Labor Day Readathon Wrap-Up

Pages read today: 246 of Liberty Defined

Pages read total: 1012

Time read today: 2 hour 10 minutes

Time read total: 8 hour 16 minutes

TBR Pile:

• King Lear by Shakespeare -- up next
• This Book is Overdue by Marilyn Johnson
• Haunts of San Jose by David Lee
• Liberty Defined by Ron Paul
• Twelfth Night by Shakespeare
• Cymbeline by Shakespeare
• As You Like It by Shakespeare
• Added -- Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love

Goals:

• Read at least three of the Shakespeare plays -- So close...  okay not really.  I only got one read, but my overall total is nice.
• Read at least one of the nonfiction selections √
• Write reviews for all books read √
• Read at least 10 hours -- Close but no cigar.  Although I am really happy with my page total.  1000 pages is nothing to sneeze.

Liberty Defined by Ron Paul

Title: Liberty Defined: 50 Essential Issues that Affect Our Freedom

Author: Ron Paul

Publisher: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education 2011

Genre: Nonfiction - Politics

Pages: 328

Rating:  3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Dewey -- 320s

How I Got It: Library Loan

In Liberty Defined, congressman and #1 New York Times bestselling author Ron Paul returns with his most provocative, comprehensive, and compelling arguments for personal freedom to date.

This is a comprehensive guide to Dr. Paul's position on fifty of the most important issues of our times, from Abortion to Zionism. Accessible, easy to digest, and fearless in its discussion of controversial topics, LIBERTY DEFINED sheds new light on a word that is losing its shape.

I picked this up on a whim.  Throughout the primaries, I was intrigued by Paul's statements and seemingly exclusion treatment from the Republican Party.  So what's wrong with this guy?  According to my reading of his book, plenty.  Now let me go back.  For the most part of this book, I was with him.  And then in each chapter, he seemingly goes of the deep end.  I just couldn't follow through on most of his arguments.  I keep hearing myself going "yes, I completely understand" until I got to the ending paragraphs of each chapter.  Then my statements changed to "what the hell?  why did you just go there?"  Often his rational arguments start just fine and then he jumps tracks to a totally different argument to end.  My main problem is that most of his ideas are interesting but they could not be put in place given our current reality.  We need to start with our current reality and start making laws to achieve an ultimate end.  Bottom line: I will not be voting for Ron Paul in any election.

Music Monday -- 1994

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: 1994

Book: Unknown

Music Selections: 

1. Veruca Salt "Seether"
2. Dave Matthews Band "What Would You Say"
3. Ace of Base "The Sign"
4. Billy Joel "Lullaby"
5. Lisa Loeb "Stay"

Labor Day Readathon Day #3

Pages read today: 144 of Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love + 82 of Liberty Defined

Pages read total: 766

Time read today: 1 hour 46 minutes

Time read total: 6 hour 6 minutes

Comments: Knocked out another year reading challenge before diving back into Shakespeare and political science.

Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love

Title: Cinderella Vol. 1: From Fabletown with Love

Author: Chris Roberson and Shawn McManus

Publisher: Vertigo 2010

Genre: Graphic Novel; Fantasy

Pages: 144

Rating:  5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fables Series; Mount TBR

When supernatural artifacts from the Homelands begin surfacing in the modern world, it falls to Cinderella, Fabletown's best kept (and best dressed) secret agent to stop the illegal trafficking. But can Cindy foil the dark plot before Fabletown and its hidden, exiled inhabitants are exposed once and for all? Whether she's soaring through clouds, deep-sea diving, or cracking jaws, Cindy travels from Manhattan to Dubai and hooks up with a handsome, familiar accomplice who may be harboring secret motives of his own. Meanwhile, trouble brews back home in Fabletown when Cindy's overworked, under appreciated assistant decides to seize control of The Glass Slipper, Cindy's exclusive shoe boutique.

A spin-off from the regular series, we get to know Cindy the spy just a bit better.  I loved the spy novel/Bond movie feel to the entire series.  Cindy is sarcastic, smart, funny, and down right dangerous.  I love her.  As much as I like Snow White in the regular series, Cindy is a whole new breed of Fable.  And I love how her cover in Fabletown is an affair with Beast and the vapid owner of a shoe store.  Nice cover Cindy!  It makes her real personality so much more fun.  I will definitely be adding the other Cinderella series, Fables are Forever, to my TBR list for next year.

