Blogging comes harder and harder these days with the constant heat blasts and my unwise decisions to go out the week nights and get friendly with the bottle. Although I don’t overdo the drinking part, mornings at 7 am can be quite painful, so this is a belated post regarding my reading progress and challenges, partly to set things straight and well to play in Weekly Geeks #9, whose theme this week was challenges. Here are the rules quoted straight from our headquarters “Hidden Side of a Leaf”:

1. If you participate in any challenges, get organized! Update your lists, post about any you haven’t mentioned, add links of reviews to your lists if you do that, go to the challenge blog if there is one and post there, etc.

2. If you don’t participate in any challenges, then join one! There’s a good selection of possibilities over on my right hand sidebar (scroll down) where I list those I participate in. There’s also A Novel Challenge, a blog that keeps track of all sorts of reading challenges.

3. Towards the end of the week, write a wrap-up post about getting your challenges organized OR if you’re joining your first challenge, post about that any time during the week. Once you have your post up, come back and sign Mr Linky with the link to the specific post, not just to your blog.

I shall begin with the real part of the post and “Herding Cats Challenge”. Here is how I stand with my three main books for the challenge. I am certain that I will have time for the next three:

“Left Hand of Darkness” by Ursula Le Guin ~ READ: I can’t really believe that I had to go throw three different novels al from the Hainish cycle to get to this one, which is deemed as one of the best titles in the genre. I personally am left with mixed feelings as I am in awe with Ursula Le Guin’s worldbuilding and symbolism behind it all, but as a story I didn’t quite enjoy it as it had a tough journey through ice and well winter is not one of my interests, so I didn’t quite like it as much. Review is yet to follow.

“Persuasion” by Jane Austin ~ READ: Quite frankly after reading “Pride and Prejudice” I was left with the impression that every Austin novel is a surprise packet as that one, but well “Persuasion” didn’t quite do it for me. Too much narrative for the book’s own good and it was quite boring at the beginning, but the ending was so much pleasurable. Review is yet to follow.

“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte ~ READING: This will take time as I am caught in a love triangle between three books at the moment, so progress is low, but I am quite entertained by what the novel has to offer. Mr. Rochester and Jane certainly develop an awkward sort of friendship. I can’t wait for more.

Now let’s proceed to my other interesting reading projects:

“The Summoner” by Gail Z. Martin ~ READING: I am gonna lock myself at home these three or four days so that I can finish it once and for all, as I have been dragging it quite the while and I need the review. It isn’t bad, but well it’s more like an epic fantasy of no great innovations or greatness, but it’s interesting nonetheless.

“Witchember” by John Lawson ~ READING: This novel is a sort of disciple of the Tolkien style of fantasy, but I love its grittiness. I am enjoying this one immensely and can’t wait to read it as fast as I can, which is a bit impossible, since I have way too much to do and oh brother, I need me some clones. I particularly enjoy how magic is being portrayed and it's almost constant use, which doesn't seem like overdoing it.

Now for the grand finale, I am hosting my first giveaway over at “Temple Library Reviews” and it has one of the best urban fantasy novels “Black Magic Woman”!!!!!

{PS: This amazing pciture comes from none other than Stephanie Pui-Mun Law from Shadowscapes}

I took two days of off air time and when I come back I get over swamped with information. It seems that for the two days I have been missing too many updated their blogs. My blog tour only finished with all the blogs on Blogger, which leaves my LJ people for tomorrow. I never knew life could be so hectic and I am so stopping adding people on my blog roll. I love new acquaintances, but I am getting a bit overwhelmed with the data. Anyways if someone thinks I am not showing enough on their blog, simply know that I am reading, but can’t afford to comment.

So let’s move to my life. Thursday got me drained with the German graduation party since we all passed the special German exam and now carry the piece of paper stating we can speak almost as good as a German would. The day put me in panic mode since I had no formal clothing and had to mix a strange combo with weird clothes. This reminds me that with the money from my summer job I will update my closet. Of course Thursday and Friday had me in another aspect since I went to a beautician about the dark spots on my face and I died, since she squeezed them and shocked them with electricity. Ouch!

