Sickened

#35 Julie Gregory: Sickened: The Memoir of a Munchausen by Proxy Childhood (December 2007)

The Princess Bride

#34 S. Morgenstern: The Princess Bride (William Goldman) (December 2007)

After having first attempted this book in perhaps September or October, I finally read it. I'd been reading it too slow and, figuring the movie would help me gain more interest, I bought the dvd. However, the dvd sat on a shelf beside the book for a couple months before I got around to watching it. Finally there came a quiet Saturday in late November on which I watched the dvd. I picked the book up again the Sunday before last, and while I haven't had much time to get reading done, I finished it this afternoon. I'm just reading an extra bit in the back of the book that takes place after this story.

A Book about Cats

This book had a few problems on LibaryThing. For some reason I couldn't catalog it, so it had to be entered manually. I started reading it a few weeks ago. I thought I'd lost it amongst my books but found it the other day under a fake sleeping cat, no joke.

#33 Feline Friends: A Cat Lover's Treasury (December 2007)

This was a birthday present from a friend. I loved looking at all the cats and read the quotes in this book. Pretty much everyone at home wanted to ooh and ahh over it as we're owned by two cats. I put some sticky notes on some of the pages I liked best. Theses are a few of the quotes I liked best:

"The cat was created when the lion sneezed." ~Arabian Proverb

"It's a very inconvient habbit of kittens (Alice had once said) that, whatever you say to kittens, they always purr." ~Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

"I love cats because I love my home, and little by little they become its visible soul." ~Jean Cocteau

"When I returned home at night, he was pretty sure to be waiting for me near the gate and would rise and saunter along the walk, as though his being there was purely accidental." ~Charles Dudley Warner

"Most cats, when they are Out want to be In, and vice versa, and often simultaneously." ~Louis J. Camuti

Made into a Movie

Why is it that suddenly every book is being turned into a movie? I just found out that Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife is being made into a movie. This goes with a list of other books, both read and unread, which are being made into movies.

The Golden Compass: 12/11/07
I Am Legend: 12/2007
Twilight: 12/12/08
The Jane Austen Bookclub
The Other Boleyn Girl: 02/29/08
Inkheart: 2008

Could it be that I just never noticed before, or that it's something people are wanting more now than they were before? I feel like typing in the name of any random book in the IMDb search box and seeing what turns up - I feel almost sure that anything would. The test? The following are not currently being made into movies:

Charles de Lint: The Onion Girl
Gregory Maguire: Wicked
Jasper Fforde: The Eyre Affair

Guess this proves my theory wrong.

A Modern Tale of Faerie

#32 Holly Black: Valiant (December 2007)

Modern Faerie Tale

#31 Holly Black: Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale (November 2007)

The Amber Spyglass

Part three.

#30 Philip Pullman: His Dark Materials: The Amber Spyglass (November 2007)

I'm unsure how many times in the past I read this book, but as I read I knew there were scenes waiting to be read once more that were favorites of mine from readings in the past, scenes which touched me just as much despite six years having passed since my first reading of this series. I won't spoil this book by giving these scenes away. However, know that parts are very touching. This book is filled with big scenes that hold you at the edge of your chair, sitting alert and reading at a quicker pace than you would normally read, anxious to discover what it is that's happening, and how it all comes to an end.

For my first reading of this book, I was still attached and wrote a small piece of fan fiction, my first ever. I've no idea what became of it, though still remember how it goes. (No, I won't be rewriting it.) I would no longer write it the same since I think I could capture key characters better now that I'm older.

