Most of October was spent recovering from September and reading. I spent a lot of time on the sofa reading and reading and reading.
I started binge reading on September 15th ...
1. Pawn of Prophecy (1982) by David Eddings
2. Queen of Sorcery (1982) by David Eddings
3. Magician's Gambit (1983) by David Eddings
4. Castle of Wizardry (1984) by David Eddings
5. Enchanters' End Game (1984) by David Eddings
6. Guardians of the West (1987) by David Eddings
7. King of the Murgos (1988) by David Eddings
8. Demon Lord of Karanda (1988) by David Eddings
9. Sorceress of Darshiva (1989) by David Eddings
10. The Seeress of Kell (1991) by David Eddings
11. The Trouble With Magic by Madelyn Alt
12. A Charmed Death by Madelyn Alt
13. Hex Marks the Spot by Madelyn Alt
14. One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, No. 1) by Janet Evanovich (on cd)
15. Two for the Dough (Stephanie Plum) by Janet Evanovich (on cd)
16. Three to Get Deadly (Stephanie Plum) by Janet Evanovich (off audible)
17. Four to Score (Stephanie Plum) by Janet Evanovich (off audible)
18. High Five (Stephanie Plum, No. 5) by Janet Evanovich (off audible)
19. Witchling (Sisters of the Moon, Book 1) by Yasmine Galenorn
20. Changeling (Sisters of the Moon, Book 2) by Yasmine Galenorn
21. Darkling (Sisters of the Moon, Book 3) by Yasmine Galenorn
22. Dragon Wytch (Sisters of the Moon, Book 4) by Yasmine Galenorn
23. Night Huntress (Sisters of the Moon, Book 5) by Yasmine Galenorn
24. Demon Mistress (Sisters of the Moon, Book 6) by Yasmine Galenorn
25. Bone Magic (Sisters of the Moon, Book 7) by Yasmine Galenorn
26. Dead Witch Walking (Hollows, Book 1) by Kim Harrison
27. The Good, The Bad and The Undead (Hollows, Book 2) by Kim Harrison
28. Every Which Way But Dead (Hollows, Book 3) by Kim Harrison
29. Fistful of Charms (Hollows, Book 4) by Kim Harrison
30. Where There's a Witch by Madelyn Alt
31. No Rest for the Wiccan by Madelyn Alt
32. Ghost of a Chance (Chintz 'n China, Book 1) by Yasmine Galenorn
33. Legend of the Jade Dragon (Chintz 'n China, Book 2) by Yasmine Galenorn
34. Murder Under a Mystic Moon (Chintz 'n China, Book 3) by Yasmine Galenorn
35. A Harvest of Bones (Chintz 'n China, Book 4) by Yasmine Galenorn
36. The Seventh Witch (Ophelia & Abby Mystery) by Shirley Damsgaard
37. For a Few Demons More (Hollows, Book 5) by Kim Harrison
38. The Outlaw Demon Wails (Hollows, Book 6) by Kim Harrison
I continued to read in November and December but the real binge happened in October. 38 books in about 6 weeks equals a little less than a book a day. Yeah, I know, there's a twelve step program for this.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Journal Entry - Reading
Monday, October 11, 2010
ILA Conference - Oct
Image - view from my balcony
Back to Coeur d'Alene... This is my second trip up in two weeks. Eep. At least this time I was more ready for the long drive. Shanna and I went to the public library the night before I left and found the first two Stephanie Plum novels: One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, No. 1) by Janet Evanovich and Two for the Dough (Stephanie Plum) by Janet Evanovich and a couple of Louis L'Amour. I listened to both Evanovich books on the way up. They were AWESOME! I then called Nick and used our Audible account to buy and download the next three for the way home. I also went out and bought a small iPod shuffle at Walmart. My own MP3 player, though enormous in space, does not have compatible software to use Audible books. :( While there I also read The Trouble With Magic by Madelyn Alt, A Charmed Death by Madelyn Alt, and Hex Marks the Spot by Madelyn Alt. In other words, the reading binge continued...
There is quite a contrast between Alt's and Evanovich's writing styles. Evanovitch grabs you and yanks you along for a screaming rollercoaster ride. Alt's are slower, more of a cozy mystery where, while things are not all love and light, they tend to be more descriptive.
