Sunday Salon

                                     

I was reading a book on Procrastion because well I procrastinate a lot. This book had some really good ideas. One was to schedule a set time to do everything. I thought I practice that by scheduling to write all my posts on Saturday. I find it hard to get in the writing and reviewing mood everyday but once I start writing my reviews I could do it for hours so hopefully this will help me be more consistent with when I review books. I also thought of keeping book notes on ever note to help me remember what I read during the week. We shall see how well this pans out.

Speaking of writing, I read The Artist Way last summer and one of the things that it said to do was to write morning pages of 750 words every morning. I have started doing that again. I am hoping it will help jump start my creativity. Since I cant exactly read my own hand writing I decided to use Penzu.com to write them in. So far I am loving it. I can also type faster than I write so this helps keep up the flow of words writing that the morning pages are supposed to be.

Also I never scheduled before when to read books but I was having so many e books from the library that expires that it was getting frustrating so I decided to make a schedule in Google Calendars of when e books expires. So far this has helped me add some needed structure to my reading.

I have also discovered my new music obsession, The Vitamin Quartet. They are a classical music group that covers todays most popular songs in the classical music content. So you have Lady GaGa but in a classical way. It is wonderful music to write to. I listen to them for hours on Spotify.

I also came across this website IDreamBooks. It is like a Rotten Tomatoes for books. I like it. It helps me see which book I really want to read next. It gives you the top critics review for each book. They cover all genres.

Since I am back in my own apartment and I have my medicine and all. I am going to start trying to read a book a day. We will see how it goes this week. I read Tolstoy and the Purple Chair and thought it was a good idea. I just want to see if I can do it.

That’s all for today. I am going to be spending the rest of today reading Zombies: A Field Guide and drinking Iced coffee. Have a good Sunday everyone!

Sunday Salon

                         

It has been as hot as I ever experienced here in America this week. I haven't felt temps this hot since I was an aide worker in Africa. I stayed inside where it was nice and cool thanks to the AC.

You would think that I would have gotten a lot of reading done. Well you would be wrong. I received my meds on Tuesday so I had my med for ADHD/Bipolar but maybe Strattera is the kind of medicine that has to build up in the brain before it works well.

I am also using the Podomoro technique to help build up my concentration. I use a mix of Getting things done and this to keep on top of things. I haven't really been diligent about implementing it so I am starting today so I will be ready when school starts up again.

Also I cant seem to find a comfy reading spot in my parents house. In my apt I have a Lazy Boy Chair that I sit and read in but not here.Also the most comfy spot I have found the couch in the living room is not so ideal after my step father gets home from work and turns the TV on. I cant read with the TV on so that an issue also. I am going back to my apt in Ohio on Friday so we shall see if that impacts my reading.

Since here in the hills of KY the library is terrible I have been using the e book Library in Ohio where I live. I found out you can only put ten items at a time on hold. The physical Library you can check or put 75 items on hold so I am not sure why there is a discrepancy there.

At the moment I am reading Eletroboy which is a memoir of mania that occurs in bipolar disorder which I have. I read these types of books to know that I am not alone. It helps. I am hoping to finish my re read today then I will start on Discovery of Witches. Lets hope that this week is a better reading week then last week.

The Sunday Salon

                                     

 

I had a great idea for a Sunday Salon post but promptly forgot it. This led me to investigate note taking services and I came across Evernote. I downloaded it to my phone and computer so that when I have another great idea I can just jot it down and Evernote will save it for me.

I had an embarrassing low reading count for June. I ran out of my Stratrattera (ADHD med) and couldn’t focus to save my life. I got a friend to go check my mailbox in Ohio (I am on vacation at my parents in KY) and guess what? Even though I told them to forward my mail until July the PO proved incapable of doing that. Luckily my friend was nice enough to mail my meds to me and I should get them tomorrow. So July should be a happy reading month for me.

The only book I have read this week is Jo Nesbo The Leopard. It was as awesome as the Snowman. I cant wait to read ALL of Jo Nebo’s work.

