Katelisim's 2011: 75? Maybe. . .

I'm baaaaaack! And not quite done with 2010, looks like I'll hit 67 or 68, depending on how vigorously I read the next couple of days. But I wanted to get all set up here. I'll be doubling up with the category challenge again. Here are the categories:

1. I'm a Smarty-Pants : Textbooks/Class Reading
2. I Got My Delorian to 88 : Stories Set in the Past
3. 73ch-H34d : Science Fiction
4. Timbuk3 Knew About the Future: The Apocalypse and Post-Apocalypse
5. "I heard it from Peter, who heard it from John, who heard it from someone I don't know at all" (DM) : Recommendations
6. How Many Licks to the Center?!? : 1001 List
7. Do I Get To Meet Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki? : Supernatural/Paranormal
8. Visual Stunna : Graphic Novels/Manga
9. . . . : Series Continuance
10. Kidlins : Children's & YA
11. Open-Season: Anything Else

For the curious, past threads:
75 challenge in 2010: http://www.librarything.com/topic/79801
Doubled w/ the 1010 challenge: http://www.librarything.com/topic/74530
2009's 75 challenge: http://www.librarything.com/topic/58385

I'm also doing a January group read of Master and Margarita with the 11 in 11 challenge group, feel free to stop by if so inclined. The pre-reading thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/102174

I've decided to thieve other threader's listing in 1st post. . . seems so practical ;)

1. 1/4 Clockwork Angel, 4.5 Stars, Post #77
2. 1/10 The Penguin Book of German Verse, 3 Stars, Post #138
3. 1/11 WebMage, 3.5 Stars, Post #138
4. 1/24 Spiral Bound, 4 Stars, Post #158
5. 2/28 Master and Margarita, 4 Stars, Post #189
6. 3/14 The Demon Trapper's Daughter, 4 Stars, 196
7. 3/16 Fables 1, 3 Stars, 200
8. 3/21 Fables 2, 3.25 Stars, 202
9. 4/1 Department 19, 3.75 Stars, 214
10. 4/9 Astonishing X-Men: Gifted, 3.75 Stars, 216
11. 4/11 Astonishing X-Men: Torn, 4 Stars, 219
12. 4/12 Astonishing X-Men: Unstoppable, 4.25 Stars, 223
13. 4/14 Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Box, 3 Stars, 228
14. 5/7 Speed Racer Vol 1, 3 Stars, 255

Glad to see you back with us again, Kate!

Welcome back!

Hi Kate! Got you starred :)

Hey Kate! Can't wait to see what you read next year! *stars*

*waves*
I'm excited. Got some good stuff on the tbr/wish list :D

Hello! Got you starred! :)

Love the category names. Should allow for some interesting reading.

Found and starred :)

Hi everyone!

8- Why thank you. There's a bit more pop culture in there than I intended, but I like it. ;) I'm sure there will be quite a few cross-overs too.

Hi Luxx! Not sure what the orb is that little fella is staring at, but it can't be good for his eye ;P

He's my spy

the fuzzy purple guy or the orb of retinal burnage?

I think that is its death ray charging up...

*Gasp
It's the Orb of Death!



From Rhett and Link's video

Oh, lets not over-react. Maybe it's just a vaporizer...y'know, to melt snow with. :P

LOL, our snow vaporizers aren't that pretty. Is that what you have over in Ohio? I might let you keep them if human vaporization is a side-effect though

Several people have been doing sum ups of their 2010 reading. And I'm feeling rather conformist on the topic :P

Books Read in 2010: 67
Avg. Read per Month: 5.6

Fiction: 50
Non-Fiction: 17

Graphic Novel/Comics: 11

Genres not including the graphicals (or at least some)
YA: 16
SF: 4
Fantasy: 17
SF/Fantasy: 4
Memoirs: 2

ARCs: 6

Ratings (decimals rounded down)
5 Stars: 7
4 Stars: 17
3 Stars: 30
2 Stars: 3
1 Stars: 1
(A few I didn't rate, mostly class reading, because of time restraints)

Best: Well, about half of the 5 star ratings come from the Obernewtyn series. So I'm going with that :P
Worst: I have to split this. The 1 star was for Persuasion: Reception and Responsibility. We used it as a text book, and that's why it rated so low. As general reading, I wouldn't have put it there. So, the all around worst of the year is Nightlight--a parody of Twilight. Need I say more on that?

#19: Nice summary, Kate!

I have the first book in the Obernewtyn series. I guess I really ought to get to it!

Hey Katie, love the stats of course! :)

Yes Stasia; yes you should :P

Hi Stephen! Thought as much since I stole the idea from you and Rachel :P

Oh, and thanks for having Ellie's read-a-thon posted on your thread. Probably would have missed it otherwise. I'm dreadful at checking the group page. Yay for more excuses to read myself into excessive sleep deprivation!

Anyone else as blind to the general group happenings, the read-a-thon is Jan 3rd to 4th. Time conversion is not my best subject *le sigh, so go to the thread for any sort of time business.

eta: html is also not my best subject

I'm the same way, I only just recently figured out what the whol TIOLI thing is. Still won't participate, but at least I don't have to scratch my head in wonderment now everytime I see it mentioned. (I thought maybe it was a different group challenge...)

Hmm. . . yeah, I'm still fuzzy on that one. I know it's "take it or leave it", so I assume (from that and random mentions of it) that tbr books are sent away to some magic land where they will be read.

Basically each month (or whichever) there is a big list of categories and you try to read books for each one...I guess kind of like the Category Challenge thing only it changes each month and there is no pressure to actually read anything...or...something.

...ok, so maybe I'm still a little fuzzy on it too.

I should have realized mine was waaaaaay too practical for this group of book hoarders.

I get totally confused by the TIOLI - it's the whole 'here's the list of challenges, don't post anything in advance but here they are in advance anyway, go to the wiki and add your choices and...' It looks so addictive but I really should have tried to get my head round it back when it was manageable, in its sweet infancy! *sigh* Maybe this year I'll work it out!

See you at the read-a-thon Kate! And I'll be following this year, hopefully... I lost a few people last year so I'm hoping to do better in 2011!

Ellie: Isn't that always the case? Don't get to it when it's new, but put off by its complexity when it grows. Yep. So many times. And I lost several people last year. I'm so happy they have that wiki page with everyone's threads listed. Makes it so much easier :)

Aha! I'd forgotten about the new Wiki. Lordy, that's going to come in handy this year! Thanks for the reminder... And if I figure out TIOLI without resorting to quizzing people, I'll let you know. :-)

Haha! Thanks.

Oh, btw everyone:
"Upgrade u, I can up, can I up, let me upgrade u" (thanx Beyoncé for that nifty line)
AKA: I now have a lifetime membership :)
Once the transaction goes through anyway. . .

Welcome to the lifers club, lady!

*deep curtsy-bow
Why thank you for having me! I must say it is quite lovely here. There are even the wall-ladders with wheels--Delightful!

/end strange, uncalled for rpg mode

#30: Good! Best money you ever spent, I dare say :)

Read-A-Thon Time! It technically started 2hrs and 52mins ago. . . but I had work and needed food. I can't eat real food while reading books. I was reading online comics though: XKCD. And that one is a particularly hilarious one highlighting some lies parents tell their kids in the form of a museum with viewable exhibits (so don't forget to click them if you visit it!).

Once I finish my last few bites of an excessive amount of pizza (AKA: I won't have to think about food until around midnight), I will be starting on page 198 of Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. I'll pop in every so often with updates and at the read-a-thon thread. Happy reading to those joining in! (Oh, and it's not too late if you haven't started/just heard about it--plenty of reading time left!)

Yay to another Read-a-Thoner! I've been going for three hours and it's just getting to that time of night now when people are going to bed. If I can make it to, say, 3pm without starting on the naps, I'll be quite pleased!

Good luck - and hope you enjoy Clockwork Angel, I haven't read it yet but I'm keeping an eye on the buzz around it to decide whether to get me a copy...

Good luck Katie! :)

After 1 hour I'm up to page 248! And it's getting quite interesting :)

I'm not sure how I managed to miss your thread in 2010, but will be sure to follow you in 2011, especially since you read YA books.

Hi Linda! It was probably my mad ninja stealthing skillz :P

Go Kate! No ninja stealthing skillz in the middle of the night plz, I don't think my sleepy brain can handle it and I might die of heart failure or something. Can you tell I'm a little tired right now? ;-)

Still reading though, and it's been an exciting hour at the end of the book so I'm raring to go for the next stretch!

Ha! The stork likes chubby girls!

Ellie: Yay! Keep reading! And don't worry, my skillz can't get me to the UK--so you're safe :P

Luxx: Isn't it great!?! You're ten seconds from exploding! LOL

Update:
2 hrs
96 pages
1 can of Mt. Dew

Owww, my eyes hurrrrrt. But I'm still going! Finished a book, had a little bop around the living room choosing something new off the shelves, *wiggles a bit to demonstrate* 2am, only four more hours until it's daytime again, sort of...

A little over 3 hrs of reading now
146 pages total
1 can of Mt. Dew
1 Glass of V8

I'll prolly start chugging water soon. For some reason I consume so many liquids while reading.

