Blog
My Posts:
The Writerly Sibling Tag
Review: "A Quiet Kind of Thunder" by Sara Barnard
Jem Jones Linkup: Quirk #4
Chicks!
Why I Love "The Queen's Thief" And You Should Read It
A Tolkien Blog Party: Christ Figures in The Lord of the Rings
A Tolkien Blog Party: The Tag
The Blogosphere:
- Emily @ The Ones That Really Matter had a blogoversary, and did a vlog!
- Megan Chappie introduced her Iliad retelling set in WWI!
- And Sarah Seele introduced her new project, too!
- A Tolkien Blog Party happened!
- And The Silmaril Awards, too!
Books
Okay, I'm a little on the fence, guys...I love listing the books I read this month, and you getting to see and fangirl over whatever I read...but I feel like I read such a ridiculous amount (at the expense of most other things, haha, but for real) that I'm worried that some people might feel bad that they don't read as much?
So I'm thinking about switching over to listing the highlights of my reading month? This month, I'll do a list, as usual, and y'all can let me know in the comments whether you think I should keep listing, or just do highlights. (Maybe also that'd make room for me to talk about the movies I watched?)
*The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
*The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard
The State of Grace by Rachael Lucas
Majesty by Katharine McGee
*The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall
*The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
Raising Boys Is a Full Contact Sport by Rachel Balducci
*A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner
*Thick As Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner
Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
The Art of Showing Up by Rachel Wilkerson Miller (DNFed)
Outer Order Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin
Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
The Art of Showing Up by Rachel Wilkerson Miller (DNFed)
Outer Order Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin
*Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin
*Build Your Own Beekeeping Equipment by Tony Pisano
The Crush by Allyson Kennedy (eARC)
The Broken Prince by Kara Linaberg
The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer
The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer
*My Sisters the Saints by Colleen Carroll Campbell
*The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
A War of Gifts by Orson Scott Card
How To Make Great Decisions by Fr. Mike Schmitz
*The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall
Antigone by Sophocles
Antigone by Sophocles
The pertinent bits of The Lays of Beleriand by J. R. R. Tolkien
*Season To Taste by Molly Birnbaum
A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
Coral by Sara Ella
*Romanov by Nadine Brandes
*Smells Like Dog by Suzanne Selfors
Surprised by Joy by C. S. Lewisa
Surprised by Joy by C. S. Lewisa
*Pixar Storytelling by Dean Movshovitz
*A Time to Die by Nadine Brandes
*A Time to Speak by Nadine Brandes
*A Time to Rise by Nadine Brandes
*A Time to Die by Nadine Brandes
*A Time to Speak by Nadine Brandes
*A Time to Rise by Nadine Brandes
Besides the one book I DNFed, this was a fantastic reading month, and I'd recommend everything on this list (especially Antigone and Surprised by Joy).
Life
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| Of course, since I'm gluten free, I couldn't eat these, but they were fun to look at. |
Since we couldn't go to the county fair like usual, we went up to Rivendell and did an "Unfair" with Pippin's family (although he wasn't there, because he's abandoned us for college. 😥). We mostly ate fair food, but my aunt also made cutouts for pictures, like they have at the fair.
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| Yes, I promise that's me on the mower. XD |
Apparently, September was "Samantha learns to use dangerous power tools" month. I learned to use the riding mower at Rivendell AND the hedge trimmer, both of which are very satisfying to wield.
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| We did move them to a bigger brooder! |
We got chicks! They've grown a lot since I posted about them. Unfortunately, little Ingenuity passed away, possibly from coccidiosis, but the other chicks are going strong.
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| Yes, my sister is possibly the same height as our priest. |
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| BAHAHAHA I love this scene |
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| Both ladies are SO SWEET and they gave really good advice, it was amazing. |
I went to Nadine Brandes's and Sara Ella's first writing webinar! Legolas watched with me, and it was a fantastic time. I would highly recommend, and I'm already signed up for the next one!
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| This is not a joke on the bujo. Seriously, this is what my week looks like. |
I started school, both Homeschool and Running Start! Busy life. *dies*
October Plans
- Work on Running Start classes
- Breed our goats
- Test for black belt (please pray for me!)
- Read The Return of the Thief!!!!!!!
- Watch another Nadine Brandes webinar or two
- Celebrate Eowyn and Merry's birthdays
- Reread Harry Potter
- See Fr. J again (he was in Alaska)
- Finish applying to college
Are you planning on going to any of the Brandes-Ella webinars? Have you seen Pirates of the Caribbean? Do you like dangerous power tools? How was your September?
I love talking about books and reading (of course XD), and I wish that I had more time to do it! For me, seeing all the books that you read each month inspires me to make more time for it! It's understandable that each person in the world has different lives and won't be doing the same things. Later in your life you might not have as much time and you'll want to look back on how much and what you read each month. So, the decision is up to you, but I think you should keep it as you have it. :)
ReplyDeleteOkay, questions about books: I've been wanting to read Moon Over Manifest for awhile, what did you think of it? Oh, you read The Broken Prince! Thoughts? Are you going to read The Crownless King now? I loved that one. Oh, and what did you think about The Bad Beginning? I used to hate those books, but now I think they're pretty awesome! Sorry, I'll stop now. XD
Congrats on your sister getting confirmed! My little sister was going to be confirmed this year, too, but because of circumstances it didn't happen. Next year!
