Updates! Updates! Updates!

UPDATES!

As many of you can see, I've been a pretty terrible blogger lately! What can I say...Life.

Saturday, March 31, 2012

The Bookmark Break Challenge (3 Month Update)

I'm realizing that I have a real problem with writing a whole post and then accidentally deleting it! So, this is the next best thing...That post rewritten and dramatically reduced. So, I began with adding a comment about how much you guys have accomplished in the month of March alone! Amazing, especially Ruthie who is up 28 books!!! WOW! I, myself, am only up 5 books. :) But you're all awesome!

Then, I went on to tell everyone to move on to the competitor's list and somehow worked in the famous quote from The Hunger Games, "May the odds be ever in your favor!"

Then, I had this pic...


Here's the competitor's list thus far...Also, those of you with notes by your names, check them out and get back to me.

Competitor's List:
  • Ruthie (55 Books)
  • Casper (47 Books) *Private Blog
  • Susan (43 Books)
  • PoeKitten (26 Books)
  • Natalie (19 Books)
  • Eden Mabee (18 Books)
  • Corina (18 Books)
  • Shah (17 Books)
  • Sierra (17 Books)
  • Julie (16 Books)
  • SimplyMe (15 Books)
  • AubrieAnne (14 Books)
  • Lynette (14 Books)
  • Kyria (13 Books)
  • Kea (10 Books)
  • Ib (8 Books)
  • Cheney (7 Books)
  • Tegan (5 Books)
  • Shan (4 Books)
  • Lesley (3 Book)
  • Mrs. Facehead (1 Book)
  • The Creative Muslimah (1 Book)
  • Patrick---(Just to let you know, Note 2 in my Daily Updates I am not applying to you since I have been in contact with you during the competition. Although, I would love to see your book list so let me know when it is up and running!)
  • Glenda---Let me know when your list is up! Thank you. (Also, see Note 2 in the Daily Updates at the top of my blog.)
  • Carrie Ann---I have no link to find you at and your profile is private so I can't get a hold of you. If you see this please leave a link to your blog and or your book list in the comments and I will get you set up. Or you can email me at WhosYourEditor@aol.com if you wish to remain private. Thank you. (Also, see Note 2 in the Daily Updates at the top of my blog.)

Now, a quick look at my list thus far...I'm doing lots of rereading for some reason.

My Book List:

  1. Haiku for the Single Girl (Poetry/Comedy)
  2. The Web of Titan (YA/Sci-Fi/Space/Post-Apocalyptic)
  3. The Hunger Games (YA/Dystopian) *2nd Read
  4. One for the Money (Fiction/Comedy)
  5. Catching Fire (YA/Dystopian) *2nd Read
  6. Outside In (YA/Dystopian)
  7. Uglies (YA/Dystopian) *2nd Read
  8. Touch of Power (Fantasy)
  9. The Secret Garden (Classical Literature) *Kindle
  10. Incarceron (YA/Futuristic Fantasy)
  11. Prisoner of Time (YA/Romance)
  12. Two for the Dough (Fiction/Comedy)
  13. True Belonging (Non-Fiction/Psychology)
  14. City of Ashes (YA/Modern Fantasy)

And, a quick look at what I'm reading right now...Again, lots of rereading. I may have to make a discussion topic on this. Hmmm...

Currently Reading:


Here's what I can't wait to read!

On Deck:


Onto the next month!

Monday, March 26, 2012

"The Hunger Games" Movie Review!

Let's recap a bit on the book. I wrote a review a while ago which you can read here. Now, to further the discussion I wanted to comment on something I've been hearing a lot of. The gruesomeness of the story is the number one excuse I hear from people who have not read the book. But, I cannot stress this to those of you who are avoiding this read enough, the gruesomeness is not glorified and it is not the focus! It's more about the bravery of these children, especially Katniss, to have the courage to face this, not lose themselves in the Capitol and the injustice, get home to their families, and start fighting back for the first time in 74 years! What is happening to them is not their fault, it is the fault of others, elders, that fear the power even a child can have in raising hope.