I always find I read better if I'm consuming something along the way... weird, huh? And I've not fancied food half so much as I've fancied liquid refreshment along the way so far. *reaches for grape juice again* Good tally as well btw, I'm slowing R-I-G-H-T D-O-W-N for the wee small hours but at least I'm still awake and semi-coherent, it's all good!

Made it through 175 pages before I needed an actual break. Had to get up and do a round of stretching, get some more water, and play a couple rounds of Zuma Blitz. And that stretching was exactly what I needed. . . . maybe a bit more caffeine too ;P

I'll be on caffeine too soon, methinks! Either that, or a nap, THEN caffeine. It's 5am and my brain's gone all mushy... :-)

Oh dear. Midnight and I just got a major case of the sleepies.
226 pages read in about 5-6 hrs (kind of lost track how long my break was)
Mayhaps time for caloric intake? Yes, yes it is.

Definitely. I'm going choc chip muffin and coffee.... It's 7am, I think a suitably rewarding breakfast would be quite acceptable after a night with only 35 minutes snoozing!

Took another break. Ate burrito that went explosm in the microwave (only a little, stayed on plate and under covering). Drank another Mt. Dew. Watched an episode of American Dad. Think I'll move downstairs to the sofa for a bit. Maybe the change of scenery will help a bit. I think I'll be fine once past 2-3am time frame.

Definitely Ellie! I wish I had bacon in the house for then. . .

I might watch an episode or two of something later if my eyes need a break. My sister bought me 'Gilmore Girls' on DVD and I've totally fall in love already! Annnnnnnd BACK to the overly hormonal demon men... *sigh*

Book 1 down! That last hour/hour&half was slow going. Not the books fault at all, it was quite action-filled and interesting. This is just usually when I go night-night. Uuuugggghhhh. To the Batmobile coffee maker!

Oh, and that makes the page total 278

Yeah, funny how bedtime feels hard just because it's bedtime. I'd only been reading about three hours, having started at 8pm, and I was starting to think 'wow, time to go to sleep'... Hope the Batmobile coffee maker helped! *peers into own half-drunk cup of cold coffee in sleep-deprived bemusement*

Oh, I think I'm past as I've hit my over-tired state--which basically consists of me turning into a 5yr old and giggling non-stop. And I am now realizing that almost all of my books are serious-ish. Nothing silly to fit this mood except comics. I bet I could read all of the manga I own by quit time. But I can't do that as a stipulation of my 11 in 11 challenge.

Ha! That's right! I have Havoc! Part novel, part comic!!! Dilemma solved. Muahahaha!

Waaaaahhh! The pretzels I bought are deliciously salty but with an aftertaste of buuuuuurn. You are the cruelest of grocery mishaps. T_T

Ah, good to see that someone else has reached the 'I'm on happy pills' stage of proceedings... :-)

Could you go totally teenybopper? That's where my reading'll be headed when I'm done with the muscles and machismo of my current book...

I started Havoc, and it's YA. But I'm having an issue of my eyes not cooperating. No book=hyper party time Katie. Book=sleepy Katie. I think I will doze for an hour or two and come back refreshed. Otherwise I will read about 4 pages an hour, gah! Must sleep the night before a read-a-thon next time.

Go, sleep, rest - see you when you get back! *removes book quietly from Kate's hand and switches off the light*

Thank you Ellie, dear. I would've had words all over my face!

3.5hr sleep is just what I needed. Now some food and I'll be back in it!
(Total sleep past 2 nights = 5.5hr, not a good mix to read by for me)

Yikes, my deepest respect to you for reading at all right now! *switches lots of bright lights back on, smacks Kate with her book for a bit of subtle rejuvenation, and hopes for the best*

Haha. I'm quite good now. I used to have severe insomnia (longest day was 86hrs) so I'm used to not sleeping. I'm much better now though, averaging 5hrs a night now :)

Oh and it's a very good thing I didn't try to start Master and Margarita last night. . . very interesting, but so far it's been philosophical chatter that would've knocked me out at that point.

Yup, glad I didn't go down that road. Last time I started a biography of Jane Austen as my last book, which after the first two pages veered into dense territory and probably helped finish me off before the chapter was out... Four more hours! *squees at thought of crashing out at 8 o'clock*

The sweet reward of 8pm :P

And Oh.My.Goodness. My thread is on the Hot Topic list! :O
Never thought I'd see that.

Woohoo, go Katie! I wish I could've stayed up all night, but it's a no-go for me. I need someone to smack me around every 30 minutes or so to keep me up, and Shyanne sleeps like a rock at night so she isn't any help!

5 hours is a good night's sleep for me, Kate. Sounds like we have that in common!

*pricks ears up* Sorry, Stephen needs smacking around every 30 minutes or so? *weighs up encyclopedia and cackles wickedly*

Buahahaha! Ellie, I already made a return to the giggles. . . . and now I'm just in stitches picturing chibi-LT members going crazy on sleep deprivation throwing books at eachother. BOOK FIGHT!!!!

Final Update:
Hours read: I'm guessing around 9-10
278 from Clockwork Angel finished
12 from Havoc
37 from Master and Margarita
Total pages read: 327
Had a magnificent start that puttered out dreadfully at the end. But I made my goals! And I'm definitely looking forward to the next one!

Congratulations and goodnight! You've been a marvellous partner in crime... :-)

Same to you Miss Ellie. Now go enjoy yourself a sleep :)

68: Yes, most of the time. ...but you might have more success with positive reinforcement. :P

Go Katie. Looks like you did well, hurray! :)

^Yes indeedy! Fell off it though when I had to switch books. I usually like some time between finishing and starting a book--then it stays a bit, and I can ponder outside the 'oh my gosh what happens next' frantic-ness. Though, it's fine if I have them concurrent. Must have more than 1 book started next time, solve all my problems ;)

Well done, Katie!

Went HPB today. . . 1st time in foreverrrrr! Picked up Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce, The Killing of Worlds by Westerfeld, and my try something random off the shelf is Cybermancy by Kelly McCullough--no idea what to expect from this one but it sounds fun and the cover is pretty :)

eta: forgetting words that are needed to make sense

. . . . Continued Series #1
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare 4.5 Stars
Tess arrives in London expecting to meet her brother, Nate, and to start her new life. What she gets, though, is kidnapped by the Dark Sisters. A pair of warlocks, the Sisters torture Tess until she unlocks a power hidden inside her--the power to shapeshift. Not liking this at all, Tess is eventually able to escape when the young Shadowhunter Will Herondale finds and helps her. With no where else to go, Tess takes refuge with the Shadowhunters. They promise to help her find Nate if she uses her shapeshifting to help them save the world.

Clockwork Angel is the first of the Infernal Devices trilogy, which is also the prequel to the Mortal Instruments trilogy. If you liked the MI, then you will like CA. The two are very similar in style and themes, CA is just in England and during the Victorian age. You also see some familiar family names and Magnus Bane is back! It's a fast, action-packed novel with a twist of a love triangle. I want the next one now! LOL Guess I'll console myself with MI 4 when it comes out in April. *flounces off to Amazon.com

Enjoyed your thoughts on Clockwork Angel am looking forward to it :)

#76: Nice haul from HPB, Kate!

#77: I am not touching the new series until it is done. I have already read the MI trilogy, but I got to it after it was complete, thank goodness.

Stasia: Except that MI was secretly incomplete with a whole nother 3 coming out ;P

>73 Ape: - Gotcha... though the evil way is rather fun too...

Dammit woman! That book has been on and off my wishlist so many times recently, and now it's hopped back ON again! *sighs in great resignation*

Ellie: You will get no apologies :P
I'm really excited for the 2nd--Clare sets up a mystery I want solved. And it looks like Magnus will have a decent role in it all :D

*Pokes Ellie* Oh just buy it! You know you want to really! :P
Kate, after reading Clockwork Angel what say you? Team Will or Team Jem? I myself am leaning towards Jem since Will is just a bit too cocky and obnoxious sometimes.

Such a hard decision--we know so little about them so far. And I generally don't pick sides, but since you asked me to. . . I'm leaning towards Will. I love attitude (especially faked). So much that me and my friends jokingly employ it at every turn. Although, Jem's optimistic fatalism is putting up a helluva fight. Which we also use jokingly. . . . from the outside, we sometimes seem like horrible people :P

#80: I did not need to know that!

Of course you did! And I will continue telling you of series and sequels, since that seems to be half of my reading--no matter how unintentional it is. Sooooo na na naa naa :P

I just picked up the MI trilogy. It looks like I should get to it sooner than later?

#86:

Okay, okay, I bought the damn book! *glances at pile of books already acquired this year, occasionally through nefarious means, and glares at Katie and Rachel* :-)

Since you MADE me buy a book, here's a little shameless advertising since you're signed up again... :-)

Roll up, roll up, for another 24 hour read-a-thon! Call me a stickler for punishment, but I'm liking the way those pages are mounting up, so I'm doing it again! Monday to Tuesday, kick-off 8pm GMT, come join us at the new thread!

#88:

Ellie: Nefarious means? To get books? Polanski pulling you towards the gates?