Right now there is a lot of controversy surrounding this series what with the film coming out this December and bringing more awareness to these books. Had it not been for the Harry Potter books, I'm sure this series would have received more recognition, and sooner. As is, I can say it is a great piece of YA fantasy, action-packed and lovely at once. I see no reason for all the trouble that is going to be brought upon these books and the film from some groups of people. It is argued that Pullman is teaching atheism to the minds of children. I say maybe he is simply opening their minds to see the world in more views. Everyone grows up eventually, as Pullman well points out in this series, and exposure is a necessity to further understanding of life. Reading and watching this series captured on either paper or film will not do away with the essence of youth. They will not suddenly gain the look of shock and announce a strong will and desire to become an athiest, which by the way, is not a hurtful word in any way. Let the children read and obsorb their minds with tales of the importance of truthfullness, honor, and love, as this series does. Let them watch the film and be enthralled as they see a world much like our own and yet somehow different, making the ordinary suddenly possess an extraordinary quality to it, where armored bears may speak and the lights in the northern part of the world gives a magical glow that is well thought of at this time of year. Excitment, not thoughts of religion being good or bad, is what will fill their minds. They are too young to as of yet see things the way some adults may interpret this series, and so it is simply this: innocence, unharmed and still protected. Please do not prevent a single child from enjoying this charming wonderful story, as I have also enjoyed again and again which each reading of it. The gift of story is truly a marvelous gift.

Harry Potter Full Circle

I was writing in a word document for a summary of the books I've read in 2007 (so far to date) and discovered something that truly shocked me: I had not entered in my most eagerly anticpated read into my blog! All I can think of is that I had wanted to give it the time it deserved to make it a really good post. Meanwhile, I wrote a review on LibraryThing for this book that was awarded a prize. This is the book,

#13 J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (July 2007)

And this is my review I had posted on LibraryThing. I warn you, it does spoil the previous book in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Please read with some caution.

A big fan of Harry Potter, I was eager and yet afraid to begin the final book of what for me has been a much-loved series. Throughout books one through six, we have read and watched as Harry grew up from an eleven-year-old child deemed The Boy Who Lived who learns he is a wizard, to what he becomes in book seven: a man with a heart of gold who will do everything in his power to save all he loves and then some. We have thought up as many theories as we possibly can, and have argued them thoroughly. At last, the final book has arrived, and there became seven.

With the start of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry is soon to become a wizard of age, and with that, is about to lose some powerful magic left to protect him by his mother, Lily, who sacrificed herself for her son nearly sixteen years before. Harry and the Dursley's part once more, and Harry is given a surprise as they go. The Order of the Phoenix arrives on scene with their plan that they hope will not fail as they attempt to take Harry away from Privet Drive once and for all. With not all that he left with, Harry as well as the Order make it to safety.

With the death of Albus Dumbledore new to the wizarding world from Harry's last adventure in Half-Blood Prince, people begin to speak about the Albus that they knew, whether he was the Albus they loved or that mystified them. Harry learns much more about the man who he looked up to, and, only months before he died, had told him that he was his man through and through. As it turns out, there is a heart-breaking story about Albus's past, and we learn all there is to know about Albus Dumbledore.

Unsurprisingly, Harry arrives at the Burrow in time, home of his family-at-heart, the Weasley's. Here, he celebrates his seventeenth birthday, and Harry accepts a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley that would have been given to him by his parents were they still alive. Harry watches Ginny as he would very much like to be with her but knowingly cannot until Voldemort is defeated. From the previous Harry Potter book, we know their will be a wedding between Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. The wedding proceeds, an after-party is thrown, and danger begins to lurk nearer.

Throughout Deathly Hallows, Harry searches for the Horcruxes while amongst friends, and together, they destroy them. Destruction of one such Horcrux brings them closer together. Places from the past are revisited, one of which Harry can barely remember. Harry is frequently reminded of how many hold him dear, and how many are rooting for him and offer support. More characters from the past reappear. To some, Harry must say good-bye in heart-breaking moments when you will find yourself in tears. Many of them do all they can to help Harry, even two who are very much unexpected. Filled with surprises as well as chapters that had me crying all the way through them, this is a book I will reread for decades to come. J.K. Rowling has created a marvelous series, full of love, tears, and laughter. Without a doubt, the Muggle world will never forget the name Harry Potter. To the Boy Who Lived!

The Subtle Knife

And so the adventure continues...

#29 Philip Pullman: His Dark Materials: The Subtle Knife (November 2007)

Everytime I read this series beyond the first book, I notice an immediate difference in the second and third book. Pantalaimon, Lyra's daemon, is not nearly as present as he had been in The Golden Compass. I find myself missing the conversations that went on between the two of them. Suddenly Pan is given the backseat, and we don't hear much from him, other than what he says directly to twelve-year-old Will Perry, Lyra's newest friend.

