Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Bout of Books May 11-17 [WIP]

Wow.

1) I can't, no. I can... believe it's been two years since I've touched this blog.

2) The BoB crew has gone massively high-tech (instructional videos!) and has grown to over 800 participants.

3) I have to remember how to do this all over again. And on new meds!

So.

I'm joining!


Time Devoted to Reading: I will be reading all week.

My Goals
Finish current books (2) and finish one more.

Books to Read
Wilder Rose

Updates
Monday
Number of books I've read today:
Total number of books I've read:
Books:

The official blurb: "The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team"

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Bout of Books 7.0 Goals

Bout of Books

TIME DEVOTED TO READING

I will be reading all week when I can fit it in.

MY GOALS

Finish 3 books that will go toward my Women Authors reading challenge.

BOOKS TO READ

Lady of Hay, by Barbara Erskine
"With a story as mesmerizing as it is chilling, Lady of Hay explores how Jo, a journalist investigating hypnotic regression, plunges into the life of Matilda, Lady of Hay-who lived eight hundred years earlier. As she learns of Matilda's unhappy marriage, her troubled love for Richard de Clare, and the brutal treatment she received from King John, it seems that Jo's past and present are hopelessly entwined. Centuries later, a story of secret passion and unspeakable treachery is about to begin again-and she has no choice but to brave both lives if she wants to shake the iron grip of history.", on my Kindle

Help, Mom's Stuck on Spin Cycle: 31 Days to Laugh Your Way through Motherhood, by Cheryl Moeller
"At last a book that answers the proverbial question, “Where is my other sock?” the author emerges from her laundry room at last to tell her story – such as the time Metamucil tablets left in a pants pocket became the size of basketballs after 30 minutes in the washing machine. Her over-the-laundry pile humor will help you laugh your way through motherhood -- 31 days in a row. She’ll also give you Ten Ways to know it’s going to be a Long Labor and Delivery, Ten Things you Can Learn from your Cat, and Ten Reasons Why a Mom should be President. So when your laundry gets taller than you are, turn over a basket, sit down and read a page of, “Help, Mom’s Stuck on Spin Cycle.” Warning: You may emerge from the laundry room with permanent press wrinkles -- from laughing.", on my Kindle

From Ashes to Honor: Book #1 in the First Responders series by Loree Lough
"If he had only answered that last phone call from the World Trade Center... Minutes before two jumbo jets changed U.S. history, New York police officer Austin Finley ignored the call from his brother, who’d been bugging him
for days. Trying to live with his one regret causes hatred and bitterness to consume Austin, and when counselor Mercy Samara recommends desk duty, Austin resigns. Haunted by her own memories of 9/11, Mercy takes a job as a school counselor in Baltimore. When Austin, now an EMT, responds to an emergency at Mercy’s school, both are stunned and wary. Finally their common—and painful—memories turn suspicion into friendship, then romance. But hard questions linger: Can they truly move beyond their past harsh judgments and harsh words? Will their past finally bring them closer or—as the tenth anniversary of 9/11 draws near—drive them farther apart?",on my Kindle

UPDATES

Monday

Number of books I've read today: 1 (58% of Lady of Hay)

Total number of books I've read: 1

Books: Lady of Hay, by Barbara Erskine


The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books 7.0 team

Challenges/Giveaways

Mon, 5/13: Book Spine Poetry hosted by Escape Through the Pages
Tues, 5/14: Book to Music hosted by Medusa's Library
Alternate Titles hosted by The Book Barbies
Wed, 5/15: Create a Cover hosted by I Talk Books!
Thurs, 5/16: Acrostic Poem hosted by Harley Bear Book Blog
Personify a Book hosted by Kimberly Erskine
Fri, 5/17: Resummarize a Cover hosted by Queen Ella Bee Reads
Sat, 5/18: Book Spine Poetry hosted by Smash Attack Reads!
Sun, 5/19: If You Like...Then You'll Enjoy... hosted by Snarky Bird, Uber Nerd

Friday, February 1, 2013

Pin it and Do it! February Edition

It's Back!


