| Book update |
[Apr. 19th, 2009|09:19 am] |
Computer problems does lead to more reading! I have 3 new ones.
11. Omnivore's Dilemna (411p) - Michael Pollan (Apr 13, 2009)
12. Something Borrowed (336p) - Emily Giffin (Apr 17, 2009)
13. Cubicles (290p) - Camika Spencer (Apr 18, 2009)
2009 Totals: 13/50 books 26%, 3456/15,000 pages, 23% |
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| Reading update |
[Mar. 7th, 2009|08:02 pm] |
The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J.K. Rowling
In the Forests of Serre - Patricia A. McKillip
2 more books! I loved the Tales of Beedle the Bard. In the Forests of Serre was a good Fantasy, although a little predictable at times. On the whole, an enjoyable light read though. |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 15th, 2009|07:45 pm] |
2 more reads, I'm just rocking along this year!
7. Who's in Charge? Attacking the Stress Myth - Scott Sheperd, Ph.D.
There was a small quote from this book in one I read a few months ago, and it really intrigued me. So I requested that the library order it, they did, and now I have read it. I really enjoyed this book, even as it scared the crap out of me. I like that he didn't sugar-coat things. He never said "Just do this one thing and your life will come up roses." But he also wasn't doom and gloom about just having to deal with it and live with it. The key phrase from this book: "Difficult is not impossible, it is just difficult."
8. Druid's Sword - Sara Douglass
Book 4, the final book of The Troy Game. I don't know why it took me so long to get around to finishing this series, but I really did like the others a lot. The ending was no let down. It's always a pleasure to find an author who can carry a good story through multiple books with success. If you like Fantasy, I recommend this series. |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 7th, 2009|05:20 pm] |
This audio book I listened to primarily on the bus. Sometimes I laughed, a lot of times I made rather disgusted faces. While I liked the basic idea, I really didn't like the way he went about it. Wouldn't bother recommending this one.
The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins (Feb 6, 2009) |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 4th, 2009|06:48 am] |
4. The Terrible Truth About Lawyers - Mark H. McCormack
This book was published in 1986, so there are definitely some things that aren't relevant any more, but sadly, there are more things that are. The author practiced law for a while and then went on to start his own successful business, so he has that dual perspective of both lawyer and client. There is some interesting advise about when to use a lawyer (and he definitely recommends it for some things, and says sometimes getting them involved earlier is far better than later) but also when NOT to use a lawyer. There's no hard and fast rules, of course, but hearing from someone with experience that it is both okay to ask for help and sometimes okay to tell them to BUTT OUT is good.
Written in a funny and direct way, all of his points are made through anecdotes from his own experience and that of his company. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 28th, 2009|09:49 pm] |
I have a massive stack of library books, and several books that have been started, so tonight I tackled one of those. I finished:
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
This really was an excellent book. I wouldn't take everything he says as the gospel truth, of course, but there is a lot of really good suggestions. This was recommended to me by the lovely Trish, and even her husband enjoyed the book and apparently got a lot out of it.
Highly recommend. Ms. Kitty, he's a fan of your weekly box of veggies! |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 14th, 2009|09:14 pm] |
Second book:
Today I finished C.J. Cherryh's Cloud's Rider. This one has been sitting on my shelf for quite a while, and this week I just wasn't in the mood for the non-fiction I had around, since it's pretty heavy stuff and I was looking for something a little lighter. This book absolutely fit the bill, and I quite enjoyed it. Not on my top 10 favourites ever, but it was a good read. |
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| 2009 reads |
[Jan. 10th, 2009|01:05 pm] |
1. Sway - The irresistible pull of irrational behavior (181p) - Ori Brafman & Rom Brafman (Jan 9, 2009)
2. Cloud's Rider (434p) - C.J. Cherryh (Jan 14, 2009)
3. In Defense of Food (203p) - Michael Pollan (Jan 28, 2009)
4. The Terrible Truth About Lawyers (260p) - Mark H. McCormack (Feb 3, 2009)
5. the perks of being a wallflower (213p) - Stephen Chbosky (Feb 5, 2009)
6. The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins (Feb 6, 2009) audio book
7. Who's in Charge? Attacking the Stress Myth (130p) - Scott Sheperd, Ph.D. (Feb... 9?, 2009)
8. Druid's Sword (598p) - Sara Douglass (Feb 15, 2009)
9. The Tales of Beedle the Bard (105p) - J.K. Rowling (Mar 3, 2009)
10. In the Forests of Serre (295p) - Patricia A. McKillip (Mar 7, 2009)
11. Omnivore's Dilemna (411p) - Michael Pollan (Apr 13, 2009)
12. Something Borrowed (336p) - Emily Giffin (Apr 17, 2009)
13. Cubicles (290p) - Camika Spencer (Apr 18, 2009)
14. In Praise of Slow (282p) - Carl Honore (May 10, 2009)
15. a little history of canada (257p) - h.v. nelles (May 29, 2009)
16. The Makedown (322p) - Gitty Daneshvari (May 30, 2009)
17. Hello, I'm Special (235p) - Hal Niedzviecki (June 5, 2009)
18. 101 Things Canadians Should Know About Canada (144p) - ed. Rudyard Griffiths (June 7, 2009)
19. American Nerd (224p) - Benjamin Nugent (June 12, 2009)
20. New Moon (563p) - Stephenie Meyer (June 14, 2009)
21. I Am Hutterite (196p) - Mary-Ann Kirkby (June 19, 2009)
22. My sister's Keeper (500p) - Jodi Picoult (July 5, 2009)
23. The Time Traveler's Wife (518p) - Audrey Niffenegger (July 11, 2009)
24. Here She Lies (306p) - Kate Pepper (July 12, 2009)
2009 Totals: 24/50 books 48%, 7003/15,000 pages, 46.7% |
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| Book update |
[Jan. 10th, 2009|01:03 pm] |
I pretty much missed on my goals for 2008, once again. In fact, I entirely, completely, and distantly missed them.
