Book Snob Wannabe

BLACK HISTORY MONTH: The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B DuBois

2012-02-09T02:21:00.000-06:00

For the month of February, in honor of Black History Month, every Thursday I will review a book that should be a staple in not just every Black America's home, but everyone's home period. These books are considered classics (at least in my community) and why they are not requirements for reading in school I will never know.

The Souls of Black Folk

by W.E.B Du Bois

This week we dive into W.E.B DuBois' "The Soul of Black Folk":

The Souls of Black Folk is a pivotal collection not only within the oeuvre of W. E. B. Du Bois' work, but in the whole of the history of sociology and as a mantelpiece of African-American literary history. Drawn from many previously published essays, Du Bois' work reveals the way in which America was reconstructing and redefining itself as a country and culture in the wake of the Civil War forty years prior. Drawn from sociological data as well as his own personal experiences, poetry, history, and song, Du Bois weaves an intricate portrait of African-American culture and life at the beginning of the twentieth century. (from Amazon)

This was a very well written book. However it was an extremely hard book to read because it was so unhappy/depressing and if I was to read this at the time that it was published, I would have felt hopeless. Personally I did not even think I was going to finish it. I kept having to put it down. Maybe if I had read an essay a week, it would not have been so bad. Nevertheless I caution to not read this book continuously 3 days straight.

With regards to Booker T. Washington (Up from Slavery) suggestion that our (Negro...Black Americans) future rise depends on themselves and the work they put into it, Mr. DuBois express, "it is a great truth that to say that the Negro must strive and strive mightily to help himself, it is equally true that unless his striving be not simply seconded, but rather aroused and encouraged, by the initiative of the richer and wiser environing group, they cannot hope for great success."

I think the information that really pulled at my heart strings were the evidence of maltreatment after Reconstruction. Slavery was "supposedly" over, but the blacks were consistently being put in an unofficial slavery environment. All they had to do was charge someone with any type of crime and put him in prison for life at hard labor.

My favorite essay of the book was "Of the Coming of John". Just eye opening!! The reason I say this is because I have been feeling some kind of way for some time now, but couldn't put it into words. This essay came right on time. It shows a young man who went off to school to seek knowledge and become a teacher back in small town. However after seeking the knowledge, it made him aware of the prejudices and injustices of his environment and because he knew this was not right to live like this, he could never be happy again. Now how he choose to deal with it, I totally do not agree with that extreme measure, but... to each there own.

If I had to sum the book up, I can say that it made me wonder if ignorance really is bliss SMH......

Next week: Why we can't wait by Martin Luther King, Jr.

BOOK REVIEW: Platinum

2012-02-08T15:19:00.000-06:00

TITLE: Platinum

AUTHOR: Aliya S. King

DATE FINISHED: December 2011

Should I BUY or BORROW: Buy

Alex Maxwell is planning her wedding to up-and-coming music artist Birdie, ghostwriting video vixen Cleopatra Wright’s memoir, and she’s just been assigned the story of the year by her editor in chief at a major music industry magazine — an article about the glamorous lives of women married to platinum-selling hip-hop artists. Alex has been interviewing celebrities and hangers-on long enough to know all that glitters isn’t gold, so she’s determined to get the real scoop. Still, it’s not going to be easy to get past the wives’ gilded cages... Beth Saddlebrook, wife of aging rapper Z. They have three beautiful boys and a seemingly endless supply of cash. But Beth spends her days trying to keep Z off drugs and fielding calls from women hollering she’s just a “small-town white bitch” and claiming to be carrying Z’s baby. Only one person understands what she’s going through... Kipenzi Hill, multiplatinum-selling R&B artist and Beth’s best friend. Her relationship with rap star and record label president Jake is an open secret in the industry. She knows Jake loves her, but he’d rather break up than publicly acknowledge it. Now she has learned that the newest (and much younger) R&B sensation Bunny has been signed to Jake’s label. Josephine Bennett, wife to Jamaican singer and Überproducer Ras Bennett. Josephine doesn’t just want to spend her husband’s money, she wants to contribute. Her fashion company is finally starting to get media attention when her husband admits to something she’s suspected all along — he’s fallen in love with another woman. Cleopatra Wright, every man’s dream girl, a video vixen with a story to tell and scores to settle. Cleo’s got that thing no one can put a finger on and no man (or woman) can resist. Some would call her evil or misguided or both, but Cleo always moves with a purpose and she’ll stop at nothing to get what she wants... Alex realizes she may have more in common with these women than she’d like. What if this is a glimpse of how her life will be if Birdie finally gets signed to a major label? Stuck between her loyalty to this newfound sisterhood and her obligation to write the truth, Alex is forced to rethink everything she knows about work, friendship, and love. (Goodreads)

Since the book came out, I had been itching to read it and lets just say that it did not disappoint!! Aliya King wrote an excellent book about six women and their lives as hip hop's wives, girlfriends and jump offs..

This book was a hoot and more! I was thoroughly entertained by the lives of each woman and had my own little guessing game of which character represented an actual person! LOL! With each character I saw a redeeming trait (yes even Cleo!) and became invested in each one's lives.

Reading about each woman, you get a sense that each one is lonely in their own way. Particularly Beth, what a depressing life, even with all the money. Her and Josephine were happier when they living with less.

If you have always wondered about the lives of hip hop's rich and famous, then I suggest you check out this well written (though fiction) account. Basically if the first thing you do when you get into work in the morning is to check your favorite urban entertainment blogs... THEN THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU!

I have to read the sequel that came out yesterday, Diamond Life (currently waiting until I get my Kindle Fire) so that I can get my questions answered:

Is there another copy of the "real" version of the book?
Who came to Cleo's house that night?
Where did Josephine's husband get this baby from?
Is Z really clean this time?
Will Bunny self sabotage herself before ever making it big?

Books into Movies: One for the Money

2012-02-07T11:28:00.000-06:00

TITLE: One for the Money

AUTHOR: Janet Evanovich

DATE FINISHED: January 23, 2012

SHOUL I BUY or BORROW: Borrow

CHALLENGES: Stephaine Plum’s perpetual challenge, Support your local library, 1^st in a series challenge and The Electric Reader Challenge.

Stephanie Plum is so smart, so honest, and so funny that her narrative charm could drive a documentary on termites. But this tough gal from New Jersey, an unemployed discount lingerie buyer, has a much more interesting story to tell: She has to say that her Miata has been repossessed and that she's so poor at the moment that she just drank her last bottle of beer for breakfast. She has to say that her only chance out of her present rut is her repugnant cousin Vinnie and his bail-bond business. She has to say that she blackmailed Vinnie into giving her a bail-bond recovery job worth $10,000 (for a murder suspect), even though she doesn't own a gun and has never apprehended a person in her life. And she has to say that the guy she has to get, Joe Morelli, is the same creep who charmed away her teenage virginity behind the pastry case in the Trenton bakery where she worked after school. If that hard-luck story doesn't sound compelling enough, Stephanie's several unsuccessful attempts at pulling in Joe make a downright hilarious and suspenseful tale of murder and deceit. Along the way, several more outlandish (but unrelentingly real) characters join the story, including Benito Ramirez, a champion boxer who seems to be following Stephanie Plum wherever she goes. (from Amazon)

Book:

This book was a fun and quick read. The story line kept my attention and the end was not as predictable as I thought it would be. The one thing that got on my last nerve was the lead character (Stephaine Plum). Urghhhh!! How can one person be so naive and still make it out of this situation alive????? Smh....

Movie:
There was several significant changes (at least in my opinion) made from the book's version. The most important one was the character of Benito Ramirez. The things that he did in the book had me scared so why they made him into some quirky boxer was beyond me. By doing that, it took this movie from possibly being an action suspense movie with funny bits to a funny chick flick. What a downgrade... I feel that they had a low budget for this movie because other than Katherine Heigl and the guy that played Joe Morrelli, the other actors did not stand up to the characters I had in my mind. Lastly, they SWITCH THE ENTIRE ENDING AROUND! I hate when the movie version does that.

Book or Movie: BOOK BY FAR

It's Monday! What are you reading? 2-6-12

2012-02-06T00:00:00.000-06:00

It's Monday? What Are You Reading?", (Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey) is where bloggers share their reading material for the week as well as what they read the week before.

NEW BOOK(S) ADDED:

BOOK(S) COMPLETED:

(Excellent reading)

STILL PUSHING THROUGH: (In order that I started reading them)

36% into the book

(starting reading October 2010)

25% into the book

(started reading January 2011)

69% into the book

(started reading April 2011)

24% into the book

(starting reading April 2011)

36% into the book

(started reading August 2011)

12% into the book

(started reading October 2011)

23% into the book

(started reading November 2011)

(started reading January 2012)

I feel that I have finally gotten into my reading groove again! Please leave a comments on the books I am reading, and/or shout out your reading list for this week in the comment section!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!!

SERIES SUNDAYS: Wild Seed

2012-02-05T02:40:00.000-06:00

Series Sundays is an amazing meme hosted by Literary Marie. The rules are simple:

Read an installment of a series.
Share your review/recommendation below.
Include the title, author and series name.

My first pick for this meme is a great one (if I do say so myself)!!

TITLE:                                      Wild Seed
AUTHOR:                                 Octavia Butler
DATE FINISHED:                   August 6, 2011
Should I BUY or BORROW:   This should definitely be apart of your personal library!!

