Summer 2013 Book Challenge, Completed

Here is my completed Summer 2013 Book Challenge from Semi-Charmed Life

Rules:

• The challenge will run from July 1, 2013, to September 30, 2013. No books that are started before 12 a.m. on July 1 or finished after 11:59 p.m. on September 30 will count.
• No re-reads (unless specifically stated)! I want you to experience new books with this challenge.
• Each book must be at least 200 pages long. Audiobooks are fine, as long as the print versions meet the page requirements.
• A book can only be used for one category. If you want to switch the category later, that's fine, just be sure to account for that in your point total.

The Challenge:

• 5 points: Freebie! Read any book you'd like, as long as it follows the above rules. :)
  The Barakee Mystery by Arthur Upfield; 336 pages.  (July 2013)
• 5:  Read a book that is less than 150 pages long.
• The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan; 148 pages (July 2013/audio)
• 10: Read a book with a color in the title.
  The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey by Walter Mosley; 288 pages (July 2013)
• 10: Read a book that is not the first in its series. (And yes, it must be in a series.
  The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party (12th in the series) by Alexander McCall Smith; 240 pages (August 2013)
• 15: Read a book it seems everyone but you has read! 
  The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury; 256 pages.  I was late in "discovering" Bradbury--it seems that all my fellow fantasy and sci fi literary nerds had read this long ago! (July 2013)
• 15: Read a banned book.
  Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, 267 pages. (August 2013/audio) 
• 20: Read a book written by a celebrity. 
  If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't) by Betty White; 272 pages (July 2013/audio)
• 20: Read a non-fiction book that is not a memoir.Becoming Myself: Embracing God's Dream of You by Stasi Eldrige; 256 pages; Christian Living nonfiction. (July 2013) My review is posted here.
• 20: Read a book that takes place in a state you have never been in. 
  The House without a Key by Earl Derr Biggers.  Takes place in Hawaii; 240 pages.  (July 2013)
• 25: Read a book that is at least 400 pages long.
  The Book of Secrets by Elizabeth Joy Arnold; 464 pages.  (July 2013)
• 25: Read a book with a main character who shares your first name.
  The G-String Murders by Gypsy Rose Lee, 209 pages. Main character is Gypsy herself and though we spell it differently, I thought it would be close enough! (August 2013)
• 30: Read a book written by an author who was born in or died in your birth year.
  The Barn Owl's Wondrous Capers by Sarnath Banerjee; 280 pages; born in 1972. (August 2013)

(I have condensed the challenge descriptions to save space; go to the original challenge page for more details.)

Library Books Reading Challenge Update

As of today, I have surpassed the highest level of the library book reading challenge with over 50 books listened to/read.  You can see my (ever expanding) list of library books read here:
Library Books Reading Challenge

The Library Books Reading Challenge 2013 is hosted by Gina at Book Dragon's Lair. 

Looking Back

This week has been an odd one, getting used to Jack being gone, and trying to get back into good routines.  The past two weeks were filled with much worry over JackJack and affected me more than I realized at the time.

Both of the other kitties have adjusted well to Jack being gone.  They, too, knew it was time.  I'm surprised at how much more peaceful our home has been this week.  That shows just how restless he was from pain and stress.  Knowing that has been confirmation of our decision.

I was so exhausted by Wednesday, after the vet on Monday and grocery shopping on Tuesday, that I skipped the noon Communion service.  I always feel a bit empty for the rest of the week when I do that.

This past week I:

• made delicious oatmeal cookies from this recipe
• moved three of four bookcases into our closet room, and began filling them with clothes
• added another three-drawer rolly thingee to the closet room and filled it with clothes from the dresser
• filled the empty dresser drawers with blankets
• began to organize my craft supplies and photo props on shelves my husband built for me
• read two books and listened to two audio books
• baked my favorite crustless quiche, using tomatoes, broccoli, cheddar and fresh herbs from Mom's garden
• began and finished The Frosted Pumpkin's Greetings from the Beach pattern

I think the pufferfish is my favorite.

A layer of cheese on the bottom makes a type of crust.  

Next week I would like to:

• Mop that blasted kitchen floor; it keeps getting bumped to the bottom of the list.
• move the last bookshelf to the closet room
• get all the clothes and blankets into their new places on bookshelves
• not miss a day taking photos (I've only missed two days this month and that was this past week)
• reorganize the kitchen cabinets, if Mom has time to help

I am thankful for:

• the support of friends and family during our difficult time with our vet
• books to read and the time to read them
• recipes that I can use successfully 
• a toaster oven to use when the big oven goes wonky
• a husband that will build shelves for me
• that touch of autumn in the air

4 Month Challenge, Completed

Here are the results of my 4 Month Challenge, Part 12. It was great fun, and I'm looking forward to the next one!