Their character is what defines these books and makes them worth reading. They give you the hope and courage you need to continue reading.

With that said, onto the movie, (Note: very minor spoilers about what is not in the movie) I'm mostly on the side of the fence of really enjoying it. I miss very small things that only a reader would be endeared to, like Katniss yelling at Peeta for being too noisy while they are hunting during the games, or Haymitch being much slobbier at the beginning and falling off the stage at the reaping. But, the movie is already almost 2 1/2 hours long and I can't think of anything I would have wanted them to remove to find more room for other stuff.

Also, I went with a friend that had not read the books first and she said that she got it, she wasn't too confused, but she could not depend on the usual devices, such as dialog or narration to tell her what was happening, instead she had to look to the actors movements, glances, comments, etc to fill her in.

On that note, I thought the young cast of this movie was wildly talented!!! Especially Jennifer Lawrence! Way to really bring a character to life. If some other young actors or actresses had even half the talent of Lawrence or her costars, we all might enjoy some of these books-to-movies concepts a lot more. :)

It's only been a day since I saw it, and the excitement has yet to wear off. In fact, I may be entering a withdrawal period here in a few days. I'm more than certain I will see this movie again before it leaves theaters and it is on my "To Buy" list, and not just any old "To Buy" list, but the one with the disclaimer that reads, Must be purchased on or before the official release date!

Here is the trailer for anyone else that may be expecting side effects like shaking, chills, giggles, random rants, screaming, sudden excitement, etc after seeing the movie...


Now, my absolute favorite part!
DISCUSSION!
You MUST discuss this with me. I fear it is the only thing to hold off the withdrawal.
Let me know what your thoughts are on the books or movie.
Things you liked, disliked, wish you saw more off, what you could have lived without, etc.
Just talked to me about it!
I look forward to this!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

SO EXCITED!!!

So, I know I still have to tell everyone about my trip to Chicago (it was amaing by the way!) but right now I am just too excited for HUNGER GAMES!!!! No, I am not going to the Midnight premiere (Twilight ruined that for me, thank you very much! Too much screaming and chatting through the whole thing!) But, I did get a pretty amazing group of friends to pitch in on tickets and now 8 of us are going to the 6:30 show on Saturday!



Are you planning on going?
When are you going to see it?

Friday, March 16, 2012

I'm on my way to CHICAGO!!!

I don't get to travel very often, unless you can call a long commute to work travelling, or heading up to the UP for a weekend once a year travelling. However, for St. Patrick's Day weekend I am going to CHICAGO!!! That's what I call a bit of travelling! (I mean, it's not like I'm going to Europe, which I have never done! I haven't even left the country except to go to Canada on a school trip, but Chicago is so much more than I usually get to do!) I've never been and I am ecstatic. Me, my cousin and two girlfriends are heading down today and staying for the whole weekend. The hotel room is booked right on the river, so Saturday morning we get to watch the river turn green!!! Then, we're hitting up the St. P parade, doing some pub crawling, lots of shopping, and hitting up some of the local sights like the giant bean and the aquarium!!!

One of my cousins has been living down there for the last 6 or 7 years and this is the first time I am making it down there to see him (although he has been back to see the whole family quite a few times.) I think it will be nice to have him there and he can show us all the good places to go!


I'll take lots of pictures for you guys and try and chronicle the whole weekend!

Anyone else been?
What else should I do while I'm down there?
Any fond memories?

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Another Sunny Day and Two Lovely Awards!

Yeah for rewards! I've been so bad about doing everything I need to do when I recieve an award, but I am so very very VERY thankful that these lovely ladies thought of me, so here we go! Come read the 17 totally random facts about me!

The Versatile Blogger Award!

From Shah at Wordsinsync!
Thank you!

