Once Upon a Readathon 3

It's time for sign ups for the third annual Once Upon a Readathon! I can't believe this read-a-thon has now been running three years but I'm excited to get back to it again!!!! This Readathon is hosted by Lori at Pure Imagination, Candace at Candace's Book Blog, and myself. It runs from 12:01 AM on July 9 to 11:59 PM on July 11th.

What you do:

To participate in the Once Upon a Readathon you must ENTER INTO THE LINKY! The linky is the same on all of our blogs so you only need to enter once! Then, from 12:01 am on July 9th to 11:59 pm on July 11th you read, read, and read some more! Make sure you do at least one update post (if you don't have a blog you may do this on facebook and/or twitter) and participate in at least one challenge. Don't forget to add the button to your sidebar!!

Lori, Candace, and Angel are hosting a giveaway for a 60$ AMAZON GIFTCARD OR 60$ to Book depository for International winner. This will go a random participant when the Readathon is finished. There will also be giveaways held by the mini-challenge hosts and maybe some other giveaways through-out the read-a-thon. You are only eligible if you do at least one update post and participate in at least one challenge. We will check!

Very excited to do this one again. I've been itching for a good readathon for the past month. This one comes at the perfect time for me.

Sandman Volume 5: A Game of You

Title: Sandman Volume 5: A Game of You

Author: Neil Gaiman

Publisher: DC Comics 1993

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 192

Rating: 4 /5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel; My Years -- 1993

How I Got It: Library loan

Volume Five of New York Times best selling author Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed creation THE SANDMAN collects one of the series’ most beloved storylines.
Take an apartment house, add in a drag queen, a lesbian couple, some talking animals, a talking severed head, a confused heroine and the deadly Cuckoo. Stir vigorously with a hurricane and Morpheus himself and you get this fifth installment of the SANDMAN series. This story stars Barbie, who first makes an appearance in THE DOLL’S HOUSE and now finds herself a princess in a vivid dreamworld.

An all-encompassing storyline told through five chapters. I loved this story. I loved Barbie and Wanda and Foxglove and Hazel and Thessaly and all of Barbie's toys. The only thing I wanted more of -- Dream. I love him as a character. I was just upset to not really see him until the last chapter. Unfortunately I'm all out of volumes for the time being. I need to get back to the library for the rest.

Sandman

#1 Preludes and Nocturnes
#2 The Doll's House
#3 Dream Country
#4 Season of Mists
#5 A Game of You
#6 Fables and Reflections
#7 The Brief Lives
#8 World's End
#9 The Kindly Ones
#10 The Wake
#11 The Dream Hunters (with Amano Yoshitaka)
#12 Endless Nights

Thanks on Thursday

I found this wonderful meme idea on Ruby Bastille. I thought it would be a great way to share my life with my readers. This week's thankfulness...

1) Cupertino, CA -- For having fireworks so we didn't have to fight our way up to the city to see some fireworks. We sat in a nice park enjoying the beautiful weather. The best part was we returned home in 30 minutes.

2) California weather -- While the midwest and my hometown has been experiencing 100+ degree weather, we've had temperatures hovering in the low 70s. It's just gorgeous around here...

3) J's motivation -- The other day he moved all of the other boxes hanging out in the office into the closet. We can now walk into the office without fear of dying from box injuries. I love it!

4) Sunnyvale Library -- The boys are loving having a great library close to the house. We visit weekly. And last week they finally noticed that they could get movies. We stocked up.

5) Half Price Books -- While it's all the way in Fremont (~20 minutes away), we have one. And they are hosting a summer reading program for kids. The boys read over 300 minutes in June and received their $5 gift cards. They were so excited to actually earn some money to then spend on books. Thank you for giving kids the motivation and rewards for reading.

Adrianna's Fairy Tales by Adrianna White

Title: Adrianna's Fairy Tales

Author: Adrianna White

Publisher: 2011

Genre: Erotic fairy tales (I'm calling this a genre)

Pages: 147

Rating: 2 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Telling tales; Mount TBR

How I Got It: Free ebook from iBook store

Adrianna’s collection of novellas take the classic story of fairy tales that we’re all accustomed to and throws it out the window in an erotic retelling of our beloved princes and princesses. The characters are hot and the action is steamy, these stories will titillate both the mind and the nether regions. Be warned, these stories rarely end as we would hope.

I downloaded the free iBook version complete with all three tales. I sped through these stories, but overall was really disappointed.

1. Naughty Cinderella: So Cinderella is a prostitute. I can deal with that. It makes sense. But the Prince is such a white knight on a horse that he's boring. And the most graphic sex scene is one of her clients. Not very sexy at all.

2. Riding Red Hood: I was confused through most of this story. Was Red a werewolf? Was the Big Bad Wolf really a werewolf? What about Red's fiance Fredrick? It felt like an abusive relationship to me. Not sexy at all.

