Judging a Book By Its Cover

So, which one did you think I would like?

or

both images via Goodreads

 

Here is the deal... 

 

Something Like Normal is an amazing book but a horrible, HORRIBLE cover.   I can totally see why a boy wouldn't want to read this, but it is a boy book.  Or at least it has a male protagonist and it is all about his experiences as a Marine being deployed to Afghanistan at 18 years old and his first time on leave.  I have no idea what the publisher was thinking on this one.  YA books are known for really embarrassing covers and this one might be the king of all embarrassing covers.  But the story, is so amazing.  Travis is suffering from undiagnosed PTSD and on his first leave at home is having trouble coping with home life.  He has nightmares and visions of his dead best friend. Travis story is one of figuring out how to cope (and a few make-out sessions, but not enough to warrant the cover of the book.) It is the story of hundreds of men and women returning from war at the age of 19.  It is manly and touching at the same time.

4/5 Stars on Goodreads

A Discovery of Witches, on the other hand, is an adult book with whiny teenage overtones.  The protagonist, Diana, started out pretty cool.  Independent woman, scholar, tenured at Yale, runner, rower, witch, all-around pretty awesome woman from my academic librarian standpoint.  But then she falls in love with a vampire and becomes a total crazy person.  When teens fall in love with vampires and become crazy, that makes sense because teens are a bit crazy.  They are new at the whole love and hormone thing.  But Dianna is late-30-something, super-educated and independent woman who, as a witch herself, falls in love with a vampire.  This is Edward and Bella on adult steroids and I really don't like to compare every vampire story to Twilight. Diana knows very little about this Matthew and is head over heels nearly immediately.  Anyway, the book was way too long and drawn out.  I see why some people really liked it and why it was a best-seller but, I won't be reading more of this series.  I have no desire to see what happens next.  But great cover!

2/5 Stars on Goodreads

So which one would you have liked?

2 Books

I finished reading two books over the weekend.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Image from Goodreads

and

Something like Normal by Trish Doller

Image from Goodreads.

One I loved, the other I did not.  Any guesses?  No peaking at my Goodreads reviews.

Blogging

Blogging was so much easier in the summer.  Since school began, I have barely any time to reflect or compose my thoughts.  I hope to do better in the coming weeks, so bare with me, my 5 loyal readers.  October looks to be a bit less hectic that September (hope, hope, hope).  I have books to review and fabulous items to show off.  I will find more time to do this, right? After I finish grading essays, right?

Twin Stockings

Over the weekend, I did nothing I didn't want to do.  My schedule has been pretty crazy lately so I really needed a relaxing weekend.

On Saturday I read a lot (A Discovery of Witches) and watched a disc of Grimm's first season.  I am so happy we have Netflix.  Life is so much better with it.    I finished one stocking and started another. On Sunday, I watched the movie Serenity and, beside crying when Wash died, I finished the other stocking.

They are for my cousin's twins.  I just have to stitch the names in.

The pattern was cut from a magazine by my aunt so I decided to go with that pattern for her grandbabies.  The pattern is "Christmas Stocking with Swirls" (sans swirls) by Galina Carroll and I used Deborah Norville's Serenity Chunky Weight yarn.

So now, in the past few weeks, I have made four stockings and D still has a store bought one.  I guess that is life.

Third time's a charm?

I ran my third half-marathon yesterday.  The Quad Cities Marathon started when I was in high school.  The inaugural year, some of the girls cross country team and I ran the 5 person relay.  15 years later, I was back to run half of it.

The weather was cool and brisk, my favorite running weather.  The course was scenic, right long the Mississippi River for a good majority.  The amenities along the race course and volunteers were great (except for the one water/Gatorade station that was out, that sucked).

The morning started out okay.  I didn't feel as crappy as I did the night before.  After battling some bridge traffic and trying to find parking, I parked (next to my childhood dentist, she recognized me before I recognized her) and made it to the starting area with enough time to work almost up to my pace group and hear the national anthem.  The starting cannon went off and we were running. Yes, not a starting gun, a cannon.  It was loud and surprising.  My beginning mile times were not bad, I reached the first mile in 9:12, but by then I had also stepped in two potholes and hence twisted my ankle twice.  I skipped the first water station and when I got water at the second, I choked on it.  Then around the 4 mile mark my foot went numb.  And on it went for 9 more miles, weird running problems, one after another.  I didn't have to stop to go to the bathroom or throw up, though, so maybe I should just focus on those positives.

I ran 13.1 miles in 2:07:50 which is about 9:46/mile.  Not my best, in fact it is my worst, but I finished.  I did finish before the first marathon finisher so that is something. I was the 975th person to cross the line.

From the beginning this race seemed doomed.  My training was poor.  I had random bouts of illness.  I was  home sick from work last Friday.  So all in all, I gave it a good effort for what I had and finished.

Today I am sore head-to-toe.  But I am moving and that is what matters.

TV Creations

This week is going by way to fast for me.  I barely have time to tell you all about the great things I made during my TV binge over last weekend.

I crocheted two baby blankets:

Yes, two whole blankets done.  They are both about 30" X30".   They are the same exact pattern.  Just a big granny square until you run out of yarn.  My type of pattern.  I love how they both turned out.  I did not plan for the second one to look like a watermelon, but it does!  Very cool random occurrence.  Now I have to ship them off to the pretty babies I have never met.

I knitted several bibs:

Two are not pictured.  I sometimes forget to take pictures of what I make. Bad blogger.

And I finished my second waldo stocking:

(This photo will not rotate and I am too tired to keep working on it, argh.)

I also finished making a pretty purple yarn, but more on that later.

Also, happy 30th birthday to my husband!!!!

I am running my third half-marathon this weekend so I will tell you all about it next week.

What are your plans for the weekend?

TVD + Yarn

Do you watch The Vampire Diaries?  No?  I do.  I love it.  I randomly picked it out on Netflix earlier this year and got hooked.  I quickly watched the first two season and then all summer I had to wait for the next season to become available.  Season three just became available last week and I had to watch the whole season before season four starts on October 11.  So naturally, I just finished a three day bender of watching all 22 episodes of the third season.  I am discovering that the CM is like YA books on TV.  Love it!

Image via TVD's Pinterest

It was an amazing season--lots of action and unexpected plot twists.  I cried through most of episodes 21 and 22. Why am I so emotionally attached to fantasy characters?  Nothing that happens in any episode could possibly ever be true, but I still feel emotionally attached.  Worried. Gripped.  Maybe it is because I always hoped for supernatural things as a child and never really grew out of that.

Also, I have to admit, I love a love triangle.  I am rooting for Damon because he is much more interesting, amazing and of course attractive.  Ian Somerhalder is amazing!  Who wouldn't root for him as Damon, even if he is technically playing a villain.

   

Image via Wikipedia

Such a good looking man and I love his acting.  My inner-14-year-old-girl wants posters of him all over my bedroom.  I was am so crushed that his character Damon and Elena (played by Nina Dobrev) are not a couple (yet????) in TVD.  But I found out, in real life, they are a couple and that makes me happy. I rooting for you Ian and Nina!  

The librarian in me thinks I need to read the books the series is based on (The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith), but I am not sure.  I have so much to read as it is.  I think I will just love the show for what it is for now, but I have suspicion I will end up reading the books.

With my watching bender comes a whole host of finished objects.  I crocheted two baby blankets.  Knitted a few baby bibs and finished another Waldo stocking. Not too shabby.  More to to share with you all throughout the week.

Who is your TV heart-throb? Any other great shows I should be watching?