Cinderella:

• #1 From Fabletown with Love
• #2 Fables are Forever

The Sunday Salon #25

SUPER DUPER EXCITED!   This is my 1000th blog post!  I didn't think I would get to this point when I started and now I'm here...  On to the next 1000 post!

Listening To: Previously owned cds newly added to our server.  Rediscovering lots of old music.  I forget I even owned some of these.  For whatever reasons the iTunes dj keeps pulling Linkin Park, Josh Kelley, and Green Day... Odd combo.

Book finished: Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III, The Importance of Being Earnest, Antony and Cleopatra, Twelfth Night, This Book is Overdue, Haunts of San Jose, Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love...  It was a play week obviously

Reading: Liberty Defined by Ron Paul

On the Nightstand: More Shakespeare

Making Lists: Does grocery count?  This seems to be a biweekly thing.

On the Web: I recently found The Bloggess... how did I not know about her before now?  I think we are kindred spirits.  I think I have annoyed J many times this week by bursting into giggles and guffaws.  I'm still two years behind on her archives, but good god she is hilarious.

Also the signups are ready for the FrightFall Readathon.  This year I'm going with zombies for my spooky books.  Wait, a minuted...  I do that every year.  And I love it!  Come join us!

Farmer's Market Finds: I had a horrible night trying to sleep Friday and when I finally fell asleep, I overslept Saturday morning. So no wonderful croissants for me.  Thankfully J walked across the street for donuts.  Yummy!

Crafting: I finished some Christmas gifts (yeah, super early!) and some Christmas cards.  I'll probably get back to some scrapbooking this coming week.  My goal is to be within one season of the present.  Plus, I want to make some more bookmarks for an upcoming book giveaway.  (Stayed tuned for October...)

Watching: We finished Stargate SG1...  Holy crap!  Now we only have a few seasons of Atlantis and all of Universe to watch.  I can see the end coming.  Plus we've caught up on a ton of currently airing shows.

Wondering: How much Shakespeare can I read in a row?  Holy crap, I've moved through a ton lately.  Only five more plays to go.

Project: My parents recently bought a flower shop.  Holy crap.  And now they need to start building the business.  I'm possibly going to be working on a blog/marketing side.  Stay tuned...

Labor Day Readathon Day #2

Pages read today: 92 of Twelfth Night

Pages read total: 540

Time read today: 1 hour 43 minutes

Time read total: 4 hour 20 minutes

Comments: I finished another Shakespeare play... go me!  Only five more to go for my challenge.  I think I'll tackle a graphic novel or some political science before another Shakespeare play.

August 2012 Wrap-Up

Books Read and Reviewed (10 books)

1. Ashen Winter by Mike Mullin
2. The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
3. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
4. The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
5. The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman
6. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
7. Much Ado About Nothing By Shakespeare
8. Richard III by Shakespeare
9. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
10. Antony and Cleopatra by Shakespeare

1,000,000 Page Goal

Monthly Total:  2751 pages
Pages Remaining: 906,574 pages

Current Read

This Book is Overdue by Marilyn Johnson

Books Won (0)

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Challenges Completed (1)

• YA -- Another 12 books off my list!  This will definitely be making an appearance for next year, but I'm also thinking of adding a Children's fiction challenge.

Comments

I had scheduled a wonderful readathon with Bout of Books and I had hoped to get through a huge stack of books.  Life had other plans.  My medical issues took all of the strength and motivation from me.  I just didn't get as much read as I wanted, but I think my numbers are still respectable.  Plus, I knocked out some Shakespeare right at the end of the month.

Next Month's TBR -- So many books as the year is winding down.  My top priorities...

• Harry Potter 7
• A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn
• This Book is Overdue
• Teachers Matter
• The Haunts of San Jose
• The Maiden's Hand by Susan Wiggs
• At the Queen's Summons by Susan Wiggs
• The Princess and the Bear by Mette Ivie Harrison
• Shakespeare (lots of him)

Twelfth Night by Shakespeare

Title: Twelfth Night or What You Will

Author: William Shakespeare

Genre: Classic Plays

Pages: 92

Rating:  5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Shakespeare; Book2Movies

Play

I've always been a fan of Twelfth Night.  I am going to say it's because of the mistaken identify.  I love the interplay between the characters and their identities.  Viola is an amazing female character for Shakespeare.  I feel for her.  I understand her.  I admire her wit and intelligence.  I may say that she is my favorite of Shakespeare's women.  The best scenes are the interplay between her and the Lady Olivia.  We see this great back and forth of wits.  With my love of characters, I do have a few issues with the play.  What happens to Malvolio?  How does Olivia feel about marrying Cesario's (Viola's) dead brother mistakenly?  I might have some issues with the consequences.  I also have an issue with the unresolved Clown.  What happen's after?  It seems that Shakespeare ended the play a bit too early.

