NANOWRIMO

So, November is National Novel Writing Month. I have never attempted this before, but against my better judgment, I've just signed up to give it a try. Even though November is shaping up to be my busiest work month EVER, what with trying to get our 2011 budget complete and a physical inventory which I'm heavily involved in, I'm still going to give this a shot. Am I insane? I think so, but I'm also going to give myself permission to not stress over it and not feel like a loser if I don't finish. I just would like to get back to writing. I used to think I was pretty good, at least I usually enjoyed my own writing. I used to write with friends for fun. I've done no plain old writing for fun in several years, it's time I got back to it. I miss it, and I think it was a stress reliever. It got me through college quite honestly, and I would lose hours at a time writing, only to resurface when my roommate got home from work, blinking and amazed at how much time was just gone. I still go back and read some of those stories and think wow, I did that, how come I can't still do it?

The NANOWRIMO site talks about whether you are a planner or a pantser, and I'd have to say I'm definitely a pantser this time, though I do have some ideas taking shape in my head as I write this, I don't think I'll have much a plan going in. They also ask how you're going to spend your last weekend of freedom before the event, me? Playing Guildwars and collecting as many virtual trick or treat bags as possible, reading other people's novels, and eating candy! Now to go pick out a cool widget to keep track of my word count!

Book Dominoes

Wish I'd know about this store when we were in Arizona!

WWW Wednesdays 10/27/10

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

* What are you currently reading?
* What did you recently finish reading?
* What do you think you’ll read next?

Then head on over to Should be Reading and leave a comment with a link to your post so others can see!


I'm currently reading:

	Trevor's Song by Susan Helene Gottfried -- A bit over halfway, and loving it! I know it's taking me way too long to read it, I blame work. Trust me, if not for that, I would have been racing through it! I plan to do a giveaway soon in coordination with Susan's own Musical Hanukkah event, so do check back and you might be able to win a Trevor of your very own! You can't have mine, cause he's autographed, and he ain't leavin' this house!
No cover	Great Gunfighters of the Kansas Cowtowns 1867-1886 by Nyle H. And Snell, Joseph W. Miller -- Back to that work excuse, I haven't gotten a single additional page read in this one and it's about time to check it out from the library again. Not sure if I'll keep on with this one, it's a good resource book, but very dry, and right now I need easy to read and entertaining!
	I'm listening to Stalking Darkness (Nightrunner #2) by Lynn Flewelling -- about a third of the way maybe? It's a pretty long audibook, not like Outlander long (30 some CD's!) but still when you only have about 30-40 minutes a day to listen to it. I'm enjoying it, but this is one where I wonder if I might have enjoyed it more if I had read it, the narrator isn't bad, he's just not terribly animated, and I think I might have fared better with the nuances of Seregil's character better in my own imagination. But I do recommend this series so far!

Since last Wednesday I finished reading:

Moonlight by Rachel Hawthorne -- A Teen Paranormal read featuring werewolves -- 'tis the season! But then, for me, it's always the season for hunky werewolves! This one was good, set in a wilderness park, where Kayla goes back to confront her past, the place where her parents were killed when she was a child. Her therapist has told her she must face her fears, but she finds a little more than she bargained for!

Strange Brew by a host of great Paranormal authors! A good mix, and all the stories were pretty good! I probably liked the Jim Butcher story best, just because Harry Dresden is the character I know best out of all of these. A couple of the stories were featuring side characters from the authors series, I think some were just stand alone stories. I recommend this one, I felt all the stories were worthwhile.

Probably up next:

	Slightly Settled by Wendy Markham
	Immortals: Evermore by Alyson Noel -- Loving the Teen Paranormals right now!

Teaser Tuesdays 10/26/10

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!

I have a couple for you today, I had just about decided to skip this week I've been so busy, when I came across two great ones in my reading, one from Moonlight, another Paranormal Teen read, and another from Trevor's Song, which I've teased before here. Compare the two, and you'll get a good feel for the complex personality that is Trevor Wolff. (Okay, yeah, I'm a groupie, I admit it!)

