I found out something new today....a Bookworms Carnival!! I was hanging out on Dewey's blog, The Hidden Side of a Leaf, and found out that every month someone different hosts this carnival. Each month there is a different theme as well.

This month's carnival is hosted by This is the Life and the theme is Thrills and Chills: Spooky Books That Keep You Up At Night. In order to enter your scary book just click on the Bookworms Carnival picture and submit an entry using the Blog Carnival Submission Form. The deadline is this Friday, yikes that's tomorrow!!

It's up at Scooter Chronicles and the theme is Urban/Contemporary Fantasy. Check it out. Want to learn more about the Bookworms Carnival and how it works? Go here.

As I get ready to watch Persuasion, the first of the Jane Austen marathon on PBS, I had a couple of things to bring to your attention:

*1st Becky's Mini-Austen Challenge is underway. Hope you have your books picked out for that.

Detective investigates suspicious disappearance: man-eating couch.

Just a couple of days and we'll be into April. Where does the time go? I really need to read more. I haven't been doing much of that lately. Do you ever have times like that?

So, what's new:

-Ken Jennings has a blog? Who knew! He posted these gorgeous pics of a children's book themed border.

-Hey, Regency readers! Are you a Vulgarian? This quiz cracked me up. There's also a quiz: Are you a Regency Catch? For both sexes. I'm Jane Bennet.

-Winter vacation? This Etsy seller has a great crocheted bag for dragging your books to the beach.

Carnival of Bookworms for October is posted at This is the Life. Do check that out.

Even though I've given up on challenges, I've gone ahead and signed up for another. This one is the brainchild of Dewey, and it seems relatively easy for me to fulfill. That is, for now.

This week's challenge is simple: find some new bookblogs to read. Sounds simple enough for me!

My first new find was Rhinoa's Ramblings, and I immediately liked her because she apparently likes the Legend of Zelda and we seem to share similar tastes in music. She's also mastered the three-column layout, which I ef up every time I try it. My envy waxes.

My second find was This Book is For You, whose review of Twilight pretty much confirmed everything I had suspected about it. Thanks for saving me from that one!

My third is TigerMel over at Cynical Optimism. She's reading books with a "save the Earth" theme, which I found intriguing.

I also found Bookworm. I admit she found me first, so I technically found her via Technorati, but I'm enjoying her posts on parenting as much as I'm enjoying her bookish posts.

I've noticed the trend of the same stock images on different book covers lately, and have commented on it a few times here and there. Lo and behold, January Magazine has just posted a link to a man who gathers up such duplicates! And the example they use is the very one that has been driving me crazy for the last while:

There are many more examples on his fascinating blog, The Rap Sheet.

The latest list for February's "Canada Reads" week is now available. You can win a set of all five books plus bookbag in a weekly draw, if you so wish. The line-up consists of five books, none of which I've read, EXCEPT for Thomas Wharton's Icefields.

Although I normally don't anticipate remakes, I must say my nether regions are all a-tingle over this.

Yeah, I admit: I know what CHUD stands for.

In fact, I OWN CHUD.

On VHS.

Whatever. It's a classic. Don't hate.

So, let's recap: We can soon enjoy an updated version of American Gladiators. Awesome. Soon, knock on wood, we can luxuriate in the joy that is CHUD. Don't screw it up, Zombie. Although, I must admit, CHUD is pretty amazing and can only be improved upon, in my humble opinion.

more cat pictures

Finally, we have sun! I hope the rain stays away, at least for the weekend. I have a ton of outdoor projects to do. Anyway, what's in the news:

*Wow! Would you pay $860K for Dickens' desk?

*The US release of The Wide Sargasso Sea in DVD is June 24. I'm interested in that.

*Zombie Books? Reviving dead literature.

*"It's elementary, Watson. I'm going to pop a cap in your a@@."

*My Etsy find of the week. Only 25 will be printed.

