I know I should be use to winter by now - I've been experiencing it every year for my entire life - but I couldn't help but dream of summer today as the temperature dropped outside and the weather reports for the next week only say it is going to get worse... I guess you can always be saved by a soft blanket and a good book (and your furnace)... 

The newly published The Casual Vacancy was an okay book not a good book. If you have read anything else by J.K. Rowling do not pick up this book expecting something resembling a teenaged boy who wears glasses and has a wand. 

Instead it reveals the lives and secrets of people who live in a small town, who, after a man has died, fight over his seat on the parish council. It touches on aspects of abuse, disorders, sexual promiscuity, politics, bullying, addictions, and just about everything you'd every have to deal with when in a relationship. 

I was told several things about this book before I read it and now I'll pass it on to you: there is swearing, sex, and a lot of characters in this book. This was January's read for my book club and someone said there were 30 characters to keep track of! Also, it is long. You've been warned. 

I started reading The Hobbit in preparation for the movie... and I almost finished it before we went. I know I should have read it sooner but I did not have the time and well, that's all there is to it. But I'm done now and all the people rejoiced because it is good! An excellent story about a hobbit, thirteen dwarves, a wizard, and their adventure. Well, adventures (emphasis on the s) actually. You can never just go on one major adventure without having several small but significant ones along the way... Oh and did I mention there is a dragon in this story? Get excited. 

The Wakeful Dreamer   

The one thing that makes me realize how old I actually am is surveys. I just was finishing one for a restaurant, who enticed me by promises of money and food, when they asked me to click the appropriate age bracket... and I actually had to think about it for a moment because I'm now in a new age bracket! Then again I am at the beginning of the age bracket, so I guess it's not all bad, except for the part where I didn't win any money or food. 

I'm just now settling into the Christmas spirit. I know there have been some of you out there biting at the bit in October to burst out in carols and put on your santa hats but I have to admit that I'm a Decemberist - by that I mean that I like to start thinking about Christmas in the month it is actually in. My birthday is in November so you have to forgive me for wanting to keep Christmas where is belongs, in the next month over.

We just brought the tree into today and it smells so wonderful. I wish there was smell-o-vision so you could feel as comfortable as I do as I get a whiff of Christmas tree every now and again. Until they figure that out I'm going to share this version of the Sound of Silence that I can't get out of my head: 

This has also made me feel comfortable and calm all day. I hope you feel the same way too...

The Wakeful Dreamer

"And so you're back from outer space
I just walked in to find you here with that sad look upon your face..."

Okay so maybe I'm the one back from outer space. Can you believe I missed all of November? Sheesh. I'm not even sure I can remember where all the time went! But I do know that I finished my course! Yay! Except that afterwords I fell off the reading wagon after I was done (textbooks kill my ambition), but do not fear! I've found my way back! Here are a few books I gobbled down:

I have to confess that I read Charlotte's Web a bit ago now. Do you call it re-reading if you haven't read it since you were in Grade 2? Because it was a whole new experience for me, let me tell you! It was so wonderful and sad. E.B. White knows how to tell a touching story of courage and friendship through barnyard animals. 

I've been on a long journey thinking about my health. I'm trying to exercise and eat better. Hungry for Change is a book I randomly picked up at the library and it just explained perfectly the things that have been rolling around in my mind for the past year. The basics of it is that you are what you eat. Put junk in, get junk out. Put good food in, get good results. The book goes on to explain how there are several contributing factors that affect our health and it has a lot of recipes and a good meal plan to get you on your way.

I'm sure you've noticed that I like humor. When I saw How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you on the shelf, well, I couldn't resist. There were bits of it that were funny however there were also parts that we not. I found it was a bit more a let down then a funny pick me up.

The 100-year-old man who climbed out a window and disappeared was another one I grabbed because of its clever title and it did not disappoint. It was just translated into English from Swedish this year! So some of the names and places are a little hard to pronounce but the adventures that the 100-year-old man goes on and has been on are mind blowing. Read 

So as the song goes: I will survive... with more books mind you. 

