Neil Gaiman Challenge

Here are the rules:
1. Read five books (includes Graphic Novels) by Neil Gaiman between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010
2. Overlaps with other challenges are allowed
3. Ebooks and audiobooks are allowed, too
6. You don't have to have a reading list ready to participate in the challenge but please let me know which level you're doing

Semi-unhibernated

Hi all,

Sorry about the reading challenge spamming, just getting back into the swing of things for the new year.

I want to thank all of you who commented and/or emailed to say Merry Christmas and to tell me to enjoy my hibernating – it was very much appreciated!

I’ll be back with the new year and am looking forward to talking with you all again!

Happy reading!

Terry Pratchett Challenge

 

I discovered Terry Pratchett and the wonder that is Discworld about eighteen months ago and I powered through the first four or five books. Then, as is often the way with longer series, I got sidetracked by more pretty books.

So I’m aiming at the Academic of the Unseen University level of this challenge (6-8 books) – partly because it’s a good number and partly cause, well, I want to go play in the Unseen University library!

A-Z Challenge

And another of my favourite challenges, though I’ve yet to complete it…

 

Author	#	Title
	A
	B
	C
	D
	E
	F
M is for Magic – Neil Gaiman	G
	I
	J
	K
	L	Let it Snow – John Green et al
	M
	N	No Excuses Guide to Soul Mates – Stacey DeMarco and Jade Sky
	O	The Other Boleyn Girl – Philippa Gregory
Ariel – Sylvia Plath	P
	Q
	R
	S
	T
	U
	V
	W
	X
	Y
	Z

World Religion Challenge

hosted by Bibliofreak 

Challenge Description
The Challenge will run from Jan 1st 2010 to Dec 31st 2010. There are four categories to the Challenge. (I decided to lift a note from Taoism by calling these Paths (Tao means "way" or "path") to Reading Challenge Enlightenment).

• The Bare Bones Path (Also Know As: The *Technically* There's Only Three Path): Read something about what are *technically* the only world religions, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. (These are considered, by some scholars, to be the only World Religions because while Judaism and Hinduism have the numbers, they don't proselytize or really invite other people to join, making it more of an ethnicity).

• The Penthouse Path (Also Known As: The Five Biggies Path): Read something about the five major world religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

• The Universalist Path (Also Known As: The Above and Beyond Path): Read something by all five of the major world religions PLUS more books about any or all of the following: Shintoism, Animism, Taoism, Confucianism, Wicca, Mythology, Atheism, Occult, Tribal Religions, Voodoo, Unitarianism, Baha'i, Cults, Scientology, Mysticism, Rastafarianism, Jainism, Sikhism, Zorastrianism, Agnosticism, Gnosticism, Satanism, Manichaeism, Deism, Comparative Religion, Religious Philosophy, Jungiansim, Symbolism, Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, etc., etc. etc. (you may also read about another aspect of one of the 5 Biggies)

• The Unshepherded Path (Also Known As: The Don't Tell Me What to Do Path): Read as many books as you would like about whatever religions you want.

 

My Path

I really liked the sound of this one when Bibliofreak mentioned it on Twitter, but I wasn’t really going to sign up for it as I don’t read a lot of NF. Then when she needed some buttons made, I jumped in – which them meant I HAD to play along… dern twitter, haha.

Anyways, I’m picking the Unshepherded Path. Should be interesting!

Books Read in 2010

It’s not a new year in bookland without signing up for J. Kaye’s 100+ Reading Challenge. Feel short in 2009, but I’m rearing to try again!

Total: 8/100

• DeMarco, Stacey and Jade Sky - The No Excuses Guide to Soul Mates
• Gaiman, Neil – M is for Magic
• Green, John, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle – Let it Snow
• Gregory, Philippa - The Other Boleyn Girl
• Martin, Ann M. and Raina Telgemeier - The Babysitter's Club Graphic Novels - 1 - Kristy's Great Idea
• Martin, Ann M. and Raina Telgemeier - The Babysitter's Club Graphic Novels - 2 - The Truth About Stacey
• Martin, Ann M. and Raina Telgemeier - The Babysitter's Club Graphic Novels - 3 - Mary Anne Saves the Day
• Plath, Sylvia - Ariel

2010 Challenge

Rules:

• Read 2 books from each category, making a requirement of 20 books total.
• The categories are intended to be loose guidelines only, if you decide it fits, then it fits. (Apart from those marked **)
• Categories marked with ** have tighter rules, and these must be followed.
• Each book can only qualify for one category.
• Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
• Books read from 01/01/2010 to 31/12/2010 are eligible.

 

Categories:

1. Young Adult

• Let it Snow – John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle

2. T.B.R.**

• The Other Boleyn Girl – Philippa Gregory

3. Shiny and New

4. Bad Bloggers

5. Charity

6. New in 2010

7. Older Than You

• Ariel – Sylvia Plath

8. Win! Win!

9. Who Are You Again?

10. Up to you! (audio books)

42-ing again

I signed up for Becky’s 42 Challenge last year and, I have to say, I enjoyed it so much that it felt like I was cheating. Sci-fi – watching it, writing it, talking about it – is such a huge part of my life that I practically completed the challenge in my sleep.

