Working Again

Well, I have a new job.  Yay to that!  I worked there three days last week, but tomorrow I will be going there to start something new.  I really hope that it works out.  We need the money and we desperately need a new (to us) car.  The job is quite a commute and that’s the only bad part.  I took public transportation there one day last week and it took me three hours to get there!  Coming home wasn’t so bad because I got a ride to the bus station.

One of the people we are living with is gone for two weeks and he left me his car to drive to work.  However, tomorrow my boyfriend might need to use it because we can’t find the keys to the car that he is supposed to use to drive the other man that lives here to a doctor appointment.  Maybe one of the guys took it by accident and hopefully I can get it tomorrow when I go to work so that I’ll be able to drive the rest of the week.

I’m just thrilled to be working again.  I went to the thrift store today and bought a few things to wear to work this week.  I’m a little worried that I will spend every waking hour during the week either commuting or working, but sometimes you just have to do what’s necessary.  They might also have a job for my boyfriend that he can start in a little while.  Right now he needs to stay here every day and help out one of the people that lives here.  He just had surgery and he’s still recovering.

I haven’t posted for Top Ten Tuesday the last two weeks because the topics haven’t interested me.  I hope the topic this week is a good one.  Today I read “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and it was really enjoyable.  It’s a young adult book so it was a really quick read and perfect for a lazy Sunday!

Top Ten Tuesday – Top Ten Bookish Goals for 2013

Today is Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Here are my top ten reading goals for the year. I plan on trying to knock them out early in the year so I’m not reading like a madwoman in December. That said, I don’t want to read a book if I’m not in the mood for it and some of my reading is based on when books become available that I’m holding at the library.

1. Read all ten books on my TBR Pile Challenge list. This list is actually posted somewhere else on the internet, not here, but I’m sure I’ll be talking about my reading on this blog.

2. Read 52 books.

3. Try reading one fantasy book. I’ve never been into fantasy but I see so much interest in the genre on the web and I would like to give it another try.

4. Get all of my library cards in good standing. I may have seven different library cards and I may owe money on two of them. I only owe a small amount on one, but I haven’t been to that library in six months. The other one, I’m sad to say, I owe money for three lost books. One was left on a plane, one was thrown away by my boyfriend and one was drenched in wine. Oops!

5. Read one book about diet or health. I used to be more interested in reading health books, but I think after you read too many, you experience burn-out. That’s why I’m only attempting to read one. I saw a really good review for Push by Chalene Johnson so I might try that one.

6. Read one book about relationships and/or marriage.

7. Read three books that were made into movies in 2011-2013. I included those years because I think I want Winter’s Bone to be one of the books I read. I absolutely loved that movie and I’ve seen it several times!

8. Read three biographies. I’m reading my first right now, Life Itself by Roger Ebert.

9. Read one book about finances.

10. Go back to volunteering at the library. I can’t do that just yet. I live too far from the library I volunteered at, but either I will get back to volunteering there or find out about helping out at the library down the street.

What are your goals for reading this year? This post is my favorite Top Ten Tuesday so far. I’ve enjoyed looking at people’s lists and I can’t wait to read more of them!

Late to the Party – Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books I Resolve to Read in 2013

I was going to skip posting this past Tuesday but today I decided that it would be just fine to post late. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week we are listing the top ten books that we resolve to read this year. Making this list is easy for me because I have quite a long “to be read” list over on Goodreads. Here are the ten books I’m planning to get to first:

Life Itself by Roger Ebert – I love Roger Ebert. I follow him on Twitter, I read his blog and I used to watch him on tv every Sunday night when I was a kid. I’ve been wanting to read this book since it was released in 2011 and I finally got a copy of it today.

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo – I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve never read the book and since the movie just came out, I’ve added this book to my reading list. I just requested it from the library and I should get it next week.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery – I had this book about three years ago and I left it at a bus stop one day.  I never got around to getting another copy of it.  Thank goodness it wasn’t a library book!

American Gods by Neil Gaiman – I have three friends that love Neil Gaiman and he’s one author I feel guilty for ignoring for so long.  I kind of randomly picked American Gods as the book of his I want to read.  I think I saw it around the internet a couple of times recently.

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan – I heard about this book over on Goodreads and it just sounds so good.  I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of it.  Why aren’t there more books about bookstores?

