Happy Sunday everyone!

On Friday I invited questions on all of the books I have yet to write posts about. I got some great questions and I’m slowly working on writing the posts (I wrote one very short one (I decided the one paragraph I wrote for Maus pretty much said everything I needed to say, so I called it good) and almost finished another last night, that’s how slow it’s going).

One of the questions asked by Care was “I see it (Blink) is the only male author on your list here. Are you intentionally reading mostly female authors or is it just working out that way. (I noticed that I am split even on my M/F ratio so far this year and I hadn’t been paying any attention until I looked.)”

I do gravitate toward female authors. I always have, and I really can’t say why…I somehow think their writing is more approachable and warmer and entertaining, although I’ve certainly read male authors that I’ve felt that way about. I do know that when I find myself reading more male authors I get a little twitchy and feel like my reading ratios are out of balance. And while I know how ridiculous that sounds, I can’t help it. I’m biased towards female authors, and I embrace my bias. I think this is why I don’t read too many classics…it always seems like they’re predominantly by male authors.

Speaking of classics, yesterday I realized that I was falling behind on my reading for The Brothers Karamazov read-along, so I spent some not so quality time with Dostoevsky, who is one wordy dude. There are times when I’m entertained by the book, and there are times when I am totally clueless (and all of the religious references certainly aren’t helping). I’ve almost finished with the first book, which means I’m barely 100 pages into it, and while we’ve met all of the main characters (I think), I’m wondering where Dostoevsky is going with this.

One of the things I have noticed about Dostoevsky is that his characters speak in parentheses. I’m sure you’ve noticed (and if you haven’t just look at this post!) how much I love the keystrokes ( and ), and to see Dostoevsky using them in conversation just warms the cockles of my heart. Okay, maybe not, but it does amuse me.

And now, it’s time to finish putting together the granola I just baked and go find a book to read on the treadmill (The Brothers Karamazov being much to serious for such a boring activity…I need something with a little more oomph to get me through the miles). And then, I’m determined to crank out some of those long overdue posts!

When you read that title, make sure you have the Black Sheep song and the image of the Kia hamsters running through your mind, ’cause it’s certainly running on a continuous loop in mine. In fact, we’ve watched the commercial so much on YouTube that it pops up as one of my most frequently viewed pages when I open Google Chrome.

Not very bookish, I know, but it cracks me up every time. Maybe I should’ve just titled this post “Word.” It fits both the video and it’s bookish.

Okay, moving on.

Yesterday I got together with Danielle (from There’s a Book) for lunch. We spent almost two hours talking about all things bloggy, and after the craziness of summer is over, we’ll be making it a monthly event. You all are welcome to join us, of course. But you’d have to find your way to SLO. We’re hoping our other local, Gwen of Chew & Digest Books, will join us…it’s too bad she was out of town this time. I’m so excited to have a local gang! Now if only we had a local indie bookstore.

This week’s reading consisted mostly of Purge (unfortunate title, as it’s not about what one might initially think). Purge is set in Estonia, and I was pretty much confused the whole time as I don’t know much of anything about Estonian history and there wasn’t much detail provided. Now I’m reading The Tricking of Freya, which is awesome in its detail of Icelandic culture and history.

Speaking of world culture, I’m having a bit of a crisis regarding my own reading challenge, the World Party Reading Challenge. I seem to have lost interest. With all of it…the commenting (bad Softdrink!), writing the posts, and reading the books. How bad of a person am I if I cancel the challenge? And it’s not just my own challenge. I finished the Women Unbound Challenge, but I seem to have fizzled on the others. And I know the year is far from over, but I think reading challenges are the thing that pushes my brain into “life is too chaotic and I can’t keep track of everything” mode. Trust me, it doesn’t take much.

Even though I’m no longer excited by the challenge, I am excited by my next read-along…The Brothers Karamazov! Look for the details on that puppy soon…we’ll be starting the read-along on July 10th. We won’t be posting weekly this time…more like every 3 weeks. You should think about joining us (this one is the brainchild of Trish, so blame her for the choice!)!

And that about wraps up my Sunday Salon. I have no plans for today, other than write a few more posts and finish The Tricking of Freya. And then I think I’ll go stare at the bookshelves and contemplate what I want to read next.

We were supposed to have a rainy day. So far, all it’s done is spit a little bit. However, I haven’t let that stop me from holing up inside with some books! We’re currently waiting for the pizza to be delivered, so it will truly be a lazy day.

This morning I read All the Living, which was a beautifully told story that never really engaged me. I mean, I read it, and I appreciated it, but I never felt much for the characters. I also couldn’t figure out when it was set. For some reason, this really bothers me in a book…I have a need to know the time period! It felt like the early 1900s, but it was probably more like the 1970s or 1980s. It could’ve even been the present, who knows.

