Making random conversation

It's been about a week since I blogged, and to be honest, I'm not sure I'm feeling inspired enough to post yet. It's one of those slow phases, you know, when neither reading nor blogging seems to rejuvenate me. Like softdrink, I figured it might just be better to make a stab at a return and then things should probably just look up. There's just been some crazy stuff going on, as always, and on top of that, work isn't slowing down either. I always knew things were going to heat up at the money-churning place this year, but that doesn't make me feel any better.

This year, I slowed down on the review copies I accepted (I haven't had an ARC turn up at my door in at least a month) and it feels really good. I guess part of the reason is because of how much more impulsive my reading has become that it feels nicer not to look at the calendar and mourn about all the books I haven't read. That said, I still have quite a few books I accepted earlier, which are yet to be read, and there are the NetGalley copies as well, which because I can't see them, seem to be absent from my memory as well. And worse, I have a tour date next week, but I haven't got the book yet (I fear it may have gone to my old address). I had been looking forward to reading this one so much that I'm hoping it will turn up somehow.

In the meantime, I have been picking up dystopian / apocalyptic / science fiction books that I had been meaning to read for months. Since I had hoped to read more of such books this second quarter, I have been looking for recommendations as well (sound one below if there's a particular one you liked). It's weird because just this morning I dreamt that I was in an apocalyptic world where people got infected by a strange something and that turned them purplish and murderous, and obviously yours truly was a heroine in the setting and trying to save the world from certain destruction. At some point I did wake up but I found the dream pretty fascinating and started to manufacture my own plot points for it. If only I didn't have to leave for work. Maybe I should write a book, capitalize on the whole dystopian craze, ya know?

Right now, I'm reading Fahrenheit 451, one of those classics that have some really thought-provoking stuff, but also some really crazy passages that are making me roll my eyes. What is it with half these scifi writers who preach too much and write terrible similes? Subtlety, folks, subtlety. Anyways, the concept of the book is making for fascinating reading, although I can't quite imagine such a world (where people just choose to stop reading? Really? Let's see what the news industry or the internet world have to say about that) but in 1953, it was definitely something you could easily imagine.

Some crazy stuff have happened while I was away though. Thu Pulitzers didn't choose a winner for Fiction and J.K. Rowling's releasing The Casual Vacancy this year (and generating too much nasty controversy, as only hype can.)

A late Monday Salon after a crazy week

Hello fellow bloggers and readers! It's been a while since I popped my head into the bloglandia! I can honestly say that I haven't even looked at the reader out of fear of all the posts that I have to navigate through. One of those times when the 'Mark all as Read' is dreadfully handy and necessary.

It's been a crazy week out here! My brother and the husband's brother both came to visit us last week for spring break. It was pleasantly busy and fun out here, so much so that I miss the company now that all the fun is over and it's back to the usual ho-hum. It wasn't all fun though. Some of you probably remember (or maybe not) that my brother had once been admitted to hospital a year plus ago after he got some seizures. Although he recovered quickly from it (if you could call 5 weeks quick), one unfortunate consequence of that was that he now has epilepsy. He has been on medication since, but once in a while, he still gets seizures. It's been a really really rough period since (and that's still an understatement). Amidst all the fun of last week, he had a few such episodes that rattled me as usual. Hence the blog absence. I hate to blog when I'm upset - I tend to write whiny/grouchy/grumpy reviews, even if the books were hilarious. Imagine reviewing Tina Fey's BossyPants or any Sophie Kinsella book as if they are such Debbie Downers!

I was planning to take this week off too, but I do miss the blog and catching up with you guys, so off with that plan. Let's talk about some books, shall we?

I didn't read at all last week, but I did finish two books this weekend - kind of a record for me this year, and I am midway through another book that I had been looking forward to for a while. On Saturday, I finished Sophie Kinsella's I've Got Your Number. The timing was perfect (I was either in a car or on the train), the mood was perfect (I desperately needed something that would take my mind off things), and the book was typical Sophie Kinsella - crazy, wacky, implausible, silly, and tons of fun. Sunday, I finished The Hairdresser of Harare by Tendai Huchu, which was a really wonderful read. I'm looking forward to reviewing both of these.

