Showing posts with label book group. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book group. Show all posts

Friday, September 18, 2009

Book Meme from Cami

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack? Sometimes. Chips, popcorn, sometimes fruit. Nothing sticky or messy. But usually it's too annoying to try to eat and read at the same time

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you? It horrifies me. Books are meant to be pristine, pure volumes that don't get messed up by the readers but are left in a condition that others can also read them without having to deal with the previous reader's opinions.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Bookmarks. Sometims I use the flaps of the dust covers. I never dog-ear. Sacrilige!

Laying the book flat open? My books don't stay open unless I hold them. Not sure why.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both? I read both, mostly fiction, and of that, mostly of the science variety.

Hard copy or audiobooks? both. Hard copy (i.e. actual books) the majority of the time, but I do like audiobooks for trips.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point? End of chapters, or if there's a break between paragraphs, or it's a good stopping place. I can't just put it down whenever or it takes too long for me to get back into it.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away? Nope. Like Cami, I do context.

What are you currently reading? Heir to Sevenwaters by Julliet Marillier.

What is the last book you bought? If I recall correctly, it was the Anthony and Cleopatra one by Colleen McCullough

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time? I've read up to 5 books at a time before, but anymore I find I just get confused about what I've read where. So I try to stick to just one at a time.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read? I tend to read just before going to sleep, but I have been known to read on the couch, at the table, outside, at the beach... wherever I can properly lay down.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books? I like both, but if a series is more than 3 books long I don't want to start it because it will take too long to finish it.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over? The Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher. I just love wizards named Harry.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?) by genre first and author's last name second. Except for my Star Wars books. They are organized by chronology. But my physics books are organized by size (the big books to one side, the little books to the other). so I guess it really varies within the genre. The genre's are not alphabetical, more like each genre has a particular place in my house.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Horrific week

The first week of any given month tends to be really busy for me. This past week was no different, but for some reason seemed to be worse than usual. Could it have been the lack of sleep?

I had something every night, almost, last week. I tend to get stressed out easily if I don't have some 'home' time, and by Wednesday I was starting to get a little depressed. Lack of sleep was mostly due to trying to finish the book for Thursday's book club meeting, which I really figured I should do, since I had picked the book, and was supposed to host the meeting ("Galileo's Daughter" by Dava Sobel--very good, btw).

Monday was Family Home Evening at a friend's house--a Single Adult activity for my ward. It was fun, as always. These friends have four girls ranging from almost 8 to less than 1, and it's so funny to see them try to out-do one another. Even the littleist was happy to have me hold her by the end of the evening (not something she normally does).

Tuesday night was the Single Adult Stake Committee Meeting, for which I met up with my co-chairperson beforehand to try to figure out what types of things we should be doing. Both I felt were productive meetings, but again, gone all evening and much reading to do. And I had to watch the last hour of Biggest Loser (not too surprised about Jackie).

Wednesday night I went out to DSW shoe warehouse--my good black shoes have started leaking, so I needed new ones. Didn't find them, but I did manage to find a new pair of exercise shoes, which was also on the list. After which I went to the grocery store to buy the stuff for Thursday night. Of course, before all this shopping I recieved a request to switch the venue for the book club--her babysitter had backed out at the last moment. I wasn't happy about it, but I did remind myself that people are more important than things, and it really wasn't *that* much of an inconvenience to pack up all the snackies and cart them over to her house. If so, it would be my own fault for trying to do too much. By this time the lack of sleep had started to affect me--I was getting depressed and more than a little "I have no friends!/no one understands me!"

