Teaser Tuesday, December 22

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!

My teasers:
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, pg. 229

--The storm didn't wait until nightfall to show its teeth.

--The marble columns and naked walls of the sitting room crept up to the coffered ceiling, which was falling to pieces.

Word Munching

So, it's that time of year again. The time when everyone (probably) is thinking about New Year's Resolutions, what they should do to be better in the future. And, of course, mine never change because they never come to pass. I'll be good for a week or two (usually the week or two before January 1st, actually) and then they fall to the wayside to be trampled on and found again in Mid-April when I decide to make mid-year resolutions that are then forgotten until the next January. Yes, it is that easy to see the pattern.
But ho! not this year! (as I say every year) at least one resolution will be fulfilled. Why? Because I have a need for it. My brain is hungry (nom nom) and I need to read.
Yes... that is the nerdiest thing I've ever typed.
But, dear readers, it's true! So I've devised a reading schedule slightly-based on some I found online and I have a good feeling about this one...


I've traveled the world twice over, 
Met the famous; saints and sinners, 
Poets and artists, kings and queens, 
Old stars and hopeful beginners, 
I've been where no-one's been before, 
Learned secrets from writers and cooks 
All with one library ticket 
To the wonderful world of books. 
~ Anonymous ~


The Plan:

Every other week, I will pick two books to read. They will vary in category (erm... go into that later...) and I'll have the entire two weeks to read both.
For instance, every month I have to read one nonfiction title, one book from this list
and two "others". So at the end of the year, I'll have read 12 NF, 12 from the list, and 24 "others".

--"others" can be any category I choose (fiction, NF, memoir, graphic novel, YA, etc.) However,
-they can't be for school
-they can't be a re-read
-I have to get at least 50 pgs. into it before I decide to replace it.
I'll keep a book journal to record info and comments about books. I might even post them here.
Well, sorry about the boring (to You) post. It's exciting for me! (but probably nobody else...)
Cheers :D

The Lace Reader- Brunonia Barry

I've only just started it, (I mean that literally- I'm on page 9), but I felt like telling someone that yes, I am reading. Sadly, as much as I love to read, my status is generally no, I am not reading. I have so much other stuff to do.
And this isn't even part of my challenges, but I heard a rave review from my (former) English teacher and when I saw it on the new books shelf I had to pick it up. Plus, I really like the authors name. Brunonia Brunonia Brunonia
Sort of rolls of the tongue, doesn't it?
So far, I really like it. I can't say much (obviously. page 9.) but the narrative is already really captivating. It seems very natural, like a friend recounting a story.
I'll have a full review when I finish.
Hope you're having a good day.
:)

Why hello there

I'm kind of busy, so I'll make this quick:
almost completely finished my knitted knucks using this tutorial:

It's a very good overview, I highly recommend it. These things are extremely fast knits, so I'm thinking someone's getting some for Christmas... :)
Hmm...
Oh- I went to the library today (and yesterday, and the day before...) and got the first haul of books to start my summer reading intensive. I was actually quite proud of myself, a couple of them are from my challenges. Huzzah!
Library Haul:

books:
-Eat,Pray,Love- Elizabeth Gilbert (Non-Fiction Five Challenge)
-The Painted Veil- W. Somerset Maughan- (This is for a not-yet-explained personal challenge, Books with movies. More on that later, though.)
-The Gentle Axe- R.N. Morris- (I've been looking forward to this book since I saw its release-hype articles.
-The Lace Reader- Brunonia Barry- (Saw this on the new-release shelf and picked it up. My Novel teacher from high school read this with her book club and raved about it, so I have high hopes.)
audiobooks:
-Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off- Stephanie Pearl McPhee (Non-Fiction Five Challenge)
not pictured audiobooks:
-On Beauty- Zadie Smith- (1% Well-Read Challenge)
-The Eyre Affair-Jasper Fforde (I actually didn't realize this was the first in a series until I searched it on Goodreads... so I swapped it with The Bad Beginning... that's not cheating is it?)

