Tag: meme

31 Days – 31 Books (day 20): morning edition

Sadly, today is the last day of the conference. We’ve got a couple of sessions, then it ends at 12:30. Mom and I will head to Jaleo (a Spanish tapas place) for lunch and then go to the Artomatic art show across the street from our hotel. 9 floors of art, music, performance by local artists or somesuch. Should be good! Figured I’d better write this up in the morning since I have to work tomorrow (last week of school!)

Day20 – Book that you read at school

Speaking of school… We read quite a few books at school, but today I’ll mention A Separate Peace by John Knowles. We read this my senior year in a class called British Literature. And while we were reading it (it was very good), I asked our teacher why we were reading it in a British Lit class since it was written by an American. Turns out she’d thought it was British because of the boy’s school location. Heh heh. (Guess she wasn’t reading for details…)

The rest of the 31 days:

Day1 – Book you are reading right now
Day2 – The book you want to read next
Day3 – Your favourite Book
Day4 – Book you hate
Day5 – A Book you can read again and again
Day6 – A book you can only read once (no matter you love or hate it)
Day7 – Book that reminds you of someone
Day8 – Book that reminds you on a certain place
Day9 – The first book you ever read
Day10 – Book from your favourite author
Day11 – Book you once loved and now hate
Day12 – Book that a friend recommended
Day13 – Book that makes you laugh
Day14 – Book from your childhood
Day15 – 4. book from the left on your shelf
Day16 – 9. book from the right on your shelf
Day17 – Close your eyes and get any book from your shelf
Day18 – Book with the most beautiful cover
Day19 – Book, that you ever wanted to read
Day21 – most stupid book you read at school
Day22 – Book on your shelf with the most pages
Day23 – Book on your shelf with the least pages
Day24 – Book where nobody would expect you read/loved it
Day25 – A book where the main character is almost like you
Day26 – Book you would read to your children
Day27 – A book where the main character is your idol
Day28 – Thanks God this book was made into a movie
Day29 – Darn, why did they make this book into a movie?
Day30 – First erotic book you ever read
Day31 – Book series you are collecting

31 Days – 31 Books (day 19): Trina’s had 3 Bailey’s & Creams edition

As the subtitle of this blog entry said, I have had a bit to drink tonight at the Drinking Skeptically in the bar this evening. We really had a great day today at the Women in Secularism conference. The sessions were informative and interesting. The dinner was great and we met several nice people. And then we got to chat with one of those couples we met at dinner during the Drinking Skeptically “session” a bit ago. Dad gave us money to spend for that part of our trip and we did a nice job making a dent in it.

Day19 – Book, that you ever wanted to read

Shoot, I was hoping alryssa would have posted her response to this already so I’d know what the question meant (or how she interpreted it to mean). But she’s a day or two behind. I wondered if this is “ever” or a typo of “never” because as written, it doesn’t really make sense.

Going with a book that I never wanted to read, I’d go with The Scarlet Letter but I’ll talk more about that in a future day (regarding school books).

Book that I ever wanted to read… Someday I’m going to finish All the Words by Ronnie Barker. I’ve gotten quite a bit of it read (maybe 1/3) but still haven’t finished.

The rest of the 31 days:

Day1 – Book you are reading right now
Day2 – The book you want to read next
Day3 – Your favourite Book
Day4 – Book you hate
Day5 – A Book you can read again and again
Day6 – A book you can only read once (no matter you love or hate it)
Day7 – Book that reminds you of someone
Day8 – Book that reminds you on a certain place
Day9 – The first book you ever read
Day10 – Book from your favourite author
Day11 – Book you once loved and now hate
Day12 – Book that a friend recommended
Day13 – Book that makes you laugh
Day14 – Book from your childhood
Day15 – 4. book from the left on your shelf
Day16 – 9. book from the right on your shelf
Day17 – Close your eyes and get any book from your shelf
Day18 – Book with the most beautiful cover
Day20 – Book that you read at school
Day21 – most stupid book you read at school
Day22 – Book on your shelf with the most pages
Day23 – Book on your shelf with the least pages
Day24 – Book where nobody would expect you read/loved it
Day25 – A book where the main character is almost like you
Day26 – Book you would read to your children
Day27 – A book where the main character is your idol
Day28 – Thanks God this book was made into a movie
Day29 – Darn, why did they make this book into a movie?
Day30 – First erotic book you ever read
Day31 – Book series you are collecting

