13 Phobias

Colleen at The Thursday 13 holds a weekly blogging prompt where bloggers make a list of 13 things on Thursdays. The topic is for you to choose. The blog host doesn't have any official graphics to display on the Thursday 13 posts, so I decided to whip one up myself. 🙂

 

On Wednesday, at work, it was too hot for playing pickleball, so we met at our center instead after the all-staff meeting. We've done a lot of Kahoot quizzes, and today was one on phobias. I did not know most of them, so I guessed. I ended up the highest score after coming from behind. Most of these were new to me. Do you recognize any of these?

1. Metrophobia: Fear of poetry
2. Hylophobia: Fear of trees
3. Panophobia: Fear of unknown evil
4. Fayophobia: Fear of elves
5. Climacophobia: Fear of climbing
6. Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia: Fear of the number 666
7. Cetaphobia: Fear of whales
8. Pogonophobia: Fear of beards
9. Ophidiophobia: Fear of snakes
10. Petraphobia: Fear of rocks
11. Sesquipedalophobia: Fear of long words
12. Ommetaphobia: Fear of eyes
13. Arachibutyrophobia: Fear of getting peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth

Can you believe these exist? Some of these seem like bizarre things to fear!

The quiz was 24 questions so there are others not listed here. A few came up that I already know, like arachnophobia and claustrophobia. I think most people know those two.

National Blogger Day

This came up on my Facebook memories today. I don't know how I never knew this until now.

How many of you knew about this? Is it news to you as well? 

August Bookish Bingo

 Here is the card for August.

My Books:

1. 16 Lighthouse Road--Debbie Macomber (8 squares): Started Last Month (began on July 31 and finished on August 2), Library Book, Physical Book, In a Series, Enemies to Lovers, Favorite Author, Small-Town Setting, Book Club Read
2. The Case of the Missing Marquess--Nancy Springer (5 squares): Free Book, Historic Setting, Vigilante, Animal on the Cover, Free Space
3. The Little Mermaid--Melissa Lagonegro (5 squares): Audiobook, Witch/Wizard, Special Powers, Curse/Deal/Bargain, Dreams/Nightmares
4. Every Body Yoga--Jessamyn Stanley (2 squares): E-Book, Exercise
5. In This Grave Hour--Jacqueline Winspear (2 squares): Shelf Love, Vehicle on the Cover
6. This Side of Married--Rachel Pastan (1 square): Not in a Series

13 Things This Month

Colleen at The Thursday 13 holds a weekly blogging prompt where bloggers make a list of 13 things on Thursdays. The topic is for you to choose. The blog host doesn't have any official graphics to display on the Thursday 13 posts, so I decided to whip one up myself. 🙂    

This is the only month this year that ends on a Thursday. 

Here are some random things from the Internet found this month.

1. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   
   
   
   
   

 

This was shared by a friend on Facebook
following the death of Ozzy Osbourne this
month. I laughed 
at the typo--San Grancisco!

Augtober?

And now this:

I'm not quite thinking about Halloween yet either. Though I have started to see some stuff at Dollar Tree. And am already waiting to see if the Spirit store comes to my town again. The website said to check back in mid-August for store locations. But I have started looking for costume ideas--I'm thinking the 1980s--will let you know when I decide.

As for the weather, well, it's been kind of weird lately. It hasn't felt like summer weather most of this month. It's little cold in the mornings, then a little warm by midday. But at least there hasn't been a heatwave and I'm hoping it won't be like that in October as was the case last year. And I certainly won't be putting on a  beanie in August, even if it feels cold in the morning. 

Our beach trip nearly two weeks ago wasn't all that warm, though the sun keep trying to break through the clouds. I still enjoyed going, though. We watched a bunch of people scuba diving. 

Christmas in July

According to my Facebook memories, today is Christmas in July Day. The following images turned up in the memories:

I'm certainly not thinking about Christmas right now. But I do suspect Christmas items will start showing up in stores in the next month or two, right after Halloween items. Some Halloween items have already shown up at the Dollar Tree in my town. And I'm already hoping that the Spirit Halloween store will return this year, either at the empty Kmart building or at the recently shutdown Rite Aid. The website says to check in mid-August to find store locations. 

Even though I'm not celebrating Christmas in July, I though those images were fun and had to share. I didn't even read a Christmas-themed book this month, not that I always do so. 

Book Discussion: Reading Short Works

 

Each year, I find myself reading different short works for various reasons. Often for it's a reading prompt asking for a book of certain number of pages, such as under 250 pages, or any other number. Some short books I tend to read are nonfiction ones on various subjects. This comes in handy when I have nonfiction prompts on subjects I don't want to read a long book on. This year I read a book on gardening from food scraps, to fulfill two prompts on gardens. This I read quickly at the library, since it was short. I often read short works this way to reduce the number of books I take out each time. Same is often true of picture books, since they are fairly short. Picture books I tend to especially read when it comes to holidays. Though I have so far read at least two this year.

Some works that seem short, however, require taking out to read. Poetry collections and plays often fit this description for me.  Depending on the length, some poetry collections can be read in one setting. I more often check out poetry books rather than attempt to read through them quickly at the library. Since the Poetry challenge I used to do every year was discontinued about two years ago, my reading of poetry has gotten slim, but I have several I've already read this year.

When it comes to reading plays, these I definitely need to check out to read. Again, depending on the length, plays can take me one or two days to read. This is one genre I only seem to read once a year, as the summer challenge at Messy Middle tends to have plays as a prompts. 

When it comes to reading e-books and audiobooks, I try to find short ones, to spend as little time as possible on reading electronically. I still prefer physical books :)

Some middle grade books and graphic novels tend to be short, and depending on the number of the pages, I can take only one day on these. But these can also take two days, depending on what time of day I begin reading the books. If I start such a book late in the day, it most often will take two days.

How many short works to do tend to read a year? What formats mentioned do you read more of?