The conference was held in the small town of Post Falls ID. I arranged for a room with a view off the hotel main site. The conference rate was more expensive and the rooms were less good. I LOVED the room. I had a mini balcony and a view of the big river and it was awesome to sit there and look out. I brought my binoculars in and was able to watch a bald eagle eating a breakfast of fish one morning.
Image from http://www.skolaiimages.com/stock/displayimage.php?album=51&pos=37, not one of mine. I would have needed a telephoto lens to get a picture of the one outside my balcony.
I got there a day early in order to be ready to do my preconference session. It went well and we had a lot of fun although there were only 4 people in my session. I brought a box of handouts from my Learn Something Quick web 2.0 workshops and allowed them to take what they wanted. Unfortunately, I also brought too many mini candy bars. I think I will stop trying to bring treats to this kind of activity.
Image is not mine, but from Trip Advisor
For dinner I went with Cathy Gray and another colleague to the nearby mideastern restaurant 'The Whitehouse Grill' http://whitehousegrill.com/white-house-grill. The food was fine, though not as good as what Nick & I can do. I think the big problem was that I wasn't in the mood for it and really wanted something simpler. I also ordered poorly, hoping for something that wasn't there. Still, the company was good and it was entertaining. They dropped me back at the hotel and then trundled off to the reception. After a 4 hour stint of teaching, all I really wanted was my book and my bed.
I attended sessions the following day. For more details see my other blog Library Banter
I skipped out of the lunch Thurs, in the past year I discovered that I get canker sores in my mouth from grilled bread products from restaurants. Since this was a big part of what they were serving, I gave the mediocre convention center food a pass. Instead I braved the rain and found a marvelous little Mexican restaurant 'La Cocina' they had some of the best food I ate that week. I also took the time to find the Walmart and buy the iPod.
Friday I once again skipped their lunch. Heading to a diner 'The Corner Cafe' I had spotted earlier. It serves breakfast and lunch only. I used to order a lot of grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. Now I order a lot of fried eggs and hashbrowns... I stopped briefly at the nearby bookstore and then headed back to the conference.
More sessions were attended, see Library Banter http://librarybanter.blogspot.com/ for details.
I went to the for dinner and had a terrific steak. Then back to the hotel for more reading. In the morning we had the ILA business meeting. It was surprisingly short. I had reserved the hotel room for Sat night because I didn't want to be driving back after a long meeting. Oh well.
Since I suddenly had free time I drove into Coeur d'Alene and visited their public library. Or rather, I tried to, it didn't open for an hour or so. I went over to a bagel place and ordered, what I thought was a simple cheese bagel. What I got was a fiery hot jalapeno and cheese bagel. EEP. I didn't eat much of it, but I did enjoy the super hot mint tea. Then back over to tour the library. It's new and very lovely. My favorite part was the sculptural books on the stairs. I stopped for lunch late at the Breakfast Nook just before it closed for the day for another meal of eggs and hashbrowns. Then on back to Post Falls. I toured their library. My favorite thing here was the animal sculptural posts and walls. For more on the libraries see my Library Banter Blog.
For dinner I wanted something light so I stopped at Rosa's Italian Market & Deli. Nothing appealed so I left before being too noticeable. I ended up doing cheese, bread, and grapes for dinner. That evening I downloaded book 'Three to Get Deadly' (Stephanie Plum) by Janet Evanovich off audible. And readied my plan for the next day. I couldn't seem to get more than one book to function on the iPod so I needed to plan out stops every three hours. Hooray, McDonalds has Wifi.
Not my image
I left early so that I'd still be able to breakfast by the time I reached Missoula. I stopped at McD's, had breakfast and switched to the next book, 'Four to Score.' I also stopped at the Book Exchange on Brooks street and bought another pile of used/new books for Shanna and I. Next stop Dillon and another McD's for lunch. I had to sit in the parking lot to finish the last book. I then went in and switched to 'High Five.' When I went back to the car I turned it on and realized that the Low Fuel light was flashing. I had completely forgotten to watch my fuel gage. I drove/coasted across the parking lot and filled the car. I'm really grateful that it gets such great gas mileage, or I would have been stranded somewhere in nowhere Montana. I made it home just as the last book finished, very awesome.