Thursday was the aforementioned Book Club meeting. After my Chiropractor appt which I hadn't thought was a problem to schedule that evening but since it was one more thing on the to-do list it really didn't help matters. Got to book club ok, though, early so I could set out the yummies. The other women showed up, we discussed the book, and then, as usually happens, moved on to other topics. I sat there listening to them, more than a little tired. It took me more than a couple moments to figure out they were dissing Star Wars, and then they started talking about marital relationships. I tried to make a comment--I tried twice, actually--and when no one heard me, I decided it was time to leave. So I packed up my stuff and left. I tried to slip out quietly, but wasn't completely successful. So it was good it wasn't at my house, because I couldn't have just kicked them out, that would have been rude (but was what I did any less rude? not sure). I've decided I really don't need to participate in this club anymore. All the women that come are about 10 years younger than me, they all are married and have children, and I have nothing, really, in common with them, other than church. I've had it with the potty-training stories, and any story I may share is really second-hand, so they don't care. I really believe I have more in common with their husbands, since most of their husbands like science fiction and have to work and stuff like that, but I can't just go hang out with their husbands. That would not be 'avoiding the appearance of evil', which is a whole other topic I don't want to go into right now.

Friday I had a little meltdown at work. Background information, my Grandpa is dying. We found out about two weeks ago that he's been sleeping his life away. Apparently, after leading a long full life, his body is too strong to just let him go, so he's sleeping himself into oblivion. Don't feel to bad, though, he is in his 90's, and it was a long, full life. My Grandma passed away in 2003, so he really has no reason to stay here. The hardest part is that it's taking so long. The waiting is really awful. Since we hadn't heard anything for about two weeks, I had convinced myself that he had passed away and no one had told me (and yes, that has happened to me before, when one of my uncles passed away and I found out about a month later). So I freaked out, but then I said a little prayer and sent an email to my family to see if they had heard anything. They hadn't, and they were getting a little worried as well. I called my Aunt after I got home from work, and she reassured me that he was still among the living. My Dad also called me on Sunday to reassure me that he would definitely let me know. (You see, I really do have good reasons for my fears--I have them because I have experienced them). I did get to stay home Friday night, but stayed up way too late catching up on the shows I had recorded all week long.

Saturday was very, very long. Individually all the activities were good, but since they were all on the same day... It started at 8:00 am with a world-wide Church Leadership broadcast. I had previously scheduled an RPG session with some friends, or I could have gone to the later one at 2:00pm. I had time between the broadcast and RPG so I went to Payless and bought two pairs of shoes that I think are the end of my shoe-shopping quest. yay. RPG was good, except that our group of adventurers managed to get our cleric killed yet again. We keep losing our clerics. Not good. Then it was time to go home for a little nap and get ready for the potluck/Single Adult committee meeting for the upcoming SA Conference in June/dance/party. It was a good thing my freind and I carpooled, because I was so tired and cranky I probably would have left much earlier, or not gone at all. They had a live band, and it was really fun, but I was so tired...

Sunday was again up early for a church meeting at 7:00 AM, brief choir practice at 8:30 am (we were performing) church at 9:00am (three hours long, I was going to leave early but my friend needed a ride home from choir practice. Her husband promised me dinner so I agreed). I got to hold another friend's baby, too, so it's all good. I was thinking, though, that there are weeks that go by and I have no human contact at all--no hugs or touch or anything like that. If it's true that we need 5 hugs per day just to survive, then I'm not surviving. Maybe my cat helps with that. Holding babies definitely does. So I did stay for choir after church, took my friend home, had dinner with her and her husband, whose meeting was cancelled (the reason why he couldn't take his wife home), then went home and slept and slept and slept. Padme Kitty kept trying to wake me up, but wasn't successful. I caught up on more tv shows, really just the ones from Saturday night, managed to be awake when my Dad called at 9:45pm (it was only 6:45pm for him), and then went blessedly to bed.

I do feel much better today. And I've lost over 5 lbs since I started Weight Watchers in January. Yay for me! I have far less to do this week, so I should be good. And no more reading past midnight!!

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

More on Meyer

So last week book club was all about Eclipse. I mentioned this article: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20049578,00.html
(Sorry, Cami, she states that she really is writing for 12-year-old girls)
I've been passing along to my sisters and to my star wars email group that they should try reading this series (always passing along that mothers should read before daughters do).

