tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19676468890078093802023-11-15T13:38:35.239-05:00Surrounded By BooksStefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08965306244833660237noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967646889007809380.post-91604518546263080702011-01-16T16:18:00.000-05:002011-01-16T16:18:47.171-05:00Reading challengesI have 2 reading challenges at this point, and might add one more. I read fast - when I have time - and can go through a number of books. Although it seems that my husband, who is a physician who works both as a hospitalist and a clinician in a rural clinic as well as being a guardsman with 3 deployments, seems to read more than I do. Go figure. <br />
<br />
Anyway, my challenges for this year, thus far, are the <a href="http://http://chunksterchallenge.blogspot.com/2010/12/chunkster-challenge-2011-sign-ups.html">Chunkster</a> and Shakespeare challenges. The first because my idea of a good book is a fat book. Not necessarily true, but those are the titles to which I'm drawn. The Shakespeare challenge stems from my graduate work; I studied pre-1660 British Literature in graduate school, applying a feminist perspective to the role of Joan in I Henry IV, comparing the heroine to Queen Elizabeth I. Plus I still have my old Bevington although I suspect it's out of date. <br />
<br />
Caribousmom has defined a chunster as an adult book 450 pages or more. There are 4 levels:<br />
1) The Chubby Chunkster. 4 books of at least 450 pages.<br />
2) The Plump Primer for those who can commit to 6 450 books over the course of 12 months.<br />
3) The Does This Book Make My Butt Look Big requires 6 books, 2 of which are 450 pages, 2 at 451 - 770 pages in length and 2 greater then 770 pages in length.<br />
4) Mor-book-ly Obese. 8 or more books 3 of which must be more than 750 pages long.<br />
<br />
I'm doing the Does This Book Make My Butt Look Big. I thought the title was funny and I have most of the books anyway yet to be read.<br />
<br />
I'll talk about the Shakespeare Challenge in my next post later this week.Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08965306244833660237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967646889007809380.post-80509379365955972742011-01-16T15:35:00.001-05:002011-01-16T15:39:24.275-05:00First things first...Very, very first thing: Despite my background as a librarian, I am absolutely a newbie to blogging. Please be patient as I work through some of the stylistic basics. Next - one of my goals for the new year is to be a bit more organized about my reading habits and challenge myself a bit more. One way I thought to accomplish this was to join a few reading challenges and start a book review blog. I'm a librarian: I've always worked in a university setting. I've been a science librarian, done interlibrary loan, humanities reference, a serials & database librarian and my last position was as a department head for an acquisitions unit. I also have a master's in English, and was working on a certificate in Woment's Studes when I finished graduate school.<br />
<br />
Even though I now stay home with my children (10 and 12) I still love books. I have hard copy books as well as e-books. I'm a fan of both, but find ebooks infinitely more conducive to running my kids back and forth to their various activites. I do think it's much easier to put a reading device in my mom bag than to pack a 500 page tome from place to place. It was hard to accept the technological change 10 or so years ago when it started - while I was an acquisitions librarian - but have embraced it since then. I still buy a lot of books in hardcopy, as do my children. We're pretty flexible about reading, as long as everyone reads. <br />
<br />
While I like to read, it's hard to find the time in my day to do it. I'm sure a lot of people would be surprised by that fact, as I still am today. Participating in reading challenges and blogging my reviews helps me retain my focus on literature and hopefully will guide others as they choose their own books. <br />
<br />
My other hobbies include baking - pies, cakes, pastries, cookies - candy making, gardening, movies and creating props for our halloween haunt. <br />
<br />
That's it for me. Next posting will be about my reading challenges.Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08965306244833660237noreply@blogger.com0