Whew!

Okay, now that all the non-fiction is posted, I get get down to explaining where I've been all this time.

Scratch that.  You can pretty much figure it out: school, work, Haven, etc.  How about I describe my plans for the summer and next school year instead?

Oh, I've pretty much given up on listing all the books I read for the 50-Book Challenge--keeping track of them as I go is extremely tedious, so when I get around to writing the list, I can never remember all of them.

Anyway, next week, we have a new shift bid at work.  Due to the nature of next Fall's school schedule (one class on Monday/Wednesday, plus two music lessons on either Monday or Tuesday, and two online courses), I'm hoping I finally have the seniority to get the shift with four ten-hour days and three days off--specifically Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday.  Failing that, I'll try either to get the overnight shift with any days off, since my classes are all after that shift ends, or the same shift I have now (0430-1300) with Tuesday/Wednesday or Monday/Tuesday off, which I will then ask to be split to Monday/Wednesday like last Fall, in order to accommodate my class schedule.

A week from this coming Tuesday, I will be accomplishing a goal I have had on my list for over two decades: I'm going to Holland!

I've wanted to go ever since I found out 1) What countries are, and 2) Grandma and Grandpa S. were born and raised there.  In fact, I decided years ago that the first time I was able to afford to take a vacation outside the country, I would go to the Netherlands.  Everywhere else could wait until after that.

I will be staying at a hostel in Rotterdam, and might go to at least say "Hi" to Grandma's friend in The Hague.  I will definitely be visiting The Hague, as well as Amsterdam, the Kinderdijk, and some other places around the country.  I plan to travel by train from city to city, and by bus or taxi within each city.  I might rent a bicycle for in-city transportation as well, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to afford it.

My plane leaves around 5 p.m. on the 29th, so I will be working that day before changing clothes and going to get my luggage from the car.  After that, I will check in and go back through the checkpoint.  I have a layover of about an hour and a half in Rekjavik going both directions, but I figure that will only be enough time to eat, if I need to.

The return flight lands back at Dulles around 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 7th, so if I still have the a.m. shift then, I will not be able to get home in time for a shower and enough recovery time from jet lag in order to function properly at work the next morning.  So, I am taking off Friday, June 8th as well, and returning to work on Saturday, June 9th, which is actually Mom's birthday.

No matter what schedule I have this bid, I should have July 4th off (or at least the day after, so I don't have to worry about going to bed on time), so I'll be able to be in the Haven's annual group picture this year.  That's good, because I had to miss last year's photo.

After my vacation, I'm going to be running an RPG at the Haven, probably on Tuesdays, based on Anne McCaffrey's Pern.  I'm currently tweaking the Cinematic Unisystem rules to accommodate that setting, and I hope the game goes well, because I'm extremely excited about it.  It's going to be set about 500 Turns after the events in The Skies of Pern (in other words, approximately 3,000 After Landing), and I'm not going to say anymore about it, because I don't want to give any spoilers to the people who may be interested in playing.

Next Fall, my classes are as follows:

EN203 with Ted Taft (the same instructor as for EN205 in Fall 2011 and EN204 in Spring 2012): American Literature from the beginning to the Civil War.  EN204 was from the Civil War to modern times.  Mondays/Wednesdays 1100-1215.

LF101 with an as-yet-unnamed instructor: Introductory French - I took French in Middle and High School, but when I signed up for it, the A.P. French class was cancelled, so I could not take it for college credit.  Therefore, I have to start back at the beginning for French at FCC.  Online Course.

MU103 with James Hontz: Fundamentals of Music - I've been trying to take this course for ages, since it's the prerequisite for the Music Theory and Music Composition courses, but never had the time to take it when it was offered before.  Online Course.

MU178A with John Pursell: First Year Brass (Trumpet) - I'm way out of practice with the trumpet, and I want to get my lip back, so I'll be taking weekly ½-hour-long lessons.  Schedule unknown until August, will either be Mondays or Tuesdays.

MU184 with James Hontz: First Year Guitar - Since I only know one real song on the guitar ("Merelan" from The Masterharper of Pern Soundtrack Songbook), and can't really play it at tempo, I figured I'd get actual lessons.  The class I had signed up for in senior year of high school started out with just theory, so I dropped that class in favor of Show Choir, and hadn't gotten around to getting personal lessons yet.  Now, I will have.  These lessons, unlike the trumpet lessons, will be hour-long sessions.  Tuesdays, 1430-1530.

