Amazon Rocks

I’m moving into a smaller room in my apartment so my rent will go down. What that means, of course, is that I’m once again trying to get rid of stuff, so the other day I put pretty much all of my books up on Amazon.com and I’ve already sold 5 books in less than two days. That’s huge considering I used to have my books on half.com and would only sell about one per month. This is the first time I’ve tried to sell on Amazon, but it’s seriously the best decision ever. If you need to get rid of books fast (or just need fast cash) Amazon is the place to do it. Yay for some extra pocket money and more space!

 

Read to raise money for charity? OK!

So, starting at 9 a.m. tomorrow I will be attempting to read for 24 hours straight. It’s part of a 24-hour Read-a-thon to raise money for Reading Is Fundamental. And I’ve been reading without a cause all this time! Who knew? If you’d like to contribute to this fab cause you can do so by pledging to donate a set amount for each hour or page I read ($1 an hour for instance or 10 cents a page) or you can just donate any amount you wish (I think lowest donation amount is $10). Go here for more information on donating to the organization. I’ll be updating my book blog throughout the day on Saturday with information on where I stand. The read-a-thon starts at 9 a.m. Saturday and ends 9 a.m. Sunday. Something tells me I’ll be doing a lot of sleeping on Sunday….

Wish me luck!

 

What I’m Reading … and Other Stuff

I finally finished my temp job last week, which is a huge relief because now I don’t have any responsibilities other than watering the lawn and taking Coco for a run. That’s the kind of life I like. I was no good with that temp job anyway: In the four weeks I was there I think I called in sick five times, plus I even had a day off for Memorial Day. I’m just not meant for “real” work.

Speaking of Memorial Day, I just found out that I beat my best time ever on a 5K that day. The week prior I had gotten 34:18 as you may recall, then on Memorial Day I got 34:01. Awesome! I did another 5K this weekend, but I’m not sure what my chip time was yet. My time crossing the finish was 34:49, but my actual time (my chip time) will be lower because it compensates for the time it took me to cross the start line. If you’d like to read more about my running adventures, plus reviews about everything running (energy drinks, training schedules, the joys of BodyGlide), check out this link. Update: I just found out I got 34:01 on this weekend’s 5K too! I’m so stoked that my time is becoming consistent. Now all I want is to break that damn 34-minute time!

Sorry I haven’t been posting on here much. Myspace has been a pain for me to get on lately and is really, really super slow when I’m able to log on. Plus, it erases my blogs half the time so I’ve all but given up on it. (Note to wordpress readers: This was moved over from my myspace blog, therefore the inconsistancy.)

I did want to say something on here for real though, but now I can’t remember what that was.

So, uh, anybody read any good books lately?

I’m reading In Cold Blood by Truman Capote at the moment and it’s freaking me out. I’ve had some trouble sleeping at night because Tony is housesitting for his boss and I’m here all alone reading about these two psychopaths that killed four people just for the hell of it. Seriously, it’s upsetting. Really well written though AND I never knew that Capote was, like, the inventor of true crime stories. I’m not really that into true crime novels though because, as stated above, they freak me out. I hate knowing that people are really capable of this kind of stuff, and that they laugh about it. Ick.

Also, I recently read The Pact by Jodi Picoult. Another one that freaked me out because of a child molestation scene. I cannot get it out of my mind. Seriously, there are moments when I wish I could just scrub memories from my brain. I really, really do.

I need a suggestion for a happy book with rainbows and fairies, or something. Seriously. The only way to get this horrible-ness off my mind is to replace it with happy thoughts. Ick. There is a reason I’ve never read Clockwork Orange. Just gotta keep reminding myself of that.

 

News About Me (What else do I write about lately?)

I start my new job tomorrow. Super exciting for sure because it means some cashola for the next couple of weeks.

Also, I’m up to 22 books for the year. You can check out what I’ve read and read the reviews over at The Inside Cover.

Um, let’s see, what else? I ran a 5K this weekend too. It was the Susan G. Komen race for the cure, which I’ll probably never do again – at least not as part of a group. I signed up to do it with my sorority and they were completely unorganized.

The girl in charge forgot our numbers at her dorm room and forgot to mention that I needed to bring $10 for the team shirts, which by the way I was completely horrified by. They said “Stop staring at our chests…” on the front, right over the chest area. And on the back it said “…And start saving them!” Needless to say, I didn’t bother walking all the way back to my car to get $10. I probably would have been less annoyed by this if I hadn’t called the girl TWICE last week to find out about the shirts and numbers situation.