Don't let the title fool you. It is Tuesday, something I have known all day and hopefully you did as well. 

Right now I'm in the middle of doing a course for work hence the lack of blog posts. Besides the reading I'm doing right now is not even very exciting for me so I don't want to put you through that torture. Consider my silence as a blessing because I'm having a hard time not falling asleep while reading the assigned textbook. 

As you probably know that when you require extreme focus, procrastination rears its head (for the record I'm done reading what I need to for tonight). I can say, from personal experience, that for some reason EVERYTHING else becomes more interesting then what you are trying to do. Everything. 

And while we are on the topic of everything I have to share what has been rolling around in my head all day long: I don't get television shows. My problem is this: The main character saves you from a nuclear fallout AND two armed convicts and you're mad at him because you once dated him? Honey, you could have been shot and burned by acid rain... I think a thank you is in order. 

And now that you can tell I've been practicing procrastination and that my brain has significantly turned to mush I'm going to see what I can read next to save my sanity...

The Wakeful Dreamer 

It seems like fall has turned into the beginnings of winter and I have resurrected my slippers. And all of our blankets. It feels just like moments ago that I was trying to adjust every fan in the house because it was sweltering out. 

Since the weather has turned I have also took a turn and ended up in the non-fiction section of the library. I don't usually visit the non-fiction section but it looked lonely so I wandered up and down the aisle and found the book Other People's Love Letters edited by Bill Shapiro. The book has 150 love letters inside of various formats - hand written, emails, texts, etc. Some are quite lovely and you soon come to figure out that not all love letters are good, some are very good rejection love letters. 

The time has come again to read another book for my book club! This time we read Village of Small Houses: A Memoir of Sorts by Ian Ferguson. It was about a family living in a small northern Alberta town. It is half fiction and half based on the author's life. 

In a way it was interesting, mostly composed of stories of people trying to get by in the harsh north. In another way I found by the end it was quite depressing and I know real life isn't all roses but the main character ends up separated from almost all the people in his past. 

Here is to more reading and making some good hot chocolate...

The Wakeful Dreamer

The sun came out today. 

You may not think that this is a wonderful thing but it is. It is, I swear. Especially if the day before it was cloudy and cold. 

It is always interesting to my how books affect how you think. They allow you to experience the world in a different way - walk a mile in someone else's shoes and all that. They also have this great ability to sneak up on you and before you know it you see the world in a different way. 

It's funny that as you get older you realize the world is less black and white and more... colour. Life is richer, deeper, and wider then first thought but I think it is important to grow into these thoughts like Liesel Meminger, in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Her life is narrated to us by Death, who describes her life (from a book that Liesel herself wrote) as she grows up in Nazi Germany, where Hitlers words are shaping a nation, and where The Book Thief is just finding hers. 

I picked up this book because I came across the title in a magazine and wrote it on my list. I thought it would be about someone stealing books, and it was, but it was so much more. It was actually quite beautiful. It has wonderful metaphors and you get wrapped up in the story without even trying. 

It also makes you think about the war from another perspective... sneaky, no? 

As you think about the weekend coming up, I hope you enjoy every moment...

The Wakeful Dreamer

I'm sure as you have probably guessed (if you have read this blog at all before...) that I'm a little bit of an information junkie. I just really like learning new things and the internet is an endless information source. Like all things it can lead you on a very dangerous path (mindlessly surfing for hours, anyone?) and then every once in awhile if you are very good it will offer you something wonderful...

Today my wonderful things combines two of my great loves: books and music! I really like Mumford and Sons and their new album came out today! YAY! So, while I was reading about it and I came across this fact: That Marcus Mumford (the lead singer) has a book club through the main website! So far it looks like he has a major love for John Steinbeck...

Fall is here again! I know I'm a few days later but this week was busy. Fall always reminds me of school because I kind of feel like the year starts now, mostly because some of the things I'm involved in started this past week...