After next semester, I will only need two more Literature courses before I can graduate and get my A.A. degree in English/Literature.  Those courses are the second half of British Literature, EN202, and the second half of World Literature, EN206.  If one or both of them is not offered in the Spring of 2013, my academic advisor, Dr. K, said that we could substitute any other 200-series Literature course, though I don't know what that could be, since I've already taken all of the other 200-series Literature courses I know of.

Anyway, after I get that degree, I plan to go back to FCC and change my major to Music.  I hope to later transfer to a four-year school and get my B.A, so that I can teach music.  That way, if I can't find a position teaching at a school, I'll at least be able to give lessons in my spare time.

I also started writing a story back in November. It's nowhere near finished yet, and it's already over 13,000 words (48 pages, Times New Roman, 12pt, typed and double-spaced or 14 pages, Times New Roman, 6pt, typed and double-spaced). There was no way I was going to do it for Na-No-Wri-Mo though, since I have trouble writing it in anything other than fits and spurts. It doesn't have a title yet, and I'm not going to write a description of it here. I want to finish it before I send it out to the world in general, though a couple people have already read earlier parts of the story.


My original plan was to finish it and send it to the Writers of the Future Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writers Contest (which used to be judged by Anne McCaffrey, who as most of you should know was the author of the Pern series--among others--and my favorite author of all time), but they have a word limit of 17,000 words. Given that I'm maybe half-way through the story at more than 13,000 words, I'll probably be way over the limit by the time the story is finished. If that is the case, and I can do it well enough, I'll abridge the story so that it's under the limit and submit the abridged version to the contest. Then, I'll send the long version to a publisher after the contest is over, no matter whether the story gets a prize or not.


If I cannot abridge the story and still keep the major plot intact, I'll just send it to a publisher.


Lots of plans, lots of stuff to fill my time.  I'm also watching my way through all of the Stargate serieses and movies.  I'm currently nearing the end of Stargate: SG-1 season 9 and Stargate: Atlantis season 2.


No new knitting projects lately, but can you blame me, busy as I've been without them?

50-Book Challenge

Okay, I wasn't planning on doing this today, but my Kindle's screen broke, so I had to get a new one, and there were books I've read that won't be transferring to the new device.

1. The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsch
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
   
3. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
4. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
5. Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card
6. Checkmate - A Beginner's Guide to Chess by Adam Stryvnski
7. I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett
8. The Inferno by Dante Alighieri
   
9. Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber
10. By Schism Rent Assunder by David Weber
11. By Heresies Distressed by David Weber
12. A Mighty Fortress by David Weber
13. How Firm a Foundation by David Weber
    
14. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (for school)
    
15. The Art of War by Sun Tzu (for school)
16. Mutineers' Moon by David Weber (In progress)
    

FINISHED!

57. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
58. I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett (Discworld, book 38 - I actually read this one, since I couldn't get a good audio copy in time, and I really wanted to read it a.s.a.p.)

These next seven books are the Apprentice Adept series by Piers Anthony.

58. Split Infinity
59. Blue Adept
60. Juxtaposition
61. Out of Phaze
62. Robot Adept
63. Unicorn Point
64. Phaze Doubt

I liked that septology, but I liked this next trilogy by Suzanne Collins a whole lot more. It's listed as a Young Adult series, but it's so awesome, with dark parts too, that I would recommend it to anyone.

65. Hunger Games
66. Hunger Games 2 - Catching Fire
67. Mockingjay (The Final Book of The Hunger Games)

I've started reading a book about Chess, which is looking like it will be finished within a day or two. I've decided that I'm not going to finish reading the Changeling: The Lost RPG manual though; I've gotten stuck in the middle of chapter 3, which is the longest of four, and is so dry I just can never concentrate on it properly.

#56

56. Death's Excellent Vacation

Still working on the other two, but at least I've finished one out of three. I'm about half-way through both of the other two books I was reading last time. For the RPG manual, that's not really an improvement, but for Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, it is.

