Miles from Ordinary

21 January 2013

Music Monday: First Aid Kit

Any band that does a cover of America and does an exceptional job at it is a win in my book!

17 January 2013

Oiy vey....it feels good to be somewhat back among the living. I've been battling the ~~plague~~ cold from hell the last week and a half and am finally beginning to feel human again.

Even with the cold though, lately I've been......

Reading: My "to-read" list has once again grown out of control. I should never, I repeat NEVER be allowed to shop for books without a preset spending limit, even with gift cards are involved. Recent purchases include:

Dark Places * Beach Music * Island of Lost Girls * The Hanging Tree * Starvation Lake

Others not pictured include Sharp Objects * The Skeleton Box * Various ebooks for my Kindle.

Celebrating: Yesterday was Sadie's 15th birthday. She celebrated her big day with her favorite meal of ground beef and rice. Indulged in a few extra snacks. And ran around the back yard taunting a field mouse that she somehow managed to catch (RIP little mouse). Never would I have imagined when I adopted her when she was 8 would she still be around so many years later (she was not the healthiest of dogs back then) but I'm very glad she is. She is the best dog a girl could ask for. Even if she is anti-camera unless you give her a quite a few snacks for standing still for any period of time.

Hooking: I am merrily making my way through my 365 crocheting project as well as a few other crochet related projects. The first afghan I am working on is for my mom. The plan was to give it to her for Christmas but I have a feeling she'll be receiving it a lot sooner than that. I'm going to be too excited to hold onto it until December once it is done!

I've also been making a bunch of winter hats. It's been a great way to practice different stitches and to work with different types of yarn. Plus, they've been extremely popular with friends so it's been nice to be able to do something for someone else!

Watching: Because I've been sick, I've been watching a lot more "tv" than normal. I've been completely obsessed with British crime dramas. I don't know why they are so much better than American crime dramas, but they are. They just are. So far I've made my way through Whitechapel and Sherlock (ok so I've watched it before but good grief I think Benedict Cumberbatch is delightful) and am currently making my way through Wallander.

16 January 2013

Weekly Reads

I am once again struggling to find books that I connect with or even want to continue reading. It's been a bit disappointing to start books that have been on my to read list for quite a long time only to set it down after a chapter or two without any intention of picking the book back up again.

It also doesn't help that I have been stricken with ~~the plague~~ a really bad cold making my somewhat sketchy attention span that much shorter and the following "reviews" not terribly helpful.

Over the last couple of weeks I have started but did not finish the following titles:
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Savage Cinderella by PJ Sharon
Yesterdays News by Kaja Ingemarsson
The Trouble with Mr. Darcy by Sharon Lathan

It's somewhat of an oddity that I've even finished a book!

A Different Witch (A Modern Witch Series: Book 5) by Deborah Geary
I really love this series. It's not so much about "witching" but about family and community. On the surface it's a pretty cheesy premise but I've come to really look forward to the tales of those involved in Witch Central and the new characters introduced in each new installment. This time around though, the introduction of new characters in this one seemed a bit forced and unrealistic. Call it an overwhelming sense of loyalty to the main characters on my part or the forced notion of acceptance from the author, it was a bit over the top.

A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes #1) by Arthur Conan Doyle
I love all things Holmes related. I vaguely remember readings the Holmes series as a kid so I am very excited to read them as an adult. A Study in Scarlet is a great introduction to the mind of Holmes and his side-kick Watson.

Straight to Hell by Michelle Scott
This was a really quick read. As much as I hate to admit it, it made my cry (no, I'm not blaming this on having a cold either). And it also threw my love of Mr. Darcy into a bit of a tailspin (yes, the Mr. Darcy). Despite the category this book falls under, there isn't a lot of romance and the paranormal aspect is pretty minimal.

An Unwanted Hunger by Ciana Stone
To be fair....I don't even remember buying this book. It was downright awful. The premise, I suppose could be considered interesting if not overdone. Vampires....excuse me, Vampyres being hunted down by those who are trained to do so from birth only to fall for the hero of the story and blah blah blah. There was no back story (although there wasn't much room for one considering how short this was), things moved very quickly and wrapped up way too quickly--it literally just ended.

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
I always feel a bit bad when I don't love a book as much as the friend who recommended it. That is how I feel about Sharp Objects. Don't get me wrong--it was a good read. It kept me interested (which is no small task) and I had finished it before I knew it. But it seemed a bit predictable to me. The relationship between Adora and her daughters was a little too obvious. The behavior of Amma and Camille had me shaking my head on more than one occasion And the ending didn't really come with much of a surprise.

13 January 2013

Sunday Confessions: Winter Blues, Reading Drought, Technology Faux Pas

Winter Blues: I've been sick with this bloody cold for long enough. I'm sick of having to survive on a steady dose of tea, orange juice, and cucumbers (who knew that really cold slices of cucumber would make a scratchy throat feel better!) followed by shots of DayQuil and NyQuil. It needs to find another host (I've also been watching a lot of end of the world, aliens taking over, apocalypse type movies) and move on.
Reading Drought: I always feel a bit bad when I read a book that a friend highly recommends because they really enjoyed it and I end up not liking it. This is where I am currently at, post book let down worried about picking up another for fear that it doesn't resonate with me or I can't "get into it".
Inappropriate Technology Use: I'll be the first to admit that I hate talking on the phone. Need to get a hold of me or want to make plans to hang out, send me an email or text. But for the love of all that is holy, if it is something important.....CALL. Twice now I've been informed of someones passing because of social media and not because someone felt it was important enough to just pick up the dang phone and call.

07 January 2013

Weekly Reads: 'Bout of Books Version

Time to bring back one of my favorite series on the blog!

Although this weeks installment is going to be a little different. This week I'll be posting my updates for the 'Bout of Books Read-a-Thon, which you can read about here: Bout of Books.

The goals this time around aren't nearly as lofty as they have been in the past:

---Read one banned book

---Read book of translated fiction or non-fiction

---Read one book of my choosing

I'll be updating this post daily with my progress throughout the week and will have a full post next week including reviews for everything I've read.

Happy reading everyone!

UPDATES

Monday

Number of books I've read today: 1

Total number of books I've read: 1

Currently Reading: The Awakening by Kate Chopin

Books Read: Straight to Hell by Michelle Scott---->I am counting this one as a "bonus read". I actually started it on Sunday but only managed to read about 30 pages but read the rest today.

Tuesday