Neighborhood Haunts

While taking a walk I took some shots of Halloween yard decorations down the road from my house.

And this from my own yard. (a chicken who wanders into the yard was around when I shot this)This was as good as I could get this year:

These  Were from the local karaoke bar:

And some from in front of Safeway:

Epistolary Reading Challenge 2019

Once again, I'm bringing back the Epistolary challenge.

Definition of an Epistolary Novel (from Wikipedia):

An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries,newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic "documents" such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use. The word epistolary is derived from Latin from the Greek word ἐπιστολή epistolē, meaning a letter (see epistle).

The epistolary form can add greater realism to a story, because it mimics the workings of real life. It is thus able to demonstrate differing points of view without recourse to the device of an omniscient narrator.  


The challenge, then, will be to read books written in the form of letters, diaries, blogs, e-mails and such, either completely or partially written this way. Here are some links to get some reading ideas:
Goodreads Best Diary Novels
Goodreads YA Diary Novels
List of Fictional Diaries
7 Variations on the Epistolary Novel

Guidelines:

• Challenge will run from January 1 to December 31, 2019.  Books must be started on or after January 1 to count.  Re-reads will be allowed as long as they are read during the specified time period.
• Books may cross over to other challenges in which you are participating.  
• Fiction (all genres and subgenres) and nonfiction that fit the challenge description may be read.
• All book formats are allowed (paper, audio, electronic, graphic novels/manga, picture books). 
• Please link back to this blog, post about it on Facebook, Tweet about it, and so on to help spread the word.
• There will be no levels.  I will let you choose how many books to read.
• You do not need a blog to sign up.  You may keep tract of your progress on Goodreads, Amazon or other similar sites with a shelf dedicated to this challenge.  Or sign up on Youtube, Facebook, or Twitter.
• You do not need to post reviews, nor will there be any check-ins.

NOTE 10/10: Closing signup link for 2019. Challenge to return in 2020.

Memoir Reading Challenge 2019

It's back again. I'm keeping the rules  the same as last year, again using a checklist. Some categories have been changed, however. To participate, you must read a minimum of five memoirs from any of the categories listed. One book can only count for one category. Re-reads are acceptable. You do not need a blog to participate. All book formats count. 

Other Rules:

• Books must be read on or after January 1, 2019 to count.
• Challenge runs from January 1 to December 31, 2019.
• Books may cross over to other challenges in which you are participating. 
• Books must be labeled as memoirs to count. 

Need some reading ideas? Here are some lists to get ideas for reading:

Goodreads Memoir Book Lists
10 Famous Memoirs Everyone Should Read Once
17 Memoirs By Women
Best Celebrity Memoirs of All Time
Fictional Memoirs

Here are the categories:

1. _Mental Illness Memoir
2. _Other Illness Memoir
3. _Political Memoir
4. _Food Memoir
5. _Animal Memoir
6. _Music Memoir
7. _Travel Memoir
8. _Written by a person of color
9. _Written by a woman
10. _Written by a person who identifies as LGBTQIA
11. _Written by an actor or a comedian
12. _Written by an author or journalist
13. _Written by any other celebrity
14. _Written by someone under 40
15. _Written by someone over 40
16. _Written by someone from a country different from your own
17. _Memoir of high school or college events
18. _One you find thought-provoking
19. _Made into a movie
20. _Graphic Novel memoir
21. _Bestselling memoir
22. _Humorous memoir
23. _Fictional memoir
24. _Published in 2019
25. _Published in 2018 or earlier
26. _Under 300 pages
27. _One you want to re-read
28. _Subject of your choice
29. _Author of your choice
30. _Free choice
31. _Free choice
32. _Free choice

NOTE 10/10: Closing signup link for 2019. Challenge to return in 2020. SaveSave

Mental Health Reading Challenge 2019

For several years I had participated in the Mental Illness Reading Challenge at Opinions of a Wolf, but that one was deleted before this year began. I could not find a similar reading challenge for 2018, so I kept tract of mental illness reads as part of this one. I then decided to create a Mental Health Reading Challenge myself for 2019. It's a topic close to me, so I like to read about it. 

General Rules:

• Any book depicting mental health counts, whether fiction or non-fiction.
• Challenge takes place form January 1 to December 31, 2019. All books must be read during that time to count.
• All book formats (print, audio, e-books) are accepted.
• Books may cross over to other challenges in which you are participating.
• No levels, read as many books as you like.
• Need ideas for books? Check this Goodreads page for several lists of books on the topic.
• You do not need a blog to participate. You may sign up on Goodreads, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, etc. 
• Sign up below and leave a comment.