In addition, we had to take a group photo, which was supposed to be done at 7:15 a.m. However, it wasn’t taken until 7:42 because she wanted to wait for all the girls to be there. Again, probably wouldn’t have been as annoyed if A) I hadn’t had to get up at 6 a.m. to get there by 7:15 being that I live in Galt and all and B) The race started at 7:45 a.m. Maybe nobody else was interested in their time for the race, but I certainly was. In case you’re wondering, I only ended up with a 37:18 time. One of my worst times on a 5K, but I have another one next week so hopefully I’ll have some improvements.

Lastly, I have a new post up at The Nervous Breakdown. The ladies at book club already heard this story, but it came up again tonight and I just had to get it off my mind so it’s at TNB.

How about you guys? Anything new and exciting? I know there is, don’t be shy!

 

Don’t Forget to Read!

In case you missed it on Tuesday, I announced the new book of the month over at The Inside Cover. We’re going to be reading The Caged Virgin by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. AND you can meet me in person to discuss the book on April 26! How exciting for you! So pick up the book from the library, or a used bookstore, or even Borders or Amazon and start reading. I want to see your beautiful faces at my next book club meeting.

 

Drunken Night and Oprah Hating

Today I moved out of my apartment. Now I’m that much closer to home! I can’t wait.

Last night I embarrassed myself at a French-English Conversation exchange. I showed up after already having drunk half a bottle of wine. I brought the rest of said bottle of wine with me to the bar, along with a glass. Shortly after pouring myself a large glass of the wine and putting the bottle out in full view, the bartender came over and was not happy at all that I had snuck in my own booze. He didn’t kick me out, but he did take the bottle and my glass of bootlegged wine.

I also met this girl from San Francisco who I didn’t get along with very well. I kept saying inappropriate things because I’d had too much wine and she kept looking at me with contempt. And anyway, I didn’t like her almost immediately because when her boyfriend asked me what Sacramento was like, she didn’t even give me a chance to respond before saying, “It’s a hole.” I wonder if she’s even ever been to Sacramento. I hate that girl.

I woke up this morning not feeling too hot. And what you’ve read above is just about all I can remember of the night. I’m also extremely nervous because I left the keys and my farewell letter at my boss’ house this morning. I was seriously shaking from nerves. And now all I can do is wait for her scary phone calls.

I’m reading “Love in the time of Cholera” right now. It was the cheapest thing that looked interesting at the book store. All of the other books were 11 euros or more, but for some reason this one was only 8 euros so I bought it to keep me company for the next few days. I think its loss in value comes from it being on the Oprah’s Book Club list. I didn’t know that until AFTER I bought it, but it annoys me all the same. I don’t know why I hate Oprah’s Book Club so much, but I really do. I think it bothers me because it means just about every woman in America is reading the same book just because Oprah recommends it. Does anybody pick up a book anymore without the media telling them to? Just wondering.

OK then, hope you are all well.

 

The Inside Cover: March Book Club Selection

Since I know some of you are super lazy and don’t like to check two blogs, I’m reposting the March book club selection information here. More details, along with a review of February’s review, can be found here.

Info about March’s selection:

Water For Elephants has caught my eye a couple of times, but I was never sure I liked the idea of a story about a circus. However, it has been on my reading list for more than a year, so I’m going to give it a go and see if it’s worth all the hype.

Here’s a description from Publisher’s Weekly (found on Amazon):

“With its spotlight on elephants, Gruen’s romantic page-turner hinges on the human-animal bonds that drove her debut and its sequel (Riding Lessons and Flying Changes)—but without the mass appeal that horses hold. The novel, told in flashback by nonagenarian Jacob Jankowski, recounts the wild and wonderful period he spent with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, a traveling circus he joined during the Great Depression. When 23-year-old Jankowski learns that his parents have been killed in a car crash, leaving him penniless, he drops out of Cornell veterinary school and parlays his expertise with animals into a job with the circus, where he cares for a menagerie of exotic creatures[...] He also falls in love with Marlena, one of the show’s star performers—a romance complicated by Marlena’s husband, the unbalanced, sadistic circus boss who beats both his wife and the animals Jankowski cares for. Despite her often clichéd prose and the predictability of the story’s ending, Gruen skillfully humanizes the midgets, drunks, rubes and freaks who populate her book.”

The book club discussion will be online on March 31, the last day of the month. I also plan to hold an in-person discussion that evening so be sure to read the book. If there is enough interest I’ll do live discussions each month.

