2013 Projected Reading List

 As there has been a change in plans, and I shall not be seeing The Hobbit until tomorrow after I get out of work, and that will make tomorrow very busy, I have decided to post my projected 2013 reading list tonight.

I shall only be posting the first 40 books on my list, and it will not necessarily be the order I actually end up reading them. Also, as it did happen this past year, this list could change in both number and content. You have been warned!

As with the last list, + denotes a re-read, and = denotes non-fiction.

• Jane Austen's Letters=
• Pride and Prejudice+
• Lady of Milkweed Manor
• The Fairest Beauty
• The Apothecary's Daughter
• The Night Dance: A Retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses"
• The Girl In The Gatehouse
• Beauty Sleep: A Retelling of "Sleeping Beauty"
• Northanger Abbey+
• Water Song: A Retelling of "The Frog Prince"
• To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn
• Princess of The Midnight Ball (Princess #1)
• Wives and Daughters
• Entwined
• The Secret Adversary (Tommy and Tuppence #1)
• The Goose Girl (The Books of Bayern #1)+
• What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew=
• The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Vol. 1
• The Inimitable Jeeves (Jeeves #2)
• That Hideous Strength (Space Trilogy #3)
• Victoria: May Blossom of Britannia
• Till We Have Faces
• Violets Are Blue
• Kristina: The Girl King
• The Widow of Larkspur Inn (Gresham Chronicles #1)
• Shirley
• Murder On The Links (Hercule Poirot #2)
• Mary, Queen of Scots: Queen Without A Country
• Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess
• Oliver Twist
• Howl's Moving Castle (Howl's Moving Castle #1)
• Snow White Blood Red (The Grimm Diaries Prequels #1)
• Carry On, Jeeves (Jeeves #3)
• Manuscript For Murder
• El Dorado: Further Adventures of The Scarlet Pimpernel
• Romeo and Juliet
• Little Dorrit
• A Girl Aboard The Titanic: A Survivor's Story=
• The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister=
• Hercule Poirot's Christmas (Hercule Poirot #20)

Now, let's see how many books I actually manage to read this year, and if this all of this list makes it through. ;-)

Happy New Year, everybody! :-D

2012 Reading List Finished

  As it's only a day or so until New Year's Eve, and I shall most likely be busy that day, I have decided to post my completed list of books I read in 2012 now.

It turned out that I read many more books than I had originally planned and the whole list changed in exactly which books I would read. If you want to refresh your memory as to which books I originally intended to read this year, you can check out the post here. I must say some of the books stayed the same, but many left and more came in. I originally had 25 books picked out, and it expanded to 50!

Now, before I begin the list, I must give you a little bit of a key:

* denotes a book I did not finish (usually due to some sort of moral objection)

+ denotes a re-read

= denotes a non-fiction book

In order of first book of the year to the last:

1. Darby O'Gill
2. The Invention of Hugo Cabret
3. A Christmas Carol/The Chimes/The Cricket on The Hearth
4. The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society #1)
5. Men of Iron
6. Tuesdays At The Castle (Castle Glower #1)
7. The Gammage Cup (The Minnipins #1)
8. Wonderstruck
9. Out of The Silent Planet (Space Trilogy #1)
10. The Mysterious Benedict Society and The Perilous Journey (The Mysterious Benedict Society #2)
11. The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1)*
12. Cat Among The Pigeons (Hercule Poirot #32)
13. The Mysterious Benedict Society and The Prisoner's Dilemma (The Mysterious Benedict Society #3)
14. Back Home+
15. Austenland*
16. Lisa and Lottie
17. The Night Circus*
18. Perelandra (Space Trilogy #2)
19. The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict (The Mysterious Benedict Society #0.5)
20. David Copperfield
21. The Murder At The Vicarage (Miss Marple #1)
22. The Wind In The Willows
23. The Merchant's Daughter
24. Daddy Long Legs+
25. The Soldier's Cross
26. I Want It Now! A Memoir of Life on the Set of Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory=
27. Finally and Forever (Katie Weldon #4)
28. Behind Jane Austen's Door=
29. At The Sign of The Sugared Plum
30. The Mysterious Affair At Styles (Hercule Poirot #1)
31. Life In A Medieval Village=
32. Only A Novel
33. The Scarlet Pimpernel
34. North and South
35. Beyond Downton Abbey=
36. The Angel of Music Part 1: The Enchanted Violin*
37. Elizabeth I: Red Rose of The House of Tudor+
38. Sanditon/The Watsons/Lady Susan
39. The Diamond Secret: A Retelling of "Anastasia"
40. Heartless
41. An American Guide To Britishness=
42. Brave: The Junior Novelization
43. Clockwise (Clockwise #1)
44. The Nutcracker and Mouse King/The Tale of The Nutcracker
45. Extricating Young Gussie (Jeeves #0.5)
46. My Man Jeeves (Jeeves #1)
47. Number The Stars
48. Asking For Trouble (London Confidential #1)
49. Sew, It's A Quest (Bookania #1)
50. Dragon Slippers (Dragon Slippers #1)

That's the whole lot!