31 Days – 31 Books (day 18): National Mall edition

Mom and I walked the National Mall there & back again today, along with other places (Arlington National Cemetery, Botanical Gardens). So our legs/feet are up in arms (heh). The ‘net connection in this expensive-ass hotel is piss poor, so I won’t post any photos until after I get home again. Lunch at the National Museum of the American Indian’s Mitsitam Cafe was lovely, and I’ll go into more detail later. Anyhoo, on to today’s book post.

Day18 – Book with the most beautiful cover

Hmmm, another one that is difficult without my library to hand. Possibly my book on Dragonology, since dragons are beautiful. I may have to defer this one until I’m home, actually. Too tired to think now. 🙂

The rest of the 31 days:

Day1 – Book you are reading right now
Day2 – The book you want to read next
Day3 – Your favourite Book
Day4 – Book you hate
Day5 – A Book you can read again and again
Day6 – A book you can only read once (no matter you love or hate it)
Day7 – Book that reminds you of someone
Day8 – Book that reminds you on a certain place
Day9 – The first book you ever read
Day10 – Book from your favourite author
Day11 – Book you once loved and now hate
Day12 – Book that a friend recommended
Day13 – Book that makes you laugh
Day14 – Book from your childhood
Day15 – 4. book from the left on your shelf
Day16 – 9. book from the right on your shelf
Day17 – Close your eyes and get any book from your shelf
Day19 – Book, that you ever wanted to read
Day20 – Book that you read at school
Day21 – most stupid book you read at school
Day22 – Book on your shelf with the most pages
Day23 – Book on your shelf with the least pages
Day24 – Book where nobody would expect you read/loved it
Day25 – A book where the main character is almost like you
Day26 – Book you would read to your children
Day27 – A book where the main character is your idol
Day28 – Thanks God this book was made into a movie
Day29 – Darn, why did they make this book into a movie?
Day30 – First erotic book you ever read
Day31 – Book series you are collecting

31 Days – 31 Books (day 17): Washington DC edition

Day17 – Close your eyes and get any book from your shelf

Well, I had intended to do this before I left today, but I was running too late. So now I’m at a hotel bar with mom and free (but slow) wifi and no books to randomly grab. I’m having a Potomac Lemonade specialty drink at the hotel starring Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum) which is pretty tasty, and spinach artichoke dip which is downright evil it is so good.

OK, doing something slightly different. Mom’s given me a random letter, W. So that makes me think of Scott Westerfield (I think I have that name right) and his Uglies series. I’ve actually loaned the first three books to Rachel and Amy, but I still have book 4 to read (Extras, IIRC) and it is on my bookshelf.

The rest of the 31 days:

Day1 – Book you are reading right now
Day2 – The book you want to read next
Day3 – Your favourite Book
Day4 – Book you hate
Day5 – A Book you can read again and again
Day6 – A book you can only read once (no matter you love or hate it)
Day7 – Book that reminds you of someone
Day8 – Book that reminds you on a certain place
Day9 – The first book you ever read
Day10 – Book from your favourite author
Day11 – Book you once loved and now hate
Day12 – Book that a friend recommended
Day13 – Book that makes you laugh
Day14 – Book from your childhood
Day15 – 4. book from the left on your shelf

31 Days – 31 Books (day 16)

Day16 – 9. book from the right on your shelf

Again with the singular shelf… Anyhoo, I’ll do a similar thing to what I did yesterday. I don’t actually have 9 sets of shelves in my library, but I’ll go around the circle starting from the same point. Likewise with the number of shelves in a set. Then the 9th book to the right. BRB!

