jenepel

Date Revised: January 31, 2011
Books Read: 9
Pages Read: 2788
BPM:
PPM:
Average Pages: 310
Projected Books: 108
Goals: 100 books, at least 12 non-fiction (yet again)

I'm trying something new, so to see my books read this year, check my Goodreads 2011 list.

Monthly Book Stats 2011
January: 9 books / 2788 pages

Fiction: 0
Young Adult: 4
Middle Grade: 5
Non-Fiction: 0
*Re-reads: 4

9 / 100 books. 9% done!

Total Movies: 13
At Home: 5
In Cinemas: 8
*Rewatches: 3

( Movie List 2011 )

Previous Book & Movie Lists: 2008 (61B), 2009 (60B), 2010 (56B/60M)

Date Revised: FINAL NUMBERS
Books Read: 56
Pages Read: 18300
BPM: 5
PPM: 1525
Average Pages: 327
Goals: 100 books, at least 12 non-fiction (some year I will manage this – too bad really long fanfic doesn’t count!).............EPIC FAIL.

( Book List 2010 )

52 / 100 books. 52% done!

Previous Book Lists: 2008 (61), 2009 (60)

Total Movies: 60
At Home: 34
In Cinemas: 26
*Rewatches: 30

( Movie List 2010 )

Date Revised: FINAL NUMBERS
Books Read: 60
Pages Read: 20266
BPM: 5
PPM: 1689
Average Pages: 338
Goals: 100 books, at least 12 non-fiction [FAIL!]

( Book List 2009 )

60 / 100 books. 60% done!

Previous List: 2008 (61)

It feels like it's been a while, although I guess I did post twice last week. However, posting just to complain about online flight searching (still not booked btw) probably doesn't count. What I need to do is sort out the pictures from the Turkey trip and actually put them up, but that isn't happening yet.

I went to my parents' for the weekend as planned, which was great. It's just so relaxing to be there, and so comfortable, which I suppose comes of being in the house you grew up in. Our house hasn't changed much in the past twenty years or so, which makes me feel like a kid. Or something. You might remember that my dad retired last year, so this has been his first week of not working, while my mom still has a year to go. (Let's just see how long before that becomes a sore point!) Anyway, they looked at houses while they were in America this summer, and I had to be shown all the pictures. They seem to have decided for sure on North Carolina (who knows why - we don't have family anywhere near there). It's so strange to think of them in one of those huge American homes - our house is decent sized by UK standards, but what they'll be able to get for the same amount of money (actually probably not all the money since they're talking about maybe getting a smaller place to keep here) is much larger and fancier looking. US houses are truly amazing to me. (Not to mention all the beautiful flats my friends in the States live in. Argh!) On a similar topic, I was reading this blog today and enjoyed this: '"Move to London?" at least 306 cousins, aunts, uncles and one great-aunt spluttered. "Why don't I just sit in a room full of car exhausts and burn 20s with a lighter? Bugger off!"' Yup. Sometimes it feels like that. But back to my parents, the point is (and pretty much everyone I know asks me about this) that they haven't lived in the States since the 60's. And now they are talking about moving back there permanently. It's weird. No wonder my mom wants to buy a smaller house here so they can go back and forth. I would be scared to death. I mean, you don't see me moving back there anytime soon, do you? [ETA: I'm not saying the US in itself is scary - just that moving there after 40 years of being here will be qutie an adjustment. So no one get all offended please!!]

While I was home I read quite a bit of my old writing, including random stories/poetry/journals from various ages. That never fails to be amusing. I pulled quite a few embarrasing quotes out which I have now emailed to my brother for his enjoyment. Also, (on the subject of bad writing, HAH!) I read Breaking Dawn, which is currently in my purse ready to be returned to Waterstones. Not in some sort of protest move, just in a pre-planned "I don't want to pay for this book and give her more money" sort of move. (I gave up on the library - I'm weak!) It was...not as amusing as I wanted it to be. basilm and I have been exchanging links about it, but other than that, it was mostly a slog. Girl needs a good editor! I have a feeling that the reason the earlier books were a bit tighter (although still not GOOD) is that someone was willing to cut stuff out and ask her questions. I would guess that once she got to this point they were happy to publish whatever. Not that I think the first three were that much better written, but they were a little less like crack!fic. This one was kind of the combination of every bad idea you could think of that would solve every possible problem. A cross between wish fulfillment and insanity. Moving on...

