Tag Archive | sunday salon
February 28, 2010  

Sunday Salon : Wrapping Up February

The Sunday Salon.comSo this is it! February is finally over! I can’t tell you how much I was looking forward to this!

Read in February :

This was crazy-midterms time and I am extremely glad it’s kind of over. Of course, with all the studying, I didn’t get to read as much as I would have wanted. With 9 books read – maybe 10 if I finish One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins today – I can’t really complain about the numbers, but I had a few disappointments and this made the month seem longer than it was. Here’s what I read this month :

  1. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  2. Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey
  3. Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
  4. Hate List by Jennifer Brown
  5. A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker
  6. Gone by Lisa McMann
  7. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
  8. The Miles Between by Mary E. Pearson
  9. Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

The Virgin Suicides was a clear favorite this month, with Fahrenheit 451, Blood and Chocolate, Hate List and Bleeding Violet close behind. A Match Made in High School was hard to get through, but I think it just wasn’t the book for me.  Hearts at Stake and The Miles Between weren’t bad, just not great, and Gone stands somewhere in the middle of all this.

Reviews Posted :

Other Stuff Blogged :

So not only was it a slow reading month, it was also a slow blogging month.

What about you? Was your February very busy? What great book did you read?

November 29, 2009  

Sunday Salon : So this is (temporarily) goodbye!

The Sunday Salon.comHello again everyone!

For many of you, the turkey has come and gone, and some of you even took some time to read this weekend. What a great idea! I would have loved to join – although I did read a lot this week, considering the craziness that is school. With all the stress and insomnia that the end of the semester brings, I consider reading like a necessity of the mind: after some time, all those art philosophers’ big words don’t fit into my brain!

Which brings me to this post title : So this is (temporarily) goodbye!

This is my last Sunday Salon until the end of December. There will also be a lot less posting in general. I know I’ll miss it, but I don’t want to repeat what happened in my mid-terms (which was : me posting everyday, but having no time to visit other bloggers). So in the next weeks, I’ll use my procrastination seconds to go around the blogs a little. So, I guess this is kind of the apologetic post of “sorry I wasn’t there recently!”, except that I’m writing it in advance – and I promise not to apologize again! 😉

So, back to the books. Like I said, Stress+Insomnia=Reading time, and I can’t read essays for university since those bring back the stress and then the insomnia. (By the way, if you have any tips for those issues, I’ll take them!) The irony is that I read a lot this week, but I read a lot of not-so-good things. Not bad, just, blah.

Books Read this Week :

  • The Guinea Pig Daries, by A.J. Jacobs (this was good : review)
  • Soulless, by Gail Carriger (didn’t like – almost did not finish)
  • Over the Holidays, by Sandra Harper (was okay-good)
  • In a Perfect World, by Laura Kasischke (was okayish-with-some-issues)

Now it’s back to work – see you all around! 😀

November 22, 2009  

Sunday Salon :

The Sunday Salon.comHello fellow readers and bloggers!

Hopefully you had a great week! Time really is spinning and, in barely over a month, Christmas will be here. I know we’re supposed to start decorating our place for the holidays this weekend, and I can’t wait! I find Christmas Trees to be one of the prettiest things.

How many of you are Christmas freaks too? Have you start decorating your house?

As for reading :

Books read this week :

  • Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
  • Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

Books reviewed this week :

I have to admit that after reading The Chosen One, Thirteen Reasons Why and Wintergirls all in the space of two weeks, I felt emotionally emptied. They were good though, but a little intense. I was ready for some humor and romance and silliness, anything that doesn’t involve psychological violence. The Guinae Pig Diaries was a good relief after these, it’s non fiction but not too serious, and really interesting. I’m almost done with this one too, and I have no idea what I’ll finish next. Soulless? Iron Kissed?

So, my reading week has been a little slower this time, with no read-a-thon included and more work for school. I guess it will slowly slow down as we near the end of the semester, and I can’t wait for December 21st, at 4pm, when I’ll be done with my last test! I already made reading plans for the holidays (which will probably change once I’m there, but we can dream, can’t we?). Other than the holiday books for the holiday challenge (see my selection here), here’s what I planned :

  • Under the Dome by Stephen King : Because this book is huge. Over 1000 pages, to be precise, so not something I can carry around at school, but perfect for sitting on a snowy day with a hot chocolate cup (or many!). I have a love/hate relationship with Stephen King, so I’m really curious to see where I’ll stand with this one.
  • Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen : I started the book months ago, but haven’t read any of it in weeks now. Which is sad, since I’m actually getting used to the language. But I really enjoyed what I read so far, and want to finish it. Then maybe start another one.
  • The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson : I have read book one too long ago already, and it was excellent. I really need to get into book two now!
  • Graceling and Fire by Kristin Cashore : Because I feel like everyone has read those but me! They do look good, too, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll enjoy them as most people seem to do.

What about you? Do you have special reading plans for the holiday season? Books you haven’t had the chance to read during the year, or maybe books that feel more “christmas-y”?

November 15, 2009  

Sunday Salon : Christmas Suggestions?

The Sunday Salon.comHey readers and bloggers!

