As you already know if you read my Reading Year in Review post, I was rather disappointed in myself for reading just 35 books in 2008, which was down from the 40 books I read in 2007 (which, come to think of it, was another number I was not thrilled with either). And for the first time, about one-third of the books I read were specifically for the purpose of posting reviews. I’m not sure […]
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The Awards Shelf
Other bloggers have occasionally found this blog to be worthy of special recognition, and I greatly appreciate the honors! This page will be updated intermittently, as conditions warrant. This blog’s very first award was bestowed by UnfinishedPerson (in his previous incarnation as Just a (Reading) Fool) in August 2008: Two different bloggers, April of It’s All About Balance and Louise (Bogsider) from Lous_Pages, have officially declared this blog “cool”: The Prémio Dardos (the Darts Prize) […]
At the movies: “Marley & Me”
Marley & Me Comedy/drama, 2008 I’m not a stickler for reading the book before I see the movie adaptation. In fact, I’d been shying away from reading John Grogan’s Marley & Me: Life and Love With the World’s Worst Dog. I’m not prejudiced against reading big best-sellers, but it seems to me that big best-selling books about animals frequently have a high cuteness/sappiness factor, and I am prejudiced against that, to be honest. However, I’ve […]
The year in review, part three: Randomness
This year – my first full year of blogging! – I established my postings on a general schedule, and as much as possible, I drafted posts in advance and used Blogger’s “scheduled posts” function (thank you for getting that out of draft, Blogger!) to publish. I tried to stick to one post per day, and by the second half of the year, I wasn’t usually posting on Sundays; they became my main writing and catch-up […]
The year in review, part 2: ‘Riting
Participating in NaBloPoMo last year was good experience in establishing a schedule for writing and posting, and I wanted to carry it forward into 2008. I was also discovering that I wanted to do more posts that gave me a chance to stretch my muscles with the “second R” in my blog title. Of the 157 posts (at this count) labeled as “‘riting,” 98 of them were done in 2008, so it looks like there’s […]
Weekend Assignment #248: What’dja Get?
Karen’s assignment for this weekend was appropriately posted on the day after Christmas: Weekend Assignment #248: What was the most interesting or unexpected gift you received this holiday season? Extra Credit: What was the most interesting gift you gave this holiday season? I really didn’t have any “expected” gifts this year. I didn’t even make a list, since I couldn’t think of much to ask for, and none of it was especially big-ticket stuff: some […]
The year in review, part 1: Reading, featuring my Books of the Year
My Book Talk Master List, which is always linked in my sidebar, contains links to all the posts where I have reviewed books, and has been updated for 2008 year-to-date. Strictly from a number-crunching perspective, 35 books works out to about 1.5 weeks per book or 0.6 books per week, which is probably not bad generally, but for someone who counts herself as a member of the book-blogging community, it’s just sad. If I were […]
Book talk: “Who By Fire,” by Diana Spechler
Who By Fire Diana Spechler Harper Perennial, 2008 (paperback) (ISBN 0061572934 / 9780061572937) Fiction, 368 pages First sentence: At the back of the plane, twelve men bow and mumble and sway, masked by thick beards and crowned by black hats. Book Description (summarized): When Bits and Ash were children, their younger sister was kidnapped, a tragedy that led to their family’s unraveling. Years later, Ash, who always blamed himself for Alena’s disappearance, abruptly moved to […]
TBIF: Thank blog it’s Friday, for the LAST TIME in 2008!
Tuesday Thingers: questions for LibraryThing users from The Boston Bibliophile This is the finale of Marie‘s Tuesday Thingers. Beginning next week, Thingers will be hosted by Wendi of Wendi’s Book Corner. This week’s question: Holiday gift-giving. Do you give books for the holidays? Did you participate in LT’s SantaThing, either this year or last, or in other blogging gift exchanges? Were you happy with what you received? I can actually answer this question with details, […]
Merry Christmas!
Your Christmas is Modern Your wish for the New Year is more happiness. For you, Christmas is secular holiday. Religion doesn’t play a big part in it. You are patient when it comes to Christmas. You don’t celebrate too early, and you don’t like seeing holiday decorations in October. You like Christmas traditions, but you’re not uptight about them. You do things your way. You like to celebrate Christmas your own way, and you don’t […]
Ten on Tuesday: I hereby resolve…
This week’s Ten on Tuesday prompt for “10 New Year’s Resolutions” is one I approach with some ambivalence. As I said when this topic came up last year: I’ve never really been one to make New Year’s resolutions. I don’t think there’s anything magical about January 1. If you want to change something in your life, you can do it any time you decide to – the beginning of next month, the first day of […]
Weekend Assignment #247: Home for the holidays?
Weekend Assignment #247:“There’s no place like Home for the Holidays” – or so the song claims. Are you heading “home” to family and friends? Are other family members heading “home” to visit you? Are you heading someplace that definitely isn’t home, or perhaps just staying home, with no visitors on your doorstep? In short, what are your holiday-related travel arrangements this year, and is that they way you prefer to spend it? Extra Credit: Tell […]
