Month: January 2012

Money for Charity Winner!

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Last April I asked that you all participate in my 5 word movie reviews and once we reached 100 then I would donate $100 to the charity of the top participant (details here).  Well, you did it and we have a runaway winner.

Nolatari of Phrenetical::A State of Mind sped ahead of the rest of the competition with 29 of the 100 blogger reviews.  Her charity of choice is Give Kids the World, an organization that provides fairy tale vacations to children with life-threatening diseases. 

So, I’m headed over to the website now to contribute $100 to their worthy cause and if you are looking for a new charity you should take a look too.

Give Kids The World is a non-profit organization that exists only to fulfill the wishes of all children with life-threatening illnesses and their families from around the world to experience a memorable, joyful, cost-free visit to the Central Florida attractions, and to enjoy the magic of Give Kids The World Village for as long as there is a need.
Over 112,000 children have had their dream come true at Give Kids The World. No child in need has ever been turned away – and no child ever will. Give Kids The World is a place where families find joy, laughter, serenity, and a lifetime of memories. 

I’ve enjoyed your participation and learning about a new charity so much that I’ve decided to do it again this year.  So, get your snappy 5 word reviews ready and the charity of choice could be yours 🙂  Just in case you were wondering how close some of you were Heather and Stephanie finished in 2nd with 15 reviews each.

 

Bossypants, by Tina Fey

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BossypantsFinished audio 1-7-12, rating 4/5, humor, pub. 2011

Unabridged audio 5.5 hours. Read by Tina Fey.

What’s not to love about Tina Fey?  I loved her on Saturday Night Live Weekend Update, her parody of Sarah Palin and still laugh during every 30 Rock episode.  She is one smart cookie.  It was a no-brainer that I would read this book and when I heard so much praise for the audio I thought I’d give it a try.  The book is so well served by Fey’s own delivery that I’m not even interested in reading the actual book because I don’t think it could be as entertaining.

Tina’s childhood was much like many of ours, only seemingly funnier.  Her Clint Eastwood-like Dad sounded like a riot and I could totally relate to a dad with a strong personality.  As she moved into high school I kept thinking that she seemed just as awkward, but so much older than I ever felt.

My favorite part of the book was the second half when she talked about SNL and 30 Rock. I loved the behind the scenes look at how things worked there and liked seeing the emergence of women comedians during her time on the show.  SNL is not the same without them.  My favorite part was being able to listen to the first Sarah Palin skit she did with Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton.  I laughed through the whole thing.  I liked the balance of personal and professional.

My final assessment?  Tina Fey is smart and funny and so is her book.

I checked this audio out of the library.

The post where I gush about Thrity Umrigar & a winner

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Last night I was supposed to meet Bonnie at Thrity’s book signing, but on the way her car came in contact with another car whose brakes didn’t work.  Seriously?  Who is driving if their brakes don’t work?  Not to worry, she’s fine, and I missed seeing her.  Next time.

I have never read any of Thrity’s six books, but I have seen lots of love for them from other bloggers and I love to go to book signings, especially local authors.  I had no idea what to expect, but let me start by saying that Thrity was warm, personable, smart and engaging, and this may be my favorite author signing.  She read two passages from her new book, The World We Found, both of which were beautiful, and then spent an hour, graciously taking questions from the 75 people who were there.  Oh, wait, before she did any of that she heaped generous praise on the other Cleveland authors who we were there.  Sarah Willis, (Pulitzer Prize winner) Jim Sheeler, Loung Ung, Karen Sandstrom, Susan Grimm were in the audience.

I am terrible at taking photos at these events.  You can barely see Thrity up front, but on the upside, Sarah Willis is in the last row, closest to the camera.

So, why is India born Thrity a professor at Cleveland’s Case Western Reserve University? The answer is here.  That’s right she heard this Joan Baez song and decided at 21 to come to Ohio and earn her graduate degree at The Ohio State University (Go Bucks!).  One brave Clevelander pointed out that a map might have put her somewhere else since the Ohio River is hours from Columbus, but anyway…She calls this decision absurd and whimsical.  She’s been in the Cleveland area for 30 years.

When asked the requisite, who are your influences, question she answered with Virginia Woolf and Toni Morrison (Thrity’s first job after college was in Lorain, where Morrison was born).  She says both have a true understanding of human psychology.  She says she’s also influenced by music and poetry, which she has written her whole life.  She spent years as a journalist because she could write and get a paycheck and feels optimistic about the future of journalism, although she had harsh words for the 24 hour news stations calling them laughable and dangerous.

A few memorable things she said about writing

“You write because it’s an act of discovery.”

“The magical part of writing is when you get lost in the woods.”

She did spent quite a bit of time talking about India, the effects of globalization and why it is so rich with stories.  The admirable people of Bombaby live on the edge and with such bravado that the stories are there for the plucking.

I really could go on, but this is already long.  I suggest you check out her book tour  to find out if you can see her in person.  You won’t regret it. I am so excited to read her book because she was such wonderful author to spend a few hours listening to.  I am pretty sure I’ll feel the same way about her books.

