one for the win column

Yes, I finally finished the last 32 pages of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. :D  And I loved it immensely! Way more than the first two, and I enjoyed those a hell of a lot. I am such a sap though...yes, a few little tears leaked out there at the end. I really ought to keep track--the number of books that have brought tears to my eyes has got to be astronomical. Anyway, I think I would have immediately gone and pulled the fourth book off the shelf if it weren't for the fact that we were having our family book club today so I knew I would be getting assigned a new book. (More about that in a minute.)

Last night, Rich, Max, Annie, and I (Gray was at a sleepover party) headed to B&N. I sat down with this little book titled Seedfolks and started to read while I drank my coffee. I read the first ten pages, and it then had to come home with me.

I also read another seven pages in The Biodiversity Crisis. One of Rich's favorite subjects--an essay on endocrine disruptors, "Hormonal Sabotage" by Theo Colborn, Dianne Dumanoski, and John Peterson Myers. Good essay, I must say. Actually, if I remember correctly, it was actually a piece taken from their book Our Stolen Future. A book I'd really love to read sometime. You know, along with the other bazillion books I'd like to read.

*****
As I mentioned above, today was family book club. This month we hit Pizza Hut, where we stuffed ourselves and had a mighty good time talking books.

--Max had assigned Pokemon Junior: Two of a Kind adapted by S.E. Heller to Gray...

Max: Who was your favorite character?

Gray: Rhydon.

Debi: Who's Rhydon? Never heard of that Pokemon.

Gray: A horned guy.

Max: Not Meowth?

Gray: No. Rhydon had a big horn and tried to kill everyone.

Debi: Was Meowth your favorite, Max?

Max: It's a tie. Meowth and Rhydon.

Max: Who was your least favorite character?

Gray: Ash.

Debi: Why?

Gray: Because he's too perfect.

Annie: Yeah, he's such a Mary Sue.

(At which time, I had to ask what the heck a Mary Sue was.)

Max: What was your favorite part?

Gray: When the Rhydon attacked.

Debi: Why was that your favorite part?!!

Gray: 'Cause he was rampaging.

 --Debi had assigned Amulet: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi to Max...

Debi: Did you like the book, Max?

Max: Uh huh. (yes)

Debi: What did you like about it?

Max: The monsters.

Debi: Why did you like the monsters?

Annie: Were they scary?

Max: No.

Debi: Actually, the monsters are pretty cute, aren't they?

Max: *gives funny look, as if to say I'm crazy*

Debi: Did you like the art in the book?

Max: Yes!

Debi: Yeah, I think it has some of the prettiest art of any comic I've ever read.

Gray: Why is it called Amulet?

Max: Because there's an amulet with special powers.

--Rich had assigned Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling to Debi...

Rich: Well, I know you liked the book. What your favorite or several favorite parts?

Debi: I thought it was hilarious when Neville imagined the boggart as Snape in his grandmother's clothes. And I loved the end when Harry got the letter from Sirius. And I was blown away when I found out about Scabbers.

Rich: Were you surprised to find Sirius was really a good guy?

Debi: Yeah, I was surprised. But not surprised that Professor Lupin was a werewolf...I mean what else automatically popped to mind with that name, you know.

Rich: Of course "dense guy" *points to self* needed it spelled out to him. How excited are you to read the next one on a scale of 1 to 10?

Debi: You've no idea how hard it was stopping myself from immediately going and grabbing the next one off the shelf!

--Annie had assigned Warriors: Into the Wild by Erin Hunter to Rich...

Annie: Did you like this book?

Rich: Yeah, I like it, but it wasn't great.

Annie: What made it not great?

Rich: Too much fighting. It was just too focused on territorial stuff. And I hated it when that sweet medicine cat got killed.

Annie Do you think you're going to read the other books?

Rich: Probably not.

Annie: Who was your favorite character?

Rich: Well, of course, I like Rusty/Firepaw/Firestar. And I liked Yellowfang.

Annie: Yellowfang reminds me of Aldo. Except Yellowfang's much smarter!

Rich: Who do you really like?

Annie: Spotted Leaf and Yellowfang and Ravenpaw and Bluestar.

Rich: I didn't like all that talk about the cutter.

Annie: Yeah. Uhh, that was awkward.

