Library Loot from January 30

 

It was a mixed bag this week. On the one hand, I was very disappointed not to get book 30 of The Magic Tree House series. I've been waiting for weeks and have received books 31-42, but still no 30! It's extra frustrating because book 29, the first Merlin Mission, was really good. The series took a turn from very accurate historical experiences to a story with traditional fantasy elements and adventure. I don't know if the trend will continue, but I want to find out. And "my" little guy is being smug about being so far ahead of me.

On the other hand, I discovered that Timothy Zahn wrote 2 more books in his Quadrail series! My little branch library had a feature wall with current sci-fi and fantasy books and I got both The Magicians and The Domino Pattern off the wall. I was able to buy the 3rd Zahn Quadrail ebook for a reasonable price, but Domino is still $25, so I'm thrilled to have it from the library. Plus I haven't read any sci-fi yet this year, so it will be a nice change of pace.

I was also glad to FINALLY get David Pogue's Twitter book. That was one of the longest waits I've had, which I find pretty interesting in and of itself. So far the book is hilarious; there are some terrifically witty people on Twitter. I was wondering how the book would work, but it's really quite fun to see the often hilarous answers people Tweeted to Pogue's questions. The book is very well done and would be a great gift, even for non-Twitter users.

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The Challenge That Started It All

I never intended to have a blog. I participate at Goodreads frequently, so I didn't see a need for a separate book blog. And I didn't think I really have much else to say, unless it was to post pictures of my beautiful dogs. But I mostly just email them directly to the most interested (so I think) parties, and I thought I'd leave it at that. Then I started Twittering. And occasionally I found something I wanted to post for my friends to see that took more than 140 characters. I tried Tumblr, but it's pretty limited, including not allowing visitors to make comments. This became a big issue when I wanted to participate in a readathon. I quickly set up a very basic free blog, had fun during the readathon, and figured that was that.

Except I became friends with a lot of book bloggers on Twitter. And discovered some intriguing aspects to the process. Of course, if you really work the system you can get a lot of free books. But then you HAVE to read and review them. I have so many books I'm eagerly anticipating already, plus several Goodreads groups in which I like to participate. I just don't want to have to read a bunch of books that I might not have chosen otherwise, or have to read them first if I have some new releases or a series that I'd rather focus on.

But what really caught my eye was the ability to participate in reading challenges. Now that's fun! Some of my Goodreads groups do various monthly challenges, but those usually have rules that cause the same dilemma of requiring me to read books I'm not as excited about. But annual challenges, that's right up my alley! And I was off and running, plunging head first into the blogging life.

And the blog that brought all of this into focus? Book Chick City  and her Speculative Fiction challenges. I'll be participating in 2.

The fantasy fiction genre challenge at the Obsessed - 24 book level. This will be very easy for me, considering my current obsession with urban fantasy. I'll stick to adult and YA books for this challenge, no juvenile or graphic novels. Check out my progress on Goodreads.



And the science fiction genre challenge at the Addicted - 12 book level. This will be a challenge for me, as I've been sadly neglecting my sci-fi roots for urban fantasy lately. I hope this will encourage me to explore new authors and to revisit some old favorites. Check my progress here.


Thank you Book Chick City! I'm looking forward to the fun of the challenges, as well as to my future as a blogger. I owe it all to you!

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A blog? Who'd a thunk it?

No one is more surprised than I to find out that I’m now a blogger. It’s amazing what loving to read has gotten me into. First Goodreads, then Twitter, now blogging! The Internet is an amazing tool for making connections. I started this blog because I wanted to participate in a readathon. I needed a place to make reports where other participants could also make comments. Then I wanted to participate in a few reading challenges. And one thing just lead to another... And now I'm a blogger!

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