The Big Game's On -- 1:43 p.m. -- Mini-challenge #1

Well, we all had oatmeal with walnuts and craisins for breakfast and then the three children started some intensely imaginative play.  I moved with my book from room to room, staying close enough to hear them.  Sadly, The Language Instinct is not an easy book to read with lots of background noise! I'm on page 237/448.

After a giant uproar over possession of the ladybug pillow -- and some first aid on a cut calf -- Fiona and I came back down to the basement for a while.  She did some drawing and cutting while I read Toto's Tale aloud.  We are on page 153/230.

Now Lilly is asleep upstairs and Fiona has gone with Tim, Amy, and Mark to Costco.  So I'm alone in the house and will do Jenn's first mini-challenge before returning to more of The Language Instinct.

Jenn asks:  For this challenge, take a look at the books you plan on reading today.  Which do you predict will come out as the winner and why?  Do a post to answer this question.

I wasn't totally sure how to interpret "winner" but I decided it's whatever book I spend the most time with today. I'm guessing that it'll be a toss-up between The Language Instinct  and Toto's Tale -- depending on how much Fiona wants to be read to when she gets back from Costco.  We'll see. :)

Teaser Tuesdays -- August 31, 2010 -- Wilkie Collins Mini-Challenge Wrap-Up

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading and asks you to :
1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3 . Share 2 "teaser" sentences also citing the title of the book and the author and in that way people can have great recommendations if they like the "teaser".
4. Please avoid spoilers!

 It is exceedingly difficult to get enough walking exercise; and it is next to impossible (where secrecy is an object) to make love without being found out. Reverting for the moment to the latter difficulty only, life within the narrow and populous limits of a vessel may be defined as essentially life in public. 

Image via Wikipedia

Miss or Mrs? by Wilkie Collins, p. 19

This is actually a collection of three of Wilkie Collins' novellas -- Miss or Mrs?, The Haunted Hotel, and The Guilty River.  With this collection, I'll have finished the Wilkie Collins Mini-Challenge.  My daughter and I listened to the audio-book of The Woman in White, my husband and I watched the movie of The Moonstone (I'd read both of those already) and now I'm reading these three novellas.

I do enjoy Wilkie Collins -- I love his vibrant characters and dry wit and I love the glimpse into a nation, society, and time I have not experienced.  If you haven't read any of his work, give him a try sometime.   The audiobook my daughter and I listened to was excellently performed, if you'd like to go that route.

Oh, and I wanted to add that many people consider Collins to be the first to write mystery novels -- with Edgar Allan Poe being the first to write short stories in that genre.  As I continue to read these three novellas, I see parallels to Poe that I haven't noticed as much in Collins' longer works.  Interesting stuff.

Tome's 500 page book challenge

From a fellow blogger -- Chose a book with 500 or more pages to read during the month of May.  I know I'm getting this to you all a bit late, but that just means you have an alibi to not be quite finished by the end of the month.  ;)

I wasn't sure what book to choose -- I thought about re-reading The Time Traveler's Wife, but Marion Nestle's What to Eat has been on my shelf for a while, so I think I'll pick that up.

Wilkie Collins Mini-Challenge!

Challenge creator says:

This challenge is for 2009-2010.
The challenge will begin October 1, 2009. The challenge will end December 1, 2010.

Read and/or watch two works by Wilkie Collins.

This will be fun! I read a fair bit but I think it'll be fun to have something that puts a framework around what I am reading.

Sadly, my holds account at the library is maxed out, so sadly I will have to wait til Tuesday (when the library is open again so I can pick up my books that are on the holds shelf) before I can put my selections on hold.

I've read The Moonstone already, so I think I'm going to try to watch the movie version. I'm not sure yet what my other selection will be -- I'm thinking of just reading lots and lots of his works (Becky, the mini-challenge host, posted a bibliography from Wikipedia and there are a lot of options!).

Thanks, Becky, for a great idea!

Mini-Challenge for Michelle at Literarily Speaking

Mini-challenge :

In this mini-challenge, I'm asking you to tell me about the first book you remember loving. I'm talking, soul-searing, blood-boiling, can't-get-enough-of-it love. This book doesn't have to be from your childhood but it can be.

Just write up a quick post telling me what the first book you absolutely loved was and why you loved it. If you want to include some stories about your history with this book, please do!

This is a tough one. I think I'm going to go with a book about a little orange monster. The problem being, I don't remember the title! It was a hard-cover book, orange fabric-y. I wonder where that book is now... It was sort of a short-ish chapter-ish book with pencil drawings. It's all about a little boy who is afraid of the monster that lives in his closet and the monster who is afraid of the little boy who lives outside the closet. It really is a lovely book. I remember the boy calling his mom back in for a drink of water, the monster's mom telling him there is no such thing as little boys. Clearly, I need to call my own mom tomorrow and see if she has the book. :)