5 Point Challenges

• Read the second book in a series
  Partners in Crime by Agatha Christie, the second in the Tommy and Tuppence mysteries. (July 2013/audio)
• Read a book with water on the cover
  Down Among the Dead Men by Patricia Moyes (June 2013)
• Read a book with a colour in the title
  The Yellow Streak by Valentine Willaims (May 2013)
• Read  a book set in the 1900′s
  Mamur Zapt and the Return of the Carpet  by Michael Pearce, set in Cairo in 1908.  (July 2013/audio)
• Read a book whose author name begins with M (First or last)
  Dead Men Don't Ski by Patricia Moyes (May 2013)

10 Point Challenges

• Read a book published during your birth year
  Transparent Things by Vladimir Nabokov, published 1972  (August 2013)
• Read a book with a door, lock or key on the cover
  The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan (July 2013/audio; thanks to the vintage cover pictured here)
• Read a book with a flower/flowers on the cover
  Aunt Dimity's Death by Nancy Atherton (May 2013)
• Read a book with something ‘hot’ in the title (sun, fire, heat, etc)
  Flame and Shadow by Sara Teasdale (July 2013; my discussion)
• Read a book whose author name begins with J (first name only)
  Who Killed the Curate? by Joan Coggin (May 2013)

15 Point Challenges

• Read a book currently on a bestseller list
  The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman  is #11 on the NYT list on 11 July 2013. (July 2013/audio)
• Read a book that shows a woman from behindThe Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith (August 2013)
• Read a book with a moon or stars on the cover  The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (July 2013; my discussion here)
• Read a book with an adjective in the title
  The Case of the Gilded Fly by Edmund Crispin (May 2013)
• Read a book whose author name begins with J (last name only)  Innocent Blood by P.D. James  (June 2013/audio)

20 Point Challenges

• Read any book in one weekend (Friday to Sunday)
  Why Shoot a Butler? by Georgette Heyer  (June 2013)
• Read a book with a child on the cover.
  The Secret of the Mansion by Julie Campbell. (July 2013)
• Read a book with over 400 pages
  The Book of Secrets by Elizabeth Joy Arnold; 464 pages.  (July 2013)
• Read a book with an animal on the cover
  Wish You Were Here by Rita Mae Brown (June 2013/audio) 
• Read a book whose author name begins with A (first or last)
  The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie  (June 2013/audio)

Looking Back: Jack Dempsey Edition

big yawn

I haven't written a look back of last week yet, and don't plan to do so.

Work was accomplished, good things did happen, goals were met, but it was all overshadowed as we watched our JackJack become more ill as the week progressed.  This illness, of body and mind, culminated in our decision to have him put to sleep yesterday.

sweet, sleeping face

It was a tremendously difficult and painful decision that was made monumentally worse by a trusted and liked vet who, because she disagreed with our decision, was rude, cruel and unprofessional.  As a result, our final moments with Jack Dempsey were spent in a room wrought with tension and stress.

For that reason, Jack feeling emotions other than love and peace as he looked at us for the last time, I am struggling to be able to forgive our vet.  I told my husband last night, that I didn't want to forgive her; which isn't totally true of course.  Unforgiveness will hurt me, not her, in the long run.

Right now, though, it's too fresh to forgive; plus it's hindering my ability to grieve fully for our Jack, which causes me to become angry all over again.

I'll return to pick up Jack's ashes, pay our balance, and see when St. John's next appointment should be scheduled.  After that, I'll gladly never enter that building again.  The vet felt that after many years as both excellent clients and cat parents, we needed to find another vet--yes she was that angry with us--and so do we.  I will never trust her or that practice again.

Enough on the that, though.  I want to celebrate Jack's short time with us.

at ease in the recliner

He was so sweet and loving, despite having been feral before I found him.  He quickly became a lap cat--well, actually, a squeeze-in-beside-you-in-the-recliner cat, or a sit-on-the-arm-of-your-recliner cat.  He sat on a bar stool at the dining room table with us, never begging, just being a part.  As his illness progressed and he needed the closeness of my husband more, he slept in the curve of my husband's arm, snuggled close.