#87: Yes yes, sooner :)

Ellie, advertising is fine by me, though I'm not sure how many people actually read my thread.

Ugh, just figured out that Cybermancy is book number 2 in a series. . . See Stasia, I can't even escape my uncanny sequel finding skills. In my defense, it said nothing on the book about being a second. *le sigh

Uh huh, sure. Any excuse!

Read-a-thon Take 2 Commence

Woohoo! *jumps up and down with excitement, then remembers it's 11pm and sits down again quietly*

Ellie, 11pm is the perfect time for silly excited behaviour ;)

I've been reading: The Penguin Book of German Verse
Books finished: 1 :)
Pages read: 35
Posting time: just now
Reading time: 1 hr

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 35
Total time read: 1 hr
Total time posting: just now

Comments: I'm taking German again, starts in 2 weeks. I haven't taken it in 5+ years and tested out of level 1. Thought I should practice a bit of reading, even if I used the English translation to understand it.

Ohhh, I feel like I should be in bed, but yet utterly not at the same time! Time for coffee, methinks. I don't like to drink too much in case I get a total caffeine slump but every once in a while it's just TIME! :-)

Ellie: I know what you mean! I had a soda at work and that's it on the caffeine intake so far. Though I think I'll need some soon-ish. Didn't sleep well last night even though I tried (my insomnia doesn't cooperate and work when I want it to).

I've been reading: Penguin...German Verse, Master and Margarita
Books finished: Penguin...German Verse
Pages read: 23
Posting time/miscellany: 25 mins
Reading time: 1 hr

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 58
Total time read: 2 hrs
Total time posting/miscellany: 25 mins

Comments: After being excessively hyper all day, I'm finally starting to 'chill-out'. Hope that doesn't mean I'm gonna totally crash.

Keepeth going woman, keepeth going! I wanna crash! *looks longingly at swizzly chair of dreams then turns firmly back to her coffee*

No Ellie! It's a trap! You best keep away from that chair *warning glare
And don't worry, still reading left in me. After all, it is only 9pm here. I'm due for a second wind sometime. . . right?

I've been reading: Penguin...German Verse, Master and Margarita
Books finished: Penguin...German Verse
Pages read: 22
Posting time/miscellany: 10 mins
Reading time: 1 hr

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 80
Total time read: 3 hrs
Total time posting/miscellany: 35 mins

Comments: I think a short break and switch in books will be needed. . . and caffeine.

9pm... I remember when it was 9pm... so long ago! *wistfully nostalgic sigh*

It's 3am here, I'm drooping a bit considering it was market day in Bakewell as well so the bookshop's been full of old folks and people trying to flog us books we don't want, rather than kindly leaving me to doss about as is the normal state of play during these winter months! Right, time for hot chocolatiness... Yay!

Haha! I don't generally work Mondays, but the usual worker is currently in Ireland. So I received her hours, no complaints for $$. Mondays are supposedly slow. . . except when I work. This was my 3rd Monday in a row, 2 of which were the busiest Mondays on record *le sigh.

Oh dear... It must be your magnetic personality!

LOL! My manager said if I didn't have school on Mondays I would be permanently working them :P

Oh, and it's a wonder what a little caffeine and Romanian pop/techno will do to your wakefulness. . .

I've been reading: Penguin...German Verse, Master and Margarita, WebMage
Books finished: Penguin...German Verse
Pages read: 27
Posting time/miscellany: 50 mins
Reading time: 40 mins

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 107
Total time read: 3 hrs 40 mins
Total time posting/miscellany: 85 mins

Comments: While at HPB I picked up Cybermancy only to realize a couple days later it was a sequel. Went back and they had WebMage, which is the 1st of the series. Some nice brain candy. And on the 1st page I realize from a web address that it's set in Dinky Town--aka UofM campus in Minneapolis, 20 min drive from me and a place I frequent. :D

Caffeine and Romanian pop/techno (?!) seem to have done for you what a little caffeine and Spanish flamenco did for me! Here's to legal stimulants and world music!

*clinks can of Mt Dew to Ellie's caffeinated beverage of choice

I love this whole cd, but this song is my fave :DDDDD

I've been reading: Penguin...German Verse, Master and Margarita, WebMage
Books finished: Penguin...German Verse
Pages read: 28
Posting time/miscellany: 50 mins
Reading time: 40 mins

Total books read: 1
Total pages read: 107
Total time read: 4 hrs 20 mins
Total time posting/miscellany: 135 mins

Menu: can of Mt Dew & leftover pizza
Comments: WebMage might keep me awake :)

I fell asleep.... And then I didn't want to wake up again... I read a few pages while I was still in 'I'M AWAKE!' denial though. I think it might be time to get breakfast and pretend like I just woke up after a long delicious night of sleeping in a cosy bed, see if that does the trick!

If I manage to stay awake, we'll call it even for my falling asleep last time. . . if I pass out, then you're still winning :P

I'm up to page 82 in WebMage. I'm reading quite slowly this time around and I'm not sure why. . .

I only slept an hour and a bit though, that wasn't too bad, right? *soldiers on bravely*

Not bad at all Ellie. I slept a whole 3.5 hrs last time. . . . but you did take naps. There may be too much math for my sleep deprived brain. Let's just say we both win for reading excessively into stupors! ;P

THE MID-WAY MEME

1. What are you reading right now and how's it going?
WebMage, going pretty well. Nothing spectacular, but yummy brain candy set near my home :)

2. How many books have you read so far?
From 3: German Verse I finished after picking at it for over a year. A few more chapters of the group read Master and Margarita. Now hoping to get mostly or all the way through WebMage.

3. What's the plan for the second half of the read-a-thon? Is there a particular book you're looking forward to getting to?
WebMage. If I need to switch, which is completely possible, maybe fluffy YA series continuation.

4. What else have you been up to when you needed a well-earned break from the books?
Hmmmm, catching up on posts, dinner after midnight, shower, TechnoBeatsDancePartyTime!!!

5. Are you getting tired yet?!
Uhhh, doesn't TechnoBeatsDancePartyTime answer that? A big whopping YES! LOL

My brain is a hyper-active trapper-keeper. . . just like this music video o_0

Nah, you're doing better than the video. You're funny to keep up with when you're all bonkers - the video's so fast it's making me dizzy at this point in the read-a-thon game! Still, I'll give you time - if you hear a thud, it was me falling over because you'd whirled me right off my feet! ;-)

Lol, I happened to be standing when I read your post. When I got to 'dizzy', I-through no conscious effort-spun in a circle and read it whilst spinning as dizzzzaaaaay!

Long night this will be, methinks

Yes, dear, of course dear! *peers out of the window to see if the men in white jackets are standing by, just in case* :-)

Long night indeed... Long day ahead from my end. I'm seeing DVDs and pyjamas at the end of it, albeit marred by the fact that tomorrow I have the family hens to look after during the day - nevertheless, it's lookin' mighty sweet!

speaking of 'nice young men in those clean white coats' . . .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d0QND_24DE
"haha heehee hoho haha"

I'm soooooo unbelievably ADHD right now. So little reading getting done *le sigh

Wow, that is... strange. Catchy, funny, and utterly madness-inducing, all at the same time. If I have nightmares tonight I blame you! :-)

. . . .if you ever go back to sleep, you're liable to just keep reading into exhausted, dreamless naps (which aren't the same as sleep)

I don't think that made any sense outside of my brain. . . .

Hi Katie! Just leaving a quick message while I eat my breakfast lasagna. Not that it's actual breakfast lasagna...it's leftover regular-lasagna that I reheated in the microwave. Close enough!

Go Katie!

Omnomnomnom! I always eat morning leftovers cold. . . . something about the microwave just doesn't work before 11am brunch or early lunch. That reminds me, I'm kinda hungry.

OMG! I still have a cookie *runs away to omnoms*

>119 katelisim:/20 - Nope, not an ounce of sense.

>121 Ape: - Lasagne for breakfast? *shudders*

>122 katelisim: - You're bonkers. But you have cookies. So we're good. :-)

193 pages down!
Awake for 24 hrs!
Why yes, I am dancing whilst reading. . .

Katie: I can't eat cold leftovers, I don't know why. Even pizza MUST be reheated.

Ellie: Why of course. I can eat any kind of leftover for breakfast. Doesn't matter what it is. :)

Soup too? I like soup for breakfast sometimes. . .

>125 Ape: - *munches on delicious cold pizza in defiance of Stephen's strange breakfast habits*

I had chocolate in my breakfast, so there!

Dancing while reading, I like it! I stood wobbling about in the doorway reading while I was waiting for a parcel to be delivered. I think the guy who turned up may have thought I was a crazy cat lady or something... Oh, wait... :-)

Another 50 pages down, for a total of 283! I am finishing this book today, muahahaha!

Oh no! I just realized that I have only been counting from German Verse and WebMage. . . forgot to add Master and Margarita :O

Another 45 to that total. . . thought my numbers seemed low. Actual total of 328!

Ah, see, an unexpected lovely surprise just when you least expected it... I'm crawling at the moment, but hey, I did pretty well earlier on so I'm not pushing it too much for the last few hours!

