Sales Barn Deals

For the Civic Holiday weekend, Mom and Dad came up and we hit the Sales Barn looking for deals. The Sales Barn was really happening that day, and we had to park in a field, where we sort of made our own parking space. The place was full of vendors, regulars and new ones just for the long weekend. Dad got some DVD deals and I got book and salami deals. Mom got some Ontario veggies, and it was an all around great day.

Books were all $1.00 each, and I found the following books that day:

Cabal, The Damnation Game, Sacrament, The Great and Secret Show, all by Clive Barker.

Hearts in Atlantis, by Stephen King (a character from the Dark Tower is in this book).

The Bounty Hunters, by Elmore Leonard (his first novel).

The Silmarillian, by J.R.R. Tolkien (a nice soft cover to replace our beat up copy).

We also got some all beef salamis that we ate way too fast, and had to go back the following Sunday to get a few more. We love it!

We ended our fun get together with a trip to the fish and chip truck. It never disappoints.

All in all a great day of family, book deals, and great food!

Walking with Audiobooks

One of my favourite things to do while walking is listen to an audiobook. I feel like I'm winning at life because I'm getting exercise but I'm also reading a book. I enjoy listening to books while cleaning or knitting as well, but walking is where I listen to most of the books.

Most of my audiobooks come from Libravox, which has public domain books that are read by volunteers. I have listened to many amazing volunteers read me books and I often pick my next book based on the reader. Lots of fun.

Do you ever listen to audiobooks?

Flea Market is Open

Mom and Dad are coming up today and we are heading over to the Elmvale Sales Barn (aka Elmvale Flea and Farmers Market). They are open Thursdays and Sundays throughout the summer and this will be our first time heading over there this season. The weather is good so hopefully there are lots of vendors out. Dad is on the lookout for cheap DVDs, and I'm always looking for book deals. They have some excellent meat deals too. Hope it is a nice day of deal hunting.

Previous Meat Deals!

Victoria Day Book List

It's a holiday here in Canada, and I'm spending it with the five books I have out from the library. I only had a few out, but then some interlibrary loans came in, so now I'm making my way through the pile.

Hope you are having nice weather where you are! I plan on reading outdoors 'til it rains.

Bee Buddy

I started reading The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King yesterday, so it was fitting that I spotted this little guy while I was outside reading. He was very photogenic and didn't mind me getting into his personal space for some photos.

Reading in the Sunshine

I borrowed J.K. Rowling's new book from the library and gave it a quick read in the backyard. The book is a transcript (with some illustrations) of a commencement speech she gave at Harvard University in 2008 and it was a nice read. I love reading outside in the sunshine.

Free Comic Book Day 2015

Yesterday I went to Jacks on Queen in Elmvale, Ontario and scored some free comic books during Free Comic Book Day. I'm still really new to comics and don't really know what I like, so picked up all the ones that I thought might interest me. And because I'm spending lots of time in nature this month, I read some of them outside in the sunshine. Wonderful.

This Year in Reading (A Slow First Quarter)

I'm participating in the Goodreads reading challenge, which I've done for the past two years. I set my goal this year for thirty books, in line with my past results (2013 I read thirty-one books, 2014 I read forty-one). For 2015, I am already way behind schedule (five books behind, according to the helpful widget on my Goodreads profile.) According to my stats, at this point last year I had read eight books, and by this time the year before I had read five books. So far this year I've only finished two, but am almost done a third.

This year I've read:

Wolves of the Calla (The Dark Tower #5), 925 pages

Song of Susannah (The Dark Tower #6), 544 pages

The Dark Tower (The Dark Tower #7), 1050 pages, of which I've read 700 pages (so far).

So it's not that I haven't been reading, it's that the books I'm reading are super long, and I'm so into the Dark Tower series, that I kinda don't want it to end.

But I have to finish it! Not only do I want to know what happens, but a new book came off hold at the library (that still has multiple holds on it) and I have to read it within three weeks as books that have holds can't be renewed. I am so close to the end of the Dark Tower that I don't want to put it down to start something new...I just have to finish it so I can start something new. So I'm going to end this blog post and clock some time with Roland Deschain as he completes his quest for the Dark Tower, and I complete my quest of finishing this book series.

Family Day/Valentine's Weekend

Holiday weekends always seem to have a huge quantity of food in them and I'm okay with that.

Before the weekend started, I roasted an eleven pound bird and we had the gift that keeps on giving: turkey, turkey, and more turkey. We had two nights of beautiful roast turkey dinner (with all the fixin's) followed by super filling, triple decker club sandwiches (with bacon, cheese, and mayo). Plus homemade french fries.

