With My Reading Buddy #5

So this is my last post for the Power Lunch year.

We had our last reading session last Tuesday, during which we completed our last (and twelfth) book of the Power Lunch program. Which was, surprisingly, NOT a scary story but (and I’m sure you may have had an idea) a Magic Tree House book!  (they are actually pretty cute).  Anyway it was #17, Tonight on the Titanic.  It was the beginning of another adventure. I guess four books are grouped for each adventure, where Jack and Annie need to find/collect/receive certain objects to help break a particular spell or curse.  Each book they get something new so that by the fourth book in the mini group, the spell can be broken.

So in Tonight on the Titanic they needed to receive the first gift to help save a dog.

During the sessions it took us to read the book, we talked a lot about the Titanic.  (My dad is obsessed and as Daddy’s Little Girl, I too was very into it when I was little).  A. really liked talking about it.  (And I think it may have been the one book where we didn’t somehow get sidetracked into talking about Call of Duty: Black Ops or other violent video games!) Anyway, I tried explaining to A. that just because they called her “unsinkable” it didn’t really mean she was.  I even used the book as an iceberg, a napkin for water (to show that a lot of the iceberg was hidden under the water) and my hand as the Titanic to show him how she hit the iceberg. He didn’t understand why they didn’t just turn her away from the ‘berg.  So I tried to explain that she was moving too fast, etc.  and he said “oooh okay……I still don’t think I get it”  HA!

Anyway, last week when I said “so our last reading for the year” he said “no! there are a thousand days left of school”   That made me feel good that he enjoys the reading.  I will definitely sign up in the fall again and I hope he does too; we’ll be paired up again.

This Tuesday (the 29th) we had the End of Year Celebration Breakfast during which we got to give our buddies books.  I did choose the Goosebumps (Give Yourself Goosebumps) books.  I found books 1 and 2 of the “series” on Amazon for about $3 each.  The first one  was delivered within just a couple of days but the second one still hasn’t arrived! (But they were purchased from the same seller and shipped the same day…go figure).  So I felt bad that I was only able to give him one.  I think he really liked it and I explained that he could follow different story lines to get different endings.  He tried to start reading it to himself right then!

I felt really bad for one of the other students who was talking with A.  He told A. his reading mentor’s name and kept looking at the door for him; I don’t think the mentor ever showed up.

I’m glad I was able to to go to the Celebration.  Since A. is the youngest of 5, I think he may not get that much attention.  He said he already told his mom that he wants to do Power Lunch again, and I told the program coordinator I would be signing up again, too.

I’m really glad I participated in the program, it makes me feel good to know that I’m making a positive difference in someone’s life, especially someone young who has some much to learn and has so many opportunities ahead!

WWW Wednesday (10)

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.  Click the image to be taken to MizB’s WWW post for today.  To play along, answer the following three questions.

What are you currently reading? 

I picked up where I left off in The Count of Monte Cristo.  I’ve gotten much further in it and I’m really enjoying it.  Makes me wonder why I stopped reading it for a month!

What did you recently finish reading? 

I recently finished Sorcery & Cecelia, or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C Wrede & Caroline Stevermer.  This was a “re-release” but in digital format.  It was a NetGalley review.  Read my review here

What do you think you’ll read next?

Once I finish The Count, I’ll go back to NetGalley since I have 3 more books on there to read and review.

Top Ten Books Written In The Past 10 Years That I Hope People Are Still Reading In 30 Years

The Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week they choose a new topic for bloggers to list their top ten of whatever fits into the category. (the image above is linked to today’s post at The Broke and the Bookish)

Today’s Top Ten: Top Ten Books Written in the Past Ten Years That I Hope People are Still Reading in 30 Years

Hmm, a good category, definitely requires some thought…

1. The Night Circus – Erin Morgenstern

2. The Hunger Games  Trilogy – Suzanne Collins

3. Room – Emma Donoghue

4. A Dog’s Purpose – W. Bruce Cameron

5. The Map of Time – Felix J. Palma

6. Ready Player One – Ernest Cline

7. The Millenium Trilogy – Stieg Larsson

8. The Shack – W. Paul Young

9. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – Rebecca Skloot

10. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

Honorable  Mentions: Harry Potter Series & A Song of Ice & Fire series.
I only mention these since the first books were published more than 10 years ago, but I think it’s safe to say these books will definitely still be read 30 years from now!

You know, this list actually turned out to be easier to make than I thought (with the help of my Goodreads “read” list, of course!)

