Reasons why I should post every week...
I've read 13 books since my last post. It's sad that it doesn't look as though I've made a dent in any of my piles. But good-sounding books just keep coming!
Since my last post, I submitted a short story to an anthology and received my VERY FIRST REJECTION LETTER! (So excited about that.) I already know where I want to submit the story next, as soon as I write the cover letter.
Dad's birthday happened (May 14). He would have been 69, and no one would have let him forget it. I had amazing day with one of my older sisters; we wanted to do something special for his birthday, and we did. Complete with Jordan's lobster rolls and coffee shakes with extra syrup! He would have approved.
As soon as I dig up the cord to connect my camera to the computer, I'll be posting photos on Facebook of the house plans I sketched. We should be getting the estimate soon for what a custom modular home would be, and there's a chance a friend of a friend might look it over and give us an estimate for it as a stick-built. If we can swing it, I'd rather build a house of our own than buy one that's decent, but not what we really want. And because of the In-Laws of Awesome, we already have the land.
The past couple days, I've been looking at the UMO site (local-ish university), and am finding myself increasingly interested in their Maine Studies (for the classes on Maine folklore) and Peace Studies programs. I don't want to go back to the whole process of paying through the nose and the emphasis on grades, so I'm starting to check out iTunesU and seeing what's available for lectures and materials free online.
Found out that a place in Bangor offers capoeira classes. They may not have an instructor, but that doesn't matter to me; I just want to get back into it.
40. NP, Banana Yoshimoto
General fiction, translated from the Japanese. I picked it up because of the author's name more than anything else. It was a fantastic story, but not one I can really sum up in a single sentence. Definitely worth reading.
41. Their One and Only, Trista Ann Michaels
Erotic romance. Pure fun and fluff, though it did pretend rather well at the serious.
42. Shadow Lover, Anne Stuart
Contemporary romance this time! I've read this writer once before and I enjoy her characters. The twists weren't unexpected, but it was enough fun that I didn't care.
43. Silk, Alessandro Bericco
General fiction, translated from the French. I love the lyrical voice that came through the translation. The story itself is very understated. It's about a man who takes a yearly trip to buy silkworms for the factories in his French town in the latter half of the nineteenth century. When a blight strikes the usual silkworm supply, it's decided that he'll travel to Japan to find silkworms there, despite the illegal channels he has to use once he reaches Japan. It's a beautiful love story.
44. Reinventing Knowledge: From Alexandria to the Internet, Ian F. McNeely with Lisa Wolverton
Nonfiction, exactly as the title says. This books examines the ways in which the transmission of knowledge and institutions of learning have developed and evolved to circumvent new obstacles. It was very well written and fascinating.
45. The Passing of the Night: My Seven Years as a Prisoner of the North Vietnamese, General Robinson Risner
Again, nonfiction and exactly as the title says. I enjoyed it; it's excellent information for some stories I have.
46. The Magician's Guild
47. The Novice
48. The High Lord , Trudi Canavan
The 3 books in The Black Magician Trilogy. A fantasy series, amazingly well written. I couldn't put them down. The main character is a young woman who discovers she has magic when a stone she throws passes through a magician's shield, and succeeds in throwing the entire magicians' guild into total chaos. The magic system is unique and the world is incredibly well-imagined, with characters I fell in love with.
49. Abandon, Meg Cabot
Meg Cabot writes amazing young adult fiction. This is the first book in a series that is essentially a modern day re-imagining of the story of Persephone. I think I'll have to collect it as it comes out in paperback.
50. What Would Jane Austin Do?, Laurie Brown
Another romance, time-travel Regency, for lack of a better description. I couldn't take this story seriously from the start, so I rather enjoyed it. I laughed aloud, which doesn't happen as often as I wish it would when I'm reading.
51. a long way gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael Beah
Nonfiction, the story of a boy from Sierra Leone who lost practically everything, became a brainwashed, drug-addicted child soldier, and recovered. It's an absolutely phenomenal story of someone with unimaginable personal strength, told in such a beautiful voice even in the middle of horrors. If I ever meet this man, I want to give him a giant hug.
52. Different Games/Different Rules: Why Americans and Japanese Misunderstand Each Other, Haru Yamada
Nonfiction. Definitely a socio-linguistic study by a woman who had the unique insight of growing up in both cultures. A bit dense at times, but still easily understandable. The book's points make a lot of sense to me, about the different goals and foci in conversations among Americans and among Japanese.
