tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12611911601970308172011-11-29T01:33:25.672-07:00A blog in which I mostly talk about books...but I make no promises.Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.comBlogger361100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-89656902081843755132011-09-23T15:04:00.012-06:002011-10-25T18:30:27.574-06:00

Next week is Banned Book Week! This always gets me so excited. I think there are two reasons: 1. It’s an excuse to read. Because I, you know, need another one of those. 2. I’m a rebel. I’m not planning to track down a copy of Mein Kampf or anything, but reading a book that someone, somewhere, has deemed inappropriate makes me proud to be an American. Freedom of speech rocks. I think that’s

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-57860058497979131122011-09-10T22:52:00.006-06:002011-09-22T09:50:10.687-06:00

Hi, cute guy from Biology class from forever ago. Eww--no, not him. To the actual person who was in a real biology class and who never looked constipated or like a serial killer like that: Hi. *laughs nervously, rubs palms on thighs, and licks lips.*  I'm sure you don't remember me. We shared am 8am class at community college a million years ago. Okay--it was only a few

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-5650740009999219942011-08-31T23:18:00.001-06:002011-10-11T23:10:32.145-06:00

Listen, I know the movie came out more than a year ago--which, if we're honest, is like two decades in pop-culture these days--but I have something to say about Percy Jackson. Read the books. DON'T watch the movie.Hollywood representations of books are bad as a rule. But this one was actually abysmal. I did both and felt like the movie was unrecognizable as a representation of the book. Like,

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-28282946862763103922011-06-30T21:31:00.010-06:002011-10-25T18:39:40.285-06:00

This cover is SICK. I don't mean that in the I'm-trying-to-be-cool-so-any-outdated-saying-will-do kind of way. I mean that in the most honest no-really-I-want-to-high-five-the-cover-designer kind of way. Granted, I'm always a fan of creepy. Not blood-and-guts-horror-movie kind of creepy, but slight-shivers-down-your-spine kind of creepy is my favorite. (For the less observant kids in the class,

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-73261403875546494962011-06-15T19:13:00.011-06:002011-09-22T09:59:08.838-06:00

I had really high hopes for this book. 1: The cover art. Sure, you're not supposed to judge a book by one, but really, how are you supposed to be attracted to it in the first place? Let's be honest, I didn't go on a first date with my husband because he's a great guy. I mean that's why I made a lifelong commitment to him and took his last name but that wasn't the first thing on my mind when we

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-72113491418049894672011-06-10T23:32:00.011-06:002011-06-21T12:25:15.243-06:00

I'm usually not a huge book-to-movie fan. Not saying I won't go to the movie, but I always walk out muttering something like, "the book was better" under my breath and secretly judging the undereducated plebeians leaving the theater with smiles of shallow satisfaction smeared across their faces. Mr. Awesome gets so mad at me for this. He's not a reader and the poor man just wants to watch a movie

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-44363622124746101822011-05-19T10:08:00.002-06:002011-06-11T00:00:45.263-06:00

Ask anyone that's tried writing a story, it's intimidating. Thank you, interwebs for this brilliant Periodic Table of a Story. Some of my personal favorites are: Dlp, Aod, Chi, and Lah (Literary Agent Hypothesis--I don't know what that means, but I like it.) *chuckles* Original link: http://computersherpa.deviantart.com/art/Periodic-Table-of-Storytelling-203548951 I particularly like the

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-54115211731440415492011-04-11T16:14:00.000-06:002011-04-11T16:14:42.213-06:00

Recently there was a bit of controversy over a self-published author going ballistic after a poor review of her kindle edition book.   Kids, here's what NOT to do if you want to be a professional writer. The first 50 or so comments is where the drama really goes down. Much past that it just kind of turns into a witch hunt and made me feel kinda bad for the woman. Don't get me wrong, she flew

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-10804001991217465562011-03-30T20:00:00.007-06:002011-03-31T10:12:34.793-06:00

