Saturday, October 21, 2017

Dewey 2017: Mid-ish Check-in Point

I'm a little late on the mid-point check-in blog post, but close enough.

I've finished graphic novel #3, Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill.  It was sick and twisted and wasn't afraid to move the story slowly to build characters, heighten dread, etc.  And before that, I read about a third of Joyland.  So some progress has been happening. 

But that was about an hour ago. I've taken some time to play around on twitter to see how all the folks are holding up.  I'll jump back into the book and maybe pick-up another graphic novel before I get some sleep in.

Current snack:  kettle corn and ice water.
Current music:  Baroque music channel

Dewey 2017: Progress Update: Graphic Novels to the Rescue

I am making a little bit of progress thanks to graphic novels.  Finished Doctor Horrible and Other Horrible Stories and The Walking Dead: Here's Negan!  Both ok graphic novels but nothing super exciting. 

Also working on a book of poetry called The Wedding House and hope to get some done on my Stephen King book, Joyland.

Break snacks:  watermellon and Scow (hard apple cider).

Break's over.

Dewey 2017: Challenge: 10 Years in 10 Books

My book recommendations for 2007 to 2017...

2017  The Walking Dead: Here's Negan! by Robert Kirkman (The only 2017 book I've read so it wins by default.)
2016  We Stand on Guard by Brian K Vaughan
2015  The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
2014  The Girl Who Was Saturday Night by Heather O'Neill
2013  The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
2012  The Martian by Andy Weir.... a very close second is Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
2011  Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
2010  Room by Emma Donoghue... a another close second is Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
2009  Catching Fire  by Suzanne Collins
2008  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
2007  Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Dewey 2017 - Yet Another Plan of Attack!

2017 is my year to win it all at Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon!!

Ok, maybe not really.

But this is the year I hope to have the most fun.  No pressure.  Lots of breaks.  And thanks to global warming, it might be the first year I can read for a little bit outside.  (Murphy's Law state that now that I have put my secret wish out there, it will not happen.  It will either rain, or be really windy cold, or just super buggy.  Cross fingers!)

And there will be the morning farmer's market run to gather all the fun food that will keep me going.  I'm picturing the German baker family and their many, many awesome cookies.  And then there is the chibati sandwich thing (the best one is the feta cheese one even though the guy who used to make them is no longer there and now it looks like the grandson is stepping in and isn't as cute but a lot less serious.)  Or the korean bbq.  Or noodles... Okay enough of this, this isn't supposed to be a food post.

So the #1 priority is to keep it light and keep it to the quick reads.  I think I'll be focusing on graphic novels and stuff that is less than 300 pages.  And if I can take care of some of my challenges, it would be great.

A-Z Title Challenge
J - K - Q - R - V - X - Z

Graphic Novels
The Walking Dead: Here's Negan! by Robert Kirkman
Lumberjanes #1 by Noelle Stevenson
Locke & Key, Volume 1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill
Saga, Vol 7 Brian K Vaughan
Dr. Horrible and Other Horrible Stories by Zack Whedon
Poetry
The Wedding House by Alison Smith

Novels
Joyland by Stephen King




Sunday, April 24, 2016

Dewey Post #6: Last Book Finished Under the Wire and Post-Op on the Whole Readathon Thing

First things first.... I finished my last book 30 minutes before the ring of the bell.  The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman was a perfect pick for a late night read.  Unfortunately, it didn't keep me up but I don't think Neil should be blamed for that.  It was subtle creepy and fun and I shouldn't have waited this long to read it.  If you love his work, you'll like this one.

I didn't get a super amount completed but getting three completed isn't all that bad.  I'm not sure if this got me caught up on the GoodReads challenge of 50 books before the end of the year but hopefully I'm not so far behind anymore.

It also looks like I didn't hit that much on my Plan of Attack post; I can go back and scratch 2 from that page.  It was the sleeping that did me in.  If only I had Dewey in my life 10+ years ago, I would have rocked it!

So the goal for next October, try to get some of those other books read & removed from the list so I don't have them yet again to pick from.  It makes for a stale list.

So, until next year, keep reading!

Dewey Post #5: Mini Challenge - Alphabet Soup - Incomplete - Fail

So I didn't finish this challenge and I don't have the heart to erase it.  I'll just keep it for the memories.  The goal was to find words that started with every letter in the alphabet.  I didn't know that Neil was so adverse to X & Z words.  haha!

Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane
A architecture (4)
B bakery (9)
C china (3)
D  driveway (10)
E earth (5)
F fairy (4)
G grandmother (2)
H house (4)
I intelligent (10)
J jellies (9)
K kitten (10)
L lords (10)
M meadows (5)
N newspaper (9)
O ocean (1)
P polish (6)
Q queen (23)
R roads (3)
S shirt (3)
T trifles (9)
U upset (12)
V vinegar (26)
W woman (6)
X xylophone (100something)
Y yourself (21)
Z

I couldn't find anything with Z.  The closest was azaleas.

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Dewey Post #4: Graphic Novel to the Rescue!

Just when I needed something light, graphic novel was here to help.  Saga, Vol 5 by Brian K Vaughn.  Great read, crazy story, even weirder characters, all about family and love.  If you are not into graphic novels but want to give them a try, I think Saga would be an excellent one to start with.  Not that many volumes to get caught up with and gets top marks for creativity.  If you liked Firefly, you'll like Saga; space opera at its finest.  

Up next:  The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Dewey Day Post #3: First book finished!

It feels good finishing a book during the readathon.  The Illegal by Lawrence Hill.  Recent winner of the Canada Reads 2016 and all round good book.  Easy read and it gets to a point when you just will it to have a happy ending.

I did take a break this afternoon.  A couple loops around the block to get some fresh air and a boost of energy.  Only about 10 minutes but it was a good break.... think I'll break for some cereal next.

Up next:  Saga, vol 5 or The Walking Dead, vol 11.

Dewey Day Post #2: 12:00PM(AST) Break and Meme/Challenge Catch-Up

Woohoo! Three hours down, 19hrs to go.  :)  Making no promises on how it will go today but loving it so far.  Especially like taking these little mini-breaks to keep brain from tiring out.  I'm old, you know.  So this break is to catch up on challenges and watch The 100.

Hour 4 Mini-Challenge
Find the perfect road trip song for you and your traveling companion to rock out to as you burn through the miles, and tell us why it's such a great fit for this character.

Eminem - Till I Collapse
For the character Keita from The Illegal by Lawrence Hill
Keita is a marathon runner, running from the authorities in his old country, from the man who sponsored his escape, from the authorities who want to deport him from his new country.  Running in marathons for prize money to help his family.  He is not in good shape but he keeps running, despite the pain.  This song isn't a strong energized type, just an insistent, just keep going song.

I have a third of the book left to complete but I want Keita to come out on top so bad by the end. Recommend this book to everyone!


Hour 3 Mini-Challenge

Make a five word story on the theme of books. 


Dewey's making me finish books.

(I have started and abandoned books that I mean to get back to.  Hopefully I'll get to finish one or two of those today.)


TOP 5 BOOKISH CHILDHOOD MOMENTS with the PEOPLE and the BOOKS that made them so special!

1) Mom and My Golden Book Collection.  My mom was great at having the patience in reading to me every book I dragged to her.  She'd even keep reading aloud when my three year old attention span got distracted.  She says that my asking her to read those books improved her reading and helped her develop her own love of reading.

I loved the book, I loved the movie.  It was even my hiding place when I needed to tuck notes/money/tickets away for safekeeping.

3) Charlotte's Web by EB White
Like the challenger said, no notes required.

4) The teen years.  This is when the love of reading really took off.  Sweet Valley Twins, Sweet Valley High, Fear Street and Christopher Pike books, 

5) Carrie by Stephen King
My folks were great for buying books for me but I think they were getting tired of paying for books that only lasted about a day.  (Thinking back, hey really should have introduced me to the library.)  So it was an easy sell to convince them to sponsor thicker books that lasted me a little longer.  Carrie and Misery was my intro to adult books and my springboard to a lifelong love of the work of Stephen King.  

Go Dewey readers, go!

Dewey Day Post #1: Opening Meme

Opening Meme
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Neil Gaiman's Ocean at the End of the Lane

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
NutriGrain bars or naan crisps with coffee.... perhaps a few gin & tonics later tonight.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
Credit analyst by day; movie fan, computer geek, and reading fiend at night.

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today?
Tried to participate last October but was on a plane, flying to India for work.  Not that same when you can't check in.  Plan to participate in meme's and cheer people on this year.