Archive for the ‘Reading’ Category

Book Review: Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi


15 Nov

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Posted in Authors & Books, Reading | 1 Comment »

What if friendly aliens arrived at Earth, and instead of contacting the government of any nation, they instead contacted the head of one of the biggest talent agencies inHollywood, in order to determine the best way to introduce themselves to the planet? That is the premise behind Agent to the Stars. It’s a fun premise (especially in the days of Entrouage and Ari Gold), and makes for a fun book.

It is also an example of self-publishing that works, as the novel was originally made available by the author, online, with a suggested donation of $1. He received $4,000.

Book Review: The Professor & the Madman by Simon Winchester


13 Nov

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Posted in Authors & Books, Non-fiction, Reading | Comments Off

The full title is The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. Honestly, that covers just about everything you need to know. If the title intrigues you, you’ll enjoy the book. If the mentioning of the world’s largest dictionary turns you off, don’t bother.

Most of the time I was reading this book, I had also had two little dogs crawling over me trying to get attention. The writing was engaging and clear. I could put it down whenever I needed and never had a problem picking it back up.

Mental Health Day


09 Nov

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I am taking a mental health day, today. With everything that’s been going on in our loves, my weekdays and weekends have been packed. Even weekend days where we don’t have to do anything else, we have to go visit the MIL in the skilled facility, or get a million phone calls from her about how she wants to go home. It’s draining.

In addition I felt like I’m on the verge of getting sick for a couple of weeks now. So today, I’m taking a day off. C has class, so it’s just me and the dogs and books.

Geek Girl Con


27 Feb

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Posted in Advertising, Authors & Books, Games, Reading, Role Playing Games, Roller Derby, Science, Software, Technology, Television | 3 Comments »

Geek Girls Unite! Or at least come together for a great party. Boy geeks are invited, too.

I have sent in my volunteer application for the Geek Girl Con this October in Seattle. Besides being a geek girl myself (and no, I don’t care how old I am, I will never think of myself as a “woman”), I think it’s always nice to remind actual girls (you know, the young ones) that they are not alone, and that it is fun to be a geek.

If you’re looking for something to do in October, keep the Geek Girls in mind.

My Velocity Micro Cruz eReader


09 Feb

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Posted in Finances, Games, Reading, Software, Technology | 1 Comment »

I bought myself an eReader for birthday/Christmas. I’d spent a lot of time researching the different brands and functionality, and finally settled on the Velocity Micro Cruz Reader. It came pre-loaded with the Borders app, but because its 3rd party, I can download the Kindle or B&N apps, too.

In addition to being an eReader, the Cruz has some tablet functionality. I’m able to browse the web and download games and other apps from the Android app store. Its tablet functionality is not perfect, but considering I paid eReader price ($120), I’m not complaining. And still reading books on it.

Dear 100 Words On…


25 Jan

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Posted in Finances, Reading, Relationships | Comments Off

Confession: I am addicted to advice columns. Dear Prudie, Margo, Miss Manners, Travel Troubleshooter, it doesn’t matter, I love them. I’ve never been a big fan of the daytime talk show, but I love reading about the train wrecks.

And now with internet columns, you can give your own advice, as well, in the comments section. So if you disagree with the maven, or just want to add your two cents, you can, though I generally don’t.

This may feed my love of the money boards. It’s like an advice column, only, people are actually asking for the group’s advice.

A House Full of Books


14 Jul

Posted in Authors & Books, Home Ownership, Reading | Comments Off

Growing up, there were books shelves in almost every room in our house. Nowadays, there are books in every room of my house, too, even if there aren’t shelves to store them on.

We don’t take our books back to the used book store. Perhaps we should, but we don’t. So we have this idea to get a bookshelf for our living room that is the free to good home shelf. This way any time our friends come over, they can leave with a book. Of course, knowing our friends, they’d start bringing books to put on the shelf, too.

Finding time to read and think


19 May

Posted in Non-fiction, Reading | Comments Off

It will come as no surprise to anyone here that I love to read. What may be less evident is that I enjoy reading non-fiction as well. The problem is, while I can get lost in a good fiction story, non-fiction is rarely all absorbing. That means I read those books more slowly and sporadically.

I need dedicated reading time. Now that my Monday night critique group is more of a try to get together and write group, maybe I’ll take the off Mondays and give myself over to non-fiction. After all, what else am I doing- playing bejeweled blitz?

100 Words On

topics explored in exactly 100 words