I'm wide awake again! :D
Finished WebMage
Page count: 390
Pitiful for how long I've been on/off reading. . . . I blame the non-sleeping and copious amounts of energy

Read-A-Thon 2 Completed!
This time w/o sleeping (or naps) --as you can see by the posts lacking any sense. And now I've been awake for 32hrs straight. I'm starting to get a bit sleepy again. But I'm going to try to stave it off til a reasonable bed time, or else all will be lost for my sleeping schedule (which already needs repairing for the soon to start early-bird morning classes I have this semester).

Final Meme
1. What turned out to be most troublesome part of the 24-hour haul?
4:30-5:30am. . . I hit my wall. Then ended up standing for 8hrs without realizing it. Oh, and the excessive hyper didn't help with productivity levels.

2. Did you read any books that were particularly suitable for a read-a-thon like this?
WebMage had lots of action, so there weren't any slow parts to sleep through

3. What was your final book/page/hour tally?
2 completed books and 2 other unfinished books
436 pages
I lost all traces of my time expenditures

4. What books did you read from over the day?
Penguin Book of German Verse finished
WebMage finished
Master and Margarita
The Demon Trapper's Daughter ARC

5. What did you enjoy the most? Maybe a particular book or part of the experience?
I like our random sleep deprived conversations and everyone cheering everyone else to keep going :)

6. Did you hit any duff books during the day?
Well, Master and Margarita is not for a read-a-thon, imo, but I only planned to read a few chapters anyway.

7. Deep breath - do you think you'll be up for another one of these sometime?
As long as the times keep fitting in my schedule. Might get tricksy with school. . . .

Hehe, I did like the sleep-deprived conversations! Well, yours anyway, everyone else seemed remarkably normal for some reason... :-)

Congrats, now you can chill out and stay far, far away from books until bedtime!

Yep. That ARC was getting interesting, but my eyes are not cooperating with books anymore. Switching to DVDs and/or games. Maybe try to finish the last season of DBZ *goes into nerd coma in front of tv

*Nerdy high-five* Way to go, Katie!

Oh, and yes. . . I get reeeaaaallly silly, scatterbrained, and ADHD when I'm tired. In person there generally aren't many words, just lots of hand-motions and laughing. So you guys got the somewhat more intelligible sleepy Katie ;P

*spins into return-nerdy-high-five that ends in freeze frame like cheesy sitcoms

2. Penguin Book of German Verse by Leonard Forster 3 Stars
This is a dual-language book of poetry. It gives the German (even some middle? German--using older letters anyway) and then the English translation under. I've been picking at this one for over a year. My German is not very good, but a few lines I could fully understand while reading seemed to be translated strangely. Then again, I understand funny syntax and don't realize it's odd unless I look at it carefully--so it might've been that. And since I can't understand all of the German, I can't attest to a majority of the translations. Which is why I decided to finish up--taking German again this semester. Figured I would get back in the habit of reading/mentally pronouncing it. Anywho, I enjoyed the poetry and was glad to read something by Goethe other than Faust (which I love btw). Loved one of the poet's work, can't think of his name at the moment (horrible, I know) and don't feel like getting it out of the book stack.



3. WebMage by Kelly McCullough 3.5 Stars
Ravirn is a descendant of Lachesis, the Fate who measures life strings. As such, he is a sorcerer. But modern sorcerers have upgraded with the times, using internet and coding their spells in beta and through technology. And Ravirn is one of the best at hacking and debugging. Shortly before his finals at the University of Minnesota, Atropos, the cutter of life strings, summons him to a meeting. She wants him to debug a spell that could strip people of free will. Ravirn declines and is smacked with the Cassandra curse--now no one will believe him if he talks about it. On the bad-side of Atropos, Ravirn and his webgoblin must survive against angry goddesses, bloodthirsty cousins, and the Furies.

While this wasn't anything extraordinary, it was enjoyable. I liked the concepts and the fact that some of it was in Minneapolis--so street names had a correspondence to the real world and made it that much easier to picture the scenes. Also quite action packed. Which definitely helped during the wee morning hours of the read-a-thon. :)

#138: If I ever run into the WebMage series, I may give it a try. It sounds interesting. Thanks, Kate!

You're welcome. 'Twas a fair piece of brain candy. And it's standalone enough that the 2nd isn't a needed read. Seeing as I have it (by dirty tricks playing publishers not labeling their sequels), I shall read it and let you know if the entire series is worth pursuing. . . . eventually.

#140: Well, as the local library does not have any of them, I will be getting to WebMage. . . eventually too.

Ahhh! My thread feels way too silent. I've had little to no reading ambition the last while. So, I played video games instead. Beat Fairytale Fights. Despite bad reviews, I liked it. Perfect hack&slash brain candy. Then started Star Ocean: The Last Hope--promptly got sidetracked, so will return another day. Then played some old school NES games: X-Men, Paperboy, Mario, etc. And boy, was that system being finicky. Wouldn't even play my FF1. But I think I'm finally getting some want for reading back :)

Oh, me too. Since I beat Prototype I've really gotten back into reading myself. A teensy bit of Borderlands here and there, but nothing significant. Hurray for readint motivation. :)

I wish I still had an NES, but it's long gone. I do have my SNES and Genesis but the Genesis doesn't work. A shame, because I have Battle Toads and Shaq-Fu and I so totally want to play both. Strictly for nostalgic purposes, of course. :P

I have Battle Toads on NES and I love my Genesis--including Shaq-Fu. SF, Sonic, MK, and Raiden Trad. . . . mmmmmm, RT. So much love

I recently read how Shaq-Fu is commonly considered one of the worst games in the history of all games created. Ha! Well, regardless, I have fond memories of playing it as a child. I have no idea what caused my parents to think to buy it for me for Christmas one year, it seems like a rather...aburd choice, especially since no one in the house liked basketball. "Hey, look, that basketball player fellow doing karate chops, let's buy for Stephen!" *shrug* I guess I gotta love them for it now, right? :)

Well, I was going to blame the movie Kazaam. . . . but apparently Shaq-Fu came out 2 whole years before it. It was ridiculous, which is probably why I liked it. And my brothers liked the sports games that I didn't--so, I guess ours was from a compromise. I never want to play Madden, NBA, or a wrestling game ever again! The only sports games I liked was Space Jam and Mario Tennis, for obvious reasons. And my recent acquisition of an Aqua Teen Hunger Force golf game. :}

Oh, Madden! *flutters lovingly* How many countless hours I have spent playing it. I believe I have a good 120+ hours into Oblivion, but I'm sure I've played a whole lot more Madden. *happy sigh*

Sorry. :P

pfffft, no reason for you to be sorry. People are allowed to like it. And you weren't the one forcing me to play it and hogging all my console time :P

Hi! I'm getting a new project started to get together great recommendations for books by themes. I've called it Books By Themes (BBT) and your suggestions are most welcome! Here's the link.

I tried the demo for Fairytale Fights at PAX a few years back, and it seemed decently entertaining (and ridiculous). I think I haven't picked it up because of the negative reviews after it came out, but I don't mind hammering on the X button for awhile on those days when my brain doesn't function. Have you tried DeathSpank? It's ridiculous, hilarious, incredibly fun and also brain candy. Highly recommended!!!

Dk: Obviously, not the best game ever, but I was thoroughly entertained. The funny thing is, attacks aren't the X button. . . . it's the right stick, at least on the 360, not sure about the PS3. The controls feel a little weird at first, since they aren't what you expect them to be, but you pick them up pretty quick. And I bought it used for $10-12. Worth it at the used price.

So, I'm sitting here on LT delaying my departure to work for as long as possible. Why, you ask? Because it's -25 F outside. And I really hate it when it's this cold :(

I always laugh at the students here when they complain about how cold it is (temps in the 50s) bacause they have never felt REAL cold. That's REAL cold!

Yeah, and that's before windchill. . . Oh, the 50s sound like a magnificent dream right now

Cannot even imagine how cold -25F feels. Hope it warms up a bit (or a lot!) soon.

Yay! It's up to 3F :D

CatyM: Here's an idea of how cold: I stopped to get fancy coffee yesterday morn--4 doors down from my work. Walking that short distance, any exposed skin ached, it took maybe 1-2 mins tops.

Oh, I braved the cold last night to go to a local concert. Saw Cecil Otter and Maria Isa. They're both really good live :D

If you're ever bored, check out some of Minneapolis's local/not-nationwide music. We have a surprisingly good music scene.

Hehe, I'm totally procrastinating against the cold again :P

4. Spiral Bound by Dessa 4 Stars
A collection of poetry, prose, and short stories. Despite only being 66 pages, it cuts deep. Her writing has soul and melancholy but with a philosophical tendency. I've been meaning to get this for a while now. Dessa is part of Doomtree, a rap/hip hop collective from Minneapolis. She brings some R&B to the group. I highly recommend checking her/the group out. Her raps are still some of the best alliteration I have ever heard.