And, I'm Pin Obsessed. Officially.


I'll link up to more specific projects...tomorrow maybe? I just need to get through 8 by the 28th.

Friday, January 11, 2013

2013 Read-A-Latte Challenge

2013 Read-A-Latte Challenge

The details: This challenge will begin on January 1st, 2013 and end December 31, 2013. Books for this challenge can be from any genre and may include print books as well as e-books and audio books. This challenge can cross-over to your other reading challenges. I will create a new post each month with a linky for your reviews. Also, I'll be offering quarterly reader gifts to the top three participants. I'll announce the winners on the last day of every three months. And at the end of the challenge I'll have a special bonus for the top three overall participants.

I'll be going for the Cappuccino level (100 books).

1. Camp Follower, by Suzanne Adair (e-book)

2.Ashes, Ashes, the Twins Fall Down by Pauline L. Hawkins (e-book)

3.Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson (e-book)

4.A Knight's Temptation, by Catherine Kean (e-book)

Monday, January 7, 2013

Bout of Books 6.0 Weeklong Readathon

TIME DEVOTED TO READING

I will be reading all week.

MY GOALS

Finish 3 books that will go toward any of my reading challenges.

BOOKS TO READ

Camp Follower, on my iPad via Kindle app

Ashes, Ashes, the Twins Fall Down, on my iPad via Kindle app

Let's Pretend This Never Happened,on my iPad via Kindle app

UPDATES

Monday

Number of books I've read today: 1 (18% of the selection, for about an hour at bedtime)

Total number of books I've read: 1

Books:Camp Follower, by Suzanne Adair

Tuesday

Number of books I've read today: 1 (about 20%, it was a madcrazy day)

Total number of books I've read: 1

Books: Camp Follower, by Suzanne Adair

Wednesday

Number of books I've read today: 1

Total number of books I've read: 1 (finished!)

Books: Camp Follower, by Suzanne Adair

Thursday

Number of books I've read today: 1 (20%)

Total number of books I've read: 2

Books: Ashes Ashes the Twins Fall Down, by Pauline L. Hawkins

Friday

Number of books I've read today: 1 (64% of the book)

Total number of books I've read: 2

Books:Ashes Ashes the Twins Fall Down, by Pauline L. Hawkins

Saturday

Number of books I've read today: 2 (finished Ashes, Ashes and completed 37% of Let's Pretend)

Total number of books I've read: 3

Books:Ashes Ashes the Twins Fall Down, by Pauline L. Hawkins

and Let's Pretend This Never Happened, by Jenny Lawson

Sunday

Number of books I've read today: 1 (74% of the book)

Total number of books I've read: 3

Books: Let's Pretend This Never Happened, by Jenny Lawson

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 7th and runs through Sunday, January 13th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 6.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books 6.0 team

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Pin it and Do it, Holiday edition

I met Trish during Bloggiesta, and was glad to learn that she was to host a Pinterest challenge. Since I have a stupid-insane number of pins for which I never make time, I thought I'd give it a go. And, because I'm stupid-insane, I aimed for the highest goal level Pin Obsessed. 8 pins over 6 weeks, no problem, right? Includes recipes and all the ornaments I'm going to make with the kids, NO PROBLEM.

Right.

So, [fast-forwarding to the actual current day] I find myself on the day before the deadline with 4 items left on the list. Perfect time to panic, don't you think?

Here is what I've managed to accomplish thus far:

Fire Starters

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Filled Crescent Rolls.

Tortellini-Alfredo Casserole

Cleaning Supplies Organizer

Daily Calendar:

Ham and Swiss Crescent Rolls Today's lunch!

Apple Pie, no, not that kind I'll most likely save this for last, partly because there are no liquor stores open today!