Gently, he touched my cheek with his fingertips. They were rough and callused. I didn't want to think that earlier in the night they'd also sported claws that could rip my face apart. -- pg. 170 Moonlight (Dark Guardian #1) by Rachel Hawthorne

"Get over yourself and stop hurting Trevor," Mitchell told her. "He deals with broken hearts about as well as I do." He yawned and asked Kerri if she was ready to go to bed. "Trev's heart's too small to break," Trevor said in a voice, equally as small. Her own heart breaking at hearing him, Kerri turned to a fresh page in her sketch book and got busy again, waving Mitchell to bed without her. Trevor had shrunk down into himself, as if he could make himself a smaller target, and his forearms were crossed over his chest -- there for protection. If it wasn't nonverbal communication he was showing her, she didn't know how to read people.-- pg. 148 Trevor's Song by Susan Helene Gottfried

WWW Wednesdays 10/20/10

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

* What are you currently reading?
* What did you recently finish reading?
* What do you think you’ll read next?

Then head on over to Should be Reading and leave a comment with a link to your post so others can see!


I'm currently reading:

	Strange Brew by a host of great Paranormal authors! So far I've read the Patricia Briggs and Jim Butcher stories and really liked them both!
	Trevor's Song by Susan Helene Gottfried -- Taking my time and savoring! This one has been awhile in the making so I'm enjoying it slowly! ;)
No cover	Great Gunfighters of the Kansas Cowtowns 1867-1886 by Nyle H. And Snell, Joseph W. Miller -- Wow the print in this book is tiny! I've only gotten through setting the stage of the time period and the first section about Charles Bassett. Much of this book is a collection of newspaper articles of the times, and it's very interesting to read these often flowery and humorous articles and compare them to the newspapers of today.
	I'm listening to Stalking Darkness (Nightrunner #2) by Lynn Flewelling

Since last Wednesday I finished reading:

	The Murder of King Tut by James Patterson -- Here are my thoughts that I posted over on Goodreads: review, needless to say, I don't recommend this one, and can't quite believe that such an experienced author exhibited such bad judgement in subject matter and treatment. But then I'm a fan of Egyptology, so I'm probably more biased that a lot of people. I wasn't alone in my opinion however, just from reading some of the other reviews.
	The Summoning (Darkest Powers #1) by Kelley Armstrong -- Very good! I'll definitely be continuing this series and looking into Kelley's other books. I recommend it and I've already bought the second book!
	Bound by Donna Jo Napoli -- A Cinderella retelling set in Ming China. I really enjoyed this one, you really feel for Xing Xing, and have ups and downs with her sister and stepmother. Unlike the Cinderella story we're all familiar with, there are moments where they do show her kindness, although in the stepmother's case it is a deception, it isn't entirely with her sister. Though the ending follows closely to the traditional story, Xing Xing shows herself to be a strong young woman, who knows her mind, and who is determined to speak it! Highly recommend!

Probably up next:

	Slightly Settled by Wendy Markham
	Immortals: Evermore by Alyson Noel -- Loving the Teen Paranormals right now!

Teaser Tuesdays 10/19/10

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!

Bound is a retelling of the Cinderella story, set in Ming China. I've chosen several teasers from it, just because I liked the way they sounded, and I think they're a good example of Napoli's intriguing style, which seems to change and adapt to fit the theme of each different story she tells.

There is an order to guidance. A Ruler guides a subject. A father guides a son. A husband guides a wife. An elder guides a younger. A friend guides a friend. -- pg. 78 She stared at a bramble leaf, just a breath away from her. At this distance she could study every detail of the leaf. A principle of order guided the patterns of veins in that leaf. In every leaf. In everything on earth. Had not Stepmother said her ancestors would protect her? Certainly it was Xing Xing's job to protect father, not vice versa. But her other ancestors should be looking after her, guiding her. Somehow they had guided her to this very spot. She must trust in their wisdom. -- pg. 79 Learning is not the accumulation of knowledge, but rather, one thing only: understanding. -- pg. 145 Bound by Donna Jo Napoli

WWW Wednesdays 10/13/10

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

* What are you currently reading?
* What did you recently finish reading?
* What do you think you’ll read next?

