Musing Mondays (Aug. 10)

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION:  Do you read in the water (bathtub, pool, etc.)? Why, or why not?

I am currently reading To Kill a Mockingbird, Travelling to Infinity, and a couple of others.  I don't know what I will read next.

I don't read in the water because I had a bad experience one time in getting a book waterlogged that wasn't my own.  It was a library book and had to pay for the book in the end and wasn't too pleased about it.  I tend more to read by the water (usually a pool or a beach) because its nice and relaxing for me and it also gives me the chance to do some swimming, if I choose to.  Have a great week everyone!

Musing Mondays (Aug. 3)

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: ((No random question, this week, as it’s a holiday, and I’ve got nothin’!))

I am currently reading The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness and Travelling to Infinity by Jane Hawkins.  What I plan on reading next is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, and The Odyssey by Homer; translated by Robert Fagles.

Here are the books that I received this past week:

• Print Books:

•  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë *
• The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
• A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
• Shopaholic to the Stars by Sophie Kinsella*
• Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

• E-books

• Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer
• Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson*
• The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi (pre-order)

* purchased these books prior to this week

Have a good week!

Musing Monday (May 25)

The last few days, due to work, I have been unable to read anything and the last few weeks my blogging has been non-existent, but I hope that will change sometime soon.  And I am starting to blog again in small steps and this is one of them.

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Where is the strangest place you’ve ever read a book? OR… Where is the strangest place you’ve ever found a crazy-good book, 

Right now I am in the middle of a book slump, which is a bit of a bummer, but up next I will read All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque (book club read that I have to present in about a week and a half), The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness, and The Prime Minister's Secret Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal (Maggie Hope #4).  I might start the Sarah MacLean series with A Rogue by Any Other Name (Rules of Scoundrels #1).

This week I blogged about the BOTNS Reading Bingo Challenge on my blog.  If you wish to join, it starts today, May 25, and ends on Labour Day, September 7.  You can still join and download a bingo card for this summer and I hope that some of you are interested enough to join me in the challenge (more information through the link above).

The strangest place that I read a book was a closet in the hotel room in Montreal that my sister and I were sharing.  I didn't want to go and sit in the bathroom nor did I want to go down to the lobby to do some reading, so I went into the closet, where there fortunately was a light that I could turn on to read while my sister slept.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either a link to your own Monday Musings post, or share your answer in a brief comment here (if you don't have a blog). Thanks!

Musing Mondays (May 13)

This week, Miz B at Should Be Reading asks:

Tell us what you are reading right now. What do you think of it so far? Why did you choose it and what are (or aren't) enjoying about it?

I am reading quite a bit at the moment, but I just started to read Moby Dick this past week and am quite surprised about how readable the book is. True, I have only gotten through about 11% of the book, but I am finding it something amazing and that I enjoy.  I suppose it has something to do with the fact that the book has really short chapters that makes it so readable, but I have only read 15 of the 130+ chapters.  I am really looking forward to seeing what happens.

I am also reading Villette by Charlotte Bronte and I am feeling the same way about this book that I am feeling about Moby Dick.  Maybe its the fact that its an author that I have read before or maybe its the fact that its something that I have wanted to read for some time, but I am finding it quite enjoyable as well.

Musing Mondays (May 13)

This week, Miz B at Should Be Reading asks:

Tell us what you are reading right now. What do you think of it so far? Why did you choose it and what are (or aren't) enjoying about it?

I am currently reading The House Girl by Tara Conklin.  I picked it up because I had heard a lot of buzz about the book (good and bad) and based on the description of the book, I thought I would be interested in the book.  I think its okay; I find the parts with Josephine somewhat lacking and I really enjoy the sections with Lina a bit more at this point, but then my opinion may change as I read through the book.  

I am also reading Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and that is a book that I can't seem to get anything read out of.  The reason that I choose the book was because I have heard nothing but praise for the book from those that have read it and it seems to be a favourite of book bloggers/podcasters and honestly I don't see what all the fuss is all about.  Maybe its because I am only reading a few pages at a time and not sitting down and focusing on it.  Later.

Musing Mondays (Mar. 11)

This week, Miz B at Should Be Reading asks:

Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or somebody else and why you chose that/those book(s).

I recently bought Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.  I bought because I had borrowed the book from the library electronically but when I saw that Kobo was having a sale and that particular book was included in the sale, I couldn't help but purchase it.

Musing Mondays (Mar. 4)

This week, Miz B at Should Be Reading asks:

Tell us what you are reading right now - what do you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what are you (or, aren't) enjoying it?

One of the books that I am reading right now is Outlander.  I have tried to read this book a number of times and for some reason I just can't get into the book.  There is something that keeps drawing me to the book but for some reason I just can't get into the storyline; I am hoping that I can this coming week, but I really don't know with my bookclub coming up on the weekend, but I will see.  Maybe I need to just go to Starbucks and read for a couple of hours out of it.

Musing Mondays (Mar. 25)

This week, Miz B at Should Be Reading asks:

Describe one of your reading habits.

One of my reading habits is to listen to one of the many podcasts that I subscribe to as I read.  I don't know why I do it, but I think that I partly do it to block out the stuff that is going on around me and to just concentrate on what I am reading for however long I am listening to the podcast.  I started the practice of listening to music while I was reading or studying back in high school and for some reason it helps me concentrate on what I am reading.

Till next week.

Musing Monday (Feb. 18)

This week, Miz B at Should Be Reading asks:

Tell us what you are reading right now.