So when the challenge was being run again this year, I knew I was definitely going to to do it again. But I decided to give myself a few restrictions on it this year. Any sci-fi items that made it onto my list last year is not allowed on it this year – no doubling up for me. Also, I’ve decided that I’m only allowing NEW to me texts onto the list – if I’ve seen/read/listened to it before, it can’t count.

As always, any suggestions would be happily welcomed!

1. Aliens vs. Monsters. Directed by Conrad Vernon and Rob Letterman. (2009)

What’s in a Name? 3

hosted by Beth Fish

 

Here's the challenge in brief: Between January 1 and December 31, 2010, read one book in each of the following categories:

1. A book with a food in the title.
2. A book with a body of water in the title.
3. A book with a title (queen, president, sir) in the title.
4. A book with a plant in the title.
5. A book with a place name (country, city) in the title.
6. A book with a music term in the title.

2009 Wrap-Up Post

The latter half of 2009 has been a disorganised one for me, and unfortunately my reading has been the thing to take the fall. However, with the new year coming, I’m looking forward to making a bit more time to hit the shelves and get back on track.

Books read: 85

Authors: 56

New Authors: 35

Pages read: 20, 044

5 Star Books for 2009

Merry Christmas!

JOMPy and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We hope that you and your family have a wonderful time celebrating the season in your own way – and of course that you find lots of books under your tree!

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about library etiquette…


For the regular library patrons among us: do you have your own idea of what constitutes proper library etiquette? Is there anything you always try to do? Anything you hate when others do?



PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

Between work, friends and my own borrowing I spend a fair amount of time in libraries. In fact I'd probably spend around eight hours every week in various libraries. As such, I see how a lot of people behave in libraries and have developed some very strong pet peeves - and now I'm wondering if I'm the only one!

There's the usual, of course - people being too noisy, dog-earring books, never returning them - but there's other things that I've come to dislike that I never thought would bug me. Like people returning books to the shelves with the spine facing in. I realise that not everyone is library-saavy, and that they may return it to the wrong spot - but back to front? really? It bugs me.

Another thing is when people leave their searches open on the collection computers. You only have to press one button ('New Search') to get a fresh page, but people NEVER do it. And then when the next person steps up, you're met with their search terms - and people look up some odd things.

And lastly - the people who wait until the 'This library will be closing in five minutes' call to come up to the desk with a question that's going to take five hours to answer. And they do it, every time.

As for things I try to do - well, firstly the opposite of all of these, because I know they bug me. I always try to keep the book tidy, returning it without the receipt or envelopes being used as bookmarks. I use the self-check machine and split my returns up in the tray (NF, F, YA) so they're easier to shelve, and usually take most of them back myself.

What about you? Any pet peeves?

Help! I need rescuing!

That is me.

Well, to be fair, my mountain is not all paper-work, but the sentiment is true. As such, I've become progressively more behind in my blogging. And it was starting to get to me. I was starting to panic by the growing amount of non-reviewed books on my desk, and the number of posts in my Google Reader (did you know that when you hit 1000, they stop counting??). I've decided that this is not healthy, and that feeling guilty about not having updated my blog is ridiculous. It is, after all, merely one thing on my to-do list.

So! To that end, I have made a decision - poor little JOMPy is taking a holiday.

Musing Mondays will continue to be posted, but for the most part I won't be blogging again until January. I am wiping the slate clean on owing reviews (except, of course, for the few ARCs I have), and will be starting fresh next year. There will probably be the usual end-of-year challenge summaries and sign ups - and of course I'll be around to wish you all a Merry Christmas - but other that that I'll be going into temporary blogging hibernation.

I do apologise to those of you whom I haven't been commenting on. I haven't forgotten you!

Musing Mondays (Nov 30)

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about reading/blogging during the holidays…

How does your reading (or your blogging) fare in the holiday months? Do you read more or less? Do you have to actively make time to read?

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

I don't know about the rest of you but come mid-October, my reading (and then my blogging) takes a definite nose-dive. Between Christmas shopping, holiday crafting, Christmas card making and sending, I don't have a whole lot of time left over. I find that I usually have two or three books that sit on my bedside right over Christmas, and my blog sits mostly untouched (sorry about that, by the way).

I do try to set aside some 'under-the-tree' reading time for my usual Christmas books, but aside from this, the months go so fast that it's over before I even realise they've begun.

What about the rest of you?

Wordless Wednesday (Nov 25)

 
‘After School’

click for more Wordless Wednesday

click for more of my photography

A-Z Wednesday (Nov 25)

 

A-Z Wednesday is hosted by Vicky of Reading at the Beach

To join, here's all you have to do: Go to your stack of books and find one whose title starts with the letter of the week.
Post:
1~ a photo of the book
2~ title and synopsis
3~ link(amazon, barnes and noble etc.).
Be sure to visit other participants to see what book they have posted and leave them a comment. (We all love comments, don't we?) Who knows? You may find your next "favorite" book.