Mary and O’Neil by Justin Cronin – I loved the first two books of The Passage Trilogy by Cronin and I would like to try one of his earlier books.  Someone recommended this to me on my blog too and I always love recommendations!

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace – Okay, I’m not going to lie.  I don’t know if I’ll read it or not.  I’m just throwing this out there even though it’s like a crazy long book.  I have been wanting to read this book for over three years now and have checked it out from the library at least twice.  I haven’t had the courage to start it yet.  Sometimes I just tear through thick books and other times I give up.

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen – For some reason I keep thinking I’m supposed to read this book.  I have no idea why, but I have resolved to try and get through it this year.

Steal Like An Artist:  10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon – Now I’m seriously the least creative person on earth but a blog I really like has mentioned this book several times and I would like to check it out.  I try to tell myself that being “creative” doesn’t mean you can draw.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein – I have seen this book mentioned on so many blogs so I’m just being a sheep here and following the herd!

What books do you resolve to read in 2013?

At Home

We are back in California now and, unfortunately, sleeping in our car.  We don’t have jobs lined up here, and with a serious lack of funds, we have to make do with what we have.  The plan is for both of us to get jobs quickly and then find a place where we can rent by the week.

We spend our free evenings at the library, at least on weekdays.  Robert is one of those people that can fall asleep shockingly early so sometimes he snoozes in the car while I’m surfing the internet or reading a book.

Last night my brother called.  We saw him a few days ago, on our way home.  Apparently, he just found out that we are living in the car and he was upset and angry at my cousin.  I guess I would be pretty upset too if either of my brothers were homeless.  I would, of course, offer them a place to live here, granted I had a place.  But if they lived 2000 miles away, I guess the only thing I could do would be to help them out with money, which my brother is doing.  I don’t even need to feel guilty because I have helped him out in the past.

This is the second time I have been homeless, although my family doesn’t know about the first time.  The first time I was homeless also involved a move back to California and at the time, I didn’t even have a car.  I remember that as a very lonely period in my life.  It’s actually when I met Robert!  I lived at a homeless shelter for four months before Robert and I got a place to live together.

So far this period of homelessness has been even worse than I had imagined it would be.  It’s difficult sleeping in the car.  It’s cold and uncomfortable.  I take a sleeping pill at night so that I can fall asleep.  This is certainly not the worst thing that could happen to a person, but I feel myself having trouble having sympathy for my friends that have little problems.  One of my friends got in two car accidents yesterday and all I could thing was, “At least you have a bed to sleep in.”

It makes me sad that someone with a college degree has to live in their car.  I’ve worked hard in life and I don’t feel like I should be here.  However, sometimes life isn’t fair.  I hope I will have an update soon that one or both of us has a job!

Top Ten Tuesday – My Ten Favorite Book Blogs

Today is once again Tuesday and I’m doing Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  Today they have a freebie day so I’m doing one they have done in the past, my ten favorite book blogs.  I just started reading book blogs recently so this list isn’t comprehensive in any way, shape or form.  It’s simply a list of my favorite book blogs I have discovered so far.  Enjoy!

Book.Blog.Bake – Stormy writes a blog about three of my favorite hobbies:  reading, blogging and baking (well, cooking for me).  I liked her round up of great gifts to give the literary lover in your life.  Also, I added one of the books she just read to my TBR list on Goodreads.

Readerbuzz – I love Deb’s list of her favorite books of 2012.  I have added several to my list of books to read and I’m planning to get a few from the library immediately.  Deb also reviews children’s books if you have any children at home!

Roof Beam Reader – The author of this blog reviews interesting fiction and I enjoy reading the reviews.  They are having a 2013 TBR Pile Challenge next year and I’m planning to sign up for it ASAP!  I think it will be a great way to push myself to finally read some of those books that I have been planning to read for years!

Rule The Waves - This blog is about books, among other things.  Lianne also writes about movies and I’m a big movie buff.  I have also added some of Lianne’s books to my TBR list.

Tea Time With Marce – Marce likes her Kindle and Earl Grey Tea. She lives in Bermuda and I’m a little bit jealous. Marce felt the same way I did about “Gone Girl,” putting us in the minority.

The Broke and The Bookish – I love the blog that hosts this Top Ten Tuesday. It is currently written by 11 twenty-something female students that spend their hard-earned cash on books. I enjoy reading the reviews on the site and I like how it’s written by several people. I think it’s the kind of site that has something on it for all readers.

