2013

Dog-Friendly Gardening

2013, Books in Bed, Non-Fiction /

An impulse pick from the library, Dog-Friendly Gardening: Creating a Safe Haven for You and Your Dog, I was expecting lots of cool garden plans and photos created especially for dogs. But, it was more like a bunch of garden photos that just happened to have dogs. Probably.

I guess some of the tips were good, but they seemed pretty obvious to me. The list of plants that are harmful to dogs (or appealing to dogs)  was nice but not surprising or unusual. Two photos in the back of the book, one of a ball pit for dogs and another of a digging pit, were good but it would have been cool to see real gardens and garden designs that incorporate them rather  than just a photo of them.

Ho hum.

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Black Water Rising

1 Comment / 2013, Books in Bed, Mystery /

After I read Attica Locke’s The Cutting Season I decided I should go back and read Black Water Rising – before the next “Jay Porter” book is released and I’m glad I did. I don’t read a lot of suspense/mystery stuff (TW was surprised when I pulled this out of the library book return bag because I haven’t read it), not because I don’t like them but because they are so often series and those series can seem sort of redundant. (I won’t read James Patterson because once you’ve read three, you’ve read them all – at least that’s how I feel about it.)

I liked this story – I liked Jay Porter. I liked the Houston setting. I’m not sure I liked the early ‘80s time period, particularly since there’s going to be another book (and more after that, maybe?)  Gas was $1.37 and expensive… Yes, I remember those days but it’s a nostalgia thing and causes me  to roll my eyes a little now,  (after paying $3.45 for gas yesterday.) 

I’ll probably give her next Jay Porter book a try but odds are  slim that I’ll keep reading if she keeps writing this particular series.

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Cleaning House

1 Comment / 2013, Books in Bed, Non-Fiction /

One of my favorite book blogs is… books I done read. I’m giggling just typing that. Totally not your average book blog. (Go look, it’s fine. I can wait.)

Anytime I see a book (that I haven’t read) reviewed there, I feel the urge to read it. Doesn’t matter whether she liked the book or not. I want to read it simply because of the post on this blog. Hell, when she writes about books I have read, I want to read them again. Every. Single. Time.

So, it won’t surprise you that I had to read Cleaning House: One Woman’s 12 Month Experiment to Rid Her Home of Youth Entitlement after seeing the post about it on books i done read.

That’s one hell of a title, isn’t it?

And, here’s where I just say go over to books i done read and read what she says because that’s pretty much what I have to say, too. I don’t do animated gifts so you’re really better off going over there and laughing your way through her review. Really. Go on. It’s fine. It’s also fun.

The entitlement – it is huge. And, it’s a problem. Even when your kids do know how to mow the lawn or clean the bathroom or get jobs when they’re teenagers…

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The Last Dragonslayer

2013, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

Jasper Fforde! For Kids! The Last Dragonslayer is listed on the Cybils (and at the library) as YA but it seemed a little young to me. Not that older teens won’t like it, I think some would – but I can think of a lot more 10 year olds who would really get into it than I can 17 year olds.

Jennifer Strange is a great character. Tiger Prawns is also excellent. I loved the Quarkbeast (and it looks like the next book is Quarkbeast related, so yay!). I’d like to get to know more of the magician people in future books.

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The Woman Who Died A Lot

2013, Books in Bed, Favorites, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

I really loved the first few Thursday Next books  and then they got a little old, possibly because I also read the Nursery Crimes books, which I didn’t like nearly as much as Thursday Next and it all just ended up being a little too much Fforde-fun for me. But, I did keep reading the Thursday Next books – just not as quickly as I had in those early days.

When I noticed Fforde had a kids fantasy novel, I knew I’d be reading that and when I went to reserve it, I noticed the new Thursday Next: The Woman Who Died A Lot, and figured what the heck. I’ll get it and at the very least it will be another book to keep TW reading (there are not enough books in the entire Book World to keep her in books. She probably needs to head to the DRM…. which will make no sense unless you read The Woman Who Died A Lot.)

Anyway, I read it and I’m glad. It was the best Thursday Next book since… I don’t know since when. The Well of Lost Plots? The fake Thursday thing did get a little old (ok a lot old) and I hope to goodness we’ve seen the end of that (except the next book will probably rif off of the very last duplicate Thursday… last that we know about. Sigh. But it will be ok because it just will. Trust me. )  

I’m not sure I like what happens to Tuesday in this book. Or what happens to her for the rest of her life. This is where I get annoyed with Fforde, just in general. His characters live with crappy people and put up with it, like that’s how it should be. The bad relationships are get easy laughs, except I never really laugh.  Oops. I’d better stop analyzing it or I’ll find myself liking this book less than I did before I sat down to type this.

