Not Gonna Make My Book Goal =0/

I was almost done with my update yesterday when my mouse's scrolling dial glitched, and I lost all I'd typed. And, no, I do not want to sit here and try to retell you everything I'd almost posted. Perhaps another day. And perhaps it's just as well I didn't get to post the stress-laden entry. Perhaps I was only meant to type it so I could it off my chest and be done with it, before it was lost to the demon, Glitch. Whatever the case, it's a new day, and I'm moving on.

I FINALLY finished the mystery novel I've been reading for over a month late, late last night. Hallelujah! I can now move onto a new story! Not that the mystery I've been reading was poor and boring. Far from it! It was excellently written and humorous, and one mystery I couldn't figure out before the main character did. (I'm giving Lila Dare's Tressed to Kill five stars.) The reasons it took so long to finish are because I've been distracted and my nightly routine has changed. Not that I'm complaining mind you! Heck, no. I'm glad to have romance in my life. I'd rather talk with my honey nightly than spend nights alone in bed--even if it's with a good book.

Plus for some danged frustrating reason, since just before my emotional/hormonal stint, I've had a devil of a time getting into any book I've read, no matter how excellent the stories have been. I used to be able to lose myself in a storyline, having no trouble whatsoever envisioning the characters and their actions and the settings the authors described. I could picture everything so clearly!!! Now, *shrugs* it's like my mind can't focus, can't picture what is going on, unless I read and reread the paragraphs again and again. It's like I can't establish that special connection an avid reader has with the books he/she reads! And I dunno why! I feel disconnected with what's been written, like I'm an outsider looking in, an outsider who wants that special something those on the inside have. And as someone who used to have it until fairly recently, it's danged frustrating to be without this connection! (Even though I just said I'd rather be involved in a personal romance. Which is true--but, why can't I have both?!)

It almost feels like I need a break from books, but-- Me without a book? *mouth agape and eyes widen* That would be like amputating an arm! Ever since I was a kid and Mom first put a Nancy Drew book in my hands, I've never been without a book...unless I was ill or in the hospital from my various surgeries. Books have been wonderful companions and fun escapes for me over the years. They've been gateways to far-off places that I'll never see in person, or to make-believe worlds created by others' imaginations. They've fed my own imagination and creativity. They've helped me forget problems and to pass the lonely hours.

I can't imagine myself without a book. But--what do I do? This lack of instant connection makes it hard to thoroughly enjoy a book, as the reading and rereading until I get a full picture takes more of my time, which makes me ultra slow in finishing a novel. At this rate, I'm not gonna meet my goal of 35 books read by the end of the year.

Return to The Olive Farm by Carol Drinkwater

This should be the last of my reviews for a few weeks.  I have one more to do at present but I'm not going to read it just yet.

Anyway, Waterstones.com offered me the chance to review Return to The Olive Farm by Carol Drinkwater.  It's a true story of her life running an Olive Farm (surprisingly enough) in France.  It's the latest one in a serious of them,

This is what I wrote

This book is the first of Carol Drinkwater's that I've read.  I really like this sort of book and must admit to having looked at her other books several times but never bought them.  I will be rectifying this mistake soon.  She is a very good writer.

There is a lovely feel to this book and it has some wonderful imagery in it.  You can build up a very clear picture of what Carol and Michel are seeing and doing which adds greatly to the books appeal.  The journey that they have been on both physically and mentally is well described and you almost feel like you've been on it with them.

This was a perfect book for lazy sunny days in the garden.  The descriptions of France and their way of life bought something of a holiday feel to the book.  It was very enjoyable.

Terminal World by Alastair Reynolds

I've spent the last few days reading Terminal World by Alastair Reynolds.  I was given a copy to review by WHSmith.co.uk.  This is what I wrote in my review.

This is the first Alastair Reynolds book I've read.  It won't be the last.  A friend described him to me as a writer who definitely knows his subject.  She was right but before I read this I didn't realise just how right she was.  Mr Reynolds uses this knowledge to enhance the book and bring it to levels it wouldn't otherwise reach.

Terminal Worlds is real proper sci fi and it's got all the elements it needs to fall under that category.  The plot is fast paced and intriguing with some ideas I've never seen before.  It's also got totally believable characters.  They really come to life and the book ended with me wanting to know what happened next.  Both in terms of the plot and also to the characters.

What have you been reading recently?

