Snow Day!!

I was so excited to wake up yesterday and find SNOW!!!!


I love snow and, being from California (ocean-level), I have never lived in a place that snowed. Experiencing snow has always been something that I went to see on a vacation. We would drive to Tahoe for the beautiful snow covered mountains and snowboarding. Never have I been at home, needing to go grocery shopping or do normal everyday things and had snow. I love it!






The bad news is this is probably all the snow that we will get this year (about 1/2 inch), and it is already melting in the sun.

The good news is I get to appreciate the fun of it and not really have to deal with an extended snow storm because I have seriously no idea how to live in the snow. Fayetteville, NC doesn't really get snow so this isn't something I have grown accustomed to since I moved here 3 years ago. I also missed the good snow storm last year because I was in California but this weekend made up for it.

It was mild and fun. My husband and I went for a walk in the morning and and we managed to make it to the bookstore.




This is a sheet of ice that froze over the window. We couldn't see out the window so we rolled it down to try and break it off...probably not the smartest thing to do but it had an interesting effect. The window went down but the ice stayed put in a perfect layer.

In the afternoon I decided I wanted to make a snowman but it had warmed enough that the snow became little balls of ice which refused to stick together. So instead I broke apart pieces of snow already stuck together and made myself a "snow buddy."


I hope everyone else is enjoying the weekend as much as I am.

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood - Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
By Marjane Satrapi

Wow! Wow, wow, wow!! What an incredible story. This is the first graphic novel I have ever read and what a way for me to be introduced to them. I never thought a graphic novel could be so powerful.

Satrapi is courageous and funny and so relatable. Her story is enlightening. It is extremely real and enlightening. The illustrations are entertaining while at the same time being extremely powerful. Her story shows the side of a war that is often difficult to depict, the view from a child or teenagers view.

I never thought that a graphic novel would make me cry but Persepolis did just that. Then, that final frame just killed me. I don’t know what I was thinking, buying only the first book and not Persepolis 2. The stores around here don’t have it so I have to order it and wait for it to be shipped. I can’t wait!!! I have to see how it ends! I can’t be left with that final image and not know what’s next. It’s not even like it was a cliffhanger ending, I just need more. Right now!

I can’t believe I waited this long to read this in the first place. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Go buy it now. Run…hurry.


Ok, I realize this review is kind of all over the place but it was my first reaction to the story and as you can see I loved it.

If you are looking for something a bit more coherent here are some great reviews by other bloggers:

Serendipity

The Zen Leaf

Medieval Bookworm

This book was part of my list for the Women Unbound Challenge.


**Source: bought this with my Christmas giftcards...that same way I am going to buy book 2.

Daughters of Eve - Lois Duncan

Daughters of Eve
By Lois Duncan

At Modesta High School there is a chapter of the Daughters of Eve who are sending out invitations for their new members. They have a new teacher, Irene Stark, who is going to mix things up a bit—you know—really get things done. With Irene leading them, this social club quickly turns into a group of girls who will test their social and moral boundaries at every chance they get.

I actually had a hard time with parts of the book. The extreme levels that were taken had me with the feeling that these ideas gave feminism a bad stereotype. I started the book thinking it would be milder but Duncan definitely has you questioning the actions of some of the characters.

I couldn’t wait to get to the end (and boy did it end with a bang!!) to see if I would feel better about their actions. I am pleased to say, when I closed the book and though about their actions as a whole, I was kind of in love with it. I think Duncan was right in writing it with the extremes she did because she smacks you with something that you MUST think about. Irene may be a bit insane at times, but haven’t we all been there? I remember literally seeing red after a comment about women from a guy in college. I was literally blind with rage and wanted to punch him—I didn’t punch him, but I guess I’m a softy that way. The point is that the book was a bit extreme, but I get it.

The best part was that Irene reminded me of a college professor I had for Women’s Studies. She had that passion and enraged fire that made you want to go out and change the world. I love that when I closed the book I felt like I had just gotten out of one of her lectures.

This is an excellent book that may have you questioning both sides but the important thing is that it will make you think.

*I read this book as part of the Shelf Discovery Challenge.