3. Beauty and the Beast with Two Backs: Ugh! I've always issues with Beauty and the Beast storylines (see my review of Beastly and Beauty). This one really just intertwined Beauty and the Beast and Sleeping Beauty and it just didn't work. And none of the sex scenes were sexy. They just made me uncomfortable.

Persepolis: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi

Title: Persepolis: The Story of a Return

Author: Marjane Satrapi

Publisher: Pantheon 2004

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 188

Rating: 5 /5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel; My Years -- 2004

How I Got It: Library loan

In Persepolis, heralded by the Los Angeles Times as “one of the freshest and most original memoirs of our day,” Marjane Satrapi dazzled us with her heartrending memoir-in-comic-strips about growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Here is the continuation of her fascinating story. In 1984, Marjane flees fundamentalism and the war with Iraq to begin a new life in Vienna. Once there, she faces the trials of adolescence far from her friends and family, and while she soon carves out a place for herself among a group of fellow outsiders, she continues to struggle for a sense of belonging.

I thought that the last volume pulled at my heart. This one tops it. I was right there with Marjane as she struggled to find herself alone in a foreign city. Every time she she faced another setback, my heart broke just a little bit. Once she was back in Iran, things didn't automatically get better. While I've never felt completely out of place, I empathize with her journey. The two volumes create a beautiful picture an Iranian woman's life through tumultuous times. A must read.

Stitch Fix Time

I came across Stitch Fix on Loop Looks (check her out!). For $20 a shipment, you get a personalized style pack of five items. Then, you try everything on and decided to keep 1, 2, 3, 4, or all 5 items. The $20 stylist fee is credited to your purchase. And if you buy all five items, you get an extra 25% off. The company is currently in beta, but I was lucky enough to get an invite.

Here's what I got this time...

Item #1: Silver small square necklace

Pros: Very cute. Definitely my style.

Cons: A bit expensive. I also have a ton of necklaces.

Item #2: Deep v-neck cinched waist tank

Pros: Very cute.

Cons: Makes me look a bit pregnant. Better pants could probably help. Deep v requires a tank underneath.

Item #3: Flared back tank

Pros: Pretty color. Interesting back.

Cons: Odd fit. Interesting back (don't know if it's my style)

Item #4: Bright racerback tank

Pros: Great summer colors. Can dress up or down.

Cons: Pic makes me look a bit pregnant. I need to wear different pants with this shirt. These jeans are really low riding. Ignore the bad lighting...

Item #5: Hi-lo Tank

Pros: Fun light fabric.

Cons: Short in the front. A bit tight around the arms.

So, what did I keep?

..

Item #4 Orange and Purple Racerback Tank

Quote Wednesday -- Stair and Hufstedler

If I had to live my life over again, I'd dare to make more mistakes next time. -- Nadine Stair Security is not the meaning of my life. Great opportunities are worth the risks. -- Shirley Hufstedler

Let's be risk takers... But I am a bit scared to take risks. Maybe let's start small. Baby steps toward risk. A plan. I like it.

Top Ten Tuesday -- Love Jane Austen

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join. If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

This week's topic is to pick and an author and then recommend their books... Well my favorite author is Jane Austen and she has only six novels. So I rounded out the list with some Jane Austen-esque books. For the Austen authored books, I put them in the order I think someone should read them.

1. Northanger Abbey -- Her first novel. It's short. Catherine is a feisty young girl. It's a fun little gothic tale.

2. Pride and Prejudice -- Probably the most popular. And for a reason. Enjoy!

3. Emma -- Emma is a love her or hate her type of character. Upon multiple readings, I really like her now.

4. Sense and Sensibility -- Almost a companion to Pride and Prejudice. Elinor still bugs me sometimes.

5. Persuasion -- My favorite, but you have to get into the Austen mindset for this to be completely satisfying.

6. Mansfield Park -- Fanny Price is the least likable of Austen's heroines. But she comes alive after reading the others.

7. Austenland by Shannon Hale -- It's a great modern telling of Pride and Prejudice mixed with reality shows. I can't wait to read the sequel.

8. My Antonia by Willa Cather -- It's a decidedly American book, but something of Cather's storytelling reminds me of Austen. I loved it!

9. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery -- A beautiful love story... must read.

10. Any Georgette Heyer -- She's a successor to Austen. Written in the early 20th Century, the writing and ideas are a beautiful companion to Austen's.

Sandman Volume 4: Season of Mists

Title: Sandman Volume 4: Season of Mists

Author: Neil Gaiman

Publisher: DC Comics 1992

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 224

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel; Support Your Local LIbrary; My Years -- 1992

How I Got It: Library loan

Volume Four of New York Times best selling author Neil Gaiman's acclaimed creation, with updated coloring and new trade dress. Ten thousand years ago, Morpheus condemned a woman who loved him to Hell. Now the other members of his immortal family, The Endless, have convinced the Dream King that this was an injustice. To make it right, Morpheus must return to Hell to rescue his banished love - and Hell's ruler, the fallen angel Lucifer, has already sworn to destroy him.