After I finished that one, I moved on to The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. I’m 97 pages into it, and despite the science, it’s fascinating. And heartbreaking. If you haven’t heard of this one yet, head on over to Linus’s Blanket and read what Nicole had to say by way of introduction. I’m guessing by the time I’m done this will be one of those books about which I say “you gotta read this!”

Things have been a bit quiet on the ol’ blog this week. I posted one review (for a book I didn’t even like all that much), and nothing else. I have a bunch of book thoughts I do need to write, though, so I figure it’s some sort of cosmic payback for last week’s comment about being relatively caught up. I just haven’t felt very wordy this week. Hopefully, I’ll snap out of it before the backlog becomes overwhelming. And I know, nowhere does it say I have to blog about every book. But um, yeah, I do. At this point, it would feel really, really wrong if I skipped over a few.

I think I hear the pizza dude! Later, gators.

Happy Valentine’s Day! If that’s your thing. If not, well, happy Sunday!

Today is the day Hamburger and I choose to celebrate our anniversary, because we’re both lame and have no idea when our actual anniversary is. We’ve been together for 18 years, so I’d say our lack of a true anniversary hasn’t hurt us. And no, we’re not doing anything. We’re pretty low-key, and Hamburger is actually working, taking advantage of the clear weather to set up for a concrete pour later this week. He’s working all weekend, which means I have a four day weekend all too myself. It’s pretty sweet. And there you have it…proof of how un-romantic I really am.

After I spent most of January flying through the books, I’ve slowed down considerably for February. Which is nice…it means I’m still (almost) caught up on my reviews. This week I posted reviews for Daddy Long-Legs, Vanishing America, and The Swan Thieves. I also posted about the Neil Gaiman talk I attended, as well as an interview with Cthulhu (who, by the way, is a character from H.P. Lovecraft’s stories, and the representative of all that is evil). Which seemed to worry some of you…it’s okay, really, I’ve always been weird, it’s just sometimes I do a better job of hiding it.

Speaking of weird, I’m currently reading House of Leaves with Rebecca and Jenn. This is possibly the weirdest book I’ve ever read. Not so much in content, but in design and intent. And while the content is weird, I’ve certainly read weirder (Geek Love, anyone?). But the premise is just bizarre.  It’s like The Blair Witch Project meets post-modernism, with some Chip Kidd design tossed in for fun. And the footnotes! Holy crap, the footnotes are longer than the actual text…in fact, they’re a whole ‘nother story. Or two. Or three. Has anyone ever read this book? I’ve already resorted to Googling it, just to have a better understanding of its intent.

I’m also planning to start Catcher in the Rye soon, for another read-along, this one hosted by Melissa.

So after I go for a walk, I’ll be hibernating with my books for the rest of the day. How about you? Any fun plans, bookish or otherwise?

Some random thoughts…

*The Superbowl needs to kick it up a notch. Including the commercials.

*I never liked The Who. I like them even less now.

*Today, I had planned to write up my Neil Gaiman notes from the talk I saw Wednesday night. That never happened.

*This week I read The Swan Thieves. It was too long.

*I’m currently reading The Year of the Flood. Finally.

*But I also have about 10 other books that I’ve abandoned after about 50 pages. And not because they’re bad…I just can’t decide what I want to read.

*I don’t want to go to work tomorrow.

*I think I need a cookie.

No, I’m not feeling Scroogey. It turns out that humbug is the word of the week.

My current audiobook is A Christmas Carol, which means my morning commute is filled with bah humbugs. And it turns out Melville was fond of the word, too. I just finished my weekly Moby Dick reading, and Ishmael has labeled Elijah a humbug. So what exactly is a humbug? Well, according to Merriem-Webster:

Main Entry: ¹hum·bug

Pronunciation: \ˈhəm-ˌbəg\

Function: noun

Etymology: origin unknown

Date: 1751

1 a : something designed to deceive and mislead b : a willfully false, deceptive, or insincere person
2 : an attitude or spirit of pretense and deception

Anyways, I’m now 120 odd pages into Moby Dick, and they are finally (finally!) at sea. I suspect we still have a ways to go before we see any action, though. Melville seems to be winding up for some in-depth descriptions of whaling. Oh joy.

And yes, that was Moby Dick Monday on Sunday night.

Today I read an amazing book (no, I’m not still talking about the whale). You may recall Rebecca raving about this book awhile back, and rightly so. Waiting for Columbus went in directions I never expected, and the mystery of why the main character thought he was Columbus sucked me right in. The book is also unexpectedly deep (but not in a bad way). I loved it. I promise to write more about it at a later date.