And I'm reading Veronica Roth's Divergent right now. Just a few pages in, I can see the whole appeal of this book. It does have a Hunger Games-ish and a Giver-ish touch, both books I enjoyed tremendously. Speaking of Hunger Games, the husband and I are going for the premiere this Thursday! Well, it's more like I'm dragging him, but we're both looking forward to it. I've watched the trailer a ton of times already and I still love that moment when the timer counts down and the tributes race to grab their supplies. Makes me want to reread the books.

So, what have I missed during the past one week?

The Sunday Salon: A long month of books and TV

It's been forever since I did a Sunday Salon! Didn't help that I disappeared from the blog for a week. It was totally unplanned. Sort of. Blame it on these:

I somehow ended up at a point where I had four committed reads to complete and less than two weeks to squeeze them in. So what's new, eh? Somehow that lead to the blog being abandoned and the books being devoured ravenously. They were pretty good books which made the effort worthwhile. (Cross Currents is still in progress, but that's going good too.)

Two months in, I haven't really completed as many books as this time last year. Which is okay by me, though I'm hoping to read more now. Some of my reading goals are going good however. I've mostly managed to read one short story a week, and I'm surprised that I had neglected this medium for so long. Couple of years back, I did the same thing with graphic novels - and that has become one of my favorite mediums ever. We'll see where the short story medium ends up, but so far, they're the perfect way to sample a challenging or new-to-me author.

When I'm not reading, I'm watching way too much TV. I'm going on a Supernatural kick, thanks to my bro for hooking me on to it. My brother has been responsible for all my TV show fever - Buffy the Vampire Slayer, LOST, Vampire Diaries (though he doesn't watch this one anymore because apparently he grew up, ahem, guys!), Glee, and many others that I cannot remember. Then there's New Girl too. Zooey and Max really give a whole new definition for craziness and cringe-worthiness. In addition, husband and I have been watching Alcatraz (Yay, Jorge!) and Once Upon a Time, and checked out Sherlock on Netflix last night (thanks to my friend Piyush for cluing me in on that.) That's way too much TV for someone who swore them off at one point. Maybe this is going to be one of those years!

Did we just have the longest February ever or was it just me?

The Sunday Salon: Long hauls

After more than a month of awesome fun and incredible changes, my visa issue finally got resolved 3-4 days ago, and hubby and I left for the US the very next evening. Talk about last minute plans, especially those involving travels between different countries. Because of how quickly we made the return plans, I haven't had the chance nor the time to feel sad about leaving my parents. When we first got out at the New York airport to chilly wet and foggy weather, we both felt so good at finally being back. 37 hours after we left hubby's parents' home in India, we reached our home in Virginia! I should be jet-lagged now, but luckily I just have dull aches all over my body from being on the move for so long.

Long flights suck, even if you are sitting in the most comfortable airplane ever!

I spent most of the flight either sleeping or watching some of the movies they had on catalog. One of the movies I watched was One Day, based on David Nicholls' book. While I'm on that topic, why the hell did he do that at the ending??? I was all prepared to say that the movie was coasting along the theme of predictable mushy romance flicks, when bam! came that ending. I actually cursed out loud at that point, but since everyone had headphones on, I didn't get any funny looks. I liked the structure of this movie though - it was a pretty nice way to tell a story. When I was not sleeping or eating, I was reading Silver Sparrow. My next read is (probably) going to be another Indie Lit Awards shortlisted book - The Last Time I Saw Paris by Lynn Sheene. I have to admit that I had barely glanced at this book when I first came across it sometime last year. But reading the description now, it does sound promising, so I'm excited to check it out.

Tomorrow, it's back to work for me. Although I had been doing my work from home for the last couple of weeks, I'm still feeling pretty lazy about heading back, albeit a good kind of lazy, the kind you feel after a good vacation. 

Back with some updates

Whew! A whirlwind two weeks later, I'm finally somewhat less busy. I'm still in India, but slowly getting back to some form of a routine. After two weeks off the grid, I find myself even reluctant to get back online, because of everything that's pending and needs attention.

The wedding went great! It was very tiring by the end of the day, but still fun. I still haven't uploaded the photos yet, but I have one photo available on PhotoBucket (click the link).

A few things that happened during my absence from the blog.

- I had guest-posted over at Alyce's blog, At Home with Books, on the Best and Worst of Marjane Satrapi. Satrapi's Persepolis was my introduction to the graphic novel medium, and it's still one of my favorite graphic books.

