Posts tagged as:

literature

The 3,000 Pages in 30 Days challenge came to an end this week. I came in at 2,061 pages so I only made it about two thirds of the way to the 3,000 goal but I still feel like I did pretty well considering I was still working that entire time when I really should have been on disability leave.

Here’s what I read:

  • Sleeping Arrangements by Madeleine Wickham aka Sophie Kinsella (finished off the last 133 pages)
  • Eragon by Christopher Paolini (497 pages)
  • Eldest by Christopher Paolini (668 pages)
  • Brisingr by Christopher Paolini (763 pages)

Sleeping Arrangements was very funny. It’s the story of two families who end up booked for the same vacation home at the same time and what happens when they try to make it work. It’s chick lit at it’s finest since Sophie Kinsella (author of the Shopaholic series) really defined the genre herself. Sophie Kinsella is merely Madeline Wickham’s pen name and the books penned under her real name are slightly less frivilous but well written, funny, and enjoyable none the less.

Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr are the first three of four books in Paolini’s Inheritance series. I thought these would be easy reads that’d I’d blow through in a day or two each since he wrote them while in high school but much to my surprise they were full of depth and took about a week each. They’re of the dragon/elf/dwarf fantasy genre and highly inspired by The Lord of the Rings (which I was never able to enjoy on account of having The Hobbit as assigned reading in middle school). I found the first two books relatively predictable by was pleasantly surprised that Paolini’s writing really blossomed by the third book and even when I thought I had the ending figured out there was a surprise twist that shocked me. I just love a good twist.

Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links and I will receive a small compensation if you make a purchase or sign up for service after clicking through them. Affiliate links are an easy way for you to support Carrie Actually at no additional cost to you.

{ 2 comments }

Over the course of the next month I plan to join Kim in her 3,000 pages in 30 days reading project. With Christmas and New Years coming up I’ve got a bunch of days off work and I generally end up bored stiff when I’ve got too many extended weekends in a row on my hands so this motivation to read will be just what I need.

The pile of books on my nightstand alone comes in at a total of 2,791 pages. Here’s what’s in that pile:

Add the pile of books next to my couch that my good friend Jackie lent to me for reading material while I’m down and out for my chemotherapy treatments and we’ve got another 2,368 pages:

And I just got an email notice that my library hold is ready for pickup so add in:

That brings us to a whopping total of 5,511 pages in the “books to read” pile which is well over the 3,000 pages goal. These books are all of the entertainment value type rather than heavy classic literature so I should be able to get at least 3,000 pages of them done in the next 30 days no problem.

Once all these books that I already have are read, then I’ll finally be able to let myself buy Kindle books to read via Kindle for iPhone.

Time to get busy reading.

{ 3 comments }

{ 0 comments }

I’m Finally Sold on eBooks Thanks to Kindle for iPhone

11.04.2009 Entertainment & Technology

Kindle for iPhone is one of my must have iPhone applications. The app itself is free and available from the iTunes store.
For me, the advantage of eBooks over paper books is that you can have a book or preferably a selection of books with you at all times. You don’t have to think about putting [...]

3 comments Read the full article →

Link Love 10.23.2009

10.23.2009 Entertainment & Technology

Amazon adds over 18,000 free public domain titles to Kindle Store @Download Squad
Amazon Now Delivers Stuff the Same Day You Order It @Gizmodo
The Average Internet User Spends 68 Hours Online Per Month @Lifehacker

0 comments Read the full article →

Link Love 09.25.2009

09.25.2009 Dollars & Cents

Apple TV gains hard disk capacity, loses weighty price @TUAW
AT&T poised to roll out 3G MicroCell service @TUAW (Dad wants to know A) why they’re charging a service fee on this and B) why you need a separate box, is 802.11n not good enough?)
AT&T Says MMS for iPhone Coming Friday Mid-day @Gizmodo
A walk through iTunes [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Say Everything and my Personal Evolution on the Internet

09.21.2009 Entertainment & Technology

I just finished reading Say Everything: How Blogging Began, What It’s Becoming, and Why It Matters. Say Everything is about the evolution of the internet and the blog format and is most interesting to me because as I read it I was able to trace the pattern of my own evolution in respect to the [...]

2 comments Read the full article →