Presenting Lenore is giving away some fabulous 2012 Debut Author packages, and you could win! Check out the details over there. I’ve already entered.
Hey, wait a second. If more people enter, that lowers the odds for me everyone, doesn’t it?
You know what, forget I said anything.
Oh, all right. Go on. The more, the merrier!
Welcome!
Points West has become More Than True. All archives and comments should appear here.
Oh, Bookish Ardour‘s Off the Shelf Challenge. It was such a good idea. I was so excited. I had already picked out 12 books from my shelves to read in 2011, so adding 3 more to make the “Trying” level seemed like no big deal. No problem, right?
So. How’d I do, you ask?
Yeah. One book. And I never even managed to post a review. Sad, really.
I still think the challenge itself is a great idea, so I’m going to try again in 2012. I’m going for the “Tempted” level this time. Just five books. No problem.
When I joined in the E-Book Reading Challenge, hosted at Ladybug Reads, I didn’t make a list of titles. I just put my name in for 12 books.
So, how’d I do?
14/12 (117%) – Not bad at all.
Thirteen (93%) were e-ARCs courtesy of NetGalley. One (7%) was a library book. This tells me two things: (1) I really should take advantage of the e-books my library has, and (2) I really should read some of the books I’ve purchased (or downloaded for free). I did use my Nook quite a bit to read the New York Times Book Review. Between the Les Mis Read-Along and the fact that I’ll be doing more traveling in 2012 than I did in 2011, I think my Nook will be getting more use next year.
Because lots of people knew I had the Nook, I tended to get referred questions about e-readers. As the prices have come down, more library patrons have been getting them, and the library/e-book check-out isn’t quite as user-friendly as it could be. So, I sort of had to stay on top of how it worked, even though I didn’t use it much myself! (I used it a bit more than my one book up there would indicate, since I checked out a few e-books that I didn’t finish. At least they return themselves!)
Will I be doing the E-Book Challenge again (hosted for 2012 at Workaday Reads)? Absolutely! And I’m planning to get 25 e-books read this time.
… and the stocking is done!
Pattern: Candy Cane Santa Stocking by Donna Race
Source: Dimensions Gold Collection kit via Jo-Ann Fabric
Notes: This is the third (and final) family stocking, and it definitely took me the longest. It’s also the only one I actually did the final sewing on. (The first sewing I’ve done since I was 14!) Like the others, I lined the front with the white felt that came in the kit and used red felt to create the back of the stocking. It’s probably a good thing that Santa doesn’t stuff the grown-ups’ stockings in our house, since this one might be just a little bit fragile at the seams.
Last November, I tossed my hat into the ring for my very first Reading Challenge. To complete the Debut Author Challenge, hosted by The Story Siren, I was supposed to read 12 debut MG/YA novels. So, how’d I do?
17/12 (141%) – Pretty well, I’d say! Seven of them were from my original list. Three more were Middle Grade Fiction Cybils nominations (Lucy Wu was a fourth nomination, but also on my original list). I posted reviews of twelve of them here, plus one more at GoodReads that never showed up on the blog (oops).
This was a fantastic challenge, and I loved finding new authors. Aimee Carter, Tommy Greenwald, Kirsten Hubbard, Megan McCafferty, Cat Patrick, Ashley Hope Pérez, and Beth Revis all have books slated for publication in 2012, too.
Will I do this challenge again in 2012? Of course!
“In My Mailbox” is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren to highlight books received during the week.
A few Cybils nominees arrived:
Actually, Hound Dog True came twice, since another judge sent me her copy, too.
On Monday, I took a trip to my favorite used bookstore and came home (as usual) with a few things.
I’ve been slowly acquiring the hardcover British editions of the Harry Potter books. I have book 6, thanks to a donation to the Friends of the Library’s used book shop, and I have a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, thanks to a friend in the U.K. Three out of seven; nearly halfway there!
I’ve been stalking the Writing Reference shelves for several books recommended in a Writing for Children class, and this is one of them. One of these days, Picture Writing is going to show up, I know.
My obsession with appreciation of Mr. Gaiman’s writing is not news to anyone who knows me. This might just tip me over the edge into signing up for one more challenge for 2012, though.
I was not going to sign up for another reading challenge. I really wasn’t. But this is just too neat to pass up.