- The shortlist for the Indie Lit Awards is up! Since I'm judging in the Fiction category, I can't wait to read the titles! These are the books shortlisted for the Fiction category:

Dance Lessons by Aine Greaney
Cross Currents by John Shors
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones
The Last Time I Saw Paris by Lynn Sheene

- I had already posted my favorite reads of 2011 and plans for 2012 before I took my blogging break.

- I haven't read anything so far this year, save for a short story - The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The short story medium is still a challenging one for me, and I hope to change that this year. I just started reading Banana Yoshimoto's The Lake today, and so far I'm enjoying it.

I still have a few reviews from last year pending, so I'll post them over the next few weeks as I get my posts written. I don't plan to be OCD about reviewing all of them, because I want to get started on my 2012 reading. What have I missed over the last two weeks?

A Monday Salon for a change

Before it becomes too late - (Belated) Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it! I hope all of you are having a great holiday season.

After almost two weeks of running around like a headless chicken, I've finally got a morning to myself. I'm typing up this post from India, where I arrived early morning yesterday. It's been more than 2.5 years since my last visit, and I was curious about how much this place has changed since, or most importantly, how much I have changed. There are a lot of things that once used to be familiar, which now surprise me. It's kind of refreshing that way, considering how many things I used to take for granted. But by the time, everything just settles down, I will be back in the US.

I had very optimistic illusions of doing a lot of blogging during my last week in the US, but as I expected, there really wasn't any time. I'm not going to assume the same thing again, now that I have a lot of family (extended, included) around me. Of course, when I need some breathing space, I'll be checking out some of my favorite blogs, even though I may not have the time to leave comments. True, planning a wedding doesn't really leave much free time, but if mornings like today come, I can get some brain fodder.

Right now, I'm in Chennai - in South India, staying at my favorite aunt's place. I'll be here for another couple of days before leaving to my home in Palakkad. After staying through cold temperatures of 20-40F in Virginia, wearing sleeveless clothes feels really weird, and we're still in the northern hemisphere!

On the bookish front, I haven't read much at all, but I have a few graphic novels I want to check out soon. Also, we're in the last week of the Indie Lit Awards nominations! If you have a 2011-released book that you loved a lot, don't forget to nominate here! I'm really looking forward to seeing which books made the shortlist for the awards. There are a few of my favorites that I hope to see on the list.

What have I missed in the bloglandia?

The week that was, and is

I didn't really mean to disappear for a week. It was busy, yes, and I expected it to be, but I did expect to have time to make a virtual appearance too. Didn't happen. As things are wont to be, life goes for a toss right when you are looking at a wonderful vacation. I was in NY this past weekend, and had a fairly good weekend. There was an emergency, because of which I had to extend my 'vacation' by a couple more days, but things are okay now. I am also moving this coming weekend, and I have only just begun my packing, so my next 2-3 days are going to be unenviably busy.

But I've been reading too, a lot in fact. I wonder if the fact that the end of the year is near has anything to do with it or whether being busy is making me churn out non-existent time to spend on reading, but I'm glad either way.

Before starting on my vacation, I read Before I go to Sleep (engrossing, but not as good as I hoped) and the sixth book in the Wimpy Kid series, Cabin Fever (yeah, call me a middle-grader, if you wish, but I just cannot get enough of these books).

At the beginning of my vacation, while half crazed with sleep in the Amtrak train at 6 in the morning, I read a couple of pages of The Night Circus, intending to go back to sleep afterwards. Reading early in the morning is usually my lullaby. But after the couple of pages, I decided that sleep was overrated and went to buy a cup of coffee, because there was no way I could put The Night Circus down. There was just so much awesome magic, thrill, excitement and wonder in this book that I really would happily reread it right away. I finished this book by the next night.

On a whim, I decided to read something relatively unknown next. I found The Silent Land in the Overdrive link on my library's page. This was another book that held my attention all throughout. The idea of two people facing an avalanche, surviving it, and appearing to be the only two people left in the world sounded very intriguing. Were they dead or alive? Were they dreaming or living it fully? Needless to say, I enjoyed this read too, and can't wait to review this one.

By the end of the trip, I was in mood for some nonfiction, and picked up The Filter Bubble by Eli Pariser. Not only is this book entertaining, it also calls out to the technogeek in me. I came across this book couple of months back at Amy's blog, so I was thrilled when I saw this one in my library's catalog.