It's that time again: school has started back up. So my reading has been mostly text book related. Which has just been making me super sleepy. Especially since this night owl is forced to wake up at 545. It's so exhausting waking up that early. I don't think I'll ever understand the early bird way of life. Ah well. I hope to at least get a little free time to finish the books I've already started. Doubtful for this weekend for socializing times. . . . including Pokémon Extravaganza!!!! Ah, the joys of nerdom :D

Yeah, why is it we can read for HOURS when it's fun reading, even if it's a classic or something, but as soon as it's a set text we fall asleep after twenty minutes? I used to be constantly napping when I was doing university reading... :-)

Enjoy your Pokemon extravaganza! Now here's a little known fact about me: Despite being about twelve at the time and surrounded by small children, I was the only person in the cinema to CRY at the Pokemon movie... *covers red cheeks in shame and runs away*

Right?!?! It's horrible. It took me 3.5hrs to read 3 chapters, I think it totaled around 75 pages. *le sigh. Hopefully they'll get a bit more interesting as we get away from the 'basic' concepts.

Aw, that's borderline wonderful :} It just tells me that you are a fan, or at least were. It's part of a video game club that my friend runs at a nearby campus, so it'll be all college kids. Should be filled with fun and nostalgia :D

It's not exhausting to wake up at 5:45 if you go to bed early! The only difference being you get to see the sun rise over sparkling, dew-covered grass. :)

When I was in high school, I was brought to the edge of tear-dom by a Magic: the Gathering novel. D'oh and sigh! *shakes head at his own nerdiness*

#159 It never ceases to amaze me just how slooooowly I get through text books compared to reading something very similar for interest. They don't generally tend to make me sleepy, though. (Although maybe that's down to the quantity of coffee I consume while reading them...)

I'm with you on the horribleness of being forced to get up early. 5.45 is the middle of the night.

#162 *Eyes Stephen warily* Stephen you're not one of those annoying Morning People (uttered in tones of deep loathing) are you?

Sorry Caty, but yes, I probably am. I usually get up around 5:30 naturally, and I consider it 'sleeping in' if I don't wake up until 7.

Also, I don't drink coffee. I have no need for it. I wake up early and I'm wide awake within minutes.

I know, totally 'uncool,' right? *shrug*

It's not uncool. Despite my previous comment, I refuse to believe that it's better to be a lark than an owl, or vice versa. Neither is better. Just different.

I just seem to function at GMT-3. I wish the world would be content to let me sleep until 9-10am, be grumpy until about 11am, and carry on working/studying/pottering around/whatever until 2-3am, but it's geared to a day that begins at about 7 and that's that. I reserve the right to be grumpy until 11am, though.

See, even if I go to bed early, mornings make me sleepy all day. And I don't get to see sunrises right now, just classrooms and clouds. And I'm waaaay less productive when I get up early. And if I get to night owl it, then that's fewer people I'm forced to interact with (which also exhausts me).

Agree that neither is better or worse in general.. . . but it's def worse for me

Caty--I think it's the forced aspect. "You must read and have an opinion!" And usually an overkill clause with days of discussions.

Hi There

I'm compiling a list of birthdays of our group members. If you haven't done so already, would you mind stopping by this thread and posting yours.

Thanks.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/105833

Already did. Quite a while ago, actually ;)

So, book nerd, yes, but bigger music nerd here. I've been waiting years for a good concert to come on my birthday (concerts are one of the few social things that I love). Finally it has happened! Ellie Goulding! And because she isn't well known in the States, it's only $15. Happy day!

Oh, and I'm slowly but surely making my way through Master and Margarita. Less than 100 pages left. Been devoting 30 mins to 1hr of my 4hr break (on Mondays and Wednesdays between classes) to 'fun' reading. I did 1 day of all text book reading, vowed that will never happen again. It made me so unbelievably tired. But this will ensure at least an hour of fun reading a week. :)

Concerts!? Oh, the horror! *shudder cringe*

Good luck, I hope you manage to have fun somehow. ;)

Bahahaahaha! I know, I'm so full of oxymoron. Dislike being touched, but love a mosh pit. . . . . especially the crazy ones. Oh, I will have copious amounts of fun, as long as I don't get a blizzard again and end up snowed in my house. It's happened at least 4 times -_-;

The closest I ever got was a little rock gig in a local pub... I only went because I fancied the pants off the guitarist! Other than cringily overdoing things in that naive teenage-girl way, though, I had fun! ;-)

Ha, I bet he'd be super surprised if you had tore his pants off, lol.
(haven't ever heard that phrase here, idioms are so fun when you're not familiar with them)

Ha, mosh pits are exactly the reason I don't go. I would be fine if the atmosphere was calm and I could appreciate the band, which would be my only reason for going, but I can't deal with the way crowds behave at such events. I'd just get annoyed and strangle someone or something. D'oh!

yeah, there are plenty of shows where I choose to stand on the edges or balcony, either because of the band/music style or because my people aversion is a bit stronger those days. But mosh pits have their own etiquette rules, and if broken, anyone can pretty much be the enforcer. It's a bit strange, most people think that it's an unruly mob set on destruction. But we just want fun. Someone falls, we pick em up. Someone gets hurt, we get them out. Someone acts stupid, we force em out.

Comcast weather forecast makes me die a little on the inside. First, it's -10. Bad enough, right? Next to it says fair. . . I know what it's supposed to mean, but all I think is "not fair, not fair, how is this fair?" The high: N/A --yes, actually says that. Bad omen, I'm thinking we won't break 0. But then I read the low: -8. How is the low higher than the current temp? It's a 'we are all doomed day', btw, windchill -25. I don't even think zombies would fare well right now.

On the bright side, I ate Girl Scout cookies for breakfast :3

#176: On the bright side, I ate Girl Scout cookies for breakfast :3

Only goes to show that there is a bright side for everything!

HAHAHA! Oh dear, I read that all wrong at the end. Look what you did:

I don't even think zombies would fare well right now.

On the bright side, I ate Girl Scouts.

Hehe...

So, what kind of Girl Scout (cookies) did you eat? :)

(*Shivers* Brrr cold)

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!1!!
That was the perfect dose of humour for now :D

I omnommed some Thin Mints. Delicious. And since they're already minty, didn't clash too much with toothpaste later :P

Mmmm... *lightbulb* There should be Thin Mint flavored toothpaste...

I don't think I've said hi back yet. I'm so sorry. You're starred!

Haha, no worries. There are sooooo many of these threads I don't really expect anyone to follow more than 3 or 4 (based on my time schedule). Actually find it amazing that so many people stop by here already :)

My school confuses me. We got a huge snow storm last night, total near school (so far) is 12 inches. Yet we still have class. And we are still in a storm warning--telling people not to travel unless necessary with limited visibility--until noon. I commute AND DOTS is telling me the highways I use are snow covered with difficult driving. YET WE STILL HAVE CLASS?!?! Pffft, executive decision made: not going.

#183: I like your executive decision!

I concur!

Still confused. . .
As of 1pm, the roads I use still weren't plowed (near my school). And it was still snowing. I got an email a little earlier saying that only things past 5:30 were canceled. That's all nice and dandy for those living in the dorms, but there are a bunch of commuters at my school and people just outside of campus. . . I just don't understand the logic here.

We have officially beat our February and 24hr snowfall records. . . AND are only 3.4 inches away from our seasonal record of 79.6in. We're guaranteed to beat that. I'm guessing by a few inches at least.

Side note. I tried to be productive with my day off. . . and it's sort of been that way, just that stories take waaaay too long to write. For class it's a short story with restrictions: realistic, no one dies, and proper grammar. Basically opposite of what I write. So it has taken me all day to write about 4 pages. Need at least 2-3 more for tomorrow :/

Good luck with getting your papers done, Kate!

Hi, Katie!
You certainly make the readathons sound like fun! Good luck with your paper!
--BJ

Thanks! Done, turned in, and got good markings and criticism :)

I FINALLY finished a book. . . . that I started in January *le sigh



5. Master and Margarita by Michail Bulgakov 4 Stars
Basically, the Devil, aka Woland, goes to Moscow with his 'associates', masquerading as foreign hypnotists. Woland gets into a philosophical banter with poets about Jesus' existence, which brings in the story of Pontius Pilate. Some mischief happens and we meet a man that wrote a book on Pontius Pilate but was censored. All three story lines have some mischief and magic--that people keep taking as mass hypnosis, and eventually converge. Anyway, it's a funny and thought provoking Russian novel that kept me guessing. I highly recommend. And if I had time, I would try to explain it much better.

I thought you explained it pretty well. :)
--BJ

Thanks. I doubt I would even be able to get a description much better than that without adding tons of confusion.

I have hope for reading! Spring Break is next week! All my friends are going out of town! Not particularly a happy thing, but. . . . means limited distractions! I'm just hoping they don't pile the homework on. Once I get my work schedule, I'll prolly figure out a read-a-thon too, for that extra boost of motivation ;)

Yay for friends going away! Errr, well, you know what I mean... Yay for books. :)

I finished a book! The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver. I'll review later tonight or tomorrow. Got a bit of a head cold going so I want soup and tv before work.

And pie. Happy Approximation to Pi Day!!!! I will buy that before work and eat it when I get home. It's the one nice thing about cold cars in winter. . . another fridge :P

Oh, I forgot it was pi day!

