"Take no heed of her...She reads a lot of books."
~Jasper Fforde


Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Reading Update

A lot of surprising things have happened to me in the past few days....most of them not too pleasant.  However, one of the nicer surprises was the realization that not only am I enjoying Finnegan's Wake, but I'm also really enjoying Bleak House.  And that's pretty big coming from the girl who attempted to read David Copperfield one summer and started school late that August proclaiming she hated Dickens.  I'm not saying I'm going to be a Dickens fan, per se, but I'm finding the book surprisingly tolerable.  In fact, I'm actually excited to read more!

And Finnegan's Wake??  Well, it's still the most convoluted, confusing piece I have ever read (and I read a ton of metafiction!), but I'm really enjoying the lyrical power of the piece, and that jolt of excitement every time I find a small tidbit of a joke or a literary device or a language trick in the vast expansive ether that surrounds the text.

I'll be sure to post more soon!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Adventure Time Rant


Are any of you Adventure Time fans?  If you are, please let me know....I just started watching a few months back, and I really want to rant about the last episode I watched....So many feelings right now!

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Reading "The Hobbit"

I was surprised to hear that many people who consider themselves to be Lord of the Rings fans have not read The Hobbit.  And of course, I've had other people tell me that they have not seen the new movie (which I'm guessing is out of theatres by now) because they haven't read the book yet.  Well, I have a treat for you guys!  Over this past Christmas break, while working on a Tolkien-themed project, I found an awesome, full PDF file of The Hobbit, with bookmarked links that take you directly to the start of each chapter.  So, if any of you are interested in checking out this amazing novel, then you can follow the link here and read it for free (at work, or on your iPad or iPhone, etc.--although for the record, I still hate e-readers).  Also, I'll be including a link on the Hobbit Hole page for easy access in the future :)  Have fun!

Hobbit Hole

As some of you might already know, I've been nerding-out to Tolkien stuff since January 1st, when I saw the new Hobbit movie in theatres.  I've always been something of a Tolkien fan previous to this, but I've been more and more interested in his work as of late.  That being said, I'm including a new "tab" on my blog (in addition to my LXG Reading Challenge, Weekly Wodehouse, and Wilde Wednesdays).  This tab, entitled "Hobbit Hole" will be full of different links to Tolkien related things, such as videos, song parodies, articles, and perhaps other blogs, etc.  I hope you guys will find this to be fun and interesting :) And if anyone has a link they would like to suggest for the page, just let me know in the comments and I'll be sure to check it out!

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Finnegan's Wake

I am determined to read this entire text cover to cover.  Even if it kills me.  I will read it.

Wish me luck, or try and talk me out of it.  I'm not sure which would be better.

Anyone interested in reading along with me is more than welcome to do so.  We could have a lot of fun discussing the text....or perhaps we'll just rant and rave and ramble....Either way, it's sure to be interesting.

Monday, January 14, 2013

My Last First Day of Class

It's official, dear friends...today marks the first day of my last semester of college.  And I can't figure out just where all the time went!  I'm not freaking out yet.  Right now, I'm still trying to readjust to being back on my own time and my own schedule.  At home, things run rather differently, as I try to adjust to the schedule of the three other people in the house.

I'm officially not going to grad school...at least not yet, so that means I'll be getting a job once I come back home.  Been working on applications and trying to find places that will hire me NOW, and let me start working in a couple of months.

It's been a while since I've had to bother being up for a 10 o'clock class, and while it's late enough that I can't really complain, I'll admit it would be nicer to just sleep in a few hours longer.  Still, I think today promises to be interesting and fun (three English Literature classes today!!!).

Hope all of you are well!  Updates to come in soon (I hope!)

Sunday, January 13, 2013

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Authorized Adaptation Graphic Novel (Douglas Adams/John Carnell)

Cover of Book 2 of 3

I have loved the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series from the moment I started the first book.  After having polished off all five in the inaccurately named trilogy, I started to look for other sources of Douglas Adams hilarity and fun.  And that's when I stumbled upon this little gem, back in my freshman year of high school.

One of the biggest complaints about this book is that it's so abridged.  That's of course, to be expected, seeing as any adaptation usually loses a little of the meat from the original piece.  Still, what we are left with is a full and funny story, although, it does not hurt to be more than a little familiar with the original book before starting to read this version.  And if one does start with this version, it shouldn't the the only Hitchhiker's  experience you have.  There are so many hilarious jokes and blunders left out (not enough room or not conducive for the medium), and it would be a shame to miss out on all of them!

While it might not be the most accurate, I still cannot help but have a great time whenever I read this collection.  Instead of one full book, I had to purchase mine in the three installments in comic book form.  Still worthwhile reading, of course, but it's a bit more time consuming when you have to track down all three comic books and take them out of their plastic sleeves to read them (wow....that sounds really lazy, haha!)

If you're a fan of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I would recommend checking this book out.  If you haven't read the original series yet, I cannot recommend the books more highly.  Go check those out and them come back to read this one.  You'll be glad you did :)

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

The House at Pooh Corner (A.A.Milne)


When someone says "Winnie The Pooh," the first reaction is usually thoughts of cutesy stories for children. However, as an adult rereading these stories, I have to say that these stories are just as delightful, if not funnier to read NOW!

I grew up enjoying the adventures of Pooh, Piglet, Owl, Eeyore, Christopher Robin, Tigger, Roo, Rabbit, and Kanga. These characters were some of my favorite childhood companions. My youthful afternoons were spent watching all sorts of VHS tapes with stories of their adventures. As I got older, the idea of reading the Winnie the Pooh books suddenly became something interesting to me, and I checked out all the stories at the library. Eventually, I bought myself a copy of The House at Pooh Corner. I've read it cover to cover multiple times since then.

The beauty of Milne is that his books can be read again and again, and the story only gets better. As a child, these tales become funnier and funnier. The wry wit and humor starts to leak out. You pick up on small jokes that didn't make sense as a child. Like a classic family movie, these stories work for both parents (or childless adults) and kids. I know reading these stories again, I was quite enthralled by the stories, the humor, and the idealistic bubble of happiness that filled these tales.

During these grey January days and nights, this would be a great book to choose, bringing the reader out of the dark and gloom of the winter with the warmth of friendship and adventure.

Reading Challenge 2013

Happy New Year, guys!

Just a quick update....last year, my reading goal was to complete 50 books.  I managed to get through 51.  This year, I want to top that, so I plan on tackling 52 books in the next 12 months.  I'd love for you guys to read along with me, so I'm going to make a genuine effort to actually post the things I'm reading and include reviews and such for all of you to follow.  I'll also be posting reviews on Goodreads, and will be including the Goodreads Reading Challenge widget on the sidebar, just like I did last year.  Hopefully this one will be better about updating things (the last one seems to have frozen around 17 books).

I'm also hoping to try and put a bit more of a dent into my LXG Reading Challenge, too!

If you have any books you'd really like to suggest, please let me know :)  If not, I'd be happy to suggest some to you guys, too!

Any fun New Years resolutions or goals?

Looking forward to hearing from y'all :)