Posts tagged as:

personal

Help Me Pick My Next Book!

by Kim on September 3, 2010 · 21 comments

I finished The Hunger Games Trilogy yesterday, after what was a pretty crazy month of reading. I finished 14 books in August, which amounted to just over 4,500 pages. I don’t think I’ve ever had a reading month that productive. But it was also exhausting! Especially reading the Hunger Games books straight through, three days [...]

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The Sunday Salon: Reading and Wine

by Kim on August 29, 2010 · 28 comments

About three months ago, Boyfriend and I were invited to join a wine tasting group here in Madison called WASTED – it’s an acronym for something, but no one can see to remember what!

We’re heading off to another WASTED meeting this afternoon, which made today seem like the perfect time to review a narrative nonfiction book I just recently finished about the history of wine in the United States, The Wild Vine by Todd Kliman.

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Going Unplugged

by Kim on August 11, 2010 · 7 comments

Post image for Going Unplugged

This is just a quick post to let you know that I’ll be unplugged for the next week or so. I’m moving this weekend, as I mentioned in my Sunday Salon post, and getting ready has been more work than I anticipated. I’ll also be without internet at home from Saturday until the middle of next week.

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The Sunday Salon: A Catch Up Post

by Kim on August 8, 2010 · 37 comments

I haven’t done The Sunday Salon in a long time, and I’ve found myself really missing it. I liked having a space and excuse to do just have a sort of personal musings and readings post, so I’m going to try and start up again.

Right now seems like a good time for a general reading and life update, if you’re interested in this dork’s life, with pictures!

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Post image for Review: The Dalemark Quartet, Books 1 and 2

This post is part of Diana Wynne Jones Week, August 1-7, hosted by Jenny at Jenny’s Books. Head over there to see a whole lot of posts by this really lovely YA fantasy author.

When I think Diana Wynne Jones, I usually think back to the first series I read – The Dalemark Quartet. I only have hazy memories of the plot, but remember loving the adventuresome kids, use of myth and magic, and four separate but interconnect stories about the world of Dalemark.

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Monday Tally is a weekly link round-up of some of my favorite posts discovered over the week.

Monday Tally is a day early this week because tomorrow is my discussion for Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried. I can’t wait!

Top Picks

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Post image for TV I’m Addicted To: The Last Airbender

My reading has slowed pretty dramatically the last three weeks because, like always, I’ve gotten addicted to a new tv show. I love tv on DVD or from Netflix, but try not to start new shows because I have this personality where if I start one I cannot stop watching it even when I have more important things to do.

The last show this happened with was Damages. I basically stopped doing anything for three days and watched an entire season. It’s that good.

The current show is Avatar: The Last Airbender, an Americanized anime series that originally played on Nickelodeon and was just recently made into a (controversial) feature film.

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How Do You Like Your Travelogues?

by Kim on July 20, 2010 · 40 comments

Post image for How Do You Like Your Travelogues?

I didn’t like Bill Bryson’s travelogue The Lost Continent because I thought his sense of humor was too dark, mean, and inconsistent for my tastes.

I decided to give Bryson’s travel writing a second try by listening to an audio book of In a Sunburned Country, a travelogue about Australia. While I liked In a Sunburned Country better than The Lost Continent, I’m not sure that I’ll ever love Bryson as a travel writer because he travels a lot like me, and I travel pretty boring.

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My Bookish Birthday Wishlist

by Kim on July 8, 2010 · 65 comments

Post image for My Bookish Birthday Wishlist

Today is my 24th birthday! And what do I want? Books!

Now, I’m not much of a new book buyer. It’s probably blasphemous to say that, but it’s true. I’m much happier perusing used book stores or seeing what kinds of cheap reads I can snag online rather than getting them new. If I do buy new, I almost always wait for the paperback and then try to use as many coupons and deals as I can. After spending 19 years as a student, I’m still cheap.

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Post image for 5 Easy Tips for Taking Notes While You Read

One of my goals in the last two years has been to take good notes while I read. I’ve found having notes helps when I start to write reviews because I have ideas, quotes, and impressions jotted down already.

A few people have mentioned they can’t seem to take notes while they read, so I wanted to write a post with five easy tips on how to get in the habit.

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