Fourth Street Review – Rory writes interesting reviews for fiction books. She recently recommended Green Goddess Dip and I can’t wait to make it!

Girls Just Reading – This is another blog with multiple authors. This means more posts and more variety of books read! Two of the girls even picked books out for each other to read in 2012. That sounds like such a fun challenge and it makes me wish I had a partner in crime to read with.

Maple and Quill – The author of this blog is both a reader and writer. They are getting a Bachelor’s in English. I enjoy the reviews of the classics that the blogger reads and I think this blog may push me to read more classics.

The Bookshelf of Emily J. – Emily is working on her Ph.D. in English. She just recently read her second Stephen King novel, which puts her one ahead of me.

What is your favorite book blog?

Moving Back to California

We moved to Minnesota just three days short of a month ago and we are already going back!  We just don’t have any place to live here now.  We have worked here, a little, but not enough to get our own place and we have nowhere to stay.  We hate it here anyway.  The only good thing about being in Minnesota has been seeing my mom, brother and good friend, Emily.  I’m happy for the time I have spent with the three of them and I’m glad something good came of being here because it’s been tough for us.

We have to drive back to California with the car still messed up.  It looks awful!  The worst part is that when we get back we won’t really have jobs.  We have a little work there that brings in a small amount of money but it’s not enough to get by and we have to hope we can find something else quickly.  Honestly, I just can’t wait to get out of this freezing cold weather.

The Ten Best Books I Read This Year

I’m posting my list along with many other people around the web.  You can find a complete list at The Broke and the Bookish, a new-to-me blog.  This is a list of my ten favorite books of 2012.  Unfortunately I just started using Goodreads again and I can’t really remember everything that I read this year.

 

Fiction

This Cake is For The Party by Sarah Selecky - This book is a collection of short stories and I loved every single one.  I would happily read an entire book based on each of the main characters in her book.  Keep an eye out for this Canadian author.

The Quiet American by Graham Greene - I love Graham Greene and this book was one of my favorite that I have ever read.  I have seen the movie a few times and I couldn’t help but hear Michael Caine’s voice narrating the story as I read.  This book definitely put me on the fast track to trying out more novels by Greene.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - The format of this was slightly strange but the book was so interesting that I didn’t have any trouble with it.  I couldn’t put this book down and I read it very quickly.

The Heart Of The Matter by Graham Greene - Another Graham Greene book.  It’s only the second book of his I have read, but if I had read more, no doubt they would all be on the list.  I love the locations of Greene’s books and I feel like they are accurate portrayals of a certain place at a certain time because he traveled extensively as a writer.

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green - This is a beautiful young adult novel about adolescents with cancer.  The author really got the facts down about what it’s like to have a fatal illness.  The book brought tears to my eyes.

The Twelve by Justin Cronin - This is the second book in a trilogy and it was a continuation of the epic adventure started in “The Passage.”  It’s the story of what happens when a virus wipes out most of civilization.  Cronin’s writing is excellent and although this book isn’t the type I usually read, I was completely drawn in by the storytelling.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - I re-read this book for the first time in years.  I still loved the story and the writing.  I think that the book made me think more than it had previously.

 

Nonfiction

Blue Nights by Joan Didion - I absolutely love Joan Didion and this book was just as beautiful and haunting as her previous memoir, The Year of Magical Thinking.  Didion says that she writes in order to understand and I just love her matter-of-fact style and her choice of words.  This book conveys sadness in a way that feels very real.

Life After College by Jenny Blake - I have a girl crush on Jenny Blake.  She is really nice and I bought this book after reading some of her blog.  I have emailed her a few times and she always writes back to me!  This book isn’t just for recent college graduates.  I like to think that there is something in it for everyone.  The book is divided into sections such as work, relationships, money, organization, etc.  You can just read the beginning and then skip around to the sections as you decide what areas of your life to work on.  I enjoyed this book so much that I bought my brother a copy!

The Clinton Tapes by Taylor Branch - I checked this book out from the library thinking that I would just skim it and read certain sections.  Monica Lewinsky, anyone?  I was pleasantly surprised that this massive book was so reader friendly that I read it cover to cover.  It helped me understand Clinton’s presidency better and brought me up to date on what happened with our country when I was too busy with school to pay attention.

 

What were your favorite books this year?