Sunday, September 28, 2008

The Sunday Salon - 28 September 2008

Hello, fellow Saloners! This hasn't been the most productive week for me, reading-wise, and I'm pretty sure today won't be much different. I'm terribly far behind in my grading, and my goal for the day is to get caught up with all my school stuff. I have to give my principal an updated list of my failing students, which means I have to go through a mountainous pile of tests, quizzes, short stories, and daily work that has been patiently waiting for my attention for the past two weeks. Yikes. After I finish grading, I may get some pleasure reading done - we'll see.

I do have some updates from my last Weekly Geeks post, though (I'm not participating in this week's theme, because I haven't really read any books from 2008, sadly). First, my TBR/Currently Reading pile:
Sadly, some of these books have been sitting by my bed for months. I plan on really digging in during the 24 Hour Read-a-Thon, which I am FINALLY able to participate in.

Next, my "Free Books!" box that I will be dropping off at Curves tomorrow evening:
All of these books are registered on BookCrossing and a lot of them are also part of the 2008 Movie/TV Books Release Challenge.

And now, my newest Ravelry project:
In case you can't tell, it's a star-shaped afghan. I started it as a gift for a coworker, but she's already gone on maternity leave and it's nowhere near finished, so who knows who will actually get it. It's my first time using this pattern, so it's not exactly perfect, but I think it's cute.

Lastly: this isn't actually a project of mine, but I thought it was interesting - Book-spines turned into stories (found on BoingBoing).

Have a great Sunday, and Happy Reading!

Weekly Geeks #18.2

Last week's WG theme was "catching up." I came up with five things I wanted to accomplish, and I finished 2 1/2 of them:

1. Update my Books Read in 2008 list. Done!
2. Write a review of Breakfast at Tiffany's for the 1% Well-Read Challenge. Done!
3. Set up a Book Crossing box at Curves (which I joined this week - it feels so good to work out again!). Sort of finished - they gave me permission to put a book box in there, I just have to pick the books I want to give away and actually take it up there. Will probably be finished Monday.
4. Finish The Last Temptation of Christ and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, both of which are AMAZING but keep getting put aside for (yarg) school work.
5. Update my profiles on Good Reads, LibraryThing, BookCrossing, BookMooch, and Ravelry.

I still want to complete #4 and #5; it may just take me a bit longer.

So, how did y'all do? Did anyone reach their goal?

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Booking Through Thursday: Well, That Was Different!

Today's question(s):
What was the most unusual (for you) book you ever read? Either because the book itself was completely from out in left field somewhere, or was a genre you never read, or was the only book available on a long flight… whatever? What (not counting school textbooks, though literature read for classes counts) was furthest outside your usual comfort zone/familiar territory?

And, did you like it? Did it stretch your boundaries? Did you shut it with a shudder the instant you were done? Did it make you think? Have nightmares? Kick off a new obsession?

For me, that book was definitely Op Center: State of Seize, by Tom Clancy. I am not a fan of formulaic action-adventure books, but this one was a Book Crossing book that I found in the wild and picked up on a whim. I ended up being between books one day and grabbed it to have something to read on my lunch break at work. I got through it pretty quickly (it was fast-paced and an easy read), but I don't think I'll be reading any more. I just didn't really care about the characters - Clancy seemed to take it for granted that I had read his previous books and would be familiar with the huge cast, which was not the case. The story also shifted around several times; there were multiple p.o.v.s and settings, which I found confusing. So, I did make it through that one, but it did not turn me into a Clancy-convert.

But you don't have to take my word for it. Visit Booking Through Thursday for more opinions.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

The Sunday Salon/1% Well-Read Challenge: Breakfast at Tiffany's

Good morning, fellow Saloners! This is the first time in a LONG time that I've actually been able to sit down, write a TSS post, and get some reading done on a Sunday. Right now, I'm working my way through The Once and Future King (I read it at school, during the required 20-minute "Sustained Silent Reading" period), The Last Temptation of Christ, by Nikolas Kazantzakis, and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Diaz (both of those are for challenges I'm woefully behind on).

I've managed to read a TON of books; unfortunately, they're mostly YA drivel (Fear Street, I'm looking in your direction). At last count, I've read over 100 books this year, but the majority of them really only count as half a book because they're so short and don't require much thought.

1% Well-Read Challenge: Breakfast at Tiffany's

Title: Breakfast at Tiffany's
Author: Truman Capote
Genre: Fiction
Published: 1958
Pages: 192
Rating: 9 / 10

This week, I read (in addition to a plethora of the aforementioned Fear Street) Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote for the 1% Well-Read Challenge. This novella is amazing! It wasn't originally on my list, but Play's With Needles' wonderful review piqued my interest, and then I found a copy for TWENTY-FIVE CENTS at the library book sale, so it seemed like someone was telling me to read it. Plus, I LOVE the movie - I was obsessed with Audrey growing up.