The Truth in Fiction Challenge, hosted at Fig and Thistle.
From her post:
The Details:
Challenge runs from 01/01/12 – 12/31/2012
Goal: read a specified number of book pairs that are comprised of one fiction book and one related non-fiction book. Think outside of the box; the non-fiction book could also be journals, letters, memoirs, etc…. The pairs needn’t be exact matches, although there should be an easily detectable common thread. Overlapping with other challenges is fine.
The catch: Instead of individual reviews, after each book pair write a joint review. For example, if I read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and then The Journals of Sylvia Plath then my review post will be focused on both books.
Levels:
Freshman: 1 pair
Sophomore: 2 pairs
Junior: 3 pairs
Senior: 4 pairs
Masters: 5 pairs
PhD: 6 pairs
Professor: 7 pairs
Doesn’t this sound like fun? I put my name in for Freshman Level, planning on reading Jeanette Winterson’s Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? and re-reading one of my favorite books, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit.
I can think of at least two more pairings, though. I never did get around to reading Carole Estby Dagg’s The Year We Were Famous, which I was planning to read paired with Linda Lawrence Hunt’s Bold Spirit. And, of course, there’s Wendy McClure’s The Wilder Life, which just begs for a re-reading of Little House on the Prairie.
Thoughts? Suggestions for pairings with books already on my TBR list? Want to join in?
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. I love this topic! I had a lot of difficulty picking out 10, though. I went with the ones that stand out in my memory today, and I decided to stick with middle-grade fiction and skip the picture books and the YA. Ask me tomorrow, and I’ll probably give you a different set.
Except Phantom Tollbooth will still be on it. Always.
Top Ten Childhood Favorites
Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum
In elementary school, we went to the school library once a week. My closest friend, D*, and I raced each other through this whole series. I remember having a big discussion with the Librarian to convince her I would, in fact, read more than one book over the course of the week before she would let me check out two books.
I loved the whole series, but Ozma is the one that stands out in my memory. It’s that whole scene with the Nome King.
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
I worked my way through just about all of Blume’s books as a kid (Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great is also a stand-out memory). Growing up in the suburbs, I wanted more than anything to live in a Big City. I was fascinated by Peter’s New York City life.
Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary
I loved all the Ramona books. As an older sister myself, though, I always had a certain sympathy for Beezus (and Judy Blume’s young Peter Hatcher). Ramona and her Father was also a favorite in the series. I remember reading that one during the summer at my grandparents’ house. I wanted to make coffee can stilts like Ramona and Howie. My Grandpa went one better and made me a set of wooden stilts instead.
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Ah, Harriet. Always observing, writing down everything in that little notebook. Since I was a rule-following sort of kid, I got a vicarious thrill from Harriet’s sneaking into Mrs. Plummer’s house via the dumbwaiter. (And, for that matter, I learned what a dumbwaiter was.)
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
What can I say about my very favorite children’s book? From King Azaz the Unabridged to the Princesses Rhyme and Reason and everything in between, I enjoy Milo’s adventure more every time I return to it.
And any time I hear the phrase “killing time”, I think of Tock the Watchdog.
Lottie and Lisa by Erich Kastner
This is the book that inspired the movie The Parent Trap, but I didn’t know that when I first read it. I stumbled on it in the library because I was looking for books about kids going to summer camp. The story of twins trading places was a bonus.
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
What bookish kid didn’t fantasize about running away to the museum after reading this one?
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
The books in this trilogy were the topic of many playground discussions with D*. I’d like to reread this one sometime soon.
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald
She could solve any problem with some clever reverse psychology. I still want to visit her upside-down house.
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
I’m not sure I ever actually read all the books in the series, but I loved this one. Wendy McClure’s Wilder Life is on my TBR list. I think it’ll be interesting to revisit Wilder’s books from my adult perspective.
What are your top 10?
It’s not another Reading Challenge, see? It’s a Read-along. Totally different.
And it’s just one book!
OK, so it’s a 1286-page book (in the edition I’ll be reading). I downloaded it from Project Gutenberg months ago, with the intention of reading it “someday”. It looks “someday” is coming soon! I especially like that other people will be reading it right along with me, a sort of virtual book club. The fact that I can count it toward the EBook Challenge (oh! and the Off the Shelf Challenge!) doesn’t hurt, I must admit.