When it comes to Sarah Addison Allen, I'm a bit of a homer. You know, someone who's so blinded by their love and devotion that they don't necessarily see the draw-backs. Apparently "homer" is a sports term almost entirely created for Chicago Cubs fans. Okay, not actually, but it is really a sports term. When people ask me what my favorite book of hers is, I can never give a straight answer. I

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-6045388577256170722011-03-23T14:46:00.025-06:002011-09-08T00:25:37.353-06:00

 I am so super-duper way ahead on my reading for 2011. Yay me. Part of the reason that I’m ahead is because I’m not tackling books like The Decline and Fall of the Roman empire or anything like that. Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock was quite fluffy and sweet. Don’t get me wrong, it’s everything that a YA coming of age in Wisconsin should be, but it was a very quick read. Hush, Hush by

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-52551176895860009072011-03-23T11:35:00.000-06:002011-03-23T11:35:42.556-06:00

http://www.losteyeball.com/index.php/2007/06/19/56-worstbest-analogies-of-high-school-students/ Poor America. This is why crap like Twilight is popular.

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-33662629588870276122011-03-12T15:53:00.007-07:002011-08-03T17:43:41.988-06:00

I don't want to ever come across as "I work at a publisher and get books before you do, nanny nanny boo boo." But in the same breath, I will admit to you that I'm the kind of person that isn't good at keeping secrets. My own, at least. Okay, and other people's sometimes too. I grew up with siblings and we were always forced encouraged to share toys, clothes, and information. So it's the sister in

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-57467874823511667342011-03-07T20:37:00.004-07:002011-04-30T12:47:36.626-06:00

This week, I finished The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. This was yet another free Random House ebook. (Yay, Uncle Random House!) But unlike a few other books I have tried to read lately, this one was a home run. From the flap copy, I was charmed on several levels: 1) It's set in England in the wake of WWII 2) The main character is 11 3) She is a brilliant little chemist 4) She has a

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-73101715963663791202011-02-21T22:11:00.005-07:002011-02-21T22:17:16.093-07:00

I'm on track so far! The list as it stands:Torment by Lauren KateCity of Bones by Cassandra ClaireBeautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and some other lady--I think her last name is Stohl.Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine PetersonThe Kite Runner by Khaled HossiniFoundling by D. M. CornishHowl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (Loved this book! It was a gift from my friend Jessica. I will probably

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-10455422094004563062011-02-21T20:50:00.016-07:002011-09-27T13:48:08.661-06:00

Truly, I don't think that time spent reading is wasted. Reading, even if what you are reading is little better than drivel, uses significantly more of your brain than a passive activity like watching TV. So I guess if I look at the following books this way, I have not wasted my time. But I can't escape the fact that there are three books now sitting on my shelves that I have picked up and put

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-21311474106365370702011-02-05T16:38:00.006-07:002011-03-22T16:58:53.666-06:00

Every time I come back from a blogging "hiatus" I say something disingenuous like, "OMG, I'm totally going to be better about blogging," yet I never am, so this time I'm going with, "yay me for blogging. What you see is what you get." The holidays came and went. We survived. That's all I have to say about that. With the chucking of another calendar and the replacement of a new one, came my

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-4116520962665238562010-10-27T08:27:00.007-06:002010-10-27T09:03:26.655-06:00

WE HAVE A HOUSE!!! *collective sigh of relief from everyone that Renee interacts with on a daily basis and muttered prayers that she will no longer be such a stressed out lunatic*It's on the north end, was a total God-thing, and it is *adorable*. I shall post pictures soon.Oh, and we got a dog. She's a stinky little bugger of the baby basset persuasion. We call her Rosie. And Rose McGee. And

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-12528443764832964852010-05-25T10:55:00.002-06:002011-09-01T14:26:25.710-06:00

People have been asking me what I thought about the Lost finale. So here it is: I have been bothered ever since it aired. We had a finale party at our house and right away everyone kept asking me what I thought about it when really, I just wanted them to leave me alone and let me think it over. I didn’t want to talk, I didn’t want to theorize, I just wanted to sit in silence. Days later, I’m

