Book challenge update

A book challenge is a goal you set yourself at the beginning of the year to read a certain amount of books before the year ends (that’s the plain book challenge, at least). I challenged myself to read 50 books because i was feeling very brave at the time, but I will certainly aim at a lower number next year. When I joined the book challenge it was because I have tons of books at home that I intend to read, as well as a long wish-list of books I intent to buy and read. But sometimes I waste too much time and never get to read them, so I thought challenging myself would be a good way to cut down on procrastination.

The problem is that, as of today, I have only read 19 books. That’s not even half the books I want to read. Also, eventually, what happens is that I am tempted to give up on long, dense novels such as Crime and Punishment or The Magical Mountain and and read more YA stuff or shorter light reading, which kind of ruins the whole thing, because my goal was to read those books waiting on my shelf, not other books.

That being said, I haven’t given up on the long reads, though I did give up on The Danube because I couldn’t get into it. I might give it another chance in a couple of years.

You asked for it

Someone said today that I haven’t been updating my blog lately (what he actually meant was that I haven’t posted any significant entries, I guess -not according to his interests, anyway) xD.

So, I’m back with an entry regarding my personal life for people to read and ignore -so personal, in fact, that I’m 80% sure you’ll all skip the comments and forget about it.

Except, now that I’ve said that, you’ll probably feel all busted. You’ll want to leave a comment and it’ll be akward, so then you’ll have a brilliant idea and just make a joke. And because you don’t want your joke to hurt me, you won’t mention anything personal in your comment -instead, you’ll joke about the fact that I was wrong when I guessed you wouldn’t drop me a line on this post. It’ll go something like this: “Who said I wouldn’t comment? Here’s my comment. Take care!”

And that will be fun, but because I already predicted it, it won’t be so much fun anymore. I’ll still smirk at your comments, though, so don’t worry, 50% of the world population never manages to do anything original. Or you could pretend to be witty and say what I said you would say because it’s ironical, and that’s almost original, except I ruined that for you a little. You could be twice as satirical if you still said it, now that I said it’d be ironical.

So, at this stage, I don’t see the point in making a philosophical entry on the psychological depth of whatever. Instead I’ll let you be creative and leave a funny/poetical/philosophical comment.

In fact, let’s have a comment competition.

Let’s see who can write the most random/profound/amusing/beautiful/sarcastic/smart/bubbly comment.

Oh, and you’re right. I never really meant to write about anything in particular. But I might do so, soon.

Book Challenge 2009 (26/50)

I’ve decided I need a little pressure to turn off my computer and go read some times, so I’ve joined a popular challenge in the nerdfighter forum and set myself a goal: to read 50 books this year. The list is not closed, but there are some titles I definitely want in there already. Titles in italics mean I want to read something by that author but not necessarily that one book:

1. The Magical Mountain – Thomas Mann [27/May/2009]

2. Paper Towns – John Green [15/January/2009]

3. Atonement -Ian McEwan [27/January/2009]

4. Pretties -Scott Westerfeld [29/January/2009]

5. A Room of One’s Own – Virginia Woolf [03/July/2009]

6. The Favorite Game -Leonard Cohen [29/May/2009]

7. Hard Times -Charles Dickens

8. Agnes Grey -Anne Brontë

9. El Cazador del Desierto -Lorenzo Silva [11/January/2009]

10. Alanna -Tamora Pierce [08/July/2009]

11. The Wars -Timothy Findley

12. The English Patient -Michael Ondaatje

13. Born of The Sun: a Namibian Novel -Joseph Diescho  [18/March/09]

14. A Fine Balance -Rohinton Mistry

15. Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town -Stephen Leacock

16. Northanger Abbey -Jane Austen [24/July/2009]

17. Trainspotting -Irvine Welsh

18. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone -J.K. Rowling [23/March/2009]

19. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets -J.K. Rowling [31/March/2009]

20. On the Road -Jack Kerouak [15/May/2009]

21. Life of Pi -Yann Martel

22. The Bell Jar -Sylvia Plath [1/August/2009]

23. The Deptford Trilogy -Robertson Davies

24. Catch 22 -Joseph Heller

25. Slaughterhouse V -Kurt Vonnegut

26. The Restaurant at The Other End of The Universe -Douglas Adam

27. The Island -Aldous Huxley

28. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? -Philip K. Dick

29. The Stranger -Albert Camus [30/May/2009]

30. A Clockworck Orange -Anthony Burges

31. The Handmaid’s Tale -Margaret Atwood [3/October/2009]

32. The Seaman Who Fell from Grace with the Sea -Yukio Mishima [22/May/2009]

33. Fight Club -Chuck Palahniuk [7/October/2009]

34. Everyman -Philip Roth

35. By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and  Wept -Elizabeth Smart [29/October/2009]

36. In Flanders Fields and Other Poems -John McCrae

37. Tess of D’Ubervilles -Thomas Hardy

38. Infinite Jest -David Foster Wallace

39. Emma -Jane Austen

40. Mansfield Park -Jane Austen

41. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban -J.K. Rowling [1/August/2009]

42. The Tales of Beedle the Bard -J.K. Rowling

43. Alanna: In the Hand of the Goddess -Tamora Pierce [25/September/2009]

44. Alanna: The Woman Who Rides Like A Man -Tamora Pierce

45. Sonnets -Shakespeare

46. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy -Douglas Adam [8/January/2009]

47. Der Sandmann -E.T.A. Hoffman [13/Octubre/2009]

48. Dreams from my Father -Barack Obama [7/June/2009]

49. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -J.K. Rowling [16/August/2009]

50. La Dent de L’Ours -Catherine de Lasa [11/October/2009]

So you’d like to live abroad?

Cities you might find interesting (I’ve never been there and I’ve only ever heard their names):

If you like seafood and sea… food, you’ll love Mejillones, Calamar and Camarones. If you like the beach or plain nudity, check out Pelotas, Bikini and Tanga. For those of you who suffer from Zoophilia, Lobito or Chita are bound to be an interesting destination. If you like taboo or disgusting subjects, Raba is waiting for you. Rebels will find their true selves in Cachimbo. But of course, there is always room for the eccentric as well: Papeete and Parece Vela welcome you as loving siblings.

Do I hear somebody say “I don’t like big towns. I prefer something quieter.”? Must be your lucky day! Let me show you a couple of divine Islands that will make your current home look like hell. Whether you’re seeking a retirement home, a remote spot to hide away from the CIA, or a romantic honeymoon, bear in mind the following Islands.

I strongly suggest you try: Starbuck Island

But do not overestimate yourself, you won’t be able to find: Inaccessible Island

Similarly, you wouldn’t be able to come back from: Isla Róbinson Crusoe.

And whatever you do, please avoid McDonald Island

—————————————————————————-

Disclaimer:

Tell me how you stalk…

…and I’ll tell you who you are.

 

1. You google people  Amateur stalker

2. You gossip at your hairdresser’s  Old-school amateur stalker

3. You read facebook profiles  e-stalker

3bis. You read tuenti profiles  Spanish e-stalker.

4. You spy on people “live”  real-life stalker

 

5. All of the above  True stalker

6. All of the above, with a video camera  Psycho.

 

7. Any of the above, leaving rude comments  Evil Stalker (aka hater)

8. Any of the above, leaving spam / sub4sub  Moron Stalker (aka loser)

9. Any of the above, including sex comments  Paedophile / desperate geek

 

10. At least two of the above leaving only compliments  fangirl.