Saturday, August 04, 2012
There's A New Blog In The Blogosphere
9:35 PM / 21:35
Not this one, obviously. No, I'm talking about Pawn & Meeple. I married Mr. Bitter (who, by the way, has decided he doesn't like being called Mr. Bitter) back in April and we've started a blog together to write about the games in our collection. We've only got a couple of posts up so far, but if we're going to meet our goal of playing all of our games in a year, there will be more soon. Go take a look!
Not this one, obviously. No, I'm talking about Pawn & Meeple. I married Mr. Bitter (who, by the way, has decided he doesn't like being called Mr. Bitter) back in April and we've started a blog together to write about the games in our collection. We've only got a couple of posts up so far, but if we're going to meet our goal of playing all of our games in a year, there will be more soon. Go take a look!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Conversations I've Had Today
7:45 PM / 19:45
Me: (with a smile) Do you have some junk mail for me?
Mail Person: (with stern look) We don't call it junk mail. We call it bulk business mail.
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Next Door Neighbor: Oh... I've been meaning to tell you, I'd be glad to loan you my lawn mower, if you don't have one!
Me: Oh... uh, (peering at grass so tall it could be a plain in Africa, except for the dandelions) I have one, I just need to get out here and use it.
Next Door Neighbor: Oh, okay, no offense or anything; just thought I'd offer.
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Unfinished
3:45 PM / 15:45
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum (fiction)
Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis (nonfiction)
The Red Book: A Deliciously Unorthodox Approach to Igniting Your Divine Spark by Sera Beak (nonfiction)
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (fiction)
Lasso Your Heart by Betty Cavanna (fiction)
Livin' La Vida Dorka by John Kovalic (comic)
The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers (fiction)
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (fiction)
Labels: books
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Mom At The Bus Stop
5:25 PM / 17:25
- That sucks that she has to take the bus with a baby.
- If she's going to talk on the phone and peer down the street looking for the bus, maybe she should move the baby back from the curb.
- (a few blocks later) I wonder if I should have offered them a ride.
- (a few more blocks, after it's started to pour rain) Oh, man, I'm still not sure if I should have offered her a ride, but I really hope the bus picked them up already.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Brief
11:30 PM / 23:30
In the unlikely event I still have a reader or two that I don't actually talk to, it may interest you to know I'm getting married in April. I will be an instant aunt when I get married, as Mr. Bitter's brother and sister-in-law had a baby boy last week. Of course, there are already a couple of little boys among my friends who are a lot like nephews to me.
I'm rather certain there was supposed to be more to this post... but I've lost track of whatever it was.
Labels: blogging failure
Silly Lists Reckoning, Part Three
11:19 PM / 23:19
In case it's not clear, the underlined headings in these reckoning posts are links back to the original relevant Silly Lists posts.
Original List:
Friendship Cake by Lynne Hinton
Hope Springs by Lynne Hinton
Forever Friends by Lynne Hinton
Christmas Cake by Lynne Hinton
Wedding Cake by Lynne Hinton
A Month of Summer by Lisa Wingate
The Summer Kitchen by Lisa Wingate
Beyond Summer by Lisa Wingate
Tiger Lillie by Lisa Samson
In Search of Eden by Linda Nichols
I didn't read any of these or any other Christian fiction in 2011. I have no idea why not. I just didn't. So, not so good here.
Original List:
Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms by Ethan Gilsdorf
Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street by Michael Davis
This Book is Overdue: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson
Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian by Avi Steinberg
This I Believe: On Love edited by Dan Gediman
What I actually read:
a few essays from This I Believe: On Love edited by Dan Gediman
Beginner's Grace: Bringing Prayer to Life by Kate Braestrup
The ABC's for UU Newcomers: A Brief Introduction to Unitarian Universalism by William Cleary
Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks by Ken Jennings
I still want to read the books on the original list, but I really, really loved the books I read by Kate Braestrup and Ken Jennings.
Original List:
Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers
A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley
Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich
Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz and David Hayward
What I actually read:
Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz and David Hayward
I only read one of them, and no other mysteries. I didn't even particularly like the one I read. I love Lisa Lutz' Spellman series and I do hope David Hayward tries writing on his own sometime, but Heads You Lose didn't work for me.
It's pretty strange I ended up not reading the Alan Bradley and Janet Evanovich books, given I've read the books in their series that precede the ones on the list. I'm behind by two books in both series now.
It's pretty strange I ended up not reading the Alan Bradley and Janet Evanovich books, given I've read the books in their series that precede the ones on the list. I'm behind by two books in both series now.