Since my last post, I submitted a short story to an anthology and received my VERY FIRST REJECTION LETTER! (So excited about that.) I already know where I want to submit the story next, as soon as I write the cover letter.
Dad's birthday happened (May 14). He would have been 69, and no one would have let him forget it. I had amazing day with one of my older sisters; we wanted to do something special for his birthday, and we did. Complete with Jordan's lobster rolls and coffee shakes with extra syrup! He would have approved.
As soon as I dig up the cord to connect my camera to the computer, I'll be posting photos on Facebook of the house plans I sketched. We should be getting the estimate soon for what a custom modular home would be, and there's a chance a friend of a friend might look it over and give us an estimate for it as a stick-built. If we can swing it, I'd rather build a house of our own than buy one that's decent, but not what we really want. And because of the In-Laws of Awesome, we already have the land.
The past couple days, I've been looking at the UMO site (local-ish university), and am finding myself increasingly interested in their Maine Studies (for the classes on Maine folklore) and Peace Studies programs. I don't want to go back to the whole process of paying through the nose and the emphasis on grades, so I'm starting to check out iTunesU and seeing what's available for lectures and materials free online.
Found out that a place in Bangor offers capoeira classes. They may not have an instructor, but that doesn't matter to me; I just want to get back into it.
40. NP, Banana Yoshimoto
General fiction, translated from the Japanese. I picked it up because of the author's name more than anything else. It was a fantastic story, but not one I can really sum up in a single sentence. Definitely worth reading.
41. Their One and Only, Trista Ann Michaels
Erotic romance. Pure fun and fluff, though it did pretend rather well at the serious.
42. Shadow Lover, Anne Stuart
Contemporary romance this time! I've read this writer once before and I enjoy her characters. The twists weren't unexpected, but it was enough fun that I didn't care.
43. Silk, Alessandro Bericco
General fiction, translated from the French. I love the lyrical voice that came through the translation. The story itself is very understated. It's about a man who takes a yearly trip to buy silkworms for the factories in his French town in the latter half of the nineteenth century. When a blight strikes the usual silkworm supply, it's decided that he'll travel to Japan to find silkworms there, despite the illegal channels he has to use once he reaches Japan. It's a beautiful love story.
44. Reinventing Knowledge: From Alexandria to the Internet, Ian F. McNeely with Lisa Wolverton
Nonfiction, exactly as the title says. This books examines the ways in which the transmission of knowledge and institutions of learning have developed and evolved to circumvent new obstacles. It was very well written and fascinating.
45. The Passing of the Night: My Seven Years as a Prisoner of the North Vietnamese, General Robinson Risner
Again, nonfiction and exactly as the title says. I enjoyed it; it's excellent information for some stories I have.
46. The Magician's Guild
47. The Novice
48. The High Lord , Trudi Canavan
The 3 books in The Black Magician Trilogy. A fantasy series, amazingly well written. I couldn't put them down. The main character is a young woman who discovers she has magic when a stone she throws passes through a magician's shield, and succeeds in throwing the entire magicians' guild into total chaos. The magic system is unique and the world is incredibly well-imagined, with characters I fell in love with.
49. Abandon, Meg Cabot
Meg Cabot writes amazing young adult fiction. This is the first book in a series that is essentially a modern day re-imagining of the story of Persephone. I think I'll have to collect it as it comes out in paperback.
50. What Would Jane Austin Do?, Laurie Brown
Another romance, time-travel Regency, for lack of a better description. I couldn't take this story seriously from the start, so I rather enjoyed it. I laughed aloud, which doesn't happen as often as I wish it would when I'm reading.
51. a long way gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael Beah
Nonfiction, the story of a boy from Sierra Leone who lost practically everything, became a brainwashed, drug-addicted child soldier, and recovered. It's an absolutely phenomenal story of someone with unimaginable personal strength, told in such a beautiful voice even in the middle of horrors. If I ever meet this man, I want to give him a giant hug.
52. Different Games/Different Rules: Why Americans and Japanese Misunderstand Each Other, Haru Yamada
Nonfiction. Definitely a socio-linguistic study by a woman who had the unique insight of growing up in both cultures. A bit dense at times, but still easily understandable. The book's points make a lot of sense to me, about the different goals and foci in conversations among Americans and among Japanese.