(The cutter is the vet...who cuts "important" bits...and the cats come back not quite the same.)

Annie: Did you see any romance in the book?

Rich: I thought Firestar and Spotted Paw were going to get together, but then she died. Do Bluestar and Firestar get together in the future?

Annie: Dad!!! Bluestar's like a really old woman, and Firestar's just a young apprentice.

Debi: So what!!! Do you have something against May-December romance, Annie?

Annie: Well, no.

Rich: Yeah, me neither...after all, I married your mom, didn't I?

Debi: *promptly wallops Rich*

--Gray had assigned Pokemon Adventures: Volume 1  by Hidenori Kusaka to Annie...

Gray: Who's your favorite person or Pokemon or whoever?

Annie: I guess Misty, because she's both strong and smart.

Gray: What was your favorite part?

Annie: Probably the part with the zombies.

Debi: There's zombies in Pokemon?!!

Annie: Yeah, Pokemon zombies.

*****
And, of course, new names were drawn, and new assignments made:

Annie picked Chris. And has assigned him Unwind by Neal Shusterman.

Chris "picked" Annie. Not sure what he's assigning her yet.

Debi picked Max. And has assigned him The Stuff of Legend by Mike Raicht and Brian Smith.

Max picked Rich. And has assigned him a set of Warriors graphic novels, the Graystripe's Journey series.

Rich picked Gray. And has assigned him Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling.

Gray picked Debi. And has assigned her The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.

so much for determination

I swore to myself I was going to finish Harry Potter last night. Turns out I'm a big fat liar.

Managed 62 pages...and believe me, I didn't set it down because I was bored! I freakin' love this book!!!! I'm sure many other book lovers find themselves incredulous at the thought that someone hasn't read the Harry Potter books already. And more so over the thought that someone actually read the first two ten years ago, but never bothered finishing the series. But I swear it was never a matter of not *wanting* to! Anyway, I'm mighty grateful to Rich for assigning me this for our family book club this month. This and the fourth are his favorites in the series. And thus far, I would have to say that this is my favorite. Of course, I've got a long way to go. Anyway, today will *definitely* be the day I finish it! (I hope.)

some days are hardly worth writing about

Interspersed amongst the essays/articles in The Biodiversity Crisis are short little case studies as well as mini biographies of some of the people out there in the world battling biodiversity loss. All I managed to read yesterday from this book was one of these little (3 pages) case studies. It was about Lake Victoria and the cichlids. That whole situation is so utterly heartbreaking, both on a ecological level and on a human one. Anyone interested should watch the documentary Darwin's Nightmare. Such a powerful, disturbing, heartbreaking movie. And really, it's a vitally important story that most people know nothing about.

Bedtime brought me back to Harry. But unfortunately I'd stayed up too late that by the time I settled in to read, I could hardly keep my eyes open. Only read 18 pages. The shit was really starting to hit the proverbial fan, and still I couldn't win the battle against sleep. Oh well, just means tonight's reading will be mighty exciting.

*****
And in the dangerous world of blog-reading, this book has been added to my wish list:

*Tamar by Mal Peet (thanks to the lovely Ana's review)

lightning didn't strike me dead

I thought it might. I didn't read a damn thing for school today. Not one single page in one single book.

Of course, I didn't read much period. Thirteen pages in The Out-of-Sync Child while waiting for Maxidoodle's soccer game to start. Good book...I'll talk about it some other time. And 82 pages in Harry Potter. Again, I really, really didn't want to stop reading...but in the battle between gravity and my eyelids, gravity won. I know I still have over 100 pages to go, but at this point, I think I can definitely say this is my favorite of the Harry Potter books I've read thus far. Not that I didn't like the first two, of course, because I definitely did. And I don't even think that it's because of the "bad memories" associated with reading the first two. I think I'm really just enjoying this story more, like we're getting more depth or something.

Father's Day edition

Don't think I'll set any goals this morning. And not because I never meet them anyway. But because it's Father's Day, and Rich gets to pick what we do today--I see much eating and hiking in store. :)  I've no idea how much time there will be for reading. Though I must get through the 35 pages in The Encyclopedia of the Human Body that I was supposed to read yesterday. Beyond that, who knows.

