Anyone reading this blog probably knows that I don't really need to be challenged to read more. I had already decided to track my reading more this year (thanks for the inspiration, Janssen!) just out of curiosity. This Salon article suggested quite a few challenges on everything from thick books to zombie books. I may not need help reading more, but thanks to the internet, joining a reading challenge can be a social experience as well as an intellectual one. I'm hoping joining these challenges will bring me great discussions, new reading suggestions, and interesting blogs to read.
Without further ado, here are my choices:
1) Chunkster Challenge 2011 (http://chunksterchallenge.blogspot.com/2010/12/chunkster-challenge-2011-sign-ups.html)
I love digging into big books so this is a great challenge! My only debate on this is which level to sign up for of the 4 offered. Should I go for the Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big? (description: This option is for the reader who can't resist bigger and bigger books and wants to commit to SIX Chunksters from the following categories: 2 books which are between 450 - 550 pages in length; 2 books which are 551 - 750 pages in length; 2 books which are GREATER than 750 pages in length)
...or risk failing and sign up for the Mor-book-ly Obese (description: For the truly out of control chunkster. For this level of challenge you must commit to EIGHT or more Chunksters of which three tomes MUST be 750 pages or more)
Thoughts anyone?
2) 2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge (http://jamielovesya.blogspot.com/2010/12/2011-young-adult-reading-challenge.html)
2010 was definitely a year of young adult books for me. I had no idea how much great YA reading is out there. These books are usually quick to read as well, which is great when time is limited. I'm going to wuss out here and do the "Mini YA Reading Challenge" which is 12 YA novels. I think I can easily read one per month, although since so many great series are out there I expect I'll be more likely to complete this in clumps. In fact, I'm already well on my way with this challenge as I read one YA book over vacation (and completely during 2011, not to worry!). I'll have a review up soon.
3) (sort of) I like the idea of the TBR challenge (http://www.roofbeamreader.net/2010/12/2011-tbr-pile-challenge-with-prize.html) but I don't know how many of the books in my pile have been there more than a year...I'm hoping not too many! I'm not signing up formally, but working through my big to be read basket in the library and the piles throughout the house is definitely a personal goal.
I know some of you have already committed to reading more or reading a different type of genre this year; is anyone else going to join a challenge?
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Hello My Deer!
My friends come from all over the United States and most of us believe that our state is the best. If we want some data to back it up, this link should be helpful...it shows something that each state is the best at. No surprise that Pennsylvania wins for most deer collisions, but would you have guessed that Colorado is #1 for beer production? Expect lots of new residents next year, Colorado!
Some other highlights: My engineer friends may want to consider a move to Delaware, since they have the greatest percentage of PhD level scientists and engineers. Illinois has the highest rate of gang membership...um, thanks, Chicago. If you have a lead foot, avoid Massachusetts since that state has the highest level of speeding tickets. Nevada is a triple winner with the lead in teen pregnancies, foreclosures, and meth use. Way to go Nevada! I would never have guessed that Ohio ranks first in swiss cheese production.
Check it out!
http://1bog.org/blog/whats-your-state-good-at/
What's your state the best at?
Some other highlights: My engineer friends may want to consider a move to Delaware, since they have the greatest percentage of PhD level scientists and engineers. Illinois has the highest rate of gang membership...um, thanks, Chicago. If you have a lead foot, avoid Massachusetts since that state has the highest level of speeding tickets. Nevada is a triple winner with the lead in teen pregnancies, foreclosures, and meth use. Way to go Nevada! I would never have guessed that Ohio ranks first in swiss cheese production.
Check it out!
http://1bog.org/blog/whats-your-state-good-at/
What's your state the best at?
Friday, December 31, 2010
2010 In Review
January:
Max watching PSU win the Capital One Bowl
February:
Made the library into a comfortable reading room.
April:
Tried deep fried bacon at the rodeo (it was gross!)...
...and visited Austin with my parents
May:
Camping at Brazos Bend State Park
June:
Welcomed Layla to the family
July:
Brewed our first batch of beer...
...watched The Netherlands in the World Cup...
...and went skydiving!
August:
Went to the Philadelphia Folk Festival
October:
Went to New Orleans to celebrate my first anniversary with The Dude!
November:
Returned to Pennsylvania for the wedding of a great friend (photo below courtesy of the Dude not leaving us alone)
December:
Spent a great Christmas with family and enjoyed real snow! (the handsome fella in this photo is my parents' dog, Duke)
2010 was a fun year for me. I have so much to look forward to in 2011!
Max watching PSU win the Capital One Bowl
February:
Made the library into a comfortable reading room.
April:
Tried deep fried bacon at the rodeo (it was gross!)...