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-10948190093475649832010-03-04T13:14:00.010-07:002010-03-05T11:16:15.917-07:00

Every year I make 3 New Year's resolutions. (yes, I know it's March, keep reading) They are always the same. Have been for about 5 years now. Maybe 7. They will probably be the the same for the next 25 years. Maybe 27.1. Read through the entire Bible in a year.2. Read a book a week (for all you non-mathematicians out there, that's 52 in a year)3. Lose 15 pounds.(Clearly, keeping my blog

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-7480380938311907742009-11-24T14:15:00.018-07:002009-11-24T15:58:57.854-07:00

I'm not really big into the blog scene. I know, I know, I HAVE a blog...but really this is a place for me to get on my soapbox about crazy Christians and ugly shoes. I would not consider myself a wheel in the blog-cog.Until about a month ago, the only blog I follow religiously is ThePioneerWoman. I'm addicted to her witty anecdotes and beautiful photographs of dicing onions and cracking eggs. Her

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-31532578679434948782009-11-20T10:39:00.002-07:002009-11-20T10:51:10.370-07:00

And I am not a happy lostaway.February 2nd.That's 74 days from now. And that is lame.What about the Olympics? Will they take a break? Can't they just show it all at once. We're talking one 18 hour (or wherever the count is now) chunk. Eating and sleeping would only be allowed on commercial breaks at my house.URGH! I'm so impatient to get to the end.

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-40022156065738167402009-11-09T19:25:00.007-07:002009-11-10T14:56:46.858-07:00

Want to walk into a group of people and immediately stir up controversy? Sing a Christmas song in the middle of November.Other than national health-care, nothing will polarize a group of people more quickly. There are only three camps:1. The Buddy-the-Elf:"OMG! I created my Dean Martin Christmas station on pandora.com two months ago! I've been listening to it and drinking peppermint mocha's from

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-11153697210067922502009-10-14T12:54:00.006-06:002009-10-15T13:50:45.806-06:00

I always have been an avid lover of musicals. It started innocently enough with things most kids watch like Disney movies, or Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.Then Julie Andrews came along and messed everything up. With Julie, frolicking through the Austrian country-side in curtains or dancing on the rooftops of London seem not only like entertainment to a young, impressionable, imaginative

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-48924778740781416622009-08-11T13:28:00.013-06:002009-08-12T15:35:46.646-06:00

It's been just over a year since I married the man of my dreams. He's loving, caring, smart, hot beyond all reason, and a great listener. It has been, by far, the most fulfilling and rewarding year of my life.(every married person is laughing right now, noticing I didn't say easiest)His family is wonderful too. From a remarkably young age I had vivid nightmares of my future panning out similarly

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-45384810030862256062009-08-10T11:06:00.008-06:002009-08-10T15:10:47.302-06:00

I discovered these this weekend. Oh. My. Chocolaty. Goodness. I was hesitant at first because I'm not a dark chocolate kind of girl. If I'm going to indulge in chocolate it will be creamy and contain a cavity-inducing level of sweetness. Not bitter and crumbly. Also, typically fruit in my chocolate bores me. I feel as though candy marketers think this: if your chocolate is so mediocre that it

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-45312966082748591792009-08-06T13:42:00.014-06:002009-08-07T15:52:36.543-06:00

I like food.I know this is a problem for almost everyone here in America. Except my mom. I'm convinced her taste buds don't work quite right, because she ALWAYS eats healthy. In my estimation, cardboard tastes better than some things she passes off as crackers or cereal. I do aspire to be like her. I would love to be so dedicated to my pursuit of health. But until they stop making mozzarella

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-55575626050537451172009-08-03T13:49:00.000-06:002009-08-03T14:19:17.811-06:00

I want to be thinner. I think every woman does. But I realized I have a few things standing in my way.#1. The Gym.I understand the gym should be the primary way by which the goal of being super-hot is achieved. But I have several issues with this.First, the gym is filled with tons of skinny, toned and generally in-shape people. This is fine for people that are not me. Sometimes, seeing others