As if that wasn't enough, I had to visit The Strand before I left NY. Last year, when I first visited this store, I loved every corner of it - 18 miles of books stretched out before you, isn't that heavenly? Besides, the stacks were so high, that you needed to climb on ladders just to get a book on the top shelf. After a lot of difficult decision-making, I finally bought these four books:

1. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
2. Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
3. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
4. The House of Tomorrow by Peter Bognanni

What all this reading means is that I have a ton of reviewing to do. That'll have to wait until next week, until I have moved - books, clothes and moi - into my new apartment, which is just down the road. With my upcoming vacation, and the end-of-the-year busyness, there's just a lot of things to do. Worse, work isn't any less busy.

The Sunday Salon: A lazy mornin' with coffee

Today is one of the days when I'm not feeling particularly bookish - things are slowly getting busy here and I'm trying to not feel that busy. I am still reading - thank goodness for that - so I haven't got into any funk, but the next two months look insanely busy to me that I could use a time blinder-of sorts that doesn't let me look so much into the future. But then, it is that season - Thanksgiving, Christmas, vacations, family time, winter, did I say busy vacations?

This week, I'm going to New York to visit my brother, after 9 months. While that's not a huge timeframe by any scale, it has been a rocky phase for him managing his health and studies, that I am looking forward to it. I am writing a couple of reviews for the week, but since writing posts in advance is not my kind of thing (I'm just lazy that way), I am looking forward to staying off the internet (mostly) for the coming weekend. Thank you, Google, for 'Mark All as Read', even though that leaves me mostly guilty.

Next month, I'm going to India for a quick 'vacation', after more than two-and-a-half-years. Why exactly? Scroll down. It's going to be busy, horribly, that I'm already looking forward to coming back. There's a ton of shopping to do, which is leaving me with dread. I like shopping for myself, but not for anyone else. There's the whole Will they Like it, Will they not? phase that's just terrifying. Worse than that is the What should I buy? phase. Never fun, because everyone else is also shopping at the same time.

But most importantly, my fiancé and I are getting married in January! That's the whole reason things are very hectic. The planning's been going about for a while - luckily, my dad's organizing the wedding in India and I don't have to worry about the logistics, but there are still a lot of things to think about. I'm not the girly-excited-about-the-wedding-day kind of person, and I'm not into building up fanfare, but it's still going to be a big day. So, if you don't see me around as much as usual over the next couple of months, you know why! So, there's my big announcement for the day!

An early Sunday Salon: Which I'm writing out of necessity, because I have to rant big-time

Once again, I had to turn to writing to help me grapple with the enormity of a mess I faced yesterday. Writing is therapeutic to me in that way, and putting down my thoughts on paper (or screen) works wonders.

There wasn't a blogging plan on my radar for this weekend, because my friends in Raleigh and I were supposed to be in Asheville now, enjoying the last few leaves holding out this Fall. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, or I wouldn't be typing this out. Instead, about an hour out of Lynchburg, on my way to Raleigh via US 29 S, with cars blazing at 60-70mph on the highway, a massive west-bound truck-trailer combo (I sadly never saw what the vehicle was, this is what the witnesses told me) FRIGGING pulled in front of me at an intersection, with no lights on and not even looking at the busy traffic. I saw the back of the vehicle, 2 seconds before I would hit him. I was flying at 60mph, he was dragging at 15mph. Can you imagine being 2 seconds away from a deadly crash? I was too gobsmacked to even curse or honk!

There was a car on my right, so switching lanes wasn't even an option, nor was staying on the lane. I did the only trying-to-save-myself thing I could, and that was drive left into oncoming traffic. Luckily, somewhere at the back of my head, I knew there weren't any vehicles there (yet), and since I was royally screwed any which way, I turned around, braking all the way. I banged through the uneven grassy median, hit some pole on the way, crossed the other side of the road, and ended up on the uneven elevated grass on the far side, a centimeter in front of a tree, missing an electric pole on my left and every other damn car on the way. And that's when I cursed.

