The Art of Racing in the Rain

by Garth Stein

Finished: 3/18/2011

Total Pages: 321

Stars: 3

Memorable Quotes: (There were a ton but I didn't have anything to write with so I didn't write them down.)

‎"Such a simple concept, yet so true: that which we manifest is before us; we are creators of our own destiny. Be it through intention or ignorance, our successes and our failures have been brought on by none other than ourselves."

Sarah's Key

by Tatiana De Rosnay

Finished: 5/7/2011

Total Pages: 293

Stars: 4

** TNBBC Group Read

First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria

by Eve Brown-Waite

Finished: 5/4/2011

Total Pages: 320

Stars: 4

** Reading Challenge (Task 5.2)

(Won from First Reads!!)

Book Blogger Hop: March 25-28, 2011

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted weekly at Crazy for Books.

This week's question is:

"If you could physically put yourself into a book or series…

which one would it be and why?"

I would have to go with the Chronicles of Narnia. I haven't read any of the books in a really long time (since elementary school) but I remember thinking it was really neat. It would be fun to be part of those stories, as a kid :) ... Speaking of which, I would REALLY love to read those books again soon!

Friday Fill-ins: 3/25/11

Hosted at Friday Fill-Ins.

1. Why does it have to stop raining?? :(

2. A half dozen is equal six.

3. My favorite breakfast includes FRENCH TOAST!!!

4. Haroun and the Seas of Stories was the last book I read but I didn't think it was as good as I imagined.

5. I am SO glad it's almost the 30th.

6. Ice cream would make me feel better right now.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hanging out with the family, tomorrow my plans include watching basketball, and Sunday I want to relax with a good book!

Haroun and the Sea of Stories

by Salman Rushdie

Finished: 3/21/11

Total Pages: 224

Stars: 3

**Lost Lit

Relation to Lost:

*This book is being read by Desmond on Flight 815 in the flash-sideways timeline. ("LA X, Part 1")

*I also found the following article speculating on how the novel ties into the show: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20357575,00.html

Friday Fill-Ins: 3/18/11

Hosted at Friday Fill-In.

1. I love to go to the beach because I find it soothing.

2. Surprise?! it’s the quality!

3. The last thing I had to eat was breakfast for dinner!

4. Studying is no longer essential.

5. Please take a moment to breathe.

6. Hopes and dreams have brought you this far.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to SLEEP, tomorrow my plans include relaxing and Sunday, I want to make plenty of time to catch up on reading!

The Beach

by Alex Garland

Finished: 3/15/11

Total Pages: 448

Stars: 4

** "Currently Reading" Shelf

**Reading Challenge

I started this a long time ago (several years) and attempted to pick up in the same place I left off...I probably should have just started it over. It all came back fairly quick but I am sure I missed some of the details from the beginning of the story. Overall, it was an extremely easy and enjoyable read. The end got kinda weird and almost seemed anti-climatic.

Everything That Rises Must Converge

by Flannery O'Connor

Finished: 3/5/11

Total Pages: 272

Stars: 3

**Lost Lit

Memorable Quotes:

"The tide of darkness seemed to sweep him back to her, postponing from moment to moment his entry into the world of guilt and sorrow."

~Pg. 23

"All her resources returned in full strength as if she had only needed to be challenged by the devil himself to regain them."

~Pg. 45

Relation to Lost:

*The book Jacob was reading moments before John Locke falls out an 8-story window. ("The Incident, Part 1")

Maybe Baby

by Lori Leibovich

Finished: 2/15/11

Total Pages: 288

Stars: 3

Memorable Quotes:

"Soon I discovered that a child ... has a function we don't expect: He's an anchor to windward, set out in stormy weather, that keeps us from dashing ourselves onto the rocks or piling up on the beach. Instead of allowing us to be blown off the mooring, he holds us in place, heading into wind while we wait for fairer weather to come."

~Pg. 202

"All journeys have sweet destinations of which the traveler is unaware."

~Martin Buber

Friday Fill-Ins: 1/21/11

Hosted at Friday Fill-In.

1. So many of us don't spend enough time listening.

2. Have compassion even in hardship.

3. Those who are accepting of other opinions will gain insight.

4. My puppy is waiting quietly.

5. Light is in both the heart and soul.

6. Only part of all that is ordinary.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing, tomorrow my plans include my grandfather's 80th birthday celebration, and Sunday I want to spend some more time relaxing!

Friday's Fab Five: 01/21/11

This week I thought I would join Friday's Fab Five with Froggarita.
Here are my answers:
1. What last TV show have you watched on TV?Re-runs of Lost
2. What was the last movie that you watched at the theatre?I honestly can't remember. I think it was The Expendables.
3. What was the last movie that you watched at home?I finally watched Inception last week!
4. What was the last audiobook that you listened to?I have never actually listened to an entire audiobook.
5. What is the last song that you heard?Stand Tall by The Dirty Heads

Friday Fill-Ins: 1/14/11

Hosted at Friday Fill-Ins.

