Azuki's Book Cafe

2011 In Review

azuki726 — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:22:59 +0000

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 4,100 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 3 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

A Very Yellow Release

azuki726 — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 04:13:30 +0000

Bally decides to stay home today and read some books. He comes across this very yellow-looking book.

It’s a cookbook, and Bally starts drooling as he flips the pages. He comes across this recipe for hamburgers and starts craving for one.

So Bally starts making his burger. Alas, the onion is making him cry!!

And he makes a bloody mess of the tomatoes!

Then he burns his beef patty.

The still hungry Bally decides to go hunt for food instead.

Look, what’s this Yellow Submarine?

It’s a food truck! Hmmm… they have yellow hamburger and yellow dog! (Here’s a link to the menu)

Bally decides to order a yellow dog.

The hot dog is topped with crushed pineapple and potato chips. It’s delicious!!

Now with a full stomach of yellow dog and fries, Bally is feeling happy again. He reaches the conclusion, like many guys do, that life is quite enjoyable without the need to cook. However, while an average dude may just trash a cookbook, Bally being Bally, he decides to release it at the back of the truck for a lucky reader.

If this release looks very yellow to you, that’s because it was originally scripted for the Yellow release in the BC Monopoly game. Unfortunately, torrential rain and rambling truck made me unable to do the release as planned. So here it goes, an “underwater” release for the last round of BookCrossing Monopoly.

Read-a-thon End of Event Meme

azuki726 — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 13:20:24 +0000

Which hour was most daunting for you?
Around 6am. I took a power nap but it wasn’t powerful enough, and I worry that if I take another nap I will just sleep through it.

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
Books that are fast paced. Considering what I read isn’t what most people read, I am not sure if my suggestions are good. I would imagine things from James Petterson, with very short chapters, fast action, will fit the bill. And some manga. For me, it’s what subject that fascinates me in the non fiction genre.

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Really like the mini yoga challenge. Maybe we can do more of that.

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
The diversity of challenges.

How many books did you read?
Six. Two cover to cover, the rest either started before the event, or started during the event but not finished.

What were the names of the books you read?
The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper
Memsahib by Elaine Dandh
Graphic Classics: Robert Louis Stevenson
Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario
Soup by Jon Gordon
Odd and the Frost Giant by Neil Gaiman

Which book did you enjoy most?
Definitely Enrique’s Journey. It’s at times haunting, at times uplifting. This detailed reporting about illegal immigrants has earned the author a Pulitzer Prize.

Which did you enjoy least?
The House at Sugar Beach. It’s a book with good review I just somehow don’t find her life very interesting for me.

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
Most certainly will! Hopefully I can be off work again next time.
I will stay a reader, because I am not sure I know what to say as cheerleader. I certainly can’t make up little songs.

Read-a-thon Hour 24

azuki726 — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 12:50:10 +0000

Haha the power nap wasn’t quite powerful enough so I had to follow with a chaser nap.

Managed to slip in a very thin volume of Neil Gaiman’s work in between.

Darn, I didn’t get to eat my ice cream. In the afternoon I thought I will save the ice cream for a more daunting hour, when I really do need it. Then it feels weird to be eating it at 5am, when it’s almost breakfast time, technically, rather than midnight snack.

Time: 8:10am

Currently Reading:

Reading Location:Guest bedroom bed

Total Pages read: 895

Enrique’s Journey: pg 25 – 300 (276)
The House at Sugar Beach (audio) pg 116 – 202 (87)
Graphic Classics: Robert Louis Stevenson: pg 70-139 (70)
Soup: pg xi-164 (166)
Memsahib: pg 9-186 (178)
Odd and the Frost Giants pg 1-97 (98)

