Sunday Salon # 8 Monday Morning Style

I finished teaching on Thursday. One thing I've noticed is that when you don't need to go to work your days tend to blend together. So last night as I was falling asleep I realized "ahh! It is Sunday. I need to write my Sunday Salon. But I was nearly asleep so decided it could wait until this morning. I love summer vacation. I get a lot of reading done, I relax, I spend time outside. I do all those things I don't seem to have time for when I'm teaching.

I finally finished up Parasite Rex. Overall I enjoyed it. I decided it is a book you should read in small chunks over a long period of time. (review here). I also read The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. Excellent! Highly recommend this book to everyone. I'm not really into "war" stories, this book is different. (review here). The last book I read was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I figured I couldn't call myself much of a reader if I didn't give this series a whirl. I hadn't been avoiding it, I just hadn't gotten around to it. It was a fun read. I'll review it soon.

I figured out why I haven't written my review for Bel Canto yet. I'm worried I won't be able to convey how good the book was. It was one of the best I've read. Maybe ever. I know I'm not a strong enough writer to convey that so I just keep putting off the review.


CURRENTLY READING:

The Awakening: by Kate Chopin. I have to admit. I'm not very excited to be picking up this book. I'm doing it for a challenge and I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised. I've only read 12 pages so far, I literally just started it and so far it is well written. I'm not far enough along yet to tell if I like the plot. Any word of encouragement would be appreciated. I know there are a lot of fans so hopefully I'll end up liking it too.

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO:

Ozma of Oz, the third book in the Oz series. Ozma is a little girl who ends up being the heir to the throne of Oz. She took back the throne in book 2. Right now Dorothy, the scarecrow, tinman, lion, Ozma and a few new characters, Tiktok (a windup copperman) and Billia (a hen) are getting reading to rescue the queen of Ev and her ten children from the Nome King.

WHAT I BOUGHT THIS WEEK (what showed up from PaperBack Swap)

• Shantaram: Gregory Roberts
• Genesis Alpha: Rune Michaels
• Those Who Save Us: Jenna Blum

CHALLENGE UPDATE:

• A-Z Reading Challenge (28/52)
• Series Challenge (3/6)
• Cardathon Challenge (3/6)
• Spring Reading Thing 2008 (8/9 but with 6 alternates completed)
• 1% Well Read Challenge (2/10)
• Historical Reading Challenge (1/6 but with 3 alternates completed)
• Whats in A Name Challenge (4/6)
• Orbis Terrarum (6/9 but with 2 alternates completed)
• Themed Reading Challenged (3/4)
• Non Fiction Five (1/5)
• 342,745, Ways to Herd Cats Challenge (0/3)
• Young Adult Challenge (11/12)
• Decades Challenge (5/8)
• Notable Book Challenge (1/3 but with 1 alternate completed)
• 19th Century Women Writers Challenge (0/4)
• In Their Shoes (1/6 but with 2 alternates completed)
• Suspense and Thriller Challenge (3/12)
• Orange Prize Project--Completed
• Chunkster--Completed
• Book Binge--Completed
• Eponymous--Completed
• Spring Reading Challenge--Completed
• Banned Book Challenge--Completed
• Book Awards Reading Challenge--Completed