Doro is an entity who changes bodies like clothes, killing his hosts by reflex or design. He fears no one, until he meets Anyanwu. Anyanwu has also died many times. She can absorb bullets and make medicine with a kiss, give birth to tribes, nurture and heal, and savage anyone who threatens those she loves. She fears no one, until she meets Doro. From African jungles to the colonies of America, Doro and Anyanwu weave together a pattern of destiny that not even immortals can imagine. (from Goodreads)

Typically I have not been into science fiction, but I am a regular reader of Racialicious and they started a book club where from August 1, 2011 and every month after that date, we would read a book written by Octavia Butler. The first book was "Wild Seed". Though the "online book club" basically stopped after the second month, it did introduce me to the world of Ms. Butler and her awesome Patternmaster Series!

I have read some weird stuff in my life, but nothing like this! This book was a roller coaster of intellectual curiosity. It goes to the theme of slavery and freedom, but not the type that we are familiar with. It is on a whole other level and it really takes your mind outside of the box.

This story takes place across two continents and over two and a half centuries. What is interesting and griping about the storyline is how Butler uses historical events. In particular, Doro using the Atlantic slave trade to buy and transport people to "his" colonies all over the world. Doro's colonies are of course control by him, but the methods he chooses (for example, his "breeding" techniques) could be disturbing to some readers. Nevertheless Doro's ultimate desire was to create a community of beings that could live indefinitely.

On one of his trips to Africa, he senses Anyanwu's presence and her power. He becomes obsess with finding her and making her come to his colonies and breed powerful beings with him..... and others. Rather she wants to or not. However that did not matter, she came and Doro tried with all his might to tame his "Wild Seed"!!

Next up for the series...... Mind of my Mind!

BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washingon

2012-02-02T09:00:00.000-06:00

For the month of February, in honor of Black History Month, every Thursday I will review a book that should be a staple in not just every Black American's home, but everyone's home period. These books are considered classics (at least in my community) and why they are not requirements for reading in school I will never know.

Up from Slavery

by Booker T. Washington

I want to start the week off with the excellent story of Booker T. Washington:

Nineteenth-century African American businessman, activist, and educator Booker Taliaferro Washington's Up from Slavery is one of the greatest American autobiographies ever written. Its mantras of black economic empowerment, land ownership, and self-help inspired generations of black leaders, including Marcus Garvey, Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, and Louis Farrakhan. In rags-to-riches fashion, Washington recounts his ascendance from early life as a mulatto slave in Virginia to a 34-year term as president of the influential, agriculturally based Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. From that position, Washington reigned as the most important leader of his people, with slogans like "cast down your buckets," which emphasized vocational merit rather than the academic and political excellence championed by his contemporary rival W.E.B. Du Bois. Though many considered him too accommodating to segregationists, Washington, as he said in his historic "Atlanta Compromise" speech of 1895, believed that "political agitation alone would not save [the Negro]," and that "property, industry, skill, intelligence, and character" would prove necessary to black Americans' success. The potency of his philosophies are alive today in the nationalist and conservative camps that compose the complex quilt of black American society. (from Amazon)

Immediately after reading this book and putting it down, I came to the conclusion that I needed to stop complaining! The things that these people went through to obtain an education. The focus, drive, and ambition is amirable. To read about what people went through just so individuals like myself could become whatever I wanted to be is.... I cannot find words to express the gratitude I have for them. I feel that after reading this book one should be encourage to set their minds to great things.

One thing that kept coming up in my mind was how I would feel to not know my actual birthday or even the year I was born!!!

Born a slave, for some reason Mr. Washington's view of whites surprised me. He lacked resentment towards them (at least that is my perspective from the reading). He had enough confidence in himself and others of his race to believe that if we take our own destiny in our hands, there is nothing we could not do!!

For me I find it hard to believe that he had no racial tension towards others or that he could live in a "color blind" world during that time. However I my small criticisms of the book are overweighed by the message he was trying to give. Nevertheless, there are tons of articles written when it comes to Mr. Washington, his views and how some felt he was an "Uncle Tom" to our race. I will leave that up to everyone else to decide on their own. Did I agree with everything he said (or the things he lacked to say)? No. Does that mean that EVERYONE should not read this book? No!! It upsets me when society protray black americans as being of the same mind. We all have our own opinions and views. We have them today and apparently we had them back in the day. Us as a whole cannot be fit into one box.

Lastly, this quote from Mr. Washington sums up everything, "I have begun everything with the idea that I could succeed, and I never had much patience with the multitudes of people who are always ready to explain why one cannot succeed."

Next week..... The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B DuBois (apparently the "contrast" of Mr. Washington's book)

Library Haul - January 2012

2012-02-02T00:59:00.000-06:00

During the month of January I checked out seven books. They are:

As I have posted numerous times, I am participating in a read-along and so far so good. The first post for this read-along is February 14th.

I have a complicated love/hate relationship with Ms. Handler. I love her late night show (I get made fun of for DVRing it) and I am even watching her sitcom (I am still on the fence about it), but sometime her jokes and views come off weird and make me feel a little a certain way. Cannot really explain it. Nevertheless, I have been hearing about these books for years and thought I would just dive into them back to back and see what all the fuss is about.

Lastly, I am participating in a perpetual reading challenge where I am to read the bible in its entirety. Being that I do not want to read the bible just to say I read it, I search for supplemental books to really help me gain additional knowledge. I am not big on speaking out about my spiritual beliefs, but I feel that if one claims they are of a certain faith, they should be extremely knowledgable of that faith so that they are not lead astray by the wrong (intentionally or unintentionally) teaching. One should have a strong foundation and I made a pledge (to myself) to build mine up stronger.

What books did borrow from the library in January?

Monthly Wrap Up - January 2012

2012-02-01T00:15:00.000-06:00

A new year, new blog and new semester of school, I think I had a good month of reading!

Books that I read in January:

This means that I am averaging one book a week! That is very good for me to say the least. Additionally I am right on track with my “50 books read in a year” challenge over at Goodreads.

2012 Book Challenges:

I am making some dents in my HUGE list of reading challenges.

1. Nonfiction Nonmemoir Challenge – 1/10 books completed

2. The Library Challenge – 2/12 books completed

3. Off the Shelf Challenge – 2/15 books completed

4. Tea & Books Reading Challenge – 0/2 books completed

5. Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge – 1/10 books completed

6. The Dystopia 2012 Reading Challenge – 1/5 books completed

7. 2012 Twilight Series – 0/4 books completed

8. Finishing the Series Challenge – 0/3 series completed

9. Southern Literature Challenge – 0/4 books completed

10. First in a series Challenge – 3/6 books completed

11. Outdo Yourself Challenge – 0/32 books completed

12. Banned/Challenged Book Challenge – 0/12 books completed

13. Getting Lost in a Comfortable Book Challenge – 0/12 completed

14. Classic Double Challenge – 0/4 books completed

15. Jane Austen Spinoff Challenge - 0/8 books completed

16. The Eclectic Reader Challenge – 3/12 books completed

17. Chunkster Challenge – 0/4 books completed

18. Books I started but didn’t finish – 2/24 books completed

19. 1001 Books to read before you die – 0/12 books completed.

Hunger Games Read-Along:

Throughout the month I participated a read-along with Mocha Girl Reads and Words that Fly. I was “suppose” to read this book throughout the month but it was so good that I ended up reading it in a couple of days! It was so refreshing to read something that took me to another place. I don’t think I have felt that way in some time. Hopefully someone will do a read-along for the rest of the series. That would be great!

Moby Dick Read-Along:

So I failed badly at this read-along. Something in me just could not pick up this book to read and when I did, I just could not get into it.

Gone with the Wind Read-Along:

This month the lovely blog “The Book Worm” will be hosting a read-along for “Gone with the Wind”. I have wanted to read this book for some time now and thought that this could be a perfect time too. Also for the month of February I am planning to have a “Black History Theme” and since it is about the Civil War, I believe that it fits perfectly with the theme. The first post for this read-along will be February 14th.

Other Random thoughts:

I am going to start following the 20% rule. This means that after I have read 20% of a book and still has not gotten into it, I will put it down. There is no reason for me to push myself to read any book. For example, the edition of the Moby Dick book I am reading is 707 pages. Which means that after 141 pages (I am currently on page 88), if I still have not gotten into the book. LET IT GO!!!

How did January go for you guys? Leave a comment below.

READALONG: The Hunger Games FINAL REPORT

2012-01-31T17:43:00.001-06:00

The lovely ladies at Mocha Girls Read and Words that Fly are hosting a read along for:

*During the readalong, I am going to try and do my best not give away any spoilers!

Chapters 25-27

After explaining to Peeta how the tribute died they begin to feel that they are in danger and decide to move, but changed their mind. They decide to let the other two fight each other to the death and then they would get the last one and win. However the gamemakers have another thing planned and turns the game upside down!! Sorry… no more after this, you have to go and read the book yourself! LOL!!

Overall....

I have said this every week, but I have to say it again..... I LOVE THIS BOOK!! Now don't get me wrong, its not some great work of literature or anything, but I loved the story line and it kept me engrossed in the book the entire time. Don't even get me started on the ending... This is an awesome book that took me to another world in another time and truly cared what happened to the characters. After discussing the book with others, I feel like I need to read the complete series before the movie just in case they add information from them. I do not want to be surprise by anything nor do I want any spoilers before I read the other books (thats what happened to me with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

Speaking of the ending, here are some youtube clips of people reactions after finishing The Hunger Games:

and and

So there we have it! How did you guys enjoy the book?

Book into Movie: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2012-01-31T10:41:00.000-06:00

TITLE: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

AUTHOR: Stieg Larsson

Date Finished: December 31, 2011

Should you BUY or BORROW: It is personal library worthy BUY IT!

