Jana Says

Living life from cover to cover

This week in…: the 10th of 2016

by Jana 14 Comments

Once again, coming to you live from my iPhone. So this will be short, sweet, and probably full of typos and weird autocorrects. 

 

  • Still reading Beasts and Children. Picked up The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend and American Housewife. 
  • Thanks to everyone who linked up for Show Us Your Books and listened to the podcast. It should be in iTunes next week and we’ll be sure to let you know when it is.
  • Had a fun and interesting Twitter conversation with Richard Fifield (The Flood Girls). THIS is why I love authors and social media. It’s amazing when you can talk about a book with the person who wrote it. It’s even better when the author is kind and funny and personable. And yes, I fangirled hard the whole time (oh, and his IG handle–because I stalk on all the social media–is mrsjakeryan. HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!)
  • Watched half of the new season of House of Cards. Insane. Just insane.
  • Hit my steps goal on half the days. Okay, so I lowered it to 5k but still. 
  • This school year, my daughter has been a buddy for the Special Olympics and this past week was their bowling tournament. I have never been so proud to watch her do anything ever. 
  • Did you guys know that there are mint brownie Larabars? They are amazing!! 
  • Internet reads: Again, I read some stuff but it’s mostly election and social policy stuff. Boring to most people except dorky me. But this post (and Ali’s, which are hilarious, by the way) is an example of why I am so glad not to have to date in the era of dating apps. And also this one about Steven Avery and some evidence that suggests he might have been framed (what, you think I’ve forgotten my obsession? Also, it’s a post from Hello Giggles so the reporting isn’t the greatest but it gets the point across).
  • Funnies:      

Another weekend, another cheer competition. This one is late in the day, though, which is nice. And a nice change from having to get up with the fucking roosters.

Hope you all have a great weekend and I’ll see you back here on Tuesday!

This week in…: The ninth one in 2016

by Jana 23 Comments

this week

  • Still reading Glass by Ellen Hopkins (it’s a long book). Finished Sweetgirl. Picked up nothing new. Full reviews on everything coming your way on Tuesday, March 8 for Show Us Your Books with me and Steph. Hopefully iTunes will approve The Armchair Librarians by then. If not, we’ll have the audio for you available somewhere as a sneak preview.new_logo_edit
  • Speaking of podcasts, the creator of Welcome to Night Vale has a new podcast releasing on Tuesday. It’s called Alice Isn’t Dead. I am so excited for it!!
  • Had the Mondayist of Mondays. I sent my kid to school with a half-wet shirt, got her to school late because Monday, threw a chair at my fence to startle my dog away from a dismembered rabbit carcass after I had to yell at the other dog to spit out what he was consuming, and my cat ran away from home. This was all before noon.
  • Found out that next Friday, Bosch season 2 will be on Amazon. Kathy turned me on to the show and I’ve been eagerly awaiting this release.
  • My friend’s daughter followed me on Instagram. I corrected the grammar in her profile. I couldn’t stop myself.
  • I go to this conference every year, FinCon, and run a live mentoring session. This year, I decided that, in addition to the mentoring, I would submit a proposal for a panel. Found out earlier this week that the panel was accepted! I am terrified at the thought of all the public speaking but I’m trying to push myself outside my comfort zone. This should do it.
  • Saw Deadpool. You guys. This movie was fucking awesome. And that is coming directly from someone who, as a general rule and preference, hates comic book movies. When the movie’s opening credits have Juice Newton’s “Angel of the Morning” playing over them, you know you’re in for something pretty damn special. However, please do not take small children (like anyone under 10) to see it. It’s really, REALLY inappropriate. There were times I thought I shouldn’t be watching it. And I’m knocking on 40’s door.
  • Internet reads are absent this week because a) I didn’t really read much of interest (fell down a Gawker rabbit hole, though) and b) forgot to save the links to share.
  • Funnies:

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Have a great weekend! See you back on Tuesday for Show Us Your Books!!