Cold here, too. I am ready for Spring!
--BJ

Yay for finishing books! Sorry to hear about the head cold though. :(

6. The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver 4 Stars
Atlanta in 2018 is overrun with demons and falling apart from an economic crisis. While their attempts to fix the economy haven't had stellar results, the employment of demon trappers has kept society a bit safer. This story surrounds Riley, the daughter of master demon trapper Paul Blackthorne and the only licensed female trapper in the city. As an apprentice, she's only allowed to trap level ones. But as the demons become more brazen, the trapper's guild is hit with tragedy. And Riley finds herself as the attention of demons much stronger than the puny level ones.

I was really pulled into this novel. It's much different than the paranormal novels I've read recently. And definitely in a good way. Very refreshing. And it channels one of my favorite shows, Supernatural, to jibe our society's recent pop-culture explosion of paranormal entertainment.

P.S. I really need to stop sucking at HTML. . . .

I've heard some mixed reviews about that one, but you make it sound very interesting...! Hmmm...

I skimmed some of the other reviews around. I can see how they got their points, but they never bothered me. Like how some said Riley was immature and mean. Well, she is 17, mostly alone, and has a bunch of stuff stacked against her. So at times, she is immature and mean, like any 17 yr old. Like with any book and its characters, personal taste will win out.

I enjoyed it quite a bit and am looking forward to the second book that comes out in December. Maybe a good compromise would be to wait for some reviews on the second to see if it's still interesting?

7. Fables: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham 3 Stars
The characters of our most beloved childhood stories have been forced out of their far away lands into New York, where they have been living under the radar for over 200 years. Past wrongs have been wiped away and they now live in delicate truce. But it's threatened by the discovery of a violent scene at Rose Red's apartment. Now it's up to Bigby Wolf and Snow White to figure out which fable committed the crime.

Interesting to see Willingham's take on how time negatively affects the 'happily ever after'. The fables are given strong personalities that fit their original stories and what they could plausibly become. I enjoyed it, but was not completely pulled in. Probably because of the strong detective aspect, I'm not too big on that. The next one looks like it looses that aspect, so I'm looking forward to delving deeper into the world in a formatting/style that better suits my tastes.

Hey, I'm hosting a read-a-thon Sunday to Monday, starting at 10 am (US central time zone). Stop by if you can! :)

8. Fables: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham 3.25 Stars
Picks up right after the first, Legends in Exile. The found out perpetrators are given their punishments. One is to accompany Snow White to the Farm--a village in upstate New York where the non-human fables live--for her bi-annual visit. But when they get there, the two are met with dissent and a murder that is clearly meant to rattle them. Can Snow White escape with her life and return order? Or will civil war break out among the fables?

I liked this one slightly better than the first. Less detective work, still some. But there was more of a larger story line. We learn a bit more about why the fables are in our world and more of their politics. We get some more characters as well.

Hi There

I send early birthday greetings to you. I hope the 31st is a special day!

Thanks!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE! :)

Happy Birthday, Katie! Hope you have a wonderful day!
--BJ

May you have another year of great books!

Thanks! I'll be heading out for dinner in a bit followed by the Ellie Goulding & The Knocks concert. Maybe a bar afterward. And I don't work tomorrow! So I get to sleep in and finish reading my book :D

Happy birthday! I saw your name on the Hogwarts Express birthday list as well, so you have a thread there, too.

Enjoy your evening plans!

Happy Birthday!! Hope it was a great day

It was fun! Unfortunately, the concert was canceled because EG was sick. So that was a bit of a bummer. Wish they would've rescheduled. Next time she's here tickets will probably cost twice as much, at least. Oh well, we do get refunds. Instead we just stayed at our dinner place longer (also a bar) and I crashed on a friend's sofa. And SLEPT! I don't sleep a whole lot so it was more exciting than it should've been :P

9. Department 19 by Will Hill

I've a good bit of homework to do, so I will write something up in the coming week or two.

For my bday, I got a couple books. Both spawned from inside jokes :)
Speed Racer Volume 1 and The Moustache Grower's Guide
I'm already about halfway through SR. I skimmed a few of MGG and it looks pretty hilarious.

Books for your birthday? Good for you!

9. Department 19 by Will Hill 3.75 Stars

Jamie saw his dad die by a line of gunman in is front yard with suspicious shadows moving along the edges of the scene. Everyone told him that his father was a traitor and a homeland terrorist to England. The other kids were told the same and treated Jamie like he was the traitor. Not feeling up to the bullies one day, he skips school to laze about in a park. But he wakes up to a vampire sparing his life. He rushes home to find his house empty, his mother kidnapped and himself barely saved by a monster from an underground government organization. Jamie is forced to the department where he is the only one who wants to attempt the rescue of his mother. So he suits up, trains, and goes after those vampire scum.

That little synopsis doesn't do the story justice. There is so much going on. You can get the family, government and vampire aspect, and maybe a bit of the politics. But the monsters and many characters are taken and extrapolated on straight from Bram Stoker's Dracula. Hill knows that story backwards and forwards, and proves that. He even goes into Stoker's history. (Which I know, because of class last semester. . . and if you followed my thread last year, you may remember my dissatisfied attitude towards the book). Anyway, Hill's book spans the time right after Dracula's conclusion into the 21st century, so he's got a decent grasp on some historical bits. I enjoyed the extrapolation, though it was a bit iffy in places.

The best part was that there was actually violence and gore! So much of the recent paranormal YA is action or romantic--there may be danger and suspense, but those are pretty kid friendly. Department 19 has evil characters that not only want to kill you, but to tear you apart slowly, savor your blood, and make you watch it done to everyone else. Not only do the vampires want that, they actually deliver. Ah, no sparkles here :D

The only part that bothered me a bit was the romance between Jamie and vampire Larissa. I know--I said no sparkles, and there aren't any. She drinks blood and is violent. She attempts to indulge in revenge. And I really do like her character. But the beginning of their relationship just felt weird. Though, I didn't mind it at the end, once it was established.

This is the first of a trilogy that I think has great potential. I can't wait to see how the characters and the department handle what happens during the final battle and the implied situation to come.

-----
I just got my copy of City of Fallen Angels that I pre-ordered in January with my Christmas money! It's going to be a serious struggle to leave it be whilst there is homework to be done. *eyes drift longingly to book

#214: I hope that the other two books in the trilogy prove to be as good as the first!

Hehehe, my teacher told me to watch/read X-Men and Iron Man for inspiration on a project. Of course X-Men was my favorit-est of comic book superheroes and worlds, so there was no argument from me :P Now I've been on a super kick of it--since I've been unintentionally neglecting them. Watched 2 of the movies, a bunch of the old 90s cartoon episodes, and have a few of the newer comics from the library. And I have an omnibus novel that has been on the tbr a while that I've been twitching towards, but that would be a bad idea right now.



10. The Astonishing X-Men: Gifted by Whedon & Cassaday 3.75 Stars
It's been a long time since I read any X-Men comics. I was a little confused that Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly) was the writer of these newer ones and not a usual Marvel writer. I was not disappointed. . . though, I have missed a bunch in between this and my previous X-Men reading. But thankfully, it wasn't too confusing. A few things I never would have guessed to happen, so I need to go back and figure out how they did. Otherwise, most was easy enough for me to pick up on.

#216: my teacher told me to watch/read X-Men and Iron Man for inspiration on a project

Like you needed any encouragement to do that! LOL

*Waves* Hi Katie, I always read your thread but I never seem to post! :(

My library's graphic section is filled to the brim with superhero comics and manga. I really need to get into one or the other so I can have some graphic novels to read, since that's about all they have...

My library's is pretty decent. Lots of Marvel and superhero business, but that's expected. . . and loved. But we have a good manga selection and general graphic novel section too. I really like Sandman, and it's pretty popular so yours might have it? It's by Neil Gaiman too, his stuff is usually pretty tops.



11. The Astonishing X-Men: Torn by Whedon & Cassaday 4 Stars
Action and mind tricks! And yes, this is vol 3 not #2. I did skip a vol because it was checked out and I am being a little fanatical right now. But I have the X-Men universe pretty solid in my head, so skipping 1 isn't going to completely confuse me.

Already started #4, have #5 checked out as well. And I reserved the 1st of the 4 mega omnibuses of Age of Apocalypse! So much happy with this right now. I remember reading bits and pieces of the Apocalypse saga, but never the whole thing because it stretched over a bajillion individual comics, and across the different branched series. And that one has my favorite Gambit, unlike these ones I'm currently reading :DDDD

My library has a bunch of those Sandman comics, but I don't know if they have all of them. I think they just have bits and pieces. Is it a continuous storyline, or does each book have a separate story?

I've only read the first 3 so far. 1 & 2 are continuous, setting up the main character and the world. But 3 is more like mini episodes with the same characters. I'm not sure if the rest are like that. My friend owns them, so I borrow them when I can. I'll prolly get the next 3 or 4 this summer when I see her more often. I'll let you know which are necessary to the overarching story and which are minisodes when I know :)

Thanks Katie. I was going to check my library's website to see which books they have but they have them all entered with the same title. I'll have to take a pen and paper in and write down which ones they have.

