December 2008

2008 in Books

2 Comments / 2008, Books in Bed /

Even if I had the time to do a full year in review, I wouldn’t. I don’t think I could bring myself to look back or think back. I lived it once, I don’t particularly want to relive it, ya know? The year in books, though, that’s something else entirely.

* I read a total of 137 books. (I was hoping I’d finish one more before the day was over but I’m tired so I don’t think that will happen, if it does – I’ll strike out in the morning.)

* 18 non-fiction (ouch, how did that happen?), 50 YA (wow, I thought it was more!), 27 queer.

* I added 54 to my “favorites” tag and 8 to my “don’t read this” tag.

* 13 ere sequels to other books I’d read.

* I finished both the Printz Award Challenge and the From the Stacks Challenge. Yay me. Yay challenges. Yay I’m doing two just like this for 2009.

I think I need to add an “audiobooks” tag for next year, I don’t know why I haven’t added it before. Weird and kind of dumb.

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Websterisms

2008, Books in Bed, Non-Fiction /

I plucked Websterisms off of the “just back” shelf mostly because I thought TW would like it. She’s a big fan of the Webster. But, she turned up her nose at it. Weird.

I thought it would be a quick read during the crazy days leading up to Christmas so I put it on my nightstand ahead of some of the other novels waiting for me. It wasn’t a quick read, not in the beginning, but it was pretty interesting.

Once I got to the actual “dictionary”, I skimmed. Flipped the pages and read the definitions that popped out at me. Read the sidebar notes, stuff like that. This is the kind of book you just want sitting on your shelf so you can pick it up and choose a word just when you want to choose a word. Reading dictionaries all the way through is too much dictionary for me.

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Snow is bad

2 Comments / Christmas, Family Funk, Kid Talk /

After the kids decorated their cookies, they put on their cold weather gear and went outside to make a snowman… or something. It was blissfully quiet in the house for about five minutes…

Then Michelle came in, because she was freezing. TW gave her gloves that had holes in them and the snow isn’t good for snowmen and there was a fight and those little kids are rabid.

Liz comes in next, crying because JOSEPH is EVIL.

Chris came in next and informed us he lost his shoe in the snow and ran around in his sock until RJ found his shoe.

RJ and Prince J came in… smiling…

Which leads me to believe they are the two heartiest of our children and will survive world war III if it occurs. The other three, wimps – all of ’em. (Not that you saw ME out there in that cold, wet, white stuff. I hate it out there.)

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Let It Snow

1 Comment / 2008, Books in Bed, Fiction, Young Adult /

OK, sassymonkey was right. I had to read Let It Snow and not because John Green and Lauren Myracle are two of the writers. I had to read it because there’s nothing better than Waffle House, cheerleaders and a LOT of snow. OK that snow thing, I could do without that and would love a Florida version of this holiday book. You hear that Green, Myracle and Johnson – get right on that. kthnxbai.

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Loose Girl

2008, Books in Bed, Non-Fiction, Women /

I don’t have much to say about Loose Girl. It was depressing. It reminded me of another book I read and can’t remember the name of. Same sort of thing – girl gets addicted to X, almost destroys her life, gets her life back on track – also an memoir.

That’s probably all I have to say – except that it’s too bad there are so damn many of these kinds of memoirs written by women. Is there a male equivalent memoir? If there is, could someone give me the name of the book, please.

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I have the day off…

1 Comment / Daily Dose, Day to Day /

I have tomorrow off. It’s a vacation day. I have a very long list of things that I must get done. I usually post my to do lists some place more private. But tonight, I thought I’d post them here. It’s been awhile since I shared my list weirdness with the worls.

1) Untangle the extension cord from the snow thrower.
2) Drive to the Navy base for food, gas, and stuff (must get AAs!)
3) Wrap gifts.
4) Box gifts.
5) Go to post office and mail gifts (and pick up our mail since the mailman and construction workers are conspiring to keep our mail from being delivered.)
6) Work on futures. A lot of futures.
7) Some contracts.
8) A podcast and a transcript.
9) Laundry. (TW did it!)
10) Finish cleaning the kitchen. Yes I’ve put this off all week and now it must be done – completely. (TW did it!)
11) Sweep, mop, dust.
12) Pre-blog, pre-blog, pre-blog and pre-blog again. (If I don’t pre-blog, I can’t get my BlogHer assignments done. Maybe you’ve noticed that?)
13) Rent a truck.
14) Consider renting a car.
15) Call my father. I MUST CALL MY FATHER. (He’s not blind, which is good. Crazy, but not blind.)
16) Find someplace to put the boxes the Christmas decorations were in before they drive me more insane than I already am.
17) Find the blow up air mattress.

Hmmm. Only 17 items. I thought I’d be closer to 25. I’m probably forgetting something. Yes, some of the things on the list are work related. I think I’d rather do them tomorrow, than do them over the weekend not that I don’t have work stuff to do over the weekend.

How many will I finish? How many of these things will never get done?

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Last year’s present, this year

5 Comments / Christmas, Family Funk /

I’ve been lusting after the inflatable Santa with flamingo reindeers forever. Last year, Bealls (Florida’s Department Store, wahhhhh) put them on sale. Seriously on sale. And TW surprised me by ordering one. Except she accidentally ordered two. I didn’t open either box. Christmas was finished, it made no sense to open the box(es) just to set it up AFTER Christmas.

When we moved to Illinois, we tossed both boxes onto the truck and I sort of forgot about them for awhile. As it got colder and colder and the snow got deeper and deeper, I started thinking more about those inflatable flamingos. I was really happy to carry one of the boxes into the house when I brought the rest of the Christmas decorations into the house over the weekend.

I thought we might get my flamingos inflated over the weekend, but we didn’t. I thought we might get them inflated yesterday, but another snowstorm hit so we didn’t.

Tonight, the little kids decorated the tree and the house and it was havoc. I hid in the back room for awhile because it was just too crazy and I really was trying to get a wee bit more work done. When I came out, TW had inflated last year’s gift on the front porch.

The Flamingo-Deer don't look pleased

I love it. Love it. Love it. Love it.

We need two more long extension cords so we can put them both on the front lawn, not the front porch.

TW always knows the perfect gift – and when to give it.

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