Now that I have some time on my hands....
I have, since last posting, inhaled Spiderwick Chronicles 2, 3 and 4, the latter of which I picked up at the library just a few hours ago. *grins sheepishly* I have #5 waiting as well as the sequel to The Shakespeare Stealer. Have I mentioned that I'm just loving having actual time to read for fun again? :D
I've also cast on the back of this cardigan. I'm trying to use up a yarn stash I bought ages ago for a sweater I lost interest in. And lost interest in a replacement project. The yarn is the same color/fiber as a cable cardigan I already own - the one I knit for my grandma and reclaimed after her death - so I really do not need another similar one, even if the texture is different, but maybe I can give it as a gift when it's done. Assuming I stick with it this time. :-P
Voted in the state primary yesterday. Do not like what people are making of the post-election analyses.
Final project grade was finally posted today. I've officially earned 100% for the entire class, the first time I did that. (My prior 5 classes were all high As, but not perfect scores.) Like I said, I'm not sure I deserve it for this exam, but - at least I got to go out with a bang? And I finally feel like I'm done - I don't have to check back for anything anymore.
Had perfectly (but predictably) useless pediatrician appointment today. I've also had a horrendous knot between my neck and right shoulder for several days now. The sort where it hurts to turn your head a certain way. Ow.
Two days of strike - although I eased up a little bit this evening. Two actually said to me this morning, "I appreciate what you buy me. Now will you build Legos with me?" MiniPlu in particular was not pleased that I wasn't helping her with stuff, but hopefully they're getting the point.
Reading meme, gacked from thistlerose:
Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack:
When I read, I tend to just … read. The only time I’m likely to be eating is if I take the book with me to the table (which, these days, is limited to lunch on days when the girls are at school, if I do it at all).
What is your favorite drink while reading?
At most I would have some tea or water nearby, which I’d be sipping. Otherwise, see above - I just read.
Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
The only books I mark are textbooks. Unless you count penciling my name in front when I offer the book on loan to someone. The idea of writing in a book I plan to keep doesn’t horrify me, but I don’t see a need to do it, either.
How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?
Ack, no laying the book flat open. Bad, bad, bad for the spine! And I don’t dog-ear anymore, either, unless I’m marking a recipe or article in a magazine that I want to come back to. I either use a proper bookmark, or whatever scrap piece of paper or junk mail happens to be lying around, or I’ll just make a note of the page and close the book without any marker at all.
Fiction, nonfiction, or both?
For books, I generally prefer fiction, unless it’s a how-to (ie knitting patterns, cookbooks). But I enjoy nonfiction magazines, the newspaper, etc.
Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?
I generally read to the end of the chapter, but sometimes life interferes and you have to stop wherever you are. I had a terrible time stopping with Girl With the Pearl Earring because there WERE no chapters. Just scene breaks. It was way too easy to say, “Just one more scene…”
Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?
Can’t say the thought has ever occurred to me. If I’ve ever thrown a book, it was because I was enormously pissed off at something/someone and the book just happened to be handy.
If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?
I can usually figure it out from context.
What is the last book you bought?
Do yard sale purchases count? I bought 11 kids’ books 10 days ago, for less than $3. And I bought Les Miserable at a library used book sale in March. If you mean new books, I bought Wizards, a short story anthology, and Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict at B&N in April.
Are you the type of person that reads one book at a time, or can you read more than one?
I *usually* prefer one book at a time, but sometimes I need a break from something, or one book is particularly good for bedtime so I save it for that. And, of course, I’ve been known to be concurrently reading a textbook and a pleasure book.
Do you have a favorite time/place to read?
Favorite place: on the sofa or in bed. Favorite time: whenever there’s some peace and quiet. I actually don’t read in bed too often because I find it much harder to stop at a reasonable time, and a really engrossing book can sometimes influence my dreams in odd ways. I’m more likely to do the crossword or Sudoku at bedtime because I obey signals of fatigue better with them than with a good book.
Do you prefer series books or stand alones?
I like both, as long as it’s a series that interests me. If the series installments are long, however, I sometimes need a break in between books, or it becomes overload.
Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster
The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
Harry Potter, back before it became so well known.
Probably some others I can’t think of right now.
How do you organize your books? (by genre, title, author's last name, etc.)