OK then, happy reading!

 

Ta Da!

Well, I’ve spent a few days on this book blog idea and I think I’ve finally got something worked out. It wasn’t easy coming up with a name though, mostly because everything uncheesy was already taken. But I think we finally have something that works. I also enlisted the help of Tony to get the thing designed well, and get it up and running. So I owe him a big thanks. Ideally, the blog will link to my freelance Web site once it’s actually finished and professional looking (Tony’s helping me on that too). I can’t believe how much I’ve learned about html and making Web sites in the past few days. It made me feel really old that I don’t already know all this stuff. But I was glad to find out I’m still a fast learner.

So, without further ado, you can check out my book blog here. If you’re interested in what I have to say about books, or are interested in joining an online book club, please bookmark the page (or better yet, you can SUBSCRIBE) and come visit often. Also, please keep in mind that it’s fairly new so some things will likely change as I think of better ways to word the stationary content.

Lots of love,

Me.

 

Recommended titles from books I’ve read this year

It’s getting to the end of the year and I don’t think I’m going to finish book 39 before we get to 2008. For those of you who are looking for good books to read, I thought I’d do a little recap of the books I’ve read this year. I thought I’d do a star system to let you know what I thought of them, but I decided instead just to denote the ones I think are really worth you reading. My top rated books (the one’s I think you should get from the library ASAP) are in bold and have five stars.

OK then, here we go.

1. Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner *
2. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers (rated Rebecca’s least favorite book of the year)
3. Naked by David Sedaris *
4. Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella * (note: this is chic lit. note: read the whole series not just this one)
5. The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf
6. No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe * (note: I’d suggest Things Fall Apart if you’ve never read anything by Achebe before)
7. Garbage Land by Elizabeth Royte *****
8. The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived by Dan Karlan, Allan Lazar and Jeremy Salter
9. Falling Through the Earth by Danielle Trussoni ***** (rated Rebecca’s No. 1 book of the year.)
10. A Man Without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut
11. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
12. Baby Not on Board by Jennifer L. Shawne
13. Leaving Microsoft to Change the World by John Wood
14. Candyfreak by Steve Almond *
15. The Life and Times of the Thunderbold Kid by Bill Bryson
16. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris *
17. A Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke (rated Rebecca’s second worst book of the year)
18. Dreams of My Father by Barack Obama
19. Happiness Sold Separately by Lolly Winston *****
20. JPOD by Douglas Coupland
21. Nature Girl by Carl Hiassen
22. Jesus Land by Julia Scheeres *****
23. Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn *
24. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
25. God Grew Tired of Us by John Bul Dau
26. A Piece of Cake by Cupcake Brown
27. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini *****
28. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
29. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling * (note: only recommended if you like Harry Potter, in which case you’ve likely already read it)
30. Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali *****
31. The Heartless Stone by Tom Zoellner *
32. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood *****
33. The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
34. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
35. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger *
36. Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
37. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood *
38. I Am America (and so can you) by Stephen Colbert

 

Some things, and Book 38 (read by Stephen Colbert)

Hey Everybody,

Thanks so much for all the birthday wishes. Sorry I couldn’t write to each of you and say thanks yesterday. My internet has been super splotchy lately and I wasn’t able to check my mail all day. Super sad for sure.

I had lots of things I wanted to write, but now I can’t remember them and I’m busy packing for Germany. Tony and I are leaving in a couple hours for 10 days in Munich. I’m not sure I’ll have internet there either so you may not hear from me for awhile. HOWEVER, if you want a postcard from Germany and I don’t already have your address, please send it to me.

In the meantime I have to get used to saying Frohe Weihnachten! (Merry Christmas!). Have I mentioned how difficult learning German has been? The spelling is ridiculously hard and the pronunciation isn’t working out so well for me. I say everything with a French accent. Pretty much Tony’s family is going to think I’m retarded because the only thing I can say is “My name is Rebecca Adler. I come from California, but I live in France.” Heh. I should just keep repeating that every time they talk to me. I think it will go over really well.

Last thing: Book 38. I didn’t actually read this book, rather it was read to me by Stephen Colbert. It’s the first audiobook I’ve listened to, but I feel it was better read by the author than if I had to make up his voice in my head. The book was “I am America (and so can you)” by Stephen Colbert. If you’re a fan of the show, you’d be a fan of the book. And I highly recommend listening to the audiobook version because Colbert is hilarious as always. I especially like the chapter on religion and the chapter about gays.