After that, I was so shocked and out of it that I was actually backing out and thinking of continuing on my journey, as if nothing happened. It took a minute for that terrible realization to sneak up on me and realize shockingly, but surprisingly that I was fine, with no injury. While I tried to figure out what I was even supposed to do, two amazing Samaritans came by to help me out. They saw the whole damn thing happen, they even had had to slam down their brakes when that truck started crossing in front of them without any lights. (If you have ever faced that split indecision about whether or not to stop and help someone in an accident, trust me, stop and help them. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world to see a couple cars stop by to help me.) The ambulance came in two minutes, but I didn't need any care, and we waited 30-45 minutes for the trooper to pull in. In the meantime, the driver who caused the mayhem actually came by. I didn't know then that he was the guy, because if I did, god help him, he wouldn't have known what hit him (yeah, this is empty threat speaking, I wouldn't really have done that, but I would have loved to yell and rant at him). And funnily, what do you know, he knew everyone on the fire brigade and they were all laughing and joking. I felt pretty horrible about that later.

The trooper came by, did his investigation, and didn't even issue that guy a ticket. He said it was no one's fault that the accident happened, that's like saying hitting a skunk wasn't my fault. I don't know since when obstructing traffic (with deadly consequences) was an okay thing to do. The fact that I know the roads in Lynchburg well doesn't mean that I can close my eyes and drive. I understand that the trooper was looking for evidence of lights on the truck-trailer, since if the driver had them, I would have seen them from far back and slowed down early enough. Apparently, he did have lights, but they were not enough.

One of the guys who helped me out last night was a mechanic, and he helped patch up my car, even test drove it (can I just say how awesome that is, considering we didn't even know how the car would react?) and decided that it was driveable. It's in pretty good shape, considering, but I don't know if there are any hidden dangers. In the meantime, my friends had driven up to the home of the couple who invited me to rest, so they drove behind me all the way back to Lynchburg. Anyways, at this point, I'm waiting for my insurance company to contact his company and figure out who'll pay for fixing up my car. If I have to, I'll know what it feels like to be wronged by justice. But, I'm hoping he will pay, because I did hear it hinted that he will. We'll see.

So that was my pretty overwhelming experience last night. I was plain lucky that nothing happened to me, and that's an even scarier thought. I spent the last 24 hours reliving it, and I know that I did nothing wrong (I was even driving at 5 below the speed limit since it was raining), and reacted with the best option. That's what the witnesses told too, and if I were my mom, I would be embarking on a spiritual pilgrimage now, even to the ends of the earth. There are so many what-ifs that run through my mind, but I know that, if it wasn't me, someone else would have gone through that, because that driver will still be doing that goddamn thing at that minute, putting other people's lives at risk.

Back to the den!

So, when I said on Saturday that I may be off the face of internet, I didn't expect my smartphone to take it literally and commit suicide by drowning. Because, that's just what happened. I waited two days for it to power up, but at this point, I'm close to switching off its life support and handing off the phone to my friend who loves playing with the innards of gadgets. With that goes my main link to the internet. I still have the iPad, but I don't stare at it ever 5 seconds the way I check my phone. At least until I can upgrade my phone in May next year, I'm stuck in the Stone Age with a boring non-data phone (after I buy one). Believe me when I say that I'm ready for mid-2012 already!

Other than that blip, my vacation in West Virginia was super-relaxing. I'm usually used to fast-paced over-packed vacations, so this was a great stress-reliever. I guess that was mostly because the places we visited aren't commercialized or teeming with tourists. We also walked under a bridge (on its iron structure) and it was one helluva experience walking 850 feet above the long winding New River Gorge National River flowing underneath. I don't have any pictures yet, but I'll try to post when I get some.

In other news, the Indie Lit Awards are open for nominations. Please please please, get your favorite 2011 releases in. I'll do another longer post some day dedicated to some literary fiction titles, since that's the panel I'm judging in, but for now, if you have any books you loved (in any category), please nominate, or at least start thinking about the titles you want to see win. To nominate, head here, click on the specific genre of the book you are nominating and submit the form.

Speaking of Literary Fiction, I just found out an hour ago that my blog has been shortlisted in the BBAW category for Best Literary Fiction blog. I can't begin to say how honored and happy I feel though it was mostly surprise that struck me first. So, once again, I would love to say Thank you to all my followers and especially to those who nominated my blog. I also want to say thanks to the judges who deemed my blog worthy of heading into the voting round. The shortlists for all the categories have been announced today, moreover, the voting has also started (and ends on September 10th). Make sure you vote for your favorite blogs by heading over to this website and signing in with Twitter or Google.

Since it's a long weekend...

I'll be off the face of internet (maybe, don't count on it) for three days...

(Picture source)

as I drive through the meandering roads all the way from my home in Virginia with close friends

to one of the awesomest nature's paradise on earth in West Virginia.