The first book to movie of the year is:

Once you start The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, there's no turning back. This debut thriller--the first in a trilogy from the late Stieg Larsson--is a serious page-turner rivaling the best of Charlie Huston and Michael Connelly. Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch--and there's always a catch--is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo. --Dave Callanan (from Amazon)

Book:

It took me over 12 days to read this book. I could have read the book quicker, but the first 200 pages were a chore to get through. However once I got through those pages. The story picked up and it was amazing! There were so many twists and turns that I could not put it down nor believed what I was reading. I will be honest, during the first 200 pages, I really wanted to put the book down, but I am a stickler for reading the book of a movie that is coming out and the trailer for this movie really caught my attention. I am glad I continued through because the necessary background information was much needed in order to understand the dynamic of the Vanger family.

Based in Sweden, to say that the Vanger family is dysfunctional would be an understatement! During what I would call a family reunion slash business meeting, a family member by the name of Harriet disappeared. Forty years later her uncle, Henrik Vanger, has been on a search to find out what happened to her. This is where Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist with nothing to lose and Lisbeth Salander, a young researcher with amazing abilities and the capability to kill comes into the picture. Throughout their search for the truth, they also uncover years of disturbing revelations.

This was the first book that I could not put down, but was too scared to continue reading (I advised not to read this book home alone after midnight if you are past page 350 LOL). The details of certain events were so clear in my head I felt that I was watching an episode of Criminal Minds. I had vivid imagery in my head and I hope that it lives up to the movie or vice versa. This was not your normal “who did it”. Every time a mystery was solved, it brought along another question!

I will warn you, there will be some disturbing incidents and a theme of gruesome crimes against women throughout the book. THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR EVERYONE! So if you are interested in world history, mental illness, racism, incest, rape, murder, corporate corruption and ethics of journalism…..then this book is for you. Now after reading it and finding it quite enjoyable, I understand why it has such hype to it, but it’s not one of the best suspenseful/thriller books I have ever read. Its okay. There are some points in the book that got on my nerves and characters that just plainly got on my last nerve (Berger). All in all, I will give it 4 out of 5. I am curious to find out what happens to Salander so I will be reading the next book in the series, The Girl Who Played with Fire.

Movie:
The movie really stuck to the book which I am pleasantly surprised about. However by sticking to the storyline of the book, the movie was really long. I cannot remember exactly how long the movie was (and I am too lazy to google it at this time), but I do know that it was more than 2 hours. Nevertheless, I never got bored with it. It kept my attention the entire way through,and I was surprise that they showed the rape scene (sorry for the spoiler), but they did clean up the incest a little bit for the movie. There was one small negative that I had with the movie and that was that they gave away some information that was in the second book of this three book series. I was kind of upset about it, but not enough to give the movie a bad rating.

There was no one in the movie that I felt should not have played their character. However if I have one criticism for Daniel Craig, the gentleman who played Mikael Blomkvist, it would be that he was just too damn handsome for the part. I pictured an average middle age man who just so happened to be cute. I definitely did not picture a handsome middle age man with a body of steel. As for the lady who played Lisbeth Salander, Rooney Mara did an excellent job with the character and not once did she make me feel that she was playing a part in the movie. Ms. Mara is deserving all the praise she is receiving this award season.

My verdict: Read the BOOK and the MOVIE!!

So there we have it, the book and the movie!! Please feel free to leave a comment below telling me how you enjoyed the movie and book and which one you preferred over the other.

Have a great day everyone!

It's Monday! What are you reading? 1-30-12

2012-01-30T00:00:00.000-06:00

It's Monday? What Are You Reading?", (Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey) is where bloggers share their reading material for the week as well as what they read the week before.

NEW BOOKS ADDED:

Participating in a read-along and the first discussion post will be on February 14th!

I have plan for my blog concerning the month of February that includes these two books!

BOOKS COMPLETED:

Now since I have finish this book, I just need to look at the movie on my DVR so that I can dive into part two (Getting to Happy)

STILL PUSHING THROUGH: (In order that I started reading them)

25% into the book

(started reading January 2011)

69% into the book

(started reading April 2011)

24% into the book

(starting reading April 2011)

36% into the book

(started reading August 2011)

12% into the book

(started reading October 2011)

23% into the book

(started reading November 2011)

I am currently on task with accomplishing my goal of reading 50 books this year. I hope to maintain the pace of reading one book a with, but by summer I hope I can say I finish at least 2 books a week. Please leave a comments on the books I am reading, and/or shout out your reading list for this week in the comment section!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!!

READALONG: Hunger Games Progress Report 4

2012-01-28T22:54:00.000-06:00

The lovely ladies at Mocha Girls Read and Words that Fly are hosting a read along for:

*During the readalong, I am going to try and do my best not give away any spoilers!

Chapters 19-24

The chapter begins with Katniss reaction to the announcement that if both members of a district could be the last ones to survive, both could win! This causes Katniss to find Peeta. After finding an injured Peeta, she takes him to a safe place and nurse him back to health the best way she can. After another announcement, Peeta realizes that she has to face the remaining tributes at Cornuopia in order to get the package she needs to save Peeta’s life. However going there will result in a blood bath where tributes will die. After narrowly escaping death, Katniss is able to get the package and get back to Peeta to continue to nurse him back to health. After hunting for food, they come back to their hut to find one of the tributes dead…. 4 left!

READALONG: Hunger Games - Progress Report 3

2012-01-23T23:13:00.000-06:00

The lovely ladies at Mocha Girls Read and Words That Fly are hosting a read along for:

DISCLAIMER: During the read along, I am going to try and do my best not to give away any spoilers!

Chapters 13-18

By chapter 13 Katniss has foundwater and is caught up in the Gamemakers scheme to place her closer to theother tributes. The result of the schemeleaves her injured. After safelyarriving back to her tree she realizes that she is not the only one who hasthought of this. Rue, a 12 year girlfrom another district picked to be in the games has also climbed high into atree for safetly. During this time, Ruesaves Katniss and this action leaves the two of them forming an alliance. Throughout their travels for safety and food,Katniss develops a plan to destroy the other alliance. After separating to accomplish the plan,Katniss finally reaches Rue to find out that its too late…. Out of 24, six are left!

It's Monday, What are you reading? 1-23-12

2012-01-23T00:13:00.001-06:00

It's Monday? What Are You Reading?", (Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey) is where bloggers share their reading material for the week as well as what they read the week before.

NEW BOOKS ADDED:

None this week.

BOOKS COMPLETED:

A very quick read even though the main character was pissing me throughout the entire book!

STILL PUSHING THROUGH: (In order that I started reading them)

(started reading January 2011)

(started reading April 2011)

(starting reading April 2011)

(started reading August 2011)

(started reading October 2011)

(started reading November 2011)

First week of classes went okay and I believe I will have a system in place. Please leave a comments on the books I am reading, and/or shout out your reading list for this week in the comment section!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!!

It's Monday. What are you reading? 1-16-12

2012-01-16T00:00:00.000-06:00

It's Monday? What Are You Reading?", (Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey) is where bloggers share their reading material for the week as well as what they read the week before.

NEW BOOKS ADDED:

None this week.

BOOKS COMPLETED:

This was an awesome book and it gets a five star rating from me!

New feature: BOOK(S) I COULD NOT FINISH

I, for the life of me, cannot finish this book. I have been trying to complete this book since the summer of 2010. Even now, it is doing nothing for me and maybe I will get back to it later, but for right now I cannot get into it. Maybe over the summer.

STILL PUSHING THROUGH: (In order that I started reading them)

(started reading January 2011)

I never want to be reading a book for an entire year, so I truly home that I can finish this book by the end of the month.

(started reading April 2011)

(starting reading April 2011)

(started reading August 2011)

(started reading October 2011)

(started reading November 2011)

(started reading January 2012)

Tomorrow will be the first day of class for me so this week maybe a slow reading week. Please leave a comments on the books I am reading, and/or shout out your reading list for this week in the comment section!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!!

READALONG: Hunger Games - Progress Report 2

2012-01-14T12:25:00.001-06:00

The lovely ladies at Mocha Girls Read and Words That Fly are hosting a read along for:

DISCLAIMER: During the read along, I am going to try and do my best not to give away any spoilers!

Chapters 7-12:

Chapter 7 starts with Katniss andPeeta gearing up for training with the other tributes (what they call theindividuals from each district that has been chosen). They along with the other tributes will gettraining in different skills that should help them when they get to thearena. After training, each tribute privately show their skills or best skill to the “gamemakers” (the individuals whocreates the challenges for the game). Once you show your skill, you will be provided a score (1-12 I think)and the higher the score, they more likely you will gain sponsors to help youalong the way in the game. Without giving too much away, lets just say thatKatniss gave an “unique” lasting impression on the gamemakers!! LOL!

After training and the privateshowing of their skills, each tribute will be interviewed in front of a liveaudience. Haymitch (their coach and aformer winner from their district) informs Katniss that she needs to relate tothe audience and she tries her best, but its Peeta that makes a lasingimpression and his last statement turns the game on its head!

By chapter 11 we finally get tothe start of the games! This is wherethe adventure begins. Without giving toomuch detail, we follow Katniss through her journey to escape Cornuopia and getaway from the group to find water (directions from Haymitch). However its harder than she expected to findwater and once night fall hits she finds a tree for refugee and prepares to rest so that in the morning she can start her journey for wateragain. After getting settled in for the night, the sky reveals who has diedduring the day and Katniss is relieved that none had been Peeta. However she gets a shock of her life when shewhen pack of tributes arrive and one of them is Peeta!

This book was so awesome and no matter how I tried to just read the weekly assigned chapters for the read along, I ended up reading this book in less than a week!!! It was such an easy read to get into and I truly understand the hype around it.

See you next week!!!