So, who got the signed copy of Thrity’s new book?

It’s JoAnn of Lakeside Musing!  Congratulations 🙂

Hero Quiz – guessing closed

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Who are some of the best heroes in literature or film?  See if you can recognize them for 10 points each.  I’m looking for the character name, not the actor’s name.

You have until noon Saturday to submit your answers as a comment.  Comment will be hidden until I post the answers.  No Googling! 

This round starts today and will last til the end of March.  The person with the most points will win a B&N gift card (total $ based on # of total participants, so please play) and a randomly selected participant will win a fun prize from me.

Have fun and Good Luck!

1. Clark Kent/Superman

2. Atticus Finch (& Scout too!)

3. Frodo Baggins

4. Robin Hood

5. Jefferson Smith

6. Bruce Wayne/Batman

7. Bond. James Bond

8. Harry Potter

9. George Bailey

10. Indiana Jones

Details and Leaderboard here.  Last week’s Writers Lost Quiz here.

Pretty in Ink, by Karen E. Olson

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Pretty in Ink (Tattoo Shop Series #2)Finished 1-6-12, rating 4.25/5, mystery, 299 pages, pub. 2010

Book 2 of the Tatoo Shop Mystery series (Book 1)

Vegas tattoo artist and shop owner Brett is back!  She and her co-workers ink drag queens for a new show and on opening night one of them ends up dead.  Brett saw the killer and finds herself once again in the crosshairs of some dangerous dudes.  That doesn’t mean that there isn’t time to meet some hunky guy, but when that hunky guy is observing you for ricin poisoning it does take some of the romance out of it.

I loved the first book so much and this has the same fast pace, strong heroine, and complicated yet compelling mystery.  I couldn’t figure out who was killing people or harassing Brett, but that was almost beside the point.  I just loved hanging out with her and her friends for a few days.

I am a little worried about Brett, though.  I mentioned after I read the first book that I am not a huge fan of tattoos.  Between the last book and this one Brett has acquired quite a bit of ink.  She has Napoleon on her leg!  I mean really, that is not something I like to picture when reading.  And if you are uncomfortable with drag queens, be prepared to be uncomfortable, there are lots of them.  I don’t know any drag queens so some of it I found interesting and some of it seemed a little creepy (like those babies in the E-Trade commercials – they creep me out too).  I’m pretty sure if I ever had a friend who dressed in drag or met a baby who traded stock during nap time I would embrace both.

Anyway, I loved the book and can’t wait to read the next one.

This book is from my personal library.

Sundays with Gage- Mothering is hard

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Much like the black eye that Gage got at My Gym this week, being a mother also comes with some bruising.  I am a relatively cheerful person and like I said in yesterday’s post I don’t like airing dirty laundry.  I think putting a positive face on most anything will make you happier.  But, as I started reading the very funny book, I was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids, I felt such a release and lightening of my mothering load.  See, mothering is hard.  And the dirty little secret of the book is that we are not always happy, fulfilled or holding it all together.  And if I say this it doesn’t mean that I don’t love my son.

The first year of being a mother was the hardest thing I’ve ever done (as a friend told me at lunch on Friday, Gage put me through the ringer) and I wouldn’t trade it.  It stretched me further than I thought possible and I didn’t break.  I’m stronger and tougher for it.  But, in all honesty, I didn’t always love it.  I always loved Gage, but not my life.

But with distance comes perspective and with time comes competence and here we are at 14 months and life is pretty good.  But the thing that I’m starting to realize is that being a mother (at least for me) isn’t the whole picture, it’s a large piece of the puzzle.  I had grand expectations before giving birth, like all mothers do I’m sure, and the reality to this point has been nowhere close to my vision.  So, with distance also comes a reassessing of expectations as reality hits me in the face.

I’m sure that I will gush about this book after I’m done, but it already makes me feel freer to accept that feeling overwhelmed and having less than positive thoughts does not make me a bad mother.  I mentioned it was funny, right?  If you have a friend (or it’s you) who needs to feel like there are other less than perfect moms out there I think this would be a great recommendation (keep in mind I’m only 30 or so pages in).  I Was a Really Good Mom Before I had Kids by Ashworth & Nobile.

Next week I’ll be back to my regularly scheduled lovefest with Gage 🙂

Today begins year 5!

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On January 7, 2008, I started this blog as a way to keep track of what I was reading and after four years I’ve reviewed every book I’ve read.  That’s 382 books.  As I look at that number and then check my 5 star ratings I see that I’m terribly stingy, only 14 of those reviews earned a 5 star rating.

I’ve enjoyed blogging and like the creative aspect as well as the community of book lovers I come in contact with every day.  I love doing my weekly quizzes (but I’m always hoping more people will participate) and talking about movies.  I plan on doing a few new things with movies this year that I’m excited about.

