The Ramblings of a Mental Meanderthal

At the age of 44, I am taking Freshman Composition at a junior college. High time, I know. The class officially starts tomorrow, but Professor M released the syllabus today. I'm tempted to pull a Hermione Granger and read the entire textbook before the class starts, but I'm trying to curb my enthusiasm in the hope that I don't burn out before Halloween. That reminds me; I need to start on my Hedwig costume. And I never know if this is going to be an autumn/winter that is going to have bronchitis or pneumonia in it, so I need all the oomph I can get. I did get the e-textbook -- many thanks, Professor, for assigning a book that doesn't cost upwards of $300 -- and read the introduction. I found my attention wandering, so I read some paragraphs out loud to the cats. It helped me focus, but Morse bit me and left the room after five minutes. Everyone's a critic. (In her defense, I was absentmindedly petting her, and my hand strayed to her belly.) It will be inte

So, yeah, a man writes a book and describes a woman, and yes, you can tell sometimes that the writer was definitely a dude. Having said that, Carl Sagan still treats Ellie Arroway as a fully-realized character. I have adored her and this book since I was a teenager, and every time I come back to it, I enjoy and understand it a little more. (I haven't the mathematical knowledge to understand astrophysics, but I understand a lot of the concepts.) Here's my review at Goodreads, which pretty much sums it up: I first read this when I was a teenager -- maybe four years after it was first published -- and Ellie's story has always resonated with me. Not just being a stargazer and science fan (though she's a pro, while I'm a self-taught amateur), but also being puzzled by the contradictions in science and religion. I certainly don't have the answers, and the book gets a tiny bit saccharine towards the end,

I DNFed two books in a row this morning while I had laundry going. I don't like giving up on one book, but two consecutive books left me a bit down in the dumps. (Both of them were the second books in their respective series; I liked both first books, but neither was a favorite.) Now that Mom has finished the last in the Enchanted Forest series, I'll start it tomorrow, but that leaves me wondering what to read tonight ... I don't want to start a new book at bedtime, because what if I love it and don't want to stop reading? First world problems, I know. I'll find something, probably something I've read before that is on my Hufflepuff Reading List. If I've read it before, I'll already know what's going to happen and won't need to stay up until I drop the book on my face.

I started reading this last night and finished it while I was at work. (Don't give me any grief; I work the Circulation counter at my library every day, and I sit and wait for people to need help. I'm allowed to read.) My friend P.C. mentioned this when I was looking for books for the 2015 reading challenge. She simply mentioned the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede, and I put the first book on my to-read list, but if you've been to my Goodreads page, you may have noticed that my to-read list there is 641 books long. (And that's just the books I've heard of while I had access to a computer or paper and pen!) So the series got lost in the shuffle until someone mentioned it recently, and I requested the first book from the local public library. (I've read Patricia C. Wrede before; I found her Snow White and Rose Red when I was in junior high, and I absolutely loved it. I still read it about once every two years.) Back to Dealing with Dragons

Recap since my last post: I finished that book challenge in 2015. I wrote a book-length fanfiction in 2016. (Haven't done anything with the first draft in 18 months.) I did another PopSugar book challenge in 2017. This year, my goal is simply to read 52 books. I'm up to 45 books read in 23 weeks, so I'm on track to double my goal for 2018. If anyone wants to find me at Goodreads, this is me . I keep track of what I've read and when I've read it, though books I read more than four years ago have estimated start and finish dates. I have a Favorites shelf and a Hufflepuff* shelf. *After seeing one too many "Books Every Hufflepuff/Gryffindor/Slytherin/Ravenclaw Should Read" posts at Book Riot and elsewhere, I decided to compile my own list. Deleted the duplicates and ignored a few recommendations. (Yes, there is a spreadsheet.) It started with 42 books and has grown to 54 as I type this, but several are from a comic book series, so the 54 is accurate in o