too much, too little

So the night before last, I overslept. Didn't have time to blog as I needed to get out for my morning walk. Last night I had a really difficult time sleeping. Yes, I'm awake on time, but I'm not really alert. The coffee is brewing. The laptop is on and humming. My brain is doing neither.

I splurged yesterday and downloaded the latest in the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning. I checked the library to see if they had "Burned" and I found nothing. I also checked for the latest Flavia book, again, zilch. UGH. Looks like I will be downloading Flavia as soon as I'm finished with Mac and Dani.

I really need to stop in the library and see what is going on. Two of the biggest books of the quarter and they weren't in the catalog. What. The. Heck.

Okay, enough complaining. Thank goodness for B&N gift cards, my Nook, and the need to read.

Off into Wednesday I go. I love a short week!!

40 down and 12 to go

I set a goal for myself this year to read a book a week. I officially have 40 books logged at this point and need 12 more to reach my goal. Can I do it?

Yes!!

indulgence anita style

I splurged yesterday and ordered the latest Laurell K Hamilton book for my Nook. Yep. Cost me about $5.50 after I used up what was left of a gift card I earned by doing a social media vendor tutorial last fall.

So, to anyone reading...I could use more Barnes and Noble's money to fund my reading addiction. lol

The reviews on this latest "Anita" book have been good. Lots of comments saying that readers are so very glad the book has a plot, a mystery to solve, and old school Anita action! Hamilton has been publishing Anita stories for 20 years now.

TWENTY YEARS! I hope that freaked her out as much as it did me when I realized just how long ago it was when I first started reading these stories.

It is Thursday, thank goodness. Today should fly by as I'm going to begin layout for the September issue of the magazine. I worked on preloading social media content all day yesterday. Something that should be quick and easy has become quite a job due to the way we are  now keeping track of just what I am putting up and where it is being put....ha ha. My days of using a simple Excel sheet to track content are coming to an end and I'm now using Filemaker as well. Easy to pull reports from, my dear. Sure. Sure.

Got to run...or rather, walk. The dog is waiting, leash at his side.

needing to read

Oh my gosh. I am feeling a distinct lack of reading in my life! It seems that either I don't have the time for it, or when I do have the time for it, reading is the last thing I want to do.

Ugh!! I looked at my book list on the right side of the blog page and feel sad. I have read more than what is recorded, but wasn't motivated to list those titles. Why? Well, most of the books were pretty lame. Yep. Lame.

I haven't picked a great book in what seems like ages. Is it the books or is it me?

I just finished skimming an Ursula Blanchard mystery. I used to adore this series, but this one couldn't hold my attention. Very disappointed to say the least.

Perhaps if I stop by the library after work today I can find something that will fill this void in my life.

summer reading

I miss my summer reading routine and the sheer number of books I could plow through during June and July. Often when I get home from work, I'm too busy and experiencing too much eye fatigue to even want to open a book.

Last night, I had a literacy council meeting and I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on that project. I agreed to steward the one program at the library and to provide the library with some promotional materials. Beyond that, once the poster is completed, I am pretty much finished. I may have some social media stuff to do, but that is about it.

Tonight we have Meet the Player night for the high school soccer team. It is really all about the checkbook. We need to pay fees for the season. Cha-ching. I hope we get to hear from the new coach and get a sense of who he is. The middle kid has been pretty quiet on that front. In many ways, I don't think it matters one bit to her as this is her final season. She is more concerned with having a great time with her friends and I can't say that I blame her.

But, back to my lack of reading. I did get through the latest Laurell K. Hamilton novel featuring Anita Blake. "Kiss the Dead" was okay. Anita is so much more interesting to me when she is working a case instead of working out her relationships with her many, many boyfriends.

I am trying to read the second Glen Duncan werewolf novel, "Talulla Rising."  He writes what is basically literary horror fiction. I find myself grimacing a lot as I read his books, but I keep reading them.


Off I go into Thursday. I have a big project at work to do...and it is on Blogger! Yeah! 

oversleeping

I haven't used an alarm clock in years. Now, that is not to say that my hubby doesn't set one and I sometimes benefit from his need for chimes, birds, hoots etc. marking the hour.

But this morning, even though an accented voice chirped the hour, I rolled over and fell back to sleep. Oversleeping is not something that I do on a regular basis. Yet it sometimes happens, like an eclipse. This morning I snoozed an extra 45 minutes.

The only thing that woke me was the oldest turning on the kitchen light. I wonder how long I would have gone?

In other news, I scored a copy of Patrick Rothfuss' second novel, "The Wise Man's Fear." Even better, I scored a YA copy, so that means I can have it for 3 weeks instead of the 2 week new release time frame.

So far, it is just as engaging as "The Name of the Wind", the first novel about Kvothe.

Okay, over and out on this Wednesday! Wednesday, really? Friday will be here before I know it!!

plants with purpose or how does your garden grow

I'm in the process of 'repurposing' my flower beds into vegetable beds. I have lost several ornamental shrubs due to a variety of reasons and am going to rework those beds into spaces where we can grow things to eat. The few perennial flowers in those beds have been moved or thinned to make room. This is an experiment for me, but I'm sort of excited about it. I've always wanted an herb garden and one area will be converted for that. I'm also planning on planting a few tomatoes, green peppers and zucchini.