Here are the rules:
· Thank and link to the blogger that bestowed the award (see above)
· Share seven random facts about yourself (see below)
· Spread the love by passing the award to five other bloggers and to let them know

The seven random facts about me:

1. I literally stop everything to watch the Hunger Games trailers when they are on tv. If I am fast-forwarding through the ads to get back to my show and I see a hint of the trailer, I stop, rewind, and watch the whole thing. It drives my mom nuts!
2. I am very excited for the Hunger Games movie to come out and have already pre-bought my ticket and the tickets for 6 other friends that i talked into going with me. :) (Not that it was that hard to convince them.)
3. Getting off the Hunger Games topic...I am slightly terrified of bikini season! lol. So, I am determined to eat really well and actually exercise a bit. Yesterday I had a Greek yogurt for breakfast, carrots and celery for a snack before lunch, a green salad with grilled chicken and balsamic dressing for lunch, fresh strawberries and pineapple for a snack after lunch, almonds and wasabi peas for a snack before dinner, and for dinner I had steak and a wedge salad! Sounds like a lot, but it's all sooooo good for you. When you eat well, you can eat a lot!!!
4. I'm trying to only drink water, but sometimes I slip in a grapefruit or lime La Croix or a lemon or orange San Pellegrino. Sounds so fancy!
5. I've had a cold about 3 or 4 times already this year! I really don't know what's up with that, but I'm thinking work is infecting me a bit. lol. I now have tissues and hand sanitizer on my office desk at all times.
6. I have not been writing lately, like at all, which makes me very sad!!! I need to do something about that.
7. If I could have any superpower I would love to fly!

The five bloggers I wish to pass the award to are...

1. Live, Laugh, Love, Write! for giving me an awesome award!
2. The (Not Always) Happy Homemaker Diary for being a woman that always uses her instincts and isn't afraid to speak her mind!
3. The Disconnected Writer for just being a cool person and a diverse writer!
4. Aurora's Page because I miss seeing you around!
5. The Divergent Life for always being a great conversationalist!
6. Susan for rocking my Bookmark Break Challenge!

The Kreativ Blogger Award!

Thank you!

1.) Link back to the person who gave it to you! (See Above)
2.) Share 10 random facts about yourself!

1. I knew there were a lot of random facts about me, but I never knew they could be sooo random.
2. I'm liking red pens for editing more and more! (gasp!) I used to hate them because I do think they torment small children, but since I work with adults now, I don't think it's so bad. Although, if I ever do teach, I will refuse to use red pens. I will revert back to my green and purple. :)
3. My purse is ridiculously heavy. There is always a book, sometimes very large, my kindle on occasion, my billfold, another smaller purse in case I don't feel like carrying my large purse around, gum (OH! I almost wrote gun! There is not a gun in my purse! lol!), some really fancy pens that I got from work for Christmas that are engraved and in their own leather holder, tons of chap stick because I'm addicted to that stuff, and many other random things.
4. I like to dip my carrots in peanut butter! Anyone else try that?
5. I used to hate boiled eggs, but now I love them.
6. I used to hate the color purple, but in the last year, found that I could not fend it off and now it's my favorite color.
7. I live by my iphone which is kind of sad, but now I am barely on the computer at home. Of course, now I’m on the computer at work all the time so that may have something to do with it to.
8. My entire body aches from having exercised for real for the last 4 days. It's been a long time since I have even done any crunches. That expression about feeling muscles you never knew you had is so true! I just stretched last night considering everything was aching so much. Now, just the top of my legs ache today. So, it sounds like it will be an ab workout tonight then. I'm really switching up what I do every day.
9. I'm running out of things to say so sajkdfgnjkanfrgkibakdgbjerhejn! Yeah! That's right!
10. I need more water.

3.) Pass on the award onto 7 other people!

1. Wordsinsync! for being the best blogging bestie EVER! And for the awesome award! Also, for constantly being my direct competition in my Bookmark Break Challenge! We are always neck and neck! I LOVE it!
2.Poekitten for also ricking my Bookmark Break Challenge!
3. The Creative Muslimah for being one of the most creative people I know and always sharing that creativity! Thank you!
4. Sweep Tight for hosting my very first giveaway! Thank you! I am still getting hits from your site on my Etsy page!
5. Write Now, Write Later because you can never get too much love!
6. Bloggerholics Anonymous because I miss the both of you!
7. My Own Little Corner because you deserve it! I love how you are always striving to find your passions! Keep it up girl!

4.) Follow the person that gave you this award-CHECK!

Well, that's all for now!!! Thanks guys!

And, as a side note, I redid this entire post and the coloring and format is still messed up so I give up. lol. Sorry if it's hard to read. Also, I lost a lot of the links to the nominees blogs so if anyone wants to visit one of their blogs, but can't find it, please let me know and I will get that link to you.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Discusion Topic and Questions: Fast Readers!

I was feeling really great about myself this week! With a combination of the power being out, having started some really good books lately, and the CW playing reruns for the last week or more, I have finished 4 books in the last week! That boosted my total number of books so far this year from 9 to 13! I am well ahead of my goal (trying to finish at least one book a week and with only 10 weeks having passed this year, I am 3 weeks ahead!) I mean, I have never considered myself the fastest reader, especially if I am reading something I don't necessarily love, but I am a "good" reader. I think I read faster than most people and can generally understand and retain everything I read and I don't stumble while reading.


So, when did my ego get a little bruised? Thank you for asking! It was right about the point when I was updating the competitor's list and found out that some people have completed 10 BOOKS this week!! If I could read that much, that fast, it might actually justify the amount of books I buy on near weekly basis! Way to show off you flippin amazing people!!! I'm proud!

This has now led to me wanting to ask a few questions! Good questions. (Please note that I am not doubting anyone's awesomeness. Just curious how you get to be so awesome!!!)

1. How do you read so fast? Or do you spend a lot of your time reading? I, myself, only get in about an hour a day. Sometimes a bit more on the weekends.
2. Is reading a part of your profession, or just a fabulous hobby? For me, for now, it is just a fabulous hobby. One day I want it to be a very large part of my profession.
3. This is semi related to the last questions...Do you get paid to read books? Not necessary cash, but perhaps you get the books for free and then you review the book or write about it. I'd love to get into that!
4. Do you find that you remember a lot of what you read or do you often reread books? Some books I finish in a day, but I still tend to remember most of what I read. A year later, I might not, but then is a good time to reread!
5. Anyone else have any questions? Maybe even a super reader has a question!

Let me know! Hop on board and answer some of these or ansk other question! I love to hear from everyone!

PLEASE NOTE: Anyone can still join the Bookmark Break Challenge for 2012. Just visit this link...
http://whosyoureditor.blogspot.com/p/bookmark-break-challenge-2012.html

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Out of POWER!!!

The power went off promptly at 9:30 Friday evening, just when I was getting into the movie "In Time," which I finally got on DVD, and the power has yet to come back on. Supposedly, we will get it back today around 4PM. I certainly hope so!!! Now, you may all enjoy a picture of my cousin trying to clear out the blizzard that knocked out the precious power.


WELCOME TO NORTHERN MICHIGAN!!! LET ME CLEAR A PATH FOR YOU TO WALK IN!!!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Kyria: Another Bookmark Break Challenge 2011 Winner!

As Kyria put in her email to me, it is better late than never!!! Here is another winner of last year's wonderful Bookmark Break Challenge. Kyria read a toatl of 66 books, almost twice the amount of books I read last year, and still more than the goal I set for myself this year!!! WAH-HOO! Kyria is also taking part in the challenge this year!
But here is what Kyria had to say about last year...

Challenge Questions:

1.      Why did you join the Bookmark Break Challenge in 2011? I like to set goals for myself and this seemed like a fun way to set a reading goal, to interact with other bloggers and to have a healthy competition!

2.      Did you set a goal for yourself in this challenge? I wanted to read at least 52 books last year and to hopefully beat AubrieAnne and be in the top third of the readers in the challenge.