You probably know the story: the narrator (called "Fred" by Holly, because he reminds her of her brother) moves to NYC and becomes enamored of his neighbor, Holly Golightly. She is an intriguing character: selfish and irresponsible, yet you can't help but love her. You would think her naivete and stream-of-conscious ramblings would be grating, but I found her completely charming. The fact that I was picturing her as Audrey Hepburn (although in the book, she's a blonde) probably added to this.

It's a very short, very fast read (which was good for me, as I'm behind in my challenges and needed a quick way to catch up). There were two passages that I particularly liked, because I thought they really highlighted Holly's independence:
She was still hugging the cat. "Poor slob," she said, tickling his head, "poor slob without a name. It's a little inconvenient, his not having a name. But I haven't got any right to give him one: he'll have to wait until he belongs to somebody. We just sort of took up by the river one day, we don't belong to each other: he's an independent, and so am I. I don't want to own anything until I know I've found the place where me and things belong together. I'm not quite sure where that is just yet."
The tragedy is, (*spoiler alert*) she gets rid of the cat when she leaves New York, and then realizes that she really does care about it and wants to keep it around. By then, of course, the cat has disappeared.
My other favorite passage:
"Never love a wild thing, Mr. Bell," Holly advised him. "That was Doc's mistake. He was always lugging home wild things. A hawk with a hurt wing. One time it was a full-grown bobcat with a broken leg. But you can't give your heart to a wild thing; the more you do, the stronger they get. Until they're strong enough to run into the woods. Or fly into a tree. Then a taller tree. Then the sky. That's how you'll end up, Mr. Bell. If you let yourself love a wild thing. You'll end up looking at the sky."
She's talking about herself, too, here; "Doc" is her older husband, the one she abandoned when she left for L.A. and then New York. I like this passage for personal reasons, I'll admit. My dad wrote an editorial about me using the "wild animal" metaphor once, so seeing it here really spoke to me.

All in all, it's a wonderful little book. If anything, I wish it were longer. And now I really want to dig out my copy of the movie...

Up next: The Last Temptation of Christ

Other reviews: Plays With Needles

If you've reviewed it as well, leave a comment and I'll link to it.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Weekly Geeks #18.1

This week's WG theme is catching up, which is perfect for me! My roommate and I finally got internet (and cable) at our apartment, so now I can get caught up on all the goings-on in cyberspace.

My WG to-do list is:

1. Update my Books Read in 2008 list. Done!
2. Write a review of Breakfast at Tiffany's for the 1% Well-Read Challenge. Done!
3. Set up a Book Crossing box at Curves (which I joined this week - it feels so good to work out again!). Sort of finished - they gave me permission to put a book box in there, I just have to pick the books I want to give away and actually take it up there. Will probably be finished Monday.
4. Finish The Last Temptation of Christ and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, both of which are AMAZING but keep getting put aside for (yarg) school work.
5. Update my profiles on Good Reads, LibraryThing, BookCrossing, BookMooch, and Ravelry.

Check back in on Friday to see if I reach my goals!

Monday, September 15, 2008

Weekly Geeks #17.3



Today's quote:

"The English have no respect for their language, and will not teach their children to speak it." - Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw (Preface)
I like to think of GBS and his views on the English language whenever I get ready to grade essays.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Weekly Geeks #17.2



Today's quote:

"You know it makes one feel rather good deciding not to be a bitch."
"Yes."
"It's sort of what we have instead of God." - The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway
Every time I reread that book, I like Lady Brett Ashley a little bit more.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Weekly Geeks #17.1

I have been woefully AWOL from the blog for a few weeks now; I blame my busy teaching schedule and the fact that my roommate and I still haven't managed to get cable and internet hooked up at the apartment. Oh, well. I'm dog- and house-sitting this weekend, which gave me a chance to check out the ol' Google Reader (over 1,000 unread items!) and see what Dewey had cooked up for this week's WG.
This week’s activity is: A Quote a Day.
Which is great for me, because I just have to find seven quotes and set up Blogger's auto-post function. Voila!: I feel like a contributing member of book blogging society once more. :)

For my first quote, I went with an old favorite:
"Men of sense, whatever you may chuse to say, do not want silly wives." - Emma, Jane Austen (Volume 1, Chapter 8)
If only, Mr. Knightley, if only...

Tune in tomorrow to see another nugget of wisdom - and to find out if auto-posting works!