Complete: 23. Go to a book signing

This past weekend I went to the Empire State Book Festival where there were many authors.  I went to some nice panels, mostly with YA authors, including Laurie Halse Anderson and keynote speaker Ann M. Martin.  I actually got a book signed for once.  I bought a book from the Lunch lady series: Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians.  I got the author, Jarrett Krosoczka, to sign it.  It was a really fun day!

March 2011 update

Progress this month:  still slowly getting back into doing this

21.  Read One False Note by Gordon Korman

22.  Read Handbook for Boys by Walter Dean Myers

29.  I created a bulletin board and participated at international night to promote the library

39.  Completed write or die 15 minutes

40.  Successful 3/4 weeks

49.  Justin's birthday dinner and movie

51.  I bought shoes for bridal shower or other wedding events at a local store in Albany

72.  One video for Justin's birthday

D is for Donnelly and F is for Ferris

I just finished listening to some good books.

The first is for my YA novel goal.  A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly.  I did not know at first that this was partially based on the true story of a murder case in Upstate New York.  It is the story of Mattie, a farm girl with big dreams of being a writer.  She lives with her father and sisters and is expected to help keep the farm running, especially now that her mother is dead.  She wants to go to college to learn to write, but between her father's objections and her growing feelings for a local boy, this seems like an unattainable dream.  As if that weren't enough, the dead body of a woman has just been brought to the hotel in which she works, and Mattie has evidence that the woman's death may not have been an accident.
I really enjoyed this story.  Mattie is a well developed and likable character.  It was also cool to hear the names of so many local towns in a book I was reading.

The second book is for my children's book list, although middle schoolers might like it too.  It is called Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris.  This is a funny, romantic tale about Christian, who grew up in the forest with his foster father, a troll named Ed.  He begins a long-distance friendship with Princess Marigold by using P-mail, mail delivered by pigeons.  Finally Chris decides to leave his sheltered forest life and go to the palace to get a job.  I loved this book.  The romance story was very touching, and the characters were very funny.  It had the elements of a fairy tale, with some more modern ideas and humor mixed in.

E is for Election

For my "E" movie I watched Election starring Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick.  The movie is about Tracy Flick, a straight-A ambitious student running for student council president.  She runs unopposed until her Teacher, Jim McAllister, encourages another student to oppose her.  The movie is hilarious, and Tracy Flick is an unforgettable character.  There are so many hilarious moments in this film, from Mr. McAllister's explanation democracy through the use of fruit, to Tammy Metzler's inspiring campaign speech declaring "Who cares about this stupid election?"  Very entertaining.

A is for Asher, and a new Gaiman novel

I've finished more books to add to my lists!

The first is another novel by Neil Gaiman for my adult novels goal.  I finally got around to reading American Gods.  It took me a while to get into this book.  At first I had no idea what was going on, and I wasn't sure if I liked the characters.  However, after a little while I finally really got into it and ended up loving the novel!  It tells the story of Shadow, who upon leaving jail is employed by the mysterious Wednesday.  He finds himself in the center of a nation-wide conflict between the old gods brought over by immigrants to America, and the new gods that many worship such as the media and technology.  The whole novel is very smart, and a great story.  It kept me surprised.  I didn't figure out the final revelation of the book until right before it was revealed, at about the same time Shadow figures it out.  I love when a book can make me gasp with surprise right up until the end.  Overall I liked Anansi Boys better for its story and characters, but American Gods was really fantastic.

My most recent YA novel is Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.  I devoured this book because I was just dying to know what happened.  Clay goes home one day to find a set of 7 cassette tapes waiting for him.  They were recorded by Hannah, a girl from his school who killed herself two weeks previously.  She begins the tapes by saying that if you received the tapes, you are one of the reasons why she killed herself.  If that doesn't suck you in I don't know what will.  Clay spends the night listening to her story, walking all over town to various landmarks in her life.  While I sometimes got annoyed with her reasoning and tendency to blame, I think the character of Hannah was a strong narrator.  She takes the listener (and reader) on an interesting journey.  I strongly recommend this to anyone.

Final June Update

I made pretty good progress in June!

2.  Completed finding a geocache!

16. I only journaled 4/5 times this month.

22.  I recently finished reading Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters and Harmless and Boy Meets Boy


32. Went to a Mets game to complete this goal.

33. Went to a Rob Thomas concert to complete this goal

35.  I recently decided on a bunch of shows to drop next tv season.  I still need to decide what new shows to try.

40.  I succeeded in being tv free once a week

42.  I made two new recipies.  One was Wine chicken with Shallots, which was delicious.  The other was Phyllo-wrapped chicken, which was also very good.

44.  I continued to cook at home once a week

49.  The night at the Mets game was our date night for the month

50.  I am considering my goal to move out of my parents' house in progress because Justin and I just signed the lease for our own apartment!  We will be fully moved in by August.

70.  So far I am up to a total of 10 days doing something outside this summer, which is a good start.

78.  I went to a park one time, so I may do this goal this summer.

92.  I finished week 5 of my sit ups, and did my exhaustion test.  I was able to do 83 sit-ups in one go!

W is for Winters, R is for Reinhardt

I've recently finished another YA novel.  This one is Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters.  I enjoyed this reworking of Austen's novel even better than Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  I thought the changes were very clever.  It was funny to see how the English might adapt when the sea life surrounding their island becomes hostile.  It almost felt like a new story, but with characters I already know and love, and it was hilarious!

I also finished Harmless by Dana Reinhardt.  This novel tells the story of three girls who tell a terrible lie in order to get out of trouble over being at a party at a senior boy's house.  Instead of admitting to the truth, they create a story that one of them was attacked, leading to the arrest of an innocent man.  It is an interesting look at why people lie, and how good kids can end up doing bad things.