When I posted early in the year I had joined the 100-Book Reading Challenge, I stated that only "fun" reading would count--nonfiction research on writing styles or historical research for my novel would not count.
Well, here I am, halfway through the year, and I have read a measly two books for fun (my challenge list is at the very bottom of my blog). So, I am invoking the right of a woman to change her mind. I have had so much true fun reading about the Civil War era that I cannot help but want to list the books I am devouring.
(Yes, I believe in reincarnation and I know I was a librarian in at least one past life. I loved researching reports in school, find genealogy fascinating, and my ideal job would be as a research assistant for a historian or archaeologist).
So, I am adding to the list all the titles I have enjoyed thus far in my travel back to the South of the 1860s. I am also going to add the wondrous writing aids I have found and whose pages may have started out pristine but have been highlighted, underlined, and otherwise annotated. Some have become trusted companions on this novel-writing journey. I may even write mini-reviews of my favorites at some point in case they may be of help to others.
One thing I have not done as yet--even if the links to the book titles should point to the Amazon description (something I try to avoid--I always make every attempt to link to the author's website), that Amazon description is not a monetized link. Any opinions on any book or product featured on this blog is a non-compensated opinion. I have paid for the products I review. Should that situation ever change, I will prominently announce the fact.
Scroll down and take a look at where my reading has taken me. Since I'm not the HTML girl, I can't seem to color-code the list as I would like ("fun" fiction vs. history vs. writing guides), so I'll try a series of asterisks:
* will mean historical research
** will denote a writer's guide
no asterisk is "fun" (fiction, escapism)
If you are an author and know of other books I should read on the art of writing good fiction, please share the titles. And if you are a Civil War buff and have insight on source material that would enrich my setting, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks in advance for sharing!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
New Book Blog
My buddy who made the wonderful card I posted a while back is not only a talented papercrafter, but a voracious reader (as is her octogenarian mother). She has started a book blog and is posting reviews of her books on the way to her 100-book challenge goal.
I had so much fun these past couple of months revisiting the Outlander world of Jamie and Claire Fraser as written so expertly by Diana Gabaldon. No, I didn't re-read them myself--Beverly borrowed them, and I got the pleasure of experiencing a world I love through another person's impressions. These books are not for the faint of heart--dropping a hardcover copy of any of them on your foot might easily break a toe LOL, but they are exquisite drama.
Enough, though, about Ms. Gabaldon's world. I am enjoying Beverly's Book Pile because of her honest reviews and because her tastes run the gamut from YA fiction to historical fiction to mysteries and even to fantasy sci-fi (a woman of varied tastes, much like myself).
Her blog is fairly new, but go take a peek and you might find something new to read ;-)
I had so much fun these past couple of months revisiting the Outlander world of Jamie and Claire Fraser as written so expertly by Diana Gabaldon. No, I didn't re-read them myself--Beverly borrowed them, and I got the pleasure of experiencing a world I love through another person's impressions. These books are not for the faint of heart--dropping a hardcover copy of any of them on your foot might easily break a toe LOL, but they are exquisite drama.
Enough, though, about Ms. Gabaldon's world. I am enjoying Beverly's Book Pile because of her honest reviews and because her tastes run the gamut from YA fiction to historical fiction to mysteries and even to fantasy sci-fi (a woman of varied tastes, much like myself).
Her blog is fairly new, but go take a peek and you might find something new to read ;-)
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Stampin Up! and My Digital Studio
I just got this and am experimenting as I can with all the great features--take a look at how wonderful it is!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
The Good Life
I'm back--Most of my network problems are fixed here at the house. The early heat wave caught my A/C by surprise, but it is now working (it looks to be a long, hot Texas summer). My laptop's replacement battery should be here any day now. My day job is back to "normal" after software changes and upgrades. In other words, general living is giving me a short break LOL.
When the network was down, I managed to study the art of writing historical fiction. I also managed to do quite a bit of research the old-fashioned way, and I am now back to crafting scenes. I do so love being productive ;-)
Several home projects are also in the works. I've decided that the room I spend the majority of my time inside should be the largest and coolest room in the house, so I am in the process of switching my office/studio and my bedroom. It is giving me an opportunity to cull non-Stampin' Up! crafting items (my granddaughter is a budding artist and always loves supplies) and to replace my mismatched desks with coordinating pieces. Of course, this will take several months--and a couple of vacation days while I do the final switch as new Ethernet needs to be run--but I hope to have it all in order by Labor Day.
Speaking of Stampin' Up! I just got My Digital Studio and I am so excited! I'll be posting a video later this week about this great software. We've just posted our Last Chance List for the 2009-2010 catalog year, and I have already placed my first order for 2010-2011 Idea Books and Catalogs (they go "live" July 1st). Feel free to check out all the goodies (including info on our new Color Collections); they are on my recently updated website.
And, I must admit--I played a bit (not something I do often). I went to see Iron Man 2 and Robin Hood. Both are excellent in their own way; my tip of the hat goes to Robin Hood for the most realistic portrayal of the original folk tales (and this comes from a person who has loved the Errol Flynn version since girlhood). These will definitely be added to my DVD library as soon as possible, to be watched and enjoyed again and again. Robin Hood actually ranks up there with Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Indiana Jones (and my friends all know how often I watch those LOL).
It's good to be back in the blogging world. I hope to post more regularly now that the PC issues seem to be under control. Thanks for not leaving while I was M-I-A.