Like my book club! The book on the list was The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak. It is a novel that is supposed to be about Catherine the Great and when I say "supposed to be" I mean I expected it to be about her because it says so on the front of the book. Yes, she is in the book but I wanted it to feature her more. I was under the assumption that it would be about her rise to power and her actually being in power but it was more like a description about everything that happened before that.

And by everything, I mean everything. Four hundred and fifty pages too long of everything! I know there should be room for description and even lengthy description is fine (I do happen to love some Russian novels) but I think the book could have easily pressed upon the reader the heaviness of being in the royal court by being half the length. 

The book did illuminate the idea that spying in the palace was something everyone did - the book was narrated by a palace maid - and the idea of being under that type of scrutiny all the time definitely seemed unbearable. 

After reading The Winter Palace I needed to find something lighter, possibly funny to read... I got sidetracked by Divergent by Veronica Roth. I'm not sure about anyone else but throw the words "dystopian society" out there to describe a book and I am there. Something about the whole genre just makes me want to read it. I like the different ideas people have out there about how society will be or could be...

This one was no different: though only taking place in Chicago, people have been separated into factions that place a high value on different virtues. At sixteen they get to choose which faction they would like to be apart of after taking a test showing them which one they would be best for and they are part of this faction for life.

I'm sure you can guess that not everything is perfect especially because I already gave you the key words: dystopian society. I don't want to give the book away because I thought it was interesting but the one thing that bothered me was the fact that I've come across the reoccurring theme that the main character is usually a girl and there is always a love story. 

Not that I mind either it was just something that kept popping up in my brain... mostly I kept thinking what would have happened if the main character was a boy? 

I guess I can't be too upset because most of the newer dystopian novels are made for teenagers. I guess I should read some H.G. Wells to balance it all out...

The Wakeful Dreamer

This blog was started just over a year ago, in the beginning of August 2011, to keep track of all the books I read in a year. And although I haven't been always faithful about posting when I should (summer was so hard!), I have enjoyed this past year and have come to discover more and more books that I like... and a few that I'm okay never to read again. 

So the question on your mind is: How many books did I read? 

Well I'm starting from the beginning of last August to the end of this August. My husband informs me this is actually 13 months but how about we call it a nice baker's dozen?

That makes the grand total of *insert drumroll here* 56 books! 

And of course, there are always more to read. I have a pretty great idea for a plan for this year so keep on the look out for more blog posts because now that it is the fall I'll be back on track... right? 

The Wakeful Dreamer 

Amendment: I missed a book! The real total is 57! 

So it seems like while you try to organize one part of your life another part seems to be forgotten... I wish you could tie everything together so it doesn't get lost. I'm thinking of red string, what colour did you think it was?

Anyways, right now I'm unhappy in reading. I want something that will consume me but I'm unsure about what will. I haven't been to the library in a bit so maybe I just need to head down there and see what speaks to me or consult my ever growing list... 

Little Bee by Chris Cleave was one such book. I put it on my list while perusing a book shop in the airport. It was quite interesting but also a heavy read. It is about Little Bee, a girl who literally runs into Sarah Summers and her husband (who are on vacation in Nigeria), trying to escape from being killed for things she saw in her village. She manages to hold on to their address and illegally ends up in America where her visit is ill timed. 

There are some scenes in this book that are a bit disturbing though I know the reality of it is even more horrifying. Chris Cleave does a good job of keeping everything in focus without it getting out of hand. 

I had heard about Eragon by Christopher Paolini a few years ago when it was quite popular. I tend to leave popular books alone until they slip into a somewhat mild form of their popularity, because then I can get them from the library without having to wait in line! I'm so sneaky...

There were several things I like about this book: the idea and a few characters but they were all shadowed by the fact that it was just way too long. I was excited with the characters to go and find the mystery out but twenty-odd pages later of still trying to get there makes me feel not as excited. 

I know this was his first book and he wrote it when he was fifteen and he is developing a who new world - so I'm going to be nice and simply state that it was good but too long to make feel like reading the rest of the series.

I have a plan for the next years reading... stay tuned!

The Wakeful Dreamer