Fiction: Alphabetical by author, with paperbacks (the majority) all together and hardbacks (by author) separately. Nonfiction together by type (not by author) on separate shelves, and my Elfquest comics separately, too.
And happy birthday to pinguthegreek!
I've also cast on the back of this cardigan. I'm trying to use up a yarn stash I bought ages ago for a sweater I lost interest in. And lost interest in a replacement project. The yarn is the same color/fiber as a cable cardigan I already own - the one I knit for my grandma and reclaimed after her death - so I really do not need another similar one, even if the texture is different, but maybe I can give it as a gift when it's done. Assuming I stick with it this time. :-P
Voted in the state primary yesterday. Do not like what people are making of the post-election analyses.
Final project grade was finally posted today. I've officially earned 100% for the entire class, the first time I did that. (My prior 5 classes were all high As, but not perfect scores.) Like I said, I'm not sure I deserve it for this exam, but - at least I got to go out with a bang? And I finally feel like I'm done - I don't have to check back for anything anymore.
Had perfectly (but predictably) useless pediatrician appointment today. I've also had a horrendous knot between my neck and right shoulder for several days now. The sort where it hurts to turn your head a certain way. Ow.
Two days of strike - although I eased up a little bit this evening. Two actually said to me this morning, "I appreciate what you buy me. Now will you build Legos with me?" MiniPlu in particular was not pleased that I wasn't helping her with stuff, but hopefully they're getting the point.
Reading meme, gacked from thistlerose:
Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack:
When I read, I tend to just … read. The only time I’m likely to be eating is if I take the book with me to the table (which, these days, is limited to lunch on days when the girls are at school, if I do it at all).
What is your favorite drink while reading?
At most I would have some tea or water nearby, which I’d be sipping. Otherwise, see above - I just read.
Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
The only books I mark are textbooks. Unless you count penciling my name in front when I offer the book on loan to someone. The idea of writing in a book I plan to keep doesn’t horrify me, but I don’t see a need to do it, either.
How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?
Ack, no laying the book flat open. Bad, bad, bad for the spine! And I don’t dog-ear anymore, either, unless I’m marking a recipe or article in a magazine that I want to come back to. I either use a proper bookmark, or whatever scrap piece of paper or junk mail happens to be lying around, or I’ll just make a note of the page and close the book without any marker at all.
Fiction, nonfiction, or both?
For books, I generally prefer fiction, unless it’s a how-to (ie knitting patterns, cookbooks). But I enjoy nonfiction magazines, the newspaper, etc.
Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?
I generally read to the end of the chapter, but sometimes life interferes and you have to stop wherever you are. I had a terrible time stopping with Girl With the Pearl Earring because there WERE no chapters. Just scene breaks. It was way too easy to say, “Just one more scene…”
Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?
Can’t say the thought has ever occurred to me. If I’ve ever thrown a book, it was because I was enormously pissed off at something/someone and the book just happened to be handy.
If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?
I can usually figure it out from context.
What is the last book you bought?
Do yard sale purchases count? I bought 11 kids’ books 10 days ago, for less than $3. And I bought Les Miserable at a library used book sale in March. If you mean new books, I bought Wizards, a short story anthology, and Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict at B&N in April.
Are you the type of person that reads one book at a time, or can you read more than one?
I *usually* prefer one book at a time, but sometimes I need a break from something, or one book is particularly good for bedtime so I save it for that. And, of course, I’ve been known to be concurrently reading a textbook and a pleasure book.
Do you have a favorite time/place to read?
Favorite place: on the sofa or in bed. Favorite time: whenever there’s some peace and quiet. I actually don’t read in bed too often because I find it much harder to stop at a reasonable time, and a really engrossing book can sometimes influence my dreams in odd ways. I’m more likely to do the crossword or Sudoku at bedtime because I obey signals of fatigue better with them than with a good book.
Do you prefer series books or stand alones?
I like both, as long as it’s a series that interests me. If the series installments are long, however, I sometimes need a break in between books, or it becomes overload.
Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster
The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
Harry Potter, back before it became so well known.
Probably some others I can’t think of right now.
How do you organize your books? (by genre, title, author's last name, etc.)
Fiction: Alphabetical by author, with paperbacks (the majority) all together and hardbacks (by author) separately. Nonfiction together by type (not by author) on separate shelves, and my Elfquest comics separately, too.
And happy birthday to pinguthegreek!