Another difference is the point of view of the story. Pullman had written it from persepectives other than Lyra's in the past, but suddenly the amount of times this happens strongly increases. This book has a feel to it as if it is Will's story, not Lyra's. If you think about it, even the titles suggest so. In The Golden Compass, Lyra obtains the alethiometer, while in The Subtle Knife, Will obtains the AEsahaettr. It's been too long for me since I've read the next book in the series, but I have a character in mind for whom that story is told for as well.

While reading this book, you come across many adults striving for the greater good, and dying for a cause. Ideas such as 'the greater purpose,' 'live life to the fullest,' and 'give it all you've got' come to mind.

This book ends with as much mystery as the first one did, perhaps more. Lasting question: where is Lyra now? While some may be able to read the first book and not continue on, I can't see how anyone could do that with this one. The Amer Spyglass becomes a must-read.

The Golden Compass

I was introduced to this book as a senior in high school. My school had started a reading program which required everyone on campus to read at the same time for perhaps fifteen to twenty minutes each day. On one of these days, I didn't have anything to read with me. I walked over to my Engligh instructor's shelf where I found a book with an interesting looking cover on which a large polar bear and child looked back at me, and I walked back to my seat with the book. By the time we finished our reading period, I was sad to return the book to the shelf, and spent the next few days rushing to make sure I could pick up the book again before another student beat me to it. I purchased the book that weekend, finished it, and proceeded with it's following books in a similar fashion.

Since first reading the series, I read it a few times more until perhaps two years ago when, it attempts to get my youngest sister to start reading books, I attempted to make her something much like the althiometer. (A project never finished, for the record.) Now with the movie coming to theaters next month, I had an excuse to reread this series once more.

#28 Philip Pullman: His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass (November 2007)

I love this series, and perhaps did a bit too much when I was younger. I would read it to read it again after just three months, and perhaps made it so that I'm a bit tired of it now, as much as I still adore the books. Some details are foggy to me and I'm able to read a little easier, though that's more so for the later books in the series.

It must be said that all the while that I was reading Frances Hardinge's Fly by Night, I thought of Lyra Belacqua and how much Mosca Mye reminded me of her. I wondered if the two fictional girls, of similiar ages, would be friends had they known each other's stories, and felt sure they would be. Later, I must reread the two books one after the other to write some more about them.

As I finished reading this book once more, I thought how much I disliked Lyra's parents, and how much hate I had for both. Lyra is truly a brave little girl. I am very happy that her story has been made into a movie, and am very excited about watching it soon. I hope the future will see the later books in the series to be movies, as well.

"You compare one small tree to the entire forest."

And so the series continues...

#27 Stephenie Meyer: Eclipse (November 2007)

I think this is my favorite of the Twilight series, but I'm not sure. Twilight was pretty good, too.

"Would it be childish of me to hide in your closet, then?"

I couldn't very well reread Twilight and not reread the rest of the series.

#26 Stephenie Meyer: New Moon (October 2007)

It was different reading this book than the last time, and I think the bigest reason why is because I wasn't constantly thinking "Where's Edward?" I pulled myself through this book quickly as I knew it would get better in the next book. As much as I've said this is my least favorite book in the Twilight series, it does have some good moments, too. Jacob, for as much as I want to hit him at times, was there for Bella when she had no one else. He helped her return to a sort of state of what it feels like to be happy. I wish I hadn't waited so long after rereading it to post about it - I could do a much better job of writing about it, but oh well. Must catch up!

Oh, and as for the quote, I chose it because it made me think of another book, one of the few I read as a child: Where the Wild Things Are.

"And so the lion fell in love with the lamb."

So maybe some people would feel I count a book twice in a single year, or even if the book was a reread, for that matter. I disagree. I have no problem rereading books and counting those as ones I read, and ordinarily, I don't reread a book until at least a year has passed since my last read. This is the exception because I needed key information from this series in order to include it in my literary graveyard for Halloween.

#25 Stephenie Meyer: 'Twilight:' Twilight (October 2007)

Once again, loved it! It was different reading it this time than last time. More later. I don't have the time to properly write this post now, so I'll edit later.