I'd love to build a raised bed in the back yard and do a proper garden, but this is not the year to tackle that project. So, I will use the space I have that is easily converted for a different purpose. On Sunday I priced plants at Lowe's and will check at Wally World today to see how they compare in price and plant quality. I hope to have the herbs and veggies in the ground so they can benefit from the rain we are expecting to fall on Wednesday night.

In other news, I'm reading the latest installment in JD Robb's (Nora Roberts) saga featuring Eve Dallas. These books have become a bit too formulaic for me. You can't deny Roberts' success as a writer and a major force in publishing, but I'm finding more enjoyment in reading new, debut and midlist authors now.

passing along the love of reading

My oldest daughter went to the library yesterday for a soccer ref meeting, but she also left on a  mission to checkout the last Sookie book. She plowed through the series this year and as I loaned out the last book to my mom (at least I think I did as I don't have it) she needed to borrow a copy to get it read before the next installment comes out in May.

This is the child who was my reluctant reader. Yeah!!

The youngest child loves to read also, but he enjoys nonfiction much more than novels and the middle kid is rereading Harry Potter when she isn't reading assigned books for school.

I think I've successfully passed along my love of reading. That is a good habit to pass off to the next generation.

100 books this year

I'm closing in fast on my goal of reading 100 books this year! The Anne Rice book is number 94. Yeah.  I've tried to read a  variety of genres and next year on one of the facebook pages I enjoy, a different genre a month will be a new goal for the participants. Sounds like a good plan to me.

The donations yesterday were marvelous. We have some books that were pulled from the library inventory and are less than six months old. Amazing. For example, we have four copies of the latest Janet Evanovich book to sell...at $2.50 each.

I'm going to lunch today with some of the gals, I'm sure we will have a good time. I also have lots of errands to run. I'm putting off cleaning my house as I need to get some cleaning gloves. My fingers, now that we are in drier weather, are starting to crack already. I've tried all sorts of lotion and cream, but keeping them out of water seems to be the first step. So, I have a legit excuse for my dusty house and less than sparkling bathrooms.

Happy Friday!!

Christie, Fitzgerald and Wells

Gosh, September is a good time for writer's birthdays. The three folks in the blog entry title were all born this month. Astrid Lindgren was also born in September. Who doesn't love her darling character Pippi Longstocking?  I'm trying something new on our Friends facebook page and attempting to update the daily status with some tidbit of book related information. I think Friday will be random author trivia. If I can come up with a theme for each day, it will make it easier on me and provide a rhythm for the posts. 

Stocking the store was a blast yesterday since we had so many good books to choose from and to place on the shelves. That donation we received this week really kept us all busy and brought big smiles to lots of faces.  Nice!

I'm well into the Patricia Briggs book. I do love her Mercy Thompson series. Good stuff all around. I may venture out to B&N today and buy the fourth Kate Daniels book by Ilona Andrews.  I passed along the copy of the "Gargoyle" to one of my Friends buddies and she is thoroughly enjoying it. Sharing a good read with friends is such fun.

Not sure what is up for the weekend. The soccer girls are refereeing the small fry recreational games. The rest of us will have to find things to do. Somehow I don't think that will be a problem.

Happy Friday. 

friday

Even in summer, Friday is a great day!  We don't have anything we HAVE to do today, a much anticipated event this week.  I'm thinking a few hours at the pool with a good book may be in order.

I've finally started reading "The Help." I can understand why the topic/subject bothered so many of the ladies in the Friends book club.  I'm enjoying the novel, the voices of the three narrators are unique and well developed.  It is an easy to read book, and offers a window on a place and time that are quite foreign to me.

Once I finish this book, I need to reload my TBR pile.  May have to start cruising the library's online catalog and come up with a list of things to keep myself entertained for the next few weeks.

yippee

A brand new Sookie Stackhouse adventure comes out today, and as soon as B&N opens, "Dead in the Family" will be mine, all mine!!!!  Cue evil/happy laughter.

So, after I hit Wally World for a few necessities, I will be traveling to the mall to buy the book then driving home, as quickly as the law allows, so I can spend the rest of the day on the couch reading.

Better get myself together and at least one load of laundry going so I don't feel like a total lazy butt.

sun then rain

Our glorious cloud free warm day gave way to rain, rain, rain. Of course, it is now set to rain for the rest of the week, just in time for my folks to visit and for the 6 soccer games my girls are playing over the weekend. Mud, mud, mud. Ugh, ugh, ugh.

I'm almost finished with "Beautiful Creatures." I've enjoyed reading this novel and since I had the pleasure of attending the program when the authors visited our library, it is sort of neat to be able to 'hear' these two very talented women as I read their story. I can see why the novel was optioned for a film and why the book has created such a buzz. I should be able to finish the book this morning.

And then......my to be read pile is gone. I have nothing waiting in the wings. Nothing.

So, I will be making a trip to the library today to see what I can turn up. I need to make a trip to B&N as several new titles have come out that the library doesn't and will not buy. Guess I will have to part with my money if I want to read those books.

Maybe I should scan the online catalogs just to make sure.....you never know, perhaps one of the other libraries is actually purchasing urban fantasy and not waiting to add whatever the public donates, mainly yours truly......

Adios.