Weekly Geeks 14 – Reading Globally

This week’s theme for Weekly Geeks 14-2010 is Reading Globally.

I have signed up for the Easy Level of Dorte’s 2010 Global Reading Challenge but have yet to give it serious attention.   I just may be on Challenge overload but it’s still fun.    I thought I would use this week to check on my reading to date and where it’s been taking me around the world – if it has!

I’ve read 21 books so far this year.   I do think I have been reading a nice variety of style and topic but in terms of location, I seem to be entrenched within the US and UK.

US – 11
England – 4
Ireland (Dublin) – 1
Spain – 1
Fantasy World – 3 (Herland setting being identified as South America)

Of the books set in the United States, the states represented seem to be the most populous ones:   3 in California, 2 in Florida, 1 in Texas.   Three books are impossible to pin down to one location and two could be said to be New England, but I suppose Wordy Shipmates could be Massachusetts.   I would hazard a guess that Oryx & Crake is New York but it could be Massachusetts?  Could be Canada, too – we don’t get many clues other than Harvard being underwater.

My most ‘worldly’ book would have to be Waiting for Columbus;   set in Spain with the author being Canadian.

Of the twenty authors represented, only eight are not from the US.    I read only one translated book:   from Swedish, Benny & Shrimp by Katarina Mazetti.

I’m balanced at 11:10 on the Female to Male author ratio.   But regarding ethnic diversity, my reading is NOT.     Looks like I need to get busy on incorporating more diversity and start traveling around the world and meeting new people – here, there and everywhere.     Still overall, I do think my reading choices have been atypical, nonclassifiable – - not same-same;   not representative of one genre or category.     And I thank book blogging for that.

My current reading of Woman by Natalie Angier has me exploring the inside of the female body but I would still have to say it is US-centered, though she does talk about health comparisons in other countries and the historical aspects of how the knowledge was built.   The strange conclusions of the Greeks and the odd bias’ of the Victorian age (European?) physicians are fascinating.

So what do I pick up next?    I was sort of hoping to tackle Watership Down next.     It’s about…. rabbits?!    and I have no idea if they are US rabbits or fantasy-world rabbits.   Or perhaps I should peruse my tbr shelf and pick one of these:

Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns (Afghanistan)

Nadine Gordimer’s A Sport of Nature (South Africa)

Anita Diamant’s Day After Night (Israel, US author)

Jose Saramago’s  Blindness (Portugal?)

I’m thinking that A Thousand Splendid Suns will be the best option on the diversity/non-US location scale.    Would you agree?

HIdeinWhitetoSkipLine

Copyright © 2010. Care’s Online Book Club. All rights reserved. This post was originally posted by Care from Care’s Online Book Club.  It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Winner of Oryx & Crake

Earlier in the month, I announced a book giveaway and then promptly forgot all about it.  OOPS!

So, I hereby decree the winner of my hardback Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood that I bookmooched, if I remember correctly, to be

BEASTMOMMA – her blog of the same  name

and her winning entry of commenting a sentence(s) with new-to-me words from my post:

Perhaps, a leman created the universe. After all a poltroon could not possibly have courage to love truly and wouldn’t you need courage of love to be a demiurge?

Congratulations and SEE YOU TOMORROW!    Yes, another book-blogger-meetup opportunity in downtown Boston…

HIdeinWhitetoSkipLine

Copyright © 2010. Care’s Online Book Club. All rights reserved. This post was originally posted by Care from Care’s Online Book Club.  It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

P.S. I Love You

Thoughts   P.S. I Love You by Cecilia Ahern, Hyperion 2004, 375 pages

MOTIVATION for READING:    I really enjoyed the movie and mentioned I would like to read the book.   My friend Gail loaned it to me.

WHAT’s it ABOUT:   A young widow receives a packet from her husband with monthly letters offering advice on how to move on with her life.

I have been sitting here for days wondering what thoughtful comments I can add or insights I can share but the best I can do is to forget trying to reinvent the wheel and just quote Marian Keyes’s blurb on the front cover:

“Sweet and sad and funny:  a charming journey from grief to hope.”

Because as short as that is, it is spot on.   I agree with it.   Now, on the back cover, the Boston Globe gives it a “four and half hankies out of five” rating:  ”Laugh and cry along with Holly, as she bravely forges on with life.”

But I didn’t cry.   And I only give it the three pie rating for “I liked it.”   In fact, I think I prefer the movie!    I DID cry watching the film.

Lots of great Irish slang (I’m assuming, but I didn’t write any of the words/expressions down to double check).    I enjoyed the setting of Dublin and Galway which I’m told is a lovely place;   would SO love to visit Ireland someday.   I was impressed with this book as a debut novel and look forward to reading more from Ahern.   It looks like she is off to an illustrious career;   she has a ton of books out already considering this was her first six years ago.    In fact, one of my pet peeves about book covers is when they talk more about another book that the author has written than the one I’ve got in my hands.    This cover states the Cecilia Ahern is the author of Rosie Dunne (titled Love, Rosie in the US?) but says PS I Love You is her first.    Well, did they publish these at the same time?   So confusing…   But not terribly relevant, I suppose.   Or, is it?