Then head on over to Should be Reading and leave a comment with a link to your post so others can see!

Mine is quite long this week due to Dewey's Read-a-thon on Saturday Oct. 9th. It was a lot of fun, if you haven't ever tried it, and you can make time for the next one, I highly recommend it! The organizers, cheerleaders and other participants make it like a big reading sleepover! The next one should be in April 2011 sometime, I'll definitely be taking part if I can!

I'm currently reading:

	Trevor's Song by Susan Helene Gottfried -- Susan is a friend of mine that I met through Bookcrossing, and I'm so excited to see that she has finally been able to get Trevor's Song into print. I know it was a soul searching struggle for her before she finally decided to self publish it. I'm glad she did because her characters just leap off the page and demand to be noticed. They're kicking ass and taking names as part of the fictional metal band Shapeshifter, but at the same time we also see their very real struggles and insecurities in life. I've previously read an early draft of this, but it was quite awhile back, so I'm interested to see the finished product!
	The Summoning (Darkest Powers #1) by Kelley Armstrong -- My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again. All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don't even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost - and the ghost saw me. Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won't leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a "special home" for troubled teens. Yet the home isn't what it seems. Don't tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on? It's up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House . . . before its skeletons come back to haunt me.
No cover	Great Gunfighters of the Kansas Cowtowns 1867-1886 by Nyle H. And Snell, Joseph W. Miller -- My husband and I visited Dodge City this past summer, which sparked my interest in learning a little more about some of these famous names, Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, etc. Not sure if I will just check out the big names or try to read the whole thing, we'll see how far I get!
	The Murder of King Tut by James Patterson -- well... so far I'm not impressed, I just expected more. As a fan of Egyptology, I don't feel like any new ground was covered here, and what was already known or suspected was just simplified. So I guess if you don't know much about the subject, you might find this interesting, but otherwise, eh, it's a quick read, but not very memorable.

Since last Wednesday I finished reading:

	Your Big Break by Johanna Edwards -- Dani Myers has become an expert at romantic breakups ever since she was hired to "facilitate" them for clients of Your Big Break, Inc. In other words, she dumps people for money. But company rule #5 (do not get personally involved) is getting harder to obey. One of her dumpees is turning out to be the kind of guy she might just want to pick up on the rebound. and a new client has just walked in, begging for Dani's help breaking up with The Big Jackass, who's been leading her on all this time-and now turns out to be married. It would be a routine job except for one problem: the so-called Big Jackass is married to none other than Dani's mother. Shaunie's thoughts: This was a fun one, I liked it even better than The Next Big Thing by the same author, she's good at taking an outrageous situation and making it fun, I mean, are there really companies that will break up with other people for you? Now I have to go see!
	Land of Loss (Everworld #2) by K. A. Applegate -- Still feeling in read-a-thon mode, so I picked up this quick read from my read-a-thon book pool. Everworld is a place outside the real world were the gods of ancient religions have gone and are in conflict with each other. Book 2 begins with a battle between Aztecs and Vikings which of course would not have been possible in the real world, and our band of world skipping teenagers is of course right in the middle of it!
	I'm finished listening to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson -- What a convoluted crazy story! What power Salander actually has when she puts her mind to it! This isn't really my cup of tea, but even so it was an intriguing story once it got going. There were a few disturbing scenes for me, as I said, this type of story really isn't my thing, so while I can't really say I enjoyed it, it was a good read. I would recommend it, though I haven't decided if I will continue the series yet. That's due more to my genre preferences than with the book itself.