Absorption by John Meaney

I've been meaning to update here for ages but keep not getting round to it, sorry!

As you might know if you read my blog, I've gotten several free books this year.  Some just because I've been lucky and others to review.  Currently I've done four reviews and I have fifth book on the way.  I've gotten into this through twitter mostly, by following major UK booksellers.  Some of them also post review offers on facebook.  It's worth checking out!  It's also worth checking out if your favourite authors or publishers are on twitter as I also won a book from a publishing house via twitter.

@Waterstones and @WHSmithcouk are the two on twitter I've had books from

The most recent one I've reviewed is Absorption by John Meaney for WHSmith.co.uk  It's the first book in the Ragnarok trilogy and I loved it.

This is what I said:

Really, really enjoyed this book. Well crafted sci fi with plenty to attract people who aren't true sci fi fans as well. I liked the shifting perspective/place/time aspect with every chapter although I preferred some of them to others. Equally there were a few I would have liked to see more of. Very well written, this sucks you in completely. My only criticism - and it isn't one really - is that being the first of a trilogy it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger which has me really wondering. I'll definitely be buying the next one to find out

We're Just Ordinary Girls

I've been meaning to publish this post for about a month or so now, but I was either not in the mood or I was distracted by something else and wrote about whatever it was that had my attention at the time. I donno if any of my regular readers remember, but in January I started re-reading the Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot for a second time. My goal was--and still is--to read the entire series again this year.

My original intention, though, was to read the books straight through, one after another. However...as I got close to the fifth volume I knew I had to take a break from Mia's teenage travails, because the melodrama she created mostly for herself in each novel was getting on my nerves. True, some of her problems/concerns were valid and understandable, like her flunking Algebra and the fact that her bohemiam, flighty mother began dating her staid, traditional and responsible math teacher, Frank Gianini, and ended up having his baby. Then of course, there was her demanding, self-absorbed grandmother, the Dowager Princess, who constantly pulled Mia into her schemes that were, more often than not, designed to further the Dowager Princess' accomplishments or show off her "largess." But then, there were many times when Mia worked herself into a tizzy over things that were truly inconsequential. Like whether or not Michael would break up with her only after a month of being a couple, just because Mia couldn't keep their first date upon her return from Genovia. (Now I realize this may be a valid concern to a teenage girl with low self-esteem, but to a grown woman of 34 years, it's a needless worry!)

I realized part way through Volume IV, Princess in Waiting, that while I enjoy Mia's often humorous and...interesting view on life and the world--which I don't always agree with--I enjoy her diaries more if I read them in smaller groupings, 'cause I loved most of the books when I read them the first time and couldn't wait for the next one to come out! So, I'm taking a break from this teen fiction for a while. I've read a couple of books since, and after Fablehaven 5 (by Brandon Mull) I intend to read The Sword of the Templars (by Paul Christopher), then maybe The Gates of Sleep (by Mercedes Lackey). After that, I'll see about picking up the fifth volume of Mia's diaries again and going on from there.

=0/ What a long-winded explanation, huh, or opening to the real topic I have in mind today. When reading the first several volumes of Princess Mia's diaries this time around, I jotted down some notes from each novel of things that caught my attention. The first thing is found in Volume I on page 55 of the hardback edition. (***SPOILER ALERT***)

Mia just found out from her dad that she is the sole heir to the throne of Genovia, a small European principality. Naturally this was a bombshell of monumental proportions for Mia! She didn't handle it very well at first; she pretended for the first few days after her dad told her that nothing had changed. She even bulldozed her mom in to giving permission for sleeping over at Lilly's that Friday night, in order to avoid her father a lil longer.

And it was the sleepover that stirred a childhood memory in me as I read about that night's fun. Mia opened that entry with the question, Why do I always have such a good time when I spend the night at Lilly's?, and I think I asked myself that question many a time when I stayed over at a friend's house.

The answer, of course, was obvious even though I couldn't see it for the longest time. The reason I--and Mia--always had a fun time sleeping over at a friend's house was the fact that for a short while we could forget our responsibilities and obligations at home. At a sleepover, there are no chores to be done, no homework to worry about, no sister or brother to be annoyed by. At a sleepover, you can cast any worries or troubles aside for the time being, and just be silly with your best friend(s). That's certainly what Mia did! *laughs* And what I did too.

