Waiting

I find it ironic that in an effort to neither cheat nor fall behind, I felt like I had to put reading on hold. I definitely did not want to start any new books (and I have a couple of books waiting in the wings for the official start day, which is Sunday).

Luckily, I came up with a solution for my reading needs in the meantime: reread a book I already have. I relatively recently got Straight Man by Richard Russo back from being loaned out, and realized I could just read that until Sunday.

If you haven't already read this book, I highly, highly recommend it! Cannonballers, if you are looking for a book to add to your CBR-II reading list, put this one on there.

Good News

Well, go figure.

After posting a message on the old Facebook about my unofficial status in the CBR-II and alerting my Pajibapals that they'd have to follow my progress of their own volition, Dustin added me to the list of participants. So now I'm all official and everything!

Just when I'd found ways to be cool with being a renegade reader.

I guess this is what happens when you accentuate the positive? I don't plan to make a habit of it, however. I do have a moody reputation to protect.

First Hurdle

I have hit my first hurdle in the Cannonball Read II (and it hasn't even started yet!).

Unbeknownst to me, the CBR-II was so popular, they had to cut off the number of participants at 100. Yes, 100 Pajibans have signed on to read 52 books in one year! Which is fabulous, absolutely. But... I was a tad heartbroken to find out I'm not officially entered. (What with the thinking about it months in advance, and how pleased with myself I was after coming up with the "Half Cannonball.") But, I'm over it (the heartbreak, not CBR-II).

Because, as I see it, what this means is a whole lot of people doing a whole lot of reading, which is the epitome of awesomeness (some might even call it awesome-sauce). And equally, if not more important, that's a whole lot of people honoring AlabamaPink. Furthermore, since I had never intended to read all 52 books (see previous note about the importance of realistic goals), this leaves room on the official list for someone who might actually reach the goal and that's more money for Lil A's college fund. So, check it, I am Miss Look-On-The-Bright-Side.

Oh, and one more silver lining: now I don't have to worry about any of my reviews showing up on Pajiba for all to see and read and mock, which = less pressure.

So, I'm still moving forward on my Half Cannonball plan. Cannonball ho!

And so it begins

First, Facebook. Now, a blog. Who knows what other technological horrors Pajiba has in store for me.

The deal is this: To participate in Cannonball Read II, I must have a blog. So here we are.

I have actually signed on for what I have dubbed the Half Cannonball, 26 books in a year, which seems potentially doable. (As I teach my students, it's important for your goals to be achievable.) The Cannonball Read also entails writing reviews of the books, so we'll see how successful I am at actually doing those.

Now that I have a blog, of course, it's entirely possible that other subjects will end up in my posts.