I still feel that Eclipse wasn't as good as Twilight. Bella annoyed me, the triangle annoyed me, and I really hated that I found the pattern of the books:
1) Bella moping around feeling miserable and hating herself for 3/4 of the book
2) Mad excitement running around the country or to another country or even out in the country trying to save Bella from being eaten. (oddly enough this part always brings me back into the book--I really do like my excitement)
Twilight kept my interest, New Moon did a pretty good job, but Eclipse? Well, it was ok. I'm kinda thinking both Jacob and Edward can do better...

My sister Beckie has now read the entire set three times. I think she likes it almost as much as Harry Potter (she read OotP so many times she had to buy a new book because the old one fell apart--literally and without help from her children).

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

One more about the book...

I know, I should really leave this alone. but I just CAN'T!! At least my sister's reading the infamous teenage vampire series, I would really love to know what she thinks. I leant her Twilight, then found out last night she had to run out and buy the next two :D

There may be spoilers here, but I think everyone that reads my blog also has read the book (I think I'm woefully behind)

I was considering some of the comments that were posted after my last Eclipse post (and no, I haven't finished the book nor gotten to *that* part yet), and it sounds like a lot of people think that the Edward/Bella relationship is the most perfect ideal one there could be--so very romantic. I'm going to disagree. I know I'm in the minority, but I think Jacob is much better for her. Edward is so busy taking care of her and trying to protect her--even from himself--that he doesn't seem to see her as a true person. Her ability to block him from her mind intrigues him, yes, and the smell of her blood intoxicates him, but is that love? Her complete collapse after he left in book 2 seems more like an obsession rather than love to me. I personally wouldn't want someone protecting me from life and from death.

On the other hand, Jacob protects her, tries to keep her from hurting herself, but allows her to be who she is. She's happy, really happy, not obsessed when she's with him. He tells her everything she needs to know to keep herself safe, and is there to help. He is much more empowering to her, allowing her to make her own decisions yet be there for her. Also, his world doesn't revolve around her--he has his own life and interests.

Maybe, just maybe, this is the author's point (keeping in mind that I haven't read the last book yet so I don't know if this is the end of a trilogy or the start of a series). She keeps Bella out of trouble, but will someday help her to see that Edward truly isn't good for her. Jacob, while possessing an inhuman part, is far more human, far more good. Or maybe Bella just likes the bad boys, the way so many women do.

Course, this is just my perspective. I couldn't see the love story in "The Time Traveler's Wife" either. But for me, if I were in Bella's situation, I would have to choose Jacob.

Friday, February 23, 2007

First post

Thought I'd see what all the fuss is about. I have some friends over here, so I thought maybe I'd try setting up a blog here as well. I do have a Live Journal account http://julia0925.livejournal.com/ which goes back several years. Feel free to check it out :)

Today I'm kinda sad. It's my supervisor's last day--he got a job in Colorado and is moving out there next week. Actually, it's been a sad two months, since it's been that long since he told us he was leaving. Now my team of 2 is down to 1. Not really--Ray will be picking up most of Mike's work by virtue of my refusal to take Mike's job. And there's TJ, but I'm still not sure how he fits in. But I will miss Mike. He knows so much; I could have learned a lot from him. I'll learn things from Ray too, but not the same things. And we won't have anyone to throw things at us from across the room (Mike likes to throw frisbees and foam bricks at people). It's going to be quite boring...

Went Visiting Teaching last night, and got to hold Cynthia's baby (William is only 2 weeks old). He's so sweet. I just love babies :)

Finished reading "A Separate Peace" along with others in my book group. they liked it, I really didn't. Didn't like it the first time I read it in high school, not too impressed with it now. Gene is a creep. Phineas was a sweet boy, and Gene just couldn't handle it. Creep.

Course I think Mike is a creep for leaving, too. Maybe it's just the mood I'm in? Hoping others out there have a great weekend