Reading

I've been really lucky at work recently, what with only having three clients and all. Especially since two of my client's are really low impact. I've had time to actually do paperwork AT WORK, ya know...when I'm getting paid instead of at home for hours after work. Since I've had practically no paperwork I have been reading a lot. Which is VERY GOOD because I have Y'all Fest in November and I'd really like to have read at least one book by each of the authors who will be there. Right now I'm reading a lovely steampunkish novel called The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge and The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell.

I'm not certain what exactly The Vespertine is about, but it is one of the most amazing books. The way Mitchell describes her MC's thoughts and feelings is incredible and I am completely in love. And honestly, I think that says something about Mitchell as a writer. Usually if I get seven chapters in and have no idea where the story is going I toss the book aside and try again later. I never want to put The Vespertine down. There is a sense of elegance and mystery in the book. Set in the late 1800s in Maryland it focuses on girls who are attempting to find husbands. A common practice back in the day. There is also a flirtation with the occult, the girls sneak off to see a medium and I'm pretty sure that they plan to start dabbling as well. Soon I will be reading about seances and spirits. Already the MC has "seen" the future. I'm not sure that she has actually had a vision or if her imagination has ran away with her.

In short this book is beautiful. I have a (very, very sad) Tumblr account that is rarely used, but as I've read this book I've posted quotes from the book. Actually I think that may become the reason for my Twitter account. To post book quotes and such. It's hard to fit them all on Twitter and really I don't see the point of posting a three sentence quote HERE because apparently short blogs are of the devil! In short: If you are looking for an awesome historical fiction book check out The Vespertine.*

*Even though I have no real idea what the book is about or what is going on. It is still WONDERFUL!

So You've Had A Bad Day

DISCLAIMER: I am REALLY bad a commas! Please ignore any comma issues!

Folks...today sucked. It sucked a lot. It started with an insane text message and a lot of pettiness. It continued with me ranting to BFF2 for the entirety of our drive to work and with BFF1 having to play referee to the petty person piling crap on me. I was upset the entire day, have a terrible headache, and felt like I was going to have a panic attack all day long. I had someone cancel on my birthday plans (that she made) even though my birthday is in TWO days. I almost cried at work. And honestly I felt pretty bad about myself today. And by "pretty bad" I mean "absolutely terrible." The day was made slightly better by snarky comments from both of the BFFs* and a fun lunch with some of my favorite teachers and BFF2, not to mention my family's reassurance that sometimes people suck. And that's okay.

So...countdown to 28...no so fun so far! At least I'm comforted by the fact that there is a small group of seventh grade boys who refer to me as "Eighteen" instead of "Miss T" because I look like a high school student. A concept that is continuously reinforced by Mr. Math who laughs hysterically every time a student asks why a high school student (me) is allowed to hang out in the middle school all day. Not that I saw any of the cheese-tastic seventh graders because MY seventh grader was absent today. In all actuality I miss seventh grade. Word on the street is that I'm going to have a new eight grade client, which makes me happy because I'll have job security, but also sad because I will have to limit my time in seventh grade hall!

*Snark about both the pettiness AND Dancing with the Stars, which is ALWAYS delightful!

Teaser Tuesday- September 20, 2011

Today's Teaser comes from The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge. This is the first book in the Iron Codex series and one of the many books on my Y'all Fest TBR list.

"It was a fact of life, like uniform stocking itching behind the knees-unpleasant and inevitable. Fighting back just told the Marcoses of the world that their barbs hit home." ~ pg 34 of the Nookbook edition








Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Pottermore Sorting Drama

Sometimes it amazes me how little, silly things affect me. Especially things like labels. Especially since I absolutely HATE labels and being categorized, and personally believe that the application of labels to human beings is the root of most of the issues in the world.* But I suppose it IS different if you apply a label to yourself. When it is a category you sort yourself into. And when you find out that maybe (just maybe) that label DOESN'T apply...well, it's hard to handle.

For years** I have described myself as a Ravenclaw.*** Not that the other houses don't have redeeming qualities, but I am a Ravenclaw to the CORE. Nerdy, smart, possessing a healthy love of learning, putting school and learning above most other things? All me. It's easy to see why I fit in the Ravenclaw common room. Or so I thought. Then again, when it really comes down to it, I have some Slytherin traits. Not the elitist attitudes, or the cruelty, but I can honestly say that I'm snarky and sometimes mean, and when things don't go my way I am a force to be reckoned with. I'm resourceful, cunning, and I'm ambitious. I like to be competitive and I like to be right/the best that I can possibly be. I'm also sarcastic and tend to correct others.

I've never really identified with Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. And that seems to be where I made my mistake. After receiving my Pottermore email I was VERY excited to rush home and be sorted. FINALLY a test by J.K. Rowling HERSELF that would confirm what I already knew. I'm not going to lie, I had some reservations, but I was determined to answer each question honestly (even though I considered answering the questions in a way I KNEW would lead to a Ravenclaw sorting)**** so that my sorting would be true. And that led to me being sorted into Hufflepuff. Now...don't get me wrong...there are many, MANY wonderful aspects of being a Hufflepuff...it's just that I've never felt like a 'Puff. EVER.