12. Astonishing X-Men: Unstoppable by Whedon and Cassaday 4.25 Stars
The final vol of the Whedon and Cassaday--which I'm kind of sad about. They just kept getting better and better. This one is filled with action. It also bringsa in some other Marvel characters to help in the über-conflict at the end, with on of the X-Men not making it back to the institute.

I hope the next set w/ Ellis writing and Bianche doing the artwork is just as good.

Looks like you are still having a good time with your X-Men project!

I don't think I ever read X-Men in any way, shape or form. How rubbish is that? I loved the cartoon as a kid though. And don't even get me started on Hugh Jackman's muscles and Taylor Kitsch's Ragin' Cajun moves in the films... :P

Hello, by the way - it's been so long and I've been so royally crap at keeping up that I reckoned it was about time I dropped in for a dose of Katie magic!

Yes, Stasia, definitely having some frustrated fun with this projected---photoshop can be so tedious. If I like the final, maybe I'll throw it up here. In any case, having a great time reading/watching X-Men :P

Ellie: :) Don't worry about keeping up, from the looks of your thread, you've got plenty going on. Not a whole lot of magic going on here right now, just genetic mutations. But the Ragin' Cajun is my most favoritest of all the mutants :D I hope they make a Gambit movie *fingerscrossed

Ohhhh, me too! Some X-Men die-hards seem to think it's sacrilege, so I'm glad to find that you're a fan and that you're not going to chase me off your thread waving your claws around or brandishing a pack of cards or unleashing a tornado on me or anything... :-)

I LOVE ol' Remy - and I most definitely love Taylor Kitsch, being an FNL freak and all - so a Gambit movie would be all levels of awesomeness! *Makes mental note to have a cold shower when she gets home, if she hasn't been rained on in the meantime*

hehehe, if only I could kinetically charge things and throw them into explosms. . . . still wouldn't chase you out for not reading them though. I am a fan, but I am not a super die hard one that needs every new volume the second they hit the shelves. I am actually quite behind on them, since I haven't really read them since the late 90s and smidge bit in the early 2000s. Oh, and I didn't even know who Taylor Kitsch was--never watched Friday Night Lights. But, he played a pretty good Gambit, so I was definitely not disappointed. :)



13. Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Box by Ellis & Bianchi 3 Stars
I liked the story well enough, but it wasn't as good as the previous volumes. Not quite as captivating. And I didn't really like Bianchi's art style. I much preferred Cassaday's artwork. I did enjoy mini-snapshot-comics of what happened to the characters in the other planets of the multiverse though, which all had a slightly different art style to them.

Y'know, I think I might have bought the first season of FNL after I saw Wolverine... I'd seen him in 'The Covenant' as well. Only season 1 of FNL is released here in region 2 coding, so I had to go out and a buy a multi-region DVD player so I could buy in the rest from the US! It's a brilliant drama, even though I knew NOTHING about American football to start with - some comedy, some romance, nice muscly men, I'm absolutely hooked...

Ooops, there I go again, into Fangirl Land. Sorry, carry on! :-)

HA! He was in Covenant! It's been ages since I watched that movie. . . and he doesn't quite act the same in the two. I should rewatch that.

Hey, has anyone round these parts read Heart of Darkness or any other Joseph Conrad books? I just signed up for my classes next semester, and one I needed was Major Authors. . . . so I get to spend the entire semester with Mr. Conrad. Just wanting to know a little about him/his writing before hand, since I've never read anything by him. Makes me a little nervous. What if I hate his writing? That would just make the semester wonderful, right?

It's been ages since I read him, but I know 75ers have been reading him. Why don't you use the Search Talk feature, putting Joseph Conrad in, and you can see who's been reading him recently?

Oooh! I didn't know you could search talk threads! That's so nifty. Thanks mucho! I'll give that a try tomorrow when I'm not so burnt out from an assignment.

*whimper
It snowed last night. After being in the upper 70s at the beginning of the week. Now it's 40s and loooow 50s with no sign of a warm up. Mother Nature is so cruel.

It was a lovely sunny day in NE Pennsylvania yesterday. Today is another grey, overcast, cold morning....ugh.

Yeah, it's been pretty grey and cold here too. And excessively windy. But the snow melted :)

It's been gloriously sunny here in Eng-er-land today so there have been people thronging the place - but naturally, since it's creeping towards Home Time, when I could actually sit out and enjoy it, it's now clouding over and turning chilly. Evidently Mother Nature's just in a bad mood with us all today!

*The following is a rant I feel the need to let out, I won't be offended if you ignore it*

This week and weekend have been complete aggravation in danger of making me insane. Tuesday I get a migraine that screws up my vision, makes me feel ill, and made it impossible to remember anything from class. And because my brain was all foggy, I missed a meeting with an adviser from the Eng department. I went home and literally slept until the next day for class. Still had a headache, though I could see straight. And pretty much went to sleep when I got home again.

Thursday, still headache. Met with adviser and went to a creative writing reading session to meet with one of my teachers next semester and wheedle my way into one her full classes. Which worked out, but got home and slept again. So, that's right folks, I didn't do homework for 3 days.

Friday I worked with my headache still going, and had to stay late--a 9 to 6 shift. With a long communications plan due at 11:30pm, which wasn't started with the whole sleeping situation going on during the week. Finished with 3 minutes to spare.

Saturday, worked with headache. Stayed late because we were insanely busy in the morning and literally did just under half of the store's entire day sales between two of us. Finally did my taxes. Only reason it took so long was because I had to wait for my mother to finish hers because she hadn't decided if she was claiming me dependent or not, or if she was claiming my school break. Had to fill it out twice, because Turbotax doesn't let you get to the free form if they decide you need the $$ costing one on a normal click through. Got some homework done that night, but fell asleep around 10.

Today, worked, again with headache. Had to stay late again, because the noob is still super slow and we were steady. Got some small assignments done. As I go to continue working on my big project that's set to print on Tues, no flash drive. I have no idea what happened to it. Best case scenario: left in school computer and brought to lost and found. I don't wish to ponder the worst case. My work will still be on the desktop of the computer in class, which is good, but I don't know when I can get in there since other classes are regularly held there. So now there is basically a 15% chance of me finishing on time, 35% if I ditch some classes.

So to sum up:
Headache of doom making me sleep.
(Oh, and pills didn't do anything to get rid of that, btw)
Sleep = no homework completed
Work is stupid and more time consuming than promised.
Next week will be no sleep and begging at least one professor for a possible extension.
And did I mention, I gave up caffeine in February. That'll make the impending all-nighters wonderful /sarcasm.

*end long rant.

On a book related note, I really want to read John Dies at the End by David Wong--which I came across today. This is also how I'm reminding myself later, after its browser page is closed.

Sorry about the really miserable week, but more concerned about the duration of your headache. Could you possibly have a sinus infection? Can you get in to see a doctor?

Yet another woe of my life, no insurance. And with gas prices ridiculously high, my commute pretty much drains my bank account. I'm thinking it may be tension/stress related. I have pretty bad knots in my back/neck, so when I get stressed they creep up and give me headaches. And I haven't been able to go to the gym to burn it off this last week--for some reason Snap didn't charge me this month so my access card won't work. I'm stopping in Tuesday to get that straightened out once this project is done. But I prolly would've only gone in once this week anyway with all this mess. Or related to a bad tooth, which I've been saving money to get taken care of. But it doesn't hurt at all, just has a bit of a hole. If it persists past an intense workout, I'm gonna see if my school has a hook-up with any doctors/dentists in their area. Or find a free clinic downtown.

I can't imagine what it's like to have to work/go to school with migraines! Re your flash drive - have you considered doing your work on Google Docs? When I was taking online courses, I worked on my assignments at work and at home. Having my stuff on Google Docs meant never having to worry about losing the flash drive or remembering to email my work to myself. Another thing I really came to appreciate was how it automatically saved at least every minute. Anything to reduce stress!

Well, I did leave it at school and some nice person brought it to lost and found instead of stealing it. I'm using Adobe software for my projects right now, so I don't think Google Docs lets you do that. Plus they're beastly files, not too friendly with the online-ness.

To clarify, only Tues/Weds were migraines. The rest have just been persistently annoying and only a little bit worse than my usual headaches. It's just kind of making me crabby that I can't have a little time of brain clarity to be relatively productive. Definitely looking forward to the gym, even if it doesn't get rid of the headache, at least some of the frustration will be expunged.

Hi, Katie! I hope things are looking up for you.
--BJ

Oh, this week has been going better. My head is pretty much back to normal. I worked out yesterday, which left me very sore but feeling better. My homework load has dropped quite a bit. And I get to see some friends I haven't seen in ages tonight for a birthday. We're going to see the musical Avenue Q.

Also picked up two books. Heart of Darkness for a class next semester, just wanna get some of the reading done over the summer so I don't get bogged down during the semester. And The Name of the Wind, which I've been hearing tons about (its sequel too).