READALONG: Hunger Games - Progress Report 1

2012-01-07T00:00:00.000-06:00

The lovely ladies at Mocha Girls Read and Words That Fly are hosting a read along for:

During the readalong, I am going to try and do my best not to give away any spoilers!

We are introduced to Katniss (or Catnip), her mother and younger sister Prim. Katniss and her family lives in the horrible District 12. For food and daily survival, Katniss and her friend Gale hunts animals and gather plants. We learn all about Katniss relationship with Gale, life in District 12 and the reason she is responsible for and basically is the head of her house. In these fast pace 73 pages, I learned all about Hunger Games, how they originated and the politics behind them. Chapter six ended with Katniss and her “partner” Peeta being introduced to the country in the opening ceremony.

My opinion:

Wow! This book started off with a bang. I kept hearing about and reading about people saying how much the book grabbed them from the very beginning. Well I am here to say that this is very correct! LOL

The story line is crazy. Basically if you are between the ages of 12-18 you are free to fight to the death and then it televised for the entire country to see??? However crazy the plot is, I am all into it. I have already established a liking to both Katniss and Peeta, but only one can live! OMG….

Until next week……

BOOK REVIEW: The Darkest Child by Delores Phillips

2012-01-04T00:00:00.000-06:00

Title: The Darkest Child

Author: Delores Phillips

How I learned about this book? Cannot remember. This was my second time reading it.

How long did it take to read it? 4 days

Was it a hard read? No.

"Phillips's searing debut reveals the poverty, injustices and cruelties that one black family suffers—some of this at the hands of its matriarch—in a 1958 backwater Georgia town. Thirteen-year-old Tangy Mae Quinn loves her mother, Rozelle, but knows there's "something wrong" with her—which, as it soon becomes clear, is an extreme understatement. As the novel opens, Rozelle is getting ready to give birth to her 10th child (by a 10th father) and thinking about forcing the obedient Tangy Mae, who longs to stay in school, to take over her housecleaning job. Using a large cast of powerfully drawn characters, Phillips captures life in a town that serves as a microcosm of a world on the brink of change. There's Junior, the perpetual optimist, who wants to teach people to read and write so they can understand the injustices of Jim Crow laws and the Ku Klux Klan; Hambone, a here today/gone tomorrow rabble-rouser whose anger against white men and their laws inflames those around him; and Miss Pearl, the only true friend to the Quinn family. At the dark heart of the story is Rozelle, the beautiful mixed-race head of the Quinn family whose erratic mood swings, heart-wrenching cruelty and deep emotional distress leave an indelible mark on all her children. Through all the violence and hardship breathes the remarkable spirit of Tangy Mae, who is wise beyond her years; forced to do unspeakable things by her mother and discriminated against by the town's whites, she manages to survive and to rescue a younger sister from the same fate. "

(From Amazon)

Even though the book held a depressing tone, it was highly enjoyable. I read the book five years ago so I knew the plot, but forgotten a great deal of the details of the book. I was surprised that it kept my interest and kept me on the edge where I just had to get to another chapter (which caused me to go to sleep later than I wanted to) since this was my second time reading it.

Pros:

For this to be her first book, the writing was excellent. I felt that it was an original tale especially since I have self diagnosis the mother as schizophrenic. I hardly come across books with that shows this disease in the black community.

I loved how no was perfect. Everyone had their flaws. However the other end of this could be that this made it hard for me, the reader, to like them or be able to relate to them.

Cons:

With so many characters in the book, I felt that some of the supporting characters could have been developed more. I was left with the feeling that I was deprived of knowing more about them or what happened to them.

In conclusion, I highly recommend this book. So if you are interested in historical fiction set in the south about poor blacks with complexion issues, THEN THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU! LOL…

Would you buy this book? Most definitely.

Would you borrow it from the library? Yes which is what I did both times I read it.

Tuesday Teaser 1-3-12

2012-01-03T10:07:00.000-06:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along by doing the following:

Grab your current read.
Open a random page.
Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
Share the title and author, so that other bloggers and readers can add the book to their "to read" lists.

Page 48 of Robert Greene's "48 Laws of Power": No one will come to depend on you if you are already strong. If you are ambitious, it is much wiser to seek out weak rulers or masters with whom you can create a relationship of dependency.

It's Monday! What are you reading? 1-2-12

2012-01-02T00:00:00.000-06:00

It's Monday? What Are You Reading?", (Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey) is where bloggers share their reading material for the week as well as what they read the week before.

Being that we are starting a new year, I sincerely hope that I do a better job at getting through the books I place in my "Still pushing through" pile. All of the books placed on that list is at least 24% completed and for this reason, once I complete a book, I will be adding the book to my 2012 book read list!

Without further ado, below here is my "It's Monday. What are you reading?":

NEW BOOKS ADDED:

I tried to tackle this book in the summer 2010 by participating in a readalong. Well I did not finish it. I did not even get 25% into the book. In August I had to put the book down (on page 85) due to my first semester of law started. The blog, The Blue Bookcase, has started a readalong of the book and now that I am back into the groove of things (life, work and school) I plan to complete this book!

The schedule for this readalong is Jan 12th (Chapters 1-28); Jan 19 (Chapter 29-55); Jan 26 (56-93); Feb 2 (Chapters 94-epilogue).

On January 27th the movie version comes to theaters and from the trailers, it seems like it going to be a cute little girl flick. After finding out that this was a huge series (meaning of hype and the amount of books in the series) I looked into it and decided to read the first couple of books. I even signed up for the perpetual challenge.

This book fit into the category I placed Twilight in. Nevertheless I just HAD to see what the hype is all about. Lucky for me there is a readalong for this book as well.

BOOKS COMPLETED:

An enjoyable read (after I got past page 200) and I cannot wait to get my lazy butt up and go see the movie!

STILL PUSHING THROUGH: (In order that I started reading them)

(started reading January 2011)

I never want to be reading a book for an entire year, so I truly home that I can finish this book by the end of the month.

(started reading April 2011)

(starting reading April 2011)

(started reading August 2011)

(started reading October 2011)

(started reading November 2011)

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years! For me this is a perfect time for a clean slate and getting rid of majority of the books that are still in my "still pushing through" pile. Please leave a comments on the books I am reading, and/or shout out your reading list for this week in the comment section!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!!

READ-ALONG: Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

2012-01-01T19:31:00.000-06:00

The lovely ladies at Mocha Girls Read and Words That Fly are hosting a read along for:

I am participating in several reading challenges where this book is one of the books I chose to read. As well as the movie is coming out in March of this year. I am too excited to dive into this book because I have heard tons of good things and I am excited to see the moviee because Lenny Kravitz is in it. LOL!

In order to participate, one would need to write a post and place the link to the post here.

The schedule for the readalong is:

01/01/12: Reading begins!
01/07/12: Progress Report 1 - End of Chapter 6
01/14/12: Progress Report 2 - End of Chapter 12
01/21/12: Progress Report 3 - End of Chapter 18
01/28/12: Progress Report 4 - End of Chapter 24
01/31/12: Final Report - End Chapter 27

So there we have it. I will see you guys on Saturday!!

Out with the old (2011) and in with the new (2012)

2012-01-01T04:19:00.000-06:00

Once again we come upon another year! So many things transpired in 2011 that I am truly thankful for the new year. With that being said, lets stick strictly to reading and book related topics.

Book Purchases

Since Borders closed, I may have bought one or two books. I can safely say that the store closing has caused a major affect on my book buying. This is a good thing with regards to my pockets and overstuffed bookshelves. Nevertheless my lack of book buying has not prevented me from reading books outside of my bookshelves because I have rediscovered the........ LIBRARY!!!

Library

I finally reactivated my library card and have went crazy checking out books that I know I could never possibly get to read no matter how many times I renew them. My plan for this year is to realistically check out only books that I know I could read in the time frame I have been given. So I am placing myself on a limit of checking out 2-3 books at a time.

Goodreads 2011 Reading Challenge

At the beginning of 2011 I pledge to read 25 books. From January to May, I only read one. From May until yesterday, I read 17 books. This led to a total of 18 books. However compared to 2009 and 2010, I did really well. Here are all the books I read in 2011:

B.'s favorite books »

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The future of Book Snob Wannabe…

I am really excited for 2012 because I see big things for this blog.

I plan to read 50 books this year.
I plan to stick to the MANY book challenges I signed up for this year.
I will be adding different “monthly series” (such as my monthly “book into movies” series).
Book related topics that are personal to me. • Participating with other blogs for read-alongs.
Doing a better job at writing and posting reviews on the books I read.

Well there we have it!!!!

What are your reading plans for 2012?

Perpetual Challenges

2011-12-30T23:03:00.000-06:00

I am currently participating in FOUR perpetual challenges:

US Presidents Reading Project
Operation Read the Bible
Kinsey Millhone Reading Challenge
Stephaine Plum Reading Challenge

The US President Reading Project is a project to read at least one non-fiction book about each of the US Presidents.

That's basically it. If reading one book for each president is too much, you have the option to read books that talk about more than one president at a time and count it for each one. Located at the blog is a list of all the presidents, please feel free to click a page for each president if you are looking for suggestions for reading material.

Being that I am a lover of history, I have been planning on reading about each president for awhile now. My only dilemma is rather I should go in chronological order (first to present or present to first) or randomly pick presidents. I am currently reading John Adams autobiography and think that I will read George Washington's next. After that I may go from our current president (Obama) until I get to Reagan (the president when I was born) and then start back at the beginning. Who knows......

Next is the Operation Actually Read the Bible. For the past several years I have been trying to do the "Read the Bible in a Year", and can never stick to it. I finally decided that I do not want to rush through the bible, but to take my time and thoroughly read it. There are no rules for this challenge. No particular translation is required.