I hate to admit this, but I hated it when it was time to go home. Not that I didn't like my home or love my family, but while I was at a sleepover I was able to forget that I had a disability, that I had to do exercises and go to physical therapy to remain limber and strong, that I had to see a speech pathologist for my speech impediment. I was just an ordinary girl when I was at a friend's house. And that's what Princess Mia was whenever she visited Lilly Moscovitz's high-rise apartment.

The White House Chef Mysteries

I've long since wanted to visit Washington D.C., see all the different memorials and perhaps take a tour of the White House. These books, by Julie Hyzy, are the next best thing...if one is stuck clear across the country. While delivering a non-stop action-packed mystery with delightfully three-dimensional characters, the reader gets a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of the White House and glimpses of what life is like in the nation's capital. I'm close to finishing the second book, Hail to the Chef, and so far I've enjoyed the series IMMENSELY. I have to say, out of the four "cozy" mystery series I've collected over the last two, three years--the Chocoholic Mysteries, the Booktown Mysteries, the Psychic Eye Mysteries, and now the White House Chef Mysteries--the White House Chef Mysteries is my second favorite series--the Chocoholic Mysteries by JoAnna Carl still being my favorite...

Here's what my current book is about: White House executive chef Ollie [Olivia] Paras has a lot on her plate, what with holiday meals to map out, the First Lady's matchmaking plans to deflect safety classes to take, and terrorist plots to avoid. Oh, and a senator's assistant has been begging Ollie to rig the countrywide gingerbread-man-making contest in favor of the senator's kids...

Then a cautious, kindly electrician is electrocuted, and the First Lady's nephew dies in an apparent suicide when not twenty-four hours before he was happily cleaning shrimp with Ollie. Ollie suspects there's something going on that's fishier than shrimp cocktail. Now, she'll have to watch her back--and find a killer unlikely to be pardoned...

It's a really good mystery, one that's got me stumped. Where the mystery in the first novel was well-written and pretty straight forward, this second one--though still well-written--seems to be all over the map. But I know the events are connected somehow! And that they have to do with the First Lady's (who's from Idaho originally, by the way) business venture, Zendy Industries. Unless...there are two separate things going on...which I highly doubt. No, I'm pretty sure the two bomb scares, the electrician's and Sean's deaths--which were made to look like an accident in the former's case and a suicide in the latter's, but are really murders--the attack on Ollie and the potential sale of Zendy Industries are all connected; I just don't know where to connect the dots yet. It has been one tricky mystery.

Afterward, I'll start on Eggsecutive Orders, which takes place at Eastertime. Which will be almost perfect timing because soon it will be Easter in reality.

Kate's January Update

This is the second time I've written this as for some reason I managed to delete my post.

I read 4 books in January which for someone who doesn't normally read is pretty good going. My favourite book has to be 'Dewey' by Vicky Myron. I am a cat lover and fell in love with the subject of the book, Dewey the cat, as soon as I started reading it. The book was basically Dewey's life story. He was dumped in a library as a tiny kitten and the story describes his life in the library and how he helped to change the attitudes and some of the lives of those in the small town where the library was based and also across the USA as a whole. This is a great book for someone who is a cat lover although beware it has a very sad ending!

I am now reading 'The Shack'. It has been recommended to me numerous times but I was a bit reluctant to read it as it is religously based and I thought it might be a bit deep for me. I am half way through now and although it is hard going I am enjoying it. I'll give me my review when I've finished reading it.

I look forward to hearing about what you have all been reading.

Kate

Check In - January

So... I was thinking it might be a good thing if every once in a while we had a check in post here and people could post in the comments (or post an entry of their own, whatever they prefer really) about how they're doing.

And for today I thought I'd add in the question - of all the books you've read recently, which was the best and why?

Lottery by Patricia Wood

(cross posted to my own blog)

Dave Hingsburger very occasionally hosts a book club on his blog.  The books he's chosen so far have all been very good.  And they've been very varied in my opinion.  At least one of them (Zoo Station by David Downing) I wouldn't have picked up for myself in waterstones or wherever and the other two (this one and A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell) are more my sort of book but neither I had heard of before they were mentioned by Dave.  The book this time is Lottery by Patricia Wood.  I had originally thought I wouldn't be able to get a copy in time thanks to all the snow we've had and my not getting out for so long earlier this month.  But then the lovely Heather posted her copy to me once she finished it.  Thanks Heather!

