45. Lord of the Fading Lands - CL Wilson
46. Lady of Light and Shadows - CL Wilson

While they were twee at the beginning of the book with the whole soul-mate principle thing (I thought nooo), I started to get a real affinity for the books, especially the end of the first one with all the fantasy lore of the world falling into place. Not bad. Not bad at all.

But most importantly, I am on course to reading 50 books within the first half of this year. W00t!

Goals and reaching milestones makes me happy. People tell me that it's not fun setting book reading goals, but I say try telling that Dulcetfida kid.

Quite randomly, here are some of my favourite things(5 to be precise):

1. The animal game that I've invented for my two ickle cousins. They're 3 and 4, and what I do is this, put some really weird music in the background (unsuitable stuff like, "Low" by Flo Rider), and then shout out the name of an animal. And then dance like said animal until I or they shout out the next animal. Who woulda thunk that it could be so much fun? We danced like a monkey, a bird, giraffe, tiger, lion and an elephant. You should try it sometime. Especially with hyper kids that have WAYYYY too much energy. It gives them something to focus towards and I think its great stuff for learning brains.

2. I enjoy looking up at the clouds whilst lying back on a blanket in the park. Ever played the cloud formation game? You watch the skies from below, and try to make out shapes. It gives me such great pleasures doing this really simple thing. A beautiful clear sky is a must for this. Bonus points for making others see the same as you.

3.  Fantasy book that deserves a mention:



Looks are definitely deceiving. I still dislike the covers of her two books and I also find the title disarmingly childish, however do not judge it by its covers, especially if you have had the similar snobby attitude as I have just displayed for you right now. 

After the terrible disappointment of the books by C.E. Murphy (well the House of Cards helped redeem her somewhat) I found this to be just the breath of fresh air that I needed. It's fun, with a great story. It has wonderfully rendered lively characters, and just the right amount of humour. I loved it. I think everyone should read it, even if fantasy books are not their cup of tea.   It's fun, witty, the main character is a doll and the situation unique. Sure there's a quest element to it, but hey, it's a FANTASY book. You pay for what's written on the tin.

So yeah, do read it. Though start with the first book, "Magic lost, Trouble found".

Have you found any books with covers that put you off but later on find the book totally worth it? I can think of one particular book that falls into that category. You might have heard of this little known book. Ahem. Harry Potter. :p

4. Reality TV. I'm a sucker for the following:

ANTM
BNTM
The Apprentice

I have to watch all of them. 

I also not-so-secretly think that I could win the Apprentice, had I the inclination of wanting to get on that show of course. Alas, the end prize does not interest me in the slightest.  Sorry Sir Alan Sugar. It's just not happening dear.

5. Weekends of not going out. I enjoy not going out. Yes I really am 23 and not some 70 year old fuddy-duddy or whatever the stereotype for such a thing is.  I enjoy curling up with a book, hanging around downstairs in the reception rooms chatting to my siblings or just generally enjoying the comfort of silence all around. I know that it's not forever and perhaps that's why I make sure that I enjoy it while I still can, relatively young and responsibility-free that I am.

Let me have my moment of silence, aye? :)

Now tell me. What's five of your favourite things at the moment?

Book challenge

Time for an update of my book challenge me thinks:

30. SW - JM
31. DS - JM
32. Heart of Stone
33. House of Cards
34. Armed & Magical
35. TMoY - JL

I'm pretty certain I'll reach my 50 before mid June or end of June or whatever.  I still have yet to finish those books I mentioned on my to-be-read books and I ended up buying a couple more in addition to the recent Amazon purchase. I really DO need a home library to keep them in. But that's another story in itself.

And with a flourish, I leave you. <3

I think I'm going to pressure myself to finish reading these new books that have been piling up for a while now; it's most unlike me. What better way to do this, than to mention them publicly and put myself under pressure as a result, eh? Lets hope the pressure to finish them mounts and that I finish these books with aplomb; books that have been accumulating as a result of this smaller matter of work, heh. :p

The list:

1. The Red Wolf Conspiracy - Robert V. S. Redick (and I was soooo looking forward to this book and all)
2. Empress - Karen Miller (as above, I just jumped and bought it because I loved her previous offerings)
3. Darkness that comes before - R. Scott Bakker
4. Wizard's First Rule - Terry Goodkind

The plan is to finish them over the coming week alone. I want to update my 50 book challenge! However, I expect disruptions in the form of new book distractions.

What's on your to-read asap list?

Book lover that I am, [oh how I love to read], I was looking through the various LJ book communities on this very topic, when I happened upon one that interested me; the 50bookchallenge.  The rules on there were simple; read 50 books within a year. That got me thinking a little. I wondered how many I had already read within this year as I mentally counted the various book covers that have passed before me during this time period of 2008, and it's fair to say that there's been quite a few that's for sure.

Here are the books I remember reading in the year 2008 (not including my re-reads of the same book within the year 2008):

1. Poison Study - Maria V Snyder (Study series)
2. Magic Study - Maria V Snyder (Study series)
3. Fire Study - Maria V Snyder (Study series)
4. Magic Bites - Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels series)
5. Magic Burns - Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniel series)
6. The High King's Tomb - Kristen Britain (Green Rider series :p)
7. The Name of the wind - Patrick Rothfuss (The Kingkiller Chronicles)
8. Cast in Shadows - Michelle Segara West
9. Cast in Courtlight - Michelle Segara West
10. Cast in Secret - Michelle Segara West
11. Magic lost, Trouble Found - Lisa Shearin
12. The Awakened Mage - Karen Miller
13. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
14. The Blood King - Gail Martinez (Chronicles of a Necromancer)
15. Voice of the Gods - Trudi Canavan (Age of the Five)
16. Changer of Days - Alma Alexander
17. Blood Engines - T. A. Pratt
18. Poison Sleep - T. A. Pratt
19. Dark Lover - JR Ward (don't ask! - I saw a review on this fun blog, alas the infectious review didn't quite mean a great book in the making)

I probably have read other things but I don't remember.

I think I'm going to see how quickly I can reach that 50 book mark. I don't doubt that I would reach it sooner rather than later, bearing in mind how I used to read about 35+ in a month once upon a  time. Ha. But I would be disappointed if I don't get there by mid year, regardless of the things on my plate, both work and family wise.

How many have you read this year? Come on, take up the challenge with me, even if your reading stack screams "Fantasy" like mine.