feeling crafty

On Saturday Kim, Kristy and Paige went to the craft store and came back with craft supplies. Paige very kindly let me use her fabric paints, so I made a couple awesome shirts--one that says "I CAN DO ANYTHING I WANT!" (a quote from The King of Attolia) and the other says, "You can't," said the Magus in question and on the back it will say, "I can steal anything," Eugenides corrected him.(A quote from the Queen of Attolia)

And, though my shirts are awesome, I am almost as amused by Paige's apron. She had meant for it to say: "Kissing the cook may be HAZARDOUS to your health. Take a risk." but she kind of ran out of steam before she finished. So right now the apron reads, "Kissing the cook may be HAZARDOUS."

I kind of like it this way better.

Most of the books I've read this year

If you know me well at all, you know I'm not particularly organized. So I'm pretty pleased with myself for this mostly-complete list. I'd keep good track of my reading for a few weeks, then completely forget and have to go back and try to remember. Sometimes I'd remember all I'd read, and sometimes I just wouldn't. Despite my lapses in book-tracking, I believe this list to be mostly-complete.

I'm counting 115 titles here, though I might be slightly off. Most of them are novels, and I read most of them cover to cover, though there are some exceptions--a few short stories, novellas, or re-reads where I skipped the less interesting parts (though most of my re-reads were cover-to-cover), and several audio books while working.

115 titles--thats approximately 9.5 a month, 2.3 a week, or .3 a day. Looking back, that seems about right.

These are in reverse order--so I have recently started and not yet finished the first two titles here, the first book I read this year is at the very bottom of the list.



Unfinished: The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner; Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold

Falling Free, by Lois McMaster Bujold
A Civil Campaign, by Lois McMaster Bujold (best-parts-version re-read)
Crown/Court Duel, by Sherwood Smith (best-parts-version re-read)
Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Sherwood Ring, by Elizabeth Marie Pope
The Perilous Gard, by Elizabeth Marie Pope
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Taming the Bicycle by Mark Twain (Librivox)
They and I, by Jerome K. Jerome (Librivox)
The Winter Queen, by Boris Akunin
Told After Supper by Jerome K. Jerome (short story/novella?) (Librivox)
The Sign of the Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Librivox)
A Scandal in Bohemia (short story) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Gaudy Night, by Dorothy Sayers (again)
A Study in Scarlet, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Librivox)
The Winter Prince, by Elizabeth Wein
Crocodile on the Sandbank, by Elizabeth Peters
Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Librivox)
Fire (short story collection,) only Robin McKinley's stories though
Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley
the Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
My Father's Dragon, by Ruth Stiles Gannett (librivox)
Lord Peter (short story collection) by Dorothy Sayers
Ben Hur, by Lew Wallace (Librivox)
Have His Carcase by Dorothy Sayers
Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold
Prauge Counterpoint by Bodie Theone
Vienna Prelude by Bodie Theone
Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers (again) (Librivox)
The Game by Diana Wynne Jones
Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll (librivox)
Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers
Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers
The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers
Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy Sayers
Five Red Herrings by Dorothy Sayers (didn't finish)
Strong Poison by Dorothy Sayers
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy Sayers
Unnatural Death by Dorothy Sayers
Clouds of Witness by Dorothy Sayers
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
The Curse of Chalion by L M Bujold
Memory by L M Bujold
Mirror Dance by L M Bujold
Brothers in Arms by LM Bujold
Borders of Infinity (novella) by L M Bujold
Assasins Apprentice, by Robin Hobb
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (librivox)
The Prisoner of Zenda, by Anthony Hope (Librivox)
Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) by Jerome K Jerome (librivox)
the Pinhoe Egg, by Diana Wynne Jones
Conrad's Fate, by Diana Wynne Jones
The Lives of Christopher Chant, by Diana Wynne Jones
Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers (librivox)
Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones
Once On A Time by A. A. Milne
The Man Who Would Be King (short story) by Rudyard Kipling (librivox)
A Little Princess by Francis Hodgson Burnett (librivox)
Amaranth Enchantment, by Julie Berry
The Railway Children, by E. Nesbit (librivox)
Persuasion, by Jane Austen (librivox)
The Story of the Treasure Seekers, by E. Nesbit (librivox)
Anne of Avonlea, by L. M. Montgomery (librivox)
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery (librivox)
The Scarlet Pimpernel, Baroness Emmuska Orczy (to family)
Peter Pan, J.M.Barrie (librivox)
Little Dorrit, Charles Dickens (Librivox)
Austenland by Shannon Hale
Crown (and Court) Duel by Sherwood Smith
Eldorado, by Baroness Emmuska Orczy (librivox)
The Elusive Pimpernel, by Baroness Emmuska Orczy (Librivox)
I Will Repay! by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel (short story collection) by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
(To Deidre and Jocelyn) The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner
Sir Percy Leads the Band, by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
Nausicaa part 1 (graphic novel) by Hayao Miyazaki
The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Emmuska Orczy (librivox)
The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas (librivox)
The Queen of Attolia, by Megan Whalen Turner
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
The Stone Fey, by Robin McKinely
Airborn, Kenneth Oppel (audiobook)
The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. IT WAS AWESOME. THE MOVIE IS TOO.
Bone Volume Two: The Great Cow Race by Jeff Smith (graphic novel) (oh, and I read the first one awhile back and forgot to add it.... :-})
Tales from Outer Suburbia, by Shaun Tan (short story collection with AWESOME paintings, ARC)
The Stonekeeper (Amulet, Book 1) by Kazu Kibuishi (graphic novel)
The Perilous Guard, Elizabeth Marie Pope
Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J. K. Rowling
Inkdeath, Cornelia Funke
American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang (graphic novel)
Inkspell, Cornelia Funke
Night, by Elie Wiesel
Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke
Howl's Moving Castle, to Deidre and Annie (unfinished)
The High King, Lloyd Alexander
Taran Wanderer, Lloyd Alexander
The Castle of Llyr, Lloyd Alexander
The Black Cauldron, Lloyd Alexander
The Book of Three, Lloyd Alexander
Peony in Love, Lisa See
Neverwhere, Niel Gaiman
The Demon's Lexicon, Sarah Rees Brennan
The Graveyard Book, Niel Gaiman (read to me by Annie)
The King of Attolia, Megan Whalen Turner (to Deidre)
The Mysterious Benedict Society, Trenton Lee Stewart (unfinished)
The Empty Kingdom, Elizabeth Wein