Blogging used to be something that I could spend hours a day doing, writing and visiting other blogs, but with the arrival of Gage in October 2010 that is no longer a luxury I have. Last fall I had to seriously clean out my Google Reader.  I felt bad eliminating some blogs that I loved, but I had to make time for the people who actual comment or email me directly.  This has helped, although I’m always weeks behind with some of you.  I only have and hour or so a night so sacrifices must be made.  This is the year that I plan to start replying to comments.  I have been hit or miss on this in the past, but it’s a new goal.

The popularity of Sundays with Gage has been a nice surprise for me.  I’m a fairly private person – I hate airing dirty laundry and such, but it’s been refreshing for me to share some of my thoughts on motherhood and have you share yours.  I plan to continue because you seem like it and so do I!  When Gage tells me to stop embarrassing him, I will 🙂

 

I hope that my loyal blogging buddies and new ones alike will stick around this year.  I’m feeling like I’ve still got more to say.  I am inspired everyday when I open up my Google Reader and see what you very smart readers have to say.  Thanks for making me smarter.

If you haven’t entered my giveaway for Thrity Umrigar’s latest, The World We Found, go here.  You have until Tuesday to enter for a signed copy.

*the change is format is just for today, I think.

Thrity Umrigar- signed book giveaway

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Next Tuesday, local professor and acclaimed author, Thrity Umrigar (The Space Between Us, The Weight of Heaven) will be visiting our local Barnes & Noble to talk and sign copies of her latest book, The World We Found.  Bonnie (Redlady’s Reading Room) and I plan on meeting there for the event.

To celebrate a new year (on Saturday Stacy’s Books will be starting year 5!) I’m going to have a copy signed for one lucky blog reader.  I’ll have Gage draw a name on Tuesday before I go so that it can be personalized for the winner.

How to enter-

1 entry – leave a comment with your email address

1 entry – participate in my weekly quiz (Writers Lost in 2011) No need to tell me, I have your names.

1 entry – tweet about it (and let me know)

Deadline to enter- January 10th at noon.  Good luck 🙂

Writers Lost in 2011 Quiz – guessing closed

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Tuesday Quizzes are back!  Are you as excited as I am?  My first quiz of the year is always writers that died the year before.  Writers being loosely defined in some cases 🙂  10 points for each correct answer.

You have until noon Saturday to submit your answers as a comment.  Comment will be hidden until I post the answers.  No Googling! 

This round starts today and will last til the end of March.  The person with the most points will win a B&N gift card (total $ based on # of total participants, so please play) and a randomly selected participant will win a fun prize from me.

Have fun and Good Luck!

1. Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum are the feline stars of The Cat Who Series created by this author.  Lilian Jackson Braun (6-20-1913/6-4-2011)

2. This English author wrote the beloved Redwall series.  Brian Jacques (6-15-1911/2-5-2011)

3. She won both the Hugo and Nebula awards as well as being inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.  Her most recognizable series was set on the planet of Pern.  Anne McCaffrey (4-1-1926/11-21-2011)

4. This journalist, author and famous atheist was a regular contributor to Vanity Fair.  His autobiography, Hitch-22, was published in 2010.  Christopher Hitchens (4-13-1949/12-15-2011)

5. This American expatriate YA author is best known for his book Ridley Walker.  Russell Hoban (2-4-1925/12-15-2011)

6. Famed comic book writer who co-created Captain America.  Joe Simon (10-11-1913/12-14-2011)

7. This Irish-born British author wrote 7 books including Damage, the basis of the 1992 Jeremy Irons film of the same name.  Josephine Hart (3-1-1942/6-2-2011)

8. A British author best known for writing The Sheep-Big, the book the movie Babe was based on.  Dick-King Smith (3-27-1922/1-4-2011)

9. This beloved cartoonist wrote the long-running comic, Family Circus.  Bil Keane (10-25-1922/11-8-2011)

10. The screen legend wrote a few books about weight loss and jewelry and a children’s book titled Nibbles & Me about her time as a child star.  Elizabeth Taylor (2-27-1932/3-23-2-11)

Free Books for January – new rules

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Every month for the past 3 years I’ve given away 3-4 books a month from my boxes/shelves and they’ve always gone to he first commenter.  This year I’m going to try something just a bit different.  If you want the book, let me know by a comment and at midnight tonight if more than one person wants the same book I’ll draw a name out of a hat.

After a day, it’s first come, first booked!

1 & 2 Cherry Ames, The Mystery of Rogue’s Cave & The Case of the Forgetful Patient by Helen Wells.  These mysteries (originally published in 1959,1960) are in decent shape.  There is a whole series and it looks like there are still fans since they are selling boxed sets!  Both are 180 pages.  for Kim (Gage chose the 3 puzzle piece over the 1.  Very scientific)

3 The Theban Plays by Sophocles. This was a college book so there are a few notes inside, but you can just consider them helpful hints.  Includes the stories Oedipus and Antigone.  168 pages.

4 My Antonia by Willa Cather.  I just reviewed this classic here. It’s in good shape.  for Harvee

Obviously I was feeling very obscure this month.  Why not ring  in the New Year with books written a really long time ago, LOL!

Happy Reading!