Friday I saw my friend photographer/artist/sword fighter Svetla and drank wine in the Sea Garden among nature. We chatted about projects and how she was going to play into a replay of an old swordfight over my home city Varna in the medieval ages and I am so going to watch. We decided to start a web comic together and possibly create the perfect idea for anime and then sell it to a Japanese company and see our baby developed. But those are just wild dreams like my grand computer game scheme.

Friday brought many new books as well. Almost full list with cover art on “Temple Library Reviews”:
~ “Black Magic Woman” by Justin Gustainis
~ “The Summoner” by Gail Z. Martin
~ “The Blood King” by Gail Z. Martin
~ “Spirit Gate” by Kate Elliot
~ “Witchember” by John Lawson
~ “Brida” by Paulo Coehlo

I made a new decision. I will write my novel on a journal and then during rewrites revert to the PC. I found writing by hand to be more fast, efficient and gripping. The same amount of words, 1K to be exact, written on hand takes faster and I barely notice pass. My thoughts have time to fully form and my hand keeps up with my brain and vice versa. The PC makes my eyes hurt and I get distracted easily by Google. Bad Google!! So I am on the hunt for new journals and made my friend Alex, that amazing gal, to bring me some from her dad’s firm as they have too many, but I am not sure, because they have salamis on their covers. Considering her dad works in the meat product business is the bad side.

I am so hyper excited today, because good things keep happening and I am so excited to be alive this week. I think Karma finally decided to give me the week of good things happening. First my literature teacher is sick, which means no final grade deciding test on Wednesday! Now Dolce Belezza, this amazing woman with one of the best blogs out there, gave me this:

I am so honored to have this Gold Card Award and be considered as a great friend by this amazing person, whom I’ve known for not enough time. As the rules go I am going to grant this card to five other bloggers, who have been extra ordinary friends to me and have great blogs, even though I want to give it to ten people. Bellezza know that you deserve this one too, but I don't think I can send it to you again, since you already have one.

1. Marcia Collete: She is this doll with big brains and sweet talk. Cross the literary wisdom of a literature professor with the bubbly personality of an innocent cheerleader and there you have it. What I love most about her is not only the topics she chooses to blog about, but the time she takes to comment back every single comment on her post.

2. Tyhitia Green: What I like about Tyhitia is her love for the horror and her wickedness to post all these macabre pictures on pink font. Major creepiness for me. she has been super duper friends with me and commented, when I doubted anyone read my Blogger. Of course her appreciation posts for different months like Black History Month and Women’s History Month honor big names in both the literature world and the normal one.

3. Karen Mahoney: My LJ author in the making, who is going to make it. Her blog is full of all literature tads and bits related. She is this Wonder Woman counterpart with just the best sense of humor is willing to embrace you open heartedly and make you her friend. You go girl!

4. Meredith Wood aka Shea: Another LJ author in the making with one heck of an attitude. What I like best about her is that she thinks my crappy jokes are funny and that she let me read her manuscript as a beta reader. I am going to mention that in my memoirs you know. She is right now something as my critique partner and her comments are awesome!

5. Fandoria aka Leisa: Like all my friends this one is yet again in the literature department and is a cooky person that I wanna hug. Apart from her blog, which I totally love, she just was there when things were crazy and showed me that my life is not going to crash and burn. Thank you for that darling.

And I am finally going to participate in a reader’s challenge called 342,752 Ways to Herd Cats. The challenge runs from May 1st through November 30th. You list 10 of your favorite books and submit the list to her. Then you go and look at other peoples’ lists and pick 3 books from their lists and commit to read them. Bottle of Shine is the host for this challenge and there you can find other people’s lists. So here are my 10 for the scheme:

1. “Dracula” by Bram Stocker
2. “The DaVinchi Code” by Dan Brown
3. “Dark is the Moon” by Ian Irvain ~ Actually I love all the four books in the series, so if you like start from the first one and read everything.
4. “Wyrd Sisters” by Terri Prattchet
5. “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde
6. “Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov
7. “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austin
8. “Alchemist” by Paulo Coehlo
9. “Stray” by Rachel Vincent
10. “Scent of Shadows” by Vicki Pettersson

And these are my three official books that I will read:
1. “Left hand of Darkness” by Ursula LeGuin
2. ”Jane Ayre” by Charlotte Bronte
3. “Persuasion” by Jane Austin