~Edited to add on 11/08/07 from this point on~

Twilight is absolutely lovely. Bella is an amazingly positive character to read about, nevermind her bits of anger that she has at times. It's always being expressed how she has tried to take care of her mother, which reminds me a bit of my own mom. Bella quickly adjusts to caring for her absentee father. One might think the two would have issues, but there are seemingly none, or very little of the kind I had in mind when I first began reading this book. Edward, Edward is amazing. Period. But of course it's not simply for his being a charming character. The vamp's a vegetarian, after all - he could easily be chewing at human's necks. Edward and his family chose a better path, and each and every Cullen, friendly toward Bella or otherwise, are in for it for eternity. The days that are filled with questions from Edward's curiousity of Bella's human life, and Bella of Edward's life as a vampire, may seem dull to some, but not to me. This part of the book was just as interesting to read the second time around as it was with the first read. And as I gave away in this post's title, the lion fell in love with the lamb... As one of my sisters would say (and she'd be happy to see me using her words), "Awww, they're in love!"

Nonfiction

I don't usually read non-fiction. Normally, I can't much even stand it. But I read this.

#24 Marya Hornbacher: Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia (October 2007)

I had despised this book greatly without ever having given it a chance to speak. Someone had been trying to get me to read it. At the time, I had wanted nothing to do with the book. She kept handing it to me, and I kept sneaking it back with her other books, unread. This went on for years. I had known nothing about eating disorders, and thought the book sounded uninteresting and stupid. Why would someone eat if they were just going to throw the food up, I thought, they're wasting food. I grew up amazingly poor at times, so I knew all about not wasting food. Now I think back on those thoughts and want to smack my younger self. I was ignorant. I can see a great importance in a bulimic eating now of course. A bulimic does not always keep their food, but that doesn't mean they never hope, want to or don't try. And an anorexic, I thought had to be stick thin, but knew before I read this book that that's not the case at all - a person's weight doesn't matter in the concern over whether he or she has a serious case or not. It simply means some people may be more healthy, and perhaps, I think, have a better chance at survival. We'll never understand as outsiders why a bulimic or an anorexic feels the need to be thin when they are perfection, the image of pure beauty in their heart already.

I knew before getting into this book that I would not read a story in which the girl lived happily ever after. She has life-lasting conditions that will always be a part of her. "There is no 'cure.' A pill will not fix it, though it may help. Ditto therapy, ditto food, ditto endless support from family and friends. You fix it yourself," (Hornbacher 284). This bit of news can be truly sad for a person watching someone they love and care about as they go through the routines of having anorexia or bulimia, knowing all the while there is nothing they can do but be there for their friend or loved one and hope one day it will end. But it doesn't end. So you can only hope their life will be different. Better. Happier.

This book was difficult to read at times. It taught me some things I didn't know, while confirming things I thought but had not known for sure. It can scare you. All of a sudden you are provided with someone's secrets and feel the desperate need to check on people you know and listen as they assure you they are 'okay,' they are 'fine.' It pulls your mind and plays games even on you, where you close the book and remind yourself who you are.

This book is filled with quotes at the start of chapters, especially from Lewis Carrol's well-known Alice. This is one of them (though not from Alice, I apologize). "Oh there is no use in loving the dying. / I have tried. / I have tried but you can't, / you just can't guard the dead. / You are the watchman and you / can't keep the gate shut." -Anne Sexton, "Letter to Dr. Y," 1964 (pg 181). I cannot do a single thing. I am helpless as ever I have possibly been and then some. But I disagree here. There is use, and I won't stop loving them even if it takes them first.

"The Princess Bride"

I was reading this book for a while but put it down. I'm not giving up on it, but I was simply reading it much too slowly to be drawn in to the book. I'm going to read a few other books and come back to it later, after having watched the movie. For now, I'm reading a nonfiction book that I'm hoping to finish by Monday. After that, I have some reading to do as preparation for the literary graveyard I make for Halloween.