{7am EST: The Broke and Bookish haven’t posted their Top Ten for today yet, so I will link back to it later on}

Musing Mondays (10)

 

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Each Monday, a book-related question will be posted and we blog our answers, then link back to the original post. (You can find this week’s original post by clicking on the above image).

This week’s musing asks…

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?

What a great question!

When I was little, I would ask my parents what a word meant and they would tell me to look it up in the dictionary.  I didn’t always do that, though. If I couldn’t figure out the word using the context, I would usually just let it go.  Most  often, I was on a train or somewhere where a dictionary was not readily available, and then I would forget to check it out later.

But now that I have my Kindle, I can just move the cursor to whatever word I want to look up and the definition pops up.  So easy!  I’ve had the Kindle for about a year now, but only recently really started utilizing the dictionary feature.  Especially with books written a long time ago!

What about you?

REVIEW: Sorcery & Cecelia, or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede & Caroline Stevermer

cover art courtesy of Open Road Media

Sorcery & Cecelia, or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot (Book 1)
Being the Correspondence of two Young Ladies of Quality regarding various Magical Scandals in London and the Country
Digital Edition
Authors: Patricia C. Wrede & Caroline Stevermer
Publish Date: 22-May-2012
Publisher: Open Road Media

NetGalley synopsis: Two girls contend with sorcery in England’s Regency age.

Since they were children, cousins Kate and Cecelia have been inseparable. But in 1817, as they approach adulthood, their families force them to spend a summer apart. As Cecelia fights boredom in her small country town, Kate visits London to mingle with the brightest lights of English society.

At the initiation of a powerful magician into the Royal College of Wizards, Kate finds herself alone with a mysterious witch who offers her a sip from a chocolate pot. When Kate refuses the drink, the chocolate burns through her dress and the witch disappears. It seems that strange forces are convening to destroy a beloved wizard, and only Kate and Cecelia can stop the plot. But for two girls who have to contend with the pressures of choosing dresses and beaux for their debuts, deadly magic is only one of their concerns.

 This ebook features illustrated biographies of Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the authors’ personal collections.

First I’d like to thank Sarah Murphy from Open Road Media for her help in answering my questions and supplying me with the cover art for the book.

It turns out this story was published several years ago, but this is  a digital edition with added information about the authors that was not previously published.

Before I get into my review of the story, I would like to make a few technical comments.  When I downloaded the file from NetGalley to my Kindle, the formatting was off.  It was automatically horizontal and the last line of text on some “pages” was (screen image) cut in half, making it difficult to read.  Since I still have my Sony eReader, I decided to see if I would have better luck with that.  I chose the medium text option, which was a bit larger than I am accustomed to, but the small font was too tiny.  This also had some formatting errors.  Sometimes only a few words or a few sentences would be on one “page” (screen image), resulting in a total page count of 350 (the Kindle version was 320 pages).

Also, I don’t know if it is because I used the Sony eReader, but I didn’t have illustrated biographies of the authors or photos. There was a brief afterward from the two authors discussing how the book was developed from a game.  I loved the idea of a letter writing game and thought it was very clever to turn it into a book.  (The Kindle also did not have any images or biographies, but just the same afterward I read on the eReader).

Hopefully, kinks were worked out and the digital edition now available for purchase is formatted appropriately and the biographies, photos, and afterward are all included. (or maybe the additional sections are only included in the ebook for purchase and not for review?)

Though the digital formatting on the device was a bit annoying, I was still able to enjoy the story, and thought it was a good one.

I really liked that it was set up in a letter-writing format.  I think it made it easier and faster to read.  Though I’m not an historical fiction expert by any means, I thought the language and writing were appropriate (including Capitalizing certain words when trying to emphasize a point – see the subtitle above for a perfect example).  It very much reminded me of books I read that actually were written in the 1800s.

The story was cute. The reader gets to know Kate and Cecelia (affectionately known as Cecy) through their letters to each other. Most of the characters were fairly well-developed (especially when one considers how they were created) and easy to believe. While the “love story” elements were predictable, they didn’t detract from the story.  In fact, for me, it was more like “alright already, just realize you love him”.  I think part of the reason it was acceptable to see the love interest progress so “quickly” during the reading was because time passed through the use of the letters. There wasn’t a lot of  back-story and build up, but I think that was better since this is for young adults.  If this had too much back-story and plot set-up, young adults may lose interest quickly. (To clarify, for this particular book, I think of young adult as around 12 years old or so)

I thought there would be more magic involved considering the title (and subtitle), but it seemed a lot of the magic performed was “off stage”, meaning that the reader didn’t “see” it happen, but rather “heard” about it.  While this wasn’t really an issue for me, I can expect some people may wish to “see” more magic and spells happen.