Now I’m just rambling and off-topic.   I need to get back to writing reviews for this so-called ‘book’ blog;  I’m out of practice.

HIdeinWhitetoSkipLine

Copyright © 2010. Care’s Online Book Club. All rights reserved. This post was originally posted by Care from Care’s Online Book Club.  It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Happy Birthday Softdrink!

Today is – if I wrote it down correctly – the birthday of Softdrink of the awesome Fizzy Thoughts blog.   Click here to go to her blog and wish her a Happy-Happy!

I wrote a cheer in her honor and to celebrate Poetry Month.

Here’s to Jill and many a Fizzy Thought
Here’s to another book she read and bought
Here’s to the parody of many a song
Here’s to authors at whom she may have thrown a thong* (hey – it rhymes, deal)
She’s the first blogger who sent me a book
Just because!  and so I was hooked
I appreciate all that she does and shares
She’s so darn funny and I believe she truly cares.
Here’s to unflagging enthusiasm and cheer
In NYC next month, I will buy her a beer! (pie didn’t rhyme, Jill, but if you prefer pie, we can arrange that, too…)

* it’s a Twitter thing about authors who are panty-worthy…    I am not sure who to give credit to – perhaps Rebecca the Book Lady?

*HIdeinWhitetoSkipLine

Copyright © 2010. Care’s Online Book Club. All rights reserved. This post was originally posted by Care from Care’s Online Book Club.  It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

And Finally…

More

The landscaping continues…  I’m still on page 15 of Woman by Angiers.    Book Club is TODAY!!!!!    See my review of the book we will be discussing:  A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood.

The Granite Steps are DONE.

Close Up Looking Up

East side of the house - not as exciting, but I'm glad of what we did here.

Wordless Wednesday

I’m Landscaping

I’m landscaping!   Or rather, my husband is – I’m just helping.   I’m more the gardener.   I just wanted you all to know what I’ve been up to and why I feel I don’t have any internet-play time.   Somebody asked to see some photos…   Enjoy.

WHAT I’m READING:   Northeast Home Landscaping by Roger Holmes and Rita Buchanan, Creative Homeowner 1998,2007; 223 pages and lots of pretty pictures!

On Saturday, we rented a sod cutter machine to create the new space to for me to play in the dirt.    We will be adding granite steps on the steepest part and planting a tree in the center.    Today I am going to lay the weed-prevention fabric and then start mulching.   I’ve got some azaleas to plant, too.

I do intend to take some reading breaks.     I’ve got Woman:  An Intimate Geography by Natalie Angier and I’m loving it – learning A LOT.     It’s a library book – HAPPY LIBRARY WEEK!  and I’m also dipping into PS I Love You by Cecelia Ahern.

So what are you doing this spring that might be taking you away from blogging?

HIdeinWhitetoSkipLine

Copyright © 2010. Care’s Online Book Club. All rights reserved. This post was originally posted by Care from Care’s Online Book Club.  It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Read-A-Thon MidPoint Spring 2010

OK, I want to play.    So…   I signed up to cheer for one measly hour but hope to do much more and since I sat down with the laptop, I’ve been a tweeting FOOL.    and a Rhyming-Crazy-Person.

I want to do the midpoint mini-challenge so that I can actually show I’m doing some ‘participating’.   Here goes:

Mid-Event Survey:Mid-Event Survey:

1. What are you reading right now?   TWITTER!!!

2. How many books have you read so far?   ZERO – I didn’t sign up to read this year.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?   N/A

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?   Well, therein lies the problem with my lack of participation!    Hub and I decided to do way more than humans are possible to accomplish this weekend and so …   excuses, excuses.    I was out ALL DAY, moving sod to create a new garden plot in the front yard;   it’s a bit of a steep hill and thus won’t be so hard to mow but WOW – it took ALL DAY.   We actually hoped to go to the boat and CLEAN/PREP that thing but am SO GLAD we cancelled.  The whole time, I kept saying in my head, “ThisIsALousyReadAThonEffort,PSHAW”  but, I totally didn’t execute the planning-communication phase of the April.   oops.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?   ha!

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?   I’m loving Twitter.   I don’t think I had jumped into that craziness last year.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?    Just for myself.   Like, PLAN!!

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?    I’m really thinking seriously about scheduling to be away from home for one – sounds so awesome to sit by a pool and read and be pampered and not have anyone poke fun at you for wanting to read and blog and etc.

9. Are you getting tired yet?   I’m drinking a Capt Morgan and Coke.    Won’t last too long but am exceeding my hour commitment so I’m good.

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?      Just have fun with it!

READ-A-THON Spring 2010

Today is the Spring 2010 Read-A-Thon and I will be bebopping around the blogosphere waving pompons and cheering everyone on to READ!  READ!   READ!!

Have fun!