Promises

I was introduced to Charles de Lint's books during the summer of 2002 when my mother pushed his books on me. She bought me perhaps five books from his Newford series over one weekend while she tried to find out more about The Onion Girl, a book she had seen many people reading and for which was the cause for her to get me to read de Lint's books in the first place. Little did she know The Onion Girl would take nearly a year for me to get a copy of, but it was a good wait as I was able to fill myself with other books in the series first. And how I did love that one! I happily dove into it's sequel, Widdershins, three years later. That said, I would have been utterly disappointed had I not been able to get my hands on this one.

#23 Charles de Lint: Newford: Promises to Keep (September 2007)

This book may not mean much to those who are new to the series and have not come to love Jilly, the heroin of this particular book and also favorite character of the author himself. For me, though, it was treasure. I got from it exactly what I wanted, and the only thing that could possibly have been missing that the other Newford books didn't give beyond the clues of. I'm a well satisfied de Lint reader.

This book explains a bit more about Jilly herself, and her past between her life in Tyson and her life as a college graduate. You see a part of Jilly that is not her 'we'll their a$$' self, but rather her journey on the way to becoming such. Besides the obvious, it had me thinking of Memory and Dream, the first book I read by de Lint and the second, if not first, book in the series. I'm thinking a rereading, if not of the complete series, then of part of it, is due soon.

Thursday Next Adventure Continues

I can't believe I missed this one when I was doing updates. Jasper Fforde has been one of my favorite authors for the last four years maybe. I had meant to read his first book, The Eyre Affair, much sooner than that, but didn't get around to it. It all worked out for the best, though, or I would not have read Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre before reading it.

#14 Thursday Next in First Among Sequels (August 2007)

I was so happy that this series would continue! I had thought it would end with Something Rotten. I enjoyed this book immensley, though feel it's not quite like the author's other books in this series. I found myself disappointed that the Cat did not make an appearance, nor did Thursday's father. I also missed the intensity of the main book being used within First Among Sequels, as Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, one of my favorite books, wasn't there much at all. Better luck next time, Mr. Fforde!

Salem

I read this one for a U.S. Women's history class.

#22 Lawrence Gain and Juliet H. Mofford: Cry "Witch!" The Salem Witchcraft Trials (September 2007)

Introduction to the 'Twilight' series

In honesty I think I walked by Stephenie Meyer's Twilight a few times in the past, but never once picked it up to see what it was about. I found out a little here and there on LibraryThing from a friend, and got the first book last month. I couldn't put it down! Within a very short amount of time reading, I was hooked, and did little else but read. Twilight was amazing, and I used the last of my money save for $6 on the next book, New Moon, nevermind I would be broke for a week. That book, too, proved to be amazing, but I missed some things that weren't as much of the book as they'd been for the previous one. Hearing the third was greater, I pouted while waiting for the day to come that I could buy that one. Then I got my prize from a LibraryThing book review contest*, and happily ordered it using part of my winnings. Eclipse was perfect! Having completed the series so quickly, I join the group of impatiently waiting people for fall 2008 to arrive, and with it the next book in the series.

#17 Twilight (August 2007)
#18 New Moon (August 2007)
#19 Eclipse (August 2007

*The review contest was for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

YA Fantasy

I thought I was tired of these, but gave two a try, and the other I just had to read.

#15 Charles de Lint: Newford: Little (Grrl) Lost (August 2007)

This is the one I had to read. Charles de Lint is one of my favorite authors. Not wanting to pay full price for the hardcover, I put this book on my BookMooch wishlist hoping to either get it there, or wait for the paperback. Someone on BM had an ARC copy! I was the first to mooch it, and within two weeks, it was in my home. Of the author's YA books, this one most reminds me of The Blue Girl, however, I liked this book much more.

#20 Neil Gaiman: Stardust (September 2007)

Knowing full well it was a book, I couldn't go see the movie without first reading the book. I managed to read it in time to see the movie, and on the very same day I finished the book on. The two were very different from one another, but both were enjoyable.

#21 Frances Hardinge: Fly By Night (September 2007)

I got this book from someone on BookMooch, who had also registered it on BookCrossing. I hope they don't mind that I plan to keep it! This book was lovely. I will definitely reread it one day.

Fiction

Looks like the numbers are down for this category! ;) Funny enough, I used to read loads of mainstream fiction.

