-
-
Directories and Badges
Weekly Winners - 30 November 2008
Like the blog? Vote for me for Best European Blog (non UK) in the 2008 Weblog Awards. Voting ends Monday, January 12th, 2009 at 22:00 GMT (11pm in Germany, 5pm in New York), you may vote once every 24 hours. And subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
November 23 - November 29, 2008
So many Olivers!
Burke Lake
Oliver at Burke Lake Park
Oliver exploring
Squirrel
Hut hut hike!
Dusk
For more Weekly Winners visit SarcasticMom.com.
Some ideas to help you be a little greener
Today is International Buy Nothing Day. Are you gonna participate? For you readers in Germany, it might be difficult if you planned on getting groceries today to avoid shopping (sorry I didn’t give earlier notice, just learned about it about an hour ago), since the stores are closed in most places on Sundays and going a whole weekend without fresh supplies is tough, but maybe we can amend it to no shopping except for essential food supplies? What do you think?
Also, I’m taking Crunchy Domestic Goddess’ No Plastic Holiday Challenge. Can you commit to trying to avoid plastics and plastic packaging in the presents you buy this year?
Message for Obama Book
The Guardian’s Message for Obama book, featuring my message, is now available for purchase. Wow, that was quick! My copy might even be there waiting for me when I get back to Germany. How exciting!
Now I’m off to a cookie making party at TGAW’s parent’s house. Oliver should have a nice sugar high by this evening. She just got back from a trip to Amsterdam and has some neat pictures of Amsterdam through her eyes up. Go check them out!
Happy Thanksgiving!
There’s a whole lot I’m thankful for, but I’m probably most thankful for my family and friends: Oliver, Rainer and the rest of my relatives, my expat friends, German friends, college friends, high school friends, childhood friends, and all the other friends I’ve made along the way. I’m thankful that Bush won’t be president for very much longer. I’m thankful for our health, I’m thankful for all we have, for the blue skies and crisp fall weather today, I’m thankful for the yummy meal were going to have this evening. Speaking of dinner, I’ve got to get cooking now, so tell me, what are you thankful for?
The Long-Ass Book Meme
Rita tagged me, and thank god she did, cause I’m running short of blogging ideas. NaPloBoMo is a real challenge!
+++INTRODUCTIONS+++
1. What’s your name?
Christina
2. Do you read a lot?
Pre-Oliver I did, now I read a moderate amount.
3. What’s your favorite genre?
Non-fiction
+++FANTASY AND SCI-FI+++
4. Do you prefer fantasy or science fiction?
Fantasy.
5. What’s your favorite fantasy book/series?
Harry Potter or LOTR, they’re so different, it’s hard to decide which I like better.
6. Who’s your favorite fantasy author?
J.R.R. Tolkien.
7. What’s your favorite science fiction book/series?
I don’t read a lot of sci-fi, but I have read the 2001, 2010, 2061, 3001 series.
8. Favorite sci-fi author?
Given my answer to the previous question, I suppose that would have to be Arthur C. Clarke.
+++MYSTERY, HORROR, AND THRILLERS+++
9. Which do you prefer: a puzzling mystery, or a terrifying thriller?
The mystery for sure.
10. Do you have a favorite mystery novel?
I really like Elizabeth Peter’s Amelia Peabody books. They’re historical and funny, the characters develop from book to book and the quality hasn’t gone down at all like you find in most mystery series.
11. A favorite horror novel?
I used to read a lot of Stephen King and Anne Rice when I was a teenager, but haven’t really since then. When I was a teenager, my favorite book was The Stand (the uncut version).
+++ROMANCE+++
12. Do you read romance novels?
If Jane Austin is romance, then yes. If you mean hunky pirates saving poor damsels in distress, then no.
13. How about gay romance novels?
I don’t think I’ve ever read a gay romance novel, unless you count the homoerotic undertones of the Vampire Chronicles. I have seen a LOT of gay porn. I wouldn’t call 10 cowboys in chaps having a throwdown romantic.
14. What’s your favorite?
Pride and Prejudice (I know, how predictable).
+++CHILDREN’S AND YA+++
15. What’s your favorite children’s book?
Not sure, I read a lot of Dr Seuss to Oliver, I guess my favorite of his books is Hop On Pop.
16. Is it the same book that was your favorite when you were a kid?
No, I think when I was a kid I really liked Shel Silversteins books, and Where the Wild Things Are. I should read them again now that I’m an adult. I also liked the Encyclopedia Brown series. Are they still in print?
17. What’s your favorite YA book?
I like Harry Potter.
18. Did you actually read it as a YA?
Nope. Wasn’t published yet. As a young adult I read Stephen King. I read Christine when I was in the 4th grade. I was a weird kid.
19. In general, do you prefer children’s books over grown-up books?
No, I prefer grown-up books.