Sorcery & Cecelia is a fun read that could be done in just a couple of days.  I would consider it a “beach read” or even something I would read while flying to pass the time.

I would definitely recommend this book to young readers, and girls would probably enjoy it more than boys, generally speaking.   I understand that a couple more books were written in this series and I will probably read them at some point.

I would like to reiterate that I was not compensated for my review.

Sewing Funtime (4)

We had our fourth class last night.  We made our second pillow, one with a zipper this time. I could have used the same material as the first, but I decided I just wanted random patterns since these are learning projects.  You saw my choice in (Sewing Funtime (2))

Adding the zipper was easier than I anticipated, though I did make a careless mistake that bummed me out a bit (more because I made the error than the fact that it’s visible on the pillow).  Also, had I realized that the stitching would show on the outside around the zipper, I would have used black thread.  But the zipper will be on the bottom of the pillow, so it’s not a big deal. (and I didn’t know which stripe the zipper would end up on anyway)

I’m still really happy with how it turned out.

And a note that I don’t think I mentioned before: each pillow is 14″x14″  (the required pillow sizes were either that, 16″x16″, or 18″x18″)

Next week we start the pajama pants!  We’ll be following a pattern this time.  I’m excited to see how that works.

I think I mentioned that there are two other levels of sewing classes at the BCAE.  I’m definitely planning to sign up for level two, which is home decor.  And I think I will consider signing up for level three (a project of my choice).  I think I’d like to make a dress.  That would be fun!  (I really need a giant craft room….)

(and for now, I think I’m going to nix the Crafty Thursday posts…I know I won’t have lots of updates on those different crafts each week..maybe I’ll change it into a monthly type thing eventually, but for now, I’m going to hold off)

Book Beginnings on Fridays (9)

Book Beginnings on Fridays is a weekly meme hosted by Gilion over at Rose City Reader.  She recently took over this weekly meme.  Basically, we post the opening sentence for whatever book we are reading and what we think about it.  I’ve never really done anything like that, and only occasionally pay attention to the first sentence of book…usually only if it really appeals to me. Clicking the image above will take you to Gilion’s Book Beginning for today.

“8 April 1817
Rushton Manor, Essex
Dearest Kate,
It is dreadfully flat here since you have been gone, and it only makes it worse to imagine all the things I shall be missing.”
-Sorcery & Cecelia Or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot, Patricia C. Wrede & Caroline Stevermer

This is one of my NetGalley books for review.  I”ll be posting my review over the weekend.  Some interesting finds along the way.

Have you read this?

 

UNRELATED SIDENOTE: this is my 100th post!!!

Gay Penguins Finally Lay An Egg

Reblogged from Penguin Place Post:

It seems all the world loves a good "gay" penguin story and this tale of penguin bromance is no exception. But, this heartwarming story has a slightly different twist than your usual gay penguin fare.  The Penguin Post has learned that after six years of being together this pair of wannabe penguin dads, are actually going to be dads!  Their instinctive wish to have a family after a half dozen years of building nests for naught has finally come true after keepers at their home in Madrid's Fainia Zoo in Spain made a very special delivery of an egg to the stone, grass and moss nursery nest the penguins had carefully prepared. 

Read more… 647 more words

Love it!

Crafty Thursday (1)

Crafty Thursday is a weekly meme hosted here at enchantedbybooks.  This is the inaugural post!  Anyone who does any kind of craft: sewing, knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, photography, paper-crafts, (literally anything!) is welcome to join in!  Each week, you can post about what crafts you’ve been working on.  Concerns, issues, triumphs, questions, advice…anything you feel like sharing regarding the crafty project you’re working on.

Since I find it too difficult/time-consuming to keep up with the two separate blogs as I mentioned here, I figured dedicating one post a week to my crafty side would be a good compromise. And since Thursday is the only day I don’t already do a weekly meme, it seemed to be the perfect day to do it

I’m going to try this for a few weeks and see how it goes.  If I get at least 10 people to participate each week, I’ll keep it going.

Join me by adding a link to your post in the comments!

Knitting
Recently Finished: A little baby hat for my cousin who is expecting a baby in early September.

