Double-Stacked Bookshelves

The TBR Tag Questionnaire   1.  How do you keep track of your TBR pile? Goodreads .  I would be lost without this website and miss out on so many wonderful books.  Needless to say, my TBR list is out of control! 2.  Is your TBR mostly print or eBooks? Print.  Though I have a Kindle, I still prefer a physical book in my hands over an electronic device.  3.  How do you determine which book from your TBR to read next? Luck of the draw.  I'll peruse the shelves at the library and grab one that I know is on my list.  Otherwise I just grab what strikes my fancy at the time...more than likely it's on my TBR list.  4.  A book that's been on your TBR the longest? Omega Minor by Paul Verhaeghen.  I really, really want to read this book (and I own it), but it's so damn daunting at nearly 700 pages and a very dense topic.  5.  A book you recently added to your TBR? Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff.  Just added it today after seeing the banner on

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and it's a way to share what you're loving in list form. The topic changes every week, so there is always something new to discover! This week's topic is:  Top Ten Books I'd Love to Read with My Book Club .  I've been in a few book clubs, but they never seem to last for a lengthy period of time what with busy schedules and people losing interest quickly.  Regardless, these are a few books I'd really be interested in reading as a group and discussing. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd I've been meaning to read this book for a long time, but haven't gotten around to it as of yet.  I think it would garner a good discussion about relationships and how memory is dealt with. Blindness by Jose Saramago This book just sounds awesome and disturbing.  A discussing of personal reactions would be interesting... The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff A rousing discussing of re

Teaser Tuesdays:  The Night Gardener Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB @ Should Be Reading . Here are the rules: grab whatever you're reading, open to a random page, select no more than two sentence (NO SPOILERS), share the title and author, and GO! Here's this week's teaser: "Molly knew those boots.  They were the boots whose tracks she cleaned from the halls every morning--each time telling herself they meant nothing.  But, of course, they did mean something.  Something wicked." --page 122           ----- The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier An interesting read so far... Happy reading!

Hot damn, it's almost that time of year when bloggers from around the world spend an entire month (minus Sundays) writing letter specific posts.  This will be my fourth year as an A-Z participant; needless to say, I love it!  I have no idea what my posts will be about this time.  I've done a month of random posts, one dedicated to Oregon, and one all about authors I love.  The possibilities are endless and I feel a tad overwhelmed about it right now.  Thankfully there are a couple months to ruminate on this... If you would like to sign up, or just check it out, here's the link !

Teaser Tuesdays:  The Revenge of Seven Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB @ Should Be Reading . Here are the rules: grab whatever you're reading, open to a random page, select no more than two sentence (NO SPOILERS), share the title and author, and GO! Here's today's teaser: "The Mogadorian opens his mouth for another disbelieving protest.  He's cut off by a scrape of metal, Five's blade popping out from beneath his sleeve.  Without hesitation, he drives the point into the underside of the officer's jaw and straight up into his brain.  Before he starts to disintegrate, there's a look of total surprise on the Mog's face" --page 139           ----- The Revenge of Seven by Pittacus Lore I love this series!!!! Happy reading!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and it's a way to share what you're loving in list form. The topic changes every week, so there is always something new to discover! This week's topic is a freebie, so I'm going with: Top Ten Books to Film Adaptations .  I don't normally find that films do a great job of portraying how awesome books are, but these films did a pretty good job at getting it right! Fight Club (1999) The book is awesome and the film is even better...whoops...did I say that?  Yep.  This is such a great adaptation of Palahnuik's novel and the acting is superb.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1  (2010) This is, hands down, my favorite film in the series.  I found that the story finally captured the darkness and angst of the books.  It was beautifully filmed and makes so much sense.  The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) Epic awesomeness.  These three films do a wonderful job of portray