When the network was down, I managed to study the art of writing historical fiction. I also managed to do quite a bit of research the old-fashioned way, and I am now back to crafting scenes. I do so love being productive ;-)
Several home projects are also in the works. I've decided that the room I spend the majority of my time inside should be the largest and coolest room in the house, so I am in the process of switching my office/studio and my bedroom. It is giving me an opportunity to cull non-Stampin' Up! crafting items (my granddaughter is a budding artist and always loves supplies) and to replace my mismatched desks with coordinating pieces. Of course, this will take several months--and a couple of vacation days while I do the final switch as new Ethernet needs to be run--but I hope to have it all in order by Labor Day.
Speaking of Stampin' Up! I just got My Digital Studio and I am so excited! I'll be posting a video later this week about this great software. We've just posted our Last Chance List for the 2009-2010 catalog year, and I have already placed my first order for 2010-2011 Idea Books and Catalogs (they go "live" July 1st). Feel free to check out all the goodies (including info on our new Color Collections); they are on my recently updated website.
And, I must admit--I played a bit (not something I do often). I went to see Iron Man 2 and Robin Hood. Both are excellent in their own way; my tip of the hat goes to Robin Hood for the most realistic portrayal of the original folk tales (and this comes from a person who has loved the Errol Flynn version since girlhood). These will definitely be added to my DVD library as soon as possible, to be watched and enjoyed again and again. Robin Hood actually ranks up there with Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Indiana Jones (and my friends all know how often I watch those LOL).
It's good to be back in the blogging world. I hope to post more regularly now that the PC issues seem to be under control. Thanks for not leaving while I was M-I-A.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Nagging Network Nastiness
Hey, I'm online--sort of. This PC has Internet access (at least for now). I'm not the brightest when it comes to "geek-speak", but I can usually hold my own and am not too afraid of trial and error when dealing with electronics.
I may have to rethink that position. My home network has now lost the ability for any of the components to speak to one another (reminds me of a family feud, actually, the more I examine the problem). Last year, I updated my wired-g router to a wireless-g to add a laptop running Vista to the home PC (running XP) and the work PC (also running XP). When I then upgraded my printer to a wireless model, I had no problem hooking it into the same network.
Now, my granddaughter has inherited the old e-Machines desktop (the one that ran XP), and my new HP desktop running Windows 7 was--I thought--added to the original network. Boy, was I wrong. To add insult to injury, in trying to make everything talk to one another last week (updating various drivers to be Windows 7-compliant, etc.), I managed to lock the laptop and the printer out of the original network somehow, and as it was password-encrypted on multiple levels, that network is out in cyberspace but I can no longer connect to it. I could not even get any of the PCs to connect reliably to the Internet via the ethernet connection with the router. (I'm sure some of you can hear my screams of pain and frustration; even though I am old enough to remember manual typewriters and rotary dial phones, I choose not to return to those days LOL).
Obviously, I have to work my day job, so I finally just unplugged the whole mess. My work PC and VOIP phone are hooked directly into the router and the network connections restored to my job. The home desktop has the printer connected temporarily via a USB connection (what a waste of resources and memory that is), and my laptop has a temporary wireless connection to the wireless router.
Hence, this post after many days of being unable to connect. My writing has been scarce and sparce, but some has occurred because of course I still had Word; and my research has become dependent once more on the printed page. Actually, that has been the silver lining to the cloud--I hope to post soon on some wonderful writing references I have been privileged to read this past month.
So, with a wondrous Sunday afternoon ahead of me, I will end this. I have read the networking tutorials online for my router and will be unplugging everything and resetting in an effort to rebuild a working network from scratch. New wireless-n routers are calling my name and one would probably be the easiest way to go, yet my pocketbook is screaming in protest.
The challenge begins--can I actually set up a new network that works with the equipment I have and give my purse the victory? Or will my geeky, electronics-junkie alternate personality (that I try desperately to keep under control) win out and have me buy a new router? Stay tuned for the results...
I may have to rethink that position. My home network has now lost the ability for any of the components to speak to one another (reminds me of a family feud, actually, the more I examine the problem). Last year, I updated my wired-g router to a wireless-g to add a laptop running Vista to the home PC (running XP) and the work PC (also running XP). When I then upgraded my printer to a wireless model, I had no problem hooking it into the same network.
Now, my granddaughter has inherited the old e-Machines desktop (the one that ran XP), and my new HP desktop running Windows 7 was--I thought--added to the original network. Boy, was I wrong. To add insult to injury, in trying to make everything talk to one another last week (updating various drivers to be Windows 7-compliant, etc.), I managed to lock the laptop and the printer out of the original network somehow, and as it was password-encrypted on multiple levels, that network is out in cyberspace but I can no longer connect to it. I could not even get any of the PCs to connect reliably to the Internet via the ethernet connection with the router. (I'm sure some of you can hear my screams of pain and frustration; even though I am old enough to remember manual typewriters and rotary dial phones, I choose not to return to those days LOL).
Obviously, I have to work my day job, so I finally just unplugged the whole mess. My work PC and VOIP phone are hooked directly into the router and the network connections restored to my job. The home desktop has the printer connected temporarily via a USB connection (what a waste of resources and memory that is), and my laptop has a temporary wireless connection to the wireless router.
Hence, this post after many days of being unable to connect. My writing has been scarce and sparce, but some has occurred because of course I still had Word; and my research has become dependent once more on the printed page. Actually, that has been the silver lining to the cloud--I hope to post soon on some wonderful writing references I have been privileged to read this past month.
So, with a wondrous Sunday afternoon ahead of me, I will end this. I have read the networking tutorials online for my router and will be unplugging everything and resetting in an effort to rebuild a working network from scratch. New wireless-n routers are calling my name and one would probably be the easiest way to go, yet my pocketbook is screaming in protest.
The challenge begins--can I actually set up a new network that works with the equipment I have and give my purse the victory? Or will my geeky, electronics-junkie alternate personality (that I try desperately to keep under control) win out and have me buy a new router? Stay tuned for the results...
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