(Picture source)

I'm going to leave my baggage at home and stare at the beautiful cascading waterfalls

And go hike, enjoying the last days of summer (or is it the first days of Fall? But the leaves are still green!)

(Picture source)

And stare at others go river rafting!

Happy Labor day weekend to all who celebrate it and happy weekend to the rest of the world.

(PS: Please don't publish too many posts until I am back.)

Your regular programming will soon resume...

Inadvertently, I did disappear from the face of earth, though some of you might have seen me dropping comments on blogs here and there. That was my way of saying I'm still around, just that time isn't letting me type up something longer than would fit in a typical comment box. I've just been visiting friends and working my b*tt off. Reading, not so much.

I had very noble plans to schedule posts for last week, but I was just too tired of staring at the computer screen all day. I'm increasingly disliking coming home and looking at anything with an LCD screen on it, I guess it's the result of working 11 hours Mon-Thu, in front of the greatest time-wasting productivity invention of modern mankind. All the better, since that would make me use the weekends to write reviews and then bask in the glory of not having to write on weekdays. Moreover, I've been writing more essays lately. I've always been writing and proofing in my head, and now I want to actually put them down somewhere. I'm not sure where this will go yet, but it's fun even as a hobby.

And now time to get back to life as I know it.

The Sunday Salon: The Problem with Buying Books

I distinctly remember complaining a few months ago about how much trouble it was to select a book from the library. There's always some other book calling my name. And knowing very well that most of those books go unread, I would usually prefer not to take a truck load, only to come back again and guiltily return half of those unread.

Since then, I kicked that worry out of my system. Lately, I've been having so much fun taking a random array of books home, and reading a book that I was in the mood for at a specific time. True, some, probably most, of those do not get read. But there's always a next time. Plus, I love the increased set of choices I have each time I'm looking for a read.

And now that I got that cured, what do you know, I'm having trouble buying a book. Uh-huh!

The same scenario played out all over again. I actually headed to B&N yesterday only for some fun time browsing the aisles. It had been ages since I had been to a bookstore or actually bought a book, and I was hoping to simply check out what's hot, pick a book to read at the cafe while I sip some yummylicious coffee. But when I got there, I was eager to go back home, because all through my drive to the store, I kept thinking of the half-read book on my nightstand, which I suddenly had an urge to read. So, rather than browse at the store, I figured I might as well buy a book and go home. (The option of leaving empty-handed didn't really cross my mind.) Who knew I was going to have trouble with that! Seriously? You can have a problem buying a book??

Though, I should say that the booksellers at my local B&N are to blame. They had all their summer reading tables nicely laid out. About three-fourths of those books are in my wishlist. How does one even go about deciding what to read? And to make it worse, there were some new-to-me titles on display that I simply wanted to read right away. Every time I go to B&N, I spend a lot of time perusing their Discover Great New Writers shelf. I would already have read and loved most of those titles, which makes me warm up easily to the other titles on display. This time, they had Please Look After Mom and My Korean Deli put up - both of which I've been itching to read. I finally walked out of the store with The Imperfectionists, which has been on my TBR since last year, and mentally taking an anti-book ban promise - to buy books more frequently to avoid the kind of deadlock that I went through.

Does that ever happen to you?

The Long Weekend beckons

Where I'm going to be this weekend...

(Picture Source)

What I'm going to be doing...

(Picture Source)

Well, not really - I thought it will be more snazzy to show a surfer than a smiling tourist. Even though I love beaches and the vast expanse of water, I'm mortally terrified of going more than a few feet past the shore, unless I'm cocooned safely in a boat that's not the Titanic. I should say though, I am looking forward to some jet skiing and parasailing.

Couple of my friends and I are heading down to Myrtle Beach on Saturday, where we'll spend the next 2-3 days. I'll be back home only by late Monday, which means I'm going to be off blogging for a few days too. I don't have any blog posts scheduled, since I don't usually do that, so I might just be offline until Tuesday/Wednesday.

What I'm going to read...
Oh and books! Is it even legal to go on a vacation without books? I've checked out a few ebooks from two of my libraries - most are young-adult or fast-paced books. I don't expect my attention span to be long enough to make sense of heavy literary work. I've decided to stick to ebooks because returning back with unread print books feels worse than coming home with unread ebooks. Which is a silly thing, but there it is.