I am just learning about the author Sue Grafton and her long standing Kinsley Millhone series. It sounds interesting and I am a sucker for a series so I plan to participate. Her series starts from A (A is for Alibi) and continues alphabetically. There are 22 books (latest book is V is for Vengeance) in this series, so there is no telling how long it will take me to complete it. If you are interested in more information about this challenge, click here.

The last perpetual challenge is the Stephanie Plum Reading Challenge. With the challenge beginning January 1, 2012, you can join the challenge at any time. Basically meaning if you are in the middle of the series or at the very beginning (like myself). I discovered the author Janet Evanovich when I came across the trailer of the upcoming movie, "One for the Money". The trailer seemed really interesting so when I saw that it was based on a book series, I did my research and from my friends on goodreads, it seemed like a really good series to get into. Like Sue Grafton, Evanovich has a theme to the titles to her books. I think you can guess it....NUMBERS! This series also has 22 books to it. I am gonna place a goal of reading five books from this one.

So there we have it, I am now vowing to not enter into ANYMORE reading challenges (unless they are perpetual ones) for 2012. (I may regret typing this later.... LOL!)

2012 Challenge: 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die Challenge

2011-12-29T22:41:00.002-06:00

January 1 - December 31, 2012

Once again…..another challenge.

I go back and forth with caring if I try and read books from this list. Today I care…

The challenge is simple, read some books from the list. If you do not own the book (I do not) click here for the list.

Rules:

You do not have to make a list before hand.
You DO need to chose your level at the beginning so you have a chance to win a prize.
Books that cover other challenges are not only permitted, but encouraged!

Levels:

Go to trials: 5 books from the list.
Made the Olympic team: 6-10 books....
Bronze medal: 11-15 books....
Silver medal: 16-20 books....
Gold medal: 21+ books....

If you are interested in this challenge, please click here. I will be participating in level BRONZE MEDAL.

The books I plan to read are:

Moby Dick

Persuasion

Life of Pi

Pride and Prejudice

Beloved

Interview with the Vampire

The Bluest Eye

To Kill a Mockingbird

Go Tell it on the Mountain

Gone with the Wind

Little Women

North and South

2012 Challenge: 2012 Chunkster Challenge

2011-12-28T00:00:00.000-06:00

January 1 - December 31, 2012

Definition of a chunkster: A book that is 450 pages of ADULT literature, whether nonfiction or fiction. A chunkster should be a challenge. If the book is in LARGE PRINT, then the book should be 525 pages or more.

The rules are:

No audio books.
No ebooks allowed.
Essay, poetry and short story collections will be allowed, but it has to be read in its entirety to count.
Books may crossover with other challenges.
Once you pick a level, that's it. You are committed to it!

The levels are:

The Chubby Chunkster - 4 books
The Plump Primer - 6 books
Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big? - 6 books (2 from 450-550 pages; 2 from 551-750 pages; 2 from books greater than 750 pages in length)
Mor-book-ly Obese - 8 or more books which three books must me 750 pages or more.

I will be participating in the THE CHUBBY CHUNKSTER level.

If you interested in this challenge, please click here.

2012 Challenge: The Many Genres of Jane Austen Spinoffs

2011-12-27T00:00:00.000-06:00

This may be the 20th reading challenge I have signed up for! What am I thinking? LOL

January 1 - December 31, 2012

Nevertheless, I decided over the summer that I was going to dive into all things Jane Austen in 2012 so this challenge gives me the perfect opportunity to do so.

Rules are:

There are 8 genres in this challenge, you will need to complete one book from each grenre.
Books can be in any format.
You do not have to post a review.
You can join the group on Goodreads.

8 Genres are: (books I planned to read are highlighted)

Variation Stories - TBA
Sequel - TBA
Jane Austen as a fictional character - TBA
Paranormal - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Modern Adaptation - TBA
Mystery - TBA
Supporting Characters - TBA
Books by Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice

If you are interested in examples of each genre and to sign up for this post, please click here.

2012 Challenge: Books I Started but didn't Finish

2011-12-26T09:00:00.001-06:00

January 1 - December 31, 2012

This challenge can right on time!! LOL... I have so many books in my TBR folder on goodreads that it is ridiculous! LOL...

The goal of this challenge is really simple: Commit to finish some or all the books you began in 2011 (or before) and never completed.

The rules:

Post a list of the books you began reading in 2011 (or at some point in your life) and never finished reading. Maybe even say why you stopped reading!
These books can be combine with other challenges.
Commit to finish your list by the end of 2012.

If you are interested in this challenge, please click here.

Here is a picture of the books in my TBR pile on Goodreads.....

2012 Challenge: Classic Double Challenge

2011-12-26T00:00:00.000-06:00

January 1 - December 31, 2012

This challenge essentially wants you to read a classic and then a newer book that relates to the older one in some way.

The Levels are:

Small - 2 related books
Medium - 4 books (2 sets of related books)
Large - 6 books (3 sets of related books)
Super size - 8 books (4 sets of related books)

There are several examples posted here.

I will be participating in LEVEL MEDIUM and reading the following books:

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Little Women and Me by Lauren Baratz-Logstedt
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

If you are interested in the challenge, please click here.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T00:41:00.004-06:00

(Picture courtesy of Reflections of a Bookaholic)

2012 Challenge: Getting Lost in a Comfortable Book

2011-12-24T00:00:00.000-06:00

January 1 - December 31, 2012

The guidelines to this challenge is pretty simple:

Make a post and read five books from the list provided here.

The five (5) books that I have chosen are:

North and South by Elisabeth Gaskell
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

If you are interested in joining this challenge, please click here.

2012 Challenge: The Eclectic Reader 2012 Challenge

2011-12-23T09:00:00.000-06:00

January 1 - December 21, 2012

The Eclectic Reader 2012 Challenge is a challenge that pushes you outside your comfort zone by reading up to 12 books during the year from 12 different genres.

This challenge fits me perfectly because I consider myself an eclectic reader.

You can join in by:

Creating a blog post committing yourself to the challenge.
If you do not have a blog, you can create a shelf on Goodreads or a similar site. Just include your name and a link to your shelf.
Post your direct link to your challenge here.
Select, read, review a book from each genre listed below during the year for a total of 12 books.
You can choose your books ahead of time or as you go.
Can combine this challenge with others.
Where a book is identified by more than one genre, it may only count for either genre but not both.
Each time you read and review a book, share your review by providing a direct link to your review in the Linky.

Genres:

Literary Fiction
Crime/Mystery Fiction
Romantic Fiction
Historical Fiction
Young Adult
Fantasy
Science Fiction
Non Fiction
Horror
Thriller/Suspense
Classic
Your favorite genre - URBAN LIT (not my favorite, but I felt it needed to be added)

I do not know what books I will read, but it should be fairly easy since I have a book I want to read from every genre!

2012 Challenge: Banned/Challenged Book Reading Challenge

2011-12-23T00:00:00.000-06:00

I am at a lost with regards to how many challenges I have signed up for, but here I go with another one (and more to come).

This year during the week devoted to Banned and Challenged books, I created a personal reading list from a list of challenged/banned books provided by a website I cannot recall.

January 1 - December 31, 2012

Rules:

Anyone can participate.
No re-reads.
Create a sign up post and post the link here.
Challenge Crossovers are ok.

Levels:

Level 1 - Read 12 Banned/Challenged books.
Level 2 - Read 24....
Level 3 - Read 36....
Level 4 - Read 37+.....

I will be participating in LEVEL ONE and reading books that I presently own. Below are 10 books that I plan to read from my own personal collection (being that I only own 10 banned/challenged books that I have not read, I have no clue what the other two books will be).

Wrapping Up 2011 Readathon: STARTING POST!

2011-12-22T17:20:00.002-06:00

The blog, Remarkable Reads is hosting a readathon that started today and ends on January 1st! What an excellent opportunity to get through some books before the new year begin. This year I plan to have a pretty low key holiday season. I do not plan to visit everywhere and everyone. Just immediate family and get until my belly cannot take it anymore! LOL.. With that being said, I will have plenty of time to dive into this readathon. I plan to spend AT LEAST three hours a day just reading. My goal is to hopefully get through 3 or 4 books.

The first on on my list to complete is.......

I plan to use my Monday off to go and catch a Matinee of the movie version.

Are you guys participating in the readathon? If so, what are your goals? Leave a comment below!!

2012 CHALLENGE: Finishing the Series Reading Challenge

2011-12-22T12:00:00.001-06:00

As stated in my First in a Series Reading Challenge post, I will be reading a lot of books that are part of a series. The blog, Socrates Block Review Blog is hosting a challenge called:

January 1 - December 31, 2012

It is a challenge for all those series books you started at some point and have not finished. The rules are pretty simple:

All books that are part of a continuing series qualify.
It does not matter if you have 1 or 10 books to finish in the series, it qualifies. THE GOAL IS TO COMPLETE THE SERIES.
Any format of books count (audio, ebook, etc.)
You should choose the series you want to finish before the challenge begins, but it is not necessary.

The levels:

Level 1 - Complete 1 series.
Level 2 - Complete 2 series.
Level 3 - Complete 3 or more series.

If you are interested in this challenge, please click here.

I will be participating in LEVEL THREE and completing three series.

The Patternmaster Series (I have currently read book 1 and 2 of this 5 book series)

The Twilight Series

The Hunger Games Series

2012 CHALLENGE: First in a Series Challenge

2011-12-22T00:00:00.004-06:00

January 1 - December 31, 2012

When thinking about the books I want to read next year along with Literary Marie's "Sunday Series", I realize that a lot of the books will be books that are the first in a series. So what a pleasant surprise it was to see that the blog, A Few More (Reading) Challenges was hosting a challenge about the first book in a series.