Tagged by Lori @ Palmer's Page Turners , here's a fun little tidbit of a post :) Here goes nothing... Four names people call me other than my real name: Mel (nearly all friends from college) Sissy (Dad) Missy (Family) Millie (the BF) Four jobs I've had: Daycare Teacher English Language Teaching Assistant Glitter Bitch (aka Michaels Employee...haha) Adjunct Instructor Four movies I've watched more than once: Dirty Dancing The Breakfast Club Harry Potter (All of them) 13 Going on 30 Four books I'd recommend: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Harry Potter by JK Rowling The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino Four places I've lived: Vienna, Austria Edinburgh, Scotland Corvallis, Oregon Independence, Oregon Four places I've been: Krakow, Poland Okinawa, Japan Victoria, British Columbia Budapest, Hungary Four places I'd rather be right now: Edinburgh, Scotland with

Brooke Parkhurst's Belle in the Big Apple Logistics Title:  Belle in the Big Apple Author:  Brooke Parkhurst Published:  September 16, 2008 Publishing Company:  Scribner Page Count:  224 Summary via Goodreads When Belle Lee, a vivacious, tart-tongued daughter of Mobile, Alabama, decides that the only way she'll ever make a name for herself as a journalist is to leave the family paper and head to New York,she soon realizes just how daunting life in the big city can be. An outsider desperate to carve a place for herself in the cutthroat world of New York journalism, Belle marches all over town in her kitten heels and her single Chloe suit to hand-deliver resumes and smiles, and to beg for a job from the indifferent or downright hostile office drones.She refuses to give up. With heroic persistence,a wicked sense of humor and a taste for the gourmet, Belle sees what it takes to become a New Yorker. She flirts with a gorgeous young man on the subway, only to

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and it's a way to share what you're loving in list form. The topic changes every week, so there is always something new to discover! This week's topic is:  2014 Releases That I Meant to Read But Didn't Get Around To .  There are always a ton of books that I miss out on because I either forget about them, have to wait too long to get them, or they continue to get shoved down in my reading pile.  Regardless, here are the ones released in 2014 that I'm determined to read this year! Falling Into Place by Amy Zhang  (September 9, 2014) A History of Loneliness by John Boyne  (September 4, 2014)   The Revenge of Seven by Pittacus Lore  (August 1, 2014) Big Little Lies by LIane Moriarty  (July 22, 2014) A Replacement Life by Boris Fishman (June 1, 2014) The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier (May 20, 2014)   Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira (April 1,

Teaser Tuesdays:  Under Wildwood Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB @ Should Be Reading . Here are the rules: grab whatever you're reading, open to a random page, select no more than two sentence (NO SPOILERS), share the title and author, and GO! Here's this week's teaser: "Elsie and Rachel stood on the landing by the building's front door, watching them go.  Their breath made little plumes of mist in the air above their heads.  Remembering, Elsie reached into her pocket and pulled out the piece of paper the boy had given her.  Slowly, she unfolded it and read the words that were scrawled on the yellowed surface:  'GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN!'"  --page 57           ----- Under Wildwood by Colin Meloy Happy reading!

Bout of Books 12 Weekend Update and Wrap Up Bout of Books 12  has drawn to a close and I wasn't able to post my progress over the weekend...but I can now! Here's how my weekend went: Books Finished:  1 Books Started:  2 Number of Pages Read:  371 I had a great time with Bout of Books 12, though I didn't get to participate in very many challenges or Twitter chats.  Alas.  There's always next time :) Here's how the entire week stacked up: Total Books Read:  2 A Sudden Light by Garth Stein   Easy by Tammara Webber Additional Books Started:  2 The Walking Dead, Compendium 1 by Robert Kirkman Under Wildwood by Colin Meloy   Total Pages Read:  733 Until next round of Bout of Books!! Happy reading!

Bout of Books 12 Update Day 4 I feel really accomplished with my reading yesterday for Bout of Books .  I got some solid reading in during the evening...and only neglected grocery shopping...but who needs to eat?!  Here's how it went: Currently Reading :  Easy by Tammara Webber Pages Read:  159 Total Pages for the Week:  363 Books Finished:  1 ( A Sudden Light by Garth Stein) Happy reading!