I also happen to have A Visit from the Goon Squad on my nook - I considered calling it a beach read, but that's wishful thinking.

What I'll be listening to...
So I have a fair amount of driving to do, and I don't fancy too much music or quietness in the car. So I picked a couple of audio books to keep the monotonous driving feel not so monotonous.

I actually started listening to Squirrel seeks Chipmunk the other day, and kept laughing my head off through the whole drive. I now understand why everyone says listening to Sedaris is more entertaining than reading his books. I had earlier tried to read one of his books - it was funny, but I can say I did not really laugh so much. Just in case you'll be driving by this part of country and happen to see some crazy woman laughing alone in the car, feel free to say "Hi".

Before leaving...
My Armchair BEA giveaway is supposed to end tomorrow, but since I'm going to be away all weekend, I'm going to let it stay open for a couple more days.

Also, the Shantaram readalong starts on June 1st (I expect my vacation should make me ready to tackle a huge tome). If you're interested in joining, sign up here.

Have a great weekend, you all! And if you're doing something too, let me know.

The Sunday Salon (Pondering my reading) -- May Day, 2011

I wasn't planning to put up a post today - It's busy at home, my family's leaving this week, and I'm overwhelmed by the clutter in my life that for the first time, I'm considering doing a rash decluttering and not using the "Everyone's just as cluttered" excuse. I am losing control of my structure and routine and I certainly need to stop assuming that I am some kind of a superwoman who can do it all. So, today was supposed to be the day when I do some major cuts except I'm lazy and it's Sunday and it's Monday/workday tomorrow so who wants to bore it up today. And so I'm blogging!

(Picture source)

It's May and it's officially the time when you yell it's summer and start planning all those long escapes and getaways! That's the kind of thing I could have done in grad school, but with a job the escapes tend to be shorter. A few of my friends in Raleigh and Blacksburg and I are hoping to get out and have some fun in the sun (although the sun's my nemesis). There's BEA to get excited about for most of you, but I'm not going - I can't afford a mid-of-the-week escape, maybe I'll plan it for next year.

(Picture source)

Being the beginning of May and a third of the year in, I've also been looking at my reading so far, and what I plan for the rest of the year. Lately, I've read a lot of ARCs that I'm tired. I didn't realize reading could do that to me, but the pressure is high. Some of my reviews have been coming up days after the release and for the first time, I actually have a review backlog that's close to needing more than two hands to be counted on. Besides, some of my reading projects have been stalling. I know the reading projects can be added pressure, but they are all about books I want to read and have been talking about for years. Much as I like reading new releases, I want to be able to do that without pressure. Now, if all this sounds like a preamble to an admission that I won't read review books anymore, then that is definitely not what I mean. I will, of course. I'm already mighty choosy about what books I accept for review. I'm just going to be pickier, and really really think about a book and whether I have time before I accept it for review. Also, I find that I don't easily add a book to my goodreads to-read shelf as I do to my maybe-sometime shelf - that's probably a good way for me to decide if I want to read a book.

With that said, I'm hoping for a richer reading for the rest of the year. Helen and I are planning to read Shantaram starting June. (If anyone's interested in reading with us, let us know - more on this will be coming up in a later post on both our blogs.) One of my online book clubs is reading Les Misérables, which has been a must read for me for ages. I'm currently waiting for my copy to arrive via goodreads swap so that I can start it. I'm also hoping to read The Shadow of the Wind this month, another of the books that has languished on my shelves. That's three chunksters in one paragraph!

In addition, I'm hoping to rediscover some authors. There are some books I've rated high because the author's writing was spell-bindingly magical, but then I never read another book by that author because, well, we all know why that happens. So lately, I've been thinking to read another book from a potential favorite author - at least one a month. The motivation for this comes from my desire to read another title by José Saramago, a truly amazing writer, who sadly passed away last year. When I first heard about him, I was convinced that he and I wouldn't get along together. But then I read The Elephant's Journey last year and was amazed at how much I enjoyed the story - it was his writing that truly held me. There are writers who write beautiful literature and then there are writers like Saramago who can make the simplest stories come to life. Whoever thought that a medieval story about elephants and mahouts and soldiers traveling from one place to another would impress me that much. That's not something I would read on the weight of the synopsis alone.

So, while I ponder these plans and reevaluate my priorities (and declutter my life), have you been thinking about your reading lately? And let me know your amazing plans for the summer.