Mini Challenge

From Bart's Bookshelf comes this great Mini Challenge which I had to try. 
It requires readers to make a sentence using only book titles.  I could've spent gobs of time on this, but I chose to do it lickety-split so I can get back to reading!  I will provide an update of my reading next time around.

It's short and sweet, but here's what I came up with:

Dear Diary, please understand me.

Read-A-Thon Hours 1 -3

I got a bit of a late start, beginning 45 minutes into the read-a-thon, so I'm posting a tad later than I wanted, but it's all good.

Mini Challenge Hour 1

Where are you reading from today? I'm reading from my home in Brea, CA.  I am reading on my couch, but will likely move around during the day to keep from getting bored.  I will eventually take my reading outside.

3 Facts About Me:
1.  I have a unique middle name that I love.  I am convinced I am the only one in the world named Beline. 
2.  At one time I owned 13 cats. 
3.  I have never won a trophy in my entire life! 

How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hrs?  Fifteen (15).  I am certain I won't get through them all, but I will give it my best shot.

Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?  My only goal is to have fun and to try to get through as many books as I can.  I do plan on finishing the two books I started before this read-a-thon began: Wicked and The Master Puppeteer.

If you're a vetaran read-a-thoner, Any advice for people doing this for the first time?  I'm a first timer.  I look forward to reading other comments on this.

Mini Challenge Hour 2
Hosted by Miss Remmer's Review
The Kickoff Of Champions

In this challenge, we are to discuss what we are surrounding ourselves with as we begin diving into our reading.  I have everything I need in my small abode: my couch, my stack of books, my bed, snacks, and my girls, (who aren't awake yet and I don't have the heart to wake them up so early on a Saturday morning.)  I begin my reading on my cozy couch with a notepad by my side so I can keep running totals of my time, pages, etc.

Reading Update (since Read-a-thon began):

Titile of Books Read: Wicked by Gregory Maguire
Number of Books Since Started:  part of 1
Pages Read: 46
Amount of Time Spent Reading: 1 hour 45 minutes
Mini Challenges Completed: 2
Other Participants Visited: Amanda at A Patchwork of Books
Prize You've Won: none yet!

Off to read some more! 



 

24 Hour Read-A-Thon!

What better way to come back to blogging -after almost a whole year hiatus- than with a 24 hour read-a-thon. Yeah, I couldn't think of anything better either!

Better still? I am not doing it alone. I have two eager participants (my daughters) to read with! This is my first time joining the twice-a-year event and I am really excited. I remember reading about it last year in April and thinking, next time I will join. October came too fast and my procrastination reared...next time, next time. Now it's April again and as springtime often entices, I feel renewed and ready! We are a merry reading group of three! *cough book nerds we are cough*

The details:
We start reading April 10, 2010 at 5 A.M. PT and read as much as we can for 24 hours. I know for sure my girls will not be staying up to read the whole 24 hours because they need their sleep! I highly doubt I will stay up the whole 24 hours either because, as anyone who knows me can testify, it isn't pretty if I haven't slept! But I'm going to give it my best shot. Here are the books we picked out:

Sydney's Stack

A Fairy Called Hilary by Linda Leopold Strauss

Boy by Roald Dahl

Socks by Beverly Cleary

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis

The Witches of Worm by Zilpha Keattey Snyder

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More by Roald Dahl
A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Randi's Stack

Peter Pan by J.M Barrie

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
Ice Fire by Chris D'Lacey
Eleven by Lauren Myracle
A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney
Ramona The Brave by Beverly Cleary
Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
Ramona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary
Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary
Pixie Tricks (The Whole Series) by Tracey West

My Stack

Wicked by Gregory Maguire
Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl
The Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
Pleasing the Ghost by Sharon Creech
The Wanderer by Sharon Creech
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Absolutely Normal Chaos by Sharon Creech
The Report Card by Andrew Clements
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
What Color is Your Parachute by Richard Nelson Bolles



I know these lists are long, but I wanted to make sure that we each had variety to choose from so we wouldn't get bored. I don't plan on making it through my entire list, but I'd rather have an overabundance to choose from than not enough. Most of my choices are YA titles and I have one nonfiction self-help book for good measure. It's a book I've been wanting to read for a long time so we'll see how much I get through.
For my first read-a-thon I plan on making this as fun as possible which, to me, means flexibility. Here are my parameters, or lack thereof:

I will not force myself to read if I get tired. I will take breaks which include showers, meals, walks, trips to the library (to check out books for my daughter's upcoming historical figure report), naps, Facebook, etc. I will allow myself to flit from book to book if I become bored with one or another. I give myself permission to stop reading a book altogether if I cannot seem to get through. These parameters go for my girls too, as the whole purpose of this is to have fun and see how far we can make it!!

I plan on updating every chance I can during the next 24 hours to inform you of my progress. I can't wait to get started!

Cheers!

Update: Nutrition & Fitness goals

As most of you know, I am not following South Beach anymore. It's not because it doesn't work. It's not because I don't want to lose weight or take care of my body. It's merely because there are too many foods I want to eat that South Beach doesn't allow. Saturday cheat days work for a while, but soon, they turn into everyday cheat days and then before you know it, you are eating whatever you want, whenever you want...which doesn't work if you want to follow South Beach.