Ah, Pirates of the Caribbean! I've been watching those movies since they came out! The first one is a fantastic introduction, but the second one is my favorite! It is so hilarious and epic! And the third one is INTENSE. Whew! The fourth one was okay, but had started going downhill. I haven't seen the fifth. I also love movies, so I would like the addition of hearing about what you watched each month!
Wishing you an awesome October! Good luck with applying to colleges!
Good point! It's true, everyone has a different amount of time for reading, and it changes from season to season (I'm already seeing this in myself--I'll have WAAAAY less time when my Running Start quarter starts). I'm glad that seeing the books I read inspires you to read more! That wasn't a point of view on the issue that I had thought of, so thank you for telling me. :D
DeleteMoon Over Manifest: I really enjoyed it! I though the time periods were woven together really nicely, and even though it took place in two different times, I enjoyed both periods, and wasn't always wanting to get back to one or the other. Great themes, too!
The Broken Prince: I liked it! It felt actually kind of short? I would have liked more time with the characters! But I thought they were well-drawn, and the plot was well though-out, although there were a few parts of the story that could be explained better. (And the ship! <3). I do want to read Crownless King, but the library doesn't have it yet, and neither does Kindle Unlimited, and I am a cheapskate who doesn't buy books unless I've already read them. XD
The Bad Beginning was a fun, quick read. I appreciated his linguistical jokes, and the style was cool, but the plot was overly simplistic. Not sure I'm going to read any more of them, but I'm glad I at least read the first one!
Thanks! Oh, it's too bad your sister's got postponed. But, I suppose, more time to prepare for the sacrament isn't a bad thing.
I'd been a little worried that the subsequent ones won't live up to the first one (because the plot! The dialogue! The characters! The love story!), but I've now heard from several people that at least the 2nd and 3rd are worth watching (and Pippin assured me that they didn't mess up Elizbeth and Will, because if they did...*gets on boxing gloves*). So I'll have to give those a watch one of these days, because I love the world, and I want to go baaaaaaaack!
I definitely would love to talk more about what I watch each month--since I watch many fewer movies than I read books, it would also be more doable to talk a bit about each one in the body of the post. I'll add that for next month!
I hope you have a wonderful October as well! Thank you!
Oh no Sam, I love seeing all the books you read in a month! I echo MC--it inspires me to read more. And I just love snooping at other peoples' reading list.
ReplyDeleteAntigone was one of my VERY FAVORITE BOOKS in high school ancient lit. Wasn't it fantastic?? I've yet to read Surprised by Joy. What did you think of Moon Over Manifest? I was just yesterday telling my sister I cannot bring myself to finish that book again because its beauty physically bites me. (Also it plainly influenced one of my WIPs so that makes me insecure, lol.)
Aww sorry to hear about little Ingenuity! Coccidiosis, blech. :(
Isn't PotC great fun??
I cannot believe September is almost gone. (And aw shucks, thanks for the link!)
Okay, Megan, I'll keep it, I'll keep it!
DeleteAaaaah Antigone was SO GOOD! The thematic-ness! The argument of natural law vs. human law! The writing! Just amazing. We had actually talked about it in Philosophy last year, so I was really excited to read it, and it did not disappoint.
Surprised by Joy is 100% worth the read, but going into it, it's nice to know that there are some descriptions of immoral activity in the middle...which took me by surprise. But it's Lewis! I love his writing, and the way he told his conversion story was excellent. Such a quotable book, too! (And there are Tolkien cameos!) I found myself relating to his growing up A LOT (well, except the immoral bits).
I really enjoyed Moon Over Manifest! Thank you for recommending it! So well written, and well plotted, and well themed! (MC asked about it, too, so I told her more about what I thought of it. :D) I mean, as long as you're not re-writing the same book, I see no reason for you to be insecure! It's not a problem to be able to clearly see influences--in fact, it's rather fun for the reader imo.
Yeah, it was sad. :( Coccidiosis is the worst.
It really is!!!
I know, me neither! But I'm really looking forward to October. (And you're welcome! My pleasure. :D)
I think it's awesome how many books you read this month (and I don't think you should worry about making other people feel bad)! Your "unfair" sounds like fun! (Especially because it involves food. Food is the best.) Ah, I love Pirates of the Carribean! There are so many great, hilarious characters and incredibly fun sword fights :) I've seen it too many times to count, but I still love all the plot twists and wondering whose side Jack is on at any given moment XD
ReplyDeleteI'm glad! Since so many people have told me to stop worrying about listing all of them, I think I shall. :)
DeleteIt was a great deal of fun! Especially the food, for sure.
I know, the sword fights are the best! And so are the plot twists! And seriously--I think I lost track of Jack's allegiance at least ten times. XD
PotC helped inspire Jay Hill and the Red Wind!! <3 <3 (And the PotC is my THEME SONGGGGG)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, though, you read a TON and that is AMAZING!!
Oh, that's right! Another reason to love PotC, then! <3 (Isn't the theme AMAZINGGGG?)
DeleteI'm glad you think so!