Cal's Journal

Not had quite as much time for reading in March, so it's only a short list this time. The Fault in Our Stars and Phantom (though very different) were both outstanding reads. :)

Books Read in March:

15. Hunting Kat - Kelley Armstrong (Novella)
16. The Fault in Our Stars - John Green (recommended by green_maia and shadowkat67)
17. Phantom - Jo Nesbo (Harry Hole Series)
18. The Cold Season - Alison Littlewood

From the 38 Degrees Donation Page:

WOW! Over 15,000 of us have donated over £200,000 so far this week. Huge billboards will be going up in 150 locations across London on Monday morning.

If another 5,000 of us donate by Monday, we can take the ads to high streets across the UK. Imagine the extra pressure when billboards appear in 50 of the most marginal Lib Dem and Conservative constituencies. Not to mention those of Andrew Lansley, Nick Clegg and David Cameron! So if you haven't already, please chip in here: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/nhs-billboards

David Cameron knows Andrew Lansley’s plans for the NHS are a disaster but he thinks abandoning the bill would be too embarrassing for him and his government

Big adverts about the NHS could convince Cameron that the NHS will be an election issue if he doesn't rethink his plans

We can buy massive billboards around the city to warn voters that most doctors and nurses believe these changes will make the NHS worse

If 5,000 of us chip in we can get these adverts up on Monday!

(Picture via Sueworld and Elisi)

My country is being run by a bunch of lying, inhuman bastards.

I hope they rot in hell.

There are some wonderful fandom posts/discussions happening on LJ at the moment. Although I haven't been participating in them as such (I find I don't have anything to add that hasn't already been said) I'm enjoying them immensely. They remind me of times gone by and the discussions (not usually quite as friendly as the most recent ones) that used to take place while the show was still on the air.

You can find the most recent posts/discussions at shapinglight's LJ here and shadowkat67's LJ here and here.

Warning: These posts discuss the AR from "Seeing Red", so probably best to avoid if this subject is a triggery one for you.

I have my own thoughts on the bathroom scene and how it made me feel when I first saw it (on Sky One, complete with ad break), but I don't think there's anything I could say now that hasn't already been said at one time or another over the years.

So far I'm doing well with my 50 book challenge for 2012.

I've just started my seventh book of the year, so if I carry on like this, by the end of the year I should have exceeded my 50 book goal by quite a margin. Of course, as we all know, the likelihood that I'll continue at this pace is, well, highly unlikely. Every year I start off exceptionally well, but once the dark winter evenings are over, my monthly list of books read usually gets shorter and shorter! And this year, especially with a new grandchild due to arrive in July, I can see the same thing happening yet again. :D

I'll post a list of the books I've read so far at the end of January.

TARDIS spotted on last week's Sherlock?

So was it really the TARDIS or is there another explanation?

This is what Stephen Moffatt had to say via Twitter:

Sue says that isn't the TARDIS, it was a lighting thing. But by my cuff links, what ELSE could it be???

Hee!

Personally, I'd like to believe it really was the TARDIS. *nods solemnly*

I don't know about anyone else, but I would love to see a meeting between Sherlock and Eleven!

How wonderfully squeeworthy would that be? :D

So the latest Buffy comic is out.

Huh.

Now that's going to make me want to start reading S9 again!

*rolls eyes*

As I'm using DW a little bit more (sort of as an extension to LJ), I've decided to take a leaf out of rahirah's book and clean up my DW reading/access list. So I've removed any DW journals that haven't been updated in more than a year, or who are LJ friends that are obviously no longer using their DW journals. If I've removed you and you didn't want to be removed, please let me know and I'll be happy to add you back! :)

I read my LJ flist every day, but DW only occasionally (as not many of my friends are posting over there yet), so if you're posting on DW only please let me know and I'll add you to my RSS feed list. Thank you! Those of you who have been posting on DW only for a while are already on the list. :)

I'm not planning on making any changes to my LJ flist, as LJ is still my primary journal and I'm quite happy with it just the way it is. :)

Almost forgot to post today, but just about made it in time. :)

Just catching up on S1 of "Mrs Brown's Boys" which arrived on DVD today. This show is so funny! :D Caught it for the first time over Christmas and found it hilarious. Can't believe I'd never seen it before! :)

Well, that's pretty much a post about nothing, isn't it? *g*

Hope you're all well. :)

I'm disappointed not to have made it to my 50 book goal in 2011, but considering the year I had I can't say I'm surprised. Let's hope I do better in 2012! :)

Books Read in 2011:

1. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins (second book in The Hunger Games trilogy)
2. Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins (final book in The Hunger Games trilogy. Highly recommended series)
3. Room - Emma Donoghue
4. The Long Song - Andrea Levin
5. Angelic - Kelley Armstrong
6. Counterfeit Magic - Kelley Armstrong
7. The Leopard - Jo Nesbo
( Read more... )

So, a grand total of 42 books read in 2011.

I don't think I can narrow it down to just one favourite read, but I do have several that stood out for me: "Catching Fire" and "Mockingjay" from way back in January, and "11/22/63", the very first Stephen King novel I've ever read, which will now go on my list of favourite time-travel books. "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" also stood out for me (in spite of the out of the blue cliffhanger ending), as did "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks", which was a fascinating and moving read.

But the book that stood out for me the most (and therefore must be my favourite read of 2011, yes?) was "Grace Williams Says It Loud".

From Amazon: This isn't an ordinary love story. But then Grace isn't an ordinary girl. 'Disgusting,' said the nurse. And when no more could be done, the Doctors advised her parents to put her away, aged eleven. On her first day at the Briar Mental Institute, Grace meets Daniel. He sees a different Grace: someone to share secrets and canoodle with, someone to fight for. Debonair Daniel, who can type with his feet, fills Grace's head with tales from Paris and the world beyond. This is Grace's story: her life, its betrayals and triumphs, disappointment and loss, the taste of freedom; roses, music and tiny scraps of paper. Most of all, it is about the love of a lifetime.

( Praise for Grace Williams Says It Loud by Emma Henderson )

This book moved me like no other. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it even made me shout out in anger at times, but most of all it gave me hope. It's a difficult subject, set in a time when people with disabilities were treated appallingly (and to be honest, although times have improved, we still have a long, long way to go), but is told in such a way that you can't help but feel uplifted by it.

( Read more... )

So yes, in the end there is no doubt that my favourite book of 2011 is "Grace Williams Says It Loud", a book that continues to stay with me several months after reading it, and one that is likely to stay with me for a long time to come.