Now here's an interesting challenge! In 2008 I'll be reading some books about planet earth. See the challenge page for more information. List to come.

Wishing everyone a relaxing and entertaining holiday with lots of family togetherness and yet lots of time to read...

This is very cute -- the International Edible Book Festival. It's held on or near April 1 every year; I was reminded of it because a library in a town down the road from me is participating. The idea is to make something edible inspired by a favourite book, or just the idea of books in general. Here are some samples:

Gothic novelist Phyllis Ayame Whitney has died, at age 104! So many authors seem to be passing away lately, but I'd say she had a good run at it. 104, wow.
She wrote young adult novels, gothic suspense, and some 'how to write' books as well. I remember reading her gothic novels during the summers, when they were the books sitting around at my grandma's or aunt's houses. I've always had a taste for gothic romance - and Phyllis Whitney was one of the big ones.

You'll never believe what we've drawn out of the shapka! Or maybe you will... it's the name of the winner of our draw. Wait, it's two names... a second copy has come into my possession, so it's going out via this draw as well. (I hardly need three copies of the same book on my shelves, now do I?)

With Valentines Day next week, I'm wondering if any of you have any romantic plans for this weekend. Any that you can share..hem, hem.

My taste of romance this weekend will be watching Pride & Prejudice on Sunday's Masterpiece Theatre.

Speaking of movies, Lindsay Lohan or Kiera Knightley could be the latest Catherine Earnshaw in Wuthering Heights. I can see Lohan as Cathy. She's got the crazy down.

Here's something unique for all those ecologically concerned, World Wildlife Fund type confirmed letter scribblers you may know. It would make a great Xmas gift for anyone who likes nice paper; journals, stationery and notecards are all available at Elephant Poo Poo Paper

Janefan tagged me for this one a couple of weeks ago, and I've finally remembered to post it! The process:

Type your first name into Amazon and show the first or most interesting book cover that results. Since I'm Canadian, I tried Amazon.ca first and found one of my favourite children's books! Both this one and the first in the series, Scaredy Squirrel, are fantastic to read one on one, and feature Scaredy, a neurotic squirrel. They are absolutely hilarious; I love them.

It is that time of year, isn't it? I've been seeing round-up posts popping up everywhere, and there is something quite satisfying about quantifying what you've been doing all year. Of course, this time of year also makes me realize I will never have enough time to read all the books I want to, probably not even all the books I have on my shelves. But I will keep trying, nevertheless. 2007 was a good year for reading - all the encouragement and suggestions from bloggers and our many challenges kept me picking up one book after another. How pleasant!

Books Bought 2007

The index is now at 17.2%. More on the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index here.

For the RIP II challenge I thought I'd read some Ray Bradbury that I hadn't read before. So I picked up Something Wicked this way comes and From the dust returned, thinking either would be a good choice. But I can't have an unread Bradbury at hand and ignore it; so I read both.

Thanks to Great White North for pointing this out to me; as you might be able to tell, I'm not a very sports oriented person. But even I feel sorry for the poor Olympians who've been stuck with this official Canadian Olympic Uniform. He he he. Great job, Hudson's Bay Co. :)

So much for live blogging the OMMA Mobile conference. I started scribbling down notes at 9am and 66 PAGES later it's over, my hand smells like ink, and my head is full.

I'll admit, this was a lot for a non-media type to grasp, but I was able to understand most of what was going on and I'll do my best to encapsulate each section of the day in its own blog entry...

...but not right now. It's time to get up and head for the airport. Stay tuned for my reports of the highlights (there were many), and for those who can't wait there's the MediaPost Raw blog with a play-by-play of the entire day.

Until next time, ponder this: How long will it take for your cellphone to fully replace your TV remote control?

Dewey is hosting the Printz Award Challenge. The challenge is to read 6 Printz Award winner or honor books in 2008. My list:The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
I Am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak (Also 888 and Book Around the World)
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen YangLooking for Alaska, by John GreenA Step From Heaven, by An Na