And a blanket for my niece that I started over a year and a half ago.  I worked on it sporadically mainly because I went through long periods of time where I didn’t do any knitting.  Then I started learning new techniques and didn’t want to do a basic blanket anymore.  But I finally finished it last weekend (which I mentioned here, click for images!).

One the needles: I started a blanket for the same baby boy.  And by started I mean I just cast on.  I’ve been debating on whether I want to follow a pattern or “make up” my own.  As of right now, my idea is just a basic basket stitch.

On deck: When I eventually finish the blanket (hopefully before he’s born), I think I’ll try and make something else baby-related for the baby.  I’d like to try out some new patterns.

Scrapbooking
This has been my biggest craft area for procrastination!  I have about 4 different scrapbooks to finish.   It is very time consuming and I don’t have a proper craft room.

Senior Year (college):  I’m probably less than halfway through this. I’ve broken it down by the different senior events that were held each month  throughout the school year, plus some randoms, Theta Phi, and graduation.  (I graduated 4 years ago today, by date – 18-May 2008).

France: I’m about halfway done on this one. Maybe a bit more actually.  This trip was four years ago next week (we left on 20-May-2008).  I’m actually waiting on a special part for the scrapbook.  M’s cousin sketched a picture of us asleep together on a train to Paris and I want a copy of it for my scrapbook.  Since cousin lives in France, it’s been difficult to get it.

Aruba: I started going to Aruba annually in 2010, so I’ve been there twice.  I decided to start a scrapbook where I’ll add each year into it.  I’m almost done with the 2010 trip and still have to add 2011 trip.  I’ll be going twice this year, once in August for a cousin’s wedding, and then the annual trip in December.  Definitely need to catch up!

Italy: I went to Italy in March of 2007.  So this is definitely the most slacked on scrapbook.  Part of it is because I still haven’t printed any of the pictures out.  This was one of my favorite trips, and I want to make sure I do it justice. I only had crappy disposable cameras at the time (my digital camera was all screwed up and I didn’t have time to get a new one before the trip) so I’m taking lots of pictures from the people who were on the trip with me (and by taking I mean saving the pictures they uploaded to Facebook…yup).  So I’ve saved a lot of them and I have a lot of stickers/embellishments and a book for it, I just need to print the pictures and sit down and get it done.  Eventually.

Sewing
Recently Finished: As you know from my “Sewing Funtime” posts, I recently began a sewing class. We finished our first pillows! (well, technically I finished sewing up the last bit today after work, and not in class, but that’s okay!).  I really enjoy the class and would like to do the next level when these sessions are over.

On Deck: We will begin our second pillow (with a zipper) next session.

I’ll still do my Sewing Funtime post separate from this, where I will include more pictures and details. (I will link to the Sewing Funtime posts here, too).

(image for Crafty Thursday logo from Microsoft clipart.  I altered the image and added text using Microsoft Word)

WWW Wednesday (9)

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.  Click the image to be taken to MizB’s WWW post for today.  To play along, answer the following three questions.

• What are you currently reading? 

Almost done with one of my NetGalley reads which was published yesterday.  Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer.

What did you recently finish reading? 

I finally finished The Twelfth Enchantment by David Liss.  I’ll post a review soon.

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next read will be another of the NetGalley books.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Blogs/Sites You Read That AREN’T About Books

The Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week they choose a new topic for bloggers to list their top ten of whatever fits into the category. (the image above is linked to today’s post at The Broke and the Bookish)

This is a good one!  It helps promote non-book blogs that I read and really enjoy.  I think everyone should check these out!

1. *kind of* a grownup
This is one of my best friends’ blogs. She doesn’t post everyday, but her posts are great. Making her way through being a 20-something. She posts some really funny things, observations, and fun things about her upcoming wedding!

2. The Penguin Place Post
I love penguins. I have since high school, but I honestly can’t tell you why I started liking them, I just do. They’re cute and interesting creatures. Anyway, this follows a shop based in Massachusetts. They post articles about penguin happenings all over the world. Always some good tidbits of information and interesting facts!

3. Love and a Six-Foot Leash
I LOVE reading this blog whenever a new post comes up. It’s about a dog-foster family and their dogs. Both started out as fosters and have now become “forever dogs.” I’ve been following for a few months now, not too long after they got Snickerdoodle as a foster. They found out that he had severe heartworms and had to take care of him, and during that time they decided to keep him. Reading the posts about him and Sir Chick (their first forever dog) makes my heart smile. Every Friday Sir Chick posts something. I love reading Chix-a-Lot Fridays!