New Year's Day or so I shall be posting my projected list for 2013!

See you then! :-)

The Post Christmas Post

I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas!

My Christmas was a little unusual for me, but not bad.

Our Christmas started on Sunday night, having a Christmas dinner (with gingerbread for dessert) and opening presents with my sister and her  family. It's always so much fun to watch my nieces and nephew going through the stockings my mom puts together for them, and opening their presents. :-)
We all got things we love! I got my dad a DVD of The Black Shield of Falworth, which I'd dare say is his favorite movie. My mom got a Nook Glow and lots of Barnes&Noble gift cards.
I got, from my parents, the BBC Classics complete Jane Austen collection DVDs and Little Dorrit DVD! :-D And there was much rejoicing! :-D
Unfortunately, my sister wasn't feeling well. :-(

Christmas Eve I had to work. :-P But, thankfully, it was quite slow and I got out fairly early with plenty of time before having to head out to my grandparents' house. Unfortunately, my sister still wasn't feeling well, and neither was her husband and the youngest. Fortunately, we were able to pick the older two kids up and bring them with us. They had a blast! And they got a small foozeball table from my grandparents, which was a big hit! I got a Barnes&Noble gift card, which was completely spent before I went to bed that night. (I bought four Nook books)
Our dinner was the traditional Christmas Eve at my grandparents' house dinner- Pizza Hut, KFC, chips, and cookies. Thankfully, my dad agreed to make a cut veggie tray to bring. I don't mind having a slice of pizza or a piece of fried chicken...but, please, give me something healthier on the side than potato chips! I didn't have any of the sweets, either. I've had a sore tooth (with a possible cavity) for a week, and I knew that would not be friendly.

Christmas Day we didn't do anything! That was the most unusual part of the holidays for us. Normally we would have a get-together on my dad's side of the family in the evening for snacks and desserts. This year, however, they had it Sunday evening, and since we had already planned our little family Christmas for that night (as it was the only night possible for both sides), we couldn't go. So, we spent the whole day in the house watching Christmas movies (and me reading) and such. My dad had to work that night, anyway, so we wouldn't have been able to go anywhere, really. (He works third shift)
And I ended up having an upset stomach, but it's better now.

Then, today, I had to work again, of course, and my parents went over to visit my dad's mom for a while so she wouldn't go the holidays without seeing them at all.
And, I have to wait a whole week before I can get into the dentist. :-(

Over all, it was a good time. My mom, sister, oldest niece, and grandma also got to go to the Nutcracker on Saturday! My niece won four tickets. :-) They had a very nice time. And I only have one gift to return or exchange...a nice button down shirt my sister got me- it didn't fit quite right. :-P

Now, on to New Year's! I shall finally get to see The Hobbit!!!! :-D

See you all next week! ;-)

Guest Post at Old Fashioned Charm

That's right! I've written my very first guest post.
Miss Laurie asked me to write a post for the Jane Austen Birthday Assembly that is going on at her blog Old Fashioned Charm and a couple others.

You can go here to read my post- Jane Austen and Me! :-)

JABA Jane Austen Tag

As part of the Jane Austen Birthday Assembly event (JABA), Miss Laurie of Old-Fashioned Charm has posted a Jane Austen tag questionnaire, which I have decided to answer. :-)

1. How did you meet Jane Austen?
My first introduction to her, as far as I can recall, was when my sister did a research paper on her. However, I had not interest in Miss Austen at the time, and paid no attention. Foolish me.

2. In which order did you first become acquainted with and read Jane Austen's novels?
I'm guess you mean what order did I first read the books? In which case, it was Emma, Persuasion, Sense&Sensibility, Pride&Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Love and Freindship (and her other juvenilia in one book), and Sanditon/The Watsons/Lady Susan.

3. Rate Jane Austen's major novels from your most favorite to your least favorite and tell why.
Northanger Abbey,  Pride&Prejudice, Sense&Sensibility, Emma, Persuasion, Mansfield Park. NA is my favorite, though just barely above P&P, because I love the youth and banter of Catherine and Mr. Tilney and I understand Catherine's sometimes wild imagination. MP is my least favorite mostly just because of how slow it is and I don't care for some of the characters.

4. Which Jane Austen hero/heroine couple is your favorite and why?
I'd have to say, along with it being my favorite of the books, Catherine and Mr. Tilney- because I love how they interact together.

5. Which hero/heroine couple is your least favorite and why?
Marianne and Colonel Brandon....I just can't get over the age difference.

6. Have you read any of Jane Austen's Juvenilia works? Which ones?
Yes, I have! All of them! I own them all in one book in my NOOK library. (Yes, I'm one of those people :-P )

7. If you could change the name of one of Jane Austen's characters who would it be and why?
I really don't know that I would change any of them- at least, I can't think of any off the top of my head.

