Re-Readathon Days 1-6 Update

This is hosted by Bex at An Armchair by the Sea and you can signup at this link.

So I have actually read, just forgot to write an update post. I have not felt well again this week and it seems like it is taking me awhile to recover from the kidney stones, but on the bright side I have been able to get back into my reading.

I finished all of the The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snickett. I love the dark humor of the series and the ingenuity of the Baudelaire children. I think the series is great for both adult readers and middle grade readers, because of the humor he uses and because of how he defines big words throughout the series. It definitely helps to build those vocabulary words for younger readers. I also have listened to two chapters of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The Wedding chapter and the following one where the trio escapes into London and finally decides to go to Grimauld Place. The Wedding chapter is one of my favorites from the whole series. I love the scene where Fleur enters and seems to erase all the damage done to Bill by Greyback. I think it is a beautifully written scene. I also like how we are introduced to a darker side of Dumbledore and how Harry starts to grapple with the idea that maybe Dumbledore is not perfect. We all get to that point with our heroes and we have to accept the idea that they are human.

Hopefully I can do a few of the challenges this week and maybe read a bit more. Thanks to Bex for hosting!

Re-Readathon #3 signup post

This is hosted by Bex at An Armchair by the Sea and you can signup at this link. I finally got around to making my signup post! This has been a crazy month so far and a little rereading will do some good for me.
Possible choices:
Dragonquest by Anne McCaffrey
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas
The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snickett

I am not for sure what I will be in the mood for on Monday, but these are all titles I would like to reread. I finished Farmer Boy otherwise it would be on this list. Thanks to Bex for hosting!

Life happens

Well I haven't been posting much lately, because life has been a bit crazy. Work was going badly there for awhile and that and other issues were depressing me so much that I did not feel like interacting with anyone and I could not even read. Things got a bit better and then last week I started having pains and it turns out I have several kidney stones that need to pass and one that is 6mm and may need help. Kidney stones cause excruciating pain and I really had no idea they were going to hurt so much. I spent most of last week in pain, but this week I feel better. I haven't passed it yet, but I go back next Tuesday to possibly have it pulled out. Prayers and good thoughts would be much appreciated! I hope to get back into the reading/blogging/commenting mood soon and I miss interacting with everyone!

I have been participating in the #ninjabookswap and #otspsecretsister projects and all that love has helped tremendously! I love my sisters and can't wait to hear from them each month.
Here is a pic of my first secret sister package:

She is so awesome!

2016 Bookish Resolutions Challenge: February Update

 
The 2016 Bookish Resolutions Challenge is hosted by Laura @ Trips Down Imagination Road and Michelle @ Because Reading and you can sign up at this link. For this challenge you must have 2 of 3 main goals, Blogging, Reading, and/or Personal and then subcategories for these goals.

My goals:

Reading Goals

1. Read at least 6 Classics. This was a goal I barely completed last year, but something I want to continue doing. I ended up reading and finishing Peter Pan this month and have started Frankenstein. Peter Pan reminded me of the Disney version with just a tad more violence.
2. Read at least 70 books this year. I did not do this as a goal for the Bookish Resolution last year, but I did have it as a goal. I just missed it by 8 books, so I want to challenge myself on it this time. I have finished 15 books so far, so not bad!
3. Finish at least 4 series. I did well with this last year, but I have several more series that I did not finish. A goal I haven't started yet, but hope to soon. I am hoping to finally finish Champion by Marie Lu, so that I can start her other series.

Blogging Goals

4. Blog at least 10 times a month. I met this goal for 7 out of 12 months, so I want to try this one again. I blogged 12 times in February! I am so excited that I am doing well with this one.
5. Complete at least half of the challenges I sign up for this year. I came very close to completing this goal, but not quite. I will be signing up for challenges soon. So far I have started 12 challenges out of 16, so not a bad start. I still think I have a reading challenge addiction. :)
6. Be more active commenting on blogs and on Twitter. By more active, I mean getting on Twitter and commenting on blogs at least once a week. I did really well with this. I have been checking Twitter at least once a day and at least commenting on tweets. I still need to work on commenting on blogs, but I have commented on at least one each week.
7. Review at least half of the books I read. I basically just stopped writing reviews at the end of the year and I would like to do better with this in 2016. So far I have reviewed 13 out of 15 books and hope to write my review for Roller Girl soon. I skipped Magic Steps and think I will write a combined review with Street Magic when I finish it.

