2010 December » Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog

TSS (Dec. 5) & IMM (7)

Posted by Anastasia on December 5, 2010 15 Responses »

Dec 052010

The Sunday Salon (Dec. 5)

I finished my paper that’s due today, so now I get to blog (and read fun books)! Huzzah, huzzah.

This week will be exciting for a number of reasons. On Monday it’s my day to post my Classics Circuit review, which I spent, like, two hours writing (so I hope y’all like it). On Friday it’s my last day of class EVER! And then the next week is finals and, finally, graduation. Soon I’ll be done with my college life, and that’s sort of scary. Well, not sort of. It IS scary. After 17 years of doing one thing and one thing only, I don’t know what to expect in my post-college life. No tests? No papers? No teachers telling me what to do? Scary, and yet really liberating. I look forward to seeing how I’ll cope without having homework to do. (More blogging, maybe?)

I also think I’ve FINALLY, once and for all, decided on a plan of action for the next two years or so. I definitely know I want to move out of New Mexico, and I know I want to try living abroad somewhere. In order to live abroad I need to get a job, and the easiest sort of job for me, an English major who’s first language is English, is to teach English as a second language. So I’m going to apply for the JET program next September, and hopefully I’ll be accepted and then I’ll be living in Japan for a year starting in 2012! If not– I’ll have to figure something else out. I hope I get accepted, though. I’m going to start learning Japanese in preparation! And I’m going to be reading more Japanese books, for sure. Continue reading »

Free (& Cheap) Reads (4)

Posted by Anastasia on December 4, 2010 1 Response »

Dec 042010

There were a whole bunch of freebie books made available since the last time I posted, but they seem to have mostly disappeared now. A shame, but I hope these ones will tide you over! If you’d like to keep up daily with freebies, you may want to check out Randomize Me, where daily freebies and deals for the Kindle, Nook and otherwise are diligently posted.

Legend
 [format, DRM/no DRM, location restricted to]
Continue reading »

Review: Middleworld by J & P Voelkel

Posted by Anastasia on December 3, 2010 2 Responses »

Dec 032010

225. Middleworld (The Jaguar Stones #1) by J & P Voelkel
Publication: EgmontUSA; Revised edition (April 27, 2010), ARC Paperback, 416pp / ISBN 1606840711
Genre: MG Fantasy, Adventure, Action
Rating: Buy it (if you’re a preteen, or as a present for a preteen) / Borrow it (if you’re an adult)
Read: November 26, 2010
Source: Publisher
Summary from Amazon:

Fourteen-year-old Max Murphy is looking forward to a family vacation. But his parents, both archaeologists and Maya experts, announce a change in plan. They must leave immediately for a dig in the tiny Central American country of San Xavier. Max will go to summer camp. Max is furious. When he’s mysteriously summoned to San Xavier, he thinks they’ve had a change of heart.

Upon his arrival, Max’s wild adventure in the tropical rainforests of San Xavier begins. During his journey, he will unlock ancient secrets and meet strangers who are connected to him in ways he could never have imagined. For fate has delivered a challenge of epic proportions to this pampered teenager. Can Max rescue his parents from the Maya Underworld and save the world from the Lords of Death, who now control the power of the Jaguar Stones in their villainous hands? The scene is set for a roller-coaster ride of suspense and terror, as the good guys and the bad guys face off against a background of haunted temples, zombie armies, and even human sacrifice!

Review

I admit it: sometimes I’m a snob. I tend to judge books by their cover, by their back cover summaries, and by their blurbs. As we all probably know, those aren’t exactly the BEST ways to figure out if a book is a good match for you or not, and a couple of times I’ve been proven wrong in my initial assessment (for better or worse). The Jaguar Stones trilogy looked, upon initial inspection, to be something I would NOT enjoy. I think it was the connection with the so-called “2012 phenomenon,” the entirety of which I find repulsive and ridiculous and even sort of offensive (I’m also prejudiced against certain things, besides being snobby). But then, when I was emailed by the publisher about the second book, I took another look at the series and you know what? This time around I thought it looked like a lot of fun!