"I am eleventy-one today!"

Not that it really matters, as there are a few more days of this year left during which I will read at least one more book, but there are currently ELEVENTY-ONE titles on the 'Books I've Read This Year" list on the side of my blog. Thats right--111. I was entertained by this circumstance, and decided that I might as well share this odd fact with anyone who might be reading this.

I will, of course, post the full list, with thoughts and comments on it, once it is Officially 2010.

Footloose and Fancy Free

Finals are over and I'm home for the holidays! Well, temporarily at least. I'll be heading back down to Provo to work (gotta pay tuition!) but I'm home this weekend, with no homework to do, no finals to study for, and new books to read--what more could I want? When finals ended I splurged somewhat and bought myself a hardback copy of The Christmas Carol illustrated by P.J. Lynch, because I could...and it was on sale, so really, it wasn't that big a splurge :-}. I'm really looking forward to reading it--Charles Dickens was a funny guy, and of course the illustrations will be awesome.

Now that I finally have TIME to tell all you blog readers (like, all three of you ^.^) what's been going on I can't really think what to say. Hmmm... well, some big news of the last couple weeks (heh) was that I got and ARC (Thats an Advance Readers Copy, to you non-book-nerds) of A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner (the sequel to my absolute favoritest book EVER, The King of Attolia) which will be coming out in March or April and is MADE OF AWESOME (in case anyone was wondering). After I finished reading it I promptly passed it onto another obsessed fan, then to the next, then the next, who passed it on to several more, and I just got it back this morning and will be handing it off to the wonderful Shanelle tonight. (I really should try and count up everyone who has read this ARC, just to know, you know?) EVERYONE SHARE THE BOOK-LOVE. Book friends: I'm glad that you all understand me, and the awesomeness that is these books. And I'm glad that there is such a lovely concentration of us in Provo/Orem/SLC area.

We also had our roommate gift exchange and I got--wait for it--a Borders Gift card. Surprise! I also got a rather entertaining bookmark, with a pony on it--and it neighs when you press it. :-) I got Annie Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome... maybe as much for myself as for her, I'll admit, because I'll expect her to allow me to read it to her now. And she will enjoy it. Becasue Jerome K. Jerome was a funny guy.

I really don't have much else to say, so I shall now close :-D

finals...

ONLY ONE LEFT.

THE END IS IN SIGHT.

Finals.

Three down. (Dance, Narrative, New Testament)


Four to go. (Digital Painting, Illustration, Life Drawing, Judaism)

FINALS

One down. (World Dance)

Six to Go. (Narrative, Life Drawing, Digital Painting, Illustration, New Testament, Judaism)


Oh, and Happy Birthday to me. I'm legal now--yay.

Back to studying. Or rather, preparing for finals--art majors have less studying and more painting like crazy people.