Lottery is a wonderful story about a character Wood names Perry L Crandell.  The L stands for lucky, his Gram always told him.  He's not the R word (I refuse to use that word in my writing but I suspect most people here know what it is), to be that you have to have an IQ of less than 75 and his IQ is 76.  Not long after the story starts his Gram dies and he ends up all alone.  The rest of his family think he's an idiot and don't want anything to do with him, they just take advantage and them dump him to manage by himself.  Until he wins 11 million dollars on the state lottery.

I don't want to go too much further into "this happens and that happens" because I don't want to risk ruining the story for anyone who hasn't read it.  I know a guy who frequently describes the plots of books and shows etc saying he won't say too much for fear of ruining it and goes so far I'm like "well you just did ruin it for me."  So I'll stick with what I've said because that's not much more than a paraphrased version of the back synopsis.

You might think that the idea of falling outside of a category by one IQ point is far fetched.  It's really not.  I've personal experience of having my needs assessed and having it found that I'm literally on the cusp of the category that gets help but sorry, Emma, no help for you!  The biggest thing that happened to me with was help with making food.  I can use the microwave and make sandwiches and get light things out of the oven so even though making food was one of the criteria you could get help for I couldn't.  Because the help that was available was help to use the microwave.  All of my other needs weren't ones that social services needed to meet according to their criteria (it's worth noting that in professional circles my area IS known as one of the worst in the UK for social services funding).  I've managed better than I anticipated without the support but financially paying myself for the bits (cleaning) I could no way manage without is a hit I could do without.  And certainly it does affect me in other ways but frustrating as it is it turned out to be of my benefit and it would be strange to have social services input again if it were offered.  I'd probably take it but it would take some getting used too.  And whilst it would be very useful I'm not sure the rigid systems that are generally provided here would feel right to me after so long out of them.  I'm not going to go any further  into my own situation because it's not relevant and it all happened several years ago.

The book ends with Perry as a very successful man, without most of his money but with everything he wants and success and love.  His family who fought so hard to have him declared incompetent and take his money aren't as lucky..

I think the overall message of this book is that happiness and success are measured it different ways and that if you think you are successful and if you're happy than it doesn't matter if you're different and society judges you negatively.  It's certainly a lesson I've had to learn in life and one at times I'm still working on remembering and relearning.

Hello from Kate!

Hi all,

Thanks for the welcome Emma.

I've always enjoyed reading but over the last few years have seemed to spend a lot of time buying books rather than reading them! I am doing 101 in 1001 days and one goal of that is to read 101 books! I thought that joining this group would motivate me to reach my goal! I also thought that it would be a good opportunity for me to 'meet' new people.

I've got a whole range of books on my shelfs - chick lit, autobiographies, general fiction etc. I also have the complete set of Harry Potter which I've yet to make a start on but would love to work my way through.

I look forward to hearing about what others are reading.

Kate

Welcome!

I'm hoping that our newest member will understand the instructions I e-mailed her and come along and introduce herself very soon.

But for now I thought it would be nice to post an entry here welcoming Kate to our midst!

Rolling Around In My Head Book Club

Dave Hingsburger who blogs over at Rolling Around In My Head holds an occasional online bookclub about disability centric books.

On 25th January he'll be discussing The Lottery by Patricia Wood - and rumour has it that she will be contributing to the book club as well.  You can take part by sharing your thoughts on your own blog or in the comments over at Dave's.  I really enjoyed the two previous books and thanks to my friend Heather passing her copy on to me I'm looking forward to reading Lottery too.

I'll post what I think of the book once I've read it - but it looks good.

Rereading The Princess Diaries

I finally went and did it. No, I don't mean going crazy--I did that years ago! Ha ha! *pulls a crazy face* I'm talking about buying and replacing the first two volumes of The Princess Diaries I've had in paperback with the hardback editions. (I bought the first two books in paperback when I first started collecting the series, but then I liked it so much I didn't wanna wait for the paperback editions to come out. So, I bought the rest of the volumes in hardback.)

The book that started it all, introducing us to Princess Amelia (Mia) Thermopolis Grimaldi Renaldo and giving us glimpses into her humorous, teen angst-riddled adventures, came Saturday, and I'm expecting the second book anyday now. The last book was published in 2008, I think, and ever since I read the last page I've wanted to reread the entire series straight through, this time looking at Mia's growth as a person (character) and at the changes in her relationships with the other characters. (Over time, some enemies become her friends and some friends--for a time--become her adversaries.) I also want to pay more attention to Lilly Moscovitz, Mia's best friend, how she develops and changes. I have to admit, it's going to be different reading the series this time around, but that's to be expected, I guess, since I know how things are going to go for each character.