Personal Goals

8. Lose at least 20 pounds. We are going to try Biggest Loser at work and our theme this year is Libraries Transform, which is ALA's theme. I gained back most of what I lost last year, so I would love to lose that weight again and maintain the weight loss. I have lost 10 pounds so far! With the start of Lent, I have been working on my eating habits.
9. Eat and drink healthier. I would like to eat at least a vegetable or fruit a day. I eat horribly and am not in good shape. I would also like to cut down on coffee and sodas, because that is all I have been drinking lately. I have managed to eat at least a veggie or a fruit a day, but not much more than that. I have eliminated sodas and have started cutting out the cream in my coffee and not drinking coffee when I am not working.
10. Exercise more. I would love to exercise at least a few times a month and possibly up this to a few times a week as I get in a bit better shape. I don't want to push things too fast, so for the first month or so, I would like to exercise at least 3 times a month. I barely managed to squeeze in exercise again, so I really need to work on this next month.

Hope you all are doing well with your resolutions. Thanks to Laura and Michelle for hosting!

Light on Snow by Anita Shreve

This was a book club book, but also works for the Full House challenge under Library Book and Reading Bingo for an author you have never read.

Little, Brown Company

When twelve year old Nicky and her father find a baby in the woods, Nicky has no idea how much it will change her relationship with her father and possibly help heal the wounds they have. Nicky would love to keep the baby, but knows that is not possible. "Baby Doris" as she is named by the hospital is found in a bloody towel in the snow, left to die by her parents. Nicky and her father take the baby to the hospital, answer a few police questions, and expect that to end the story. When Charlotte shows up and confesses to be the baby's mother, Nicky's dad wants to turn her in, but Nicky prevents this, as least as long as the snow storm is happening. Through the next few days, they learn Charlotte's story and they learn to heal from the tragedies from their past.

This turned out to be a sweet, fairly simple story about how families move on or don't move on after the worst situation happens. Nicky and her father have left their former home, job, and friends, but they can't let go of their grief in their home out in the middle of nowhere. They only learn how to be a family again from Charlotte and the fact that she has seemingly abandoned her baby. However the truth of both situations change when they all finally confront their pasts and have hope for the future. This is sort of a coming of age story, but mainly it is about how families change and grow and how we can live after the worst situation. I liked Shreve's straightforward writing style and I wouldn't mind reading more by her. 4 cups of cocoa!

Brief Thoughts on: This Time Together by Carol Burnett

This book fits the Memoir category for the Full House challenge and was a book club book.

Crown Archetype

I loved watching Carol Burnett in her guest appearance on Mama's Family as Eunice, but only vaguely remember the Carol Burnett Show. For this story, Carol focused mainly on the good times in her performing life and told hilarious stories about her times with her coworkers and with guest stars. The majority of the book is remembering things that happened on her show and how she dealt with the ups and downs of stardom. I loved that she had such a positive look on almost every person she met. She would find at least one good thing to focus on with each person. I enjoyed how she seemed so down to earth and how easily she was starstruck by people like Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant. The end does focus on her daughter's death and she did not talk as much about this, maybe because this was more of a joyful book for her or maybe because the pain is still too much, but even though it is briefly touched upon, I still cried as she described her loss. She seems like a very nice woman and most of the memoirs I have read in the past are not very positive when they talk about coworkers or other stars, so this was a nice change and I loved reading it. 4 cups of cocoa!

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I read this for the Little House Readalong and Read it Again Sam and it works for reread an old favorite on Reading Bingo.

Harper Collins

Laura's Pa wants to leave behind the crowded Big Woods and go to Indian Territory. He has heard a rumor that the government will open that land for settlers. Laura and her family are sad to leave, but also look forward to the surprises out west. They travel by covered wagon, through a scary fording of a river, to finally arriving on the prairie. There the family met friendly neighbors, including the bachelor Mr. Edwards, and Laura gets to see Native Americans. There is danger in the west, but as long as she has Pa, Ma, and Jack to protector, Laura is happy to be a little girl on the prairie.

This was my favorite book in the series growing up. I loved traveling west with Laura on the covered wagon and Mr. Edwards is one of my favorite characters outside of the family. I love the story of him meeting Santa in Independence and bringing the girls gifts through the creek flooding. This one is jam packed with excitement and reading it as an adult I realize just how lucky they were to survive all the situations, particularly the prairie fire. I am not for sure if I could have survived! I loved hear how Pa built the little house and was saddened by the end, although I know it leads the way to further adventures. The Native Americans were treated a bit harshly, but I think Pa would be a fairly rare person for the time, since he seems to want to be friendly with the Native Americans and doesn't make the same horrible comments that the other characters made. I found it fascinating that the doctor that saves them from the fever is an African-American man and that there was a complete lack of being judgmental about this from both parties. I did laugh when Pa eats all of the watermelon and then gets sick again, so that Ma feels justified in saying it was the watermelon that made him sick. I loved revisiting the prairie again and I can't wait to read Almanzo's story next month! 4 cups of cocoa!