Okay, I think it was just yesterday that I said I sucked. I stick by that assessment. :(  Afraid my "must" reading just didn't get done. Only read the first 14 pages I needed to in the human body book. I'm afraid my brain has gotten rebellious on me here. The closer we get to the end of the school year, the harder it is to make myself do what I need to do. I'm serious, I may just give up and wrap things up. Let her finish up her big assignments, get her final tests made so she can take them, and call it good. I know damn well she's had a fantastic year of learning as is. 

On the non-suck side, I finished up the last 74 pages of Field Notes from a Catastrophe. OMG. What a freakin' incredible book. While I'm obviously not a climate science expert, I'm not really new to the subject either. I've been enamored with Al Gore for decades because of his concern for the environment and his efforts at educating the world about global climate change. I was beside myself giddy when Bill Clinton chose him as his running mate all those many years ago. And still with all I've read and watched on the subject, I found this to be well worth my time! Seriously, I wish EVERYONE would read it. Elizabeth Kolbert simply did a wonderful job at laying it out there...both the science and the politics. Now, if only people would listen...

And finally, I managed to stay awake for another 24 pages of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. And I really wanted to stay awake even longer but my eyes just wouldn't cooperate. Seriously, could these books be any more fun?!! I'm almost glad I haven't read them before...so I get that thrill now. :)

not meeting goals

Have much school work to get done today, but I thought I'd make some reading goals anyway. I'd love to knock out at least 100 pages from Harry Potter. I'd love to finish Field Notes from a Catastrophe. And I need to a couple chapters from The Body Book and about 35 pages in The Encyclopedia of the Human Body. Hmmm...as I am the slowest reader on the planet, I guess I'd better get started...

Oh my. I suck. Seriously pathetic amount of reading got done today. One chapter in The Body Book. Sixteen pages. Which is fantastic when compared to how much I read of The Encyclopedia of the Human Body--zero pages. But about The Body Book. It's really an awesome little book about the human body and how it works. I'd say it's probably geared towards middle grades, but sheesh--I'm learning so much! It's written in a really fresh, interesting way. While it doles out all the important info about how our bodies work, it also talks about all kinds of stuff that is really of more interest on a day to day level. And it answers all these really cool questions that I didn't realize I even had until I started reading. :)

And I only managed to get five pages read in Field Notes from A Catastrophe. Yep, five. *sigh* I know, I know--it sounds like a lousy excuse, but I really would have knocked out a lot more, but Annie and I are both trying to read this book at the same time. I'd just gotten started when she asked if she could have it, so I relinquished control. After all, it is a school assignment for her. It's a super wonderful book though, and I'll be sure to talk about more on a day I get a bigger chunk read.

Okay, it's 10:30 already. And I got so freakin' little sleep last night that my eyes probably won't stay open for more than a page or two (if I'm lucky). But I'm going to go give Harry a go.

Well, I managed 22 pages. I'm now about halfway through the book, and I have to say that I think this is my favorite one yet. I'm so glad Rich picked this for me for family book club--if he hadn't who knows  when I might have gotten to it. And speaking of family book club, Rich finished his book--which means I'm the last to finish yet again. But finish I will. And I'm so excited for the next round, because Chris will be joining us! :D

*****
And in the dangerous world of blog reading, this book was added to my wish list:

*The Dark House Book of Hauntings, a graphic novel anthology (thanks to Chris's bad blogger post)

a little work, a little play

First up, I finished the last eleven pages of chapter 7 in The Century. I won't say much more, as I already gushed yesterday...but yes, it is very much enjoyable reading.

Next, it was eight pages in our environmental science textbook (Environment: The Science Behind the Stories by Jay Withgott and Scott Brennan). Covering efforts being made to mitigate global climate change.

Indulgent plans to give myself a couple of hours to read for fun before bed. But they sort of fell through. I couldn't help myself--I couldn't quit watching Rich play with his new iPhone. ;)  Anyway, I ended up only reading 26 pages in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. (This is the book Rich picked for me for this round of our family book club...and I'm absolutely, positively loving it! Yes, I know, I'm like one of three people who hasn't already read it. Better late than never, right?)

*****
And in the dangerous world of blog-reading, this has been added to my wish list:

*Junk Beautiful by Sue Whitney and Ki Nassauer (thanks to Carl's review)