Book Review - Wool Omnibus

Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey

Synopsis:

Wool is the story of a post-apocalyptic society struggling for survival.  What's left of Earth's population lives underground in Silos, hundreds of stories deep, which offers protection from the inhabitable surface.  Order is kept in this society by a few, as the severest punishment to be had is sentenced for the mere expression of wanting to bet let out into the world above.  Those who want out get exactly what they ask for.


Review:

This book was suggested to me by a fellow knitter and certainly knowing Wool had a bit of knitting in it, was a draw.  But it was the thrilling Part One that captured my attention and whet my appetite for for the excellent story that lay ahead.  I found the setting to be quite interesting, civilization burrowing underground instead of the sci-fi trope of trying to look to the stars.  The plot is a main focus, while the details of everyday living, the societal structure and background serve to move the story, with its many mysteries, forward.  I immediately cared about the characters as well, they were very believable and I loved that motives and actions had a kind of moral ambiguity.  Sometimes  cutthroat decisions were made that a decent person would never agree with, but were in a sense, kind of logical.

This was a "page" turner (I actually read and listened to some of Wool) that I really found hard to put down.

This book started out as a short story, it's subsequent parts being released over a six-month span.  Right now it's only available in digital format on Amazon for the ridiculously low price of $6, but Howey recently got a publishing deal and it should be available in print early 2013.


4.5/5 Iggystars

Enough polish to open a salon! Literally....

I'll admit to being a bit overzealous when I start to enjoy a hobby.  As with my yarn stash, my nail polish stash has grown to epic proportions.  I love finding new polishes colors, colors that are unique and hard-to-find, it's like a little treasure hunt with the spoils ending up on my nails.

I need to try and wear as many polishes as I can this year with a concrete goal of  using 100 - 150 untried colors!  Crazy, right?  (The goal and the amount of polish I now own, lol.) Well, by doing a polish change on my hands twice a week and one on my toes once a week, not to mention by doing accent nails, funky frenches or glitter bombs over another color, I should be able to reach that goal.  Also, it only takes me fifteen minutes max. to change my polish and thirty for a full-on shaping with cuticle care so success is totally possible. Look out for lots and lots of manicure posts!

Two from this week:

Do you see the glitter in this manicure?  Neither do I which is why I hate polishes that tease me with glitter and then once I put the polish on my nails I can only see it if I'm shining a direct light on my tips.  This is a pretty milk chocolate, OPI's Wooden Shoe Like to Know, but the shimmer is barely apparent and that literally makes me angry.  If I want to buy a creme I'll buy one!  Stupid downlow shimmer!  (ROTFL, no it isn't that serious.)

See, now this is better.  Glass flecked polishes never fail to deliver, although the picture isn't the best.  This is China Glaze Grape Juice and even with poor lighting you can see its sparkle.  I liked this color so much I immediately purchased two more from it's collection.  I have to stop that because purchasing polish is counterproductive in keeping my untried percentage in check.



Reading and Challenges 2013

A few years ago I discovered reading challenges.  A simple activity used to encourage reading, bond with fellow book lovers and find out about new titles from the reviews posted in the challenge.  I excitedly overcommitted myself to a bunch, read some books from a few of the challenges and didn't finish one!

So this year following the theme of "Better" I decided to give it another go.  I've joined only three this year (click on the challenge title to link to the actual challenge page), hoping the more reasonable goal will allow for success.  There is a fourth challenge that I've created just for myself which I'll detail at the end.

Nerdy Non-Fiction Challenge 2013

This challenge focuses on non-fiction in categories such as, biographies, music, science, sports, adventure, crime, animals and so on.  Particpants are encourgaged to pick books from the varying categories, not reading more than two in each.  For some reason I love non-fiction in audiobook form, in fact most of my audiobook listening has been in the non-fiction category. 

I'm aiming for the Geek level, 4-6 books in 2 -3 categories.  I already own enough to reach that level.

2013 Audio Book Challenge

Reading + knitting = awesomeness!  I'm an audiobook convert! Not that I've given up on the printed (or electronic) format, but when working out, knitting, doing housework and driving I've found absolute enjoyment in listening to a book. 

I plan on at least making the Flirting level of 6 audio books.  There should be no reason not to reach this level as you can cross challenges.  Any book I listen to can apply to another challenge and with the number of non-fiction books I have in my Audible library I should be good to go.