**Source: I bought this book with my own sweet money.

Mailbox Monday

Thank you to Marcia at The Printed Page for putting on the weekly Mailbox Monday, a place where I discover so many wonderful new books.

Check out her blog and post all the new books you acquired last week.


Well, I had a very exciting week. I went a little crazy ordering books online and spending almost all of my gift cards from Christmas. I also got a couple other books in the mail.

Cheating Death: The Doctors and Medical Miracles that Are Saving Lives Against All Odds by Sanjay Gupta
A contest win from DC Metro Reader

Arcadia Falls by Carol Goodman
ARE courtesy of Ballantine Books


And the books that I bought for myself:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood


AND my favorite part of this Mailbox Monday....

The Complete Peanuts 1967-1970 Box Set




I grew up in Santa Rosa, CA...the home of Charles Schultz. One of my favorite Christmas traditions was going to Snoopy on Ice at the Redwood Empire Ice Arena. We went every year until they stopped putting it on after Schultz died and it was one of the hardest traditions for me to let go of. From the comic strip in the newspaper to Snoopy on Ice, Peanuts has always had a special place in my heart. I am so excited to have my first boxed set!

LOTR Readalong-The Hobbit Continues

Time for the half-way through the month check-in with Eva and my favorite readalong. Ok, so it’s my only readalong but obviously it is my favorite.

Well, I am about two thirds of the way through the book and I AM LOVING IT!!! Every new chapter is such happiness and memories that I didn’t even know I had. BUT, I do have a confession…

I have to admit that I am skipping the songs. I’ll skim them a bit, but nothing more than that. I think the problem is the people who are listening to the audio. I keep reading posts about how the songs are sung and I got jealous. I decided that the next time I experience The Hobbit it will be in audio format so I can fully appreciate the songs. The only thing is that it gives me less desire to read the songs this time around, so I am instead passing them up until I can fully appreciate them.

I think my favorite scene is when they meet Beorn and the dwarves keep coming in 2 at a time. I love it and literally crack up every time they appear.

Is it strange that Gollum is my favorite character? Even though he doesn’t have a lengthy role in this book, I love him. He is the reason I ever gave the LOTR movies a chance. He is so creepy and obsessive and twisted…and what does it say about me that I love him? Oh well, I don’t care.

The Sea of Monsters - Rick Riordan

The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 2)
By Rick Riordan

This is the second book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I went into this book with some reservations after reading The Lightening Thief. I had a few issues that kept bothering me, and although they did still pop-up in this book, I am happy to say that I did enjoy it more than the first book in the series. I had issues with the first book because I didn’t feel very connected with the characters. With this second book, I did care a bit more about what happened to Percy, Annabeth, and Grover, but still not as much as I would expect.

Riordan made up for his flimsy main characters by throwing some new characters that I really enjoyed. I was surprised that 2 snakes (snakes are my biggest fear on earth) who made a short appearance were a couple of my favorite characters. They were hilarious and I was impressed with how real Riordan could make 2 talking snakes seem, especially since their talking wasn’t done aloud. Tyson was also extremely entertaining and I felt instantly protective of him and entertained by him at the same time. I love his simple way of doing things that make me laugh and totally understand him:

"But when the fire died, Tyson was standing there, completely unharmed. Not even his grungy clothes were scorched. The bull must've been as surprised as I am, because before it could unleash a second blast, Tyson balled his fists and slammed them into the bull's face. "BAD COW!"

The story in this second book is definitely moving along and I am enjoying it, but I have to keep reminding myself that it was written for a younger audience. I am constantly annoyed that Percy is so slow at putting things together and figuring out something that seems fairly obvious. Other than that I am really enjoying the series. Book 2 had definite improvement on the character development overall. On to the next.

**Source: I bought this with my ever dwindling Christmas $$

Teaser Tuesdays

Thank you MizB for hosting Teaser Tuesday.

-Grab your current read
-Open to a random page
-Share 2 teaser sentences from that page
-Make sure you don't include any spoilers

Check out Should Be Reading to read more Teaser Tuesdays.

I learned that he knew the Shah's army was coming to arrest him. He could have run away like most of his friends did, but he decided to stay.

-page 57
Persepolis: A Story of a Childhood
by Marjane Satrapi