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Friday Fun! (Furniture, Anne Rice, TBR Challenge)
Hello my lovely readers! My, what a busy month this has been so far, and it’s only going to get busier!
My dad got me a mini kitchen island type piece of furniture to add much-needed cabinet and counter-top space to my very much utilized Boston kitchen! It arrived in a 76 pound box that I have yet to open. One of my Saturday goals is to assemble the thing. I’ve already warned my neighbor that there may be yelling and throwing of things involved. ;-)
If you follow me on twitter, then you know that last night I got a package from Random House containing an ARC of Anne Rice’s new novel. SQUEEEE It’s coming out in February, and I’m honored that they consider me worthy of an ARC by such an awesome writer. BTDUBS you guys, it’s totally a werewolf book. Yup. Rice is taking on the werewolves now. :-)
Amy and I have agreed to a one-on-one challenge starting January 1st regarding our TBR piles. She’ll be tackling her 45 (right, Amy?) pre-2009 acquisitions, whereas I will be tackling my 44 pre-2011 acquisitions. Whoever finishes first wins a kindle book courtesy of the other. I’m already sitting staring at my pre-2011 acquisitions plotting at night. However, I’ll be good and not start til January! Partially because I’m currently doing my own personal challenge of catching up with the ARCs I accepted this year……
Tonight I’m going to a pub in a cute neighborhood of Boston with my friend Kat to listen to live music. (*cough* live metal music *cough*). It’s going to be a great Friday evening!
Happy weekends all!
Friday Fun! (Thanksgiving, Cooking)
Hello my lovely readers! I hope those of you who celebrate had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I had a great time with my dad. We ordered in Thai food, which he’d never had before. (I believe it was a hit). I showed him one of my favorite indie bookstores. He took me grocery shopping! (Which has been wonderful for me, I can tell you). We spoiled my kitty rotten and went to a couple of my favorite pubs. It was a wonderful weekend, and I hope to get to see him again very soon!
This week I got to see my friend Nina for the first time in around a month. We went for a super long walk together in the random Indian summer weather we had at the beginning of the week and made this stir-fry out of baby bok choy, onions, pepper, garlic, parsnips, carrots, and fake steak tips (they were soy). Oh, and sesame seeds!
Those of you book bloggers who are looking for projects and/or challenges for 2012, please be sure to check out my Diet for a New America page and my Mental Illness Advocacy 2012 page. Even if you don’t choose to participate in them, any mentions on your blogs, facebook, and twitter are most welcome! These types of things are always more fun the more people participate!
Also, if you missed it, I have an international giveaway currently running thanks to the author. Be sure to check that out too!
This weekend I’ll be training in the gym, going to a tree trimming party, and editing zombies. Also hopefully cooking something up in the slow-cooker to freeze into single servings for lunches. Busy busy!
Happy weekends all!
Book Review: Y: The Last Man: Cycles by Brian K. Vaughan (Series, #2) (Graphic Novel)
Summary:
Yorick and his monkey, Ampersand, (the last males on Earth) continue their reluctant quest to help the government find a way to fix the disease that killed all the other men or at least to clone new men. Their train trip from Boston to California is caught up in Ohio, though, where they stumble upon an oddly utopian town of women. Meanwhile, Yorick’s sister, Hero, and the Amazons continue their quest to rid the Earth of the last man. Plus there’s a mysterious Russian woman who keeps insisting a spaceship with men on it is going to land.
Review:
Now that the premise of the post-apocalyptic world is set up, Vaughan’s story really picks up speed. There is much less explaining and far more action this time around. There are now multiple plot lines and mysteries beyond Yorick’s main one going as well, which helped, because let’s be honest, Yorick isn’t that likeable.
About 1/3 of this entry is set in Boston, primarily around Fenway and the train station. I think having the Amazons duke it out in front of Fenway Park was a pretty nice touch too.
I don’t recall laughing with the first entry, but this one had me laughing out loud on the bus then having to explain to my companions around me what was so funny. The line?
Killing’s easy. Like….like doing laundry!
It is a random, quirky sense of humor that I really enjoy, although I do expect that it might not strike some people as humorous.
The artwork continues to be bright and easy to follow. I really appreciated the preliminary sketches featured in the back of the book. It was most surprising to see that agent 355 originally was white and gradually was changed to black. I’m glad Vaughan made the move, but I do wonder what brought it on!
Overall, if you like a post-apocalyptic graphic world with biting wit and gender commentary, you’re going to enjoy this book.
5 out of 5 stars
Source: Public Library
Previous Books in Series:
Y: The Last Man: Unmanned
Friday Fun! (Happy Thanksgiving!)
Hello my lovely readers! For once I’m actually writing this a couple of days ahead of time, because it is American Thanksgiving this weekend, and I’m going to be one busy lady. My dad is coming down from Vermont to spend a few days with me in my lovely city of Boston. I’m looking forward to the quality time. It’s something that’s hard to come by when you live in a different state from your parent. I’m also excited for him to see me looking far healthier than the last time he was here, which was almost a year ago!