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-73786883107215986412009-07-30T09:25:00.001-06:002009-08-03T16:29:11.562-06:00

Here is a picture of what greeted me when I got to work this morning. I was estatic. I don't know why I get such a kick out of foggy, rainy weather. It's cozy, for starters. I love the idea that I can wear something warm. I always find myself wanting to snuggle up with my husband and watch a movie while sipping on a cup of Sleepy Time tea. But I think the other reason I like this weather is that

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-75700576194401724362009-07-24T09:23:00.000-06:002009-07-24T09:30:28.099-06:00

I like that title, this may become a series. We’ll see.I’m sure anyone that’s ever worked in an office setting has several of these pet peeves. The loud nose-blowing co-worker, coffee grounds in the coffee, the eternally broken copy machine are all common ones. But really, I’ve discovered this one has given me more trouble lately than I care to even admit.Ask anyone that knows me well, one of the

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-56166526456559070722009-06-24T10:50:00.000-06:002009-06-24T10:54:11.010-06:00

Last night Hubby and I were talking about kids, and he mentioned how he’d like our kids to have strong Norwegian names. I get that, we are the last people in his family to carry on the family name. His dad has about a billion brothers, but none of them popped out any boys. Redic, I know. No pressure to have kids with both an X and a Y chromosome, none at all. So I get the idea of it…carrying on

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-75075552144990034522009-06-08T14:50:00.000-06:002009-06-08T14:52:12.569-06:00

After a few weeks of the final “thud” of season 5 still ringing in my head, I feel a bit more settled now. Mostly that’s thanks to the podcasts I’ve been listening to and the inordinate amounts of time that I’ve been spending on lostpedia.com. There was one day last week where I had to have spent 3 hours in total on lostpedia.com catching up on every bit on nuance I’ve ever missed. Later, I

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-86067052221723074902009-05-08T15:23:00.001-06:002009-05-08T15:29:36.368-06:00

Do you ever get tired of seeing and hearing the same thing over and over; drudging through an overwhelmingly predictable day with perfect punctuality? The kind of day where the more you look at the clock, the slower it moves. Do you ever have the urge to bash in your computer screen with a stapler just for the sake of doing something different, exciting and unexpected?That's today.

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-7846892346737722692009-05-07T12:37:00.000-06:002009-06-08T15:12:13.693-06:00

I’ve been thinking a lot about authenticity lately. I’m probably focusing on it because so much in my society is fake these days. Packaged foods have so many chemicals that there are barely traces of real ingredients, everything that Hollywood cranks out is retouched with CGI, and let’s face it, I don’t trust the standardized church father than I can chuck it.There is a shockingly large amount of

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-14433249043415900962009-03-09T11:09:00.000-06:002009-03-09T12:31:45.484-06:00

I’m not a fan of Mary Kay. Not the makeup or the ideology or the pink Cadillac’s or the idea that “your friends are going to buy makeup anyways so they may as well pay you for it.” I despise hearing lines like “I’m sorry you’ve had a bad experience, but we have a cleanser (eye-liner/ color palate/ perfume/ moisturizer/ nail polish) for every skin type!” and “Mary Kay has really changed their

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-31676081914574688912009-03-05T18:45:00.000-07:002009-03-09T11:21:15.103-06:00

So I've never lived in an apartment before. Hopefully, I will never have to do so again. I don't particularly like giving directions to a complex where 45 buildings look the same. I don't like having to walk up three flights of stairs when carrying 18,000 pounds of groceries. And I really don't like the people that moved in right below us.About 6 weeks ago, they moved in. With their yappy little

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1261191160197030817.post-4967482558164888652009-02-04T13:40:00.000-07:002009-03-09T11:24:27.180-06:00

This is not a Lost blog. Period. But there is something that I have to get off my chest… Or off my plate... Honestly, since the situation makes me sick, I'm going with the off the plate analogy.In the Lost fan community, there is a group of people called "Shippers". You might think, being that the show is about a quazi-deserted island, that the term has something to do with a form of rescue or (

Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01410417163499067856noreply@blogger.com1