Sometimes I Wonder What the World is Coming To...

I feel like I should be doing something. Taking advantage of NYC in 44 degree weather. Going downtown. Getting dangerous. Dancing the night away.

I don't think I'm going to do any of that.

I think I'm going to put on some pants, take out the trash, smoke (don't do it at home, kids), then probably collapse into a deep, restless sleep.

I have tomorrow off. Honestly, I was so on the ball and productive this week, I have nothing to do. It's truly a day off. I don't even have enough laundry to do laundry. My NYC taxes are all done. I actually might work on some... well, work. Which is sad. RE: day off.

Who knows? Maybe I won't stick to the plan. My advice? Don't.

My Sister, the Felon

Some reading updates- I've given up on the Maisie Dobbs novel, but I'm hopefully going to have my review up on LJ and Random Buzzers this week. I bet you can't wait to see how I close since I don't know how the novel actually ends; I'll probably leave that part out. I did spend an amazing evening until 3:00 AM reading "The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy" by Robert Leleux. I saw that someone was a fan of it on The Book so I decided to check it out from the Parker Russo Library. Which I shouldn't have, because I haven't been there in almost a month at this point. The book is an amazing story of a boy's dysfunctional relationship with his mother. I read the whole thing really fast. It made my life seem a lot better by comparison, despite having a pretty crazy mother myself. I've also started reading "Seedfolks" by Paul F. I bet not a lot of books are named "Seedfolks" so it should be easy for you to look up, people. It's short, and I'm halfway through it after a short subway ride. It's all about how a local community band together to plant in an abandoned lot/trash dump after seeing a little girl do it first. The novel is written to reflect each character's voice chapter to chapter, so it's kind of fun to read if you have no attention span. I have to do a presentation at a high school (a 'Booktalk' if you will) on some YA Lit I've read, so I wanted to read a bit more before Thursday. I just don't know if that will happen.

Books, Books, and More Books

So I am continuing along in reading Jacqueline Winspear's "An Incomplete Revenge." For the record, I'm currently on chapter 11. I was hoping my trip to NH would help me finish the book up, but sadly... the 1930's old english dialogue is forcing me to reread everything the characters say. I have to say, now that I'm halfway through the book, I'm kind of finally getting excited about the novel. The book is a mystery novel following a private investigator named Maisie Dobbs. She is investigating a land purchase deal for a rich dude, but she's finding out there's something off about the town. Someone loves setting fires every year, and she's starting to close in on who it is and why. It's keeping me in suspense, and I kind of like it. This was a LibraryThing EarlyReviewer win, and for last month, I think I won two more books. It's back to nonfiction, though. I know one is about strokes. That should be fun.

I also have an elevated status within the Random Buzzer community as a 'Book Blogger'. I'll be talking a lot more about Random Buzzers now than I have in the past (although, I've kind of talked a lot about them here and on my work blog already...). They are also sending me books to review, so I will be a busy little beaver when it comes to my reading duties. I am thinking about officially applying for some of my reviews, or shorter cliff note versions, to be published in School Library Journal. If they like me, they will send me a book or two to review. Then my name could be in print, in all it's School Library Journal glory. I haven't decided if I really want more reading responsibilities, especially since I still haven't complete "An Incomplete Revenge" ... which I've had for over a month. I just need to bite the bullet and start reading a lot faster.

If that wasn't enough, I have applied also for a continuing education scholarship from Beta Phi Mu. Remember? I was inducted into a library science honor society! Now I'm trying to get something out of it. I know one year they didn't even award the scholarship 'cause no one applied. The address I was supposed to send the application to was a little suspect (there was no street address, just 'Florida State University'). I want to eventually go back to school. I've decided that since my full-time work credentials are not impressive enough, I need to amp up my academic background. I want to go back to school, and I want to do it at the Pratt Institute. I have an informational meeting Thursday evening to at Pratt to see how I could integrate one class a semester into my schedule. I probably won't go back until the fall, maybe even later. Without school, I feel like a brainless loser. Plus, I could probably get a break on my many loans if I take out even more. That's probably not very financially saavy, but it's the best I've got.

Also, thanks to Scott, my YouTube career had temporarily resumed. I'm returning his FlipV next time I see him (true story! and also sad...), so they video well will soon dry up. I've had a lot of weirdo problems uploading them lately, so I keep trying to fix them and reupload them. I have one more to put up, so updates haven't finished yet, people. Remember to comment, rate, and subscribe. The link is in the sidebar on the left. Thanks for reading. I'll see you next time in the funny pages.