Final Summer Reading post for Branigan Library

Well, I officially moved to Idaho last week, so I completed my final summer reading programs for Branigan Library in Las Cruces.

I had to read a book by an author who is deceased, so I read:

• I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

My next task was to read a humorous fiction book, and while I started the book in Las Cruces, I didn't finish it until after I moved to Idaho.  But it was:

• Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett

I wish there was an adult summer reading program here, but there isn't. :(  Oh, well.  I'll have to find another reading challenge (besides the Series Ender challenge!).

More Summer Reading Program

Okay!  I had to read a book with a one word title.  I read...

• Undone by Cat Clarke

Interesting book...very unsettling and sad ending.

Next I had to read a book whose title started with an S, J, or A (Summer, June, July, or August). :)  I read...

• Sparks by Laura Bickle

I wish Laura Bickle would write another book about Anya and Sparky.  This is the second one.  I want more! :)

My new task is to read a book by an author who is deceased.  I'm going with Isaac Asimov for this one...I'll let you know when I'm done! ;)

Literary Elements Summer Reading Program

Okay, so there was a little mess up with my first summer reading task.  But I got back on track and finished the task today!

Turned out that I had to read a humorous book for my first task, so I read Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler.  Honestly, I didn't find it very funny, but it was a humor book.

My next task is reading a book with a one word title.  YAY!  This is an easy one.  ;)

Summer Reading Program!!!

There's a new summer reading program at Branigan Library!  I won't be in Las Cruces all summer, but I'm going to give it a go while I'm here. :)

The program is called "Elements of Reading" and it's set up like a game.  You choose tiles that tell you what to read and move around a game board.  FUN!

My first element tile is to read a book from between call numbers 100-199.

I ROCK!!

AADL Summer Reading Game: Under Construction COMPLETE!!

I will collect my prize tomorrow.

1. Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot
2. Stray by Rachel Vincent
3. American Photobooth by Nakki Goranin
4. Pimps Up, Ho's Down: Hip Hop's Hold on Young Black Women by T. Denean Sharpley-Whiting
5. Size 14 Is Not Fat Either by Meg Cabot

And hopefully sometime in the next couple days, I'll get at least two of those submitted to the Northfield Township Summer Reading Program too!

Update: Summer Reading

AADL's Summer Reading Game (which is titled Under Construction, btw)

1. Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot
2. Stray by Rachel Vincent
3.
4.
5.

I have to stop by the Northfield Township Library and drop Stray into the drawing. We'll see if I win anything. :)

Summer Reading update

I've gotten off to a REALLY slow start on my Summer Reading game thinger. But! I finally finished my first adult book. :) So...the tally so far...

1. Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot
2.
3.
4.
5.

Reading mysteries seems to be a summer reading program staple for me. I started reading Janet Evanovich for a summer reading program (I had to read a mystery and I don't really like mysteries (as they are traditionally conceived) much). And last year, I think I read a Janet Evanovich. I tried Meg Cabot's mystery series this year b/c I like her YA books so much. And I liked it. It was funny. :) I like funny mysteries. Oh, and ones about supernaturally people (you know, like vampires and werewolves and witches and such). *laughs*

Hmmmm...I've got at least one other adult book started (a non fic book even) and a couple prospects. Yay! I just have to quit getting all those graphic novels and manga from the library. Then I'll have time!

Oh, and GUESS WHAT! The Northfield Township Library has a Summer Reading program for adults too! I starts tomorrow (or techincally today). You enter yourself in a raffle for every book you read. Don't know what the prizes are, but I'm betting they're better than a free movie popcorn. You think?

I was thinking today that I wish I could have my own summer reading game with my friends. I don't know what we'd do, but...we'd have cooler prizes. And then I was thinking, I'd like to have friends who'd be interested in playing reading games with me. Not reading groups. Blech. But, like...someone who would exchange recommendations with me and we could talk about them. Someone to expose me to new books I've never read before or new authors. Well, I often wish I had friends who'd play games with me (like the question game or Truth or sending each other real letters/packages or something). I'm weird that way, I guess.