Roast turkey dinner

Turkey club with fries

I also made and decorated some heart shaped gingerbread cookies for Love Day, which we ate the last of last night.

Also last night, I finished devouring the sixth book in The Dark Tower Series: Song of Susannah.

It was a pleasant surprise to breeze through this book so quickly, as I found book five (Wolves of the Calla) and all it's 925 pages slow going. But the pace definitely picked up with book six, and now I'm nervous and excited to start book seven: The Dark Tower. I am looking forward to seeing what happens but also sad to see it end. I'm so glad I found this series after all the books were published - I don't think I could have waited years for the books to come out.

It's Family Day here in Ontario (and a variety of other provinces) and I'm headed to Barrie to spend it with my folks, first stop being someplace fun for lunch (TBD) with Mom. The holiday eating continues, and she is my favourite person to lunch with. If only we could teleport to the restaurant so we don't have to be outside in the -20°C (-4°F) weather. Brrrrrrr....

Hope you all had a great weekend too!

Reading Even More of ALL the Books

Last year I participated in the Goodreads reading challenge, setting a goal of 25 books. I ended up reading 31 books and decided to take the challenge again this year. I kept the goal the same (25 books) as I didn't want to pressure myself to do something fun. Early in the year it was clear I had to up the goal to 30, as I was on a steady course to surpass 25 books again. And I didn't stop at 30. As of today I have read 41 books this year! Holy jumping!! In the past two years I've read 72 books, and that makes me feel really happy. I also read some really great books, and that makes me feel even happier!

To check out the 41 books I read in 2014, click on over to Goodreads to check out my list. 

The following is the Top 6 books/series I read this year, in no particular order.

The Dark Tower by Stephen King
I read the first four in this eight book series this year and I am hooked. I love Roland and his ka-tet and I can often be heard quoting the sayings of the Gunslinger around the house. I absolutely love it, and am happy there are still four more books for me to read.



The Parker Novels by Richard Stark
I realized last year that I like the genre Hardboiled. I started with Elmore Leonard and then our friend James told us about the Parker novels. He was so excited about them that I had to look them up. This year I read the first two in the series, and then books 19 and 20 (there are 24 novels in total). I am hooked. They are fun and fast.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman
I have seen the movie about a zillion times and decided to pick up the book. I read it so fast, even though I knew what was coming. I loved it as much as I love the movie. Which is a lot.





The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)
I love J.K. Rowling and she has never given me a reason not to. Each book is better than the last, and this latest mystery under the Robert Galbraith pseudonym was so much fun to read. Cormoran Strike is a well written dude that I love reading about.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I never picked up this book before this year and somehow avoided all spoilers on what it was about. When I got to the finish it blew my mind, hitting every note I love in good drama. I loved it and totally get why people are still talking about it.




The Circle by Dave Eggers
This was a recommendation from my friend Tasha (who famously recommended to me one of favourite series: The Dresden Files). This is one of the last books I read in 2014 and I couldn't put it down. It was so fast paced and fun to read. It was a near-future dystopia where privacy was viewed as a bad thing and there were many horrifying ideas on how to make everything "open". It was really scary and really fun to read.

This Year is All About Book Deals

I'm currently reading my 30th book of the year and am about 200 pages away from hitting my Goodreads reading challenge goal. There are still a few months left in the year and I'm excited to see how many more books I can read. I love books!

Part of the joy of reading is getting a good book deal, and I got plenty of them this summer/fall. I previously posted about picking up some books at the Elmvale Sales Barn, and I found many more there over the summer. We also went to some used bookstores in Barrie yesterday with the hope of finding some Stephen King so I could complete my Dark Tower collection. We did pretty well too! 

The following is the complete list of used books I've collected over the past four months:

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling, trade paperback, found at the Sales Barn for $5.00

On the Road by Jack Kerouac, paperback, found at the Sales Barn for $1.00

Wizard and Glass by Stephen King, mass market paperback, found at the Sales Barn for $1.66

Flashfire by Richard Stark, paperback, found at the Sales Barn for $0.50

Firebreak by Richard Stark, paperback, found at the Sales Barn for $0.50

Neuromancer by William Gibson, paperback, found at the Sales Barn for $1.00

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, paperback, found at the Sales Barn for $1.00

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling, found at the Sales Barn for $1.66

Lightning by Dean Koontz, mass market paperback, found at my friend's bookstore for no charge!