I don’t know what changed. I hope it’s that my book snobbishness is receding back into the murky depths of my soul, but maybe it’s just that I was seduced by the comparison to Indiana Jones. So maybe I’m still judging books by their outsides– whatever. The point is that the publisher very kindly agreed to send me both books one and two, and now I’m kicking myself for not reading them sooner. Continue reading »

Review: Holy Disorders by Edmund Crispin

Posted by Anastasia on December 2, 2010 3 Responses »

Dec 022010

219. Holy Disorders by Edmund Crispin
Publication: Felony & Mayhem (February 15, 2006), originally published 1945, Paperback, 240pp / ISBN 1933397284
Genre: Mystery
Rating: Buy it!
Read: November 15-18, 2010
Source: Paperback Swap
Summary from Amazon:

Gervase Fen–the eccentric Oxford don with a knack for solving “impossible” crimes–made his debut in The Case of the Gilded Fly, which Edmund Crispin (in reality, composer Bruce Montgomery) wrote to win a bet. With Holy Disorders, Crispin’s skills matured, but Fen remains as maddeningly childish as ever, still deliciously fond of his own wit and erudition, and given to quoting Lewis Carroll at inappropriate occasions. First published in 1945, Holy Disorders takes Fen to the town of Tolnbridge, where he is happily bounding around with a butterfly net until the cathedral organist is murdered, giving Fen the chance to play sleuth. The man didn’t have an enemy in the world, and even his music was inoffensive: Could he have fallen afoul of a nest of German spies or of the local coven of witches, ominously rumored to have been practicing since the 17th century? Tracking down the answer pleases Fen immensely–only the reader will have a better time. This, said the New York Times Book Review, is “Fen at his very best.”

Review

I really enjoyed this one. It reminded me a bit of a snarkier version of Dorothy L. Sayer’s mysteries, mixed with some of Agatha Christie’s humor. It’s technically the second in the series but they take forever to show up on Paperback Swap (this one was about a two year wait?) and I’m not waiting for the first book to start reading Edmund Crispin. Plus I figured with these long mystery series it’s not super important to read them in the correct order anyway, and I think I did okay. Continue reading »

Give books for the holidays! Part 2

Posted by Anastasia on December 2, 2010 1 Response »

Dec 022010

Another set of gift ideas for those who want to give books as presents for upcoming holidays! This is probably the most fun I’ll have in the next few weeks. Finals! Horror comes upon me.

Anyway: Part One is here.

And now: 18 more gift ideas!

For people who love animals:

For people who miss being in school:

For people who hate wintertime:

For people who have too many gadgets already and yet can’t not buy more:

For people who wish they were ballerinas:

For people who talk to their toys like they’re tiny people or in Toy Story or something:

Bonus: Behind the Attic Wall

Monthly Review (November 2010)

Posted by Anastasia on December 1, 2010 5 Responses »

Dec 012010

So I’m in the middle of writing, like, three papers right now, so this’ll have to be quick. Only two weeks left, though! I forgot that I didn’t have finals up until the end of finals week– I’m done right in the middle.

Anyway, November was awesome. I read a lot of books, most of them wonderful, and I really got into a good blogging groove. I didn’t finish NaNoWriMo like I was hoping to, but I let myself be okay with that because I was seriously typing SO MUCH I think I was injuring myself? (Papers, NaNo, blog. Too much!) The Book Bloggers Holiday Card Swap seems to be going smoothly– or, no one’s emailed me with a problem yet. I still have to send my cards, actually.

And, of course, it was my 2nd blogoversary! I’m now in my third year of blogging. Can you believe it? I’m so proud of myself for not giving up, even when I feel like throwing everything out the window whenever finals or papers or Real Life Stuff show up. (Not like I’ll have to worry about that again after this month! Well, I’ll still have to worry about the RL stuff. But not any of the other things.)

For December things are going to be a little rough, since it’s finals and papers and TERROR and then I graduate. And then I’m done! I’m going to be in Albuquerque until at least the summer, which means I have to go job hunting again, this time hardcore. In January I’m going to Disney World with my parents (little brother isn’t coming along this time), and in May I’m going to Book Expo America! Then I’m leaving New Mexico to go…somewhere. Maybe a job somewhere abroad? I’m still looking at options, but I think something to do with teaching English to people who speak it as a second language.

Anyway, my goals for December are: to read at least 23 more books (to meet my goal of 250 books read), to catch up on reviews, to get my review books for next year organized in some way, to update my header to a more winter-y one (and change the theme’s colors), to not go overboard with joining 2011 reading challenges, and to make at least one new blog friend.

What are your goals for December? Continue reading »