Extra fun note curtesy of IMDB: The play was referenced in the movie V For Vendetta. The character V quotes: "Conceal me what I am, and be my aid...for such disguise as haply shall become the form of my intent" as he's dancing with Evey.

Movie Adaptation -- 1988 Kenneth Branagh directed production

This isn't a movie adaptation, it's a filmed stage production.  I love that the audience gets the feel of being in the theater.  However, I do not love the set design.  Everything is gray and white and a barren graveyard.  I just so not a fan of the stark set.  A bit more color would have been nice.  Plus, the clown was very tiring and his hair just distracted me.  It was an interesting adaptation, but not my favorite (and definitely not my favorite Branagh Shakespeare.  I much prefer Much Ado About Nothing or Othello.

Haunts of San Jose by David Lee

Title: Haunts of San Jose

Author: David Lee

Publisher: Schiffer Books 2008

Genre: Nonfiction - Ghost stories

Pages: 176

Rating:   2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Dewey -- 100s

How I Got It: Library Loan

More than a million people live in the city of San Jose, and its ghosts reside right alongside the population. These contemporary stories are the result of an extensive quest for ghostly phenomena taking place from one end of the city to the other. Whether it's a haunted house on Stockton Avenue, the ghost begging for a police officer to find his murderer outside the Japanese Tea Garden, or the ghost in overalls and a cowboy hat at Tres Gringos, on Second Street, the haunts of San Jose will make you shiver as you walk the streets! Now you, too, can visit with these spirits, at your own risk!

Okay, I'll admit to loving a good ghost story every once in awhile.  I love picking up the Haunts of ___ ___  books on places I've lived or visit.  Yet, this volume was just disappointing.  While the actual meat of some of the stories were interesting, the writing and research left much to be desired.  It felt more like someone's short hand notes than a book.  Plus, some of the interviews and stories were very thin...  Glad I got this from the library and didn't actually buy it.

This Book is Overdue by Marilyn Johnson

Title: This Book is Overdue: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All

Author: Marilyn Johnson

Publisher: HarperCollins 2010

Genre: Nonfiction -- Library science

Pages: 272

Rating:  5 /5 stars

Reading Challenges: Dewey - 0-99s; Mixing It Up - Social Science

How I Got It: Library Loan

This Book Is Overdue! is a romp through the ranks of information professionals and a revelation for readers burned out on the clichÉs and stereotyping of librarians. Blunt and obscenely funny bloggers spill their stories in these pages, as do a tattooed, hard-partying children's librarian; a fresh-scrubbed Catholic couple who teach missionaries to use computers; a blue-haired radical who uses her smartphone to help guide street protestors; a plethora of voluptuous avatars and cybrarians; the quiet, law-abiding librarians gagged by the FBI; and a boxing archivist. These are just a few of the visionaries Johnson captures here, pragmatic idealists who fuse the tools of the digital age with their love for the written word and the enduring values of free speech, open access, and scout-badge-quality assistance to anyone in need.

I loved this book.  Or maybe I loved the love letter to libraries and librarians.  I have always found libraries to be homes away from home.  I've felt at ease in every library I've ever set foot in.  They are my world.  And so I was just as scared as Johnson when I heard people saying that the rise of the internet meant the death of libraries.  No!  They are changing to fit the times and yet they still fill a much needed service in our world.  Johnson is obviously also a lover of libraries.  Throughout chapters on varied topics, her own personal love of libraries comes through.  I found myself talking out loud throughout the book.  I agreed with Johnson, I rallied against detractors, I urged on the radical progressive librarians.  I must say that nonfiction books rarely get me this riled up.  Thank you Johnson for reaffirming my feeling that libraries are needed and that librarians are awesome people.

Some of my favorite quotes:

• Good librarians are natural intelligence operatives.  They possess all of the skills and characteristics required for that work: curiosity, wide-ranging knowledge, good memories, organizational and analytical aptitude, and discretion. (pg. 6) -- With those qualifications, I would be a great spy and librarian!
• "...librarians consider free access to information the foundation of democracy, and they're right." (8) -- Amen to that!
• "Writers seldom just stop writing.  We're like serial killers in that way.  You have to stop us, because we cannot stop ourselves." Happy Villain (66)

P.S. I also found many new librarian blogs to follow...  Just what I need, more blogs.