Richer Reading Life Activity #2 and 2016 Book #2

My second activity that I'm checking off is attending a book event. This Is Why You're Single had a book event last Tuesday and yours truly was in attendance. I'm not sure how everyone else heard about it but I listen to the podcast. When they had people from the podcast clap, there was a second where I wondered "Really? Just me?"

Despite that, Boyfriend and I had a great time. We did activities for our V-Day this year. He's listened to a few episodes of the podcast with me and has enjoyed it so he was excited for the show. Since the writers, Laura Lane and Angela Spera, are performers, they did comedy sketches of the different reasons along with 3 guys.

My favorite reason was "You Travel in Packs" where Spera, Lane, and a dude in drag were actively keeping one guy away from each other. The final guy was narrating it Crocodile Hunter-style. It was phenomenal. My second favorite was "You Want a Good How-We-Met Story" where the grandparents are explaining how they met to their grandkids. The written word can't do justice to trying to make swiping right sound romantic or 'getting poke' sound quaint. I wish there'd been more silliness.

They did a few Q&As with a local Post columnist and then signed books. A surprising number of folks weren't interested in getting their book signed so I was able to go right up and tell both of them why Boyfriend and I were there. We got hugs and Laura took our picture! It was a very fun night and we made it home in time to catch most of the hockey game.

I want to check off a few challenge books before I read theirs but I'm looking forward to see Lane and Spera's wit in print. Did I also mention that it was only $4 extra to get the book? Yup. We've got book #2 of 2016 on our hands.

Would You Rather

Borrowed from Books and Lala, I bring you a bookish Would You Rather.

Only read trilogies or only read standalones?

I like a lot of trilogies and series but I feel like the trilogy is becoming so overdone. Hunger Games, Divergent, The Maze Runner, City of Bones, etc. I’ll opt for standalones. It allows for more variety and more options. You don’t see many memoirs coming out as trilogies.

Only read female or male authors?

This question is slightly evil. I love anything by Neil Gaiman or Jasper Fforde. I love the John Connolly series with Samuel and Bosworth along with his short stories. There are a ton of talented men out there. That said, I’d have to pick women. Women are the lesser heard voice and they have a lot more to say. I’m more drawn to memoirs by women, most feminist nonfiction is by women. There is a lot of unexplored talent there that I’m actively trying to dive into this year.

Only shop at B&N or Amazon?

I think the either/or here is online or brick and mortar. While online is cheaper and convenient as hell, nothing can erase the comfortable hominess of a bookstore. Brick and mortar baby!

All books become TV shows or movies?

TV shows. Hands down. While movies are a fun way to enjoy a book, not all books can be condensed into 2 hours. Some need a miniseries to really tease out all the things the author laid out. With more streaming services offering less filtered content, I’d vote for TV series.

5 pages a day or 5 books a week?

I know ever BookTuber will have the same answer. However, I have an active social life, a podcast addiction, and a day job. I am currently incapable of reading 5 books a month. For the sake of my sanity and sleep, 5 pages. It would suck to only be able to read 150 pages a month but I suspect I’d get really into novellas.

Professional author or reviewer?

Author. I’ve got a lot of creative ideas floating around in my head I think could be something but haven’t devoted a ton of time to turning that into anything. Why? Busy life, other priorities, unsatisfying excuse here. I want to write more fiction and hopefully, you’ll see some soon.

Only the same favorite 20 or only new books?

New books. I’ve got a very long memory. There’s one book I want to reread by the end of 2016 but I still remember most of the plot. I can still spout off a ton of details of things I read and enjoyed 2 years ago. I read Tana French’s In the Woods around 4 years ago and can still give a detailed rant about why I hated it. I don’t reread because I need to let things fade so I can fully enjoy them again so this one wouldn’t hurt too much. At least, not right away.

Be a librarian or a bookseller?

Librarian. If this was a career that paid better, I’d be all about it. I’d love to be able to make a decent wage and help people find good books. Libraries are integral to the community and it would bring me so much joy to be able to be a part of that.

Only read your favorite genre or only read every genre but your favorite?

Favorite genre. It would pain me to know I couldn’t read anymore essays or memoirs or feminist nonfiction but my favorite genre is, well, genre. Fantasy/sci-fi is such a crappy catchall for things like monsters, magic, space, fair folk, ghosts, dystopia, post-apocalypse, zombie, steampunk, cyberpunk, urban fantasy, high fantasy, and many aspects of horror.

I miss Jane Austen? Find an applicable period piece. I want a spy adventure series? Time for The Laundry Files. I miss nonfiction? Just read a fictionalized history or memoir. How about a play or classic? You’d be hard pressed to find something that hasn’t been touched by the supernatural. Genre fiction is so diverse and far-reaching that I would never run out of options.

Only read physical books or only read ebooks?

I completely respect ebooks. I actually have a new Kindle on my wish list so I can appreciate some of the new ebooks I’ve been getting. It’s great when you travel because you have hundreds of books to choose from. It’s little and light weight.

However, I have been on a plane in almost 3 years. I don’t have a kid and I’m not that pressed for space. Our brains retain information better when we read a physical book. No one knows why but we do. I can’t live my life without new book or old book smell, deckled edges, embossed covers, or feeling the paper. Physical books, 100%.

Richer Reading Life Activity #1

I pulled double-duty because not only have I listened to a podcast about books, I also discovered BookTubers! What rock have I been living under that I missed all of the cool women vlogging about books? I'm going to give you guys the break down.