At the moment I am reading a number of classics.  They aren't short by any chance but are all over 300 pages.  I am finding The Hobbit the one that I seemingly the least interested in, although the reader that I am listening to for Crime and Punishment isn't exactly me feel enthralled with the book either (the reader has a rather thick eastern European accent).

Even though it is a long book, I am really enjoying War and Peace and liking the fact that each of parts within the books are fairly short and are only about 100 pages. I know some of you may be intimidated by the length of the book, but I think its a book that can clearly be tackled.  And the chapters within each part are only a few pages long.

Musing Mondays (Jan. 21)

This week, Miz B at Should Be Reading asks:

• Tell us what you are reading right now

Right now I am reading a bunch of books.  I just started reading the second book in the Flavia de Luce series, The Weed that Strings the Hangman's  Bag.   I haven't read much but its just as good as the first book in the series so far.

Musing Mondays (Jan.14)

This week, Miz B at Should Be Reading asks:

Describe one of my reading habits.

I have many reading habits and one of them is that I really like to read while I am watching sporting events.  One reason that I like to read during sporting events is because its a fairly easy thing to do while I watch the game.  I find that its harder to read during one of the many TV shows that I watch on a regular basis. I should mention that I am reading while I am watching a game on TV, not at the venue itself.

Musing Mondays (Jan.7)

This week, Miz B at Should Be Reading asks:

• Tell us what book(s) you bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s)

I recently bought my mom Quiet by Susan Cain for Christmas because she and I had had a good conversation in regards to the book back in October.  She almost bought it a few times, but didn't.  I also bought a book on knitting stitches for my sister because she likes to knit in addition to the book on Hockey Night in Canada that I got for my dad; these last two were also Christmas gifts.  I also purchased the latest Flavia de Luce book (I'm afraid of shadows) because I like the series and have bought the other books in paperback; so I continued the trend.  I also bought an e-copy of North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell and Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones because they were inexpensive and I had gotten a gift card from my sister for Christmas.

Musing Mondays (Dec.17)

This week, Miz B at Should Be Reading asks:

Is there a particular book that is your nemesis - the book you are determined to one day finish?

If this had been asked a year ago, I would have given you a totally different answer, but I am still determined to finish Les Miserables by the end of this calendar year.

After that, I would suppose it would have to be War & Peace.  I started reading it a couple years ago, but didn't and I keep kicking myself because I didn't finish it and its one that I would really like to finish.  And maybe that will be my goal for next year.

I don't know how much I will be on in the next couple of weeks, but if I have some time, I will answer that weeks question.

 

Musing Mondays (Dec. 3)

This week, Miz B at Should Be Reading asks:

How do you organize/store your books?  Do you go through them often? Or do you pretty much just shelve them and then leave them alone until you need them?

I pretty much just put them in one spot and leave them until I read them.  I do have some that are organized, but I am finding that I when I purchase a new book, I just put them wherever in my room, but I do need to go through them and reorganize them and put them back on the shelves in my walk-in.

Musing Mondays (Nov. 19)

This week, Miz B at Should Be Reading asks:

Do you read the ending before you start a book? Do you ever skip ahead to read the ending?

I don't read the ending before I start a book; I have done that in the past and I have been really confused.   Depending on the book, I will skip ahead and read the ending, especially if I am really turned around with the storyline.

Musing Mondays (Nov. 12)

For this week, MizB of Should be Reading fame has decided to give us a number of questions that we can choose from that were submitted back in the summer.  Or if you are really adventurous, you can answer them all.  I am going to just going to do a couple.  My first one comes from Dr. Pepper Diva:

Do you read outside of your preferred genre? Has your preferred genre changed?

I will read outside of my preferred genre from time to time, but generally I don't.  My preferred genre has changed over time.  I used to read a lot of Christian fiction, but once when I was reading one of my typical Christian fiction, which really are historical romance, I realized how cheesy they are.  But I was always a reader that read a variety of materials and my tastes evolved over time, even though I still do read a bit of Christian fiction.

My second question comes from Lady With Books:

Do you have a favourite book/movie combo?

I am assuming that this means ones favourite movie adaptation in addition to the book and based on that assumption I would have to say that my favourite book/movie combo would have to be Jane Eyre and the 2006 adaptation that starred Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens.

Musing Mondays (Nov. 5)

This week's musing asks:

What is the most recent book you purchased, or brought home from the local library? What you made you pick it? Have you started reading it, right away, or will you wait for a bit?

I have gotten a lot of library books in the last few days, so I can't just name one, so I will mention the last book that I purchased, which was A Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin.  I bought the book a few weeks ago and I have only started it now.

I am hoping to go to the movie "Lincoln" when it comes out in a couple of weeks.

Musing Mondays (Oct. 29)

This week's musing asks:

Do you have people online that you often discuss the books you read with? Not just book groups, but individual readers who share the same taste in books?  If so, what do you like best about this? If not, do you wish did?

Answer: No I don't have anybody that I discuss the books I am reading online and while I sometimes would like to have somebody to discuss the books that I am reading with online, I actually prefer talking about them to friends that I think might enjoy the particular books.  I find that sometimes online discussions can be a little short or take longer than if they were in person.

Musing Mondays (Oct. 22)

This week's musing asks:

Do you ever get crushes on fictional characters?  Name one (or a few), and tell what you liked...

I can't recall of having crushes on fictional characters, at least those that are in books.  TV is another matter.

Musing Mondays (Sept. 10)

This week, Miz B at Should Be Reading asks:

Do you take notes while your read?

Generally no, but depending on what the book is about, I may take notes, but if I have a library book, it is a little more difficult to do that.