50-Book Challenge FINISHED (Still Reading Though)

So, I've finished my 50 books, but I'm currently in the middle of 3 books actually made of paper and one on audio (which I've listed as finished, because I will be finished with it in the next couple days). All six of the books listed below are by Ilona Andrews, a couple who goes by the same pen name. The books listed are part of two series, and I think they're both pretty interesting. Due to mis-labeling, I accidentally listened to the second series out of order (book 1, book 4, book 2, then book 3), but I'm going to list them in the correct order here.

50. On the Edge (Edge series, book 1)
51. Bayou Moon (Edge series, book 2)
52. Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, book 1)
53. Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, book 2)
54. Magic Strikes (Kate Daniels, book 3)
55. Magic Bleeds (Kate Daniels, book 4)

I'm also currently reading a collection of short stories that I found at Barnes & Noble while I was waiting for my eye doctor appointment time to get closer a couple weeks ago. I saw that it had a story in it by the author of the Sookie Stackhouse series (which is what the HBO show True Blood is based off of), so I bought the book. Ilona Andrews actually had a short story in the book too, which is why I looked up the series--the short was interesting, so I wanted to read more of their stuff. The book is called Death's Excellent Vacation, and I've only read 3 or 4 stories so far, but I'll get through it eventually.

Last month, I started reading the Changeling: The Lost RPG manual, and I'm on chapter 3 (there are 4 chapters, plus some appendices).

I haven't gotten much farther in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel than I was the last time I updated, but I'm determined to finish before New Year's, if at all possible.

Almost there . . . (50-Book Challenge Update)

21. Confessions of a Part-Time Sorceress: A Girl's Guide to the D&D Game by Shelly Mezzanoble
22. Mission of Honor by David Weber (Honor Harrington, book 12)
23. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

The next three are from David Weber's Dahak series, which I'm pretty sure isn't finished yet, but he just released a book from a different series this year so I don't think the Dahak series is going to be updated soon.

24. Mutineers' Moon
25. The Armageddon Inheritance
26. Heirs of Empire

The rest of these are all by either Anne McCaffrey, Todd McCaffrey, or both, and are all from the Dragonriders of Pern series, in story chronology order (or as close to it as I could get without stopping in the middle of an audio book or four), though when I actually read them, I got some of the second and third pass books mixed up and read them out of order.

That's the way I prefer to read the series myself, but when I recommend it to someone else, I usually recommend that they read it in publishing order.

The two short story collections, I read first and all at once, since I couldn't figure out in the recordings where each story began and ended.

27. The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall
28. A Gift of Dragons
29. Dragonsdawn
30. Dragonseye
31. Dragon's Kin
32. Dragon's Fire
33. Dragon Harper
34. Dragonsblood
35. Dragonheart
36. Dragongirl
37. Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern
38. Nerilka's Story
39. The Masterharper of Pern
40. Dragonflight
41. Dragonquest
42. Dragonsong
43. Dragonsinger
44. Dragondrums
45. The White Dragon
46. The Renegades of Pern
47. All the Weyrs of Pern
48. The Dolphins of Pern
49. The Skies of Pern

I also read Where's My Cow? by Terry Pratchett, but that doesn't count, because it's not a novel--just a children's picture book.

Only one more to go! Now, if I hadn't packed up all my books all ready in preparation for moving this month, I might actually pull one out and read it this week. Or if I had any idea what I wanted to read next, I'd download the audio book. But I don't.

Oh, wait. . . . I started reading a book the other night while I was at a club downtown where I am a member, but it was late and I couldn't get past the third chapter. Plus, it's a really long one (Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke and Neil Gaiman), and it's one of those I have to be in the mood to decipher (due to the very British-ness of the language), so it would probably take longer than the rest of the year to finish it, considering I don't have my own copy.

20 down, 30 to go . . .

20. Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris - Book 10 in the Sookie Stackhouse (a.k.a. TruBlood) series.

Another 50-Book Challenge Update

I'm back, with more books!

14. Opening Atlantis: A Novel of Alternate History by Harry Turtledove
15. The United States of Atlantis: A Novel of Alternate History by Harry Turtledove

The two books above weren't all that great, in my opinion. I picked them up while I was browsing through the library's audio book section last month.