2008 totals are: Books: 29/50 58%, Pages: 9386/15,000 62.6%
And here is the list for 2008.
Maybe I'll do a little better in '09. Karyn, you with me??? |
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| First finish of 2009! |
[Jan. 10th, 2009|10:52 am] |
Here's a little review for my first finish of the year.
1. Sway - The irresistible pull of irrational behavior by Ori Brafman & Rom Brafman
This was a great little book. Some great explanations of how and why we end up doing stupid things, and some really good examples of how individuals and organizations have tried to avoid falling in to those traps. Highly recommend. |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 28th, 2008|10:51 am] |
Yes, I back-dated this one. I wanted to sneak in a bit of a review for the last couple of books I read this year.
28. Twighlight by Stephenie Meyer
This was a FAST read for me. I devoured the book. That said, it's pretty obviously a teen-directed book, because it was fairly predictable, to me. Good girl falls for "bad" boy. I really liked the vampire twist though to the standard theme, and it was well written.
29. Dragon Harper by Anne and Todd McCaffrey
I liked Dragon Harper a lot more than I thought I would. It often doesn't work well when someone else takes over a series, but I think Todd did a good job. Then again, it's been a long time since I read any Pern books, so he's not competing with a really fresh memory of his mom's writing. A good book, and I was often left wondering how they were going to get out of the mess they were in. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 28th, 2008|03:14 pm] |
2 recent finishes:
26. Crimes Against Logic (157p) - Jamie Whyte (Nov 24, 2008)
27. blink (276p) - Malcolm Gladwell (Nov 28, 2008)
My wrists and fingers are sore, so I don't feel like writing about them. Time for the next book. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 23rd, 2008|11:52 am] |
Oh my goodness
One can only hope that library conferences are a little more rigorous in their acceptance procedures. Of course, you can never tell when a speaker will deviate from what they have said they are going to do, and that is beyond the control of conference organizers. That said, I think organizers have a responsibility to their delegates, many of whom pay a LOT of money to come to these things, to at least vet the proposals carefully.
For all my favourite geeks out there, I highly recommend reading all 10. Some of them made me laugh right out loud. GO GEEKS!
Oh, and if anyone can translate that example sentence in to English, I'd love to see it. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 11th, 2008|11:29 am] |
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
— Lt.-Col. John McCrae |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 1st, 2008|08:21 pm] |
It's been a few days, so here's another excellent mis-read by yours truly:
Should have read - Multifamily
I read - Maternity
I'm gooooooood! |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 25th, 2008|09:59 pm] |
Once again, stretching beyond the regular for me - this time, a book of short stories by a Canadian author. All in all, not bad, but I still don't like short stories. To me they are never meaty enough and always leave too many unanswered questions.
22. Man Descending (227p) - Guy Vanderhaeghe (Sept 25, 2008)
Thus far, my totals for the year are quite pitiful. I'm disappointed. Just 22 books??? Granted, lately I've been reading MacLean's on the bus, instead of books. That's probably been about 300 pages of reading... which would still make for a meager total. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 23rd, 2008|08:17 pm] |
Finished another book today. It's been a while because I keep starting them and not finishing. Today it was: American Myths: What Canadians think they know about the United States - Rudyard Griffiths, ed.
It's a book of essays and is quite interesting. I'm not usually a fan of essay style, but these were quite interesting and engaging. Definitely a recommend. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 16th, 2008|08:09 pm] |
I stitched a card for my friend's wedding. I wanted to show it off when I was done, but I didn't want her to see it! Well the wedding was this past weekend, so it's now safe for me to post the picture!
( CONGRATULATIONS MERRILL! )
It's much too dark to stitch in this room at night. Can it be summer again please, so it can still be light at 8pm?
And on an unrelated note, I just had to interrupt another sales person who doesn't understand what it means when I say "We don't have time to read the paper." Strangely enough, that doesn't mean that your little summaries will do me any good! Okay, I could probably make time, but I don't want to. I don't like newspapers. So go away now, I'm trying to let you move on to another person who might actually be interested, instead of wasting everyone's time by letting your practice your sales pitch on my (metaphorically) deaf ears. Go away. |
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| Two Thumbs Up |
[Sep. 12th, 2008|07:18 am] |
We're all really good at complaining when "big media" do things to cut fans out, block access, screw us over. I'm no exception. But if we want to see change, I think we need to give kudos where they are deserved.
So today, kudos are going out to the Universal Music group. Why? Because they have posted hundreds of official videos to YouTube, free for anyone to watch. No signups, no tracking. From what I can tell, they are the full videos, and the sound and picture seem to be as good as one gets from YouTube. So if you're looking for a certain video, it might be worth taking a look to see if you can find the official one. Let the play counts go up on those videos, and not on the pirated ones - to show Universal that we appreciate them providing what we want. |
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| (no subject) |
[Aug. 25th, 2008|06:19 pm] |
It was one of those days.
I couldn't type today. Some examples of my errors from this afternoon:
Wanted "about", wrote "able"
mean became meal
pig became pib
wide became vide and then wife
and I've forgotten a dozen or three others.
Reading didn't go much better. At lunch I thought the tea place was offering soap and bagels for lunch.
sigh. |
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