There will probably not be anything particularly traditional about our Thanksgiving, since I’m a vegetarian, and there’s only two of us. We may go out. We may order in. We may make tacos. Who knows. We will, however, definitely be drinking beer and watching the game. We are traditional Americans in THAT regard. ;-)
Once he heads back for home I’ll be doing the laundry, getting in some quality gym time, and finally getting started on editing zombies. I’m aiming for a release date toward the end of January and am excited about this book. Whereas the Tova Gallagher series is a just for fun romance novella lite, zombies is all about the feminist scifi and horror writer inside me. It’s a different kind of excitement. A more serious one.
I do want to take a moment to ask you all to seriously consider avoiding the crass consumerism that is Black Friday sales this weekend if at all possible. I understand money is tight, trust me, I do, but all you have to do is youtube some videos of the types of mobs that happen to see how disgusting this obsession with stuff can be. Spend your long weekend with loved ones, whether related by blood or by choice. Get outside. Go for a hike. Read a book. Go to the library! Just don’t spend your precious hours off obsessed with stuff. As Tyler Durden says, you don’t own your stuff. Your stuff owns you.
Happy weekend all!
Friday Fun! (Holiday Book Swap Time!)
Hello my lovely readers! Can you believe next week is Thanksgiving already? Time flies! I had a cold this week, so I only was healthy enough to make it to the gym once. Sadness! But I did track my calories to make sure this wouldn’t cause a slump, and I’m seeing my trainer tomorrow.
I’m not a huge holiday person, but one of the things that I do enjoy is the various secret santa/book swap events that happen in the month of December for book bloggers. I had a lovely time participating last year, so I was stoked to see the information go up. In fact, I’m participating in two different ones this year.
First up is the one I did last year Book Blogger Holiday Swap. Alas, the deadline for that one was November 11th, so it’s too late for any of you to sign up. But! I already got my information for my swap partner. I can’t wait to raid the used book cellar in Harvard and challenge myself to find awesome presents for her.
Next is a swap that Amy let me know about–A Broke and Bookish Secret Santa. Apparently she participated last year and had a blast. I visited Broke and Bookish’s blog and enjoyed it, so I signed up! The deadline to sign up for this one is TODAY, so get on that ya’ll!
You guys don’t even know how excited I am to get not one but TWO packages of books in the mail this year! There’s just something extra-nice about unwrapping books from a stranger who just so happens to be a fellow book lover.
Happy weekends all!
Friday Fun! (Gym, Thundersnow)
Snow on the ground this morning.
Hello my lovely readers! I hope you all had nice weeks. I discovered at my potluck that all of my friends are *amazing* cooks! We should do this potluck thing more often. :-)
This week I returned to meeting with a trainer. In January it will be exactly one year since I started focusing on my fitness, and I’m rather determined to meet a few goals before then. I figured a trainer would help. He’s also nice and tough on me, which I enjoy. I am a bit distraught to discover that I’m still having issues holding a plank for a minute. I make it. But just barely. Needless to say, that’s one of my big goals for the next two months.
We got our first snow of the year last night, and it wasn’t just snow, it was THUNDERSNOW. That’s what we call it when there’s thunder and lightning with snow instead of rain. I loooove winter, and I was happy to see snow this morning, although I must admit that I hope this winter isn’t incredibly long like the one in the Little House books.
I got a lot of library loot last night. I’m thinking of having my own mini read-a-thon at some point next week, especially since I’m no longer working at the restaurant. I’m picking up my final check today and handing in my uniform. I’m happy to have my evenings back to myself, though I will miss the extra money, heh. In any case, let me know if you’d be at all into a mini read-a-thon at some point in the next week.
Happy weekends!
Friday Fun! (New Foci. Yes, Foci Is the Plural of Focus)
Hello my lovely readers! I hope you’re all enjoying the new genres that have found their way to my blog since the start of the Real Help Reading Project a couple of months ago. I’ve been alternating between books for the project from the library and books from my tbr shelf at home, and I’ve certainly been enjoying the variety. African-American and African lit (outside of scifi) always felt a bit inaccessible to me. Perhaps it’s that it tends to be in its own special interest section in libraries and bookstores? Or maybe that it was never really included in regular English classes but instead in special interest classes? I’m not totally sure, but I do know that I needed the kick in the butt to realize just how accessible it actually is. In retrospect it seems silly that I never picked one of these books up. Reading is so universally accessible, and I’ve read stories set in pretty much every racial, cultural, and class surroundings. Who knows really why I’d never ventured into black lit before, but I’m really glad I have now. :-)
In light of this, I’ve planned out a new reading project for myself to embark on with the start of 2012. No, it does not have to do with black lit. I’m not telling you what it is! But I have already started assembling a list of possible titles to pull from and am stoked for it. You’re just going to have to wait until the end of December wrap-up/announcements bonanza that happen on book blogs to find out what it is.