All Turtledove really does is retell the discovery (in Opening) and independence (in United States) of America, only he sets it in Atlantis, which in this series is somewhere between what we call America (Terra Nova to the characters in the books) and England.

Turtledove could've made it so much more interesting than just having some weird species of flora and fauna unique to Atlantis, but he didn't.

I'm not even going to try and get my hands on the third book of the trilogy, which will probably cover an alternate version of the Civil War, because the first two books were so boring.

16. Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber
17. By Schism Rent Asunder by David Weber
18. By Heresies Distressed by David Weber
19. A Mighty Fortress by David Weber

Technically, I haven't even finished #18, but I'm going to within the next couple days, and then I'll be going straight through #19, so I figured I'd put them on now, in case I forget later.

I also picked up Off Armageddon Reef when I was on my browsing trip in the library's audio section, and saved it for last when I listened to the audio books I'd checked out. Considering the disappointment of Harry Turtledove's Atlantis series, I'm glad I did.

Of course, I already loved the Honor Harrington series (I'm still eagerly awaiting the release of Mission of Honor in June), so I had some good expectations for Safehold, and I haven't been disappointed yet.

Whew! (50-Book Challenge Update)

Huh.

I thought I'd posted a list of this year's reading so far on this site already, but it turns out I hadn't.

Considering I have just finished an 11-book (so far) series which took weeks to do, I have decided to remedy that now. So far, the only book on this list I've actually read in book form is number 3. Books 4-14 are the first 11 books in David Weber's Honor Harrington series. Book 12 doesn't come out until this June.

1. Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett (book 37 in the Discworld series)
2. Dune by Frank Herbert
3. The Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum
4. On Basilisk Station
5. The Honor of the Queen
6. The Short Victorious War
7. Field of Dishonor
8. Flag in Exile
9. Honor Among Enemies
10. In Enemy Hands
11. Echoes of Honor
12. Ashes of Victory
13. War of Honor
14. At All Costs

My next reading projects are more paper-based, since I had this idea for an RPG campaign based in the world of Temeraire: In the Service of the King, a series by Naomi Novik. The only problem with that idea is that the series is set during the Napoleonic War, of which I know next to nothing. So I have decided to remedy that by checking books out of the library on the subject and taking copious notes.

Considering how At All Costs ended, I can hardly wait until Mission of Honor comes out.

Final Reading List for 2009

Here are all the books I read in 2009. I actually read 16 more than my 50-book goal last year! That's the first time I've made the goal since I started participating in this challenge in 2006.

1. Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress: A Girl's Guide to the D&D Game by Shelly Mezzanoble
2. The Colour of Magic
3. The Light Fantastic
4. Equal Rites
5. Mort
6. Sourcery
7. Wyrd Sisters
8. Pyramids
9. Guards! Guards!
10. Eric
11. Moving Pictures
12. Reaper Man
13. Witches Abroad
14. Small Gods
15. Lords and Ladies
16. Men at Arms
17. Soul Music
18. Interesting Times
19. Maskerade
20. Feet of Clay
21. Hogfather
22. Jingo
23. The Last Continent
24. Carpe Jugulum
25. The Fifth Elephant
26. The Truth
27. Thief of Time
28. The Last Hero
29. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents
30. Night Watch
31. The Wee Free Men
32. Monstrous Regiment
33. A Hat Full of Sky
34. Going Postal
35. Thud!
36. Wintersmith
37. Strata
38. Making Money
39. Mind Meld (Star Trek: The Original Series #82) by John Vornholt
40. GURPS Discworld (RPG manual) by Phil Masters
41. The Ashes of Eden (another Star Trek novel) by William Shatner
42. Pawn of Prophecy
43. Queen of Sorcery
44. Magician's Gambit
45. Castle of Wizardry
46. Enchanter's Endgame
47. Dead Until Dark
48. Living Dead in Dallas
49. Club Dead
50. Dead to the World
51. Dead as a Doornail
52. Definitely Dead
53. All Together Dead
54. From Dead to Worse
55. Dead and Gone
56. Freedom's Landing
57. Freedom's Choice
58. Freedom's Challenge
59. Freedom's Ransom
60. Powers That Be
61. Power Lines
62. Power Play
63. Changelings
64. Maelstrom
65. Deluge
66. The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
    

• Numbers 2-38 are Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.
• 42-46 are David Eddings's The Belgariad.
• 47-55 are Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Mysteries series. This is the series that the HBO T.V. show True Blood is based off of. After I finished reading the books, I got caught up on the show.
• 56-59 are Anne McCaffrey's Catteni cycle.
• 60-65 are Anne McCaffrey's Petaybee series.
• All others are authored as attributed.