Finished during Dewey's Read-a-thon:

	Dragon Temple #3: Forged by Fire by Janine Cross -- My last read of the read-a-thon, and my last book in an exhausting trilogy that drug me through jungles and culminated in a culture changing war, so no wonder I'm tired! This is a desparate and disturbing fantasy trilogy, but great world building and a solid story, not a pretty fantasy though, so be prepared for despair and deviancy, and dogged determination in this one!
	Dead Over Heels (Aurora Teagarden #5) by Charlaine Harris -- I'm really enjoying this series, Roe just has a knack for being in the middle of murders! For a librarian and fairly conservative normal person, she seems to get herself in some bizarre situations, and inspire some outrageous behavior!
	Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich -- A mysterious stranger appears in Stephanie's apartment and tries to help her find the Christmas Spirit! And per the norm, yes, her car does get trashed. I don't feel like this is really a spoiler, since it happens in every book, and really it's just more of a confirmation that yes, this was another great Stephanie Plum story!
	The Private Life of the Cat Who... by Lilian Jackson Braun -- Kind of like when a couple of cat-loving friends get together and tell stories on their treasured pets. Not really necessary to have read the Cat Who series, if you're a cat lover it would be a cute and fast read, but probably you would get more out of it if you are already somewhat familiar with the basic idea of the series. A nice quick start to my read-a-thon day!

Probably up next:

	Slightly Settled by Wendy Markham
	Strange Brew by a host of great Paranormal authors!

Teaser Tuesdays 10/12/10

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!

There are so many good scenes in this one, but it's hard to cut it down to just a few sentences, so we'll settle on a description of the man himself! Trevor is the bassist for the fictional metal band ShapeShifter, and he will not be ignored!

Trevor tossed his head, feeling his hair move in a sheet, it was so long. Trevor Wolff reeked of rockstar, not of who he'd been. That kid had been left behind, almost from the day the Vosses had said he could live with them. -- pg. 10 Trevor Wolff was well-named; he did look wolfish, with glittering eyes that craved trouble and attention, a long nose that was almost pointy, and a sudden predatory smile that he liked to flash. -- pg. 15 Trevor's Song by Susan Helene Gottfried

If you are tantalized by this teaser, you can head on over to The Meet and Greet at West of Mars to get to know the ShapeShifter guys and their entourage better!

Giveaway Winner: GC to the Literacy Site Store

It's the day after Dewey's Read-a-thon, and as promised, I'm here to pick my winner for a $25 GC to the Literacy Site store!

And the lucky winner is...

Karen from Morsie Reads!

Thanks for entering everyone!

Happy Trails To You...

Until we meet again... in April... This is it for me, I just finished up Forged by Fire, and while I only would have less than 2 hours to stay up, I really need to get to bed, this is at least an hour later, maybe more than I stayed up last time. While I didn't read as many books or pages, I think they were denser type overall, so I'm still pleased and feel like I made a good showing. Congratulations to everyone still awake and who finishes, and to everyone who got this far, and to everyone who even read one page for this thing, because that means you're still a part of it! Thank you to all the administrators and cheerleaders, and other readers who commented, that is what makes this fun!

Finished:

Totals

# Books finished: 3.46 # Pages Read:712 Time spent reading: ??? not sure anymore, and not gonna worry about it!

	Title: Dragon Temple #3: Forged by Fire Author: Janine Cross Total Pages: started on page 201-237-272-310-373 = 172 pages Time Started: 9:05 - 10:05 am, 3:40 - 4:30 pm Time Finished: 5:07 AM Thoughts: My last read of the read-a-thon, and my last book in an exhausting trilogy that drug me through jungles and culminated in a culture changing war, so no wonder I'm tired!
	Title: Dead Over Heels (Aurora Teagarden #5) Author: Charlaine Harris Total Pages: 253 Time Started: 4:40 PM Time Finished: 12:42 AM Thoughts: I'm really enjoying this series, Roe just has a knack for being in the middle of murders! For a librarian and fairly conservative normal person, she seems to get herself in some bizarre situations, and inspire some outrageous behavior!
	Title: Visions of Sugar Plums Author: Janet Evanovich Total Pages: 164 hopefully will be done with this one by the next check in, fingers crossed! Time Started: 10:26 AM I kind of lost track, but I'm going to guess I spent about 2 1/2 hours total on this one. Time Finished:3:15 PM Thoughts: A mysterious stranger appears in Stephanie's apartment and tries to help her find the Christmas Spirit! And per the norm, yes, her car does get trashed. I don't feel like this is really a spoiler, since it happens in every book, and really it's just more of a confirmation that yes, this was another great Stephanie Plum story!
Finished:	Title: The Private Life of the Cat Who... Author: Lilian Jackson Braun Total Pages: 123 Time Started: 7:25 am Time Finished: 8:40 am Thoughts: Kind of like when a couple of cat-loving friends get together and tell stories on their treasured pets. Not really necessary to have read the Cat Who series, if you're a cat lover it would be a cute and fast read, but probably you would get more out of it if you are already somewhat familiar with the basic idea of the series. A nice quick start to my read-a-thon day!

Ice Cream, Comfy Chair, Bright Light and Farmville

These are my current methods for staying awake! Gotta harvest my Farmville wheat, got people depending on me! lol! I wonder how many readers are still awake. It's closing in, only about 4 hours left. Here are a couple more pictures, my comfy chair that I'm reading in with all the lights in the room on to help me stay awake (not mine, my camera of course died right as I was transferring pictures, and I don't want to go look for more batteries, apparently it's tired too, so here's the store picture), and the ice cream I promised to torture you with earlier, it's a Culver's chocolate concrete with Butterfinger and peanutbutter mixed in.




Currently Reading:

To my friend Susan, I did start in on Trevor, but decided I was sleepy and distracted enough that he wasn't getting the attention he deserved, so I'll save him for after the read-a-thon when it can be all about him! ;)

I'm probably just going to try and finish this one below, I have about 63 more pages and they aren't large type, so if I can get through it, I will be proud of myself and feel like I've done well! Back to the comfy chair!

Title: Dragon Temple #3: Forged by Fire Author: Janine Cross Total Pages: started on page 201-237-272-310 Time Started: 9:05 - 10:05 am, 3:40 - 4:30 pm Time Finished: Thoughts: Have already started this one, but want to try and finish it up during the read-a-thon. Probably won't read it all at one stretch, but will slip chapters in between other reads.

Finished:

Totals

# Books finished: 3 # Pages Read:540 Time spent reading: ??? not sure anymore, and not gonna worry about it!

	Title: Dead Over Heels (Aurora Teagarden #5) Author: Charlaine Harris Total Pages: 253 Time Started: 4:40 PM Time Finished: 12:42 AM Thoughts: I'm really enjoying this series, Roe just has a knack for being in the middle of murders! For a librarian and fairly conservative normal person, she seems to get herself in some bizarre situations, and inspire some outrageous behavior!
	Title: Visions of Sugar Plums Author: Janet Evanovich Total Pages: 164 hopefully will be done with this one by the next check in, fingers crossed! Time Started: 10:26 AM I kind of lost track, but I'm going to guess I spent about 2 1/2 hours total on this one. Time Finished:3:15 PM Thoughts: A mysterious stranger appears in Stephanie's apartment and tries to help her find the Christmas Spirit! And per the norm, yes, her car does get trashed. I don't feel like this is really a spoiler, since it happens in every book, and really it's just more of a confirmation that yes, this was another great Stephanie Plum story!
Finished:	Title: The Private Life of the Cat Who... Author: Lilian Jackson Braun Total Pages: 123 Time Started: 7:25 am Time Finished: 8:40 am Thoughts: Kind of like when a couple of cat-loving friends get together and tell stories on their treasured pets. Not really necessary to have read the Cat Who series, if you're a cat lover it would be a cute and fast read, but probably you would get more out of it if you are already somewhat familiar with the basic idea of the series. A nice quick start to my read-a-thon day!