8. Have you ever introduced someone to Jane Austen?
I tried to get one of the girls I work with interested in her, but she just wouldn't take the bait.

9. If a new film about her life was made, which actress would you want to play Jane Austen?
I'm afraid I don't pay enough attention to actors and actresses themselves to really be able to choose one.

10. Pretend you're having a weekend party at your very own country house, which Austen characters (up to five) would you invite and why?
I think I would invite Elinore Dashwood, Fanny Price, Catherine Morland, Mr. Tilney, and Mr. Knightley because they are the ones I think enjoy things along the same line as what I like  to do, so we could have fun together- whether lively or quiet.

11. In your real life have you ever attended a Jane Austen themed event, party or ball? Or have you hosted one yourself?
No, I have not done any of those things, but I would absolutely love to.

12. Suppose you were given the opportunity to ask Jane Austen two questions: one in connection with her real life and one about her stories. What would they be?
Do you like chocolate?
Do any of your characters like chocolate?

:-)

Return of the Snippets

I know it's been months and months since I last did a snippets post, but, then, I haven't had anything new to post without giving away too much of my stories... until now, that is. In this post-NaNo season, more snippets have come my way, and I now pass them on to you. :-)

If you don't know what Snippets is all about, it's a lovely monthly writing post event sort of thing started by Katie, which you can read about here at her blog.

“You know, you’re the one who’s supposed to be doing this,” Talitha pointed out to Daniel, as she stood in his kitchen the next morning, flipping pancakes. “What happened to getting in practice and showing your abilities to your sister?”

“He tried showing his abilities to me,” Michelle responded, “You don’t want to see what happened.”

~So She Dances

“Well, somebody has to come up with something,” Talitha pointed out, “Otherwise, we’ll all just end up sitting around doing nothing, or waste the whole day watching TV.”

“Is that so bad?” Daniel asked in typical male fashion.

~So She Dances

She turned to Michelle and asked, “Don’t you just love how figure skating is like ballet on ice? It’s so beautiful and fluid.”

“And cold,” Michelle pointed out.

“True,” Talitha agreed emphatically. Cold was not her friend. “But I think it would be fun to learn, anyway. I wish I could.”

~So She Dances

“Oh, lots of things,” Talitha went on to list some of her dreams. “To visit most of Europe, to spend a few months in the British Isles, to write a book, to build my dream house, to act, to sing, but,” she added, her voice betraying how much more the next item was important to her, “what I really, really want to do is to dance.”

~So She Dances

Soon, with the excitement of having a break, several of the people were goofing off- doing silly dances with the music. Talitha and Melissa couldn’t help but laugh at the antics of Daniel and Matthew, but Michelle just shook her head in embarrassment over how idiotic her brother looked. She hadn’t quite yet grown out of the embarrassment years. Still, eventually all three of the girls were joining the rest of the dancers being rather silly, themselves.

~So She Dances

“In general, I think I would say, when an opportunity like this comes along, one should take it. However, you do need to make sure you’re doing the right thing, and staying within the peace of God. Don’t take any opportunity that takes you out of that peace, no matter how amazing an opportunity it may be. And don’t let excitement cloud your judgment in that area.”

~So She Dances

I think that's enough for now. Don't want to give all the best in one go. ;-)

What Happened

I know, I know... NaNo ended weeks ago! But I have a good excuse to be so behind on telling how things went. Honest! I was sick, from Thanksgiving Day onward, with what had to have been an extremely bad cold or a more mild flu bug. I'm mostly better now, but it affected my inner ears (but no infection) in a way that my equalibrium is still quite off- not good for working in a restaurant. Admittedly, I did forget about putting up a results post without having been sick this past week, but it's here now. :-)

So, I started out fairly well. I got in my daily amount and even had a few days where I got in more than the daily 2k. Not that I didn't struggle a little when I was at the slower points- believe me, quite a bit of drabble was written. Still, I got myself to struggle to the start of the main plot point... and that's when it hit. I got what had to be some sort of writer's block. Did I have ideas for writing? Yes. Did I know how to get to them and get them out? No. Very frustrating. So, I started to drag out one chapter and write mostly drabble and "legal cheats" again. In fact, I'm still in that same chapter. Then, when I thought I could finally get myself to move on, I got sick and just couldn't focus well enough to write good stuff. So what did I write? More drabble and "legal cheats". :-P
Thanks to those things, I did make it over the 50k line, but not nearly as far in the story as I wanted to be. Not to mention hardly anything of quality in the last several thousand words. Much will be chopped out in editing. :-P

I do think I got some good moments in there, though, and I shall be making a Snippets post (probably tomorrow) with some of those. So keep an eye out, if you're interested. :-)

And since all that, I am recuperated- minus my ears- and busy busy busy with Christmas coming and other events. More posts shall come soon! I promise! ;-)