The levels are as followed:

Series Novice: Read 3 books that are the first in any series.
Series Lover: Read 6....
Series Expert: Read 12...
Series Fanatic: Read 20....

I will be participating in the SERIES LOVER level of the challenge.

If you are interested in participating in this challenge, please click here.

2012 CHALLENGE: Southern Literature Challenge

2011-12-21T12:00:00.001-06:00

January 1 - December 31, 2012

This challenge is pretty simple. Read books (nonfiction or fiction of any genre, adult or young adult) written by an author from the South and set mostly in the South.

The states:

South Carolina
Georgia
Alabama
North Carolina
Virginia
Tennessee
Mississippi
Louisiana
Kentucky
West Virginia
Texas
Arkansas
Florida

Levels:

Level 1 - C'mon in the house! READ ONE BOOK
Level 2 - Pull up a seat & stay awhile! READ TWO BOOKS
Level 3 - Have a glass of sweet iced tea, honey. READ THREE BOOKS
Level 4 - Y'll come back now, y'hear! READ FOUR BOOKS

I will partake in LEVEL 4.

If you are interested in this challenge please check out the blog, The Introverted Reader to participate.

2012 CHALLENGE: Outdo Yourself Challenge

2011-12-21T00:00:00.001-06:00

January 1 - December 31, 2012

I participated in this challenge last year and along with one other challenge, this was one I actually succeeded at! LOL....

Nevertheless, the blog, The Book Vixen is hosting the challenge. The goal is to outdo yourself by reading more books in 2012 than you did in 2011.

The details are:

Grab the reading challenge button and post this reading challenge on your blog to track your progress. Please include a link back to this sign up post so others can join the reading challenge too. You do not have to be a book blogger to participate; you could track your progress on Goodreads or LibraryThing.

The levels are:

Getting my heart rate up - READ 1-5 more books.
Out of breath - READ 6-10 more books.
Breaking a sweat - READ 11-15 more books.
I'm on fire! - READ 16+ more books.

This year my goal was to read 25 books, but currently I have read 16 books. For 2012 my goal is to read 50 books so I will be participating in the I'M ON FIRE! level.

2012 CHALLENGE: 2012 Twilight Series Challenge

2011-12-20T21:36:00.000-06:00

It is best to say that I have officially jumped on a bandwagon. What bandwagon is it?

THE TWILIGHT SERIES (I know.... I know)

With my roommate gushing over the series, the Breaking Dawn movie trailer enticing me and the hilarious vlogger Kingsley, I have slowly been bitten by the Twilight bug. I have been fighting the urge to read the series for many reasons:

I am not into vampires unless Anne Rice is writing about them.
I thought it was for teen aged, hormone filled girls.
I did not want to jump on the hype.
How am I ever gonna be a "book snob" reading material like that? LOL!!

So when I saw that there was a challenge I finally gave in said, "Ok ok... I will read them."

The blog, Pages of Forbidden Love is hosting the challenge. Throughout the year those who participate will read all four books and have discussions each month on one of the books.

I am planning on spreading out the books and finishing up the last one right before the release of Breaking Dawn 2 in theaters on November 16, 2012.

It's Monday, What are you reading? 12-19-11

2011-12-19T02:54:00.001-06:00

"It's Monday? What Are You Reading?", (Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey) is where bloggers share their reading material for the week as well as what they read the week before.

NEW BOOKS ADDED:

The movie comes out this Wednesday. I am too excited about it and plan to see it either Christmas day or the day after. Stay tuned for a review!!!

BOOKS COMPLETED:

A fast and enjoyable read!

STILL PUSHING THROUGH: (In order that I started reading them)

(started reading January 2011)

(started reading April 2011)

(starting reading April 2011)

(started reading August 2011)

(started reading October 2011)

(started reading November 2011)

Since some of my favorite shows are on a "winter break", I have to take a break from TV as well this week and hopefully I can dive into some of these books I have in my "currently reading" pile. Please leave a comments on the books I am reading, and/or shout out your reading list for this week in the comment section!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!!

48 Laws of Power FRIDAYS! - Law 48

2011-12-16T00:00:00.000-06:00

Law 48: Assume formlessness.

2012 CHALLENGE: The Dystopia 2012 Reading Challenge

2011-12-14T00:55:00.000-06:00

The Dystopia 2012 Reading Challenge

January 1 - December 31, 2012

The Dystopia Challenge is for those who love it and for those who never tried it (such as myself). If you are not familiar with what the Dystopia genre really is, a definition can be found here.

The blog Bookish Ardour is hosting this challenge for the second year.

Rules:

Choose a level (you can find the levels below).
Grab the badge (the picture at the top of this post).
Sign up and place post here.

Levels:

Asocial - Choose 5 books to read.
Contagion - Choose 15 books to read.
Soldier - Choose 30 books to read.
Drone - Choose 50 books to read.
Conditioned - Choose 75 books to read.
Brainwashed - Choose anywhere between 76-135 books to read.
Totalitarian - Choose anywhere between 136-200 books to read.

I will be participating in the ASOCIAL level where I will read five books. Below are the books I plan to read:

2012 CHALLENGE: 2012 Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge

2011-12-12T00:00:00.007-06:00

2012 Book Bloggers Recommendation Challenge

January 1 - December 31, 2012

Reading with Tequila created this challenge last year where she selected a group of book bloggers to provide their book recommendations. I tried to participate in this challenge last year, but I failed....... badly.

Click here to see the entire 2011 Book Blogger Recommendation List. There is over 200 books listed.

The Levels are:

LEVEL 1: Read 5 books from the list.

LEVEL 2: Read 10 books.....

LEVEL 3: Read 15 books.....

LEVEL 4: Read 20 books.....

LEVEL 5: Read 20+ books...

The Rules are:

Create an intro post linking back to her introduction post.
Choose the books you want to read. There is also the option to read the top 25 list or from the entire recommendation list. (I will be choosing from the entire recommendation list)
REREADS DO NOT COUNT.

I will be participating in LEVEL TWO and below are the books that I plan to read:

There we have it! It is an excellent mix of different genres and should make for an interesting year of reading.

2012 CHALLENGE: Tea & Books Reading Challenge

2011-12-10T00:00:00.001-06:00

Tea & Books Reading Challenge

January 1 - December 31, 2012

The blog, The Book Garden, is hosting a challenge where it wants you to read a book with more than 700 pages!! LOVE IT!

The rules are:

Anyone can join. All you have to do is leave a comment with NAME/BLOG (if you have one)/CHOSEN LEVEL
You have to pick a level even though you can "upgrade" to the next one at any time.
Novels only. No short story collections or anthologies.
Large print editions DOES NOT count.
No re-reads.

The levels are:

2 Books - Chamomile Lover
4 Books - Berry Tea Devotee
6 Books - Earl Grey Aficionado
8 or more Books - Sencha Connoisseur

I will be participating in LEVEL: Chamomile Lover

48 Laws of Power FRIDAYS! - Law 47

2011-12-09T00:00:00.000-06:00

Law 47: Do not go past the mark you aimed for; in victory, learn when to stop.

2012 CHALLENGE: Off the Shelf

2011-12-08T00:00:00.001-06:00

Off the Shelf Challenge

January 1 - December 31, 2012

I am currently participating in this year's challenge and it is one of the few that I am actually going to succeed in. This year I bought a lot of books and I have four rows of books that need to be read.

The blog, Bookish Ardour is hosting the challenge, here is all the information below:

DO NOT include books acquired during 2012. This challenge is for books purchase before 2012.
This challenge can crossover with other challenges.
Choose your Level (look below) - I have chosen level 2. Trying (15 books)
Grab the badge - Place it somewhere on your blog, profile or in signature where possible and link back.
Sign up post - Create a post on your blog, in a group, or on a forum to let others see what you're aiming for.
Link up - Grab the direct URL to your sign up post, not your blog.
BLOGLESS? - You can sign up with your social network profile (YouTube, Twitter, GoodReads, Shelfari).

Challenge Levels

Tempted - Choose 5 books to read
Trying - Choose 15 books to read
Making a dint - Choose 30 books to read
On a Roll - Choose 50 books to read
Flying Off - Choose 75 books to read
Hoarder - Choose between 76-135 books to read
Buried - Choose between 136-200 books to read

Library Haul - November 2011

2011-12-07T00:00:00.001-06:00

During the month of November, I checked out seven books. Check them out below:

I am currently reading this along with a friend and discussing it. It is actually enlightening and I am glad that he suggested that we read it. I am hoping to take a lot away from this book as well as read the other ones that he has written in the "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" series

As stated in one of my previous posts, I was reading this month with a online book club that I am in. I actually finished it in less than a week AND it was a re-read!! However it is a very interesting book and I suggest everyone go check it out!

Do you notice a theme here? These are all books that have been turned into movies! The first one has already been released, sent to DVD and is currently sitting in my DVR que because it is now playing on TMC. On Thanksgiving, I caught a little of the movie playing in the background while hanging at a relative's house I became interested. The other two books movies are coming out REALLY soon and I want to be able to see them as soon as they come out.

Want to read the second book in the series before I forget what happened in the first one.

I always want to have a bio in my cycle of "currently reading" group. Plus it has been on my "to read" list since I started the list on goodreads and I have decided that once a month, I am going to go to the top of the list and pick a book.

I have came to the conclusion that I am only going to borrow FIVE books a month from the library (it should be less than that since I am such a slow reader) and hope I can get through them each month. WISH ME LUCK!

What books did you all get from the library? Leave a comment..