Dear Book Nerd podcast

Brought to you by the ever fantastic Book Riot, this podcast deals with quandries that face many a book lover. I've dabbled in this podcast before but not since 2014. I decided to restart it from the beginning. It turns out the dilemmas facing book nerds haven't changed much in the last 2 years.

Despite over 50 podcasts, Rita Meade keeps finding something to talk about. I'm less than 10 episodes in but it doesn't look like there's a lot of repeated content. The guests routinely rotate and offer a different perspective on whatever issue they're facing like reading the classics, lending books, defending your taste, ebooks versus physical books, and if audio books is really reading.

It's a calm podcast so it keeps me mellow rather than winding me up like The Black Tapes podcast. I'm excited to keep listening.

BookTubers

I just discovered the tip of this iceberg. I think I clicked a link from Book Riot and saw several different videos in the related column. I started clicking and fell down that rabbit hole that YouTube can be.

I really enjoyed BooksandLala because she has a perspective closer to mine. She's a bit older, married with a kid, and deals with grown up stuff like bills and taxes. A lot of BookTubers are rather young. Ariel Bissett is definitely young but she has a surprising amount of insight and wisdom for someone her age. Her videos about timing and her book purge were excellent.

Some others I've discovered that I'm curious to explore more are PadfootandProngs, PeruseProject, BooksandPieces, EpicReads, and TheStillPoint. Does anyone know any other BookTubers I should be watching?

Podcasts and videos about things I love. I'm enthused. Ariel Bissett said she only read 25 books in 2015 because she was so busy traveling and experiencing the book community. (Side note: Can I have that problem?) It really shows that loving books is about more than just reading. 

Where There's Smoke...

I made meatballs in the oven a couple of days ago. Some grease spilled on to the oven and when I heated it up for garlic bread, smoke everywhere. I couldn't even stand to be in the kitchen because my eyes were watering.

I didn't notice how bad it got until the smoke alarm went off. I reacted by turning everything off, opening every window, opening the door to create a vacuum and fanning the stupid detector until it shut up. I made sure there were no flames. Everything was under control inside of 10 minutes.

Did you know venting into your hallway means all your neighbors can smell it? I do! I can finally breathe in the kitchen when I see flashing lights outside. Fire trucks and emergency vehicles were outside and lining the block. I'm standing there thinking, "No. No way. Please tell me I'm just being self-centered."

I'm watching people go in and out with axes feeling pretty damn paranoid. I finally get the courage to poke my head out and a lovely women asks me if I've been cooking. Yup. This display of tax dollars at work is my fault. One of the neighbors smelled it and called it in.

They see how embarrassed I am (yes, it is possible) and realize there is no danger and everyone rolls out. I had a sandwich for dinner.

Saving Race

I just received some disheartening news. The company I'm temping/on a contract for just laid off 50 people. I was told when I was offered this position that it could lead to something permanent but if 50 people, including 3 from this office, just lost their jobs, it doesn't look good for me. 

My contract is good through April. At that point a number of things could happen. They budget could come through and they could bring on one of the temporary people. However, if they can only bring on one of us, I don't think it will be me. There's another contractor who started the week before me that would be the first choice if they could only bring on one of us. They could simply extend our contract again (which I wouldn't love but certainly wouldn't mind). 

My future is very up in the air after a couple more months. If I can't stay where I am for whatever reason, I am well liked by many staffing agencies and their clients in the area. I should be able to land on my feet but there's on guarantee of finding anything stable. What I do know is I have more credit card debt than I'd like and rent to pay. 

To help deal with that issue, no makeup, books, jewelry, or clothes will be purchased in February. My things are selling reasonably well on Poshmark for the moment and I'll be returning something to Amazon soon. I'll crank up the use of Ibotta and Viggle and try to save that way. I won't make myself crazy but I need to be prepared for what could happen and lugging around more debt than I need because of things I don't is not the ideal way to handle it. Time to adult and fix it.

The Bachelor Workout

It's that time again! The Bachelor started this week and I'm brought it in with a bang.

I run a tally of everything that happens and then do the exercises during the commercials. After the first week, Fake Job Title will be changed to "connection." Rejected categories were 

-When the claws come out

-"Proposal"

-Welcome back (we see someone we've seen before)

-"...felt like this before"

It will get my fat butt off the couch and help me mindfully consume my media. Everyone goes on here talking about finding a spouse. One person choosing from 28 people on romantic dates only a billionaire could pull off. That's very typical.

Let's not forget, the contestants don't get books, radio, TV, internet, phones, cameras, crossword puzzles, board games, podcasts, movies, music, or any form of entertainment other than exercise and each other. Stockholm Syndrome anyone?

It's always good to mindfully consume your media. Now I'm doing that and exercising.

New 16 Books #1

January isn't even into double digits and I've bought the first of my new 16 books. Before you judge me, I was OK with this being one of my 16 from day 1.

It started when I was making an Amazon list for my birthday in a few months. A friend requested it. When I went to add the illustrated Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, it wasn't available. I got a Barnes & Noble gift card for Christmas and I knew I'd seen it in stores so I added that to the day's errands. First store didn't have it. Second store had it and held it for me. I also got to take advantage of the fact that I'm a member and saved an additional 10% for what remains of my gift card. 

While it's pretty early for me to have already made a dent in my 16, the day of errands also included trips to 2 library branches. I've got a pretty respectable library haul to burn through before the 24th. I'll keep you posted.


New 16 for 2016

1) Illustrated Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone