Girls Night

So, this past Saturday I got together with eight other women from the book group I belong to. As I've mentioned previously, I refer to this gang as our 'splinter cell' as we are a smaller group that has broken away from the main gaggle of bookies. It is an interesting and eclectic mix of personalities and we always have a laugh-riot! On Saturday we met for take-out and games night and it was great fun, except for one slight glitch. At one point during dinner one of the girls shared some information that was just way to personal. We all get along great, but we are by no means best friends and are still in the stages of getting to know one another. The information that was shared was just so over the top that, in discussing this moment with two other girls after the fact (one of whom is a very close friend), one stated "Well, that really crossed a line!" Now, this isn't something that will affect our getting together, however it is the kind of tidbit of information that makes you look at the person just ever so differently. I don't know if I am just being weird, and when it happened I wasn't clear on whether I was the only one who thought her comments really odd. Afterwards I was told I was not alone in my feelings and that quite a few girls were really uncomfortable with the revelation! I know you are probably wondering what was said, but I am not going to repeat it, sorry! Anyway, I have put this one down to attention seeking behaviour (to which she is prone) of a new level! Our May book is Cloudstreet by Australian writer Tim Winton. I haven't started it yet as I was reading A Boy of Good Breeding, but will start it tomorrow.

Cheers!

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!!

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!

February's Book and A Writing Milestone

I thought that I would let you (whomever "you" may be) know what our book group has chosen for the February read. We will be doing "Sweetness in the Belly" by Camilla Gibb. I have just picked it up from the bookstore and I am really looking forward to reading it. Gibb was nominated for The Giller Prize for this novel and it has had a lot of good buzz around it, so I will certainly keep you posted on how it goes for me. On another note, I finally shared some of my creative writing. I get really ill at the thought of showing any of my fiction work to anyone, but I really trust the person I gave it to. I know that she will be honest and helpful. She is also a writer and keeps giving me a hard time for being so weird about getting my work "out there"! Anyway, I gave her the first chapter of a new project I just started and...drum roll please...she liked it, she really liked it! I still feel sick, but phew! I hope it will be easier next time. She gave me some helpful feedback and some pretty serious compliments too. So, yay for me! It's weird because I do freelance writing for magazines and newspapers (definitely not fiction) and I have no problem with that work being read and commented on. I guess I just don't get as attached to those projects as I do with my fiction. Well, now I have to press on with the fiction project because my reader wants to know what happens next, and I know she will give me a good swift kick in the arse if I let it slide too long! I would love to hear writing stories from you. Do you get sick thinking about sharing your work with others?? I would also love to know what you are reading right now...I'm am always looking to expand my list of books to read.
Cheers!

New Year's Hello

It has been awhile since my last posting. Life always gets so busy around Christmas and New Year's, but I have survived another one relatively unscathed! I guess I don't even know where to begin. A lot has gone on since last month, but I'm not feeling in a particularly sharing mood! Rather contradictary to the whole blogging purpose I guess, but what can I do? I would encourage you to check out the links I have posted. They are all interesting, to me anyway, and I hope that you will enjoy them too. I guess I will chat a bit about books. If you know of any great blogs that have to do with reading, books or writing (creative fiction, but no fantasy, sci-fi or romance please) then let me know. I love reading and writing and I am always looking for other sites of people who share these interests. I do belong to a book group that meets each month. We just did "Ivanhoe" for our January book and will be doing "Sweetness in the Belly" by Camilla Gibb for our February book. Other books that we have done recently include: "Middlemarch", "Behind the Scenes at the Museum", "March" and "Small Island". My favourite book from last year was "The Ha-Ha" by Dave King. My favourite book of all time is probably "To Kill a Mockingbird", and I am really interested in reading the new biography about Harper Lee. There are just so many good books that it is hard to choose just one favourite. I also loved "The Girls" by Lori Lansens and "Fall on Your Knees" by Ann Marie MacDonald. That gives you a general idea of the type of reading I like to do so if you have some suggestions on other blogs or websites that are worth checking out, please feel free to drop me a comment and let me know about it.
Cheers and Happy New Year!