Villette Read-a-Long

So Wallace over at Unputdownables.net has started up this awesome read-a-long for Charlotte Bronte's novel Villette! So guess what kidlet's? I've joined in! Ah I'm so excited! Yeah I'm also a glutton for punishment, but that is a different story!

Here be the info for those that are interested in joining up! (used the following info from her website)

Schedule:

Beginning Tuesday, February 1st and ending Thursday, March 31st

Week #/ dates :: Chapters to Read

Week One/ February 1st-7th :: ch. 1-5 (i.e. read chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5)
Week Two/ February 8th-14th :: ch. 6-11
Week Three/ February 15th-21st :: ch. 12-17
Week Four/ February 22nd-28th :: ch. 18-22
Week Five/ March 1st-March 7th :: ch. 23-27
Week Six/ March 8th-March 14th :: ch. 28-32
Week Seven/ March 15th-March 21st :: ch. 33-37
Week Eight/ March 22-March 28th :: ch. 38-42

Catch up days, and extra days to process book before final review :: March 29th-31st.

Guidelines:

• Each week, on Thursday, post your thoughts about the previous week’s reading. If you are stuck on what to post about, you can use these discussion questions to get you started.
• Come here, to Unputdownables, and put the link to your post in the comments section (and take a minute to visit others’ blogs to see what they’ve thought of the reading). If you do not have a blog, feel free to post your thoughts on the reading directly in the comments section. *please refrain from posting ahead, even if you have read ahead, as to not spoil the book for others*
• Feel free to use the read-a-long button from above in your posts or sidebars (please make sure it links back to this blog, though).

Sounds like fun, yes? YES! So you know you wanna join! Get your books out NOW! :)

Follow Friday

June Plans

So May was suckish on the book front for me. I slacked off completely and really want to make up for it this month! I have sorted out my desk aka "the book pile" and organized a list of the books I want to plow through! I have a couple of blog tours and a LOT of "I wanna reads!"

1. THE ART OF DEVOTION by Samantha Bruce-Benjamin (blog tour)-June 8th-finished!!
2. SECRET LIVES OF HUSBANDS AND WIVES by Josie Brown (blog tour)-June 22nd
3. Blood Oath-READING NOW!!!
   
4. The Map of True Places
5. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
6. Juliet
7. Drood
8. Never Let You Go
9. Nonna's Book of Mysteries
10. The Lovers
11. No Hope for Gomez
12. The Year of the Flood
13. Heresy
14. Mothers and Other Liars
15. Arcadia Falls
16. Damaged
17. The Man From Saigon
18. First Daughter
19. The Devil's Star
20. Daughters of the Witching Hill

Okay, these are all my TBRs. I probably won't get 20 in but wouldn't it be loverly? I have two books that I need to finish (rollovers from May) The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane (finished) and The Two Towers, but I have hope.

I'm going to participate in the 48 hour Challenge hosted by MotherReader this weekend so I will get as much read as I can! Wish me luck! :)

It's My Blogoversary!-Contest Closed

I'm so happy you guys! Today is my Blog-o-Versary!!! One whole year ago today I started this blog on a whim. I found myself really wanting to have an outlet to express myself and didn't know where to begin. I searched for forums, lists, and blogs and then BOOM! here I am! Well it wasn't quite that dramatic but you get the point. I started Must Read Faster to get in touch with other book-a-holics like myself and to just plain have fun.

So without further ado here are a few little facts about my blog/myself:

1. The name Must Read Faster comes from two places. My fondness for books but my slowness for reading them. I do everything slowly (except for talking..I'm like Six from Blossom sometimes) and reading is not an exception. I constantly tell myself "you must read faster, Melissa!" so that's one explanation. The second is kinda dorky..I was watching Jurassic Park when I started my blog. Yes when Ian Malcolm said ..."Must go faster..must go faster!" It clicked! Must Read Faster was thus named.
2. I am addicted to books. I know this isn't a revelation but it's true. Some people crave sweets but I crave books. If I have any spare money then you can't keep me from the bookstore. The bookstore is my mall. I cried when the bookstore in our actual mall closed down.
   
3. I have to have a book in my bedroom on my nightstand (even if I'm not reading it at the time,) one in my purse, and of course in the bathroom. I get more reading done there than any other place in the house! (Sorry if that's TMI!)
4. I check my blog/twitter/facebook/email more to look for updates to other blogs than to talk to my friends or check my email. I seriously get upset if I miss an update to my favorites. I'm that addicted to this blogging thing!!!

Okay, those were pointless little tidbits about me and my blog! Now onto the PARTAY!!! I have selected 5 books from my collection to give to you, my sweet friends! I will start the giveaway today May 2 and end it on May 31st. There will be two winners picked (though you all are winners in my book!) First winner will be notified and allowed to pick from the list then the next will have the pick of the rest. Each winner will get one book a piece.

The Books:


How to enter:

1. comment here about which book you'd pick and your email address +1 entry
2. follow me on twitter @lexley +1 entry
   
3. tweet about it with link please +2 entries
4. blog about it with link please +4 entries

That's it! Thank you guys for allowing me to be here for one whole year! I can't wait for the next one! :)

***This giveaway is NOT international. I'm sorry for the confusion. I'm shipping these on my own dime so I can't afford international shipping at this time. I promise that I will figure out a way to include any international readers in the near future!

Ready? Set? GO!!!! Read-a-Thon is ON!

Oh yeah baby! It's 6am and I'm awake and ready for some READING! I got my coffee, my comfy chair, my notebook and pen, and my book! I'm going to start with (or finish) The Passage by Justin Cronin. I'm about halfway through so I'm aiming to finish it up!