Dystopia Reading Challenge 2013

Dystopia: A dystopia is a community or society, usually fictional, that is in some important way undesirable or frightening. It is the opposite of a utopia.  Sounds like a bummer of a genre, huh?  But for some reason I really enjoy dystopian fiction.  These books usually feature some really interesting hypothetical situations, those "what if" kinds of themes involving govermental rule, society, often with some good sci-fi or tech thrown in.  I wholeheartedly recommend books such as Ready Player One, The Hunger Games, 1984 (that book will never, ever leave you).  So this challenge is particularly interesting to me since there seems to be a boom in this kind of fiction especially seen in the YA category, which I have quite a few titles having a teenager in the house.

Level 1: Recruit (1 to 6 books) seems to be about my speed. 

With the Audiobook Challenge allowing me to listen to titles that I can use for the first and last challenge I'm looking at reading at least 12 new titles this year.  I'd go for more if it weren't for this fourth challenge.

Are You Serious?  Finish the Blasted Book Challenge 2013

I was actually hoping to find a challenge focusing on half-read books, but I guess for a real book lover that's kind of lame.  I never used to have unfinished reading, as a personal point of pride if I started a book, I finished it.  There's a saying, "life's too short to read a bad book", but I've watched enough horrible reality television  that I can't in good conscienc use the "life's too short" adage.  Plus, my unfinished book stack contains perfectly good reading it's just somehow along the way I've developed a bad case of start-itis  A new book looks interesting and off I go.  Well, I'm finishing those books this year and posting my triumph of tackling this pile.

Ok, lastly...I have a Kindle Fire HD!  I love it to pieces.  I got it basically for free as I had a horrible experience at Best Buy where they had to give me lots of gift card money.  I originally bought it for the Amazon Prime Instant Video content.  I thought I'd catch up on some shows like Firefly and Fringe, then use the device for apps and magazines.  Well, I like reading on it too as I can adjust my settings to my liking.  It's really nice to read while laying in bed while the lights are out too.

2013 the year for reading in all formats!

Manicures for the new year!

Here are two of my first manicures for 2013!

Club Color: Port-folio

This is a duochrome that flashes between purple and green.  I love duochrome finishes, it's like a two-for-one special of nail polish awesomeness.  I have plenty more in my collection of (won't say the number because it's ridiculous) polishes.

Pure Ice: Touch Me Softly

One cannot go wrong with the Pure Ice brand.  So many colors and finishes at only $1.99 per bottle.  This one was pretty hard to find as part of a collection of velvet finishes.  Normally I love my polishes super-shiny, but this velvet (a.k.a. matte) finish is a nice change of pace.

That's all for now.  More (many, many more) manicures to come this year.

2013 - Better....

Wow, it's been almost a year since I've posted. I'm not going to harp on it but to say sometimes posting is a daunting task for me. I want each one to be perfect and witty, then I start thinking about the photos, the layout and the energy I'll need to remember how to work all the that here on Blogger...last year all of the details tired me out then I just didn't post.

But it's 2013 and with a new year comes the feeling of a fresh start, new goals to attain, new challenges to meet. I recently checked out the post with my 2012 plans. I think I was able to improve in some ways. I certainly knit more consistently, I read quite a bit. I did nothing by way of health and exercise, but that's all in the past now. My theme for 2013 can be described with one word: Better. That's all. I'm not going to try to set the world on fire or overachieve, I just want to improve on my goals for last year. Overcommitting does me no good. In the rush and excitement of shiny new possibilities I want to do ALL the things, all the knitting projects, fifteen book challenges, two half-marathons and then that feeling of being smothered by my own goals creeps in, I throw the baby out with the bath water and get very little accomplished.

So I want to do...better, slowly making changes that will last so they become a part of me and my lifestyle. This year I want to do more crafting, including cross stitching, crochet and possibly sewing. I'm going to try to actually finish a few reading challenges, including one for audiobooks which is awesome to do while knitting. I've already begun new healthy changes, eating better, cutting out pop, exercising. I also want to pay better attention to my appearance and since I've amassed enough nail polish to open my very own nail shop, going through my collection and using my growing stash of untrieds is a priority.

Oh, and blogging at least twice a month would be nice too. I'll do better this year, promise.