I started The Bourne Supremacy before the year ended, but only got 112 pages in before that point. That book will be #1 on my list for 2010.

Goal Achieved!

I made it! I've read more than 50 books so far this year! Here's the updated list:

1. Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress: A Girl's Guide to the D&D Game by Shelly Mezzanoble
2. The Colour of Magic
3. The Light Fantastic
4. Equal Rites
5. Mort
6. Sourcery
7. Wyrd Sisters
8. Pyramids
9. Guards! Guards!
10. Eric
11. Moving Pictures
12. Reaper Man
13. Witches Abroad
14. Small Gods
15. Lords and Ladies
16. Men at Arms
17. Soul Music
18. Interesting Times
19. Maskerade
20. Feet of Clay
21. Hogfather
22. Jingo
23. The Last Continent
24. Carpe Jugulum
25. The Fifth Elephant
26. The Truth
27. Thief of Time
28. The Last Hero
29. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents
30. Night Watch
31. The Wee Free Men
32. Monstrous Regiment
33. A Hat Full of Sky
34. Going Postal
35. Thud!
36. Wintersmith
37. Strata
38. Making Money
39. Mind Meld (Star Trek: The Original Series #82) by John Vornholt
40. GURPS Discworld (RPG manual) by Phil Masters
41. The Ashes of Eden (another Star Trek novel) by William Shatner
42. Pawn of Prophecy
43. Queen of Sorcery
44. Magician's Gambit
45. Castle of Wizardry
46. Enchanter's Endgame
47. Dead Until Dark
48. Living Dead in Dallas
49. Club Dead
50. Dead to the World
51. Dead as a Doornail
52. Definitely Dead
53. All Together Dead
54. From Dead to Worse
55. Dead and Gone

• Numbers 2-38 are Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.
• 42-46 are David Eddings's The Belgariad.
• 47-55 are Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Mysteries series. This is the series that the HBO T.V. show True Blood is based off of. After I finished reading the books, I got caught up on the show.

This morning, I started re-reading Freedom's Landing by Anne McCaffrey, so that will be #56, followed by the other books in that series.

A Series Almost 40 Novels Long

Not a lot has happened since April 25th, except that I made a viking chair for Anna's birthday. Steve at the Haven taught me how. I'm going to make 7 more--one for each of the people in my family, including me (Dad, Mom, Me, Kimba, Tim, Kayla, Jason).

I finished the 36th of the 37 Discworld novels written by Terry Pratchett this afternoon. I didn't know that Making Money was also a Discworld novel, because it wasn't included in my audio files. I'm downloading that one now.

I was a bit disappointed by book number 36 (Strata), because it turned out to be sci-fi, when the entire rest of the series was mostly fantasy/satire. It had an okay plot, even though none of the characters I'd come to love were in it, but if I ever re-read (er . . . re-listen to) the series, I won't be going through Strata again.

So far this year, I have read 37 books--soon to be 38. Here's the list (in the order that I read them):

1. Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress: A Girl's Guide to the D&D Game by Shelly Mezzanoble
2. The Colour of Magic
3. The Light Fantastic
4. Equal Rites
5. Mort
6. Sourcery
7. Wyrd Sisters
8. Pyramids
9. Guards! Guards!
10. Eric
11. Moving Pictures
12. Reaper Man
13. Witches Abroad
14. Small Gods
15. Lords and Ladies
16. Men at Arms
17. Soul Music
18. Interesting Times
19. Maskerade
20. Feet of Clay
21. Hogfather
22. Jingo
23. The Last Continent
24. Carpe Jugulum
25. The Fifth Elephant
26. The Truth
27. Thief of Time
28. The Last Hero
29. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents
30. Night Watch
31. The Wee Free Men
32. Monstrous Regiment
33. A Hat Full of Sky
34. Going Postal
35. Thud!
36. Wintersmith
37. Strata
38. Making Money (I'm including it because I will be reading it.)