Wizard and Glass by Stephen King, trade paperback, found at the library book sale for $1.00

Song of Susannah by Stephen King, mass market paperback, found at the library book sale, $1.00

Pagan Babies by Elmore Leonard, mass market paperback, found at the library book sale for $1.00

The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Wilson and Shea, paperback, found at Kerry's Bookstore for $7.50

The Dark Tower by Stephen King, trade paperback, found at Rivendell Books for $10.00

The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King, mass market paperback, Rivendell Books,$6.00

The Stand by Stephen King, paperback, found at Rivendell Books for $4.00


16 used books found their way into my life since June, purchased for a grand total of $42.82.
Averaged out, each book was: $2.68

I bought Wizard and Glass twice because I couldn't leave the beautiful trade paperback I found at the library book sale, since it was only $1.00.

With the books we got at Rivendell Books yesterday, My Dark Tower series is almost complete. I'm still on the lookout for Wolves of the Calla (book #5).

I already had a copy of HP and the Half Blood Prince, but for $1.66 I got a copy that matched the rest of the books I have in the series. That kind of stuff normally doesn't matter to me, but for $1.66 I thought, what the hell.

I Love Interlibrary Loans!

I've been doing a lot of reading this year (I'm trying to read ALL the books). So far I've read twenty-one books in 2014, five of which were read in July alone (I'm almost done a sixth one, too). I'm able to read so much because of the amazing Public Library system. New books, old books, hidden gems, all are available for free. Libraries are the best!

One of my favourite features of our library system is the Interlibrary Loan. If my library doesn't have the book/dvd I'm looking for, they can request it from other libraries to try and get it for me. I was speaking to one of the librarians recently about how amazing the service is, and she let me know a little about how it works. A library puts out a request through the interlibrary loan system (which I believe is province wide) and other libraries can choose to fulfill the request if (a) they have the book and (b) there is low demand for the book with their patrons. Many different libraries see the request so chances are it will be fulfilled (I've used the service ten or more times and have always received the book). Books are then sent through an internal library courier that takes between 1-4 weeks for delivery.

It amazes me so much that (1) this is even possible and (2) it is a free service with my library card. It also gives me a feeling of great pride that everybody can have access to all the books, no matter how big or small their local library is. I absolutely love this service!

I also get a kick out of knowing where the books come from. My pick up location is in Elmvale, Ontario, and over the years I have received items from the following Ontario libraries: Niagara Falls, Keswick, Markham, Ajax, Orillia, and most recently Guelph. A number of those locations are two hours from my local library. How cool is that?

1st Year Gryffindor Scarf: Finished Object

I remembered that I loved knitting, so in January I picked up my needles and started working on some projects. I finished a winter hat for John and have now finished a scarf for me. And not just any scarf, this is a 1st year Gryffindor scarf that allows me to show off my Harry Potter love in public. I have a long black coat which easily doubles as wizards robes, so I am not kidding around when I wear this scarf.

I recently wore it to my local library, and I planned my visit for when my favourite librarians were working. They are fun and sassy and are sometimes loud in the library, which makes them even more fun. We always find time to chat while I'm checking out books and they often compliment my coats (which are pretty much all hand me downs, but it still feels good). I walked in and they said:

"So what cool coat do you have today?"

"No new coat, but I made myself this Harry Potter scarf."

"On purpose?"

"Yep" and we all laughed.

I had my normal winter hat on and she said:

"Well I'm glad you have just a regular hat on..."

To which I finished: "Because otherwise I'd just be an adult in a Harry Potter outfit?" Pretty much.

We all had big smiles and then discussed how great it is to be fun and weird and to not have to conform to what "others" might think is cool. It is definitely very freeing.

I''m currently doing a re-read of the Harry Potter series and am halfway through book 7. I have taken to wearing my scarf indoors while I'm reading it (or outdoors while listening to the audiobook). Feels festive and good.

Reading ALL the Books

I joined Goodreads in January, set myself a reading challenge, and got excited about reading. My initial goal was to read 25 books, and I bested it by 6. I read thirty-one books! And many of them were over 400 pages long! I really surprised myself and certainly read a lot more than I expected to.

So in no particular order, here are the highlights of what I read in 2013. You can see my complete list here, as well as at the end of this post.

Harry Potter Re-Read (5 books)
Philosophers Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix (first five books) by J.K. Rowling

I love J.K. Rowling, so I started my first Harry Potter re-read. I have both the books and the audio books, so I read them before I went to bed and also took them on walks with me. Listening to Harry Potter while walking is like walking with a warm hug.



