Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone!  I hope you're having a wonderful day, and you're keeping warm and safe with your family!

100 Books to Read Before You Die

Got this little gem from Nicole.  Those I've read are crossed out.

1. Jane Austen – Pride & Prejudice
2. Harper Lee – To Kill A Mockingbird
3. JRR Tolkien – Lord Of The Rings
4. Jodi Picoult – My Sister’s Keeper
5. Stephanie Meyer – Twilight Saga
6. JK Rowling – Harry Potter & The Philosopher’s Stone
7. Audrey Niffenegger – The Time Traveler’s Wife
8. Markus Zusak – The Book Thief
9. George Orwell – 1984
10. Raymond E. Feist – Magician
11. Khaled Hosseini – A Thousand Splendid Suns
12. Paullina Simons – Bronze Horsemen
13. Gregory David Roberts – Shantaram
14. Margaret Mitchell – Gone With The Wind
15. Bryce Courtenay – Power of One
16. Dan Brown – The Da Vinci Code
17. Dan Brown – Angels & Demons
18. Paulo Coelho – The Alchemist
19. Charlotte Bronte – Jane Eyre
20. Tim Winton – Cloud Street
21. Khaled Hosseini – The Kite Runner
22. Emily Bronte – Wuthering Heights
23. Arthur Golden – Memoirs of Geisha
24. LM Montgomery – Anne Of Green Gables
25. Joseph Heller – Catch-22
26. Elizabeth Gilbert – Eat Pray Love
27. Niv Mass Market Bible With Bible Guide – International Bible Society Staff and International Bible Society
28. JRR Tolkien – The Hobbit
29. Yann Martel – Life of Pi  I'm reading this one now!
30. AB Facey – Fortunate Life
31. Douglas Adams – The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy
32. Lewis Carroll – Alice In Wonderland & Through The Looking Glass
33. Diana Gabaldon – Cross Stich
34. Rohinton Mistry – A Fine Balance
35. David Pelzar – A Child Called It
36. Li Cunxin – Mao’s Last Dancer
37. John Marsden – Tomorrow, When The War Began
38. Frank McCourt – Angela’s Ashes
39. Frank Herbert – Dune
40. JD Salinger – A Catcher In The Rye
41. F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Great Gatsby
42. Gabriel Garcia Marquez – One Hundred Years Of Solitude
43. Bryce Courtenay – April Fool’s Day
44. Ken Follet – Pillars Of The Earth
45. Patrick Suskind – Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer
46. Matthew Reilly – Ice Station
47. Carlos Ruiz Zafon – The Shadow Of The Wind
48. Stephen Hawking – A Brief History Of Time
49. Christopher Paolini – Eragon
50. Louisa May Alcott – Little Women
51. Mitch Albom – Tuesdays With Morrie
52. Jane Austen – Persuasion
53. Alice Sebold – The Lovely Bones
54. Ian McEwan – Atonement
55. Leo Tolstory – Anna Karenina
56. George Orwell – Animal Farm
57. Anthony Burgess – A Clockwork Orange
58. Antoine de Saint Exupéry – The Little Prince
59. Roald Dahl – Charlie & The Chocolate Factory
60. CS Lewis – The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
61. Gabriel Garcia Marquez – Love In The Time Of Cholera
62. Bill Bryson – A Short History Of Nearly Everything
63. Fyodor Dostoevsky – Crime And Punishment
64. Anthony Bourke – Lion Called Christian
65. Arundhati Roy – The God Of Small Things
66. Paullina Simons – Tully
67. John Grisham – A Time To Kill
68. John Grogan – Marley & Me
69. Vikram Seth – A Suitable Boy
70. Alexandre Dumas – Count Of Monte Cristo
71. Neil Gaiman – American Gods
72. Cormac McCarthy – The Road
73. Aldous Huxley – Brave New World
74. Brendan Shanahan – In Turkey I Am Beautiful: Between Chaos And Madness In A Strange Land
75. Tim Winton – Breath
76. Bryce Courtenay – Jessica
77. Graeme Base – Animalia
78. Donna Tartt – The Secret History
79. Mario Puzo – The Godfather
80. Anne Rice – Interview With The Vampire
81. Steig Larrson – The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo
82. Stephen King – Stand
83. Helen Fielding – Bridget Jones’ Diary
84. Eckhart Tolle – New Earth
85. Matthew Reilly – Seven Ancient Wonders
86. Jung Chang – Wild Swans
87. Nicholas Sparks – The Notebook
88. Bret Easton Ellis – American Psycho
89. David Eddings – Belgariad Vol. 1: Pawn Of Prophecy; Queen Of Sorcery; Magician’s Gambit
90. Louis De Bernieres – Captain Corelli’s Mandolin
91. Melina Marchetta – Looking For Alibrandi
92. Celia Ahern – PS I Love You
93. John Irving – A Prayer For Owen Meany
94. Colleen McCullough – The Thorn Birds
95. John Kennedy Toole – A Confederacy Of Dunces
96. Terry Pratchett – Good Omens
97. Hunter S. Thompson – Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas
98. Joanne Harris – Chocolat
99. William Goldman – Princess Bride
100. Charles Dickens – Great Expectations