The Sunday Salon

                          

 

It has been an interesting week and not in a good way either. Imaginary people started talking in my brain (I know they are not real and I have bipolar) so I called the dr for an emergency appointment. They increased my meds and now I walk around in a Geodon induced haze. Thankfully the voices have stopped so I can focus on my reading. It is not easy reading when you are hearing things not there. In that respect I did not get a lot of reading done so I am STILL reading The Leopard by Jo Nesbo. Nesbo novels take on a more eerie quality while you are reading it doped up. I am hoping to finish it today.

I got 4 new books from the library to download on my nook. I always seem to get the books faster than I expect but at least I have plenty of reading material!

This week I reviewed

The Snowman

On her Own

Daughter of Smoke and Bones

Go check them out and leave a comment!

I am going to go and turn the AC up high and get me some plenty of Mio Energy drink and finish reading The Leopard.

Have a happy Sunday!! What are YOU reading?

The Sunday Salon

This past week has been seen glorious summer weather so I set up the deck stuff yesterday. Of course it dropped ten degrees when I did so. Oh well, that’s how it goes right?

Last week I finished reading The Right Guard. I liked it ok. A full review will be up tomorrow. So check back.

Today I am going to start with Creativity by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. He wrote the book Flow and I am interested in learning his theories about creativity. Maybe it will help me tap into my own creativity more.

Today is going to spent outside reading. While I am far from my goal of reading a book a day, I have to admit that I do enjoy having all this free time to read and blog.

I have gotten into Scandinavian Crime Fiction. I think it is one of my favorite genres now. Do you Have any recommendations of books that I should read?

Happy Sunday everyone! What are you reading today

Sunday Salon

It has been a while since I have done a Sunday Salon. The most exciting thing that has happened is that school has ended and I received my grades and I made all A’s! This just reinforces my decision that getting my MLIS was the right career choice.

I  came to KY to spend a month visiting family and on Memorial Day weekend we went camping. There was no wi fi or anything at the camp grounds. I was proud of myself for surviving 4 days without any technology whatsoever. I spent the majority of the time reading. It reminded me that we should all take a break from technology to rewind and enjoy the simpler pleasures of life.

I am spending this month getting caught up on books that were sent to me to be reviewed. I am so behind. This fall I have got to find a better balance between school and blogging. I love both so I am thinking of ways to make this happen.

I am insanely jealous of people who get to go to BEA (I hope one day I will get to go) but I am super excited for Armchair BEA this will be my third year participating. I love meeting new bloggers and old alike. This is one of my favorite events of the year. I will be posting everyday this week regarding Armchair BEA so look out for it!

Today I am going to spend the day getting caught up with Google reader and commenting on blogs and reading “The Right Guard.” This is a political thriller and so far I like it. I am only about a 100 pages in but it has intrigue and conspiracies which I love!

I hope everyone has a good Sunday!

The Sunday Salon

 

It has been a while since I did I Sunday Salon. Not much has happened. My classes take up most of my time but I am experimenting with a new schedule so that I have time for everything I want to do. We shall see how it goes.

I read A Happiness Project last year and I have it on hold at the library for a re read. I have decided that starting this month (March 1 ) that I will do my own happiness project. I will be talking about it on my tumblr (click here).

I have recently become fascinated with the topic of creativity and of course happiness so I checked out some books on those topics.  I am not un happy but sometimes I feel I get so caught up in the day to day life that I miss out on the larger picture. My friends have told me to make goals but I am not sure what kind of goals I should make in order to enrich the day to day life. I have overall goals like obtaining my PH.D but other than that I am not sure. Have you ever made happiness goals and if so what were they?

I have started to use Penzu to journal stuff. I read The Artist Way last year and the author recommended that you write 750 words as morning pages every day. I find when I do that I do find solutions to things that were within me. It also helps to get it all out then I can focus on what I need to focus on.

It is a bit strange that the books I read last year are just now making me want to implement change. Maybe that is how it works for me I need to let an idea percolate in my brain for a while before I act up on it.

I hope everyone has a happy Sunday and a good week. After church I will be curled up on this grey day with a book and a good cup of coffee!

