Too Many Books

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before? Got impregnated , birthed a baby ... also weighed my melons , got interviewed on the radio , loved my niece , (okay, loving my niece wasn't new) survived a bank merger buyout merger   in which my original bank was not the one in charge,  was the subject of a blog post written by someone other than me , attended a St. Patty's day parade with the Irish, got yelled at by my own thighs , painted a room, nested. 2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I tried to read 100 books. I read a respectable 68 books. I had low daily word expectations for 2010 , and I exceeded that... er, fail. Resolurions for 2011? Nah, notsomuch . We're just going to enjoy the baby. 3. Did anyone close to you give birth? If, by close to me you mean... rightherespice. *waves* (Also, my two besties from high school had babies in early 2010, another high school gal pal had twi...

Oh, I've just been so busy, though... and I hate to just pop in for a quickie post. See, this whole writing for examiner.com thing takes up my lunch hour now. That time used to be reserved for blogging. Le sigh. I've sold you out for a paying gig. (Um, so far... it's not paying much. So don't get too excited.) Check me out, though. Today, I wrote about Birth Plans. And so far, my most popular article was about these quintuplets born in Louisville about a week ago. So, that's cool... but I miss you guys! *** Fear not! I will still shower you with lovespice. There's plenty of me to go around. (There's even more of me than there was before, thanks to all this pregnancy weight.) Let's see... here are some random updates. * When deleting spammy comments from my posts, I often think to myself "how ruuuude" a la Stephanie Tanner's Full House days. God, she was adorable before she bacame a crack whore. * It feels odd, but I am cur...

My pal, pinkflipflops, at the many thoughts of a reader  snagged these questions from squido.com. I'd love to read your book-y answers, too! What have you just read? I just finished THE GIRL WHO STOPPED SWIMMING by Joshilyn Jackson and I lurvvvved it. I blogged about it earlier this week because I jocked it so much. Before reading that amazing novel, I read WEDDING SEASON by Darcy Cosper, (adored it) a book my Mom liked called THE SHACK (sort of abhored it!) and BUT INSIDE I'M SCREAMING by Elizabeth Flock (it was a'right.) What are you reading now? Don't laugh. I often read 21654321 books at the same time. I technically have six books going right now. I've been reading Jonathan S. Foer's EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED since April. Yeah. I've sort of decided to finish it at some point since I'm close to halfway through it. I'm reading THE BLIND ASSASSIN by Margaret Atwood. I started THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO last night because I could...

Ahh... I'm reading the best book right now. The main characters are named David and Laurel -- the same names as two of my very own characters in my will-she-really-ever-finish-writing-it WIP. Anyway. The book is called THE GIRL WHO STOPPED SWIMMING and it has been likened to THE LOVELY BONES. It's fantastic so far -- 85 pages in, and I'm. in. love. I'm off to read more, but before I go... I haven't really bragged about the sheer awesomespice number of books I've read in 2010 for awhile. It's time to share: With a goal of 100, I'm on book number 54! While I apparently threw out my writing goals along with the used-pregnancy tests I took (hubs said it was just icky-weird to save those as mementos -- also, is that like thowing out the baby with the bath water? -- I never understood that cliche. Anyway. This parenthetical aside has spiraled out of control.) it appears that I just might succeed in my reading goals this year. I rock at something...

Vacationgate 2010 Hubs has decided to go with my family and me to Destin next month! (He says he told me that he "would go" on the day I told him I was pregnant, which was smack in the middle of Vacationgate, when hubs did not want to go... nor did he want me to go and stay in my parents' condo for free. If you'll recall, I was going to go regardless.) So, I booked our condo today. Instead of me going for free, hubs and I are both going and spending $749.00 for the condo alone. Hubs didn't want to be left out after all. But, you know. It's cool. This will be our last babyless vacation. Who needs new windows anyway? 2010 Reading Challenge May was a productive reading month. I've now read a total of 34 books this year. If I can read 16 books in the month of June, I'll be halfway to my goal of 100 books for this calendar year. Word. (Or, should I say... words?) WIP-Progess Still slim to none since learning I am "with child" eight-...