Ahhhh, sweets, I'm so sorry to hear about your headaches! I get long headaches too, with a real 'kill me now' couple of days thrown in there somewhere along the way each time. It absolutely sucks the life out of you, doesn't it? I'm glad the aches are subsiding and the pressure's easing up a bit - and that there are new books on the horizon making life happier! :-)

Glad your feeling better. :) The Name of the Wind is a great book by the way. I absolutely loved it. It's sequel The Wise Man's Fear is great as well. Hope you like it too!

Ellie: They do! It's kind of unbelievable how exhaustive they actually are.

Yay books. They do make things a bit better ;)

I was gonna watch the new Doctor Who premiere tonight. . . but it turns out I don't get the BBC America channel, only the OnDemand. That's weird, right? So that's postponed. Homework it is then.

I would just like to ask, where the heck is spring? Our windchill is still in the teens and there have been snowflakes falling. >:(

Last year we were in the 80s. I just really wanna be barefoot again, or wear flip-flops when footwear is necessary.

On the book front, won an er book. Some fun post-apocalyptic deal, I think it was called 20 Years Later--but I may be wrong. I let you guys know the real title when I start reading it. . . . after classes. Only 1 week of classes and 1 week of finals left for the semester! I am so done with this semester!

>248 katelisim: Ooh I think I won that ER book as well, Yay for apocalyptic books!

Hope all your finals go well and then you can relax :)

Sorry Spring hasn't reached you, Katie. It's been blissful in Ohio recently...sorry sorry sorry! :P

I won... something. *excuses herself to go check* The Devil's Mask by Christopher Wakling, Jeremy reliably informs me. No idea what it's about - I can never remember what I've requested! - but what the heck...

It's been nice here in Eng-er-land too. Not THAT warm - I'm still sitting here shivering in the breeze through the door - but the sun's out and there are two new duckie mums on the river with a whole flock of about sixteen ducklings between them, awwww! :)

Ah, you lucky people and your nice weather. About an hour ago there was a snow shower where the 'flakes' looked like those tiny styrofoam packing balls and jumped around on the ground like when they're statically charged. So maybe it was closer to hail. Now, it's returned to the 'snowdrops' that are flakes in the sky and water the second they touch anything.

Look at me procrastinating. . . . Back to work! . . . for a bit. . . maybe 5 mins :P

Good luck with finals!

Thanks :)
Mostly I have final projects with presentations, but a couple tests. And a speaking test in German (in addition to written). Blah, I'm terrible at those.

Good news!!! I'm searching for an internship. I called the HR lady for my county library system and it sounded promising! She has to speak with the right department to see if it's available this summer or not until fall. I really hope summer, cause my fall schedule already looks homework heavy. But the library looks so much better than ad/pr firms. *crosses fingers*

14. Speed Racer Volume 1 by Len Strazewski, 3 Stars
Oh nostalgia, how you amuse me so. I used to watch the old black and white cartoon when I was little. And I loved the movie adaptation a couple years ago. My friends think I'm silly. So naturally, I get Speed Racer related gifts (including color books!). This one I got for my bday.

It starts with Speed Racer trying to get into big league racing. No one wants a kid in this dangerous field, so there's plenty of old fashioned conflict, think the 60s, but also the organized crime factor of those in charge of the league. Racer X shows up. And I won't say anything more about him to avoid spoilers for any of you goofy enough to want to start this wonderfully ridiculous story :)

While I very much enjoyed the comic, I think I prefer the cartoon and the movie. Part of the charm of the cartoon is the rapid fire and over-. . . enthused? exaggerated? ridiculous-ified? . . . way they spoke. The movie, while not as much so, took elements of that. Motion was also a big part of both. So it's a bit strange to see the images so static. Still, a fun read that followed the story I remember, while reminding me of what I forgot.

Also, you all should help me what to read next. I'm feeling indecisive. These are the books that have been playing king of the hill with each other: Just a Couple of Days, City of Fallen Angels, Torment, The Risen Empire, and War for the Oaks. Or the ER book, depending on when it arrives. Whichever one I read, I won't start until after finals next week. And will be alternating with the new Mortal Kombat game--which I've decided some of my birthday money will go to and has been my mantra to keep studying, maybe the first Portal game too.

ETA: fixed touchstones

I ended up wishlisting the Speed Racer book because my brother was a big fan of the cartoon. Good luck with finals. :)

Thanks! Only 1 project, 1 presentation, 1 test, and 1 critique left! Then I get to read and play video games. Stopped at the library to pick up a book on hold, so you guys will see more X-Men by the end of the month. Also picked up Mortal Kombat at the game store. AND they had a used copy of Kingdom Hearts RE: Chain of Memories. It's so hard to come by since they made it after the new consoles came out. I was so lucky to find it! No Portal though. Someday I will play that game, maybe take 2 more sequels to get there though :P

BJ, did you wishlist it for yourself or for him?

Yay for video games! :D

Was it ever confirmed that Kratos is in that Mortal Kombat game? I haven't read anything about it in awhile.

I know I read it a few places, but I'm not sure if it was ever confirmed. I'll let you know if I unlock him. Though at the rate I finish games, that could be quite a while. . . this does have a better chance of it happening within a year since it's a fighter and not one of those darn shooters that almost never get finished :P

I would like to point out the ridiculousness of my state's weather. Minnesota has gone from snow on May 2nd to a forecasted humid 81 today--May 10th.

Hmmmmm...

...have you heard about the new Elder Scrolls game!? *Hops excitedly* :)

Hey, Kate! Just checking in. . .

Stephen- Never played Elder Scrolls, only have heard faint mumbles--not sure if it was about old or new games. What's it about?

Stasia! You're alive! I almost don't believe it, you've been so absent. . . Nice to see you round these parts again :)

I don't know much about it either, I just know it's called Skyrim and I'm super excited about it. Of course, I can't afford new to buy games, but more likely than not my sister will probably buy it so maybe I'll eventually get to borrow it...after she spends 100+ hours playing it. :)

Yay for hand-me-down games! I try to borrow, or at least buy only used games, and as close to when I'll be playing them as possible. . . though sometimes they sit on the shelf for a few months before I get to them. Go thrifty gamers!

I started Mortal Kombat! Oh it is wonderful :)
And I tried to finally hook my 360 to the interwebs, after owning it for 4 yrs. FAIL. I tried to do it through my laptop. . . 2hrs later, nada. I know it's possible, but I just don't have the tech savvy to pull it off, even with the 12 pages of troubleshooting on the xbox site. Might cave in and find a used wireless converter. Must get my free MK downloadable content. . . . 0_0

Got 20 Years Later in the mail today, last months win from the ER batch. Came with a media kit too. . . . Which is super fascinating to a MarComm in training :)

Now, after spending my day with the xbox, I should really study for my last final and finish presentation note cards for tomorrow. Ugh, would so much rather play MK.

Yep, one of the great things about having a sibling that loves games too is you get to swap alot. We have pretty different tastes, I like just about everything except the things she likes (The Sims and things of that nature) but we have an overlap with RPGs, so there is lots of exchanging of games like Fallout, Final Fantasy, Elder Scrolls, and so on. :)

Have fun with Mor...I mean, your presnetation note cards. *ahem* You are making Mortal Kombat sound like a lot of fun...and I'm not even a big fan of the series. I have Mortal Kombat Deception, maybe I'll play that and pretend it's the new one. :P

Yeah, me and my siblings like some of the same games. . . but we all have different consoles. That makes trading a bit more difficult ;)

Oooh, Mk is super fun. And filled with gore. It's the 1st movie's story line too. Still getting used to the button combos right now--I like mashing to figure it out vs reading the move lists until I get solid with the basics. Was Deception the one where you wander around in the woods/temples? Or the one with the awesome puzzle game?

Yeah, Deception was the one that had the 'sandbox' open world environment, where you went around finding opponents to fight. The main game isn't a puzzle game, but it came with a little colored-bubble-matching minigame that my sister and I always loved playing. You could save up a 'mana' of some sort and unless special moves and possibly fatalities (I can't rmember,) so it was a lot of fun. :D

>265 katelisim: My copy of 20 Years Later arrived today, I find it hilarious that a book written by an English author had to come from the US. The little folder thingy that came with it was really quite cool. Definitely looking forward to reading this one

I take it you're now done with your finals? Out celebrating? :P

Rachel- YES! All done! Been playing some violent video games, got an adapter cheap (will be hooking it up later today), and hung out with friends yesterday. Ate some nummy-nummy food at Moscow on the Hill with them, breaded pork with a layer of cheese and mushrooms on top. . . it actually looked a lot like pizza, but instead of crust it was meat :) And I have a bachelorette party tomorrow evening followed by a double-birthday and welcome home party.

Stephen- Yesyesyes! I loved that puzzle game. . . . more than the open world actually. I believe each match ended with a fatality. :D

Haha, yeah, my sister and I got much more entertainment out of the puzzle game than the main one.

I've been playing Flatout 2 obsessively lately. I've had that game for SO LONG and I still love it. :)

It's not violent though, unless you count flinging a man through a car windshield at high speeds and sending him flying at a bunch of bowling pins.

Sounds like you have a great weekend planned, Kate. Have fun at the party!