Monthly Archives: September 2009

No Blogging Mojo

I don’t know if it is just post-Festival exhaustion or because I have a stomach flu and had to miss Philippa Gregory in Victoria… but I have no urge to blog. Yes, I am blogging about not blogging. Usually I blog about goings-on, hobbies, and books. But I have been far to immersed in The Festival to want to blog about it (I pre-tweeted the festival @WOTSVancouver); I haven’t had any time to knit and I’m still working on the red cowl; and I’ve been reading The White Queen by Philippa Gregory, with plans to read Lolita for Banned Books Week. Now, I’m going to take some Tylenol for the fever, Maalox for my stomach, and apple juice to keep me hydrated. Hope you all are well!

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The Good, The Bad, The Ugly…

shell-gas-sign

Formerly a Shell Gas Station located at King Edward and Main Street in Vancouver: A magnet found in Army & Navy department store: A recycling box found in the Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library:

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Shut up Brain

Hello 12:30am! I usually try to be asleep by now on work/school nights, but I cannot sleep. Reason: my brain will not turn off! I keep thinking of things that need to be done before the Festival. I am looking forward to it, but my blog shall suffer. I will be MIA until after Sunday, September 27, 2009. If you’re in the Vancouver area, come check out The Word On The Street Vancouver. You’ll have a great time, it’s free, and it’s all about books & magazines, literacy and reading, and having fun! (See how tired I am? Run on sentences and bad grammar galore!) P.S. The Word On The Street also takes place in Toronto, Halifax, and Kitchner simultaneously. Visit the festival site for more details.

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Blogger-Inspired Reads

the-hunger-games

One of the topics that escaped my notice during the ever-busy Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW), was “blog about a book you read only because you discovered it on another book blog.” Unfortunately I can’t remember where I learned half the things I know. Often during the middle of a conversation I have to preface my comments with, “I can’t remember where I heard/read/saw this….” I’ve only been blogging about books since late 2007, and the first book blogger I ever followed was Stephanie of The Written Word. I used to choose books simply by if I was interested or not. Then as I grew up, my family and friends would recommend books to read. Now, I have book blogs overflowing on my RSS Reader and many other sources, such as work contacts, publisher recommendations, etc. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Recommended by various blogs including My Friend Amy, Stephanie’s Written Word, Diary of an Eccentric, Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’? and A Novel Menagerie. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult Recommended (and sent to me) by Chan. The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff Recommended by various blogs including Stephanie’s Written Word, Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’? and In The Shadow of Mt. TBR. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski As I mentioned in my review, “This book has gotten a lot of hype and while I definitely liked the book, but I’m not head-over-heels-in-love with it. I can see why Oprah would pick it for Book Club as [...]

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Extras by Scott Westerfeld (book review)

extras

Extras is the fourth book in the Uglies series after Uglies, Pretties, and Specials. Extras takes place after the end of the Prettytime, which is called the mind-rain. Cities all over the world are changing, especially Aya Fuse’s which now runs on a “reputation economy”. The more you are talked about, the higher your face-rank goes; the higher your face-rank, the “richer” you are. To gain face-rank, all citizens are given a dedicated channel called feeds and can use a hovercam to “kick” stories. Unfortunately, at 15, Aya is still an ugly, and with a depressingly low face-rank, she’s considered an “extra”. But when Aya Fuse meets a secret clique, she thinks that “kicking” their story will finally make her popular. She ends up stumbling upon possibly the biggest story since the mind-rain, even Tally Youngblood can’t stay away. Tally and her friends from the first three books in the series finally show up to help Aya and her friends save their city… and perhaps the post-Prettytime world. I felt like Extras lacked the direction and social/moral commentary that the first three books had. Oddly enough, the series felt concluded at the end of Specials. The first half of the book focused on the secret clique that Aya joins just to kick their story, which feels misleading after we discover what the book is really about. And the secret that brings Tally and her friends back into the book felt a little far-fetched. I don’t want to ruin anything, so [...]

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