*Time passes*

Wound up in the Oversized Book Area (yes, my library has sections like a proper library. Guess I always wanted to be a librarian). And the 9th book from the right was (Um, Linus, you’re sitting on the book whose title I’m trying to read!) DK’s Illustrated Dictionary of Mythology by Philip Wilkinson. Sadly, I haven’t actually read this book. However, I have looked at the photos before and read an entry or two. It’s a thin enough volume that I could read the sucker from cover to cover. I have a small but varied selection of mythology books in my library. Mythology is nifty. 🙂

The rest of the 31 days:

Day1 – Book you are reading right now
Day2 – The book you want to read next
Day3 – Your favourite Book
Day4 – Book you hate
Day5 – A Book you can read again and again
Day6 – A book you can only read once (no matter you love or hate it)
Day7 – Book that reminds you of someone
Day8 – Book that reminds you on a certain place
Day9 – The first book you ever read
Day10 – Book from your favourite author
Day11 – Book you once loved and now hate
Day12 – Book that a friend recommended
Day13 – Book that makes you laugh
Day14 – Book from your childhood
Day15 – 4. book from the left on your shelf
Day17 – Close your eyes and get any book from your shelf
Day18 – Book with the most beautiful cover
Day19 – Book, that you ever wanted to read
Day20 – Book that you read at school
Day21 – most stupid book you read at school
Day22 – Book on your shelf with the most pages
Day23 – Book on your shelf with the least pages
Day24 – Book where nobody would expect you read/loved it
Day25 – A book where the main character is almost like you
Day26 – Book you would read to your children
Day27 – A book where the main character is your idol
Day28 – Thanks God this book was made into a movie
Day29 – Darn, why did they make this book into a movie?
Day30 – First erotic book you ever read
Day31 – Book series you are collecting

31 Days – 31 Books (day 15)

Wow – my seniors took their physics final exam today. Hard to believe the year is almost over! Tomorrow is the Awards Ceremony (I think I have all of the certificates done!) and Friday is graduation practice. They graduate on Sunday. Amazing.

Day15 – 4. book from the left on your shelf

Shelf – singular? To hold all of my books, that would be one long shelf! I’ve got floor to ceiling bookshelves in my library! I checked alryssa‘s entry to see how she handled this (like me, she has many shelves) and she opted to pick 4th book from the left from each shelf. I think I’ll try 4th set of shelves, 4th shelf, 4th book all from the left and just stick to my library. Hmmm, I’m interested to know myself which book this is. (Hopefully, I’ll pick the correct left!)

*time passes*

Heh – once I got into my library, I wasn’t sure which set of shelves to start counting with. And if I should count shelves with no books as a shelf to count from. In the end I wound up with The Gryphon by Nick Bantock. “In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin & Sabine Is Rediscovered.” I must admit, Bantock’s Griffin & Sabine books are beautiful to look at and fun to read, but honestly, totally forgettable. I really don’t remember them, and I know I’ve read books 1-3 twice (but this one only once, thus far). (To me, that’s worse than being a bad book – being forgettable.)

The rest of the 31 days:

Day1 – Book you are reading right now
Day2 – The book you want to read next
Day3 – Your favourite Book
Day4 – Book you hate
Day5 – A Book you can read again and again
Day6 – A book you can only read once (no matter you love or hate it)
Day7 – Book that reminds you of someone
Day8 – Book that reminds you on a certain place
Day9 – The first book you ever read
Day10 – Book from your favourite author
Day11 – Book you once loved and now hate
Day12 – Book that a friend recommended
Day13 – Book that makes you laugh
Day14 – Book from your childhood
Day16 – 9. book from the right on your shelf
Day17 – Close your eyes and get any book from your shelf
Day18 – Book with the most beautiful cover
Day19 – Book, that you ever wanted to read
Day20 – Book that you read at school
Day21 – most stupid book you read at school
Day22 – Book on your shelf with the most pages
Day23 – Book on your shelf with the least pages
Day24 – Book where nobody would expect you read/loved it
Day25 – A book where the main character is almost like you
Day26 – Book you would read to your children
Day27 – A book where the main character is your idol
Day28 – Thanks God this book was made into a movie
Day29 – Darn, why did they make this book into a movie?
Day30 – First erotic book you ever read
Day31 – Book series you are collecting

31 Days – 31 Books (day 14)

Day14 – Book from your childhood

Since I have loved most of the books that I read (or had read to me) from my childhood, I decided I’d mix it up a bit and pick a book from my childhood that I dislike. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams.

