I enjoyed The Her Royal Spyness series so I'll have to look at the others.

YES! That book always makes me so hungry!

Well I started the week with a binge read and then went into that familiar reading slump you all probably know when your head is and still wants to be in the universe of the series but you've run out of books. This has led me to stalk the authors website in an attempt to find out the publication date for the next book but no such luck. Today with some discipline I managed to break said slump...at least somewhat. I read a few chapters of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, a chapter of Band of Brothers, chapters 2-4 of History of the Medieval World (I figured I would get a bit ahead since I know I will fall behind at some point). I agree with Chrysalis Academy (I think it was) that the jumping from one country to another is a bit distracting. I am a rabbit trail/binge reader in that I tend to read a lot on one subject for a while and then jump onto another trail that I find in the book. For me history has always been studied chronologically but at the same time geographically (focused mostly on Europe but some US and in high school some China, Middle East and Cuba thrown in for good measure) and the jumping from country to country gets me mixed up. Add to that the non-familiar names and I feel my mind drift off. But I shall focus. So far this year I have read: 1. Child Catchers by Kathryn Joyce 2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling 3. The Understatement of the Year by Sarina Bowen 4. The Year We Hid Away by Sarina Bowen 5. The Year We Fell Down by Sarina Bowen 6. Blond Date by Sarina Bowen 7. A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift

Here is an article about "weird" Swedish cultural practices. ETA the actual link http://www.thelocal.se/20150114/the-five-strangest-habits-of-the-swedes We do have "friluftsliv" here but the Norwegians are practically militant about theirs. Also I would say the correct phrase for what the Norwegians do is "gå på tur". the Swedish translation of "hygge"* is "kura skymning". *hygge in Swedish is what you get in an area where they have finished logging

A zoo in Sweden has a brown bear female with three cubs (born just the other day) and a bear cam. (there is usually an ad first) http://www.helahalsingland.se/allmant/halsingland/live-fran-bjornidet

Being treated like a complete idiot when I call the broadband company

That and it necessitated some discussion that shouldn't be rushed :)

Also not safe for work :D

Well I can't really tell my boss that :D The meeting went well, I was offered a promotion :)

Okay so this is a totally crude joke and I don't believe it but this thread made me think it... A good girl believes she is not dressed unless she is wearing a strand of pearls. A bad girl believes she is dressed if she is wearing only a strand of pearls.

People who want to have meetings with you but won't tell you what they are about. I worry!!

So I've gone on a binge this week. I even rewarded myself at work today by correcting one of my seniors ethics essays then a few pages in my book, then another essay and so on. So far I've finished: The Understatement of the Year The Year We Fell Down The Year We Hid Away Blond Date and A Modest Proposal (re-read) (this was perfectly "legal" to read at work since I'm discussing it with my seniors tomorrow) I really enjoyed the Ivy Years series and I'm glad she is writing more. I'll write up more about them when I've had some more sleep. I love The Giver and for some reason I am really nervous about reading the others in the series. Normally I'm all over series.

Life's to short for bad books and bad wine

I'm in Sweden so take that into account. I am currently wearing nice jeans, a nice top and my converse (I wore winterboots to work but changed when I got here). It is bucketing down with snow and the school is COLD as it is the first day back. I do try to wear somewhat nicer clothes to work but my wardrobe isn't what I would wear if I worked in an office. I wear a lot of skirts and leggings with tunics simply because I am short and round and I have a devil of a time finding trousers that fit well. I wouldn't wear boyfriend jeans to work (the ripped overwashed kind) but yeah I do wear jeans fairly often. My colleagues dress much the same way I do.

I'm sneeking on here while my students do a diagnostic test (I just love the smell of test induced axiety in the morning). Oh and in case anyone thinks the multiquote feature is back, it isn't I did the Elian method. Well consider yourself credited/blamed. I was up until just after midnight. It was one, if not the, best book in the Romance genre I've read (NA is a new category for me). I saw the series several years ago and the book has been on my TBR pile ever since. I am really looking forward to it. I really enjoyed My Antonia but right now I can't remember why (I am blaming Kareni :leaving: :lol: ) 2001: A Space Odyssey was the first book anyone read out loud to me. I was less than 24 hours old. Why, yes, my love of books is genetic...also I think this explains my weirdness :hat: :lol: Negin I too loved A Walk in the Woods. His other books have been a bit hit and miss for me.

I forgot to say Happy Birthday Melissa!!! Confession #1 I started but never finished Don Quixote. I. Just. Could. Not. Do. It. Confession #2 I am going to blame Kareni when I am exhausted tomorrow because I've been up way past my bedtime reading The Understatement of the Year. Confession #3 One click buying is my downfall. See ya on the flip side.

I finished Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire yesterday and promptly started The Order of the Phoenix. GOF is my least favorite in the series (book and movie) so I am kinda glad to be done with it. I've also started Band of Brothers and read the first chapter in HOMW and plan on reading chapter two later in the week. I also have to read A Modest Proposal since the seniors will need to have read that for Wednesday. Kareni that book sounds very interesting. I'll have to add it to my pile. And on that note I am beginning to remember why I had to stop reading these threads. :D

That was NOT. NICE. Northanger Abbey is my favorite Austen and the re-imaging, at least in part takes place in my favorite city in the world. I was trying to not buy books. *pouts*

Whoops...accidentally bought three books between yesterday. Luckily two were free and one was a pre-order that is due out in August Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift Malice at the Palace by Rhys Bowen I want to know, is it summer yet? (we just got at least 20cm of snow dumped on us in less than 12 hours so I am going to say no). So many books in series I read that are due out in the summer. Well at least next month the next In Death book comes out.

Lovely quilt! I finished my second book today, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This is a re-read and a comfort read.

Well my final challenge post is up on the blog :001_smile:

These jars from IKEA (we have a slightly bigger one here as well) http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/series/28300/

I didn't realize that there was a fifth book about Tiffany Aching coming out!!! *does happy dance*

Seems like the killers are dead

I really enjoyed The Remains of the Day but couldn't STAND Never Let Me Go. The narrator drove me batty. I think I will read the new Ishiguro. I do want to read a lot from my shelves but some new books should be allowed 😄