Bout of Books 12 Update Day 3 Not an amazing reading day yesterday for the Bout of Books read-a-thon, but there's still plenty of time to catch up! Here's how it's going : Currently Reading :  A Sudden Light by Garth Stein Pages Read :  40 Total Pages for the Week :  204 Books Finished :  0 Happy reading!

The End of the Year Book Survey Jamie, over at The Perpetual Page-Turner (AWESOME BLOG!!), has been doing this year-in-review for several years now and I think it's such an awesome way to wrap up and reflect on how your reading went over the past year.  This is my first time participating in this book survey...but I doubt it will be my last. 2014 Reading Stats Number of Books Read:  69 Number of Rereads:  1 (I don't really like re-reading books...unless it's HP or something awesome) Genre You Read the Most From:  Literary/Historical Fiction Best in Books Best Book Read The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne.  This is a beautifully written, heartfelt novel set during the ruling of the Romanovs.  It's uniquely laid out and so good.  So good! Book I was Most Excited About but Was Disappointing The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown.  The synopsis sounded so promising, but I was severely let down.  I didn't like the characters at all and it was clu

Bout of Books 12 Update Day 2 Though day two was not quite as successful as day one in terms of pages read, I still say it's a victory...because ANY reading is a victory.  I have faith that I will finish one (maybe two) books for the Bout of Books  read-a-thon.  But for now I'm really enjoying my current read.  Here's how the week is stacking up so far: Currently Reading :  A Sudden Light by Garth Stein Pages Read :  68 Total Pages for the Week :  164 Books Finished :  0 Not stellar, but it's still pages! Happy reading!

Teaser Tuesdays:  A Sudden Light Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB @ Should Be Reading . Here are the rules: grab whatever you're reading, open to a random page, select no more than two sentence (NO SPOILERS), share the title and author, and GO! Today's Teaser: "One's nature comes from within, not from without.  The abomination occurs in subverting one's instinct in favor of a rigid code written by others.  Trying to force yourself into a role that confounds your spirit will always break you." --page 160  ----- A Sudden Light by Garth Stein Happy reading!

Bout of Books 12 Update Day 1 I feel fairly accomplished with my reading from yesterday for Bout of Books .  While I didn't read as much as I wanted to, I was able to get little spurts of reading done throughout the day and evening.    Current Read:  A Sudden Light by Garth Stein Pages Read:  96   I'm hoping today will be a little more productive, but if not...that's totally okay!  Will update on the progress tomorrow. Happy reading!

So here's my goal pile...   It's slightly daunting...and perhaps impossible.  But I'm a rebel and I like to live on the edge!  Books on the Agenda Under Wildwood by Colin Meloy Easy by Tammara Webber A Sudden Light by Garth Stein The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman Awesome thing about this pile:  every single one will count for Bout of Books and Bookish Bingo.  What!  I am currently about 100 pages into A Sudden Light and am really enjoying it so far.  Page count will be up tomorrow! Happy reading!

So 2014 has come to a close and with it so has Bookish Bingo Holiday Edition.  Hosted by the ladies over at Great Imaginations , the three month reading challenge was a great success!  Here's how I fared: Total Number of Bingos:  6! B1, B2, B3, B4, B5 O1, O2, O3, O4, O5 B3, I3, FREE, G3, O3 B4, I4, N4, G4, O4 B1, I2, FREE, G4, O5 B5, I4, FREE, G2, O1 Total Number of Books Completed for the Challenge:  19 (plus one that I couldn't get to fit in any category...) Nora Roberts Taming Natasha Ray Bradbury The Halloween Tree Alice Hoffman Practical Magic Nora Roberts Dark Witch Carol Downing Hahn Wait Till Helen Comes Nora Roberts Shadow Spell Gillian Flynn Gone Girl William Giraldi Hold the Dark Haruki Murakami Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his Years of Pilgrimage Chris Cleave Little Bee Ira Levin Rosemary's Baby Salman Rushdie Haroun and the Sea of Stories Sherman Alexie The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Ceclia Ahern One Hundred Names