1. Right now I need a cup of coffee!!

2. A whole lot of nothing is what's in my glass.

3. A copy of this letter will not be sent.

4. Ice cream is best with a spoon.

5. The best movie I've seen lately is Inception (finally watched it last night.)

6. You like; I love.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to frozen yogurt and hanging out with my husband, tomorrow my plans include relaxation, and Sunday I want to spend a lot of time reading!!

Book Blogger Hop: January 14-17, 2011

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted weekly at Crazy for Books. This is the first one I have joined, I thought it would be a fun way to connect.

This week's question is:

"Why do you read the genre that you do? What draws you to it?"

I don't stick to any particular genre at all. I really love reading "classics" because they are drawn from in so many different ways, in various parts of our culture. I think it's fascinating to catch these types of references.

Other than that I pretty much read whatever I feel like at the time. There are so many different types of books out there I can't tie myself down to just one type!

Top Ten Bookish Resoutions

"Top Ten Tuesday" at The Broke and the Bookish focuses on book-related resolutions this week. It isn't Tuesday anymore but this one seemed fun. I normally don't make resolutions for myself but this year I decided to set some goals for reading ...

1. Read at least 50 books in 2011. As I said before, I haven't made a goal for myself before. I thought starting a little low would be a good idea. Within this 50 I have more specific goals as follow. (I realize they add up to more than 50.)

2. Clear off the books on my "Currently Reading" shelf. A few of the books on this list I started over a year ago. I really need to stop picking up new books and finish the ones I have started!

3. Read the Literature of LOST. Most of the books on this list were already on my list of books to read and I think reading through all of them will be fun as well as help me gain a little insight into the show.

4. Read at least half of Steinbeck's complete works. I am fan of Steinbeck. I love everything I have read but realized I haven't even read half of what he has written. He has a total of 30 books published (fiction and non-fiction) and I would like to read at least 15 of those this year, not including the ones I have already read.

5. Read the remainder of Palahniuk's works to date. One of my friends got me reading Palahniuk a couple years ago and I have enjoyed most of his old stuff. The newer stuff hasn't been as good (in my opinion) but I keep hoping he will surprise me. I have several of his books waiting to be read and I would like to get through them this year. Also, he comes out with another new one in Sept. that looks promising. We will see.

6. Complete one reading challenge. I have started a couple reading challenge through book clubs since joining goodreads but I have not yet followed through with one. I have not decided which one I will attempt but, at this point, I am leaning toward the Spring/Summer 2011 challenge for the College Students group.

7. Read more of the books I already own. I love Goodreads because I keep finding out about great new books but I also have a ton of books at home that I haven't read yet. This year I would like to focus on reading more of these.

8. Organize my "to-read" shelf. I have accumulated quite a collection of books that look interesting to me and I would genuinely like to read them all, if I had the time. Unfortunately, I don't have time to read everything I want and having such a large list makes it hard to chose something to read. I would like to go through this list and organize it somewhat.

9. Continue to review every book I read. I have been pretty good lately about reviewing books as I finish them and I would like to continue this. I would also like to make it a point to put a little more thought into the reviews and not stress about doing them right away.

10. Keep my reading goals updated with a blog. I got through the hard part and started this blog. One of my goals for the year is to continue to update my status as I read and keep up with the blog. I love to read but I am not a huge fan of writing and I think this will help me to expand my horizons a bit.

Free Books!!

I stumbled upon this give-away and thought I would share. Enjoy!

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass

by Lewis Carroll

Finished: Jan. 11. 2011

Total Pages: 336

Stars: 4

**Lost Lit

Relation to Lost:

*Incorporated into the story of LOST in many episode titles, such as ("White Rabbit"), and ("Through the Looking Glass, Part 1")

*The episode "White Rabbit" is a reference to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, as Jack searches for his elusive father on the island, Alice too chased the elusive White Rabbit. Locke makes a reference to this when he encounters Jack in the jungle

*We see Vincent, the yellow labrador race by, as a reference to the white rabbit in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ("Pilot, Part 1")

*White rabbits are used as recurring themes in LOST

*Jack is seen reading a portion of Chapter 2, "The Pool of Tears" from this novel to Aaron ("Something Nice Back Home")

The Pearl

by John Steinbeck

Finished: Jan. 6, 2011

Total Pages: 96

Stars: 4

**Lost Lit

**Steinbeck

Memorable Quotes:

"It was a morning like other mornings

and yet perfect among mornings."

-Pg. 3

"There was no certainty in seeing,

no proof that what you saw was there or was not there."

-Pg. 14

Relation to Lost:

*One of the DHARMA Initiative stations is named The Pearl

*Shows the "curse" of having too much wealth out of your status, like Hurley with the lottery

2011 Reading Goals

Goals:

*Clear off the books on my "currently reading" shelf
*Literature of Lost
*Read at least half of Steinbeck's complete works (15/30)
*Read the remainder of Palahniuk's works
*Complete one reading challenge

(See lists and progress here)

Getting Started

I'm pretty new to this whole blog thing. I love to read but haven't gotten much into writing. One of my resolutions for the new year is to read 50 books. (I have never set a reading goal for myself so I thought I would start small.) I thought starting a blog would be a fun way to track my progress and learn about new books!