February Wrap Up

I had high hopes for February.  With it being the month of love, I thought I would be reading a lot of romance!  Unfortunately, that was not the case.  I've had hits and misses this month and have only finished reading TWO books!  Can you imagine that?

I've probably opened up to 5 books last month that I haven't finished.  Here's a short recap of the books that I read - some I did finish and some I didn't.

Everneath by Brodi Ashton - ♥♥♥

A Mermaid's Kiss by Joey W. Hill - ♥♥♥

The Importance of Being Wicked by Victoria Alexander - ☢

1984 by George Orwell - ☢

Ruined by Rumor by Alyssa Everett - ☢

February Book DNRs

There are times when the books you pick end up as a DNR  (Do Not Resuscitate, yes because I am a nurse, so I have to call it that).  At the first of the month, I had high hopes with my book choices.  In fact, I signed up for a mini challenge hoping to get through my TBR pile in a breeze.  For the most part, I had hoped that by mid month, I would be at least halfway done.  But no.  I just couldn't get past finishing my choices.  Maybe I was being ambitious.  But I thought picking 5 books wasn't that bad.  I mean, I have read more than 5 in a month.

Here's the rundown of my currently reading list.

1984 by George Orwell

Yes, I had been raving about this since I started listening to the audio book.  I'm now at the point where Winston and Julia get caught by the government.  At this time, it seems like the book is dragging like crazy.  Not to mention the reader's (not me but the one reading the audiobook) voice is driving me nuts!  It's all I could do not to throw the dang ipod out the window.  So now, I have stopped listening.

The Importance of being Wicked by Victoria Alexander

Don't get me wrong.  I like Victoria Alexander.  But this book just missed the mark for me!  I was waiting for something wicked to happen.  I'm about 150 pages in and still nothing.  Depending on my mood, I may have to read this at a later time.

Ruined by Rumor by by Alyssa Everett

This is a new to me author and I must say I am not impressed yet.  The heroine Roxana is just annoying!  I thought her flakey and flighty and I just didn't connect with her.  So I'm saying DNF for me at this time.

So, after the rundown of the books that I have put on the DNR List for the moment.  As with all advance directives, it can be changed at any time which means, I may revisit and re-read these books in the future.  

Sunday Thoughts and Whatnot

So, I've been pretty lazy these days.  It's practically mid-month with the 14th looming in the horizon and I have barely finished The Importance of Being Wicked.  Okay, blame it on the fact that I have been exhausted from work and the Boss (hubby) and I have been galivanting to god knows where.  I know, excuses smexcuses but that's that.

 

One good thing that came out within the last couple of weeks was the fact that I recently rediscoved the public libarary system!  For the last couple of years, I have let my library card gather dust so I finally took some time to renew it.  Lo and behold, they offer ebooks and audiobooks!  Ecstatic much?  Yes, yes I am!  This means that I do not have to drive to the local branch and just borrow from home.  The downside to this is, yes you guessed it, I still have to be in queue!  WTH!  Apparently, I was under the impression the since it is an ebook, multiple peeps can borrow it at the same time.  What does this mean?  It means that I still have to place the book on hold and wait.  So yeah, two books on my February TBR are still on hold and I'm probably on the bottom of the list.  *sigh*

 

On a good note, my forray into audiobook reading is pretty good.  I have been listening to 1984 on my way to and from work.  Sure, my mind does wander a bit while listening but I've pretty much gotten the gist of the whole thing.  I'm about mid book and at this moment, Winston and Julia have just been recruited to join the Brotherhood, the group out to overthrow Big Brother.  I may have to watch the movie based on this book but I'll leave that at a later time.  If only there were 48 hours in a day.

 

What have I learned this past few weeks?  One: never add a book not yet obtained to the TBR list.  Two: do not swerve from the path and read a book not in your TBR list.  Three: disregard all learnings in the past week and just read whatever strikes your fancy.

 

Happy reading!