A pretty good list, all in all.  I've read 22 of them (although considering some were series, I think that should count for more).  There were a lot in there where I either started to read the book but never finished, or I just watched the movie instead.  I'm guessing those don't count....

Fall Into Reading 2009 Wrap Up

Well, I completed my first reading challenge!  I started pretty modestly, only expecting to read 4 books.  (To see my list, click here.)  I really underestimated myself!  Not only did I finish Moby Dick, but I finished a grand total of 9 books.  While I didn't finish 2 of the original 4, I added 7 books.  I'm one of those readers that has to be in the mood for a book, so it makes sense that I added more than I originally planned to read.

I think, if I had to pick a favorite of those I read, it would be The Time Traveler's Wife.  It was just a beautiful, well-written novel.  (A close second would be The Magician's Elephant, followed by The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.)

This challenge not only kept me reading, but it kept me blogging.  While trying to stay modest, I'd like to think that the practice has helped me improve my book reviewing skills, and made this blog more of a book blog than a rambling blog, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Overall, I'm really happy with the outcome, and I want to thank Katrina over at Callapidder Days for hosting such a fun, easy-going challenge!  It was so interesting to read the reviews of others who participated, and I actually added a lot of books to my TBR list (and even some of the books added to my challenge list were because of reviews of other bloggers doing the challenge).  Katrina, thank you, and I look forward to seeing you again next fall!

Matchless: A Christmas Story

Looking for a short, sweet Christmas story?  Like Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl and want more added to it?  Well here you go!

This is a very short story, perfect for a Christmas Eve reading next to the tree.  It's actually meant to be read aloud (Gregory Maguire debuted it for NPR last year). Not only does it include the story of the little match girl (leaving it almost an exact replica of the original), but there's another story encompassing it, that of Frederik and his family's struggles on that same Christmas Eve.

3 out of 5 stars.  Definitely good, and worth a read, but not my favorite Christmas story (probably partially because The Little Match Girl was never one of my favorites).

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

What a beautiful book.  This is a completely heartwarming story, and you don't want to miss it.

Told in a series of letters, this story highlights the joys and hardships of the people living on the island of Guernsey during the German Occupation of WWII.  Witty and heartbreaking, this novel is not only educational, but complete in every way.  No lose ends are left, making the bow on the cover seem that much more perfect.

I will admit that I like Part I more than Part II.  In Part I author Juliet Ashton (the main character, so to speak) is looking for a subject for her new book when she receives an unexpected letter from a man in Guernsey who bought a book that had once belonged to her.  It's here that we meet the islanders and learn how the Society began (and how it got such a silly name).  I loved this part, because it was full of discovery.  Part II was good, of course, but it was written with more of a third-person feel.  We still learn more about the characters, but we're really learning about events that have just happened, rather than getting first-hand accounts of events or personalities.  I hope that made sense.

