February Blahs!

I have been dragging my butt for a week now and just can't seem to shake the winter blahs. Truth be told, I do have lupus and that has been making me feel pretty lousy lately, that and the fact that I took a spectacular fall down the stairs last week and somehow managed to bruise my liver and spleen! Who knew!! I guess it's safe to say that I am a mess all around! Oh well, on the upside, which I can always find, it's a great reason to curl up and read so I have been doing a lot of that lately. I have to admit that some of the reading has involved flipping magazine pages (that takes such little effort) but I did finish reading "The Stone Angel" by Margaret Laurence. I have to start reading "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer soon as that is the next one up with my book group. I did read it last year, but will go through it again before our March meeting. I also have a strategy session coming up this week that I have been trying to get ready for. I am on a committee with Lupus Canada and at the moment we are working to grow one of the national campaigns that happens each October. The committee members are mostly in Ontario, with the exception of one member in British Columbia. Up to this point, our planning has happened through conference calls and email, so this will be the first time we are all meeting in person. I am pretty excited and also hopeful that our strategy session will be very productive! I'll have to get that dragging butt in gear before Friday!
Cheers!!

Books on My Nightstand

Along with an unruly list of books I would like to read, I also have a pile of books on my night table and dresser just waiting to be read. At the moment I have the following titles in queue: "Reading Like a Writer" by Francine Prose; "Life's Great Lessons" by Hal Urban; "Three Views of Crystal Water" by Katherine Govier; "The Turning" by Tim Winton; "Finding Lily" by Richard Clewes; "Three Day Road" by Joseph Boyden; "A Boy of Good Breeding" by Miriam Toews; "The Birth House" by Ami McKay; "Eat, Shoots and Leaves" by Lynn Truss; "Break No Bones" by Kathy Reichs and "The Stone Angel" by Margaret Laurence. That doesn't even include the titles on my bookshelf that I still have yet to read. So many books....so little time. I just love books so much, but between the library books I take out, the gift books I receive and the books I buy for myself, I'm swamped! I put off reading some for a number of reasons. For example - Finding Lily and Three Views of Crystal Water. I met the two authors at an event in the fall and they were so lovely to spend quite a bit of time talking to me about writing. I am now afraid to pick up their works because I don't want the charm to wear off! Another book - The Birth House - I am hesitant to read because I want to so much and don't want to be disappointed! I still have a couple of titles on my bookshelf from Christmas 2005 that I have yet to get to. The last book on my list above is actually a re-read. We studied The Stone Angel in high school and it is a book I want to read again now that I am older, and have what they call perspective! :) I just remember thinking (while we were studying it a way back when) that I should come back to this book when I am older. Well, I'm older now and looking forward to reading it again. As always, I would welcome any discussion or comments on books you are reading or have read.
Cheers!

Celtic Horoscope

Here is a little fun thing to try!

You Are A Fig Tree

You are very independent and strong minded. A hard worker when you want to be, you play hard too. You are honest and loyal. You hate contradiction or arguments. You love life, and you live for your friends, children, and animals. A great sense of humor, artistic talent, and intelligence are all gifts you possess.

What's Your Celtic Horoscope?

Cheers!

Keep Toronto Reading February 1-28, 2007

If you live in or near Toronto, February is Keep Toronto Reading Month. This literary undertaking is being sponsored by the Toronto Public Library. You can check out all of the different events being run throughout the month that have been designed to help promote and encourage reading, at their nifty website: Keep Toronto Reading.
I am all for anything that promotes books, reading, writing and literacy, so check it out and see if there is something of interest to you.
Cheers!

Notes on the Sidebar Links

Hello!
I have started to post the books I have read on a sidebar. You will notice that I have linked the books to amazon.ca, so now I "got some 'splainin' to do". First, I am a huge supporter of local, independent booksellers and in fact, the book group I belong to meets every month at our local independent. Please don't get the impression that I am encouraging you to shop at Amazon. I just find that the web site offers a great format as far as being thorough in the book descriptions and helpful by having readers offer their opinions too. Whenever I am looking for new book suggestions, or want to know more about a book before I buy it, I always check out Amazon. Does that make me a bad person?? If anything, I encourage you to help keep our small, independent booksellers in business. Throw the little dog a bone people! Okay, so ends the lesson (and I'll get off my soapbox now).
Cheers!