal for reading in 2010. I'll post more about that later. Just wanted to leave an update on here.