See, for me, it was never a story about a toy rabbit that becomes real. No, it was the story of a child who lost his favorite toy due to illness. And I was always afraid I’d get sick and Teeny Tiny Teddy, my most favorite teddy bear (a gift to me on the Christmas the week before I was born) would be taken from me and I’d never see him again. (And what would Teeny do as a real bear? Surely he’d not be 41 years old and still pootling about these days.)

Anyhoo, I never did get sick like the boy in the story and Teeny and I have been firm friends ever since. He used to travel everywhere with me (to college & back, to Chicago, London, etc.) but now he’s retired from travel and stays on the pillow next to mine in bed.

The rest of the 31 days:

Day1 – Book you are reading right now
Day2 – The book you want to read next
Day3 – Your favourite Book
Day4 – Book you hate
Day5 – A Book you can read again and again
Day6 – A book you can only read once (no matter you love or hate it)
Day7 – Book that reminds you of someone
Day8 – Book that reminds you on a certain place
Day9 – The first book you ever read
Day10 – Book from your favourite author
Day11 – Book you once loved and now hate
Day12 – Book that a friend recommended
Day13 – Book that makes you laugh
Day15 – 4. book from the left on your shelf
Day16 – 9. book from the right on your shelf
Day17 – Close your eyes and get any book from your shelf
Day18 – Book with the most beautiful cover
Day19 – Book, that you ever wanted to read
Day20 – Book that you read at school
Day21 – most stupid book you read at school
Day22 – Book on your shelf with the most pages
Day23 – Book on your shelf with the least pages
Day24 – Book where nobody would expect you read/loved it
Day25 – A book where the main character is almost like you
Day26 – Book you would read to your children
Day27 – A book where the main character is your idol
Day28 – Thanks God this book was made into a movie
Day29 – Darn, why did they make this book into a movie?
Day30 – First erotic book you ever read
Day31 – Book series you are collecting

31 Days – 31 Books (days 12 & 13): Mother’s Day Edition

(Got back from playing cards after midnight last night, so missed a second day in my meme. Whoops!)

Happy Mother’s Day! I took mom (and dad) out to a Mother’s Day Brunch at the Crystal Room today. They had a few teething troubles at the brunch and we had a waitress with bad karma, but other than that, it was a lovely time with my mom (and dad). I think she was supposed to get a carnation, too, but that was one of the teething troubles they were having. No matter, I had brought some lilac flowers in a glass for her this morning. Thank you mom for borning us!

Day12 – Book that a friend recommended

The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Larsson. My sister was reading the Millennium Trilogy long before the rest of the country was reading it. She bought the first book for dad for Christmas, and it wasn’t long before the entire family was reading the series. As I mentioned in an earlier post in this meme, I read much of books 1 & 2 while on our cruise.

Day13 – Book that makes you laugh

Oh, there are many that do this. I have no reservations about laughing out loud while reading, even if I’m alone at a restaurant. But probably the book that has made me laugh out loud the most was Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. I read a lot of it in bed, and remember slapping the bed often while howling in laughter. I suspect the kitties were traumatized by the laughter (but they must have gotten over it since they still sleep with me in bed).

The rest of the 31 days:

Day1 – Book you are reading right now
Day2 – The book you want to read next
Day3 – Your favourite Book
Day4 – Book you hate
Day5 – A Book you can read again and again
Day6 – A book you can only read once (no matter you love or hate it)
Day7 – Book that reminds you of someone
Day8 – Book that reminds you on a certain place
Day9 – The first book you ever read
Day10 – Book from your favourite author
Day11 – Book you once loved and now hate
Day14 – Book from your childhood
Day15 – 4. book from the left on your shelf
Day16 – 9. book from the right on your shelf
Day17 – Close your eyes and get any book from your shelf
Day18 – Book with the most beautiful cover
Day19 – Book, that you ever wanted to read
Day20 – Book that you read at school
Day21 – most stupid book you read at school
Day22 – Book on your shelf with the most pages
Day23 – Book on your shelf with the least pages
Day24 – Book where nobody would expect you read/loved it
Day25 – A book where the main character is almost like you
Day26 – Book you would read to your children
Day27 – A book where the main character is your idol
Day28 – Thanks God this book was made into a movie
Day29 – Darn, why did they make this book into a movie?
Day30 – First erotic book you ever read
Day31 – Book series you are collecting

