Giving up on JK

So I can't do it. I can't finish Casual Vacancy. I was forcing myself to pick it up and then spending more than a minute on a page, getting easily distracted by House Hunters and any other show on TV. That's not a good sign.
That doesn't mean I'll never finish it, it just means I will have to come back to it later.
I went to the library on Friday and had 4 holds ready for pick-up.
After I started Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore,  the was no going back to The Casual Vacancy. 
It's really just that good of a book, but I'll post a full review when I finish later this week.
You know that feeling of pressure and guilt when you get a brand new book from the library and you just know someone else is waiting for you to finish it so that it can be their turn?  With 4 holds to get thru I had to put aside the book I own and start my library books.
So far they all look good.
I've got the 24 Hour Bookstore, I Hunt Killers, Among Others, and Drop Dead Healthy.

Book Mountain

Can I live here? There's plenty of space. Maybe in a few years you'll see this place on Extreme Homes when I turn it into my personal house.
Try out this website Travel Between the Pages. It combines my two favorite hobbies: travel and reading.

Lena Dunham Book Advance

Girls is an amazing show. I watched it religiously. Lena Dunham deserves all of her success.
I was very excited when I heard she had a book coming out and even more excited when I heard about her reported $3.5 million advance.
But...
Then I read this article on Book Riot.
And  I was like, damn, she's right.
That $3.5 million dollar advance will keep other authors from getting published since the money has been given to Ms. Dunham. There won't be room for their titles, or they will get low-ball advances.
I had never thought of it like that before. Money to one person comes out of the pocket of another.
It makes me depressed and frustrated.
Every time I think I want to go for it and submit things to publishers I read a story like this about how hard it can be to work with mainstream publishers if you don't have a platform in the form of an HBO show.
Good luck Lena. How ever your book sells (I willl def buy a copy) that money will already be in your bank account.

National Book Awards 2012

I thought I was a snooty reader, but apparently I'm not. I'm just one of those people who reads mainstream books that a lot of other people like.
I had no idea.
How I learned this was looking at the 2012 National Book Awards.
What a load of depressing junk. I mean I've heard of all these books. I get Publisher's Weekly.
I've read the synopsis of each and every one and politely said, "No thank you."
Who reads these books? Who's life is so boring that they would inflict these types of topics into their free time?
I thought maybe it was just this year's nominees, but nope. They are all that plain, boring and serious.

I don't read these types of books. There is no magic, not much imagination (I think), and no sex, drugs or rock-n-roll.
From now on I will not be impressed when I hear that a book won a National Book Award.
Even the children's book selections were bad. I don't know a single kid who has read those books. Those are books that adults write to win awards, not books that are written for kids.
Argh. It drives me crazy.
National Book Award my ass.

Casual Vacay

So I started The Casual Vacancy. I haven't gotten too far yet, but so far I like it. It's very British, which I love. Of course I'll read anything that comes from GB. I'm snobby like that. I prefer the old stuff, but new is good too. I'll devour some Ian McEwan. I loved Major Pettigrew's Last Stand.
I have read some early reviews of this book and they are not rave reviews. They are pretty tame.
It seems to be just a tale of a very small village and the social and political issues that come up when someone on the town council dies. I'm cool with that. I'm excited to finish it.

The only problem is time. Grad school is wrapping up soon for me, and the kids' school lives are in full swing, and my elem school is kicking my ass as well. I keep hoping that after Christmas I will have more time to keep up with all the new books. They always seem to come out faster than I can read them. And I still have all those classics on my shelves that need read too.

This book might take me all month to read. That is so frustrating. If it was a Harry Potter novel I would have probably finished it already by reading it on my lunch break, while sitting on the toilet, while making dinner, while my husband drives, while I'm watching TV, and while NOT doing my homework.

The Casual Vacancy will instead be relegated to my nightstand and that short 20 minutes it takes at night for my eyes to get heavy while watching Rick Steves.

On Writing Blogs

I've been doing a lot of research lately about blogging and what kind of blog I really want to write. I am not a serious person, nor do I have the time to peruse all the latest and greatest in education and book reviews.
 I am not here to educate, I am more here to entertain.
That is where I get confused.
If content is king do I HAVE to create content? Can I just spread links to other interesting content? Do I have to know exactly what I an talking about? I don't really want to.
I just want to write and hopefully make you smile.
I don't like blogs where people don't talk about themselves. I can find information myself, so I don't need anyone to just repost existing information.
I want to talk about books and point you to interesting things, but I don't want to be an expert, just a guide and an interpreter.
So keep coming here for tidbits of entertaining info. I will write all that I can to keep you coming back. Just stay with me.

Casual Vacancy and Winter of the World

When Oh when will I have the time? 

They are mocking me while sitting on the coffee table.

 I feel guilty watching the Amazing Race and Tuesday night on Fox.

I feel guilty reading anything else but these two.

Can't I just take a week off work and knock them out?