Sunday Salon

These past few weeks I have been so busy with grad school that it has seriously cut into my time for blogging and reading. I feel so behind in both. On the other hand I am enjoying grad school immensely which is a good thing. I had a big project due this past Friday. I have an “easy” couple weeks coming up so maybe I can get some reading and blogging done.

I downloaded all of  Stookie Stack house novels on my nook and I am making my way through the whole series. I am enjoying that also. I will be sad when the last book comes out. I also used the university library to check out some books that were not available for the nook and found that as a grad student I can keep books for 6 months *drools* I should never have a late fee with that!

I have become interested in the whole aspect of creative thinking lately. I feel that I should be able to unleash more creativity than I currently do so I checked out some books on the topic. I hope that I learn how to unleash my creative side more. Do you have any tips that you use for creative thinking?

This Sunday will be spent relaxing and reading Sookie Stackhouse. A perfect Sunday to be sure! What are you reading today?

Sunday Salon

                              

The biggest news is I started class in Library Science this past week. I am really looking forward to what this semester may bring. I cant wait until I am a librarian.

As some as you may have already know I received a Nook for Christmas. I was SOO excited. I tried to figure out how to download library e books on my own but to no avail. So I called the library and they walked me through the steps and then it was easy. I saw there was a waiting “line” for most books so I signed up for lots of books. This proved to be a problem when many became available at the same time. Now I just sign up for the wish list function so I can stagger the books out.

I have also noticed that since I have gotten my nook I have only read one “real” book. The rest have been on the Nook. I wonder if it is because of the excitement or the ease of which I can get books for the Nook.

It being a new year and all I decided I was going to attempt to keep up with the blog this year. I am trying to write all the reviews on  Saturday’s so that way I will have time during the week for other stuff. We shall see how it goes.

I am reading a Last Werewolf. It has captured my attention so far. I think with winter in full swing it provides the right kind of atmosphere for these kinds of books.

Sunday Salon

Happy New Year Everyone!! I for one am happy that a new year is here and there is a fresh start on all my goals. 2011 wasn’t the best as I deal with depression and ADHD. Both negatively affected my reading for the year. The good news is both are now under control and I have been reading up a storm the past few weeks. Look for lots of reviews coming!

I had a great Christmas I am now the proud owner of a Nook. I started trying to download library books on it bit was stumped. I finally went to the library where the nice librarians helped me. In this day of digital technology we will need librarians more not less! I was shocked by how long the waiting list were for most of the books. When I go to the library I can have most of the books right then but when I went to check out digital books there were waiting lists of a hundred or more people on some of the books. However some titles came up really fast and I now have 6 books to read in three weeks.

I did meet last years goal of branching out with my reading. I now love steampunk and young adult books. For 2012 I want to continue branching out. You never know if you might find a new genre you like.

I also want to interact more. This will mean commenting on other blogs and on this blog. One of the reasons so many of us blog is for the community and I want to get more involved with that.

I also will make every effort to keep this updated. Last year I let it slip but now that both things are under control I want to keep it updated as much as possible.

Those are my goals for 2012! What are yours?

Sunday Salon

                                    

First of all let me say that my intention to read a book a day has been a big fat failure. I made the mistake of telling some friends and they decided I needed to got out of the house and make some real friends  and took me to lakes and other places of entertainment. While I had fun there was little to no reading to be done during these trips. I think this week will be different as we are all inside trying to stay out of the oppressive heat. Speaking of heat it was HOT here in the last week. While I like hot weather I do hope it cools down a bit as I like reading outside and in the heat and humidity that makes it impossible.

I did finish and review one book History Of Love. That book was sooo good. I cant believe that it took me this long to read it. I read it in one day it was that good. I could not put it down. Like I said in my review, if you haven't read it already Go… Read… It… Now!

I am reading Hardboiled Wonder Land and the End of the World today. This is my first Haruki Murakami book. I am enjoying it so far. I cant wait to see how it all comes together in the end. Have any of you read it?

Hopefully starting this week I will be able to read a book a day. How do you all explain to friends that you would rather really be reading?

Sunday Salon

                               

Good morning everyone!

I ran across this website Read All Day and thought it was captivated. I will try this while I am waiting until I go back to school. I also cant wait to read the authors book Tolstoy and the Purple Chair when it comes out. It sounds like a book I will love.

