December Book List

I know I am a couple of days early to post this, but I have done it! I have read my 52 books!! I even beat it by one...which just goes to show that not only was it tough to make it to 52, it was nigh impossible to beat it by more than that! I spent most of today snuggling with a sick little boy, and with my one free hand I finished the one extra.


Leviathan Wakes by "James S.A. Corey"
Glass Boys by Nicole Lundrigan
Sense & Sensibility & Sea Monsters by Jane Austen & Ben H. Winters

Recommended: I loved all the books this month. Leviathan Wakes was amazing in its scope and topic: humans colonizing space! Glass Boys was so beautifully written, even if its topic was disturbing. And Sense & Sensibility & Sea Monsters was just as good, if not better than its precursor, Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, which I have learned is coming out in movie-form in a couple of years.

I absolutely loved this challenge, and I want to attempt it again next year, with some additions to the list of "rules". I'm preparing a post for that purpose in January. Until then...Happy Reading!

November Book List

Outer Dark by Cormac McCarthy - published in 1968
World Made by Hand by James Howard Kunstler

Recommended: Kunstler's book, World Made by Hand. This one is considered "dystopian", but not nearly as depressing or violent as others I have read in the genre. It follows a group of people who have survived the destruction of the US as we know it. Nuclear war and a number of pandemics have destroyed most of the country's population, and there is pretty much no technology or political groundwork left. What is left of the population is thrown back to "old-timey times" and must fend for themselves, using what they can salvage and what they can grow or make themselves. This book was pretty good, but not great. I've got the sequel on my Christmas list, and I would like to read some of his non-fiction, which seems to be better-received.

Not recommended: I still haven't finished Exodus. I just couldn't get into it. Every time he introduced a new character he had to fill in their entire back story, sometimes going back decades and covering a dozen or so pages per character! I kept forgetting what the main storyline was about because of all these "tangents". Cormac McCarthy is considered an amazing author, and I can totally see it! His writing is poetic and so descriptive, but this story kind of didn't interest me. I'm still not quite sure how it ended.

Next month: Maybe I'll get some good titles for Christmas, or at least some gift cards so I can pick my own!

read to me

While we were in the states (in Minneapolis to be exact) we used up a rainy morning at a local Container Store. I lurve this store...but it can be overwhelming. Russ bought more than me, that's how overwhelmed I was!

But I did pick up a set of russell & hazel rubberbands to use on my Smash book and my planner at home. I love these things! They also have some amazing notebooks and planners, with a tonne of page options! A bit on the pricey side, but very customizable, and kind of totally awesome!

And I was excited to see that Two Peas carries russell & hazel stuff! Yay! Not that I am going to be buying any of it any time soon, but it still makes me a happy camper to know it's at least possible with nominal shipping costs! Maybe I should add it to my Xmas list...hmmm...

Want to see some more overwhelming book-related things? Then check out this post from Polka Dot Robot: Love for Libraries. Wowee wow wow! Would it be weird to plan a vacation around the best libraries in the world? I'd have to take just the right person with me on that trip! Note...it probably wouldn't be Russel!! Sorry hun!

Speaking of Libraries, here's a memory for you.

I have always loved books and libraries. Mom used to take us to the one in the basement of Southgate mall and we would wander through the kid's section and pick out whatever we wanted. That was a special library. Later, I started going there for fun, taking out books about fairies and mythology, making notes and pouring over indexes so I could stock up on new books when the old ones were due back.

Going to University was like heaven for me...they have a tonne of libraries! I remember the first time I was in the Rutherford Library, which is the "arts" library on campus. Half of the building is a "new" build, and the other half is historical and they are joined by an atrium right smack dab in the middle. I always loved that you could stand inside and look at the old outside of the building!

source

I remember making my way up to the fourth floor or something, on the "new" side and when I got out of the stairwell and into the stacks I just stopped. There were so many books. I couldn't get over it! Row upon row of books. I got a little light-headed!!

And in the "old" library, on the second floor, there is a big study hall that is lined with bookshelves. It is so quiet in that huge room, and packed full during exams!

In the basement of old Rutherford is all the super old books. The roof is only two feet above my heads, and the stacks are super close together. The lighting was so sub-par and a little spooky. That was a special place to be. I bet a lot of makeout sessions took place in the back corners...not that I would be involved with any of that!

Later in my time there, I even loved going to the medical library to find out info about syphilils and other strange medical and forensic anthropology topics. It was a nice, bright library, but it's photocopiers always hated me.

I have a friend who now works at Cameron Library on campus. I am so jealous...

Is that enough chatting for you today?!?!

Are there any places in this world that fill you with breath-taking wonder?