4. Mrs. Pea’s Perspectives
Mrs. Pea is such a crafty lady! She has her own etsy shop, which you should check out. Some really great handmade crafts can be found! I enjoy reading her blog posts about her crafts and just her everyday happenings!

5. Second Lunch
A hilarious blog-comics combo. You should definitely check this out. The graphics are clever and the commentary is so funny! I definitely enjoying reading it whenever a new post comes up!

6. dresses and me
Since I recently started sewing classes, I’ve noticed a few more sewing blogs out there (especially when I’ve used sewing tags and they’ve found my blog!). Dresses and me is one of those. She has some great projects she’s posted on her site and it’s interesting to read about things I don’t really know yet, but hope to soon!

7. Cotton Handy
Another sewing blog. Dani also has some great projects and pictures. She has pictures of some really cute projects she’s recently completed. I look forward to reading her posts since I’m new to the world of sewing.

8. Sarah Smiles Awhile
This doesn’t seem to be a specific blog (like a book or craft blog) but I guess a “general” blog. But I don’t like saying “general” because I don’t want that to sound boring. Sarah has some really great posts on here. It’s always great to read what she has to write!

9. Highest Form of Whit
A funny and very fun blog to read!

10. Remain Insane
I only recently started following this blog (about a week ago), so I’ve only read a bit. And while she does mention books, this is more than a book blog. So far it’s been fun to read and I look forward to more!

There are a few that I follow on Google Reader that aren’t book blogs (like winteriscoming.net, which is all about Game of Thrones, the HBO TV show, but is based on the books, so I didn’t include it in my list, and dictionary.com word of the day, and a quote of the day…both those aren’t really blogs…hehe).

So it was a bit harder than I thought, I follow WAY more book blogs than anything else! (And while going through the list of blogs I follow, I was able to do some “housekeeping”!)

Musing Mondays (9)

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Each Monday, a book-related question will be posted and we blog our answers, then link back to the original post. (You can find this week’s original post by clicking on the above image).

This week’s musing asks…

What do you do with the book before you start reading it?

It depends.  If it’s on my Kindle, I make sure I’m at the cover of the book and go through each page.  I don’t skip to chapters, and I rarely click on the hyperlinked chapter title/number because I always want to make sure I’m going to the first page and not missing anything.

With a physical book, I may re-read the back of the book (if there’s anything there), but usually I just jump right in.  I may look to see how the chapters are set up (character POVs, dated, formatted as letters, etc.) But mostly, I just start it right away.

Sewing Funtime (3)

We finished our first pillows!

As you saw in my last Sewing Funtime post, I had stitched up three full sides and the corners of the fourth side.  We left an opening on one side where we would insert the pillow.  Obviously, we couldn’t go back to the machine to close it up.  So we learned to do an invisible stitch by hand.  In some spots you can definitely tell it was done by hand not machine, and in a few spots, it looks pretty decent.  I’m happy with the result!

I’m very proud of what I’ve  accomplished in three weeks.  I am familiar with how to use a sewing machine, and know some of the terminology,  and a few techniques, so I am confident in learning more. And I created a pillow!

We also learned that there are two other level classes offered: home decor (cushions, curtains, etc.) and then a “choose your own project” (which is the third level).  I would definitely be interested in at least the second level.  And if I felt confident (and creative) enough to go to level three, then I’d do that, too.

Book Beginnings on Friday (8)

Book Beginnings on Fridays is a weekly meme hosted by Gilion over at Rose City Reader.  She recently took over this weekly meme.  Basically, we post the opening sentence for whatever book we are reading and what we think about it.  I’ve never really done anything like that, and only occasionally pay attention to the first sentence of book…usually only if it really appeals to me. Clicking the image above will take you to Gilion’s Book Beginning for today.

I’m still on The Twelfth Enchantment,  so you can see last week’s Book Beginnings for the, well, book beginning.

But I’m further into it than  I was last week and it’s picking up.  I’ve just been very busy with work that I haven’t done much reading.  It’s pretty interesting. Hopefully I’ll finish it this weekend.

WWW Wednesday (8)

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.  Click the image to be taken to MizB’s WWW post for today.  To play along, answer the following three questions.

• What are you currently reading? 

Still working on The Twelfth Enchantment by David Liss…

What did you recently finish reading? 

…which means my last book was still Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.  Read my review here.

 What do you think you’ll read next?

I still plan to read the NetGalley books next. I think there are 4 of them now…