 4 out of 5 stars.  I would have preferred the entire book be more like Part I, but I realize that wouldn't have worked as well given the situation of the characters (it's so hard to explain this without giving anything away!).  However, this is such a good story; perfect for uplifting the spirit and closing the book with a sigh and a smile.

Hail Atlanta!

Here's an incomplete picture tour of our time in Atlanta.  Enjoy.

I toured Atlanta a bit by myself on Wednesday and went directly to the Margaret Mitchell House and Museum.  This is where Ms. M. wrote most of her only novel.  I got to take a tour of her apartment (look at the first floor on the left) and know a little bit about her background.  The house was made a historic site, so it sits neatly on Crescent Street while the city builds up around it.

The next day we went to the aquarium, which is apparently the largest in the world.  It was definitely very  neat, with a ton of exhibits and a spectacular main tank with 2 whale sharks (not even fully grown yet!), gigantic manta rays, and several other types of sharks.  Unfortunately, those pictures didn't turn out so well.

                             
But this guy did!

If you turned 180 degrees from the aquarium, you'd see the Coke museum, and the statue of its inventor, Mr. Pemberton, right in front of it.

The Coke museum was pretty cool.  You basically walked through a huge commercial (physically and on the screen) and then got to taste Coke products from around the world (Africa, yes; Western Europe; no thank you).  Finally, we got a free bottle of Coke off the line (and let me tell you, after being in the museum, you wanted that Coke).

Next we went to Olympic Park.  I was hoping to see some amazing Christmas lights, but a) it was light out and b) what we did see didn't look like it'd be that impressive even if it was dark.  Plus, it was really cold.  Nice statue, though.

Thursday came and we went to the zoo.  And I fell in love with pandas.

Now I've always been a fan of pandas, but seeing them in person makes them that much cuter.  And seeing them eat is even cuter.  Whenever I watch nature videos, I kind of just figure they're adding sound effects when animals do things like eat.  Turns out, at least in the case of the panda, no sound effects are needed.  They are a loud-chomping, chewing bunch, and it is Adorable.

We also saw some frisky lions.  Notice the paw in "ready-to-pounce" position.

One thing I loved about Atlanta was the close proximity of must-see sites.  Just next door to the zoo was the Cyclorama and Civil War museum.  This was definitely cool, and if you go to Atlanta I recommend you see it.  I don't even want to try to explain it, because it won't sound as cool as it is.  Go to the website, and just trust me.

So that's our trip, summed up in just a few of the pictures we took.  I had a great time, and I'd definitely go back, but I'd be going back to see all of this stuff over again, not to really see anything new.  I feel like I got a good look at Atlanta, and I liked what I saw, and I don't feel like I missed out on anything.

P.S.  I'd recommend reading Gone With the Wind (particularly the part where Scarlett is in Atlanta) while you're there.

'Tis The Season

Not too much to say, but I haven't posted in awhile so I figured I'd drop in.

We're back from Atlanta, which was a very fun time (for me at least, since I didn't have a huge test to worry about) and pictures will be coming soon.

While it's cold as ever, there's still no snow, so I'm having a hard time believing it's December and Christmas is right around the corner.  Although hopefully that will change after I go shopping for gifts this weekend.

Only a week's worth of days to work and then I'm on vacation for the rest of the year!

I need a really good roll-out cookie dough recipe, if anyone has one.

And finally, Keith's been interviewing like crazy, and will continue until next week.  The upside is that we've been taken out to eat more than we're used to (and we were introduced to a great place last night).  The downside is that all of these programs seem amazing, so it's going to be hard to choose which one is a right fit for him in a place that's a right fit for me.

That's all for now.  I hope you're keeping warm and cozy!