Thursday, September 6, 2007

The Fatal Flaw

When I signed up for all of these challenges, I knew my own limits. After all, I thought to myself, I've been averaging 14 books a month this year, so I should be able to handle it. Ah, hubris. Because here's what I failed to consider: if all of the books I'm reading are for challenges, then I have to review them all. Oy. Currently, I'm two books behind, and the month is five days old. We'll see how this goes, shall we? Especially since I like writing non-review posts as well!

On the plus side, I've been very impressed with the blogosphere lately (not that I'm not always impressed). And I have some thoughts and links to share. :)

+First off, there's a Jane Austen reading schedule up at Brooklyn Arden. I've read all of Austen's works, most multiple times, and this calendar seems spot it; it has a book every two months and is mainly based on seasons.

+The new Estella's Revenge is out, and I very much enjoyed it. My favourite articles? "The Seven Deadly Reading Sins," "Confessions of a Closet Reader," "Confessions of a Hopeless Book Addict (Photo Essay)" (go bookfool!), and "Confessing a Literary Crush."

+Oh, and there was an interview with Mark Zusak (the author of the book that wrung my heart recently). Who knew how cute he was?! Good looking, reads, writes...I'm thinking I might have to move to Australia. ;)


+On an almost-unrelated topic, that last Estella article I mentioned segues nicely into an idea I've been toying with for awhile now. I even have a draft post to prove it. :) It's an idea for a challenge, but for sometime in 2008 (definitely including February), based on literary crushes. Something like "Swoonworthy Reads" (yep, corny, I know). I think it would be a lot of fun to compile a list of everyone's favourite crushes and then pick however many books to read. And of course I'd have to do something special for Valentine's Day. And I'm thinking at least one of the buttons would involve a certain wet-shirted gentleman we all know and love. ;) So, begin brainstorming all of your crushes! (of course, crushes on girl characters are welcome as well!)

+I guess I'll start with my first literary crush ever. That would be Gilbert from the Anne of Green Gables series. He was tall, intelligent, kind, but also mischevious. How could I resist the twinkle in his eye? I reread most of the series several times as a kid, and in the early ones I would get very, very upset with Anne for her treatment of him. But it all comes together in the end. :) Oh, that night when he was at death's door...I was afraid to get to the end of the chapter. What if L.M. Montgomery does the unthinkable? How awful would that be?! And relief flooded me as fully as it flooded Anne at sunrise. Whew. I might have to make this a regular feature leading up to the challenge; crush of the month. lol

+It's almost time for the next edition of the Bookworms Carnival. It's hosted at Book Nut, and its theme is classics. The deadline is September 14th; I'm not sure if the submitted posts have to be recent or not. As a shameless plug, I'll be hosting the December carnival with the theme of "non-fiction." (hmmm-I wonder why that could be?)

+Watch this space for: why Coraline confirms that Neil Gaiman is one of my favourite-est authors, my mixed feelings on The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon and how it might be connected to The Book Thief, and a pile of my latest bookmooches.

+Oh! And check out my thoughts on The Ghost Writer below this. I have the sneaking suspicion a lot of y'all would like it. :)

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think a "swoonworthy reads" challenge would be fantastic! I was trying to think about my literary crushes, and I have to second you on Gilbert Blythe, and of course there's Mr. Darcy (although I was also quite taken with Mr. Knightly from Emma for a while). Ah, literary crushes!

Eva said...

Sarah, I have a big crush on Mr. Knightley as portrayed by Jeremy Northam. Of course, he's definitely too young to match the book's Knightley. But the scene in the book where Knightley professes his love is just too adorable for words. My only worry with the challenge is that we'll need some non-Austen reads! lol

Dewey said...

Oh my! He's adorable.

I know how it is being behind on reviews. I think I'm about three books behind right now, and if I don't catch up soon, I'll forget what the books were even about.

Heading over to Estella's Revenge!

Andi said...

Oh my GAD, I could kiss you for the Swoonworthy idea! I'm tickled that my article could be a segue. lol And very glad you liked the issue of Estella. I totally wanna put Mark Zusak in my pocket.

SQT said...

Eva

I just wanted to let you know that I picked your name out of a hat and you won "Many Bloody Returns." Email me with your address so I can send you your book!

Anonymous said...

I know what you mean about having to review books for challenges, I'm running into that problem myself these days.

I have to say my first literary crush may have been Encyclopedia Brown - isn't that silly? Gilbert is a close second and Mr. Darcy wins hands down.

Booklogged said...

Mark Zusak is very good looking! The Swoonworthy Reads is a great idea for a challenge. Yes, I'm in love with Mr. Darcy as played by Colin Firth; also, the Scarlet Pimpernel played by Anthony Andrews. And I'm starting to fall for Max in Colleen Gleason's The Gardella Vampire Chronicles.

Stephanie said...

Yes, you are right about Marcus Zuzak! He's quite a cutie! And oh, the book!!

I love, love, LOVE your idea for the Swoonworthy challenge! How fun is that??

Eva said...

Dewey, I hate getting behind! I need a couple extra hours in every day, then it'd be good. ;)

Andi, thanks for visiting! The books in your article will definitely beon the challenge list. :D

Sqt, awesome!!!

Verbivore, I've never heard of Encyclopedia Brown. Interesting!

Booklogged, ooohh=Scarlet Pimpernel-that's a good one! I have Gleason's books on amazon order, so I'm looking forward to reading them. :)

Stephanie, glad you'll be in on the challenge! The book was so good, but so painful. Zusak is all good though. ;)