P.S. Would guys mind helping promote my pitch contest? It’d be much appreciated! Here’s the link: https://janalynchbooks.wordpress.com/2016/02/23/pitch-me-with-your-best-shot/

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This week in…: The eighth one in 2016

by Jana 25 Comments

this week

  • Finished Remember Mia and The Flood Girls. Picked up Luckiest Girl Alive. Started Glass. Show Us Your Books is March 8, and I’ll have full reviews then.
  • Made grain free chocolate chip cookies. You can find the recipe here. Guys, they were so good, I don’t know that I can go back to making regular cookies. Even the child says she prefers them. 
  • Been listening to Theory of a Deadman’s “Blow”. Favorite lyric? Kanye West says rock is dead. Guess he’s off his meds again. Lost his mind about the time he got with that Kardashian. LOVE. IT.

 

  • Found and started recording this documentary series on Gen X. I haven’t been able to watch the first episode yet (second one airs tonight) but I’m really looking forward to watching it because I’m Gen X. And it’s narrated by Christian Slater. Yay!
  • Also binge watched the hell out of Brotherhood. Not the greatest show I’ve ever seen but addictive as hell. 
  • Put up the announcement about my pitch contest. I’m nervicited. That’s nervous and excited. I just hope I get some entries. 

nervicited

  • Apparently Judd Apatow has a new show on Netflix. One of the executive producers also graduated from the same high school he did. They reference a math teacher, Mr. Eldi. Mr. Eldi is a real person. I know that because he was my math teacher, too. So that’s pretty cool. Fun fact: he’s the only math teacher I had that got me not to hate math. I also wound up in his class after I failed a different one. 
  • Internet reads: This New Yorker piece on another side of Appalachia, which is really just a book review but it makes me really want to read the book. Make sure you go through the slide show of pictures. This millennial’s incredible response to that girl who was fired from Yelp (the author of the response is a repped, professional writer to she clearly has some talent. Should not detract at all from her point, though). If you don’t have a passport (or an expired one, like me) and still want to travel to some exotic places, here’s a list of six you can travel to. This excruciatingly long, but dead on balls accurate, video of a day in the life of a 1990 teenager (it’s real because he recorded his own life).
  • Funnies:

If I had to date, I’d totally do this

starbucks

What happens when I attempt to read any classic book

war and peace

EAT ALL THE FEELINGS

eat feelings

If I did weekend recap posts, this would be the weekend to do it because it’s nonstop packed with things to do. I am going to crash HARD on Sunday night. Hope you all have a great weekend, too!

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This week in…: The seventh one in 2016

by Jana 27 Comments

this week

  • Finished The Woman Who Stole My Life and am halfway through Remember Mia. Picked up no new books which is fine because I have 6 more on my nightstand and approximately 8 billion on my Kindle.
  • Recorded podcast episode #3 with my Show Us Your Books partner in crime, Steph. Look for that to launch on the same day as the next SUYB, March 9.
  • Made a pretty cool dinner. It was seasoned pork chops (which I ordinarily do not like but this way was palatable), roasted potatoes and green beans, both tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and all put on the same pan to cook (at 425). I sort of set the smoke alarm off and proceeded to not only run my daughter out of the house (literally) and frighten all the animals but the end result was a good (and mostly not burned) meal.
  • Right now is prime TV season for me. All the shows I like are on or are coming back in the next month or two so I’ve been stacking them all in my DVR for a good TV session over the weekend. And I know I’ve mentioned this show before but it bears repeating. American Crime (not to be confused with the OJ story on FX; this show is on ABC) is unbelievable. This season is tackling issues no one tackles on TV, at least not in a non-tabloid way (yes, SVU, I’m looking at you) and if you’re not watching it, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s HARD to watch. Really fucking hard. But important.
  • Worked on the foundation for a Twitter pitch contest for work, where I’ll ask people to pitch me their book projects in 140 characters or less. Winner gets a book deal. Still need to run the logistics and legal stuff through the boss man but I’m excited to do it.
  • Internet reads: Her Name was Skeeter: The Mystery of the Missing Muppet, found on Mental Floss. A staple in my life, Rolling Stone, had a great piece about the rise and fall of Warren Jeffs, the imprisoned, crazy, former maybe also still current leader of a polygamist cult. This awesome letter on The Huffington Post to anyone who feels like they’re falling behind in life. And finally, from Fast Company, 10 research proven things working parents can stop feeling guilty about (I am working on 4 and 5. I’m actually doing really well with most of the others).
  • Husband quote of the week: Everyone I needed to talk to about procuring a meteorite was on vacation this week. I think it’s a conspiracy.
  • Funnies (they have a theme this week. See if you can find it):

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Have a great weekend! See you back on Tuesday with a little rant about something that’s been bothering me lately.

 

 

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This week in…: The sixth one of 2016

by Jana 20 Comments

this week

  • A huge thank you to all our Show Us Your Books participants!! Next one is March 8 which, incidentally, is also the day my and Steph’s podcast, The Armchair Librarians, launches. Get prepared for lots of book talk. And swearing.
  • I am straight up shitting the bed on Erin’s book challenge. I cannot get it together despite having many of the books already in my house. My personal reading challenge is going well, though, as I’m currently reading the second book for that (I have it spread out for one book a month on that), The Woman Who Stole My Life by Marian Keyes. It’s total and complete chick lit but it’s a necessary break from the heaviness of what I read last month and what’s on tap for the rest of this one.
  • Picked up The Flood Girls, Glass, Fallout, and Beasts and Children to read after my current two, The Woman Who Stole My Life and Skippy Dies.
  • Not enough book talk yet? Too bad and we’re going to get a bit ranty up in here. So, as you guys might or might not remember, I volunteer twice a month in my daughter’s school library. I was there this week and learned that once the kids move into fourth grade, they no longer have book checkout during their weekly library time. Rather, they get 40 minutes of supplemental English and Language Arts instruction. Now, let me be clear. I am not opposed to the extra instruction. But what the fuck with not giving them time to browse and check out books? Sure, the fourth and fifth graders can go during open library time but “only if their schedule allows”. HUH? What if their schedule doesn’t allow? They get no book that week? How is that helpful, especially when they’ve been given reading homework each and every night. THEY NEED ACCESS TO BOOKS IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. Not every parent has the resources or time or desire or whatever to take their kids to the public library or buy books from Amazon. You can’t require kids to read and not afford them the opportunity to pick out books to read. Not only that, now there’s a situation where kids are reading books in class, for classwork or homework, and now they’re thinking reading is a chore. Which it is not. I can’t handle the thought of raising a generation of kids who hate reading. However well-intentioned the decision to remove book checkout from these kids was, it’s a fucking stupid decision and really needs to be rethought. /rant
  • You know what I didn’t want to do this week? Spend an exorbitant amount of money having a clogged drain unclogged by a professional plumber because what we had in the house to do it just wasn’t working and my kitchen was flooding. But I got to do that anyway. Which kind of sucked.
  • I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day but it’s recently come to my attention that it’s on Sunday. I should probably do something for the child. Any suggestions?
  • Started watching The Affair. Ordinarily I don’t watch anything that has infidelity as a premise but McNulty from The Wire is in this one and I thought I’d give it a try. Glad I did. I still hate the premise but I can look past it because it’s a really well done show.
  • Girl Scout cookie order came in. Tagalongs and Thin Mints, I’ve missed your sweet, sweet goodness. Samaos, you’re basically poison but your purple box is pretty.
  • Internet reads. This really cool gif about the evolution of the modern desk. This fascinating tale of a dispute between a publisher and an independent artist. I will confess that I am not on the Beyonce bandwagon and I’m tired of the whole world kissing her ass and thinking she’s infallible; Rolling Stone has some thoughts on that, too (for the record, I watched her Formation video. It’s a shit song but I do respect the point she was making with it). And the whole site Introvert Doodles.
  • Funnies

farts stupid question fat and cake

This weekend is supposed to be cold as fuck and we have no cheerleading so I’ll be inside, on the couch, reading, watching TV, and working on some podcasting and book stuff. Maybe clean if I get bored.

Hope you guys have a great weekend!

 

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