...and visited Austin with my parents
May:
Camping at Brazos Bend State Park
June:
Welcomed Layla to the family
July:
Brewed our first batch of beer...
...watched The Netherlands in the World Cup...
...and went skydiving!
August:
Went to the Philadelphia Folk Festival
October:
Went to New Orleans to celebrate my first anniversary with The Dude!
November:
Returned to Pennsylvania for the wedding of a great friend (photo below courtesy of the Dude not leaving us alone)
December:
Spent a great Christmas with family and enjoyed real snow! (the handsome fella in this photo is my parents' dog, Duke)
2010 was a fun year for me. I have so much to look forward to in 2011!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Christmas Cheer
In my house growing up, we traditionally spent Black Friday and the weekend after Thanksgiving decorating the house. Since we bought a live tree we wouldn't get that for another few weeks (and it often stayed up until it was needle-less in February) but the Christmas season started at the same time as the leftover turkey.
Now that I have my own house (and a fake tree), I have had to start my own traditions, but I still decorate on Black Friday. It's a great excuse to avoid the shopping that I can't stand. While I have lots of my old traditions, it's been fun to look for new ones as well. For the first time this year, the Dude and I made gingerbread houses (albeit from a kit we bought from Target). They turned out pretty well...that is, until the Texas weather went from almost-winter to almost-summer in about 12 hours and all the icing melted. We'll try again next year!
After talking about it the last few years, the Dude hung Christmas lights outside this year and I think they look great! ...even if my pictures don't reflect that. We are definitely not in the running for the most Griswold-ish house in our neighborhood, but we aren't the Grinches either.
Since I'm still making my own traditions, I've enjoyed looking at what others do. I've always kept most of my decorating in the living room, dining room, and kitchen, but after I saw this picture I think I may move it in to the library next year!
Has anyone else started their own traditions when they moved away from home?
Now that I have my own house (and a fake tree), I have had to start my own traditions, but I still decorate on Black Friday. It's a great excuse to avoid the shopping that I can't stand. While I have lots of my old traditions, it's been fun to look for new ones as well. For the first time this year, the Dude and I made gingerbread houses (albeit from a kit we bought from Target). They turned out pretty well...that is, until the Texas weather went from almost-winter to almost-summer in about 12 hours and all the icing melted. We'll try again next year!
After talking about it the last few years, the Dude hung Christmas lights outside this year and I think they look great! ...even if my pictures don't reflect that. We are definitely not in the running for the most Griswold-ish house in our neighborhood, but we aren't the Grinches either.
Since I'm still making my own traditions, I've enjoyed looking at what others do. I've always kept most of my decorating in the living room, dining room, and kitchen, but after I saw this picture I think I may move it in to the library next year!
Has anyone else started their own traditions when they moved away from home?
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
A Non-Holiday Book
This one gets its own review because it really affected me. Up front warning: this book is not cheerful. I promise to get back to holiday joy in my next post!
Room, Emma Donoghue
In Emma Donoghue's second novel, Room, the author shows once again that she is not afraid to dive headfirst into truly awful situations and turn them inside out. Room is a story told by Jack, a 5 year old who lives in Room with his Ma and his friends Bed, Duvet, and Wardrobe. As far as Jack knows, everything outside of Room is Outer Space and everything on tv is not real. When I say everything, I mean everything...rain, dentists, even other people. This is because Jack's mother was abducted before his birth and has been held prisoner in an 11'x11' room for the past seven years. As circumstances with their captor change, Ma realizes that it is time to try to escape if she and Jack are going to survive. But how do you explain escape to someone who doesn't understand there is a world to escape to?
Telling the story from Jack's point of view makes the story easier to read but also strips away much of the convention we associate with these types of situations. There is very little graphic violence or external input. What is left is an emotional tale that forces you to re-evaluate everything you think you know about the world and how you interact with other people. I knew going in that reading this would be difficult for me, but I'm glad I picked it up anyway. I was utterly absorbed from start to finish. This is not to minimize how disturbing and painful the book is at times, because it is both. However, it also brings a fresh, innocent perspective to a cynical situation.
I would cautiously recommend Room to those who think they could handle it. If nothing else it will force you to sit back, take a deep breath, and think.
Room, Emma Donoghue
In Emma Donoghue's second novel, Room, the author shows once again that she is not afraid to dive headfirst into truly awful situations and turn them inside out. Room is a story told by Jack, a 5 year old who lives in Room with his Ma and his friends Bed, Duvet, and Wardrobe. As far as Jack knows, everything outside of Room is Outer Space and everything on tv is not real. When I say everything, I mean everything...rain, dentists, even other people. This is because Jack's mother was abducted before his birth and has been held prisoner in an 11'x11' room for the past seven years. As circumstances with their captor change, Ma realizes that it is time to try to escape if she and Jack are going to survive. But how do you explain escape to someone who doesn't understand there is a world to escape to?