DON'T FORGET to enter my giveaway! Read this post...52 Books

52 Books

I was updating my 2011 Book-Learning page when I noticed that I am only four books away from reaching my goal for the year! If you can't remember what that was all about, I refer you to this post, which took me forever to find, mind you. I need to revamp this whole blog-thing!

Anyhoo...I was thinking I should celebrate this upcoming milestone with a giveaway! Hazzah!!

And so, I am giving away one of my favourite books and, cause I love y'all so much, a $10 Chapters gift card!

Leave a comment here with a little book recommendation of your very own and you could win!!

I have set myself up to probably finish early, but not super early! I am struggling through a long book with tiny font right now, and I might have to open up a re-read to get through this month!!

UPDATED: I realized long after the fact that I forgot to put a deadline on this! Let's say, midnight on November 22nd! M'kay. That gives you lots of time, and I'll be sure to give you lots of reminders too!

October Book List

Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson (Kindle app)
The Secret Life by (Kindle app)
Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner (paperback-gift from Amy!!)


Recommended: I had such high hopes for Robopocalypse. The sample I downloaded from Amazon was awesome! The premise of the story is right up my alley: a computer mind takes over the world and begins exterminating humans! Wow! But a lot of it got bogged down in tech and military jargon, and the big confrontation at the end was just quiet. But it was still a cool book. Steven Spielberg is making a movie based on it in the next couple of years. I'm interested to see who they cast, as there was an amazing racial/ethnic diversity in the book.

Jennifer Weiner is still one of my favourite authors. She writes good characters, and a nice emotional story. This was another nice book from her.

Not recommended: None. The Secret Life is a fairly simple "romance" - which I'm not totally in to - but it was still okay.

Re-Read: None this month. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein has been sitting beside my bed for weeks now, but I haven't made it much past the first chapter or so.

I definitely fell behind this month. I've been so busy with other things, that I just haven't had the energy to do any reading.

Until Next Month...

p.s. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Bestest Book Month EVAH!?

I got to read two Jasper Fforde books that are new new new to me! And a story that I think I will love for the rest of my life.

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde

Close Range (including Brokeback Mountain) by Annie Proulx (Kindle app)

The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan (Kindle App)

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Tooth & Nail by Craig Dilouie (Kindle App) > great end-of-world Zombie-style book!

Recommended: Hands down, without a doubt, Brokeback Mountain. I watched the movie this month and it kind of infected my brain and I had to get my hands on the book. I have never had a story affect me like this. It's been weeks since I read it, but I can't get it out of my head. I bought the book containing the short story (Close Range) and have read the rest in the collection. Annie Proulx is an amazingly gifted story teller. She has inspired me to get some of my random thoughts down on paper. While my stuff is mostly crap, it is so satisfying to actually write it down. Read this story...you won't regret it.

Re-Read: I could re-read Persuasion every couple of months until forever. It's just that good.

Not Recommended: Oh my goodness, do not read The Last Werewolf. It was so bad. Why did I buy it? He put more effort into rehashing the same questions about the meaning of life (or the lack thereof), was obsessed with sex, and then the book just ended. I saw it coming a mile away, and yet I also hoped he would redeem himself. Didn't happen. Another book where the subject matter is stellar but the reality just didn't live up to it. Thank goodness the rest of the books I read this month were good, or else this might have been the worst book month evah. Yikes!

I spent a tonne of time on Amazon.com this month looking for new books, and downloading "samples" to my iPad through the Kindle app. This is actual very handy, when available. I have found some books I want to read that are not available to download, so I might actually be making that trip to the library this month. I know I've only been talking about it forever and a day, but with all the weird "free time" I find myself wasting, I would love to be able to spend some of it at the library.

August Book List

Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood
The Half Made World by Felix Gilman

Recommended: The Harry Potter books! As soon as I got home from watching 7.2 in theatre, I pulled out the book, finished it, then grabbed book number one and kept going.
Disappointed with: The Edible Woman. I guess I got used to her dystopic books, and this commentary on out consumer culture just didn't strike a chord with me.
Not recommended: Felix Gilman. There were points in it that were so frustrating. The premise of the book was genius, truly. But I found the potential was not realized. I was not in awe of the "gods" portrayed, I did not feel anything for the characters, and it was one of the books that kind of just ended. No bang, no glory, just a whimper.

That's six books this month, as I am counting re-reads, and I have definitely read all the Harry Potter books a bunch of times!

These were all real books this month, no e-books. I was at Indigo a couple of times to buy gifts for Lucas & for the goodie bags at his party, and while there I can't help but look for myself. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be re-reading either of the non-Harry Potter books ever again, so it was kind of a waste (time, money, and space).

Next month will be a busy one for us, but I'm hoping I get some reading in. Maybe I'll go back through my bookcase and re-read some other gems! I try to keep only the books that I really love, as I am limited in the amount of bookshelf space I have in the house. I have one little bookshelf that is filled to the brim. It's deep enough that I can put two rows of books on every shelf!