In other news, I finally made it over to J&K's house, so Kathleen can quit sending me threatening messages on facebook. Also, S&L (their in-laws and my brother's best friends) are coming over (from the States) in two weeks. So I'll actually be back in Norfolk again, for a whole weekend of fun. I went ahead and worked this Bank Holiday Monday so that I could take a three day weekend when they get here. FUN! It's good, because I need to save time off for November and Christmas. My boss decided to stay in Spain for another two weeks (yay) so he won't be back until Sept 5th. That would make for a quiet office, except the construction work is still going on. Now he has me taking daily pictures to email to him. Anal much?

Other things going on this week are possible karaoke-ing on Thursday night (if iamseb and teaatsix would come out of the woodwork) and tennis on Wednesday. Also, flat-hunting SOMEDAY. On Sat I have a wedding (wow, one that I don't have to fly millions of miles to attend) of one of my friends from the Embassy. Should be interesting. I have no idea what I'm wearing though, since I can't seem to figure out how fancy it will be.

Blech. This entry is pretty boring, but I think that's reflecting my mood at the moment. I need to go home. I was considering going out tonight, but we'll see how much enthusiasm I have as the time grows nearer.

Isn't reading a book the international symbol for "don't talk to me"? So, if you were say, eating your lunch and reading at the same time, don't you think that the people (person) around you would realise that means to leave you alone and not talk to you? And, don't you think, if they kept talking to you and you just non-committally said "uh-huh" a lot, while still staring at your book, that they would get the hint and give up and leave you alone?

Just checking.

I really should be asleep since I need to be at work early again tomorrow, but I just can't seem to get there. BLAHHHHH!

A Week in the Life

1. Take between 6 and 8 new photographs per day.
2. Your picture days must be consecutive - no skipping days!
3. Post your photographs at the end of that day, some time after the last picture is taken.
4. Your post should be titled “A Week in the Life of [name], Volume [whatever day you're on].”
5. Link back to your earlier entries.

So here's day four: ( Monday )

Previously: Day One, Day Two, Day Three

TGIF for sure. I've had three days of work since we got back from Athens, but they've felt like those quick yet long days where you're kind of underwater, not really paying attention to the fact that you are actually supposed to be doing work. See what just a small little holiday does to me?!

I'm also slightly weirded out because in the past week or so I've read several war based books. It's coincidence, but it's strange because it's not my normal genre. One was Atonement, which I've been meaning to read for ages, but then basilm gave me one about ambulance drivers in WW1, and then I got one from A for the flight back to the UK which was set in occupied France in WW2. I tend to jump pretty completely into what I'm reading, so reading them on the tube gives me this weird jump back to real life when my stop comes up. And it makes me all vague and out of it for a little while until I realise that I'm in normal life again. Either way, all three of them were really good, but I think I could use some peacetime reading now!

Speaking of other reading, I got a few books from nanoSara last night. I went after work to meet her and another American and give them some help with their taxes. I always feel so bad about how much people freak out about it, so it's nice to be helpful. It took us about three hours, but part of that was because Sara had three back years to do and her friend had some dividends that needed foreign tax credit. Man I really HATE the 1116! It's one of my least favourite forms, especially when doing it by hand like that. Anyhow, they got done, so that's what counts. In the matter of taxes, what I really need to get to are my own and my parents, neither of which I have done yet. I got kind of lax about it because I was so busy, but the June 15th deadline is rapidly approaching, so I need to get on that.

On another random note, not sure why (perhaps the reading of death and destruction) but I woke up in panic this morning having dreamed that my dad had died. It's not the first time I've dreamed that one (or both) of my parents died (or you know, other people, or me) but still. I called home once it was late enough just to assuage my tingling feelings of worry that I had suddenly become a precog, but all was well. Creepy.

Anyway, as for the Athens trip, it was pretty amazing. I feel like we saw a decent amount of stuff for just five days. We walked a lot of Athens, went out to Sounion and took a day trip on the train to see the monasteries at Meteora. The pictures are here at my facebook but I did want to put just one here on my LJ, because I took it just for filo77.

( Sadly, when I looked in the window no cakes were in sight. )

So I have been going back and catching up on my friends page and found this.  The first person I saw do it was jennythen  and it seems to have caught on.  I couldn't resist.  It was perfect timing as I have been re-reading the books this week.  (I'm on the Spyglass - about 100 pages to go.)  I remember that the first time I read them I was so excited and recommended them to anyone and everyone with very little success.  For some reason people are much more willing to read HP.  And that's great, but I know a lot of people who I think would really enjoy these - in a lot of ways they are more grown-up books.  Obviously there are dark themes in HP, but I love the philosophical and religious angles in these.  I'd like to know what Pullman's beliefs are in real life.

So, anyhow, here it is:




I like monkeys but in this particular case it really bothers me that my Daemon matches Mrs Coulter's.  That monkey is seriously creepily evil.