The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling)
I loved this book and I love J.K. Rowling. Her writing completely works for me. Can't wait for the next one.

Lord of the Rings (3 books)
The Fellowship of the Rings, The Two Towers, The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

I tried to read this 10 years ago and stopped around page 50. I'm so glad I tried again, as I got completely obsessed with it. The Lord of the Rings is actually pretty great! I have re-watched all the movies since reading it and love to discuss the differences between the book and the film versions.


 
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

My first walk into Middle Earth was with the Hobbit. I liked the movie so I thought I should try the book. This book definitely made me appreciate Bilbo Baggins. He is a pretty neat dude.



 
An Astronaut's Guide To Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield
I have a really strong appreciation for people who are passionate about what they do. Chris Hadfield is one of those people and what he does is actually really amazing and inspiring. More than just an astronaut, Chris Hadfield is a real life teacher and I have definitely learned from him and his book. A must read.

 Wild by Cheryl Strayed
A memoir of a woman who hiked the Pacific Crest Trail after the loss of her mother. This book really hit me in the feels and I highly recommend it.




Freaky Deaky by Elmore Leonard
I hadn't read any Elmore Leonard before he passed earlier this year, but I am happy to say I've now read Freaky Deaky. It was a fun one to start on. It was fast paced, the main character was a 'one-step-ahead of the bad guy' bad ass, and it was a satisfying tale where the bad guys got theirs in the end. Highly recommended.

The Feeling Good Handbook by David D. Burns, M.D.
This is a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy self help book and I couldn't recommend it more. The book is filled with exercises to work through as you read about how your thoughts effect how you feel. I will probably read this book over and over throughout my life.





And the Rest:

Raylan by Elmore Leonard                        How to Archer by Sterling Archer
Nueromancer by William Gibson              Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn                         The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt
The Tempest by William Shakespeare    

Joyland and The Colorado Kid by Stephen King
Cold Days, Side Jobs, The Furies of Calderon, and Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher
Naked Heat, Heat Rises, Frozen Heat, and Deadly Heat by Richard Castle

According to my Goodreads stats I read over 12,000 pages this year. Right on!

IPM Cookbook 2014 - Simcoe County Edition

My sister-in-law Jeanette has spent the past year working on the International Plowing Match (IPM) 2014 cookbook. She and the rest of the IPM cookbook committee collected and compiled over 700 recipes from Simcoe County residents and created a beautiful cookbook that, as the tag line states, is 'from the heart of Simcoe County kitchens'.

The IPM Cookbook is the official fundraising cookbook for the plowing match happening in Ivy, Ontario in September 2014. The cookbooks are sold for a year before the match to raise funds to support the event. Books are sold for $12 and can be purchased through local retailers and vendors at upcoming fairs and events (see below). I'm very proud of my sister-in-law for her efforts to create this cookbook. Great job Jeanette!

Perth County is hosting this year's plowing match, which marks the 100th anniversary of the event and begins this Tuesday (running Sept 17-21). For more information check here or watch this trailer for the event:



For further information on the 2014 match happening in Simcoe County check here.

The following is a list of vendors throughout Simcoe County who are selling the 2014 IPM Cookbook. New vendors will be added, so please check their Facebook page for updates.

New vendors as of September, 2013:

Carpe Diem - 1012 Yonge St, Barrie
Barrie Hill Farms - 2935 Barrie Hill Rd, Barrie www.barriehillfarms.com
Barrie Home Hardware
Penetanguishene Home Hardware - 2 Poyntz St #61, Penetanguishene
Midland Home Hardware - 159 4th St, Midland
Wasaga Beach Home Hardware  - 1955 Mosley St, Wasaga Beach
Elmvale Home Building Centre - 121 County Rd. 27, Elmvale
H.F. Smith Home Hardware Building Centre - 61 Queen Street, Highway 89, Cookstown

Book Review: The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

My favourite book from 2012 was The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling.

I know I like a book when I can't sleep. I either stay up way too late reading page after page, or I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about a part of the story. With this book I did both of those things.

The plot surrounds a small town council, an empty council seat, and all those involved in vying for power. The plot initially reminded me of Game of Thrones, but instead of seeking the Iron Throne, these characters are fighting to be elected to local government. Not all the characters are likeable, and there are a lot of bad things happen, but I couldn't put the book down.

I think this book works because Rowling is such an excellent storyteller. Each page made me want to know more about these people and made me anxious for what could happen to them. She even made me care about characters I didn't like, which I find amazing.  There are some heavy themes in the book, including domestic violence, child abuse, drug addition, mental health issues, poverty, and classism, but these themes didn't make it any less enjoyable to read. Rowling writes in such a way that despite the tragic elements, I was still enthralled by the story and desperate to know how it would play out.