I sorted through it on Sunday afternoon, and in amongst the dust I found some books I haven't read yet!

There were also a number of books in there that I don't want anymore. If you see any titles in there that you would like, drop me a line and we'll set up some sort of neutral meeting point complete the transaction. I would also be up for a trade: your unwanted for one of mine. Let me know...

July Book List

This was a productive month for me! All those hours on the road with a iPad full of books and comics. This might be a record or something.

Catching Fire and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (continuing the Hunger Games Trilogy)
The Map of Time by Felix de Palma
Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood and The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Divergent by Veronica Roth
The Day After and Other Stories by Wil Wheaton
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Cowboys & Aliens the graphic novel

Favourite: I think the Margaret Atwood titles take this award for July. She is an amazing writer, creating imaginative, full characters and teasing out a perfect story

I Recommend: Margaret Atwood if you like dystopic storylines, The Map of Time if you want a fun and clever read, and the Suzanne Collins titles if you are a young adult. And Coraline, because it's Neil Gaiman, and man can that guy weave an amazing story!

I don't recommend: I wasn't a big fan of Divergent. It's one of those books that just sort of...ends. I don't expect everything to be tied up neatly and presented with a perfect bow, heck all of Atwood's books ended with a big "and then what". But with her books it's fun to fill in the blank because the storyline has been completed. I guess it's hard to explain. If you've all this stuff going on, and your character just walk away, even though just moments ago they were trying to effect all this stuff. It's frustrating. It makes me feel there's a second book coming (updated...I'm reading the author's blog, and she is planning a part two...next year...geesh)

So, for funsies, let's do a little tally-ho for the year so far. From January to June I read 22 books...and with this month marathon of reading it brings my total up to 32!

Goal for the Year: 52 books (one per week)
Books read as of July 31st: 32
Weeks so far: 30

All this math means is that I am ahead of the curve! Albeit only by two books, but it's there, my edge going in to the next couple of months. What I've learned from all of this already is that it is hard to read 4 to 5 books per month! Especially if you choose "book-club quality" ones, like some of these have been. It helps to taper some of this braininess with graphic novels and titles stolen from the young adult section at Chapters!

I still haven't got that library card...maybe I'll save that for the Fall.

Happy -cloudy- Sunday!

June Book List

Sin City: The Hard Goodbye by Frank Miller (graphic novel, iPad)
Feed Your Face by Dr. Jessica Wu (Kindle app on iPad)
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin (paperback)
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Kindle app on iPad)

Recommended: All of them
Favourite: Um...all of them...again.
Least Favourite: n/a

I'm slowing down again. I need to find some more books I can buy through my Kindle and iBook apps. I really (really really) enjoyed Hunger Games. It seems to me that it was featured on another blog that I read (Sometimes Sweet), and she (possibly) mentioned (if my memory serves me correctly) that is was a good piece of dystopian literature, which apparently I really like!

I've included the wiki-link, but if you're still not sure what "dystopian" means, think 1984 by George Orwell, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (some english lit books that you might have read in high school...if you did that sort of thing in HS!)

She recommended some other dystopian-flavoured books in this post, and just some good all around reads in this one. I already purchased Book #2 in the Hunger Games series - for my iPad - and am trying really hard not to read it before I leave on vacation! They are considered "young adult", so I can get through them quickly. One of her recommendations is The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, which I am sure to get through the opposite of quickly! Maybe that will be my next purchase! HA!

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Can I also just say that "Sin City - the graphic novel" was much more satisfying than "Sin City - the movie starring Bruce Willis"? And that this is solely because of the artistry of Frank Miller.

There were pages with no words that simply took my breath away. The entire novel is black and white, but the detail and the richness of the characters shines through more powerfully than I can even describe. The story is okay, but the images are the life of this novel. I can't wait to get my digital hands on the next one in the series!

k. am done for today. I'm back at work, and while the mail is flowing, I still have nothing to do. go figure...anybody need a full-time blogger on their payroll??

later peeps

April & May Book list

April was a slow month for books in Lisa's House. Very slow.

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

Not recommended...The English Patient. It was only okay, which is actually better than most other Ondatje books I have read. This one made sense...wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles

May is looking better!
American Gods by Neil Gaiman (iBook)
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (iBook)
Haven by some guy? (iBook) Note to self: never name anything I make "Haven" as it is not a productive Google search!
A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon
When You Are Engulfed in Flames...a collection of essays by David Sedaris

Favourite: Neil Gaiman! By far...I can't wait to find some more of his. He writes a great story that just happens to be totally sci-fi! I love it!!

Least Favourite: Spot of Bother was too much like the Jonathan Franzen book I read last month. One old guy going crazy, with his disfuntional family not helping matters. Been there, done that. But his other book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, is excellent...so...not sure what happened here. Also, the David Sedaris book was way less funny than I expected.

