Random NYC Photo

Speaking of pups, here's a random photo of our pups in Central Park. We normally take the pups to our neighborhood's park and since we can't throw them on the subway, bus, or cab...they normally don't go to Central Park with us.

But in September I surprised my husband for his birthday by helping get two of his Vegas buddies to fly in to see him for the weekend. We had a gorgeous Sunday that weekend, grabbed the truck, and took them to see Central Park with the pups.

So after that incredibly long story, here's my husband, his friends, the pups, and a weird spirally hedge design in Central Park.

Dog Days of November

I got the idea of Dog Days of November from The Literate Housewife during her Dog Days of Summer stint.

My husband and I read The Art of Racing in the Rain and both really liked it and I've been meaning to review it. I just finished Now & Then yesterday and am reading Giv: The Story of a Dog and America.

So I figured, what the hey. Let celebrate these dog-centric books by having a few reviews and a few giveaways. Yeah??

Stick around for these three reviews and giveaways for The Art of Racing in the Rain AND Now & Then.

And of course, can't help posting a photo of me and my dog, Charlie:
*Note: I do like my feet nice and toasty and no...I didn't burn my socks off.

100+ Challenge Update - October

October has been, by far, my best reading month ever. I've been trying real hard to get in some books so I can complete the 100+ Challenge. I've read 75 books this year so do you all think I can read 25 books in the next two months?? Eek!

October
63. The Last Dickens - Matthew Pearl
64. The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
65. Sacred Hearts - Sarah Dunant
66. The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery
67. The Mystery of Edwin Drood - Charles Dickens
68. The Strain - Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan
69. Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys
70. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
71. Real Murders - Charlaine Harris
72. Seeing Redd - Frank Beddor
73. The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
74. Sunflowers - Sheramy Bundrick

R.I.P. IV Challenge - Completed

I finished Carl's R.I.P. IV Challenge. For all you who haven't heard of Carl over at Stainless Steel Droppings, go check him out. You can also check out what I read last year for the R.I.P. III Challenge.

I chose Peril the First: Read Four books from any sub-genre of scary stories that you choose.

Here's my completed list:

1. The Mystery of Edwin Drood - Charles Dickens (Finished October 20, 2009)

2. The Last Dickens - Matthew Pearl (Finished October 04, 2009)

3. Dark Star - Alan Furst (Finished September 05, 2009)

4. The Harrowing - Alexandra Sokoloff (Finished September 01, 2009)

5. The Strain - Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan (Finished October 21, 2009)

6. Real Murders - Charlaine Harris (Finished October 26, 2009)

You can see what everyone else read over at The Review Site.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood - Charles Dickens

I became interested in reading Charles Dickens last unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood while reading Matthew Pearl's novel The Last Dickens. You don't have to read the Dickens novel to understand The Last Dickens, but I was just intrigued by the whole mystery. So I checked online and found the site The Literature Network where you can read it for free. I had a ball reading this little unsolved mystery.

The premise is this:

Orphan Edwin Drood is engaged to be married to fellow orphan, Rosa Bud. Their fathers had arranged the marriage a long time ago. Neither Edwin nor Rosa seem to be too enthralled with the idea. Edwin's uncle and guardian, John Jasper is the choirmaster, an opium addict, secretly in love with Rosa, and basically just a creepy guy all around.

Enter two more orphans, brother and sister duo Neville and Helena Landless. Neville is kind of a sweet guy who happens to get into trouble. And his sister is a loyal beauty. Neville develops a crush on Rosa as well.

During the course of the novel, John Jasper's actions seem very odd. He sneaking around, tours the cemetery/crypt (a good creepy part of the novel). And then Edwin goes missing.

Then a stranger comes to town, Dick Datchery, who becomes interested in this mystery. What is his deal? Will he solve the mystery? Did Edwin just take off? Did John Jasper do him in? Did Neville kill him off?

We never know....

I loved reading this. First of all, does Dickens just love orphans or what? And then there is the names! They crack me up. Like Rosa Bud....seriously? Here's some more characters: Reverend Crisparkle, Durdles (the creepy stonemason of the crypt), Princess Puffer (the opium queen), Miss Twinkleton, and Mr. Honeythunder. O my gosh.

After reading The Last Dickens and The Mystery of Edwin Drood, I am becoming quite the Charles Dickens fan. Masterpiece Theater is running some shows and I've watched Oliver Twist (another fun orphan) and am watching Bleak House (loving it!).

Do you like Dickens? What is your favorite that you'd recommend I read?

Also Reviewed By:

BooksPlease

Random NYC photo

I finally got around to uploading some photos from one of my cameras. So here's another random NYC photo:
I love when the clouds are low and help illuminate the Empire State Building's lights.

Other random NYC photos here, here, here, here, and here

Auburn Game

Every year my husband and I meet up with some friends in Auburn, Alabama to catch an Auburn game. My husband is an Auburn alum so watching college football is his thing.

I love the Auburn campus. It's got such beautiful buildings:


I really like this one:
It was COLD this year! And it rained just a little.

You can see the ominous clouds:

They lost but we still had a good time.
***Quick shout out to Alabama Book Worm and Lisa at Books. Lists. Life. --WAR EAGLE!

Past Auburn posts: Auburn photos and Auburn puppies