How was your week? I noticed there were a few bloggers catching up on reading this week by having their own little read-a-thon; I know I was one of those! I had such a great time reading, even though it was a little hard at first to relax and embrace the moment. You can read my recap here.

Read this Week :

  • The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams
  • Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey
  • Bogus to Bubbly by Scott Westerfeld
  • Jinx by Meg Cabot
  • Glass Houses by Rachel Caine

Reviewed this Week :

So, very good for the TBR pile, not so much for the “to be reviewed” pile! Hopefully I’ll be able to catch up on that this week. I’m also starting to catch up with that blogging thing, leaving comments and all. 🙂

Apart from reading this week, I also shared my reading and blogging plans for 2010. I know it’s a little soon, but it’s still only a month and a half away and I like to think in advance!

Today, I’ll be reading Wintergirls and studying. The book is intense but I like it so far, and I think I’ll get through it today.

Now, I want to finish with a request! Every year, I try to read a few Christmas Books during the Holiday season. Last year, I read A Christmas Carol by Dickens; the year before, I read The autobiography of Santa Claus by Jeff Guinn. I love it and it really puts me into the Christmas spirit! It doesn’t have to be a straight out Christmas novel, it can be simply a story that happens during the holidays, too. So, I guess what I want to ask is, do you have any suggestions?

November 8, 2009  

Sunday Salon : Books, Birthday and Read-a-thon

The Sunday Salon.comHola, book people!

Another week has gone by, and I feel like I can finally breath a little. Papers have been given to professors and tests have been completed. Now begins the anxious time waiting for the results : some professors have zealous correctors though, and so I already got some results. I’m quite happy with them, all over the class average (sorry for the bragging, but I was quite proud! :D)

This doesn’t mean I have no more work to do of course, but at least I have a little more free time. I finished three books this week, and reviewed some :

Books Read this Week :

  • Dead Girls don’t Die, by Katie Alender
  • Zombie Blondes, by Brian James
  • Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher

Books Reviewed This Week :

There’s also been a lot of Great Discussions going on this week :

Also, you might have missed my post yesterday, where I bragged (I know, there’s a lot of bragging going on this week. I’ll probably have to ask Santa a box of humility this year) about the blog’s redecoration for Christmas! I love this time of the year!

And while we’re on the topic of “decoration” and thus, “drawing”, it was the Man’s birthday this week! And not only did I draw a comic for the occasion, he also requested his own, original birthday card, which looked like this :

BDBirthdaysimon1

And there was a silly poem on the inside. He also got expensive Tequila and Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson’s The Gathering Storm. I am giving him books on every occasion I can : Christmas, Birthday, or just because. I am purposefully trying to drown him with books of his own so that he won’t notice how huge my TBR piles are getting. I don’t think that’s working though!

This week, November 12th, will be the day where I’ll have my own, lonely read-a-thon! A day spent reading sounds like heaven right now! I’m turning two papers Tuesday and Wednesday morning, so Turhsday will be perfect for relaxing! I’m planning on starting around 1 or 2 am, my usual time for falling asleep. I’ll read a few pages, then sleep a little and then read all day.

I already picked a selection of titles for the day, which mostly includes short YA novels. I don’t have any number of books I want to go through, but I chose shorter ones so that I wouldn’t get bored or tired by a too long novel. Also, I have a feeling 2010 will be less about YA and a little more about adult fiction, so that should clear my piles a little. Anyway, here are some titles I would love to read this Thrusday:

Farenheit 451 is one that for sure I’ll be finishing. I’m already halfway through, and I put it on hold during midterms because I wanted to give it all of my attention. I can’t wait to read Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth, and I have heard lots of great things about The Thief.

Glass Houses I’ve been waiting to read for a while, but many bloggers say the series is really good. Also, I’m missing discovering Uglies, so I picked up Bogus to Bubbly at the store as well as the first of The Midnighters series.

It’s not all of the books that I’ll possibly read, but right now those are the ones I’m interested in. I’ll be blogging a little on that day (I’m thinking 3 posts, Start, Mid-Way and Finish Line), but I think I’ll mostly Tweet. So, I know you read-a-thon’s cheerleaders are officially off-duty, but if you have a minute during the day don’t hesitate to come by to cheer me ! 😀

November 1, 2009  

Sunday Salon

The Sunday Salon.com

Happy November everyone!

This week has been insane! It’s been study study study, and writing papers, and then a great friend of mine came home, and it was fun but oye! I do feel a little out of breath! Lucky for me, the mid-term craziness will be a thing of the past by Monday night. I’ll still have work to do of course, but at least I’ll feel like I can breath in between!

I still managed to read a little this week, which was good. I finished Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, and Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. Both of which I really enjoyed – especially Leviathan.

This week I reviewed :

Such a slow week on the blogging side, and I do miss it. I’ve left less than 10 comments this week I think, but soon I’ll be around again. Yay! I’ll also post my October recap this week, probably on Tuesday. This week will be a very busy one still, but less stressful : it’s the Man of the House’s birthday, and I’ll try to go see Scott Westerfeld’s event on Wednesday. Hopefully that will work out! 😀

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