WINTERGIRLS was amazing. I did not want to finish reading it. Reading Laurie Halse Anderson's words is like sitting in the most beautiful pocket of a poetry reading or listening to some breathtakingly sad song. But, I finished reading it. Then I moved on to Karyn Bosnak's 20 TIMES A LADY. It paled in comparison, but I don't know if it's Bosnak's fault or not. I just don't know what I could have read after WINTERGIRL'S that would have stood a chance. Now, I'm in the middle of Nick Hornby's A LONG WAY DOWN. There are four first person main characters, and each character's sections (there aren't really chapters) are titled with his or her name. It's about a group of people who meet on a roof top on New Years Eve: they are all up on the roof with the intention of jumping off. They have little more in common than their suicidal states of mind, but form an odd friendship... it's interesting and engaging. I'm going to sit outside and ...

I vowed to read 100 books in 2010. I'm well on my way. Here's a peek at how I've been spending my time this year... January MIDDLESEX Jeffrey Eugenidies THE LITTLE FRIEND Donna Tartt EXTREMELY LOUD and INCREDIBLY CLOSE Jonathan S. Foer NO WAY TO TREAT A FIRST LADY Christopher Buckley THE MIDDLE PLACE Kelly Corrigan THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING Milan Kundera LOST IN THE FOREST Sue Miller HOW TO BE GOOD Nick Hornby February THE ROAD Cormac McCarthy THE MEMORY KEEPER'S DAUGHTER Kim  Edwards THE END OF ALICE A.M. Homes THE DOUBLE BIND Chris Bohjalian THE READER Bernhard Schlink THE AMATEUR MARRIAGE Anne Tyler March THIRTEEN REASONS WHY Jay Asher SPOOKY LITTLE GIRL Laurie Notaro THE TRIANGLE POSE Mary Welp (re-read, totally counts) APRIL IF I STAY Gayle Forman SWEETHEATS Sara Zarr SNUFF Chuck Palahniuk HARVESTING THE HEART Jodi Picoult THE CARBON DIARIES Saci Lloyd LITTLE BEAUTIES Kim Addonizio THE EASY WAY TO STOP SMOKING Allen Car...

Sleepyspice. That's the story of my life, I guess. I stayed up too late last night watching the Grammys. (There were some super weird performances and some moving ones. Enough said.) Can you believe February is here? I'm proud to say that I am well on my way in the 100 book reading challenge for 2010. I just started my ninth book of the year -- Cormac McCarthy's THE ROAD. I'm 70 pages in, and it is so devistatingly good. Here's what I've read so far this year: THE LITTLE FRIEND by Donna Tartt EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE by Jonathan S. Foer NO WAY TO TREAT A FIRST LADY by Christopher Buckley THE MIDDLE PLACE by Kelly Corrigan MIDDLESEX by Jeffrey Eugenides LOST IN THE FOREST by Sue Miller THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING by Milan Kundera HOW TO BE GOOD by Nick Hornby (I'm pretty sure I blogged all these titles after I purchased them all at 1/2 Price Books, but you certainly needed a refresher, right?) I signed up for Goodreads ...

I am not a morning person. (Hell, I'm not even a morning blogger.) This morning was particularly bad, though. My stomach is all crampyspice. I didn't feel well all weekend -- sat around the house like an agoraphobic. My couch is all butt-indented. Luckily, I was able to take a half day off. Now I'm home sitting on my butt-indented couch, chillaxing. Ahh, the afternoon is mine. Aside from stirring my husband's chili every thirty minutes, I can do whateveriwant for the rest of the day. Perhaps I can start book number two of the one hundred I vowed to read in 2010. (Yeah, I'd better get a move on. I can't be taking ten days to read one book... but in my defense, THE LITTLE FRIEND was 555 pages long.) So, in case you're interested, here's my to-be-read list. These titles, recently purchased from Half Price Books, cost me a mere $24.90. Sue Miller's LOST IN THE FOREST Nick Hornby's HOW TO BE GOOD Kelly Corr...

I'm all signed up and ready to read! If you are interested in joining the fun, head over to J. Kaye's Book Blog to enlist. I think I'll start the year with Donna Tarrt's THE LITTLE FRIEND. Next I plan to check out Barbara Kingsolver's much awaited THE LACUNA and Sue Miller's THE SENATOR'S WIFE. What books are you guys excited to read in 2010?