THIS WEEK'S LETTER IS: P
Here is my “P” Title:

Peter Pan and Wendy – J.M. Barrie
267 pages; published 1911

In stifling Edwardian London, Wendy Darling mesmerizes her brothers nightly with bedtime tales of swordplay, swashbuckling and the fearsome Hook. But the children become the heroes of an even greater story when Peter Pan flies into their nursery one night and leads them over moonlit rooftops through a galaxy of stars to the lush jungles of Neverland. Wendy and her brothers join Peter and the Lost Boys in an exhilarating life free of grown-up rules, while also facing the inevitable showdown with Hook and his bloodthirsty pirates.

Teaser Tuesday (Nov 24)

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page. 
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

 

 

Silence. I am trying to look harmless, and nice. Nice looms large in Clare’s childhood, because so many people aren’t. (40)

The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger

Musing Mondays (Nov 23)

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about your bookshelf… 

Tomorrow I have my first teaching job (yes, I’m sharing my non-book bloggy news!) and it’s inspired today’s Musing Monday.

What books did you read while in school? Were there any that you particular liked, or even hated? Did any become lifelong favourites?

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

  
I always loved when we came to starting a new novel unit at school – one student would be the person to go collect the books (you, if you were really lucky!), you’d take a book out of the box and then the whole class would walk down to the library to line up and borrow it out. Best part of the year. What can I say? I was always a book nerd (I’m sure you can relate).

The funny thing is, I don’t seem to remember a lot of the books we read – why I have no idea, because it was something I truly enjoyed. I remember that in Year 8 I read Scott Monk’s Boys ‘R’ Us. I didn’t dislike the book, and have evenreread it since, but it wasn’t a book that I loved.

I also remember reading Shakespeare, as you do in school – Othello, Hamlet, The Tempest - but read them far more in uni.

The text I read for Year 12 was Jane Austen’s Emma, which I loved, but love it far more now that I’m not studying it. I also remember stealing my friends Year 12 books to try out that year also (Jane Yolen’s Briar Rose, Melina Marchetta’s Looking for Alibrandi).

The first book I think of, however, when asked about school books was Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, which I read in Year 10. I’m sure a lot of people read TKAM in high school, but I can remember thinking that this was the first big book that I’d read in school. It was Year 10 – the first year my school set an Advanced English class – and it was the first time I’d truly discussed a book. It helped that the English teacher that year loved TKAM … well it was probably a toss up as to whether she loved the book or Atticus Finch more. I loved it then and, if possible, love it even more now.

Wordless Wednesday

‘Garswood’

click for more Wordless Wednesday

click for more of my photography

A-Z Wednesday (Nov 18)

A-Z Wednesday is hosted by Vicky of Reading at the Beach

To join, here's all you have to do: Go to your stack of books and find one whose title starts with the letter of the week.
Post:
1~ a photo of the book
2~ title and synopsis
3~ link(amazon, barnes and noble etc.).
Be sure to visit other participants to see what book they have posted and leave them a comment. (We all love comments, don't we?) Who knows? You may find your next "favorite" book.

THIS WEEK'S LETTER IS: O
Here is my “O” Title:

Oscar and Lucinda – Peter Carey
528 pages; published 1998

From Amazon
Oscar Hopkins is a high-strung preacher's kid with hydrophobia and noisy knees. Lucinda Leplastrier is a frizzy-haired heiress who impulsively buys a glass factory with the inheritance forced on her by a well-intentioned adviser. In the early parts of this lushly written book, author Peter Carey renders the seminal turning points in his protagonists' childhoods as exquisite 19th-century set pieces. Young Oscar, denied the heavenly fruit of a Christmas pudding by his cruelly stern father, forever renounces his father's religion in favor of the Anglican Church. "Dear God," Oscar prays, "if it be Thy will that Thy people eat pudding, smite him!" Lucinda's childhood trauma involves a beautiful doll bought by her struggling mother with savings from the jam jar; in a misguided attempt to tame the doll's unruly curls, young Lucinda mutilates her treasure beyond repair. Neither of these coming-of-age stories quite explains how the grownup Oscar and Lucinda each develop a guilty passion for gambling. Oscar plays the horses while at school, and Lucinda, now an orphaned heiress, finds comfort in a game of cards with an odd collection of acquaintances. When the two finally meet, on board a ship bound for New South Wales, they are bound by their affinity for risk, their loneliness, and their awkwardly blossoming (but unexpressed) mutual affection. Their final high-stakes folly--transporting a crystal palace of a church across (literally) godforsaken terrain--strains plausibility, and events turn ghastly as Oscar plays out his bid for Lucinda's heart. Yet even the unconvincing plot turns are made up for by Carey's rich prose and the tale's unpredictable outcome. Although love proves to be the ultimate gamble for Oscar and Lucinda, the story never strays too far from the terrible possibility that even the most thunderstruck lovers can remain isolated in parallel lives.