So you might have noticed I was trying to read 10 books during the month of July.

Well, I did read 10 books, but according to the rules of the game (books started in another month but finished in July and rereads count only as half a book) I only read six.

Regardless, I'm happy with my haul, because I finished off the Twilight series (this is the fourth time through them all) before the 4th book comes out this weekend, and I reread one of Carol Berg's series before I'll meet her again at Worldcon next weekend. I only read three new books, but I do want to note that there was about a week at the beginning of July (before I heard about the game) where I was trying to catch up on my magazine reading, since I am perpetually behind in my Newsweeks. So I really only had three weeks to read all that.

I'm really excited about Worldcon. I should have plenty of money, thanks to my curbing of my Borders appetite, and it's in Denver, which is one of my favorite places. I'll get to meet a couple of my favorite authors (the aforementioned Berg and Patrick Rothfuss and maybe even George RR Martin), attend some neat programming, and hopefully take a trek or two around Denver. Hopefully I will not get altitude sickness or forget anything.

Just have to make it through one more weekend of catsitting for my friend, and then it will be off to Worldcon--"One mile closer to the stars"!

btw, happy birthday to Harry Potter (likewise, JK Rowling)!

Posted by Jen at 10:27 AM | Permalink

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  A Dark Knight, from the Dark Knight soundtrack
  Flesh and Spirit, Carol Berg
file under: books

Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon who died yesterday from pancreatic cancer, the same type of cancer that my uncle died from. He gave two very moving, inspirational lectures and wrote a book and gave many interviews. He lived strong and filled his last days with whatever he could, and I can have nothing but respect for him. The world has lost a good man. We need more heroes like him. Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

"The Last Lecture" and "Time Management" after the cut.

Posted by Jen at 6:20 PM | Permalink

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Free book! I read this a couple of months ago, and I really liked it. It's a fast-paced thriller with lots of twists and turns that kept me guessing. And now you can read it too...for free! For the next few days, anyway, so click ye now and read!

Browse this book

Add to your site

Buy this book

Visit the author's site at www.jasonpinter.com.

Posted by Jen at 9:41 AM | Permalink

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  Twilight, Stephenie Meyer
file under: books

See what you look like as a guy or a baby or an anime character with this fun site. This is their idea of me as a Mucha painting. Too bad I'm not really that pretty!

Gotta go buy a digital converter. Silly government coupons expiring.

Posted by Jen at 5:19 PM | Permalink

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  Daughter of Ancients, Carol Berg
file under: art , muses

It's a sad day when a huge part of St. Louis becomes owned by a foreign company. Anheuser-Busch is now Anheuser-Busch InBev...

I don't even like beer. If I've been to the brewery it was long ago, way before I was able to enjoy the tasting at the end. But I do love the Clydesdales and the dalmatians and the many events and destinations that Busch is a part of, and they are a huge part of St. Louis culture, and indeed the US. Sure, the mean people who bought the company in a hostile takeover say they'll keep sight of A-B's standards, but that's what they said when May company bought Famous-Barr. I call ballocks. And who thought that the Belgians were so rotten?

I wonder if it's still going to be Busch Stadium in a few years. I hope so. I always liked that name. I realize it is actually product placement, but it's been Busch for so long, it doesn't seem that way. Maybe the Busch family can keep their names on some things.

Bye bye Busch. I hope you stay the same, but I bet you won't.

Oh yeah, happy Bastille Day.

Posted by Jen at 10:09 AM | Permalink |

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  Cemeteries of London, Coldplay
  Guardians of the Keep, Carol Berg
file under: reallife , serious

Heath Ledger directed this Ben Harper video. It's quite pretty. RIP, Heath.

Posted by Jen at 12:44 PM | Permalink

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  Son of Avonar, Carol Berg
file under: serious

Found through Writers Unbound, which brought back memories of the Pizza Hut Book-It program, where you had the summer to read a certain amount of books and if you did, you got a free personal pizza. Needless to say, I had no problem earning the gold stars.

So here's a challenge to me in July...read 10 books. Shouldn't be too hard, especially since I'd like to reread most if not all of Carol Berg's books before Worldcon...

Rules say books started in June and finished in July count as half a book. So I'm already up .5:

0.5: Midnight Never Come, Marie Brennan (July 02)
1.5: The Last Guardian of Everness, John C Wright (July 10)
2.0:Son of Avonar, Carol Berg (July 13) (re-reads count as half)
2.5: Guardians of the Keep, Carol Berg (July 16)
3.0: The Soul Weaver, Carol Berg (July 19)
3.5:Daughter of Ancients, Carol Berg (July 23)
4.0:Twilight, Stephenie Meyer (July 25) (getting ready for the Breaking Dawn release on the 2nd!)
4.5: New Moon, Stephenie Meyer (July 27)
5.5: The Guilty, Jason Pinter (July 2
6.0: Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer (July 31)

I'll update when I finish a book.

Posted by Jen at 3:07 PM | Permalink

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  Closing Time, Semisonic
  The Last Guardian of Everness, John Wright
file under: books

Because it's funny. Because Darths and Droids mentioned it. Because it's baseball season.

In a month I'll be in Colorado for Worldcon. w00t!

Posted by Jen at 10:53 PM | Permalink

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  Aurora/Kashmir, Lucia Micarelli (Josh Groban's Awake-Live)

file under: funny

You should see this. It's really cute and sweet and has good music, and it's hilarious, just like that little video above.

Posted by Jen at 9:47 AM | Permalink

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  Down to Earth, Peter Gabriel, Wall-e soundtrack

file under: movies