So now I'm adjusting. And I realize that there is a SLEW of you who may not understand where this post comes from. And that's okay But I can list on one hand the things I've loved longer than Harry: my family, books in general, The Beatles, and the BFFs. So it IS kind of a bid deal. There are also people who think it's just a classification on a website, but it's more than that. This is a test that JKR created...the criteria that she used to sort every single person in the magical world. It's a big deal to me. Rumor has it that when the site is open for everyone in October that we can resort...but I'm not sure I can handle not being sorted into Ravenclaw a second time, so I'm not sure if I'm going to take that option or not.

Anyway...enough of the ANGST! If any of YOU are on Pottermore feel free to add me: WillowSword50. Just leave your user name in the comments so I know who sent the request. I'll be back with a non-HP related blog tomorrow!*****

*I realize that labeling isn't always a bad things, and that listing attributes is a form of labeling, but I think focusing on negative traits or putting people down by categorizing them is an issue. Feel free to disagree, but be respectful of others please!
**YEARS
***In case you haven't figured it out...this is a Harry Potter-centric blog post.
****SEE! Slytherin!
*****Because I promised fourteen September blogs and there are only 13 days left! YIKES!!! BEDATHEOS (Blog Every Day at the End of September which could also be BEDES) anyone?

To Infinity AND BEYOND!

Or ya know...to Charleston, SC for a book festival. One or the other. YOU DECIDE!!!

Actually, BFF2 and I (and maybe The Clone and Baby Neville) are indeed going to South Carolina in November for a YA book fest! I am SOOO excited!* And of course, since I am going to meet all of these AMAZING authors I have been SUPER stressed about my TBR list! I've spent the entire weekend scouring my list to cull out the books by authors who will be in SC this November and making plans to read at least one book by EACH author that will be there.** I also had to make a list for BFF2.*** Needless to say we have got a LOT of reading to do in the next two months. Not that I didn't already plan to make detailed monthly TBR lists! However, now I am just making a Y'All Fest Reading List and I'll post in on the TBR page and you guys can check it out there! They are still updating the author list, so I'll be updating the TBR list as the authors are announced. Luckily I have already read books by a few of the authors, so that lightens my load a bit. Right now it looks like I need to read about 12 books to be ready for the author meetings. NO PRESSURE!!! But, really I enjoy pressure. And I am so excited about the chance to meet some of these authors that I am about to EXPLODE!

In other news, we all know I failed BEDA. To make up for my cruddiness (and because the lack of blogging was kind of out of my control due to the dead laptop) I am going to make up the blog days I missed in September. I managed to do 17 of 31 BEDA posts, which means I missed 14 posts. So I commit to blogging 14 times in the month of September. I'm not sure what these blogs will contain (probably mass insanity) but  THERE WILL BE BLOGS! I hope that those of you who showed up during BEDA will stick around and that my lunacy hasn't scared you away!

Now, it's back to one of the two books I'm currently reading! Enjoy your Labor Day holidays (if you have one) folks!

*Because I am a nerd
**Because I am a nerd
***Because SHE is a nerd

BEDA 17- Absolute Failure

I'm not actually surprised that I failed BEDA, I usually do. I always hate it though. I need to do this in February. It would have to be easier than August. August is SUCH a busy month! Ending Summer Program, writing service plans, starting school....all of that leaves me with not so much time to blog. And not much to blog about.

I have enjoyed BEDA this year more than other years. I have stumbled upon blogs that I would have probably never read if not for BEDA and I enjoy that. I love to see into what people do in their lives. My life is so.....uneventful? Maybe that's the word I'm looking for? I'm not sure. I just seem so run of the mill. I live in a tiny town, I read books, I have a job that allows me to do AMAZING things in the lives of troubled kids,* I go to local sporting events, I hang out with my cousins, and I watch TV with my grandmother. None of those things really inspire excess blogging. Well, the books do, but typing "OMGOSH I LOVED THIS BOOK YOU SHOULD READ IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!" does not a blog post make. But I love to blog. Even if it's about boring stuff. I like to put it down and send it out into the world and see what comes back to me. Sometimes nothing comes back, and that's okay. It is really more about doing something for myself. A way to see that things in my life have changed, that I have changed. That's what most of my social media experience is about. It's about communicating with people that I don't have the chance to meet in real life. My town is amazing, but I'm certainly not the norm in this tiny mountain town. It is lovely to see people like me, even if they only exist inside the internet :)

I hope you have all enjoyed BEDA this year, I hope to see you again NEXT August. And maybe next April as well.

*Which IS amazing, but not blogable.

BEDA 16- This is NOT a blog post

No actual post today. First day back to school and while the day started well, it ended horribly. I'm not talking about it in my attempt to spread less suck into the world. Suffice it to say that the day has left me with a TERRIBLE headache and I'm currently wearing a sweatshirt that I've had since I started high school (that is riddled with holes) and curled up with a stuffed dragon I've had for years. I don't even want to read! It is well and truly shit.* I'm calling it a night and sleeping off the cruddiness.

Less whiny Chelle will return tomorrow!**

*Apologies for the cursing,  it's not a common occurance.
**I hope.