Reading

I have been really really slow with reading this year so far. I'm still not even halfway through The Plague which is really strange for me. My stress level is also exceptionally high. I think I need to specifically dedicate an hour or more each day to reading. Doing that is like taking a nap but better - I walk away refreshed and feeling a bit smarter too.

This week I'm visiting a client in the Poconos (NE PA). I think once I eventually leave the client site I'm going to head out to dinner for a date with The Plague.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Because I'm really trying to focus on reading on book at a time, I decided to start doing this meme on a more regular basis.

The downpour had increased in violence, and these words, striking through a silence on the chancel windows, carried such conviction that, after a momentary hesitation, some of the worshippers slipped forward from their seats on to their knees. Others felt it right to follow their example, and the movement gradually spread until presently everyone was kneeling, from end to end of the cathedral.
-Albert Camus, The Plague, page 95

I borrowed The Plague from a good friend a while ago and never got around to reading it, which is rather uncommon for me. It's one of his favorites, so I'm really looking forward to starting this today (I promised I would return it in two weeks). I don't really know what to expect from this but I've only heard amazing reviews. I picked a completely random passage for this and it makes me excited to read it. I wish I knew what the words were that caused such a powerful reaction from the congregation.

Welcome to the Jungle

My first read of the year was a Christmas gift from friends of mine. I've wanted Jim Butcher's Welcome to the Jungle since it came out, but I do everything I can to avoid shelling out $20 for a book. So I waited a year and a half for it. And I loved it.

Welcome to the Jungle was the first graphic novel set in the Dresden Universe. For reference, there are eleven novels in the Dresden Files series, one novella, I believe only the first novel has a graphic novel adaptation, a (canceled) TV series, and a soon coming role playing game. And book 12 comes out in April. I love this series.

The basic premise of the series is that Harry Dresden is a wizard PI in present-day Chicago. He's the only one (as most people believe magic doesn't exist), and sometimes the Chicago PD will call him in as a consultant for strange (read: paranormal) cases. Oh, and Butcher infuses Harry with an incredible sense of humor. Overall, Butcher does a fantastic job bringing in several different myths from different areas of the world and changing them to make them his own. He also drops several geek references, which add to the story if you catch them but don't detract if you don't know the sources (I know I've missed a ton so far and I've loved every book).

In Welcome to the Jungle, a dead body is found at the zoo.The official theory is that the gorilla got out of his enclosure, took a magazine full of bullets without any injury, killed the man, then got back in - the only evidence of this is that the gorilla has some blood on him, but there are no break points in the enclosure. So Harry gets called in. I won't give away any more of it.

I loved this adaptation. For all of the reasons that I love the rest of the series. Now, it just so happens that I joined the Graphic Novels 2010 Challenge. So my first book for this challenge is complete! Now that I'm feeling a little more positive about my reading, on to the next book! :)

Not off to a great start, but today's a new day

So I wanted to blog three times a week. This is my first post this week. And it's only the first full week of the year. At least I have a plan for tomorrow's post and then I can try again next week. Part of this is due to trying to spend time with my grandparents (I just moved in with them) rather than sit on the computer all night and part of it is due to a reading lull. I hadn't read at all in 2010 except for this evening when I read all of Welcome to the Jungle, which I'll be posting about tomorrow.

I did go to Barnes & Noble after work today though. I only bought one book (and coffee) while I was there. Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife was high on my "want to read right now" list and I had to return my copy to the library before I could get more than 25 pages in. Also, my childhood best friend is reading it right now and I love being able to talk about books with her. So that was the first part of my Christmas present (purchased with gift card).

The second part of my Christmas present isn't a book, and I'm sad to say that my B&N gift cards are completely used up at this point. However, I am expecting to receive the first six seasons of NCIS in the mail (season 7 is on TV now) sometime next week. I got them for somewhere around 43% of the list price, which is why I decided now was the time to act and get all of it. I am very excited about this. :)

2010 Goals

Happy New Year! I only have a couple resolutions for this blog:

-Post at least three times per week
-Write at least two reviews per month
-Don't worry about the total number of books, just have fun.

Time to go back to watching Iron Man with my boyfriend and his best friend. A nice quiet new year is what this year totally called for. :)

Books Read 2010

Book links go to Barnes & Noble's website. Any of my reviews/thoughts are linked in parentheses.

1. Jim Butcher, Welcome to the Jungle (review)
2.

Christmas Vacation!

I'm off for the holidays - Christmas Eve with my paternal grandparents, Christmas Day with my maternal grandparents, and then the weekend out of town with my boyfriend's family. I expect to be back Monday night though.

I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday!