Merry Wanderer of the Night:
book buying ban

My book buying ban is finally over! I bought quite a few books over the weekend though, so now I'm starting to think I shouldn't buy any more books until school gets out. To be fair I only bought four books though, my mom came to visit and bought me some books while we were shopping. So I really didn't do that bad on my first weekend back to book buying. Here is what I ended up with:

1. An American Childhood

by Annie Dillard. I just finished Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters

and was really impressed by Dillard's writing.
2. So when I saw An American Childhood and Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard on the buy 2 get 1 free table I couldn't pass it up. My mom got the third book.
3. Missouri

by Christine Wunnicke was on a display for GLBT books. I thought it looked interesting because it was a western about two gay men in Missouri. We'll see how I like it.
4. My friend Katherine told me I might enjoy Essays of E.B. White

, so I decided to get that when I saw it in the essays section.
5. Unfamiliar Fishes

by Sarah Vowell. I've heard so much about Sarah Vowell I thought I might as well give her a shot even though I originally planned on listening to her audio. My copy has two book jackets, I assume by mistake. Anyone else ever get a book with two book jackets on it?
6. After I picked up Unfamiliar Fishes I saw The Wordy Shipmates

as a bargain book, so I got that too.
7. The previous six books I got when I was with my mom. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea

by Barbara Demick I got on my own. Kim's review at Sophisticated Dorkiness has had me wanting this book for a long time. In fact, Kim influenced me to want several books during my book buying ban.
8. Annabel has been all over the blogosphere since it came out in January and I think it sounds like a fantastic fiction book.
9. Not pictured, I also got And Hell Followed With It: Life and Death in a Kansas Tornado

, which I also heard of from Kim and The Only Dance in Iowa: A History of Six-Player Girls' Basketball

.

So apparently I pretty much caught up for not getting any books for one month. I think I should probably read ten more books before I can go book shopping again! Did you get any books this week?

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Spring break is almost over and I'm quite sad about the whole thing. I've had a taste of summer and now it's all I can think about. I'm feeling a little sick today, or maybe I'm just embracing my last lazy day. I'm planning on spending time in bed, watching TV, and reading. I haven't finished five books quite yet, but I think I can make it happen by the end of the day. Essex County

is the real stand-out book I finished and I can't wait to review it. I think it might be my favorite graphic novel.

I'm still hard at work on my Day Zero Project. I've come close to completing two more projects on my list and have several of the long term projects going too. The project has really forced me to change my attitude about life. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by all the things I need to and want to do (and not doing them) I now just see these as things I will finish eventually. Something that will be checked off a list. It's a little freeing, and empowering to realize you can complete your goals with planning and passion.

In other news, my book buying ban has twelve days left. I went to Barnes and Noble this week and even thought I felt like buying a lot of things I resisted. And you know what? I'm still alive. Two things are getting me through this ban. The first is the $40 I taped to my calendar. If I get to April 1st then that money is mine to buy books with. The second is the Goodreads application on my iPod. Now if I see a book I want in the store I just scan it and add it to my wishlist. Once the ban is over I can go through my wishlist and see what what books I'm still pining for and what I can probably forget about.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.