I was also captivated but Google plus. I finally scored an invite. Click here if you want to connect with me. I love how you can control who sees what. That was my biggest gripe with Facebook. I always felt paranoid about who was going to have to my inner ramblings. Now I can put everyone in circles and I feel like I can rest more easily. I hope it catches on but only time will tell.

This was a slow week on my blog but I did review

Springs Renewal

The Artist Way

I have noticed that since taking the advice in the Artist way my writing has been more easier. I guess getting out of the house and getting everything that bugs you out of your system really helps.

This has also been a slow reading week for me. I hope it is not another slump because there are so many books I want to read. I am curious when you hit a slump what do you do to pull yourself out of it?

Today I will be reading and hopefully finishing The almost moon by Alice Sebold. I loved her previous book and I am loving this book also.

I hope everyone has a great Sunday!

Sunday Salon

It is July already!! Where has the time gone?  We are at the half way nark and I have to say I am disappointed with how my blogging and reading resolutions have turned out. Although once my dr finally gave me something for my adult ADHD symptoms it has improved. I am hoping that my reading will pick up speed and my blogging will fall into a regular pattern.

One thing I realized is that I often fail to plan. And I know the most dedicated bloggers plan for every eventuality so that’s what I am going to start doing also. I set up a Google calendar with what post I want when and I am hoping this helps me keep to a regular posting schedule and not go weeks without posting anything,

Yesterday was fun I read most of the day then when dark came I had frount row seats from my house for the firework show. It lasted longer than I thought it would around 30 minutes. I was surprised because I do live in a small town so I thought it might be 5 mins tops but nope they had a really good 30 minute show.

Today I am going to church, then after church since it is raining here again, I will spend reading “Bad Girls of the Bible” and catching up with other blogs.

I hope everyone has a happy Sunday!!

Sunday Salon

Good Afternoon everyone! I have not been able to get a a lot of reading done this week because there has been a lot happening in life.For one thing my friend is moving so I helped or pretended to help while I considered which books to steal borrow. I cant help it it is a compulsion if there are book I think I have a hint of reading I must have it.This was a close friend so they was all to aware that the books was not exactly safe around me and caught me putting one in to my purse but they thought it was funny and let me borrow it.

I heard about the book the Artist Way on blogs and decided to check it out for myself. I have been making my way through the book. It is supposed to help you become unblocked as a writer and the two biggest things are to do morning pages which is three pages of writing anything that comes to mind. I have heard that three pages equal 750 words. I have been using Penzu (where I have a pro account) to do this. At first I couldn’t think of anything to say really but it is becoming easier and easier. The second big thing that they recommend is an Artist Date. I have never done one of those but it makes sense. Pick a time each week and do something u have always wanted to do that does not involve your art and let yourself be filled up with images. I am still trying to think of things to do.

Today I am going to finish reading The Artist Way then start on Dreadnought witch is a continuation of my exploration of the steam punk genre.

What are you reading for today?

Sunday Salon

Everyone is back from BEA and is telling stories and showing pictures. I hope someday I will make it to BEA. I had fun however participating in my first ever Armchair BEA. I got to know lots of new bloggers and I even got some inside traders secrets. To be honest unless BEA and book blogger convention has an interpreter I will probably get more out of Armchair BEA. I still wish I could meet everyone I meet online though. Maybe one day! I did win a prize in the twitter party so yay!!

I did not get a lot of reading done as I was trying to keep up with the 200 plus blogs in armchair BEA. I did get one review posted last night The Convert which was an ARC from Graywolf Press.

I am not sure how much reading I will get done today (I am in the middle of Elegant Universe). I promised to partake in Memorial Day weekend activities so it remains to be seen how much reading I will get done. However I will be the book nerd who brings along the book hoping to get a chapter or two in.

I am off. What are You doing this Memorial Day? Happy Memorial Day to everyone!

Sunday Salon

I am jealous of the people that are getting to go to BEA this year. I will be participating in Armchair BEA. I cant wait for it to start. This will be my first time participating. I am sure it will be an enjoyable week.