A great pick-up from Volume 3. I loved Dream's journey to Hell and all the characters he meets along the way. We get another appearance from Death (my favorite of the Endless). And we meet Lucifer again. He is an interesting character; one that I really can't figure out. I also loved the reappearance of his banished love. We met her in a previous volume. I can't wait to see what happens next on the journey.

Sandman

#1 Preludes and Nocturnes
#2 The Doll's House
#3 Dream Country
#4 Season of Mists
#5 A Game of You
#6 Fables and Reflections
#7 The Brief Lives
#8 World's End
#9 The Kindly Ones
#10 The Wake
#11 The Dream Hunters (with Amano Yoshitaka)
#12 Endless Nights

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi

Title: Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood

Author: Marjane Satrapi

Publisher: Pantheon 2003

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 154

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel

How I Got It: Library loan

Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

This is a beautifully constructed autobiography of life in a tumultuous time period. I must admit that Iran's history is not one of my strong points. However, Satrapi weaves her story in such a way that I understand all the sides of the conflict. Even through black and white drawings, I feel the pain and confusion Satrapi felt through her childhood. I sped through this volume wanting to find out what happened to her. We end with a cliffhanger, but thankfully there's a second volume.

Mount TBR Mid Year Checkpoint

I haven't done one of these yet because frankly I'm scared to. I've been reading a ton this year, but a whole chunk has been library books. Oh well. Here we go.

My goal was Mt. Everest 100+ books.

Tell us how many miles you've made it up your mountain (# of books read). If you're really ambitious, you can do some intricate math and figure out how the number of books you've read correlates to actual miles up Pike's Peak, Mt. Ararat, etc.

And I have only read 40 books so far that counted. Boo! That's only 40% of the way there. I am really not doing very good. I somehow have to read 60+ books by the end of the year. I can probably do it, but I really need to avoid the library...

Music Monday -- 1987

As part of my ongoing celebration for my 30th birthday, I am highlighting some popular songs from throughout my years. Songs were picked based off of a list of Grammy award winners and Billboard Top 100. Then, I chose my favorites to highlight.

Year: 1987

Book: Unknown

Music Selections: .

Bon Jovi "Livin' on a Prayer"
Whitesnake "Here I Go Again"
Tiffany "I Think We're Alone Now"
Salt n Pepa "Push It"
The Bangles "Hazy Shade of Winter"

June 2012 Wrap-Up

Books Read and Reviewed (17 books)

1,000,000 Page Goal

Monthly Total: 5024 pages
Pages Remaining: 915,582 pages

Current Read

The Sandman Volume 4 Season of Mist

Books Won (4)

Whisper Cape by Regan Walsh from the author!

The First Days trilogy by Rhiannon Frater from Book Chick City... look so pretty!

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Challenges Completed

Read Your Name Challenge -- 23 books for 23 letters in my full name. First challenge of the year done!

Comments

It was a good month for reading! My favorite of the month was definitely The Lost Hero! The boys and I can't wait to start The Son of Neptune. I also enjoyed starting the Vampire Academy and Sandman series. I got a few knocked out my Mount TBR and a few from my general TBR list. I'm ahead on my GoodReads challenge and want to stay that way. I'll try to keep the reading going strong for the rest of the summer. Wish me luck!

Next Month's TBR

The Sandman Vol. 4,5,6,7,8
Rebel Angels and A Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
HP and the Deathly Hallows
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
Vampire Academy #4,5,6 by Richelle Mead
His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
The First Days trilogy by Rhiannon Fr

The Sunday Salon #17

Book finished: Shadow Kiss; The Lost Hero; Intentions of the Earl; The Sandman Vol. 3

Reading: The Sandman Vol. 4

On the Nightstand: The Sandman series; Persepolis; His Dark Materials trilogy

MakingLists: Things to do for the rest of the summer. Hmmm.... maybe Winchester House...

Around the house: Nothing. And it is a mess. We've been out and about all week. I haven't had the chance to clean the house, do laundry, or wash the dishes. Everything is in a bit of disarray. I really need to get back into a routine.

From the kitchen: Nothing new made. Although I did download Paprika on the iPad. I'm slowly pulling down some interesting looking recipes to try.

Crafting: Had a fun class of fast and fabulous cards. The last one pictured is actually a card that my new demonstrator made for me as a little thank you note.

Watching: Stargate, Parks and Rec, and Doctor Who. Love them!

Wondering: When this 3+ day headache will go away? I'm really getting tired of it...

From Nature: Beautiful 60s-70s weather. Back in my previous city and in my home city, it's been hovering around 100 degrees all week. Crazy weather! And then Wednesday and Thursday, my home city experienced some nasty storms complete with tornado high winds. Scary stuff! Thankfully everyone is okay.

Shopping Scores: My Stampin' Up order came in. Look at the pretty new colors (pads and card stock).

On our San Francisco adventure day, I picked up a pretty new Alcatraz print and a metal cable car.

Project: Enjoying the crazy week of outings. Now I need to starting planning next week and the week after that. J is off until Thursday. Hopefully we will be able to get out and about.