It's looking like I'll actually make (and probably surpass) the 50-book goal this year--yay!

I read a book!

Really, if you knew how much fanfic I'd been reading lately, instead of actual books, that might surprise you.

But today after I'd finished the rather long fic I was reading (and balanced my checkbook), I started on Sister Light, Sister Dark. I just finished a little bit ago, and ordered White Jenna (book two in the trilogy) from Amazon, since it was not listed in the FCPL (Frederick County Public Libraries) online card catalogue.

I got the steeply-priced two-day shipping (one-day was even steeper--this way I spent only $18 and change, instead of $25), so I should be able to start reading it Wednesday evening. If I don't finish it by then, I will then be able to take it on the plane with me next Saturday and finish the book before I get to Phoenix.

Just in case I finish the book before the flight--or rather, flights, since there's a layover in Atlanta--is over, I'll bring Dragons of Winter Night, as well as another book or two for the return flight, and one or two of my new Samurai Sudoku puzzle books, which I have not done any puzzles in yet.

Lots of Thinking

Tuesday I did end up going to the Haven, and I watched Gene and Steve play Warhammer for the fantasy campaign that's going on. They didn't finish until about half an hour after closing time, but it was so fascinating that I didn't feel like going home until they were done. I've watched bits of two different other Warhammer games since then, and I think I might want to learn the game. But I won't buy an army for myself unless I really get into it--and then, only a few years or so down the road. Until then, I'll just use the armies they have at the store for club use.

Last Saturday, I went to Allegheny Optical and got my eyes checked. I found out that it'd been four years since my last eye exam. It's funny--I never realize how long it's been between exams until I put on/in my new prescription in the optometrist's office. I put in those new contacts, and everything was much, much sharper. It made me realize that having trouble reading road signs from the short distance I'd been having trouble at was not normal. I've resolved to go to the optometrist at least once a year from now on, or at least listen and schedule further appointments as recommended, instead of waiting for the money to be there and then scheduling the appointment. I also got a new set of frames. They're like the frames I had two prescriptions ago (which I still have), but they're copper-y colored, instead of gold.

Kayla's currently in Alabama, visiting her family, so when she gets back this weekend there will be two episodes of Pushing Daisies and Red vs. Blue: Reconstruction to watch--much fun! I have yet to get caught up on Psych, Numb3rs, Bones or Smallville though. I'm thinking I'll just catch them on Sidereel later. I've also not yet finished watching my MacGyver DVDs--I've been in the middle of season 4 for at least a month and a half. Plus, I want to re-watch at least seasons 6 and 7 of Buffy and seasons 4 and 5 of Angel--I don't remember much about Angel, and I've only seen those seasons of Buffy once, with a few episodes here and there from when Anna and Kayla were going through the serieses.

I've been thinking too, that I might give up on re-reading the core DragonLance novels--I've been in the middle of Dragons of Winter Night for months now, and I've only read that much because I needed something to read while I got my allergy shots every Monday.

BUT! A girl at the Haven this past Tuesday (not the one with the Warhammer) brought a bunch of books she was getting rid of, and I took 7 or 8 that looked promising (I haven't added them to LibraryThing yet, but I will this weekend), including Sister Light, Sister Dark, which, if I remember correctly, Heather recommended to me a few months ago and sounded extremely intriguing. So, if I do decide to quit on DragonLance, then I'll be reading those books.

Who knows? Maybe I'll be able to catch up and read fast enough to actually make the 50-book goal this year.

This is pathetic.

I finallyfinished Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire today. It took me at least three weeks--I can't remember exactly. And today, I read the most chapters I'd been able to read in that book for one day since I started re-reading it.

I read two or three chapters while I was at work today, then after I got home, I read two while I was out on the deck, and the last two on the couch on the second floor.

Now, I just have to get through Order of the Phoenix, and then Half-Blood Prince will be a breeze.

As for the 50-book challenge?

Six down, forty-four to go.

I told you it was pathetic. And it's all my fault I got burned out on reading three years ago too.