Original List:
Ring World by Larry Niven
Faking It by Jennifer Crusie
Pay it Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Evening Class by Maeve Binchy
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
I didn't re-read anything this year, unless it was by listening to an audiobook, but I know I didn't do that much.
Labels: books, Silly Lists
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Silly Lists Reckoning, Part Two
12:15 AM / 00:15
So, onward, without color.
Original List:
Shades of Milk and Honey by Robinette Kowel
Ruby and the Stone Age Diet by Martin Millar
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier
Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
Catalyst by Anne McCaffery & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
What I Actually Read:
A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
Among Others by Jo Walton
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
That's right. I read nothing at all from the list. I did buy a paperback of Elantris and have Brandon Sanderson sign it, though. I'm that much closer.
Original List:
Room by Emma Donoghue
The Matchmaker of Perigord by Julia Stuart
Labor Day by Joyce Maynard
Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
Between the Bridge and the River by Craig Ferguson
Made in the U.S.A. by Billie Letts
The Incident Report by Martha Baillie
What I Actually Read:
The Next Queen of Heaven by Gregory Maguire
Room by Emma Donoghue
The Incident Report by Martha Baillie
Skipping a Beat by Sarah Pekkanen
The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
Sweet Jiminy by Kristin Gore
A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cosse
The Tender Mercy of Roses by Anna Michaels
The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews
The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen
Hunting Unicorns by Bella Pollen
The Mermaid Garden by Santa Montefiore
Savannah Blues by Mary Kay Andrews
Savannah Breeze by Mary Kay Andrews
The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai
Love Walked In by Marissa de los Santos
The Family Man by Elinor Lipman
Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews
I did half way decent on this list! There are two I started but couldn't get into enough to finish them. The are The Matchmaker of Perigord by Julia Stuart and Between the Bridge and the River by Craig Ferguson. I loved Craig Ferguson's autobiography, American on Purpose and at first I loved his novel too, but ultimately, it just wasn't for me. Loved Walked In was not on the original list, but it might as well have been. It would have been if I'd thought of it when I was making the list. Several of these disappointed me, but probably none more than The Postmistress. I've actually read The Peach Keeper twice. I listened to it on audio as 2011 came to a close.
(Part One)
Labels: books, Silly Lists
Monday, January 02, 2012
Silly Lists Reckoning, Part One
11: 26 PM / 23:26
Original List:
The Heir by Grace Burrowes
Born in Fire by Nora Roberts
Born in Ice by Nora Roberts
Born in Shame by Nora Roberts
The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey
One Good Knight by Mercedes Lackey
Fortune's Fool by Mercedes Lackey
The Snow Queen by Mercedes Lackey
The Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey
Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas
Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas
Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas
My Nerdy Valentine by Vicki Lewis Thompson
Gone with the Nerd by Vicki Lewis Thompson
The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss
The Unsung Hero by Suzanne Brockman
When I Fall in Love by Lynn Kurland
Goodnight Tweetheart by Theresa Medeiros
What I did read:
The Heir by Grace Burrowes
The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey
Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas
Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas
Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas
Born in Fire by Nora Roberts
Born in Ice by Nora Roberts
Born in Shame by Nora Roberts
The Soldier by Grace Burrowes
A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James
When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James
The Virtuoso by Grace Burrowes
Lady Sophie's Christmas Wish by Grace Burrowes
I hadn't realized Grace Burrowes would publish three more books over the course of the year. Of course, when I wrote the original list, I also didn't know how much I would enjoy The Heir. The Fairy Godmother and the rest of the series should probably have been on the speculative list, instead of the romance list. I chose not to continue with that series.
Original List:
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley
The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
Holes by Louis Sachar
Sources of Light by Margaret McMullan
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
Peace, Love and Baby Ducks by Lauren Myracle
Lasso Your Heart by Betty Cavanna
What I actually read:
Sources of Light by Margaret McMullen
How I Found the Strong by Margaret McMullen
13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Paper Towns by John Green
The Boy Next Door by Betty Cavanna
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
Peace, Love and Baby Ducks by Lauren Myracle
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances one each by Maureen Johnson, John Green & Lauren Myracle
OyMG by Amy Fellner Dominy
The Burmudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson
Observant readers will note that I read a Betty Cavanna novel, but not the one on the original list. I'm not sure how that happened. I read a lot of Maureen Johnson's books in 2011. There are still three, four if you count one to be published later this year, that I have not read. I think it's likely I'll read them all this year.
Labels: books, Silly Lists