31 Days – 31 Books (day 11)

Day11 – Book you once loved and now hate

Hate is too strong a word, but when I was much younger, I loved the Companions of Doctor Who book Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma by Tony Attwood. And then as a young adult, I tried to reread it… OMG, why didn’t my younger self realize how badly written that book was?

The rest of the 31 days:

Day1 – Book you are reading right now
Day2 – The book you want to read next
Day3 – Your favourite Book
Day4 – Book you hate
Day5 – A Book you can read again and again
Day6 – A book you can only read once (no matter you love or hate it)
Day7 – Book that reminds you of someone
Day8 – Book that reminds you on a certain place
Day9 – The first book you ever read
Day10 – Book from your favourite author
Day12 – Book that a friend recommended
Day13 – Book that makes you laugh
Day14 – Book from your childhood
Day15 – 4. book from the left on your shelf
Day16 – 9. book from the right on your shelf
Day17 – Close your eyes and get any book from your shelf
Day18 – Book with the most beautiful cover
Day19 – Book, that you ever wanted to read
Day20 – Book that you read at school
Day21 – most stupid book you read at school
Day22 – Book on your shelf with the most pages
Day23 – Book on your shelf with the least pages
Day24 – Book where nobody would expect you read/loved it
Day25 – A book where the main character is almost like you
Day26 – Book you would read to your children
Day27 – A book where the main character is your idol
Day28 – Thanks God this book was made into a movie
Day29 – Darn, why did they make this book into a movie?
Day30 – First erotic book you ever read
Day31 – Book series you are collecting

31 Days – 31 Books (day 10)

Day10 – Book from your favourite author

You’ve probably guessed that Roald Dahl is my favorite author (I think I mentioned it outright earlier). So I’ll mention James and the Giant Peach as a book from my favorite author. It’s not my favorite (that one is also already mentioned), but it’s a wonderful story (like so many others of his). When my sister was having some… troubling times due to… a couple of women who sort of resembled Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker, I tried to help cheer her up by reading from James and the Giant Peach. It was a wonderfully cathartic thing for both of us. 🙂

The illustrations by Nancy Ekholm Burkert from the book are probably my favorite of all of Dahl’s books. Simply beautiful. I enjoy Quentin Blake and associate his art with Dahl, but the original artwork for James, Charlie 1 & 2, and Fantastic Mr. Fox are the Right and Proper illustrations for those books. Accept no substitute, even if it is Blake!

The rest of the 31 days:

Day1 – Book you are reading right now
Day2 – The book you want to read next
Day3 – Your favourite Book
Day4 – Book you hate
Day5 – A Book you can read again and again
Day6 – A book you can only read once (no matter you love or hate it)
Day7 – Book that reminds you of someone
Day8 – Book that reminds you on a certain place
Day9 – The first book you ever read
Day11 – Book you once loved and now hate
Day12 – Book that a friend recommended
Day13 – Book that makes you laugh
Day14 – Book from your childhood
Day15 – 4. book from the left on your shelf
Day16 – 9. book from the right on your shelf
Day17 – Close your eyes and get any book from your shelf
Day18 – Book with the most beautiful cover
Day19 – Book, that you ever wanted to read
Day20 – Book that you read at school
Day21 – most stupid book you read at school
Day22 – Book on your shelf with the most pages
Day23 – Book on your shelf with the least pages
Day24 – Book where nobody would expect you read/loved it
Day25 – A book where the main character is almost like you
Day26 – Book you would read to your children
Day27 – A book where the main character is your idol
Day28 – Thanks God this book was made into a movie
Day29 – Darn, why did they make this book into a movie?
Day30 – First erotic book you ever read
Day31 – Book series you are collecting