January 2010

So this month was really alot of reading fun!! I continued on reading Jennifer Fallon, who I just absolutely love!!!

Medalon 488
Treason Keep 518
Harshini 489

These are the sequel trilogy to the Wolfblade series but were written before the Wolfblade series, so their are some minor discrepancies that someone like me of course noticed. But I loved them nonetheless. This woman has an extraordinary talent with writing villains. I swear, every one of her books there is at least one person that I personally want to jump into the book and strangle with my bare hands. I also love that the hero or the heroine are never perfect; they always are flawed. Her tone is more reality even though her books are fantasy.

Lion of Senet 558
Eye of the Labyrinth 512
Lord of the Shadows 569

This series is also by Jennifer Fallon, and I again absolutely LOVED it!!! It has many subjects that it covers but mainly it is about the struggle between science and fundamental religion. In order to destroy the evil that has been perpetuated by this particular religion the main hero must tear it down from the inside; he must also lie to set himself up so that he can fix so much. In discussing if it is better to follow him or the woman who originally started the society down the barbaric path, he is answered this--"They'll still be pathetic," Neris predicted. "Most people are. It's why we have gods and goddessess. The human race is so insecure and afraid, we must invent a protector or cower in the shadows, hiding from a universe full of things bigger, uglier and more powerful than we are. People want a parent figure to alleviate their pain, Dirk. To make their crops grow, to shield them from the realities of life. If we can't find a real god, then we have to make one up. Do you think that makes us a higher species or a lesser one? Every other species seems to cope just fine without the need to imagine there's a divine being out there somewhere masterminding the whole show."

I just love that quote!!! It is so true. Now, no one take offense, I'm not saying there is no God, but the reason most people seek after any God is because the world, reality itself, scares the everliving piss out of them.

The Warrior Heir 426
The Wizard Heir 458
The Dragon Heir 499

Cinda Williams Chima is the author of this trilogy. This is another one that just took me in and I so did NOT want to let go. Just a really compelling story!!!

Total for the month of January-- 4,517
Total for 2010-- 4,517

Happy Birthday Mern Bear!!!

Happy 8th Birthday my "bittle bear"!!

Such an expressive kid. We always knew he was scary smart. When he was only 10 months old, I caught him by our back door with some fruit loops. He had placed them strategically in a line to gather up the ants that were crawling in through the door. He knew if he put the cereal there he could keep them right were he wanted them.
He taught himself to read when he was only 4 and now he can plow through books that take most adults days to read. I yell at him to go to sleep and he just whines, "But Mom!!! I can't stop reading!!!"
I didn't have a number 8 candle so he chose to threes and a two. He also chose a Boston Cream Cake as his birthday cake. It was uber yummy.

He loves chess. He loves to read. He loves school. And we all love him.

Thank you Hyrum for coming into our family!!! We sure love you.

The Many Faces of Sleep

Our lovely children are too cute. The way they sleep is even indicative of their personalities, so I thought I would share.
Hyrum, doesn't sleep, he reads. . . Seriously, I have to yell at him most nights to go to sleep just as I'm about to do so. Even then, one never knows until he refuses to get up in the morning and is falling over tired when I take him to school.
Porter, buries himself in his blankets. Actually, it's a miracle his head is out in this picture, he usually has his whole body smothered in blankets. I don't know how he breathes that way, but it sure is cute.
Emma with her blankie and her thumb. I keep trying to break her of that habit, but I've had no luck, especially at night.
Dan is too funny. Now, it's a miracle to find him in his bed and the one above was taken after I had transferred him there from the floor.
This on the other hand is usually how we find him, square behind his door after exhausting himself with banging and yelling "mom!!!!" And that's following the "Dan you need to go to sleep."

"No, I no want to"

At least they sleep on occasion and give mom a moment to breathe.

Cats

Under it all is Joe. Is it any wonder his allergies have been bugging him?


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

December Books--And Thus Ends 2009

At the beginning of 2009, I set a goal to read 30,000 pages within the year. I love to read, and this was a wonderful goal for me. With the beginning of 2010, I stand at the beginning of a new path. This year holds many goals for me that I am hoping to achieve. I am scheduled to take my GRE on the 28th of February, which I really pray I will achieve great results on my first try. With the GRE in hand, I will be applying for graduate school. Therefore, I don't know how well I will be able to read up to par with this past year, but since I exceeded my goal, and the whole purpose of a goal is to push oneself, my reading goal this year will be 40,000 pages.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

DECEMBER:

Romanov Prophecy -- pgs. 369

The second Steve Berry book that I have read, and I liked this one even more. Some of the action is like, "yeah that would really happen," but that's what literary license is all about. Anyway, it was a fun book.

The Hobbit -- pgs. 306

Yes, I admit it, up until now I had never read "The Hobbit," and I still have not read "The Lord of the Rings." I love the movies and I think that was always my problem. I started to read "The Fellowship of the Ring" once, but I got so annoyed, I mean serious how long can a hobbit sit around and get old. So I was really pleased with "The Hobbit" because it wasn't so boring at the beginning, allowing me time to get into the book and not want to stop. I look forward to "The Hobbit, Part 1" set for 2011. Now where would they cut that one off???

The Black Cauldron -- pgs. 180

This is out of order. I had read one book and was waiting to be able to afford the following in that series so I went back to a series I had left behind. I liked this one much better than "The Book of Three." I will definitely be going back and finishing this series.

Wolfblade -- pgs. 626
Warrior -- pgs. 562
Warlord -- pgs. 617

I discovered "Wolfblade" at Savers. It was in such good condition and sounded like a fun story and cheap, so I got it, and have discovered a wonderful new author. Well, she's been writing for a while, but she is new to me. Jennifer Fallon. I now own almost all her books. I loved this series. I became so engrossed with the characters. Fallon had a way of creating characters that I became so attached too. Not only that, but she created a character that has become my most hated fictional character ever. I tell you, it took forever for me to finish the third book because I was so angry this character hadn't died an extremely painful death. I'm not a particularly bloodthirsty person, but oh my, did I want this woman to die. Anyway. . . I'm looking forward to reading the rest of her books.

Total for December: 2660 pgs.
Total for 2009: 40,901 pgs.