It definitely works for those who can turn it into their lifestyle. On South Beach, I lost inches and felt my clothes fitting less snug. I noticed a flatness in my stomach area and my arms seemed to shrink. It is definitely an awesome feeling, one that I wish I could rejoice in right now. Alas, I am back wearing snug clothes and lamenting over chunky arms, abs and thighs. And I know more than ever I need to get back into shape.

While I'm not where I want to be fitness or nutrition-wise, it's not a total loss. Trying South Beach taught me how to eat for long-term health, not just short term dieting. It taught me to include lean proteins, healthy carbs, and the right fats at every meal. I learned how to cook more with vegetables and some creative ways to use fruits. I also learned that 2% (lowfat) dairy does not taste bad and not all products which claim lowfat/nonfat ingredients are necessarily healthier. Many of them contain loads of sugar!

Since going off South Beach, I haven't stuck to eating the way I know I should, and I haven't been consistent with exercise. Since dropping my stringent following of South Beach, I've been eating foods I can do without most of the time. On a positive note, I did start walking 3-6 times per week, alternated with jogging (which is a struggle for me). Yet once the kids got out of school for the summer, I stopped going my 2 mile route and am lucky if I get in 1 mile of walking/jogging.

I want to get back into my 2 mile daily route, add in some weight training, and get back to eating healthier.

My main goal right now is to lose some weight so my clothes shopping trips will not be so depressing. I hope to share my first success in weight loss with you in about 4 weeks. I will try to keep you updated on my daily/weekly progress with eating healthier and amping up my exercise routine.

Here's to a smaller size! ;)

POEM: I Don't Want to Remember

It hurts
to remember you
because I want you here.

I don't want
to remember your smile
I want to kiss it before it fades away

I don't want
to remember your kiss
I want to taste it on my lips

I don't want
to remember your laugh
I want to hear it fill our home

I don't want
to remember your sound
I want to melt under your breath's tickles

I don't want
to remember your touch
I want to feel its warmth

I dont want
to remember your heat
I want it to blanket me when I am cold

I don't want
to remember you
because I want you here.

2009 Patricia Beline Barton

~ This is dedicated to my sister who recently lost her husband of 28 years to End Stage Renal Disease. I love you Reesa, and am here for you always. ~

Book Review: Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

I initially read this book to determine whether it was appropriate for my 11 year-old daughter to read. Although it is considered a YA novel, any book (fiction or non-fiction) with a theme centered around the holocaust, is a novel I want to preview before allowing my child to absorb.

I was immediately drawn to the short sentence structure and quick action. From the beginning, the reader is drawn into an eight year-old orphan boy's innocent view of a world where he must steal, and become virtually invisible, to survive.

It's a quick read; I read it in one day. It is the boy's innocent and honest view of the world around him during one of the most horrific times in history that kept me turning the pages.

The boy's innocence and naivete to the chaos and pure hatred surrounding him is touching, and rather humorous at times.

Although Milkweed is a work of fiction, it made me wonder how close it came to the inner workings of a child's mind during this time period.

While the central theme revolves around the time leading up to the holocaust, it only takes the reader through the time when Jews were relocated out of their homes to the ghetto. It touches briefly on the time of deportation, when those housed in ghettos were put on trains for human shipment to concentration camps. However, it never visits the horrors of an actual concentration camp.

Some of the prevalent messages that stood out for me in Milkweed were those of hope, love and inner happiness at a time when Nazi occupation colored the world gray with irrational hatred and unfair brutality.

I found myself lingering with thoughts of the book long after I read the final page.

After reading Milkweed, I would allow my daughter to read it. I think I would rather read it with her though, so if she had any thoughts or questions we could talk about it along the way.

Goodreads Review: In Cold Blood

I love to read. Recently, I stumbled upon Goodreads and promptly registered to keep track of books I'm reading, have read and look forward to reading. Goodreads, like many other social networking sites, also allows readers to invite friends for sharing eachother's current book-reading status. While I normally read quite frequently, this site has definitely elevated my motivation to read even more. I just completed In Cold Blood by Truman Compote.

My review follows:

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

My review

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Before reading this book, I never knew about the Clutter murders. This book introduced me to what happened on November 15, 1959 to a family of four in Holcomb, Kansas. The tragedy was heartbreaking. Four lives taken without mercy by two men who seemed without conscience. In Cold Blood also delved into the mindsets of the townfolk, the deputy and his assistants investigating the murder, the killers' families, and the killers themselves.

I didn't think I would enjoy this book at first because I don't particularly like reading of murder. It deeply frightens me and delivers me into the nightmare imagination of what could certainly be a possibility for me or those I love.

However, the best part of this book was learning about the psychology behind murder and the psyche of two men who decided one night to wipe out a whole family. Although I was obviously horrified and saddened for the family that was killed, a part of me also felt pity and sadness for the murderers who lost large portions of themselves throughout their struggling existence.

In Cold Blood delivers an unforgettable and unflinching trip into the spirit, emotion, and mind of each soul affected by murder.

View all my reviews.