Anyway... I'm not much for posting this month, am I? I have lots of cool ideas for posts, I've just been too busy to write them. I have to write about the backroom buried treasures, that cookbook Julie & I found, and The Story of the Little Mole Who Went in Search of Whodunit. I'll get around to it...I hope.

Do you know what time it is?

It's Summer Reading Game time! Woo hoo!

And this year, the prize is NOT a coupon for free bread from Great Harvest!

It's a coupon for a free large popcorn from the movie theater.

Yeah...not that inspiring. But! It's a challenge.

*snorts* Like reading 5 books by August is a challenge for me.

Whatever. It's fun! :) I've got to read 5 adult books. I haven't even started yet. I'll keep you updated...

China Shakes the World & James Kynge

I finished China Shakes the World this evening. It was not by choice that I read this book--it's not my type. The living-learning program I run is reading the book as part of the inagural summer reading program at U of M. All my students are reading it...

Well, I'm just not that interested in business and economics. I found the chapter on environmental concerns interesting. Overall, I found the book frightening. Especially the last chapter... China is growing and expanding, people are living better, there are greater opportunities, education is flourishing--all that is great. But the scary part is the limited resources that everyone in the world is competing for (and the implied lengths they will go to in order to protect their share or gain new resources), the lack of concern about the environment, the nuclear weapons... I don't know that I can pull my thoughts together better than that... Everyone who has read the book has said that Kynge presents a balanced view, but it didn't seem that way to me. I don't know. I'm not good at reviewing...

James Kynge is coming to campus on Sept 18th to give a talk based on his book. I'm very curious to see what he has to say. I hope it will be interesting.

I'm also curious about what my Chinese students will have to say about the book... I know many of my students have found it deadly boring. Well, this should be interesting...

Why couldn't we have stuck with a nice book like A Thousand Years of Good Prayers? That was a nice little book with many interesting different stories touching on the lives of different people and highlighting different cultural aspects of China. That would have been so much better, in my opinion... Oh well. *sighs*

Summer Reading Game--DONE!!

Okay, so I've been done since 7/14, but I kept forgetting to post. Oops, sorry. :) But here it is, the final complete list:

1. Undead and Uneasy by MaryJanice Davidson
2. Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys edited by Melissa de la Cruz & Tom Dolby
3. Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich
4. Witchling by Yasmine Galenorn
5. A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah

Woo hoo! I'll turn it in tomorrow when I work at the library. Free bread, here I come! :P There's a prize drawing too, but I doubt they'll let employees win that. It'd be sweet if I did, though--prizes are Purple Rose Theatre tickets or Michigan Theater tickets or some swanky gift basket from the Art Fair.

That was fun...but I wish it was longer. Oh well! Til next year, Summer Reading Program...

Summer Reading Game and other updates

Woo-hoo! One more book read for the Summer Reading Game:

1. Undead and Uneasy by MaryJanice Davidson
2. Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys edited by de la Cruz & Dolby
3. Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich
4. Witchling by Yasmine Galenorn
5. ??? (but probably A Long Way Gone)

One more to go and then I get my free bread! :)

Also, Caroline gave me a book yesterday as a present. She said she laughed out loud while reading it and she hopes I like it too. If she laughed out loud, I'll laugh out loud, b/c we're twins separated at birth and by 7 years. :)

• You Suck by Christopher Moore

I also got a bunch of zines from Kelly! Yay!!! I can't wait to read them. I won't list them all here, but there are several issues of his regular zine shortandqueer. SWEET!

Summer Reading Game update 2 (or technically 3)

I have read so far:

1. Undead and Uneasy by MaryJanice Davidson
2. Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys edited by Melissa de la Cruz & Tom Dolby
3. Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich
4. ??
5. ??

