2015

3 Non-Fiction Gardening Books

2015, Books in Bed, Non-Fiction /

Mosaic Garden Projects was interesting. I’ve done a couple of small mosaic projects but nothing big. I’d like to do something big and gardeny some day. Maybe a found objects type of project?

I want a living wall (or two) so I enjoyed Growing a Living Wall quite a bit. I was fascinated by the inclusion of an aphrodisiac living wall garden lol.

I picked up The Magical World of Moss because Teddy wanted to leave the moss on a walkway at their new house so I’ve thought off and on about moss gardening. So seeing this on the library shelf was a sign that I had to check it out. It was fascinating. I apparently knew NOTHING about moss. I would like to have a fairy moss garden for the grandchildren, some day.

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Three Children’s Books

2015, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge, Fiction /

Three books, two of them Cybils – one audio or all three audio, depending upon your POV.

Dory Fantasmagory was cute. I’d probably kill her if she were my kid, hah. A combination of all three little kids in one. Hoo… lol

We listened to Chicken Squad: The Second Misadventure on audio before we got the first one (the problem with reserving all the things at once at the library is the first book often comes later than the others in the series, lol.) It was cute. Weird blue chickens are weird and brothers are trouble. 😉

Then, the Chicken Squad: The First Misadventure arrived in print and I read that one and was amused. Squirrels are weird.

The most interesting thing about these three books is that two of them arrived in print, though I reserved the audio versions… then I noticed they both had the audio versions tucked into a pocket in the the back of the book. I like this idea a lot for this reading level.

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The Watchmaker of Filigree Street

1 Comment / 2015, Books in Bed, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

I finally finished The Watchmaker of Filigree Street — gosh that took a long time to read. It started slowly for me, or maybe I was just tired, and then moved really quickly and I couldn’t put it down.

The only thing I didn’t like is not knowing how Mori got the power … that’s it, that’s all I wanted to know, in the end. Hmph.

I enjoyed it. Also, the octopus! Gah.

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Language Arts

2015, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction /

Oh good grief, this book, Language Arts made me nuts. Not in a bad way. It took me a whole week to read it, not because it was hard to read or boring but because I kept having to put it down to ponder the story. Or to think about cursive handwriting. Or to research the history of Language Arts in elementary school curriculum.

Also… I didn’t see THAT coming, though I should have because TW made a couple of comments about “the daughter”. I should have realized something like that had to have happened. But that would be too nutty to even comprehend.

Anyway. I liked the book. It’s troubling in about a million different ways. Now I want a Palmer Method workbook and to just make loops all the time or at least until I’ve solved all of the big mysteries of life.

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#readathon…. 16 hours and out…

2015, Books in Bed, Dewey's Readathon, Fiction, short stories /

Alrighty, I’m calling it a night.

I finished 2 non-fiction and 1 fiction/short story (the most recent was Herotica 2 and it was fine, not the best but not bad, either) and 7 children’s fiction. I’m 2/3 of the way through an ebook and my eyes are too tired to finish tonight.

Total page count… 1,621. Not bad, all things considered. And, it was a very nice day. I’m looking forward to spring, now.

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15 hours in, 7 more books (#readathon)

2015, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge, Dewey's Readathon, Fiction /

I finished seven children’s books (from the Cybils shortlist) while listening to the Cubs lose. (wah!) 777 pages…

The best of the bunch was Knock, Knock: MY Dad’s Dream for Me — heartbreaker.

I liked Here Comes the Easter Cat a lot more than I expected to. Totally fun. JMP needs this book.

Lulu and the Rabbit Next Door was super cut.

Like Carrot Juice on a Cupcake was pretty cute. I enjoyed it.

I’m a big Violet Mackerel fan so Violet Mackerel’s Possible Friend was terrific. I love Violet and her family.

I was most disappointed by The Lion Who Stole My Arm. It was fine but I expected more.

I did not particularly love Lulu’s Mysterious Mission. It was fine. Just not great.

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#readathon mid-event survey

2015, Books in Bed, Dewey's Readathon /

1. I’m currently reading No Wind of Blame (on Kindle) and Like Carrot Juice on a Cupcake

2. I’ve finished 2 non-fiction and 2 children’s fiction books.

3. I’m most looking forward to Herotica 2.

4. I haven’t had a lot of interruptions but the Cubs game is starting right now so I’ll be listening to it and reading — which will be hard.

5. I’m more tired this #readathon than ever before. I’m not sure that’s a surprise, considering my recent sleeping habits, but it’s definitely a change from previous events. Hopefully, I’ll get a second wind after the game and can really focus and finish a few more books.

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