He loved back rubs, shredded sharp cheddar, canned food with lots of "gravy" and sleeping on the couch.

He enjoyed playing with toys, but his favorite game was to chase the "red bug" (laser pointer), especially if we ran it up onto the recliner.


He knew exactly when my husband was due home from work, and would be impatient for him if he were late.

He was a kind friend to Lizzie and was St. John's idol.

Jack's heart was always torn between his love for us and his wild nature; this eventually led to his mental anguish, we believe.  We were blessed to have him, though, even just for two years.  The pain of losing a pet is negligible when compared to the joy that pet has given.

(Note: Jack's ear was folded back like that because of an untreated ear infection that caused a rupture in the skin, before we found him.  He also had been shot with a pellet gun at least once, as one pellet was lodged inside him, under his front right armpit.  Also, despite being just about a year old when we took him in, he had severe arthritis that made moving around very difficult in cold or wet seasons.  All this is due to the rough life he had as an uncared for outside cat.  If see you an uncared for cat or dog, have mercy on them and try to take them to the shelter.   They are better off euthanized at the shelter than living a life like what Jack lived before I picked him up off the side of the road!)

Be at peace at last, Jack Dempsey!  We certainly do miss you!

sunning in the window

Jack's 2012 Christmas portrait

Review of Among the Janeites by Deborah Yaffe

Among the Janeites: A Journey Through the World of Jane Austen Fandom
Deborah Yaffe
3/5 stars
I recieved this book from the Amazon Vine program in return for an honest review.

Review:
I was slightly disappointed in this, as I expected (despite the blurb) something more scholarly, lingering on the historical Austen fans, as well as the current fans.

It is what it claims to be, an entertaining investigation into a cross section of modern Jane Austen fans, mostly brought into the fandom through the movies and miniseries.

Yaffe breaks up the stories of other fans with stories of her own Austen experiences, and creates a lighthearted look at Miss Austen's current popularity. While it is enjoyable, I think other scholarly fans may join with me in feeling it to be almost irreverent, but that, too, shows how deeply Austen fans feel about her works.

Yaffe writes well, and it is an enjoyable and light read; don't expect it to be more than that, however.

Personal Note:
Okay, Amazon review over, I can be more honest. . .   I couldn't even finish this book.

I came to Austen 25+ years ago as a reader, not as a television/movie viewer.   I have little tolerance for people who "like a book", any book,  because they saw the movie version.  I will admit it.  I am a book snob and a purist (movies never do justice to books, and in my opinion if they aren't going to follow the book exactly, why bother), as well as a lay-historian who wrote my thesis around social history in the Regency period.  

This is a book with too many Janeites (a term being used in the early 1900's, which shows the longevity of her deserved popularity) that are fans due to Colin Firth in a wet shirt. . .  I was not interested in their story. Nor was I particularly interested in most of the other stories related or in Yaffe's humorous anecdotes regarding her Austen experiences.  

I am a rabid Austen fan, and will discuss plot points and character flaws with you for hours if you wish, but I guess I was just a bad match for this book, having no interest in popular culture and even less in treating Austen in a lighthearted fashion.  

If anyone would like to read this (because I assume that most of you are probably less snobbish than I am about novels), let me know and I'll gladly send it to you.

The Classics Club Spin

I joined the Classics Club to encourage me to read/reread the classics with the fervor that I did before I hit a reading slump several years ago.  I feel it is serving that purpose, as I've already read three since I joined in early July!

One of the fun things the Classics Club does is "the Classics Spin".  Participants list twenty classics off their to-be-read list, and this becomes a "spin list".  On a specified day, the Classics Club facilitators will post a number between one and twenty, and whatever book is listed at that number is the one to be read.  I love a random chance (I would be a gambling addict if I allowed myself to start!) so naturally, I'm in.

Here is my list.  It is comprised of a few rereads, some that I'm not as excited about and several that I am pleasurably anticipating. On Monday, we'll see which number/book gets chosen!

1. Flatland by Edwin Abbott
2. Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake
3. A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
4. Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
5. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel deFoe
6. The Wasteland by T.S. Eliot
7. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell  
8. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
9. Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard
10. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
11. Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
12. Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis
13. The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
14. Nineteen Eighty-four by George Orwell
15. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
16. Nine Stories by JD Salinger
17. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
18. Five Weeks in a Balloon by Jules Verne
19. Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
20. The Island of Doctor Moreau by HG Wells