2012 CHALLENGE: Support Your Local Library Challenge

2011-12-06T09:00:00.000-06:00

Support Your Local Library Challenge

January 1 - December 31, 2012

Rules:

Anyone can join.
There is no need for a blog to participate. READERS please leave a comment about the books you read.
No re-reads.
Audio and ebooks are ok.
Create a sign up post and link in the linky here.

Levels:

Level 1 - Read 12 library books
Level 2 - Read 24 library books
Level 3 - Read 36 library books
Level 4 - Read 37+ library books

The Eclectic Bookshelf created this awesome challenge and since I have gotten back in the habit of going to the library every week, I knew I had to join! I will be participating in level one. So my goal is to read one library book a month.

Tuesday Teaser 12-6-11

2011-12-06T00:00:00.009-06:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along? Just by doing the following:

Grab your current read.
Open to a random page.
Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
Share the title and author, so that other bloggers and readers can add the book to their "to read" lists.

Page 95 of Maya Angelou's "I Know Why The Cage Bird Sings": It was fortunate that I never saw her in the company of powhitefolks. For since they tend to think of their whiteness an evenizer, I'm certain that I would have had to hear her spoken commonly as Bertha, and my image of her would have been shattered like the unmendable Humpty-Dumpty."

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 12-5-11

2011-12-05T00:00:00.002-06:00

"It's Monday? What Are You Reading?", (Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey) is where bloggers share their reading material for the week as well as what they read the week before.

NEW BOOKS ADDED:

I have been wanting to read this book for years and finally getting to it. I hope it has been worth the wait.

BOOKS COMPLETED:

I really enjoyed re-reading this book. I could not put it down and spent many late nights last week deep in the life of Tangy Mae.

It was an interesting book to say the least.

STILL PUSHING THROUGH: (In order that I started reading them)

(started reading January 2011)

(started reading April 2011)

(starting reading April 2011)

(started reading August 2011)

(started reading October 2011)

(started reading November 2011)

Once again I am currently reading tons of books. Please leave a comments on the books I am reading, and/or shout out your reading list for this week in the comment section!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!!

2012 CHALLENGE: Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Challenge

2011-12-04T21:31:00.000-06:00

Okay you guys, its that time of the year again..... READING CHALLENGES!!! With all of my "good intentions" to complete my reading challenges for this year, I did horrible. Nevertheless with a new year comes a clean slate. I started the year in a reading slump, and just this fall have I gotten back on track with my reading habits. So therefore here is the first reading challenge:

NON-FICTION NON-MEMOIR CHALLENGE

January 1 - December 31, 2012

The blog "My Book Retreat" is hosting a awesome challenge called the Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Challenge. The major type of nonfiction a person read is memoirs. I believe the blog who is hosting the challenge wanted to change that. This is a great idea and it will challenge me to think outside of the box when it comes to nonfiction.

What Counts:

Books can be in any format.
Books can cover many different topics, including science, technology, religion, sociology, business, biography, politics, economics, history, food, art/design, etc.
Crossovers with other challenges are permitted.

What Does NOT Count:

Reference books, cookbooks and instruction manuals that are not meant to be read cover to cover
Essays and articles
How to, self-help or travel books that are not read cover to cover
Memoirs, journals and autobiographies
Books written for children
Re-reads don't count since the point is to learn something new

Levels:

Elementary - 5 nonfiction books
Diploma - 10 nonfiction books
Bachelor's Degree - 15 nonfiction books
Master's Degree - 25 nonfiction books

Details:

BLOGGERS: Write a starting post to state which level you will work towards and link it back to this post. Listing a books is welcome, but is not required. Link your post to the Linky.
READERS: If you do not have a blog, leave a comment under their post.
In order to be considered for the final giveaway, a warp up post will be required (bloggers). If you are a reader, please provide a comment concerning your reading accomplishments.

For this particular challenge I will aim to complete level "Diploma" and my focus will probably be on history and religion books.

48 Laws of Power FRIDAYS! - Law 46

2011-12-02T00:00:00.000-06:00

Law 46: Never appear perfect.

Monthly Wrap Up - November 2011

2011-12-01T17:21:00.000-06:00

With two trips and the Thanksgiving holiday being this month, I had an okay month of reading.

Books that I read in November:

Before I started book blogging and reading other book blogs, I thought reading at least 2 books a month was awesome. However when I see people post about reading 4 or 5 books a week AT THE LEAST, I think to myself, “When do they have time to do anything else?” For awhile I felt like a horrible reader, but I had to come to terms that I can only read at a pace I am comfortable with. STOP comparing myself to others.

My name is Book Snob Wannabe and I am a slow reader…. LOL

Living at the library:

Since getting my library card active again, I have been going crazy with checking out books. Knowing what I am a slow reader, I should not even step FOOT in a library until I get my “currently reading” list down, but I keep running to that library getting books… Smh….

2011 Book Challenges:

I basically decided to give up on them (well I decided this awhile ago) and start fresh in 2012. I have a more structured plan on completing them so it will be easy for me to keep up with them all.

Goodreads 2011 Reading Challenge:

I challenged myself to reading 25 books this year and I am at 14 (15 by the end of the weekend). Since by the end of next week I will be finish with my finals, I think that it will be realistic to finish 10 books in ONE month……. (even though I have NEVER done this).

I am still debating on how many books I want to challenge myself to read next year. Being that I am getting back into the grove of reading and actually dedicating time to it, I may aim for 40-50 books next year.

It all depends on how December goes......

How was your month of reading? Leave a comment and let me know!

Tuesday Teaser 11-29-11

2011-11-29T00:00:00.004-06:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

•Grab your current read

•Open to a random page

•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Page 47 of Delores Phillips' "The Darkest Child": Had they been just a bit more subdued, they might have heard what I heard as Tarabekke turned to leave the kitchen. "It feels like pee," she mumbled.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 11-28-11

2011-11-28T00:17:00.000-06:00

"It's Monday? What Are You Reading?", (Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey) is where bloggers share their reading material for the week as well as what they read the week before.

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend, I know I did! I even managed to finish a book! For the next two weeks, I will be focusing on my finals, but here are the books I am interacting with this week:

NEW BOOKS ADDED:

This will actually be a re-read, I have joined a new group on Goodreads called, "Food, Water, Books". This will be the first book we read and discuss. Since I have already read it, I plan to skim it in order to keep up with the discussions. I believe that I actually enjoyed the book, but cannot remember a lot of the details. Discussions of the book start November 30, 2011

BOOKS COMPLETED:

It was actually a nice book. Although it felt rushed at the end in order to tie up the loose ends, I liked it. I have not read a fiction novel in some time that kept my attention. Great job Start Jones!

STILL PUSHING THROUGH: (In order that I started reading them)

(started reading January 2011)

(started reading April 2011)

(starting reading April 2011)

(started reading August 2011)

(started reading October 2011)

(started reading November 2011)

So there we have it, tons of books I am currently reading. Please leave a comments on the books I am reading, and/or shout out your reading list for this week in the comment section!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!!

48 Laws of Power FRIDAYS! - Law 45

2011-11-17T23:00:00.000-06:00

Law 45: Preach the need for change, but never reform too much too much at once.

Books into Movies: Recent books that have been made into movies!

2011-11-15T00:00:00.001-06:00

There are tons of books to choose from with regards to books that have been turned into movies. However if you do not know where to start, please check below. I have supplied several YouTube clips of books that have recently been turned into movies.

Did any of the books mention in the videos interest you? Leave a comment.

It's Monday, What are you reading? 11-14-11

2011-11-14T00:00:00.006-06:00

"It's Monday? What Are You Reading?", (Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey) is where bloggers share their reading material for the week as well as what they read the week before.

For the past couple of weeks I have not been really focused on reading. Work, school and a new television season has gotten in the way. Some days by the time I have gotten off of work, went to class, and came home for the night, the last thing I want to do is work my brain. I rather grab the remote and watch television.

This week will be no different. With school work to catch up on and arranging for the trips I will be on for the next two weekends, I believe that there will not be a lot of reading going on.

NEW BOOKS ADDED:

I just picked up this book from the library last week and just from the first 30something pages, I know that it will be a quick read.

I am reading an Annotated version that is suppose to be excellent for new readers of Classics and Jane Austen books.

Actually it is not a new add, I just decided to add it. I try to read at least a chapter a day and meditate on it. In my rotation of "currently reading" books, I try to have one "spiritual nourishment" book in there.

BOOKS COMPLETED:

This was a book that had to be read for school. However I really took an interest to it and it became a quick read.

STILL PUSHING THROUGH: (In order that I started reading them)

(started reading January 2011)

(starting reading April 2011)

(started reading August 2011)

(started reading October 2011)

So there we have it, tons of books I am currently reading. Truthfully some haven't been touched (read) in months. Please leave a comments on the books I am reading, and/or shout out your reading list for this week in the comment section!!

QUICK QUESTION: How does one read multiple books at the same time? Please leave a comment.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!!

Monthly Wrap Up - October 2011

2011-11-13T17:03:00.000-06:00

Since we are almost half way into November, I almost did not post a wrap up for October. Nevertheless here is a recap of last month:

Books that I read in October:

It was a terrible month of reading for me. I started several books (way past my limits) and only completed one.

Book Purchases of October:

I did not purchase any books in the month of October. I think that is due to Borders closing. I no longer have a 40% discount and who wants to spend full price on books? LOL

Library Haul of October:

In addition to the other books I have from my library haul from last month, I added four additional books.

Read-a-thons:

There was two read-a-thons I was SUPPOSE to participate in. When I stress "supposedly" I mean that I did a horrible job at participating in them. My goal was to really put a dent in my "current reading" pile. That sooo did not happen.

