Age 30+ ... A Lifetime of Books: Frustration

Who AM I?

That's a good question ... I'm a daughter, a wife, a mother, a sister, a friend ... and there's so much more! But for the purpose of this blog I am a first and foremost a reader.

When I was in the first grade I read The Hobbit and my love of Fantasy took root. By the time I left elementary school I had completed the entire series as well as The Belgariad by David Eddings. Seventh grade brought me the beginning of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series ... which is still not complete. High school and college introduced me to the classics and to history. My reading disappeared for several years when I had a child. Then I started a book club and it came back in full force.

Today I read anything that catches my eye ... at the moment that includes historical fiction, fantasy, literary fiction, and any titles I find interesting. I'm always on the lookout for the next great find ... any suggestions?

Friday, January 16, 2009

Frustration

Being a list of things that are driving me crazy right now.

I'm currently listening to The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. In the middle of cassette 3 (of 13), the audio went all funky. I couldn't get it to play in my car so I took it into the house to try it on another cassette player. Now I've lost it. I am SO into this story and I'm dying to know what happens next. Alas, I'm out of luck until I can get another copy from the library.
I'm reading Aldous Huxley's Island for the Lost Challenge and I hate it. I keep reading, hoping that there will be something that redeems it. I'm loosing hope quickly.
There's no way I'm going to finish the 1% Well Read Challenge by Feb. 28. I've been stressing myself out trying to get it done, but it is just NOT going to happen. So I'm throwing in the towel on this one. I will keep my list of unread books though, as I will be participating in this challenge again this year.
There is also no way that I will complete the Lost Challenge by Jan. 21, considering that I haven't even started Moby Dick yet. I have the audio book on hold at the library and I do plan to listen to it, but it won't be before the challenge is officially over.
My job is driving me crazy at the moment. There's lots of transitioning going on because our General Manager is retiring. In an office with a total of 17 people, a change like that is huge. Plus our holiday party is this weekend and half the office isn't going. I am, and I think I'm on the wrong half.
It is COLD outside. 17 degrees to be exact. Now I know that many of you are in places where the thermometer is in the negative numbers so my 17 may look nice to you, but trust me, it's cold and I don't like cold. I like snow though. So if it is going to be cold it might as well snow - there's no point to cold without snow.
There are other frustrating things at the moment but since they are mostly financial I won't go into all of them. Plus I think I've ranted long enough.

Ok, now that all that is off my chest, maybe my day will improve. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I know I will, because I'm going to pick up something that I actually WANT to read and take a break from Island. :)

14 comments:

Anonymous said...: I hope things get better.; January 16, 2009 at 11:42 AM
Lezlie said...: Here's to thinks looking up! And to hoping that happens soon. In the meantime, Hugs!!

Lezlie; January 16, 2009 at 11:43 AM
momofonefornow said...: 1. I just looked at this last night on Amazon. You can order the CD set for like $0.50 plus 3.99 s&h from the retailers on there. Just FYI if the library doesn't have it available and you absolutely can't wait.

2. I hear you. That is how I felt about 100 Years of Solitude.

6. We just got snow this morning. Flipping brrrrrr! I am sick of the cold and wish for Spring, now!

7. Sorry about the money thing. I hear you. December and January are always the pits for us too.

Hope it gets better.; January 16, 2009 at 11:59 AM
Amanda said...: Oh I totally feel for you. Arg arg arg.

But for the 1% Challenge I may be able to help. Here's some really short (only a few pages really) works that you can check off.

A Modest Proposal - John. Swift
The Pit and Pendulum - E.A. Poe
The Fall of the House of Usher - E.A. Poe

And the best thing is that you can find the full text online for free.

And here's a nice site for ideas on quick classic reads:

http://www.lacrosselibrary.org/readers/shortclassics.htm

Good luck!; January 16, 2009 at 12:15 PM
Lenore Appelhans said...: I'm not going to finish the 1% well read challenge either. But I am going to try to get to at least .05% :); January 16, 2009 at 12:22 PM
Anonymous said...: Know your limits (I'm talking about book challenges, not the holiday party this weekend :) )

You're smart to let the Challenges go if they're becoming a stress ... I like Lenore's idea, calculate what percentage you're at, and you can always build from there!; January 16, 2009 at 2:13 PM
Anonymous said...: I have The Thirteenth Tale in hardcover if you'd like to borrow the book. (Loved it.) If you're up my way this weekend, I'll leave it in my mailbox.

I'm so with you on hating cold without snow.

I hope you have a good weekend!; January 16, 2009 at 2:24 PM
Alessandra said...: I had to look for an online converter to calculate how many Celsius grades are 17 Fahrenheit... it's -8! That's VERY cold in my book! Hope it gets warmer, and that things get better for you!; January 16, 2009 at 2:59 PM
Ti said...: I loved The Thirteenth Tale. I can't wait for her to write another book.

What's with the holiday party being so late? My work did that too and I skipped it. Wasn't in the mood. Can't you get out of it?

I'm sorry it's so cold there. Brrrr. It's very warm here in California... even for Ca.

Hope everything settles down for you soon.; January 16, 2009 at 5:26 PM
Dreamybee said...: On the bright side, it sounds like you have a lot of things that can only get better from here! Sorry things are stressful. =( Hope you feel better after the weekend.

I've never read The Thriteenth Tale, but I'd be willing to take a stab at how the rest of it goes. Something bad happens to whoever the most beautiful person in the story happens to be, a prince comes in and saves the day, and everyone lives happily ever after! There, now you don't have to stress out about the rest of it! (I could be wrong though.); January 16, 2009 at 6:59 PM
Photogrl said...: I hope you feel less stressed soon!

((HUGS)); January 16, 2009 at 7:10 PM
Anonymous said...: You are such an AMAZING, unique person. You will not just prevail but Thrive! Financial problems are life long, and right now world wide.And at the end of the day, a job is just what you do to take care of your family.Read a good book with kiddo and enjoy a margarita!; January 16, 2009 at 9:51 PM
Anonymous said...: Heather, in between everything that is driving you crazy at the moment (and believe me, I feel for you: I know what it is when everything happens at the same time) I am bringing you some positive news: There's an award waiting for you at my blog. Stop by to pick it up!; January 17, 2009 at 8:14 AM
Susan said...: HI Heather, I'm catching up on blogs after our trip to England, so I thought I'd leave a comment again that I love your blog. and the 1% challenge - I read one book for it! I haven't decided if I'm going into the one for this year, i'm trying to keep my challenges to fun ones rather than work. I enjoy the 1% challenge, what i really want is permission to read for fun for the whole year!! lol
and so you feel better, we have snow ( again), our buses are still on strike (day 40 now) AND we're still below -10 c! Now it's not supposed to warm up at all. How can it only be Jan 18?
Take care - spring will come, and meantime - we do have lots of great books to read! Oh - our re-evaluation of our workload and position level was put back because of the economy, in my section, but not after another section got to go ahead and got a promotion. We've never had one...it's still January, isn't it??? So I really relate to your list!! It will get better, and hope the party was fun after all!; January 18, 2009 at 11:29 PM