#7 Elizabeth Flock: Me and Emma (May 2007)

I found this book in a used bookstore. I'd been searching endlessly for an interesting book when none could be found. I picked this book off a shelf with thoughts of Jane Austen's Emma (a TRB for me) in my head. I was stunned into silence as the I read the backside of the book. Bits of it made me think of life experiences and the cruelty my sisters and I suffered from a stepparent we once had. Knowing I might be doing myself damage and causing myself grief by reading this book, I took it home with me. I was crying before I finished the first page and this book stirred my memories, but it was a very good and also very sad.

#16 Jodi Picoult: My Sister's Keeper (August 2007)

This is the first and only book I've read by this author so far. I was very shocked by the ending. I liked it enough that I've mooched three other books by her since reading this one. (Two sit in my TBR pile having been first read by my mother; the other is still in the process of being delivered.)

Works of Jane Austen

I originally meant to read all of her works before Jasper Fforde's newest Thursday Next book, First Among Sequels, was released this July. With the reading of Northanger Abbey, I decided I just wouldn't do this. There were too many books I wanted to read and too little time to read them in. I did have classes to think about as well.

#2 Sense and Sensibility (March 2007)
#6 Northanger Abbey (April 2007)

I do still have plans to read all of Jane Austens works, and soon. The next one I'll read will probably be Mansfield Park, which I bought back in April. I've bought and received quite a few books lately which require reading and understanding of all of her works before I can read them. Others are simply continuations of Pride and Prejudice, which I've read several times.

* Lost in Austen, and The Jane Austen Addict.
** Darcy's Story, Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife, and Mr. Darcy's Daughters.

Harry Potter Reread Pre 07/21/07

Since this took up most of my reading this year, it seems the best place to start. This was rather interesting as it was both the last chance to reread the series before Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out, and the fact that I was able to do this reading copies published by the United Kingdom. (This was all entirely thanks to BookMooch, and people from outside the United States willing to send books outside their countries. Thanks!)

#1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (February 2007)
#3* Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (March 2007)
#4 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (April 2007)
#8 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (June 2007)
#9 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (June 2007)
#10 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (June 2007)

Then there are the nonfiction** Harry Potter books...

#5 Ben Schoen: Mugglenet.com's What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7? (April 2007)
#11 Galadriel Waters: New Clues to Harry Potter: Book 5 (July 2007)
#12 David Langford: The End of Harry Potter? (July 2007)

* What is up with this order? :) This is the order not of the series, but the order for which I have and am reading books this year. I didn't always reread the series through, but read things in between.
** I actually read some that aren't mentioned here because I skimmed through them. Also, I've read other nonfiction books on Harry Potter in the past.

Updating

It seems I haven't been here for a little over three months. I think I was just too busy during the summer. All work and no play! I should still be busy because term has picked up, of course...

I was was thinking how to display the books I most recently read on my LT profile when I remembered this place. That said, I'm going to write posts for each of those books.

"So You Think You Know Harry Potter?"

Then you better check yourself in, 'cause - I don't mean to break your heart - he's fictional. (Hehe, I had to say it. ;)

LibraryThing never came back on today, so I guess I won't be there much until next Wednesday. :( The terrible shame of this is that I received a long awaited for book this afternoon that I had mooched back in April just for using in the Harry Potter group on LT! Now I can give a Bowser laugh when at last LT is up, and I can let the other group members know it's arrived. ;) Let the questions begin! (But not till after work tomorrow, if LT is back up.)

With all the down time lately, I've picked up and finished my book. Instead of jumping into he next HP book, though, I'm reading one I mooched a while back, called The End of Harry Potter? by David Langford. After twenty pages, I'm guessing it won't be all it's made out to be, and I'm glad to say it may have only cost me $1.33.

Soon There Will Be 7 Bookmarks

While my usual online hang outs are sadly unavailable, I've checked out Mugglenet and found these bookmarks available on the Scholastic website. Only yesterday, I read that people are giving these ones away on the Knight Bus tour, currently on the Eastern side of the US. I have a bit of a wait, but I'm not going to miss it!

Edited: That's way too much room for thin, little bookmarks, so I've deleted all but the first one. I could only get them on separate lines. Wish I knew how to get them side-by-side!

LT *and* BM down!

