Little Thoughts About Books and Stuff

Hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews Here are the rules guidelines. 1) All books that are part of a continuing series qualify (i.e. Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove, Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, James Patterson's Alex Cross, etc. etc.) 2) It doesn't matter if you have 1 or 10 books in a series to complete it, it qualifies (i.e. if you only need to read one more Sookie Stackhouse book to complete the goal, that's fine) The goal is to complete a series from wherever you are up to until the last published book. 3) The qualification period is January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015. Books must be read during this time frame to count. 6) Any format of book counts - print, audio, ebook, etc. 7) You should choose the series you want to finish before the challenge begins, but it isn't necessary. It's fine to change series during the year - as long as you complete whichever series it is. 8) Choose a level.... Level 1 (Novice series reader) - Complet...

Describe a time when you were brave. I looked up to my destination. It was a long way up to the peak, but the view was worth the climb. I know it was worth the climb because I had made the climb before, but always with help. Today I'd be doing it on my own. No one was around to help me and I wanted to see the view. I knew I could do it, two steep jumps.  The first onto a wide landing.  Today there was some debris on the landing but there was still enough room for me to make my landing.  Ok here it goes. Jump! I did it! I stuck my landing.  Now for the second treacherous jump. This jump is a bit more difficult without help.  I'm jumping blind since the peak is behind a curtain. This jump is always easier with help, but I know the peak is back there and I know it's worth the jump.   The ledge I'm on has a small outcropping that makes the jump easier. I can use it to help push myself through the curtain. I ready myself for the jump, push off the outcropping, a...

Hosted by Regular Rumination this week This week's prompt: Be The Expert/Ask the Expert/Become the Expert:  Three ways to join in this week! You can either share three or more books on a single topic that you have read and can recommend (be the expert), you can put the call out for good nonfiction on a specific topic that you have been dying to read (ask the expert), or you can create your own list of books on a topic that you’d like to read (become the expert). I'm going to Be The Expert  and recommend three great books on Jane Austen and her fandom. A Memoir of Jane Austen by James Edward Austen-Leigh Written by her nephew over 50 years after her death it contains the memories of many of her relatives.  Following in the footsteps of Cassandra, Jane's sister, in the decision to burn many of her letters, the book leaves out a lot of personal information. The book help build readership for Jane's books which before had not been read by many outside of the li...

My thesis has been submitted! I have a good solid start on my short story collection of intertwined stories. Here's what my professor had to say about my work: Hi Amelia, thanks for your hard work this term. I'm really impressed with the way this is coming together. You've really built a world here--and as unf amiliar as it is, it comes alive to me. I'm so impressed with the way you're able to create life out of the long-gone past, people who seem modern and real even if their moment was decades ago. I feel that you've really imagined your way into the characters' lives in these stories, and your imagination and largeness of heart come through. I'm thrilled! He's also given me some great advice for editing once I finish the first draft of the collection!

Reader's Workouts is a weekly event which is hosted over at  Joy's Book Blog . --- Not really a workout story or an achievement in working out, but I just had to share this story! I was just getting ready to pull into my friend's neighborhood when I saw a dog. Just a dog, no human. I didn't think anything of it since it was dark, the dog was dark, and he was in an unlit area on the side of the road. As we were pulling out of her street a minute later, I realized that it WAS just a dog and he was booking it down a busy road towards an even busier intersection. We knew we had to catch this dog! We followed him down towards the intersection and thankfully he turned the corner instead of running into traffic. He stopped to sniff and we tried to lure him to the car but he took off again running into an apartment complex.  We couldn't get into the complex and drove along side the complex to see if he would run out. When we didn't see him we decided to ...

Weekend Cooking is hosted by  Beth Fish Reads I love Chopped. It's one of my favorite shows, but I was a little nervous about the cookbook.  I wondered if it would be a cookbook of weird food combinations. But thankfully it's full of recipes I can't wait to try.  I have a sensitive stomach, so a key test for me when picking new cookbooks is finding out how adaptable are the recipes.  I went through the book and marked a few that looked good and looked like I could make the slight changes I would need and still have a good meal. I chose the Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Parsley Pesto. The adjustments I made were small and just dealt with the seasonings.  We cut the 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes in half (it was still a little too spicy for me) and did away with the 1 teaspoon lightly crushed fennel seeds. The sandwich was really easy to make and was really good. The pesto was delicious but was nothing compared to the toasted buns.  ...

Tell your life story in ten lines. Once upon a time a Princess was born to a King and Queen and there was much joy. Two years later a Prince was born and there was more joy to be had for all except the Princess who was no longer the center of attention. Many years of prosperity passed and the family was happy.  Then the King died too young and there was much sadness. The Queen did her best and raised the Princess and the Prince to be successful and happy adults. The Queen was ready for grandchildren but the Princess was too busy exploring the world of academia. The Prince provided an heir and the Queen rejoiced. The Princess thought she was off the hook, until the Queen started in on the desire for more grandchildren. The Princess buried her nose in a book and mumbled something about working in a female dominated profession. The Queen will not stop until she has more grandchildren, redheaded preferred, and the Princess will keep evading the Queen on this front.