The Casual Vacancy had the potential to be a complete disaster, and I'm filled with "Team Rowling" pride that it wasn't. Writing anything after of the success of Harry Potter had to be a gamble, especially in a different genre, and the pressure for it to be 'good' had to be great. Not everyone liked the book, but I really enjoyed it and I applaud Rowling for having the guts to go for it and try something new. It find that very inspiring.

This book review was part of the Author Appreciation Day Blog Hop, happening over at Book Reviews by Sus.

 

Author Appreciation Day Blog Hop

Book Reviews with Sus is hosting an Author Appreciation Blog Hop tomorrow.

The goal of the blog hop is to promote doing book reviews and rating books for authors.

I have been reading a lot of books lately and even joined Goodreads in January to encourage myself to read more. I am pretty good at rating a book when I finish it (you just have to click which star you like!), but I haven't actually reviewed a book yet. So tomorrow's blog hop is going to challenge me to do just that! Do you have a book you feel like rating or reviewing? 

If you are up for reviewing/rating a book tomorrow, hop over to Book Reviews by Sus and join up so everyone can read your review! 

Check Out The Happy Whisk For A Chance to Win (and to read fun stuff!)

The Happy Whisk is giving away e-books to celebrate reaching 444 blog posts on her amazing blog!

She is accepting comments on her blog for the next 4 days so head on over and leave her a comment for your chance to win!

#Winning

I have joined to ranks of my friends Tasha and Joanne and won the Canadian Living Craft Blog Weekly Giveaway!  The prize is perfect for me -  an adorable knitting pattern book to knit farm toys!  Having grown up on a farm, and as the aunt of two young and adorable farmers, I will definitely be making all of these projects.  There is even a pattern to make a barn!  I am so excited!

Too cute!!

If you have never entered the Canadian Living Craft Blog giveaway contest, here is my overwhelming endorsement that you should.  There is normally a new giveaway announced every Monday, and prizes vary from books to supplies for many types of crafts.  For your chance to win, all you have to do is comment on the "Weekly Giveaway" blog post.  They usually pose some sort of question for you to answer, so it's pretty easy to think of something to say. The winners are chosen randomly, and I love that you don't have to sign up for anything to leave your comment.  Also, I think the odds of winning are pretty good, as I've never seen more than 180 comments on a giveaway post, and most times the number of comments is far lower than that.  The contest I won had only 30 comments and they had two copies of the book to giveaway, so I had a 1 in 15 chance to win...and I won!!  Also, there is no moratorium on entering the contest after you've won, so if win and you like the following week's giveaway, go ahead and enter that one too!

Here is the link to the current giveaway: Giveaway for the week of April 25, and as of now (9:30pm on Monday night), there are only 10 comments!  Readers have until 11:59pm on Sunday May 1st to write a comment.  Be sure to read all the guidelines on how to comment (you can only comment once) to ensure your entry is part of the draw.

Good luck!  I hope you win a cool book too!! :)

Summer Reading List

There have been many books on my coffee table this summer - most of which I actually got around to reading.  Thought I would share some titles with you.  What have you been reading lately?


Fiction

Storm Front, Fool Moon, and Grave Peril, all from Jim's Butcher's Dresden Files. Love, love, love, this series so far!  It's the little details about this Wizard detective and his adventures that are so much fun.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. I have the next two books in the series on hold at the library and I can't wait for them. It was a long book for me (500 pages) but I read it in no time. I also watched the European movie based on the book and it was a pretty good interpretation. Plus I love sub-titles - they make movies more fun for me.

Bitten by Kelly Armstrong. I haven't started this one yet, but I Googled "urban fantasy" and she was one of the people who came up. The series has 11 titles, so if her first book is good, I'll have tonnes more to read. Also she is a Canadian from Ontario, so I already like that about her.

Non-Fiction

On Writing by Stephen King.  I've only finished the first third of this book, which is the autobiography part, and I have to say Stephen King is an awesome dude and a helluva writer.  I have to pick up this book again to see his thoughts on writing - I am sure it will informative.  I have also been catching King's articles in Entertainment Weekly - I am a sucker for Uncle Stevie's commentary.

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.  It's an autobiography and I only got through the first three chapters before I was too disturbed by the horrors of her childhood to continue reading.  She's a good writer, though, so I will try to get back into it sometime soon.

What's been on your coffee table this summer?