Other random thoughts:

The reason for my horrible reading month is due to my procrastination with school work and a 90% full DVR. I am finally on track with my school work and I my plan for the month of November is to finish at least 4 books. I am 12 books away from my goal this year and hopefully after finals, I can dive into books with record speed!!

Lastly I attended a book festival the last weekend of the month. I had a blast. I have been to tons of book fairs, but never a book festival and cannot wait until next year or any other one I attend!

48 Laws of Power FRIDAYS! - Law 44

2011-11-10T23:00:00.000-06:00

Law 44: Disarm and infuriate with the mirror effect.

48 Laws of Power FRIDAYS! - Law 43

2011-11-03T23:00:00.000-05:00

Law 43: Work on the hearts and minds of others.

48 Laws of Power FRIDAYS! - Law 42

2011-10-27T23:00:00.000-05:00

Law 42: Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter.

Bout of Books Readathon Day 3

2011-10-26T23:34:00.000-05:00

As of tonight I have not really put a dent in my reading pile, but as of tomorrow I should do much better.

Nevertheless here is my update:
Number of books read today:               0
Number of magazines read today:         2
Number of pages I read today:            27
Total of books I've read:                       0
Total of magazines I've read:                 2
Toal of pages I've read:                      57

Book I am currently tackling is:

SEE YOU GUYS TOMORROW!!!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? READ-A-THON EDITION Part 2!

2011-10-24T00:00:00.000-05:00

Since I was SUCH a failure at the recent Dewey's Readathon on Saturday, I have decided to participate in another WEEK LONG readathon.

Over at an On a Book Bender there is a week long readathon going on! Please go over to the site for all details.

Now back to our regular scheduled programming........

"It's Monday! What Are You Reading?", (hosted by Sheila at Book Journey) is where book bloggers share what they read this last week and what they plan to read for the week.

My goal this week is to finish TWO books and a host of magazines...

Below is a picture of the books I plan to read as well as the huge pile of magazines I need to read.

Being that the readathon is a week long (6 days) event and I have a pretty busy life as it is, I have broken down what I plan to do by each day.

Hopefully I have good results everyday. I plan to post an update every evening on my progress.

Wish me luck and Happy Reading!!!

Please leave a comment below to tell me if you are participating in the readathon or what are you reading plans for the week.

Final Results of Dewey's Read-A-Thon: FAILURE!

2011-10-23T17:37:00.000-05:00

Who went to sleep 3 1/2 hours into her SEVEN hours of reading? ME! I do not know what came over me, but I woke up with books and cookies in my bed asking "What happened?" I guess the errands and homework I did earlier in the day really wore me out and I didn't even realize it!

If I wanted to I probably could have fought myself and stayed up, but for the past couple of months I have been having trouble sleeping so I welcomed the twelve hours of sleep I had last night.

Nevertheless I was really planning on getting some good reading done because I have 12 or 13 more books to read in order to reach my goal for the year.

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT IT IS ABOUT TO BE NOVEMBER IN 7 DAYS??????

Well Dewey's Readathon.... I guess I will see you in April.

Dewey's Read-a-thon Hour 11 (Hour 1 for me)

2011-10-22T17:03:00.000-05:00

Okay so I am finally ready to start reading. I have six books I want to tackle in the next seven hours. I am realistic in knowing that I can probably finish one book, so I am debating should I decide on a number of pages for each book and save the book I want to finish for last or read that book first and then tackle the others each hour after that..... Hmmmmm who knows. Maybe I am doing to much. LOL!! Nevertheless here is a picture of the books I plan to tackle:

It's here!!! Dewey Read-a-thon OCTOBER 2011!!

2011-10-22T09:47:00.000-05:00

It's that time! Dewey's Read-a-thon is here again! YEAH! I have been so excited about this since finding out the fall date. I blocked time off in my planner. I planned to do nothing but read and eat snacks between the hours of Noon to Midnight (Central Time). HOWEVER life happens and now I am going to have to reschedule my time. At first I thought I was not going to be able to do it at all, but at 5pm I WILL BE READING!!! So instead of reading for 12 hours straight, I will be reading for 7 hours....

Until 5pm (central time) and when time allows (meaning I am in front of my laptop) I will be an unofficial cheerleader to blogs participating!

Nevertheless even though I will not participate in the read-a-thon until HOUR 10 (I think I am right, damn time zone converter... LOL) I am going to partake in the INTRODUCTION MEME.

Five things about me:

Where are you reading from today?

Today I will be coming from my bedroom in South Louisiana.

Three random facts about me...

The only fruit I eat is grapes and lemons. LOL! I hate fruit...

I am in the processing of making major career changes and have not told anyone!

Bridges scare me! I just started driving on them a couple of years ago.

How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?

I have a total of SIX books in my reading pile.

Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon?

My goal is to finish 1-2 books, get 100 pages further in another one, and at least 25-50 pages into the remaining 3 books.

If you're a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?

Plan ahead the whats, whens, wheres, and hows. Prepare a realistic book list, have snacks readily available, taking break EVERY hour to check blogs and twitter takes away PLENTY of reading time, and mix up the reading by reading small fictions books, make you feel that you accomplished something by completing small books....

SEE YOU AT 5PM (CENTRAL TIME)!!!!

48 Laws of Power FRIDAYS! - Law 41

2011-10-20T23:00:00.000-05:00

Law 41: Avoid stepping into a great man's shoes.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? READ-A-THON EDITION

2011-10-17T01:27:00.000-05:00

"It's Monday! What Are You Reading?", (hosted by Sheila at Book Journey) is where book bloggers share that they read this last week and what they plan to read for the week.

Last week was a pretty uneventful week when it came to reading. I did not complete a book therefore below are the books that I am still currently reading:

However in honor of Dewey's Read-a-thon, I plan to add FOUR books to the reading list! If you are interested in finding out what those four books are, please check out my September 2011 Library haul.

With participating in the read-a-thon, I plan to put a big dent in my "currently reading" pile. Wish me luck!

Please leave a comment below to tell me if you are participating in the read-a-thon or what are you reading plans for the week.

Happy Reading!!!

48 Laws of Power FRIDAYS! - Law 40

2011-10-13T23:00:00.000-05:00

Law 40: Despise the free lunch.

Books from the library from the month of SEPTEMBER 2011

2011-10-12T00:00:00.039-05:00

Starting this month I will start featuring books I get from the library every month. A MONTHLY LIBRARY HAUL. I have not had the chance to partake in the wonderful world of libraries for about a year now.

Here is my story:

I moved away and in the middle of the move I was suppose to take back some books that I got from the library. Let’s just say that I did not and it was not a major worry because I was thinking “not coming back” and I would just add them to my personal library. SIX years later I am back and after paying $53 I have a library card again.

Initially I was only suppose to go the library, pay my fines and obtain a new library card. HOWEVER I ended up leaving with FIVE books! LOL…. So much for lowering the amount of books I read at one time.

Here are my selections:

I have the remaining three books in the Patternmaster series by Octavia Butler:

Racialicious is “supposedly” having a year long “Octavia Butler Book Club”, but I have not seen any activity since the second book, “Mind of my Mind”.

Next up is Platinum by Aliya S. King…..

I love her! I love her blog and I have everything she says on twitter. I have heard and read several great reviews and cannot wait to dive into this book!

Lastly, I picked up Satan’s Sisters by Star Jones.

I loved “The View”!! Even though I have read and even heard her say that this book is not art imitating life, I am quite curious is Ms. Jones have the capabilities of writing good literature.

So there you have it folks, books I obtained from the library in September!

What books are included in your library haul??

It's Monday, What are you reading? 10-10-11

2011-10-10T00:09:00.000-05:00

"It's Monday! What Are You Reading?", (hosted by Sheila at Book Journey) is where book bloggers share that they read this last week and what they plan to read for the week.

NEW BOOKS ADDED:

Over at Goodreads, I participate in a group called 1001 Books You Read Before You Die. Every month on the 15th, the group picks a book to read, and this month (11/15/11-11/15/11), the group selected Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings". This book has been on my reading list for some time now and cannot wait to dive into it and participate in the forums.

BOOK(S) COMPLETED:

Quite enjoyed this book. Was a fast and easy read.

STILL PUSHING THROUGH: (In order that I started reading them?

(started reading January 2011)

(started reading April 2011)

(starting reading August 2011)

Please comment on the books I am reading, and/or shout out your reading list for this week in the comment section.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!

48 Laws of Power FRIDAYS! - Law 39

2011-10-06T23:00:00.000-05:00

Law 39: Stir up waters to catch fish.

Books I purchased in September 2011

2011-10-05T00:00:00.000-05:00

Due to Borders closing, I got a few books. Nothing like I imagined because I was broke until four days before they close so all the "good" books were gone. However I got five books under $11.00. Cannot beat that huh??

I ended up purchasing "A Belle in Brooklyn" because I was really getting into the book and was tired of having to travel to the book store to read it.

The other book I purchased was in the sale bin at Barnes and Nobles. Its "The List: 100 Ways to Shake Up Your Life". I am going to try my best to do at least 80-85% of the things on the list. I may even document each one of them. Who knows.....

What books did you purchase in September???

Tuesday Teaser 10-4-11

2011-10-04T01:18:00.000-05:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

•Grab your current read

•Open to a random page

•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Page 217 of Demetria L. Lucas' "A Belle in Brooklyn": The response is always a list seeking a number of degrees and awards and accomplishments, including home ownership and either a professional title with "vice", "executive", or "senior" in front of it or a name with a comma and some letters at the end. And there's always a comment about the man suggested not being on "my level", as if his resume determines his character.