These are what I'd hoped to do in time:

Kids' Christmas list in an ornament with the yearI'll still do these before we get the Christmas things put away.

Turn your favorite bar of soap into a liquid soap I searched all over for glycerin, but didn't find any before everything closed last night. If I have time tomorrow, I'll try the craft stores.

Well, I managed to squeeze in 7 out of 8; I didn't master the challenge, but I got close, and I have a few more new things in my life that I didn't before

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Pin It and Do It: A Pinterest Challenge

So, I've been on Pinterest for a while, fairly soon after the creators started giving out invites. For me, it was a lot like this: [pin all the things cartoon] Yeah, I went a little nuts, but hey, it got me to quit playing CafeWorld on facebook. I know some people appreciate the absence of that in their newsfeed. These days, I make a conscious effort to limit the number of days and hours I spend pinning. All. The things. So... I have all these great decorating ideas, recipes, new homeschooling materials, etc. and I'm not taking the time to follow through with them. I needed a challenge (much like the reading and blogging ones I've accomplished). Luckily, I ether-met Trish through the last Bloggiesta, and was too late for the challenge she had going at the time, but managed to help talk her into doing another one so soon after she'd just finished. BTW, she's going to a quarterly schedule in 2013. Sounds good to me! I transferred 36 pins to a separate board, which I'll probably keep as a "current projects" space when challenges aren't running. The highest challenge level has a minimum of 8 finished projects. I think I can get through that many from the larger list. [links?] "Magazine" rack for wrapping materials Cereal boxes to paper storage (first one for the kids) Trivets from river stones and felt Bar soap--> liquid Dryer lint+toilet paper roll fire starters old terry robes to bath rug recipes for: crescent roll ham sandwiches, chicken gnocchi pesto soup, crack potatoes, tortellini alfredo casserole, chicken enchilada crockpot soup (in the crock I just bought today), Apple Pie drink, and Chocolate/PB crescent rolls. Some holiday ideas: Elf on the Shelf Crepe paper over kids doors for Christmas morning 5 different ornaments A few outdoor projects, a bracelet, a perpetual journal, and some organization for cleaning products. At first glance, I seem to already have most of the materials for about a third of the projects (not including the recipes). There are a few I want to rework in order to make them a little...nicer.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

End of Event!

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? 10 and 22 (4 P and AM, respectively).

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? The Graveyard Book is a quick read, and perfect for the fall season.

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? For those of us who could not check in every hour, a master list of the mini-challenges would have been nice to have so we could plan better for them (like, getting a picture of reading to one's kid before they go to bed).

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? Good distribution of hosts.

5. How many books did you read? Read 4, finished 1.

6. What were the names of the books you read? The Graveyard Book, Mark of Athena, Mirror Mirror, Fifty Acres and a Poodle.

7. Which book did you enjoy most? Graveyard Book

8. Which did you enjoy least? Fifty Acres and a Poodle

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? n/a

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? Very likely. Will probably just be a reader again, as this was only my first.

Mirror, Mirror by Gregory Maguire

Finally finished a book!

278 pages

Notable passages:

"The eye is always caught by light, but shadows have more to say."

"Faith is a floor. If you don't work on making it for yourself, you have nothing to walk on."

"A mirror's image is always forward of the truth by an instant or so. While a question is formulating, the mirror always knows the answer before the question is asked."

Saturday, October 13, 2012

More Mini-Challenges

I got a bit of a late start getting back to the 'thon because I insisted on starting the Potter Nightly Read with my son tonight. I read 20 minutes (about 10 pages) of the first book (Sorcerer's Stone). He seemed to absorb some of what I was reading, but I'm more about making this an enjoyable no-pressure-on-his-abilities reading time for him. If I'd known there was a mini-challenge about this, I would have had my husband take a picture to post here. Oh well...

I did manage to see this photo-based one in time: Picturrific Here's my entry for Mirror, Mirror:

A picture of an apple in a mirror should cover it, right?