3.      Do you have a goal for this challenge in 2012? This year I also hope to read at least one book a week and to beat AubrieAnne. My loftier goal is to hopefully beat my own total from 2011 (66 books).

4.      How did you learn to read so fast!? I have always read a lot. I am not sure if that helps. Also, I think that we each make time for different things in our life. Reading, for me, is one of the most important things, so I make more time for it rather than other things.

5.      What was the kind of thing you were reading the most? (Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, a certain genre, books for school?) I mostly read fiction with a touch of nonfiction thrown in from time to time.

6.      How did your love for books begin? My mother probably. She used to be an avid reader.

7.      What was your favorite book you read this year and why? There were quite a few, but one that you may not have heard of is The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer. It was about Jewish brothers during WWII. It was very sad but enlightening at the same time.

8.      What was your least favorite book you read this year and why? I read a lot of pretty bad chick lit books which are not even worth mentioning, but one that I had high expectations of due to other blogger reviews was The Wednesday Letters. I didn’t love it. Maybe it was because people hyped it up.

9.      Any books you are looking forward to in 2011? My To-Read book list is about a mile long, but I have heard good things about The Night Circus. I will have to check that one out.

10.   Any advice for those entering the challenge in 2012? Pick short books!

Random Questions:

1.      What do you love the most about yourself?  I am organized.

2.      What’s the most random thing that popped into your head today? I want to go to Mexico.

3.      What’s your blog and what’s it about? My blog is Travel Spot and it’s a mix of life, books, travel, running and photography.

4.      Tell me and my readers 2 truths and 1 lie and we’ll try to guess the lie. I love dogs. I never sleep with my socks on. I have a toy penguin.
5.     Tell me and my readers something you hold true to your heart, some wisdom. I hate backstabbers. I would rather you tell me to my face what you think rather than talk behind my back. So, be honest with people! Don’t be a fraud. Be true to yourself.
Thanks, Kyria!!! I loved hearing from you and reading all your answers. Good luck in this year's challenge!!!

Friday, March 2, 2012

Note to Self #2...


Note to self...It is okay to celebrate when your check engine light turns OFF!

Thursday, March 1, 2012

The Bookmark Break Challenge (2 Month Update!)

Can you believe that it has already been 2 months since the beginning of this year's Bookmark Break Challenge??? I can't seem to wrap my head around it! Just watch 2012 fly by! Also, watch those books fly off the shelf! In only two months the 23 competitor's have read a total of 214 books! That's an average of 3.57 books PER DAY!!! BRAVO!!!

Who’s Your Editor?


Let's check out the competitor's list and see where everyone is at right now!

Competitor's List:
That's a pretty good looking list! We've got people all over the board. Ruthie, Susan, and Poekitten are dominating this challenge (Just like last year! I would expect nothing less!) Eden, Corina, Sierra, Julie, Natalie, and Kyria are all in a good place ahead of me. Shah, SimplyMe, and Kea are giving me a good run for my money. We all have a nice steady pace so far at about 1 book per week :) (Which is ultimately my goal!) Lynette, Cheney, Tegan, Shan, Ib, Lesley, Mrs. Facehead, and The Creative Muslimah are well on their way! Keep up the good work. Finally, Patrick, Glenda, and CarrieAnn are all still in this! Hopefully, you've been reading a bit and when your lists go up I get to see it!

So, how's it going for everyone? Are you meeting your goals?

It's been going great for me. I always feel like the challenge makes me read more and try new things. I am meeting my goal so far! 1 book per week or more. So, I hope to have 52+ books on my list by the end of the year.

What's been your favorite read so far?

Mine so far has been "One for the Money" by Janet Evanovich. It is not something I would usually pick up, but I'm glad I did.

Well, that's all for now. I'll see you next month with another update. In the meantime, keep reading, keep updating you lists, and REMEMBER!!! ANYONE CAN STILL JOIN THE COMPETITION IF THEY WANT TO! Just CLICK HERE for more information on how to get statred!