I'll aim to update this post every hour or so..depends on if the kid has taken the computer over while I'm reading. I've got snacks, simple quick meals and tea made up! I'm going to try not to make a HUGE hog out of myself this time. Last RaT I snarfed down a ton of junk food so I'm going to try not to go down that route again. Anyway, here we go! Good luck everyone! Have fun and I'll see you in another hour with some updates!

Update 1:
Book: The Passage by Justin Cronin started at page 307 and read til 333 this hour..not the greatest start but good enough!
Pages Read: 26
Snacks: nothing but coffee and water so far


Update 2: (Probably won't post every hour but will update on time)
Book: still the Passage
Pages Read: 37
Snacks: i ate breakfast..grits and some coffee lol


Update 3:
Book: still the Passage
Pages Read: 42
Snacks: shared some popcorn with the kiddo..drank some coke

Update 4:
Book: The Passage
Pages Read: 38 (lots of distractions this hour..)
Snacks: fruit bites and tea

Update 5:
Book:The Passage
Pages Read: 29
Snacks: none

Update 6:
Book: The Passage
Pages Read: 49
Snacks: Cereal

Update 7: Break for Two hours (nap and lunch)

Update 8:
Book: Took a break from the Passage and picked up The Keeper by Kathi Appeltt
Pages Read: finished it! cute story, very quick read! 402
Snacks: none

Update 9:
Book: Back to the Passage
Pages Read: 69
Snacks: none

Update 10:
Book: Passage-hopefully done...this book is massive!!!
Pages: 77
Snacks: none

Update 11:
Book: finally finished the Passage! (great book! review coming soon!) /Started How Clarissa Burden Learned To Fly by Connie May Fowler
Pages: 51
Snacks: None

Took a break for dinner with the family from 7pm-9pm. Starting back at 10pm after Little Man goes to bed!

Update 12:
Book: Clarissa
Pages: 93
Snacks: None

Update 13:
Book: Clarissa- FINISHED
Pages: 146
Snacks: None

Update 14: Started on Firefly Rain but it was about midnight by this time and my brain was dead so I called it a night.

Read-a-Thon totals:

Pages: 1059
Books finished: 3
Hours Read: about 15 (ish) my log got kinda fuzzy after 11pm lol.


All in all, I wished I could have concentrated more. I didn't get as much reading in as I'd have liked but it was fun! I can't wait for the next one!

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

Grab your current read.

Let the book fall open to a random page.

Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.

You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

Please avoid spoilers!

My teaser is from The Fellowship of the Ring by Tolkien. I'm reading it (catching up actually) for the challenge! Here they are!

"He paused, and then said slowly in a deep voice: 'This is the Master-ring, the One Ring to rule them all. This is the One Ring that he lost many ages ago, to the great weakening of his power. He greatly desires it--but he must not get it."

What is yours? :)

The Mayo Clinic Diet-Review in Progress

The Mayo Clinic Diet emphasizes foods that are not only healthy, but also taste great. Part 1, the “Lose It!” phase, is The Mayo Clinic Diet’s two-week quick-start plan. “Lose It” is designed to help dieters lose 6 to 10 pounds in just 14 days. After dieters complete the “Lose It” phase, they move on to Part 2, “Live It.” This phase is designed to help dieters continue to lose 1-2 pounds each week until they reach their desired healthy weight. “Live It” offers a customized guide to using the Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid.

About the Plan:


My Review:
I received a copy of the diet and a journal to track my progress. I love how easy it is to follow the plan and how much SENSE it makes. This is a review in progress as I'm still going along...I'll update this review as I move onto the other steps.

• Started: Feb. 22nd 2010-Start Weight: 143lbs
• Check In: March 1st-143lbs
• March 8th-
  

**I received a free copy of the book and journal in return for an honest review.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Just a Little Something Fun

I've never been a big gambler but I do love to have some fun occasionally. I stumbled across Casino Advisor in a search for online casinos. They have plenty of casino games and its a fully online casino! How sweet is that?

I loved the style and for a beginner in the world of gambling
it's a win-win situation (see what I did there?)! The website is easy to navagate and understand. Even for a noob like me :) You should check it out if you are looking for some fun!

Guess What I'm going to do?!

Yup, I signed up for my first ever Read-a-Thon!! So this Saturday I'll read my little heart out and post updates! I'll get up bright and early and set up my coffee machine and my snacks and get started! Woot woot! This will be fun and challenging! :)

Okay after going through my TBR pile I've settled on these books to pick out of! I probably won't get all of them done but here they are:

1. Sex, Drugs & Gefilte Fish
2. Defenders of the Scroll
3. Benny and Shrimp
4. My Father's Dream Wasn't My Own
5. Confections of a Closet Master Baker
6. Rumer and Qix
7. Too Many Visitors for One Little House (most definitely gonna read this one it's short!)
8. Medina Hill
9. Marked and Betrayed
10. Strange Angels

I may tweak the list a bit more but for now that will do! :)

Award

So thank you very much to Melissa from Melissa's Bookshelf
for giving me this lovely award! You made me smile!

Now I'm passing it along to these wonderful people!

I'm booking it! - Thank you for commenting on my blog posts!

Icedream-for also posting some kick-you-know-what responses! :)

Shellie- just cuz' :)

Jo-jo -thanks so much for responding!

The 56

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Mine is:
"Suddenly Gorgrael let the arrow go and Skraefear sagged to the floor. Gorgrael grimmaced in disgust. He needed a more reliable lieutenant. "





Now it is your turn! Post in comments or on your blog with a link back! Come on you know you wanna!