Let’s leave it at… best book in the series in a very long time and I do have hope for the next book. DRM and DoDos… at least I hope that’s what Thursday finds…. Next.

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Reading Challenges for 2013

5 Comments / 2013, Books in Bed /

It’s that time again, and I’m looking forward to some fun reading this year. I’m also looking forward (and thinking positively) about doing really well on the challenges I’m setting for myself.

First, of course, I’ll read the books on the Cybils Shortlist. I’ve just seen the list and am having a love/hate reaction to the list as a whole. Let’s see what happens when I start reading…

Next, I’m going to get back to the Nancy Drew Challenge. I swear!

I’m also going to read more from my own stacks this year. My goal is twelve (not added in 2013…) I really need to do this.

I’m going to play with the Book to Movie Challenge because we never watch movies and it would be fun to see some books brought to the big screen. Right? (I could use recommendations for this one!)

Some non-reading but book related challenges I’m also working on are:
– I’m going to start using GoodReads. Or try to. (Wish me luck, I’m going to need it.)
– I really want to get back in the habit of reviewing my reading every month. (Mostly because it helps me at the end of the year with my tallies but also because I think it helps me keep on track with my challenges. Wish me luck, again.)
– I’m going to donate $1 for every book I read, to charity — but which charity? If you’ve got suggestions, share them! I have all year to decide…

And that’s it. Happy reading in 2013 to you all.

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Cybils 2012 Shortlist (Challenge)

2013, Books in Bed, Cybil Challenge /

It’s that time again. Time for the Cybils Shortlist and time for me to start reading all of the books on the shortlist. (I’m not going to guarantee review of the apps, this year. But, if I do happen to download any of them, I will blog about them.)

Here’s the list (I’ve already read two, from the YA Fiction list.):

Easy Readers/Early Chapters
– A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse (Toon)
– Bink and Gollie, Two for One
– Penny and Her Doll
– Penny and Her Song
– Pinch and Dash Make Soup (Pinch & Dash)
– Ivy and Bean Make the Rules (Book 9)
– Marty McGuire Digs Worms!
– Rabbit and Robot: The Sleepover
– Sadie and Ratz
–Violet Mackerel’s Brilliant Plot

Fantasy and Science Fiction (Middle Grade)
– Beswitched
– Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities
– The Cabinet of Earths
– The False Prince: Book 1 of the Ascendance Trilogy
– The Last Dragonslayer (The Chronicles of Kazam)
– The One and Only Ivan
– The Peculiar

Fantasy and Science Fiction (YA)
– And All the Stars
– Every Day
– Planesrunner (Everness, Book One)
– Seraphina
– The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories
– The Drowned Cities
– Vessel

Fiction Picture Books
– Black Dog
– Chloe and the Lion
– Creepy Carrots
– Extra Yarn
– A Home for Bird
– Infinity and Me
– One Special Day

Graphic Novels
– Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller (Center for Cartoon Studies Presents)
– Giants Beware!
– Hilda and the Midnight Giant
– Little White Duck: A Childhood in China (Single Titles)
– Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: Big Bad Ironclad!
– Darkroom: A Memoir in Black and White
– Drama
– Friends with Boys
– Ichiro
– Marathon

Middle Grade Fiction
– Almost Home
– Chomp
– Fourmile
– Liar & Spy
– The Adventures of Beanboy
– The Lions of Little Rock
– Wonder

Non-Fiction (YA and Middle Grade)
– Bomb: The Race to Build–and Steal–the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon
– Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War
– Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95
– Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World
– Titanic: Voices From the Disaster

Non-Fiction (Picture Books)
– Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade
– Dolphin Baby!
– Eggs 1, 2, 3: Who Will the Babies Be?
– Island: A Story of the Galapagos
– Looking at Lincoln
– Mrs. Harkness and the Panda
– Nic Bishop Snakes

Poetry
– BookSpeak! Poems About Books
– In the Sea
– Last Laughs: Animal Epitaphs
– Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses
– National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry: 200 Poems with Photographs That Squeak, Soar, and Roar!
– UnBEElievables: Honeybee Poems and Paintings
– Water Sings Blue

YA Fiction
– Boy21
– Code Name Verity (already read this one)
– Endangered
– I Hunt Killers (already read this one)
– Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
– The Storyteller
– The Theory of Everything

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