NOTE 10/10: Closing signup link for 2019. Challenge to return in 2020.
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Words for Wednesday

It's been some time since I've participated in this. This week's prompts are phrases: 

Let the cat out of the bag

 

Tina began looking around the room for something that seemed to be moving along he floor. It looked like a paper bag from the grocery store. "I must be going crazy," Tina said outloud. "How can this be?" Then it occurred to her that something must be in the bag ad she also noted that Fluffy, the cat, was missing. It was about time to feed the cat and Tina wondered why the cat was nowhere in sight eating for her food. So Tina liked for the moving bag and when she saw it again, a meow came from the bag. Tina grabbed the bag and sure enough, Fluffy had been hiding in the bag. Tina had always thought that "let the cat out of the bag" was just an expression, but here it was true.

__________________________________________________________________________

Best thing since sliced bread

Kyle signed up to take a bread-making class one night a week at the community center. One night, the teacher announced that she had brought in a bread-making machine she had just gotten from Amazon. The class watched with eagerness as she set up the machine and then put in the ingredients. As the bread began to come put, Kyle watched with amazement and could not help thinking This as the best thing since sliced bread. 

October Bookish Bingo

Here is the new card for October.

Click on the card to download (or right click here and save-as).

Mark up the card however you wish to claim the squares.

In honor of this month’s Doctor Who premiere, bonus points for a female doctor!

Here’s a recap for clarity (with specific dates for example):

October 3 – new bingo card available

November 2 – Julie and I will post our October completed bingo cards. You can link up your bingo cards in this post

November 3 – new bingo card available

December 2 – Julie and I will post our November completed bingo cards. You can link up your bingo cards in this post. We will also be posting the October winner of the most squares in this post.

And so on and so forth.

My books for this one:

1. Vampire Bite!--Beatrice Costamagna (2 squares): Vampire, Costume/Disguise
2. Between Friends--Sheila Garrigue (4 squares): Orange on the Cover, Shelf Love, Physical Book, Not in a Series
3. Beyond the Red--Ava Jae (3 squares): In a Series, Hero/Heroine, Free Book
4. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies--Seth Grahame-Smith (3 squares): Zombies/Undead, Love Triangle, Demon Slayer
5. The Best Halloween Ever--Barbara Robinson (5 squares): All Hallow's Eve, Pranks, Candy/Sweets, Child's POV, Library Book
6. Wizards of Once--Cressida Cowell (2 squares): Audiobook, Free Space 
7. Norse Mythology--Neil Gaiman (1 square): Darkness vs. Good
8. The Forgotten Road--Richard Paul Evans (3 squares): Road Trip, Contemporary, Coffee Drinker
9. The Swan Thieves--Elizabeth Kostova (1 square): Doctor

24 squares completed on October 23
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Things I've Been Doing

Wow, almost a week with no posts! And it's already the first of October. Meaning the year has gone by quite fast.

One reason for no posts since last week is that I have been working on the first pages of my diary sequel. I've only just begun, but have already rewritten just that part several times, in only two days. Now I have to determine where to go from there. 

And  after months of asking myself the question in the image above, I'm glad to say I've decided on a  title for the first book:You Can't Hide From the Teeth, one of several I had in mind as I began trying to come up with one. I immediately decided not to use the "behind bars" idea for a title, though that line remains in the books as one of the chapter titles. Tell me what you think of the title I have chosen.

I now want to know ways to design a book cover. I sent in the memoir to the publishing contest twelve days before the deadline (yesterday) but have not given much thought to a cover. Now I'm thinking of one for my first diary book. How have some of you designed your covers?

I spent most of yesterday afternoon preparing a dish for a potluck at work today. We've been having a nutrition class presented by the public health department. We then decided to bring some food for today's class, as it will be the last one. Here is what I made. I'd made it once for our cooking class and it was good. Even though it's not in the recipe, I added chicken to the rice for today's potluck.

And as you know, Halloween is on its way. Because I spent most of yesterday cooking for today and most of Saturday typing the notes I had written for the new book, I haven't gotten around to putting up my decorations yet. I work today and rain is expected tomorrow, so I don't yet know when I'll get them up. And I'll soon get around to working on my costume. I already have most of the stuff I need. I just have to come up with a way to make ladybug spots and bee stripes. Felt is hard to find in my town these days. People here used to be able to get it local drug and variety stores that are no longer around, and Dollar Tree, Target and Kmart don't seem to have any. And all those stores seem to be out of black pompoms at this time, something I'll need to do this antenna headband. I may have to find other ways to do these things. Everything will get done, I don't know how or what just yet.

Happy first day of October to all of you!