Reading Rambo

I had some unexpected free time after work yesterday, and as I was walking home, I passed the train station Waldenbooks (our train station has magical glass walls, so its insides are visible). It said most of their stock was 50% off, so, despite still working on about four books, and having an insane number on my shelves to finish, I went in. And guess what was left! After all the manic shoppers and bargain-hunters and slow browsers had gone through, they left me a copy of Rules of Civility ! Happy day! For those unaware of it, Raych at books i done read  recommended it out the wazoo, and as I highly respect Raych and her love of writing things in caps (it's really the only way to go), I put it on my to-read list and put it on hold at the library, but it was taking FOREVER, so owning it now is excellent. Also, look at that cover. How can you not want to own that book? It's got a '30s lady reclining! That's what I want to do all the time! Only without the Great Depressi...

Reviewing. I suck at it. Other people are good at it, and I respect that. While I'm slightly bummed that my book blog is rarely about specific books beyond "*insert title here* is kickass and you all should read it" or "This way sucks," if I tried to make it just book reviews, it would be tremendously boring, no one would read my blog and I'd sit in a corner crying while trying to come up with hilarious things to say on facebook. I'm sure if I sat down and looked at the format of people's reviews, I could synthesize some stuff and come up with a non-horrible way of doing it, but 1) that sounds boring, 2) too much effort, 3) while I appreciate other people reviewing, I don't think I could do it without sounding like everyone else. Boo. With this in mind, I want to talk about George Eliot. How do we all feel about George, or Georgie, as I'm sure she would totally prefer? (not really) My feelings sway depending on how much frustration she is ...

Hello, Readers. It's Friday, Friday, Gotta Get Down on Friday. It's ALSO the 100th post on here. I know, that's crazy. So I'm having a giveaway again, which you should enter, because I'm sure this book is good. Yeah, that's right. I haven't read it. But I have two copies of it, and I want to give one of them to you. You specifically. I feel like we have a close bond that maybe we should explore through the mailing of the printed word from me to you. (note: this close bond entails nothing else, however disappointing that might be) GIVEAWAY giveaway GIVEAWAY giveaway GIVEAWAY giveaway GIVEAWAY Hurray! Get the book that people I'm sure have called "stunning," "a tour de force," "a riveting journey through the lives of others," "multifaceted and exquisite, much like some fancy diamond thing," and "super-good." Also, look at the girl on the cover. How adorable are those boots? Plus it's got 'hedgeh...

A friend inquired as to whether I had "bragged" (the idea!) about going to a Stevie Nicks concert on every social media platform. I thought about it, and the answer was that while I had indeed spoken of it on facebook, twitter, google+, gchat and spotify, I had not mentioned it on my book blog. So let's just remedy that up right now. I SAW STEVIE NICKS IN CONCERT LAST NIGHT AND IT WAS AMAAAAAZING.  There were many people dressed like this, only not pulling it off quite so well  How does this relate to books? Excellent question. Yes. Well...yes. Ah-ha! Interviews count as reading too, right? Totally. Let's not be all snobbish and only stick with "book" books. Here, I've gone through a very thorough website (I didn't go through it thoroughly, but the site itself is impressively thorough) and found what I'm going to assume is the best interview, based on the fact it's the only one I clicked on. Playboy's 20 Questions With Stevie ...

So today's supposed to be What're You Reading Monday or Mailbox Monday or...something. I had a harsh weekend, guys. By which I mean A SUPER-AWESOME FUN WEEKEND, but I stayed up too late every night and now I am at work and tired. Oh, hindsight! Why cannot you ever be presentsight! As is usually the case, I've started about twenty books and am "actually" reading maybe three. These are the current ones: Doomsday Book - This is pretty rockin', but smart enough that when I was all lazy over the weekend, I thought '...nah, I'm gonna go with something unthinky.' That's when I picked up: Beauty Queens - OMG EVERYONE IS READING THIS. And by 'everyone' I mean absolutely no one I know in real life, but all book bloggers. Or at least all book bloggers who are willing to read YA lit. Which, let's face it, is most of them. I was hesitant, but so many people have given it stellar reviews, that I figured what the hey. And thus far (like a thi...

Ok, blogging world. It's just you and me this morning. And I have been on a sleep deficit since Friday. So just imagine this entire blog entry in the stumbly voice of a drunk. Because that's what it would sound like if I were reading it aloud. Late last night when I couldn't sleep, I asked people on twitter (I am @flubdubs, by the way, o ye fellow twitterers) to name an author for me to blog about today. I got a few answers, and I toyed with the notion of writing a story where they all hung out, possibly at a lake, riding in several swanboats while shouting witty things to each other. But I am too tired. So instead I'm going to write an ill-informed article about Ray Bradbury. Ray Bradbury is someone I thought was dead. But according to Wikipedia, he is not dead, he is just very very old. I also thought he was a supporter of polyamory, but it turns out I was thinking of Robert Heinlein (who IS dead, so if I were writing this article about him, I would've been righ...

