Monday, February 17, 2014

Monday Malarkey or A Shocking Look at What May Happen During a Brief Blogging Break


The photo above is not what my time away has looked like (photo from our trip to Costa Rica in 2009).  ;)  Oh, well.  One can dream.

I'm back to catch up on a bit of malarkey, but I'm not sure if I'll manage to get any reviews written for a few more days.  I have, however, managed to build myself one heck of a review backlog and have hacked away at the beginnings of one review. It doesn't feel very cohesive but I may soon post the review and move on.  We shall see.  In the meantime . . . a bit of malarkey:

Arrivals since I last posted:

From HarperCollins for review:

  • Fallout by Sadie Jones
  • When the Cypress Whispers by Yvette Manessis Corporon
  • 50 Children by Steven Pressman

From Sterling Children's for review:

  • Who Were the American Pioneers? by Martin W. Sandler
  • What Was America's Deadliest War? by Martin W. Sandler
  • How Does a Seed Sprout? by Melissa Stewart
  • How Many Planets Circle the Sun? by Mary Kay Carson
  • How Does a Caterpillar Become a Butterfly? by Melissa Stewart
  • How Does the Ear Hear? by Melissa Stewart
  • Why Does Earth Spin? by Mary Kay Carson

    all from the Good Question! series

  • Who's in the Tree? by Craig Shuttlewood
  • Is That My Cat? by Jonathan Allen
  • A History of the World with Google Earth by Penny Worms and William Ings
  • Ode to Childhood, ed. by Lucy Gray
  • Goodnight Songs (with CD) by Margaret Wise Brown
  • Dinosaur Numbers, Dinosaur Shapes, Dinosaur Colors and Dinosaur Opposites, all by Paul Strickland

From Paperback Swap:

  • Nefertiti by Michelle Moran
  • View from the Air by Hugh Fosburgh

This is the point at which your eyeballs pop out in shock, right?  I'm not even certain that's everything.  I sure hope it is.  On the night the first of two boxes from Sterling Kids showed up, I was in a very bad mood. We'd had three days of heavy overcast and cold, dreary rain. Amazing how that surprise box lifted my spirits.  Oh, yes . . .

Checked out from the library:

  • The Returned by Jason Mott
  • Redshirts by John Scalzi

Last week's posts:

Nada - been gone.  Still halfway gone.

Books finished since I vamoosed:

  • The Rosie Project by Graham Simsion
  • On Such a Full Sea by Chang-Rae Lee
  • Is That My Cat? by Jonathan Allen
  • Who's in the Tree? by Craig Shuttlewood?
  • Why Does Earth Spin? by Mary Kay Carson
  • Nick and Tesla's Robot Army Rampage by Pflugfelder and Hockensmith
  • Who Were the American Pioneers? by Martin W. Sandler
  • The Making of a Marchioness (also known as Emily Fox Seton), parts 1 & 2 by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  • The Returned by Jason Mott
  • Goodnight Songs by Margaret Wise Brown (and I'm listening to the CD, as I type).
  • All four of the dinosaur books by Paul Strickland (listed in arrivals)

Talk about casting yourself into review backlog hell.  I don't know that I'm even willing to update my sidebar with all that mess. I may have to have a Children's Week rather than a Children's Day (my usual method for tackling a pile of children's books), soon.

Currently reading:

  • Fallen Beauty by Erika Robuck
  • A History of the World with Google Earth by Worms and Ings (learning a great deal from this children's book and having a blast armchair traveling to various historical sites)
  • The Sunne in Splendour by Penman . . . still . . . occasionally. Only on p. 350 out of about 950 pp. but fortunately one can walk away from this book for a week or more and return without forgetting what's occurred.

I didn't get far into the Sterling book about The Middle Ages so I'm going to set that one aside, for now. I've got some other non-fiction that I need and desire to read.

Other reading notes:

I discovered the local thrift shop sells used books for 10 cents each. This is not necessarily something I need to know.

The Making of a Marchioness and its sequel, The Methods of Lady Walderhurst, are paired together as Emily Fox Seton and available for free download via Project Gutenberg.  I was all set to put The Making of a Marchioness on my list of books to look for at Persephone Books, the next time I'm in London, when Tasha informed me that I could load the set for free.  And, then I discovered that The Making of a Marchioness is already on my wish list at Paperback Swap.  Funny.  My interest was piqued after I watched The Making of a Lady, which is loosely based on the books.  You can read about The Making of a Lady in The Telegraph.  I didn't realize The Making of a Lady was based on a Frances Hodgson Burnett book until I watched the credits roll. So, why did I watch this period drama, in the first place?  This is why:


James D'Arcy.  Fabulous actor.  I loved him in Master and Commander and he was frankly terrifying as Alec in The Making of a Lady.  Apparently, he's gained a reputation as something of a chameleon. The two roles in which I've seen him would bear out that description. I found this article about James D'Arcy in The Guardian.  It made me appreciate him even more. I did enjoy the books but this is one case in which I love what was done to make the story more dramatic for screen, although I didn't always understand what they were trying to say and there's a particular scene that still doesn't make sense to me after having read the books.

Addendum:  I completely forgot to mention that Shadowed by Grace by Cara Putman was a DNF.  I'll remove the image from my sidebar.

That's all for now!  Happy Monday!

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

10 comments:

  1. You are kicking reading tail and taking names! So many books completed and newly apprehended!

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    1. LOL! Well, I've been having fun. No doubt about that.

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  2. Yay for all those read books! I'm behind with my reviews, too. Keep telling myself no more reading until I catch up reviewing. Ha! Like that's gonna happen. ;)

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    1. I was so close to being caught up when I hit the reviewing wall and had to take a break, Les!! SO CLOSE! Oh, well. I've been having fun reading, obviously. I'd never even think about trying to stop reading to catch up. I know better than to think that's ever going to happen!

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  3. Look at all that reading you get done when you go on a bloggy break! :)
    I know that usually happens to me anyway. I miss the blog and blogosphere but it's also nice to catch up with books. Enjoy all your new arrivals!

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    1. I know! I've had fun! And, honestly, I'm not quite ready to come back. I may have to do a bunch of mini reviews. Thanks, Iliana!

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  4. Holy lots of books and reviews to write. Good luck. ;)

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    1. LOL Thanks, Jenny! I need it! Just got back from a quick road trip to see Wiley Cash talk about This Dark Road to Mercy. Now, hopefully, I'll get around to reviewing it, soon. :)

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  5. "Review backlog hell"...I'm pretty sure that would be a good title for a blog! ;)

    You crack me up, Nancy, and I loved reading about your arrivals with your wonderful spirit. Two I've been meaning to read from your list are The Rosie Project and The Making of a Marchioness. Loved that you could download it without going to London! but still wouldn't it be great to visit the real Persephone? Well, you already have. xo

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    1. Maybe I should change my blog name, Bellezza. It would certainly fit. LOL

      Thanks! The Rosie Project is *wonderful*!!!! I bought it for $1.99 in e-book form because I'd read so many gushy reviews. Definitely glad I went ahead and bought the e-book. I liked The Making of a Marchioness but I don't think it's as good as A Little Princess and The Secret Garden, both of which I adore. However, I'm always fine with any excuse to go to London to drop by Persephone Books. ;) You really ought to go with me, some time.

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