Big Brother is Watching

No.  I am not talking about the reality show Big Brother.  I am talking about the awesome book 1984 by George Orwell!  This is my first foray into audiobook "reading" and I must say that I am hooked!  I am 2 chapters deep into this awesome book and I am loving it!  So yeah, noob here but hey, I expected not to like listening to an audiobook!  Plus, it helps pass time while stuck in traffic!  And LA traffic is the worst at around 5-ish in the PM.

Here's my favorite line so far:

“He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.” 

― George Orwell, 1984

Audiobooks may not be my format of choice but I am definitely going to explore this format!  Possibly add another thing to my bucket list - read the classics! ♥

Feature Friday: Waking Up in Your Favorite Book

Happy Friday everyone!  This is my first post for Follow Friday hosted by Parajunkie and Allison Can Read.  I'm hoping I'm doing this right!  It's been a while since I joined a meme.

Question:

What is the first thing you would do if you woke up to find yourself in your favorite book?

For the life of me, I cannot pick a favorite book to wake up in!  But I would think that I will be lice Alice, you know, the one in Wonderland? LOL  So much for that bit of fun but here goes my serious answer.

I love the Regency era, so yeah, no modern technology, no internet, no cellphones, you get the picture. I would however, go shopping and get me some of those awesome gowns and coutume-y period clothing.   Assuming I would me waking up as one of the ladies of the ton, a debutante to boot, I would go to all the lavish parties, go and explore the period - meet some pirates, try to be a bluestocking, check out the rookeries, solve a crime, meet the Bow Street Runners, check out those old castles - the works! If possible, try to experience what some of those romance heroines experienced.

Well, what would you do?  Leave a comment and follow, follow, follow!

Booking Through Thursday: Do you lend your books?

It's Booking Through Thursday and the question this week is something that I have pretty bad experiences with.

Do you lend your books? Are any out on loan right now? Do you have any that have been loaned to you? Do you put a time limit on these? Do you think people should make an effort to read the loaned book quickly?

I love to share my books.  BUT I have learned to lend them to ONLY people I trust.  Yes, I learned it the hard way.  In fact, I've probably lost a few books from people who either did not give it back, or ruined it.  As a book lover, I think that it is a travesty.  Even if I am letting them borrow my books for free, that does not mean that they have free reign over it.  In fact, I expect them to take care of it as I would take care of it.  Based on previous horrible experience, I have learned to ALWAYS state my expectations before they borrow my books.  I let them know right off the bat that they are MINE and not theirs. 

Even if they are not paying for it and they can return it whenever, I regularly check up on it.  Say, if they took out a book from me and it's been a month, I give them a quick message or call them up and let them know that I want my book back.  I have had horror stories wherein my books were returned waterstained or in disrepair.  In which case, I asked them to pay for it retail price or buy me the same book.  Seriously.  Some of my friends have tried to talk their way out of it, but I have been pretty firm about it - you return it in the same condition as when you borrowed it.  I haven't lost my friends over this though. Fortunately, I don't have any books out on loan right now.  After all that craziness, I have decided not to let anyone touch my books.  EVER.

 

So, have you had any horror stories with your out on a loan books?  Leave a comment below!

Booking Through Thursday: Soundtrack

Do you ever try to pair music with the book you’re reading? Play the movie soundtrack while reading the original book? Find mood music that fits with your story?

This is the first time that I will be joining Booking Through Thursday so I will give this a shot.  I'm not really a fan of reading and listening to music at the same time.  To me, this just ruins the mood and prevents me from immersing myself in the world I am reading about.  I love music but pairing it with reading just does not cut it.  I may like the songs/music in the soundtrack and I may hunt them down and listen to it obsessively for about a few days but that's it. 

 

Thinking about the soundtrack while reading the book is another story, though.  For example, while reading Harry Potter, I tend to imagine the sounds, and this includes the theme music by John Williams, and basically see the movie in my head while reading.  I think this is a more fun thing to do and actually adds drama to my reading.