LibraryThing was working again last night, but as of twenty minutes, is down again. I didn't even get a chance go on it this morning. Before I even checked their site, I checked my e-mail, and found a BookMooch wishlist e-mail. I held my breath and clicked to try to mooch the book, logged in, and found only the words "To where do you want the book sent?". Before I realized the page was done loading, I was ecstatic that I would get to mooch it. Then I got all upset, because of course BM wouldn't come back on at a time I can get the book! The site is down so frequently, that I almost want to pull all my books off it, and not return. This sort of thing has happened to me far too many times. Furthermore, it seems to be down near every time that LT is down. I know they're completely separate, but I still wonder why that happens. It's very irritating, but beyond that, as far as BM is concerned, an huge inconvenience.

LibraryThing still down

My prediction about LibraryThing taking more than five to ten minutes to be running again was quite right, as the site's been down since at least 8pm last night and has yet to work today, nearly sixteen hours later. It's times like this that I wish the people who I normally talk to there and I could chat somewhere else. I'm sure it will several hours more before the site works today. Likely, it may be an all day 'Thing' without the 'Library.' Sadly, this has happened before on days I've had off. I hope I can at least go on it tomorrow, or I won't be there much for nearly eight days because of work. :( 'Guess it's off to reading.

LT, BM, & Summer Reading

While LibrayThing is still down from last night (5-10 minutes, ha), I went on BookMooch to check for pending mooches. It's been more than a week since anyone has mooched from me. The only reason I can come up with is that my inventory is just not interesting. I have excellent feedback, and never fail to notify people who I send books to about the status of their desired book. While I'm not receiving any mooches from people, I'm not much receiving any e-mails about books on my wishlist turning up, either. I guess this is good, since I won't use up points without being able to get more, but I just love getting mail! It's always exciting to receive a book in the mail. If one doesn't arrive today, it will be five days since I last received one.

Speaking of five days, last Saturday I sent a book out of the US for the first time. It went to Africa by first-class air mail, and I was told it would take five to nine days to arrive. While I paid to to able to check if it is delivered, the postal worker never gave me the required slip of paper to do so. Today marks the nineth day, and the bookmoocher in Africa has not said the book has been received yet. I fear they may dislike the condition of the book, though I am very good about writing them. Creased spines, aged and yellow pages, I list them.

While I was checking out the pending mooches, I looked over profiles of some people who I mooched from. One has recently listed a blog, and when I visited it, I found that the book I mooched from them, Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint, was on a book challenge that he or she took. It seems this is their first book by the author, and I was shocked they were giving it away, as it seemed they rather enjoyed it and wish to read more by this author in the future. My gain, I guess. It seems they've read another of my favorite books recently as well, Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde. I may just keep checking their blog (http://readfromatoz.blogspot.com/) every so often. It seems rather interesting.

Only a few months ago, I had two copies of Dreams Underfoot. I worked up the courage to finally offer the older one on BookMooch, and it was immediately swiped up. A couple weeks later, I traded books with a friend, and gave away the second and newer copy. I didn't mind giving it to this person at all, but was rather happy I could perhaps let someone discover this author's works. I decided to replace it with another copy from a bookstore, but never much go to bookstores that sell new books, so I hadn't replaced it. I eventually decided to add it to my BookMooch wishlist, and was very happy to receive an e-mail about it being added to someone's inventory. Now, I only wait for it to arrive. After September, I plan to at long last reread Charles de Lint's Newford series in their correct order. As the author points out, they are designed to be read in any order (but must begin with Dreams Underfoot), I just have read all of them and wish to read them in chronological order now. Well, soon, not so much now. I have a lot of rereading to do for the final Harry Potter series' release, and after that, some classics and Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series for his fifth book in that series. I wouldn't be able to wait till these books are released, had I not so much prep-reading to do.

Summer Reading Schedule:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
**Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
*Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde
The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
**First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde

*First time read
*New releases, also first time reads

It's Alive!

Awesome! Counter up and running.

Irritating HP Counters

I cannot emphasize how many times I've tried to get those darn things to work, but they never seem to. Grrr! I'm sure it's just me or my computer. I wish it would work correctly already. Maybe I'll have luck adding one of them here. I'll have to see. :)