Telling the story from Jack's point of view makes the story easier to read but also strips away much of the convention we associate with these types of situations. There is very little graphic violence or external input. What is left is an emotional tale that forces you to re-evaluate everything you think you know about the world and how you interact with other people. I knew going in that reading this would be difficult for me, but I'm glad I picked it up anyway. I was utterly absorbed from start to finish. This is not to minimize how disturbing and painful the book is at times, because it is both. However, it also brings a fresh, innocent perspective to a cynical situation.
I would cautiously recommend Room to those who think they could handle it. If nothing else it will force you to sit back, take a deep breath, and think.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
A Dog's Life
I think a lot of you already read Hyperbole and a Half but if you don't, start now. I love it when she blogs about her dogs. This recent post about "simple dog" and "helper dog" made me laugh out loud and snort. Layla is definitely simple dog. I also liked this older one where she tested simple dog's intelligence. Then Becca did the same test on her dog, which led to hilarious photos of a lumpy blanket wandering around her living room.
I realized I haven't been blogging about Max and Layla as much as I used to. I think part of that is because Layla is really difficult to photograph; she tends to come out as a big black blur, sometimes with scary green eyes, sometimes with no eyes at all. It doesn't really do justice to her cheerful, floppy demeanor in real life, especially since I know the best part of a post about dogs is pictures of said dogs. I did get a few decent ones though...can you tell what a sweetheart she is?
Despite my laziness in posting their pictures, the dogs are doing well. Max got a cold last week, which he generously shared with Layla, so I have had the pleasure of listening to dogs sneeze for the past few weeks. They both excel at looking pathetic to get whatever they want from me then running away acting normal. Dogs 1, People 0.
Last night I watched the old Claymation "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" special. I had forgotten that whenever Rudolph's nose lights up it makes an odd high pitched whining sound. This intrigued both dogs. I love it when they hear a strange sound from the tv. The ears perk up and the head cocks to the side. Even better is when one of them actually walks over to see where the noise is coming from. The Dude has a birthday card which features dogs barking "Happy Birthday to You" and used it to mess with them quite a few times. I did the same with Rudolph. Dogs 1, Alicia 1. It's a tie! I'll call that good for now.
Well by now I figure I have bored and/or alienated pretty much all of my readers so my work here is done. I hope you're all enjoying the Christmas lights as much as I am now that I don't have to resent them!
I realized I haven't been blogging about Max and Layla as much as I used to. I think part of that is because Layla is really difficult to photograph; she tends to come out as a big black blur, sometimes with scary green eyes, sometimes with no eyes at all. It doesn't really do justice to her cheerful, floppy demeanor in real life, especially since I know the best part of a post about dogs is pictures of said dogs. I did get a few decent ones though...can you tell what a sweetheart she is?
Despite my laziness in posting their pictures, the dogs are doing well. Max got a cold last week, which he generously shared with Layla, so I have had the pleasure of listening to dogs sneeze for the past few weeks. They both excel at looking pathetic to get whatever they want from me then running away acting normal. Dogs 1, People 0.
Last night I watched the old Claymation "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" special. I had forgotten that whenever Rudolph's nose lights up it makes an odd high pitched whining sound. This intrigued both dogs. I love it when they hear a strange sound from the tv. The ears perk up and the head cocks to the side. Even better is when one of them actually walks over to see where the noise is coming from. The Dude has a birthday card which features dogs barking "Happy Birthday to You" and used it to mess with them quite a few times. I did the same with Rudolph. Dogs 1, Alicia 1. It's a tie! I'll call that good for now.
Well by now I figure I have bored and/or alienated pretty much all of my readers so my work here is done. I hope you're all enjoying the Christmas lights as much as I am now that I don't have to resent them!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Preparing for London 2012
The summer of 2012 may seem far away for most of us, but around the world elite athletes are hard at work preparing for the Summer Olympics. Competing at this level requires daily practice and intense focus.
Of course, many athletes compete in sports which are not a part of the Olympics. Every four years a number of test events are added and these athletes hope that their sport will be selected to become a permanent part of the Games.
Here, we see team USA's rising stars Max and Layla practicing their routine for the exciting new "synchronized napping" event. Go team!
Of course, many athletes compete in sports which are not a part of the Olympics. Every four years a number of test events are added and these athletes hope that their sport will be selected to become a permanent part of the Games.
Here, we see team USA's rising stars Max and Layla practicing their routine for the exciting new "synchronized napping" event. Go team!
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