Recommend: American Gods, but it's very erotic in some instances, and the subject matter is super weird if you don't like sci-fi themes.

*****
I really love reading books on my iPad! All ths eBooks listed above are from the app that came with the iPad, but I find that it doesn't have as great a selection as I would have hoped. The Kindle app, on the other hand, has access to all the Kindle books on the Amazon site! So that's lots! I haven't bought anything through them yet, but I have found a couple of books that I'm interested in.

I have also been reading lots of Comic Books on my iPad, using the Dark Horse app I found. And I lucked out and caught "Free Digital Comic Book Day" so I picked up a whole whackload of issues for free! There are a couple that interested me enough that I might pay for the rest of the series, and some that don't seem worth it to me at this time. I have discovered that if it's too bright out, I can't read the comic books...they are too dark and the detail just doesn't come through. They are best to read in bed! Especially the spooky ones.

k. m shutting up now.

For my previous months' book lists, click on these links: January, February, March.

In terms of my 52 Books Goal this year, my total so far is: 17 (out of 21 weeks, give or take). That's not too shabby, if I do say so myself, considering I expect my weekly rate to skyrocket in the fall/winter!

Are you still keeping up with any of your "New Year's Goals"? Cause I'm barely hanging on!!

March Book List

this month...
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
The Birth House by Ami McKay


Favourite: It's a tie between The Corrections & The Birth House.
Least Favourite: My Sister's Keeper. Too much sad. And crying.
Recommended: The Corrections & The Birth House


This month, I stopped at VV for something else (that was the "peach" trip I think) and bought some books. And that snazzy blue bag as well...with old luggage tag still in place! Yippee! So I finished two this month, and will get to the rest in the coming months.


VV Book Deal: Buy four and get one free. They range in price from cheap to ~$12 (and that's for a nice hardcover). I try to pick the least smelly/stained ones!


I think I want to go take a peek at the book trader by the in-laws next month.

February Book List

Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley (this book is so long...oh my goodness)
The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold
Goldengrove by Francine Prose
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen...the Graphic Novel.

Recommended: Goldengrove. Mists of Avalon is a good read, but so so so long. It's throwing off my rate.

Least Favourite: Almost Moon (another book about a woman with a crazy mother...)

Most Favourite: Goldengrove. It actually has a real ending...wonder of wonders! League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but it was really quick to read, like, only a couple of hours!

For next month...
I have my eye set on a couple more graphic novels...they are my new favourite even though they take very little time to read and are pricier than a simple paperback. The Walking Dead was a series of novels before it became a tv show, so I'm excited to get into those! I think I can handle illustrated zombies better than live-action ones! HA!

I got some good suggestions from Kirsten last month...anybody else have any favourites??

You have one more day to enter to win the latest Sketches 2 Scrapbook app. Leave a comment on this post, and don't forget to include your favourite number! You have a really (really) great chance to win...

later skater alligator

January Book List

This is my reading list for January. I think I am going to do up a post like this every month, and maybe this will help me keep track of all the books I read this year. I have a little notebook at home that I write in as well (one of those "what I read" books) but here I will be able to share with the world my books, and keep me accountable and on track with my goal for the year: 52 BOOKS!

The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
Miss Wyoming by Douglas Coupland
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson (loaner from naomi)
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger (loaner from my lil sis...she hasn't even read it yet!)

I recommend: All of them

Most Favourite: I thought it was going to be Her Fearful Symmetry. This is the lady who wrote The Time Traveler's Wife which is one of my most all-time favourite books, but I just didn't feel the same about this one. So my Most Favourite this month is The Flying Troutmans!

Least Favourite: The Girl Who Played with Fire
*****


Next month...

Amy lent me a bunch of books from her collection on the express threat of dismemberment if I don't return them (that is, if I lose them...I think she was mostly worried about that! She is my sister, so she has seen my house and she knows what she's getting in to.)

Naomi said she would lend me the last in "The Girl" series. And I have lost a book she lent me before. And then I bought a new one to replace it. And then I found the original (and we swapped). She's so lovely that's she giving me a second chance!

*****
I am still taking recommendations. What is your all-time favourite book? (Kirsten, I'm specifically/figuratively looking at you for this. "Figuratively" because this is a blog and I'm not actually looking at you as I write this. Got it?)

I like classics. I don't like "mysteries," whatever the heck that means. I like sci-fi, but only because I'm expecting it to be so bad it's good, and it usual delivers. I'm well read (Chomsky-shudder), but I like a good piece of trash as well! I usually just pick from the "Fiction" department at my local book store, and I am a sucker for a great cover! Therefore, I have also experienced first hand the adage: "you can't always judge a book by its cover."

later skater alligator