My life has now adjusted to having a second job and has reached a nice rhythm. I am busy almost every minute of the day between job 1, job 2, commute, gym, friends, reading, writing, drawing, etc…. I only barely make time to watch my two favorite tv shows every week (Parks and Rec and Big Bang Theory). Periodically I play catch-up on The Biggest Loser and America’s Next Top Model when I’m cooking dinner. Other than that, though, I feel a sense of enrichment in my life that I haven’t felt since being completely immersed in learning culture in undergrad. It’s a good thing. :-) I love it that I can get home totally exhausted and still prefer to read a civil rights era memoir over watching the latest crap on tv. I’ve reconnected to what’s important–people, self-improvement, learning–and let go of the other things. When I compare now to a year ago, I can see marked improvement. So, yeah, being 25 is hard. Being in your 20s in an economic depression is hard. But I’ve got good people, good food, good books, and my health. That’s what’s important.
Happy weekends!
Friday Fun! (Restaurant Work, Updates)
Hello my lovely readers! It’s been a crazy week on the blog with everything from the Nigerian Lit Reading/Reviewing Project to white trash zombies to a smack-down with a rude author. Phew! And that was just one tiny part of my life, lol.
This was my first full week working my new part-time job at the restaurant. Due to the new schedule, I can only do the gym 3 days a week instead of 5. I was worried this would lead to me losing ground on my get fit challenge, but that is clearly not to be the case. My restaurant shifts involve running around like a chicken with my head cut off for anywhere from 4 to 6 hours, and if anything I’ve seen my metabolism increase from more expended energy. And that’s just the regular shifts! I’ve also had shifts involving “guerilla marketing” or what my co-worker calls “menu bombing.” If you live in a city, you know what this entails. Running around residential neighborhoods leaving menus in mailboxes, on porches, and on cars. I had no idea how many steps are on Boston porches until I climbed them for two hours. Holy shit, Batman! It was like getting paid to do the stairmaster. (If you can’t tell, I’m happy about this). I love my part-time job! Plus they feed me dinner most shifts. Since it’s a healthy restaurant, that means free healthy food, yay!
The classic fall New England weather is here, which means crisp air and frosty mornings. Halloween decorations are up all over the city, and I clearly need to start work on figuring out my Halloween costume. My co-worker last night suggested I could pull off being Lara Croft, and I absolutely LOVE the idea, so I’m thinking that may be it. But shhh, don’t tell!
I’m really hoping to finish up the first draft of Tova Gallagher 2 this weekend, so I can get to editing my zombie book! I can’t wait to get more of my writing out to you guys. Be sure to check in tomorrow for the discussion of the next book in The Real Help Reading Project (it’s my favorite that we’ve read so far).
Tonight I’m doing yoga and hopefully seeing some friends. Happy weekends all!
Friday Fun! (Things I Did This Week)
Hello my lovely readers! I’ve been up to quite a lot this week:
Like, I read a book for Amy’s Nigerian Independence Day reading project (post will be up later today).
I decided that I desperately need more money flowing into my bank account, so I found a part-time job at a local restaurant. I already had my first shift and really enjoyed myself.
I went out for beers to watch the Sox with my downstairs neighbor. We will not discuss the outcome of the game. *coughs*
I discovered that there are free games on Google+!! And I found this amazeballs game called City of Wonder, which is kind of like SimCity, only you’re building a civilization, and you get to attack other civs. It’s seriously good times.
I bought two pairs of jeans for the first time in like five years. I am now fit enough that they’re semi-comfortable and look cute!
I’ve been working my patootie off on Tova 2. Hopefully the draft should be done by the end of this weekend.
Oh, and I co-wrote a guest post with my friend on her blog. If you have any curiosity about the snarky librarian side of my life, feel free to check it out.
This weekend I’m going to Salem with my friend Sara, working a shift at the restaurant, hopefully bathing the cat (and not dying), doing some yoga, and just generally being my busy, awesome self. Happy weekends!
Friday Fun! (I’ve Been Really Busy So Let’s Talk About Fondue)
Hello my lovely readers! Like whoa, have I been busy this week! I actually finished reading The Meowmorphosis and have literally not had a spare moment to write up the review. My bad! It’ll be up next week. I’d tell you what I’ve been busy doing, but I can’t (well, except that part of it has been very long skype convos and sharing wine virtually with Amy).
So instead, let’s talk about how freaking excited I am for my friend Sara‘s birthday dinner tonight! She, bless her, wanted to get fondue. Fondue. Aka melted cheese and melted chocolate and dipping things and sharing your germs. If it is not abundantly clear why we’re friends, then I just don’t know what to say to you people anymore. This is pretty much what I have been thinking about off and on all day.
In other news, I haven’t quite finished the first book for The Real Help project but I am totally going to and get the post up tomorrow morning at some point. I might not be able to write it right when I get home tonight due to pure food coma.
Happy weekends!
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This work by Amanda Nevius is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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