I know this is teen fiction, but I love this series! It's humorous, mostly light-hearted, but it has soul. The characters are three-dimensional and well-written. The dilemmas Mia finds herself in in each book are for the most part, plausible, and I can see other teenage girls sympathizing or even empathizing with Her Royal Highness. I will admit though, Mia tends to be a drama queen, and sometimes that gets a bit old for me. But she never fails to get a laugh out of me, and there have been many a night when I read her diaries the first time that I was so glad I was alone, because I laughed out loud and for a good while before I could continue on with whichever volume I was on at the time.

I start the first volume tonight--for the second time--and I'm looking forward to following Mia and her eclectic set of friends as they navigate the tricky and often hard years of high school. (There are roughly 10 volumes in the series, plus a few volumes "and a half," that take us through Mia's freshman year to her graduation from Albert Einstein High School.)

***SPOILER ALERT***
Oh! That reminds me, if you'd like to read this series as well because you liked the Disney movies, don't expect it to be like them. At all. 'Cause it's not. The novels take place in New York, not San Francisco; Mia is blonde not a brunette; her dad is still alive but can't have anymore children; and her Grandmère is no charming, gracious Julie Andrews, and her (Clarisse's) dog, Rommel? He's a neurotic poodle! But to be honest, I prefer the books to the movies--no offense Anne Hathaway.

If the mood so strikes me, I may post more about the series as I go along. So you may be reading more about Mia and her experiences in the near future. Ta, for now!

Introducing Myself

I was going to post something the other day suggesting that people introduce themselves and then Shiloh beat me to it so I didn't

I probably should introduce myself though.

I'm Emma and I'm 28, from the UK.  My blog is A Writer in A Wheelchair.  I really love to read and I've been trying to increase my "range" of books away from easy chick lit and into new areas.

Since partway through last year I've been using this list as a bit of inspiration for some of what I read.  I'm thinking of not having a number goal this year when it comes to reading - for the last three years the goal has been 100 books which I finally managed in 2009, reading 102 books (72 in 2008 and 93 in 2007).  Instead I am making my goal that at least half of the books I read come from that list.  This spreadsheet is proving an invaluable tool in doing so.

I'm going to keep a list of books I read this year on my blog and I'm hoping to check in here every week or couple of weeks too depending on what happens with this challenge/blog.

A New Book List for 2010

Hi, my name is Shiloh. I'm from the Northwestern United States and used to be in the 100 Books Club with Emma. I'm glad she started this new book club, as I really enjoyed being part of a book club that allowed me to read whatever I wanted throughout the year.

Today I started documenting this year's list of books. As I finish each book it'll be added to the list, so if anyone's interested, they'll be able to see what I've read so far. And once in a while, I may write reviews of books that left an impression on me, whether good or bad. I'll be sure to post them here as well.

I hope we'll be able to get quite a group going here.

Linking To Reading Challenge

I have created two small icons (each 100 by 100 pixels) which can be used to link to this blog.  I will do a couple more soon.  Probably slightly different sizes as well as different colours.  I'm thinking of plain black and white ones as well as a blue one because that's what colour my own personal blog is at present.

To use them please right click them and upload them to your own image host and then link them back to this blog at http://notthe100bookclub.blogspot.com

If more detailed instructions for how to do that is needed please let me know, I love to help others with their blogs.

This is the first, it's basically the same as the header image. Plain red with white text which says "Reading Challenge"

This is the second image, it's white with red text which says "Reading Challenge 2010" and it has a red star underneath it, just for decoration,  It's my favourite of the two.

Welcome

I used to be a member of the 100 book club online for several years. However it's now defunct and I really missed having it last year. So I've set up this blog in an attempt to resurrect it somewhat.

The idea this time round is that you set yourself a challenge for how many books you want to read in a period of time - a month, week, year, whatever and post about your progress. How many books or pages you've read, which books you've read - recommend your favourites or tell us what you hated, whatever.

It's very new and I'm still trying to figure out how it's going to work but send an e-mail to writerinawheelchair@googlemail.com if you'd like to take part.

~Emma