+++CLASSICS AND GENERAL FICTION+++
20. What’s your favorite classic novel?
That would be Pride and Prejudice, but since I already answered that for Romance, I’ll add another favorite here, Oliver Twist.
21. What about general fiction?
From more recent stuff, I love Middlesex.
22. What classic novel do you just not *get*?
Really could not get into Crime and Punishment.
23. Do you have a favorite play or drama?
Hamlet.
24. What do you think of Shakespeare?
Good stuff.
+++POETRY+++
25. Could you pick a favorite poem?
No, I don’t think so. There are too many good ones.
26. What about a favorite poetry collection?
Still no, I don’t generally read poetry collections.
27. Who’s your favorite poet?
Ai. Her poems are so raw and graphic. They really evoke an emotional response.
+++COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS+++
28. Do you read comics or graphic novels?
Not really.
29. Do you have a favorite series?
No.
30. A favorite book?
No.
+++SHORT STORIES AND NOVELLAS+++
31. Do you prefer short stories (or short novels) over full-length novels?
Full length novels.
32. What’s your favorite short story?
I don’t know. It’s been so long since I read short stories regularly. The most recent one I read was Brokeback Mountain and I thought the movie was really better. I read a lot of Poe and King when I was younger, but nothing sticks out in my memory as a favorite. Possibly Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King.
33. Favorite short story collection?
I guess Different Seasons.
34. Do you have a favorite short story author?
See #32.
+++NONFICTION+++
35. What kind of nonfiction do you usually read?
History, science, sociology, parenting.
36. Do you have a favorite nonfiction book?
Hard to say.
37. Read any interesting biographies?
I really enjoyed The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin.
38. History books?
I liked 1066: The Hidden History in the Bayeux Tapestry. Warriors of God: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade was good too.
39. Politics?
Wouldn’t say I have a favorite, but The United States of Europe was interesting.
40. Religious texts?
Maybe the Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis.
41. How about books on mythology, fairy-tales, or other cultural stories?
I flip through Bulfinch’s Mythology from time to time. I also like the Brothers Grimm and Andersen’s tales.
+++ELEMENTS OF FICTION+++
42. What’s the most important element of a novel? Plot? Characterization? Style? Themes? Happy ending?
Characterization is really important to me and so is plot. I don’t like every story to have a happy ending and style only matters in that it shouldn’t get in the way of telling the story.
43. What kind of plot interests you the most?
Not sure what this is asking.
44. What kind of characters usually appeal to you?
I like characters who feel like they are real. I don’t have to agree with them, but there should at least be something likeable about some of the characters. Books like The Corrections just get on my nerves.
45. What is your favorite book overall?
Pride and Prejudice.
+++PASS IT ON+++
46. What’s the last book you read?
The No Cry Discipline Solution.
47. What are you reading now?
Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, As, Praise and Other Bribes.
48. What are you going to read next?
The Science of Parenting.
49. Is there a book you would recommend to everyone on your friends list?
I really liked What’s Going on in There? : How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life. It’s a “parenting book,” but really it’s a very interesting book on brain development and how we learn.
50. Tag five people to fill out this meme:
I’m not into tagging people, so just let me know if you do this and I’ll put a link to you on here.
Scraping the bottom of the barrel
Only 5 more days of NaBloPoMo left, thank goodness. Don’t think I’ll do this again, at least not while I’m on vacation with my family. It’s really hard to come up with ideas to write about every day. I think I’m going to need a brief blogging break in December.
I’ve had a fun week so far. My SIL’s family invited us over for our second totally delicious homecooked Persian dinner of the trip. It was fantastic. Next trip I’m going to get cooking lessons from her mom so I can make some of the dishes myself, it’s too bad I don’t have time left to get those lessons now.
Yesterday I spent the evening with some high school friends catching up. They’re such good parents and it was fun and educational watching them interact with their kids.
Today I’m making hopefully my last trip to the mall. Still a couple items I need to pick up. Then I’ll be heading to the grocery store to pick up ingredients for Thanksgiving. My mom’s doing the turkey, but I’ll be doing the rest and I’m sticking to the recipes I used last year, I thought they were pretty darn good.
It’s a beautifull day here, so I’m heading to the outdoor mall. Have a wonderful day!
Obama might just see this after all!
My Message to Obama photo’s audience just keeps growing and growing. Now it’s been featured on BallotVox:
BallotVox features smart local perspectives on Campaign 2008. It’s the place to find the best blog posts, videos, pictures, and podcasts created by regular people — the best social media about the 08 candidates and issues based on close observations in towns and communities. We want to highlight the voices of interested citizens rather than professional journalists.
See my photo on BallotVox’s Message for Obama: Ready to Serve.
-
Vote for An American Expat in Deutschland
Best European Blog (non-UK)
You may vote once every 24 hours -
About Christina G
Christina Geyer has lived in Germany since May 2002. She also blogs on the site Mamas Worldwide. For more, see About Christina G.
creativecommons License
Blog under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License
-
Photo Memes