Happy New Year

Hope this year brings everyone great reads and lots of joy!

Craziness

Or is it crazyness? I never know and I'm too lazy to google.

So, I missed an email or two apparently and let my domain expire. Thankfully, they gave me a second chance and I renewed it.

I'm not sure why I did, though. It's not like I ever blog anymore. I'm sure half the people that once read me have headed for the hills. There are a lot of bloggers I read daily who are long gone too.

The other problem is the spam on the comments. It's awful and I know munu isn't doing anything about it because they're now something new and I tried moving over to the new concept but it just never happened. (I'm sure I wasn't following directions but then again, I never do)

So....should I redirect my domain to a shiny new blogger account?
It would be weird but I've been using blogger for a book blog and it's pretty neato.
It's not like the old days where it went down more than a 2 dollar whore.

Well, 2009 is coming to a screeching halt. Some of us are glad it's over and ready for a new year to begin. Some of us are pretty ambivalent about it.
2009 wasn't horrible for me. It was horribly busy, though!

I find myself taking responsibility for others to the point that it zaps up ALL my time.
I can't say that I'm going to spend LESS time doing for others in 2010 because I can't deal with that kind of regret. Part of me thinks that's why we're on this planet anyway...to help others.
Another part of me wants to just stay home and read books day in and day out.
(and maybe throw a little shopping in the mix)

So, yeah, 2009 wasn't a bad year. I found lots of joy in a lot of little things.
I have amazing dogs and a weird cat.
I have love in my life.
I have good friends.
I have a great mom and a few good sisters.
I have an amazing nephew here and one in heaven waiting on us.

I'm not making any resolutions. They never work. I do have a list of books that I RESOLVE to read this year but that doesn't count as a resolution, does it?

I do want to work on the fear. I have a fear that something is going to go terribly wrong. It's not debilitating but it keeps me from truly appreciating when something is going right because I'm constantly waiting for the shoe to fall (drop?).

Other than that, I'd just prefer life to be status quo. It's all good.

Happy New Year, kitty kats!

And this is why I have a problem with books....

So, recently, I was reading a book review at Books for Breakfast about The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George which I have read and loved.
So much that I bought her Helen of Troy book but it's been in my neverending TBR pile forEVER.
When Kristin mentioned reading that one next, it inspired me to do the same and she even suggested we have a read-a-long on our blogs.
This is where I reveal my book problem:  I have TOOOOOO many books and they are not cataloged correctly and are scattered throughout shelves in my small apartment.  Books aren't just books, they are furniture and decoration in my apartment.
But anyway, I realized that the Helen of Troy book I have is not the Margaret George novel but The Memoirs of Helen of Troy by Amanda Elyot.

So, what do I do?  Do I read that one and compare notes with Books for Breakfast?  Or do I go out and buy a copy of the book I originally wanted?
I'll confess that I really, really want to go out and buy that book.
Hey...I could do both....read the Amanda Elyot version then the Margaret George version.
Oh boy, this is starting to sound like homework. Put a due date on it and I'm done!

The New Years Resolution is not looking so hot...

Part of the 2010 Reading Resolutions Challenge was to come up with some resolutions of my own.
I said I'd TRY not to buy more books....sometimes it just doesn't work out that way.
I got three gift cards to Barnes and Noble and one to Borders.
Well you know I have to spend them...and right away!

The House in Paris by Elizabeth Bowen

I'm still reading this one but felt bad about the lack of posting during the Christmas holiday.  I had tons of time off and planned on reading a lot but on my last day before Christmas vacation, a bunch of drama took place at work leaving me in a total funk all through the holiday.
When I'm depressed or worried, I just can't concentrate enough to read.
I did a lot of shopping and movie watching with my time off.

Before all of this, I started reading The House in Paris and fully intended to finish it.  It wasn't what I expected but is surprising me with how lovely the story is even if it doesn't seem to be leading to a happy ending.
I love the way Elizabeth Bowen writes not just about Paris but the unusual people who reside in this boarding house.

Things are so much better at work so I think I can go back to my books now.

I can't wait to see how this is going to end.

An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon

Ok, so I finally finished this book.
I did get a little upset with something that happened and I put the book down for a while, but my curiosity got the best of me and I started reading it again.
The book did redeem itself in a way and the ending was a major cliffhanger which means we'll be waiting for a LONG while before we know what became of Jamie and Claire, Lord John, Young Ian, Bree, Roger and Jem.

I was thinking of starting the series all over again but how can I do that when I've got mountains of books in my TBR pile?

My Very First Reading Challenge

This is my first challenge and it's being hosted here.  What a great idea!

Read the following books:

A Dance to the Music of Time Vol. 1 - Anthony Powell
Moonstone - Wilkie Collins
Ashenden - W. Somerset Maugham
Carbon Diaries - Saci Lloyd
Safe at Home - Alyssa Milano
Shooting the Sh*t - Kevin Smith
The Path of Razors - Chris Marie Green
The Wild Things - Dave Eggers
The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri

The House in Paris - Elizabeth Bowen

Grotesque - Natsuo Kirino

*Update*  Added Helen of Troy - Margaret George

Do the following things:

Try TRY to control my book buying. (Even though I found a new wonderful second hand bookshop)
Read the books I own and not stop one book to start one I just bought.
Try to be better about keeping up with my reading blog.
Be a better commenter.
Find more time to read and less TV.

VERY Bad Jinx!

I was messing around with the blogger templates and lost my widgets!  It sounds so dirty but it's true.
I'll try to remember all the books I've read since starting this blog but don't hold your breath.

Bad Jinx

What a horrible book blogger I am.
But to be honest, I haven't been reading much.  This holiday season has been caaaahrazy!
I also got in the first four seasons of The Office on DVD so when I am able to squeeze in some "me time", I tend to watch a few episodes of that.
I did pick up something as a reread:  28 Barbary Lane by Armistead Maupin who is one of my favorites.
This is a collection of sequels to Tales of the City....that's the best way I can describe it since all of his books started out as serial stories in The San Francisco Chronicle.
I've loved his Barbary Lane characters for so long and suddenly last weekend, I wanted to visit with them again so I grabbed this particular copy that I found in a second hand book store in Lawrence, Kansas last year.
But even with that, I'm barely finding time to read.

However, I have a whole week off for Christmas and I intend on reading my ass off!