Have you guys heard I Was Made for You by She & Him, Zooey Deschanel's band? Oh, I'm sorry, her "American indie country duo" (thanks, Wikipedia)? Anyway, it's awesome. I heard it in the background of The Sarah Silverman Program and thought it was a '60s girl group song. But no! It's a 2007 American indie country duo song that SOUNDS like a '60s girl group song. "Stuff and nonsense!" you cry. "Be this a book blog or a recommend-things-at-random blog? A pox on you and your song!" Well, fine. Have fun depriving yourself of catchy happiness. How do you guys feel about books? I was reading Amanda from Zenleaf's new blog ( Mandaland , for those unaware) and in one post she discusses how when she had a book blog she got more obsessed with books than she felt she truly was. Meaning, as her normal, un-book-blog-owning self, she read sometimes, but it wasn't something in which she invested a lot of time. Which seems to be mai...

I do the opera singing, yes? Yes. And that, with my day job and church obligations (did I mention I am a Most Holy Elder at my church? Not that we're supposed to call ourselves that, but this is my blog, so bam), means I don't have a lot of time for ye olde reading. And when I DO somehow get a free day, my mind goes "Ehhhhh you don't REALLY want to read, right? You can watch reruns of Daria . That seems like a productive use of your time." Anyway, the fall is when young artist program auditions mainly happen, which means I should be cloistering myself in a practice room (i.e. my bedroom) for hours on end, only coming out to grab the occasional tub of hummus and then skulking back. So of course this is the time when I have not two, not three, but FOUR books I'm really excited about. FOUR. 1. Picnic at Hanging Rock - This is one of my favorite movies. And I just added up the different movies I've seen (...I have a boring job; I don't recommend doing t...

There is a difficulty with this particular Top Ten Tuesday, which is that I tend to love books everyone else loves. This is a continual source of frustration for me, as I am a unique and delicate snowflake that cannot be like everyone else, and yet I keep being presented with evidence to the contrary. So excuse me while I scour the depths of my 'read' section on Goodreads... 1. The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance - Of course. I'm still WAY into this book months after having read it. My mom was in the hospital a month or so back, and when she came home, she'd lay in bed and I would read her chapters from this to keep her entertained. It's hilarious and insightful and well-meaning and I super-love it. 2. Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins - Emma Donoghue! They're like short stories, but not quite. They all link up to each other. She knows her fairytale shit, let me tell you. Because you can only mess with something effectively when you...

Yeah, I'm the heroine here. Because it's my blog, damnit. And I'm 5'2" and spunky, which we all know is perfect heroine material. Anyway, this weekend has been surprisingly awesome so far. And I'm going to tell you all about some pretty great things that you should be aware of in order to lead a happier, more fulfilled life. 1. Tig Notaro is hilarious. Like...you don't even know. Unless you've heard her new standup album, in which case right now you're shouting "OMG I KNOW. I KNOW . AMAZING." It was rec'd on twitter, and I clicked on it right before bed, being like 'Eh, sure, I'll check this out.' Look, just go here . It's an mp3 of one of the tracks. You will laugh and then be a happier person. 2. The Sarah Silverman Program is on Netflix Instant, and — hey! HEY. I saw that dismissive look. No. You watch it and you laugh. I've spent the parts of my Saturday that weren't spent trudging around Chicago eating ...

Ooh, according to Rachel at Books In The Sun , there's a thing (that's perhaps her own awesome invention) called Wednesday New Read Roundup, which is absolutely perfect, because I add books to my to-read list all the time without reading any of them. Some of these I don't remember adding, but okey dokey: Anno Dracula , Kim Newman - My friend Naomi recommended this. I shall read it. The Collector , John Fowles - I forget how I stumbled across this. Probably while reading about serial killers, as I do that a disturbing amount. Did I mention my lovely first date story, where we did bar trivia? I didn't know that many of the answers, and it was hideously embarrassing, but then the bonus round was Serial Killer Monikers, of which I knew 4/5. Yeah, there was no second date. Lilith's Brood , Octavia Butler  - Who told me to read this? Anyway, it's on my list. And I'm gonna check it out. Born in Africa: The Quest for the Origins of Human Life , Martin Meredi...

The Field Museum -- our natural history museum here in Chicago -- has a special exhibit about whales. My friend and I went last Saturday and mainly made fun of whales, because we are part of a cold and unfeeling generation (I did, however, cry during the last episode of Hoarders I watched), but it was interesting enough to make me go 'Hm. Maybe I should look at Moby Dick . Sperm whales look pretty badass.' I have been warned off Moby Dick for years. "Read Bartleby ! Moby Dick 's not that important to read,' cried my professors. And I fully believe that's true. But one of my brothers has read it, and he won't stop lording it over me (WHILE saying how horrible a read it was; thanks, Rodney), so I have to at least try it. It has been noted many times previously how similar the attempt to finish Moby Dick is to Captain Ahab's obsessive hunt for the white whale. Will Ahab finally catch it? Will I finish this book? I know the answer to one of those quest...