Books and Socks

Just a quick post today- I have to get to vacuuming. (Eurgh).
Actually, I rather like vacuuming. Sure, we have a very finicky old vacuum that weighs a ton and is quite hard to maneuver, but the entire house takes about an hour to vacuum, so I get about an hour, (or more if I purposefully go slowly... not that I do that), to read. Well, to listen to others read.
I really like audiobooks. I get them from the library, usually, because Librivox, though lovely, has a very limited selection. And I am much too poor for Audible.
I just finished Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera, (quite good, though the ending was, for me, a little disappointing. I'll post a full review soon), and now I'm about to start Zadie Smith's On Beauty as part of my 1% Well Read Challenge. We'll see how that works out.
I also really like podcasts while I'm doing random household nonsense. I'll go into detail about some of my favorites and frequent listens, but suffice it to say Cast On and Knitty Nora are both very high up there. (Yes, my knitting obsession is getting worse by the day.)
Speaking of which, I'm trying to psych myself up to start my first pair of socks. I found this, Silver's Sock Class, which I heard about on Ravelry. Apparently, it is idiot-proof, which really just means if-you-fail-pretend-you-didn't. So I'll be feeling around for some cheap sock yarn to cast on for that.
hmm... I think that's it.
I'll be back with more knitting and/or reading news soon.
Possibly even tonight. :)
-Comfits
Just found this

... if my obsession doesn't lift soon, I may very well consider getting one... :)

books and such

Oops, I just remembered I said this would be a knitting post.
...
Oh well.
So, in an effort to increase my cultural comprehension
and make my brain bigger
I have decided to include bookage in this lovely blog of mine.
Yes, daring I know.
I actually read quite a bit. Or, I used to...
and I'm trying to get back into the habit because I do love books. Terribly, terribly, a lot.
I also love book blogs. A lot. So, I'm squishing my interests together. How resourceful. I've joined, (or will, as soon as I post this), a few challenges to give me a kick in the pants to motivate me to read.
I am actually super excited, which shows you what a dork I am. Huzzah!


My Reading Challenges 2009

1% Well-Read Challenge

-Basically, you read 10 books from Listology's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
I think they're mostly classics and should-be-classics, so it should be effective for gaining maximum haha-I've-read-something-you-haven't points. Then again, it could also be effective for gaining maximum bored-to-tears points, so must tread carefully. Oh, and there are several options, but I think I'm doing the mix of old and new updated lists. Why? Because I can't tell which is which. Ho-ya.
-Deadline: March 31, 2010 (oh noes! I'm not good with far-sounding deadlines. I should probably get this one done quickly.)
-Tentative List:
1) On Beauty- Zadie Smith
2) The God Of Small Things- Arundhati Roy
3) The Robber Bride- Margaret Atwood
4) A Prayer for Owen Meany- John Irving
5) Anna Karenina- Leo Tolstoy
6) Crime and Punishment- Fyodor Dostoevsky
7) Wuthering Heights- Emily Bronte (I've always thought of this as Blithering Heights, but Heathcliff is such a beloved character that I figure I should at least try. If I hate it, at least I will have more intelligent-sounding criticism.)
8) Kafka on the Shore- Haruki Murakami
9) Atonement- Ian McEwan
10) The Satanic Verses- Salman Rushdie



Non-Fiction Five


-The challenge is to read 5 non-fiction books, at least one of which has to be of a differing type. (For instance, you could read four memoirs and one self-help. Or two autobiographies, a science book and two self-helps. Or... well, you get the point.) I don't read much non-fiction, generally, so this should be interesting.
Deadline: September 30, 2009 (Phwoar, the end of the summer. Should probably start reading. Yesterday.)
-Tentative List:
1) Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia- Elizabeth Gilbert
2) Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off- Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
3) Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books- Azar Nafisi
4)The Know-It All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World- A.J. Jacobs
5)Julie and Julia : 365 days, 524 recipes, 1 tiny apartment kitchen / Julie Powell
6) The Unauthorized Autobiography of Lemony Snicket- Lemony Snicket



First in a Series Challenge


Read 12 books that are the first in a series. Yep, I thought it was pretty self-explanatory too. This list was kind of difficult, I don't read that many series, so I had to trawl around Amazon a bit. I don't read that much fantasy, but I suppose I'll have to start. I'm really excited about them, though.
Deadline: December 31, 2009
Tentative List:
1) Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Book 1)- Laurel K. Hamilton
2) The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time: Book 1)- Robert Jordan
3) The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events: Book 1)- Lemony Snicket and Brett Helquist
4)The Color of Magic (Discworld Series: Book 1)- Terry Pratchett
5) One For the Money (Stephanie Plum: Book 1)- Janet Evanovich
6) Naked in Death (In Death Series: Book 1)- J.D. Robb
7) The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials: Book 1)- Philip Pullman
8)Arrows of the Queen ( The Heralds of Valdemar: Book 1)- Mercedes Lackey
9) A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle: Book 1)- Ursula K. Le Guin
10) Quiksilver- Neal Stephenson
11)The silver pigs: a novel (Falco: Book 1)- Lindsey Davis
12) A Morbid Taste For Bones (The First Chronicle of Brother Cadfael- Ellis Peters