Lean Mean Thirteen and Undead and Uneasy feel like cheating...I guess b/c they are really easy reads (but still pretty entertaining). Oh well. I suspect I will have A Long Way Gone to add to this list soon. I don't know what my fifth book will be. Hmmm...I give myself another 2 weeks and I'll be done. :)

Also, the manga marathon worked well! I ended up reading 11 manga in 24 hours. :) I'd have read more if I wasn't reading the Negima! books--they tend to take longer to read, I think because there's so much dialogue and such detailed pictures. Lots of panty shots, you know, and one must take time to appreciate them. HA! Just kidding (but not about there being lots of panty shots).

Summer Reading Game update

By the way, I think it's silly to call it a Summer Reading Game, but hey, that's what they're calling it...

1. Undead and Uneasy by MaryJanice Davidson
2. Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys edited by Melissa de la Cruz & Tom Dolby
3. (...)
4. (???)
5. (???)

A mixed bag...

Books from Borders:

• Let Dai #2 & Let Dai #3 by Sooyeon Won

And I want to rant about how irritated I am with Borders at the moment, but I won't b/c I'm too tired... *sighs*

AADL Summer Reading Game book list:

1. Undead and Uneasy by MaryJanice Davidson
2. (...)
3. (...)
4. (???)
5. (???)

I was a bizarre reading fiend today. I sat at my friend's house after I checked in on her cat and read for a bit, then I went and got my oil changed and read while they did that, then I read in the car during rush hour traffic. I was utilizing my time wisely, I guess. :)

I read Mountain Man Dance Moves: The McSweeney's Book of Lists last night. When I checked it out, I was browsing through and laughing hysterically and sharing some of the lists with co-workers. I couldn't wait to read it. It proved just as hilarious as I thought. I have a ton of the lists marked to copy down and share with others (especially the unicorn ones with Caroline). I wish I could share them all here, but that'd get tedious. So, I'll just share one for now and maybe another couple later.

EIGHT REASONS WHY A TYRANNOSAUR CAUGHT IN A TORNADO IS A FUNNY THING TO THINK ABOUT

by Austin Allen

1. The tiny, flailing arms

2. The helpless "RARRRRRR!"

3. The angry, wild-eyed expression

4. That dinosaur with the sail on his back floats by and he's just cruisin'

5. The landing

6. The Wizard of Oz music playing in the background. What an anachronism!

7. Tyrannosaurs inhabited the western United States, an area of the country known for its heavy tornado activity. Statistically speaking, it is probable that the scenario in question actually happened at least once. In this, as in all enduring comedy, there is a grain of indubitable truth inside the humor.

8. "RARRRRRR!" Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! "RAAAARRRRRRRRRR!"

--from Mountain Man Dance Moves: The McSweeney's Book of Lists

*giggles hysterically* Gods, I love this book...

Summer Reading Program--GO!

Okay, not go until Friday, but... I signed up for the A2 Summer Reading Program. Have I mentioned how much I love summer reading programs? I LOVE summer reading programs! It makes me feel like a kid again. :)

I only have to read 5 books by August 10th. *snorts* Like that's going to be hard. I will even make them ADULT books. Oooh... *laughs*

If only they had cooler prizes. If I read my 5 books, I'll get a coupon for a free loaf of bread at the Great Harvest Bread Company. Cool, but the same as last year. There's a grand prize drawing too, but I'm unlikely to win anything b/c I'm an employee. Blah.

The summer before I started this job at UM, I did the summer reading program at the Loutit Library in Grand Haven. It was awesome. There was a theme and you had to read six books, I think, and they had to be from certain categories. It was cool and fun! That's how I discovered Janet Evanovich's mysteries--b/c I had to read a mystery for the program! Pretty freaking sweet.

But Ann Arbor is lame and boring... *sighs* Oh well. It's still fun. :)