Mailbox Monday 7-8

E BOOKS ONLY THIS WEEK!!!!

 Mailbox Monday  is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week or weeks and to explore great book blogs. Mailbox Monday is hosted in July by Tasha at Book Obsessed

 Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

This week only 2 titles came to live at my house. Both were downloaded from Amazon via Book Bub. They are:

The titles and the covers drew me in. They may be "fluff" but sometimes I need a little fluffy read.  Do you ever feel like you just need to read to be somewhere else fun, no pressure to get into any analysis or critiquing? 

Until next time

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Friday 7-5 Still Plugging Away

Good Friday Morning.

I am still sloughing through

Devil in the White City.. is dark and full of historical detail. I have it on an audio book and am using a "boombox" to listen. I set it up in one room and the next thing I know I am in another room and have lost tough. I did not realize I was such a wanderer!.  I thought I would listen and sew but I can't hear it over the sewing machine so I must sit still and hand sew or something today. It is due back at the library today, so I will renew it and try to finish over the weekend. 

I still haven't finished the intro to Grapes of Wrath. I don't seem to get to it until bedtime and have been falling asleep while reading. What's up with that?

Anyway, the holiday is over and I should be able to find some reading time soon. I am cleaning closets, a bit late for Spring Cleaning, but it had to be done. Hopefully our new storm/screen door will be installed this week. Golly I miss being able to have my front door open without letting in all the flies and miller moths. 

Until next time,

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Wondrous Words Wednesday 7-3-13

 Wondrous Words Wednesday is hosted by BermudaOnion each week. It's an opportunity to share new words you've encountered in your reading, or highlight words that you particularly enjoy.

Here are three of my favorite new-to-me words from one of my recent reads. All definitions started at Dictionary.com and then were expanded upon. 

Last week I mentioned that I was reading Where'd You Go, Bernadette, and I had not found any new words. I was only on page 71. Well, I continued to read on last Wednesday ( after housework and some sewing) and wouldn't you know I found 3 new words. 

They are:

insouciant:adj    calm and untroubled, carefree and indifferent.

pg 90 " I was taken by her beauty, gregariousness, and insouciant charm"

definition from Webster's New World College Dictionary

fulminating: intransitive verb   
1. to explode with sudden violence; detonate
2. to shout forth denunciations, decrees, etc 

pg 92  "All the energy she had once channeled so fearlessly into architecture, she turned toward fulminating about Seattle,...." 


definition from yourdictionary.com

hagiography: noun  

1. a book or writing, or an assemblage of these about the lives of saints

2. such books or writings as a field of study 

from yourdictionary.com

or

1. biography of saints

2. worshipful or idealizing biography

pg 102 "Because you've taken an interest in Bernadette Fox, here's a bit of a hagiography from the not-yet-published February issue of ARTFORUM. 

I believe the author used the second definition from the American Heritage Dictionary 4. 

from American Heritage Dictionary 4


Stay Busy and Stay Happy

ps: I apologize for the "scrappy" appearance. I don't know exactly how to fix it. It has something to do with the text background color. 

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros July 2

Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the first paragraph or maybe two of her current read. Anyone can join in. Go to Diane's website for the image and share the first paragraph (or2) of the current book you are reading.

I hope to start this book today. I tried last night, but there were too many distractions. Do you recognize the first chapter?  I have never read this book, so am anxious to give it a try.

To the red country and part of the gray country of Oklahoma, the last rains came gently, and they did not cut the scarred earth. The plows crossed and recrossed the rivulet marks. the last rains lifted the corn quickly and scattered weed colonies and grass along the sides of the road so that the gray country and the dark red country began to disappear under a green cover. In the last part of May the sky grew pale and the clouds that had hung in high puffs for so long in the spring were dissipated. The sun flared down on the growing corn day after day until a line of brown spread along the edge of each green bayonet. The clouds appeared, and went away, and in a while they did not try any more.The weeds grew darker green to protect themselves, and they did not spread any more. The surface of the earth crusted, a thin hard crust, and as the sky became pale, so the earth became pale, pink in the red country and white in the gray country. 

 This picture is of the actual book from our public library. It is battered and well worn. I hope that means that it has been checked out lots and has been read by many. There is a notation in the book that it was added to our library 8/2002. But I have no idea if it was new or maybe donated by someone. You may remember from a previous post that it was missing from the shelves when I looked for it a few weeks back. They found it and sent me an email that I could pick it up. I am looking forward to reading the whole thing. It's a big book, 619 pages not including a 38 page introduction.

Have you read The Grapes of Wrath?  When in your life did you read it, high school, college? I'd be interested to know.


Until next time,
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Mailbox Monday 7-1-13

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week(s) and explore great book blogs. Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at Hooked by A Book (formerly The Printed Page) and is on tour for the month of July, and hosted by Tasha at Book Obsessed

 Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

This week the only new book that came into my house, was a battered copy of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. My library finally found the missing copy and emailed me that it was available. I want to start reading it today. 

I am still listening to The Devil in the White City, which I hope to continue while I clean out closets today. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Saturday Snapshot 6-29-13

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda at  West Metro Mommy. To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky (at West Metro Mommy). Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

Last year I posted the top picture taken by a friend of mine in her back yard on her apple tree. This year she took a picture of the same type of butterfly on her geranium hanging on her front porch. Guess those lovely yellow "flutterbys" like her flowers. I, for one, am glad that summer is finally here in NE Wyoming. 

We are out of town this weekend attending a GWRRA District(State) Convention(Rally) in Sundance, Wyoming. The weather is supposed to be sunny and warm, and the rally should be great fun. I am going to try to schedule this post and hopefully it will be successful. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Wondrous Words Wednesday 6-26

 Wondrous Words Wednesday is hosted by BermudaOnion each week. It's an opportunity to share new words you've encountered in your reading, or highlight words that you particularly enjoy.


This week I am reading 

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple. I have not encountered any new words yet, lots of acronyms and current slang words, but not words that were new to me.  Unless you call RIFed a word. I cannot find a definition of that word, but used in the sentence and context, I think it means fired or laid off. ..."the HR woman calmly informed me that our entire team, except for those who already left for Bing and Windows Phone, were being RIFed."

Anyway, so today I went to Word Think and looked at their Word of the Day. Today's word is:



Pervicacious  adj  Stubborn, extremely willful, obstinate. "He became quite pervicacious in his old age."


I really want to use this word. I am sure I have known a two-year old or two that were very pervicacious.  I think I know a few older folks that fit that description too. 


How about you, have your encountered any new words this week?

Stay Busy and Stay Happy