I have read on twitter and on blogs how many people go to author and book events. I have been trying to come up with any ideas on how get the same for North Eastern Ohio. It seems that it is only located in the big cities but I wish there were more located nearer to me so that I could attend. If anyone has any ideas let me know.

Studying for the GRE has taken up most of my time this week. I have decided to go to Library school. I hope I get in. The part of the GRE that concerns me most is that math part. The written and vocab I am not worried. I know how to make it stick but I not had any math in over 5 years and I have forgotten most. Oh well I will just pray that I score high enough to make it to Library school.

The book I am reading now is called “West of Here”. I heard about it on a few blogs so I decided to check it out. The first few chapters were slow going and I really did not get the point but after page 100 it starts to make sense and is really really good.

I look forward to meeting some of you on Armchair BEA!

Sunday Salon

Happy Mothers day to all the Mothers out there!

First  a couple of good news. I had been having issues with concentrating for a long time now. I was lucky if I could get through two books a week. The Dr finally decided to try Strattera with me and I am glad to say it worked!  I can now concentrate for hours at a time. I even read 5 books last week! I am hoping even my blogging habits will improve now that I can focus on something for more than 30 minutes at a time. So look for more frequent blog posts and more comments from me.

Second I finally got what I like to call a reading and a blogging chair. It was an early birthday present from my family. It is really a recliner chair and I love it now I can read and blog in super comfort.

Right now I am reading  A Sport and a Pastime. It was published in the 60’s but it still a good book. I am loving it so far. I am attempting to read more classics.

Coming up for review:

Swallows in Kabul

The Weird Sisters

Cub Dead book 4 in Sookie Stack house seris

A Sport and a Pastime

Let the Great world Spin

That’s is all for now!! Have a Happy Sunday reading!

Sunday Salon

My reading and writing Mojo is back in full swing so I had a busy week blog wise. I reviewed:

Getting Things Done

Project Happiness

Darkness Visible

Be a Better You

Winter Ghosts

Spring comes on and off. I was able to go outside for a while and read a couple days but it been raining and cold the other days.

I have also started to Study for my GRE. I am taking the plunge and going to Libabry school. It something I have thought about for years. Like in my other jobs that I did not like I always asked myself why didn’t I just go to libabry school to start with. So now I am. Wish me luck.

I am reading at the moment Swallows of Kabul. The language is almost poetic and details the lives under the Taliban. It is fascinating.

Well I am going to go read. Hope you all having a happy Sunday!

Sunday Salon

Good Morning everyone!

Yesterday was the read-a-thon and I read from 8 am to 12 midnight with an hours nap. I tried to stay awake but I fell asleep with a book and when I woke up it was 8 am. I still got a huge chunk of reading time. In fact I enjoyed it so much I may make a habit of it! I am glad that I finally got my reading mojo back.

This week was a good week in books. I read 4 books. I am going to try to do what I used to do. Focus on my reading and responding to blogs then one day a week write up all my reviews. In fact that is what I will be doing today.

Springtime is on its way. I look forward to when I can go outdoors and read. That is one of my favorite things to do. I am off to write and maybe read the books that will be coming up this week are

The happiness project

Winter Ghost-an ARC

Become a Better You

Darkness Visible

Check back this week for the reviews.

I hope everyone has a good day!

Sunday Salon

Good Morning everyone!

I have picked up another book that I love. The Happiness Project. I bet this will become another favorite. The problem when I find a good book I want to savor it and I don’t want it to end so I read more slowly. It does not bode well for my 200 books a year but I doubt I will reach that anyway.

I see many people are outspoken about indie bookstores and while I do support them, there are a lot of people who for whatever reasons are just too poor to afford the price. I am a firm believer in books being available to everyone which is also why I am such a strong supporters of libraries. I have been thinking how I can raise awareness of this issue on this blog. Not everyone can afford 20 dollars a book. If you have any ideas let me know. I really feel that this is an issue that needs to be addressed.

In other words it warmed up here. I think spring may finally be on its way. It is about time too. When I moved here from the south I never knew northern winters could be so harsh. Now I have utmost respect for people who endere this year after year.

I am off to finish Project Happiness. I think After I read this I will start my own project happiness.