Total Time spent reading: 11 h 45 min
8:30am – 9:00pm Enrique’s Journey: pg 25 – 50 (30 min)
9:40am – 10:20am The House at Sugar Beach (audio) pg 116 – 146 (45 min)
1:00pm – 2:30pm The House at Sugar Beach (audio) pg 147 – 202 (1 h 30 min)
3:10am – 5:10pm Enrique’s Journey: pg 51 – 178 (2 hr)
6:10pm – 7:10pm Graphic Classics: Robert Louis Stevenson: pg 70-139 (1 hr)
7:45pm – 9:15pm Enrique’s Journey: pg 179 – 300 (1 hr 30)
11:00pm – 12:20am Soup: pg xi-164 (1 hr 20 m)
12:30am – 2:00am Memsahib pg 9-91 (1 hr 30 m)
4:35am – 5:45am Memsahib pg 92-157 (1 hr 10 m)
5:45am – 6:15am Odd and the Frost Giants pg 1-60 (30 m)
7:20am – 7:40am Odd and the Frost Giants pg 61-97 (20 m)
7:40am – 8:00am Memsahib pg 157-186 (20 m)

Other Readers I have visited:

Noumena
Dancing-Dog
shaunesay
mhs160
CandyTX
Kanaye44
Elsi
VeganMedusa

Books I have munched on:

The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood
by Helene Cooper

Memsahib
by Elaine Dandh

Books I have finished:

Graphic Classics: Robert Louis Stevenson

Enrique’s Journey
by Sonia Nazario

Soup
by Jon Gordon

Odd and the Frost Giants
by Neil Gaiman

Read-a-thon Hour 20

azuki726 — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 08:35:55 +0000

Did a power nap so I think I am ready to do it through the end!

I did the Yoga Challenge, which is a great idea. Urgh, how did my bones creak!!

As for Pet Love Challenge, right on! My parrotlet, like me, loves to devour books, just in a different way. When I have a pile of books to register or journal, I learn not to let him out the cage.

I thought he would find the leaves of a pineapple too pricky, but he stood there for a while.

This is him all silly faced with corn on his beak. Whenever I have lunch/dinner, he will come by to inspect my food. Sometimes he will try a bit of it, sometimes he will walk away with clear disgust on his face.

I realize I don’t have a photo of him caught in his crime, but he likes to punch little holes on paper. In fact, we feel that we can start a document shredding business. He can safely dispose of any sensitive documents for you!

A few times I have to apologize on my BookCrossing journal about my parrotlet eating the book:

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/4208420/

And my rabbit too… though now I don’t keep any.

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/4227293/

Time: 4:10pm

Currently Reading:

Memsahib
by Elaine Dandh

Reading Location:TV room sofa

Total Pages read so far: 682

Enrique’s Journey: pg 25 – 300 (276)
The House at Sugar Beach (audio) pg 116 – 202 (87)
Graphic Classics: Robert Louis Stevenson: pg 70-139 (70)
Soup: pg xi-164 (166)
Memsahib: pg 9-91 (83)

Total Time spent reading so far: 10 h 5 min
8:30am – 9:00pm Enrique’s Journey: pg 25 – 50 (30 min)
9:40am – 10:20am The House at Sugar Beach (audio) pg 116 – 146 (45 min)
1:00pm – 2:30pm The House at Sugar Beach (audio) pg 147 – 202 (1 h 30 min)
3:10am – 5:10pm Enrique’s Journey: pg 51 – 178 (2 hr)
6:10pm – 7:10pm Graphic Classics: Robert Louis Stevenson: pg 70-139 (1 hr)
7:45pm – 9:15pm Enrique’s Journey: pg 179 – 300 (1 hr 30)
11:00pm – 12:20am Soup: pg xi-164 (1 hr 20 m)
12:30am – 2:00am Memsahib pg 9-91 (1 hr 30 m)

Other Readers I have visited:

Noumena
Dancing-Dog
shaunesay
mhs160
CandyTX
Kanaye44
Elsi
VeganMedusa

Books I have munched on:

The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood
by Helene Cooper

Books I have finished:

Graphic Classics: Robert Louis Stevenson

Enrique’s Journey
by Sonia Nazario

Soup
by Jon Gordon

Read-a-thon Hour 17

azuki726 — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 04:28:38 +0000

After a late dinner, playing a bit of dinoparc and skyping with my friends, I finished the soup book. It’s one of those popular business self-help book that is a breeze to read.

My hubby has been very nice and brewed a cup of tea for me.

Now on to read another BC book that has been with me entirely too long and needs to be mailed off soon to stay off the 6 month naughty list!

Time: 12:24pm

Currently Reading:

Memsahib
by Elaine Dandh

Reading Location:TV room sofa

Total Pages read so far: 599

Enrique’s Journey: pg 25 – 300 (276)
The House at Sugar Beach (audio) pg 116 – 202 (87)
Graphic Classics: Robert Louis Stevenson: pg 70-139 (70)
Soup: pg xi-164 (166)

Total Time spent reading so far: 8 h 35 min
8:30am – 9:00pm Enrique’s Journey: pg 25 – 50 (30 min)
9:40am – 10:20am The House at Sugar Beach (audio) pg 116 – 146 (45 min)
1:00pm – 2:30pm The House at Sugar Beach (audio) pg 147 – 202 (1 h 30 min)
3:10am – 5:10pm Enrique’s Journey: pg 51 – 178 (2 hr)
6:10pm – 7:10pm Graphic Classics: Robert Louis Stevenson: pg 70-139 (1 hr)
7:45pm – 9:15pm Enrique’s Journey: pg 179 – 300 (1 hr 30)
11:00pm – 12:20pm Soup: pg xi-164 (1 hr 20 m)

Other Readers I have visited:

Noumena
Dancing-Dog
shaunesay
mhs160
CandyTX
Kanaye44
Elsi
VeganMedusa

Books I have munched on:

The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood
by Helene Cooper

Books I have finished:

Graphic Classics: Robert Louis Stevenson

Enrique’s Journey
by Sonia Nazario

Soup
by Jon Gordon

Read-a-thon Hour 14

azuki726 — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 02:02:35 +0000

Good as Enrique’s Journey was, I need a little break. So I finished up Graphic Classics: Robert Louis Stevenson, it’s a collection of his work, some in text with illustration, some as graphic novels.

Snacked on some Tim Tam. That has become my official Read-a-thon snack. LOL.

Starting on a new book. A business book! I haven’t touched one for so long! I just promoted to a new branch, and my boss is giving out books to read. No complain from this employee.

Time: 9:48pm

Currently Reading:

Reading Location:TV room sofa

Total Pages read so far: 433

Enrique’s Journey: pg 25 – 300 (276)
The House at Sugar Beach (audio) pg 116 – 202 (87)
Graphic Classics: Robert Louis Stevenson: pg 70-139 (70)

Total Time spent reading so far: 7 h 15 min
8:30am – 9:00pm Enrique’s Journey: pg 25 – 50 (30 min)
9:40am – 10:20am The House at Sugar Beach (audio) pg 116 – 146 (45 min)
1:00pm – 2:30pm The House at Sugar Beach (audio) pg 147 – 202 (1 h 30 min)
3:10am – 5:10pm Enrique’s Journey: pg 51 – 178 (2 hr)
6:10pm – 7:10pm Graphic Classics: Robert Louis Stevenson: pg 70-139 (1 hr)
7:45pm – 9:15pm Enrique’s Journey: pg 179 – 300 (1 hr 30)

Other Readers I have visited:

Noumena
Dancing-Dog
shaunesay
mhs160
CandyTX
Kanaye44
Elsi
VeganMedusa

Books I have munched on:

The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood
by Helene Cooper

Books I have finished:

Graphic Classics: Robert Louis Stevenson

Enrique’s Journey
by Sonia Nazario

Read-a-thon Hour 10

azuki726 — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 21:40:35 +0000

Got in two hours of solid reading. Really enjoyed Enrique’s Journey, about a Honduran boy’s journey to find his mother, who left him eleven years ago to work in the U.S. The hardship he and other immigrants faced as saddens me: they are robbed, beaten and raped by gangsters and polices alike, and many were mangled or even killed as they ride on the top of the train, or try scrambling aboard a moving one. Equally sad is how the mothers, out of desperation, have to leave their children behind to work illegally in the U.S. As they care for someone else’s children, they remember their own left behind. They are often abused and taken advantage of. Meanwhile, the children grow up wondering when their mother abandons them, and the toys and money sent is no replacement for a mother’s hug.

The bright part of the book is when the migrants pass through Oaxaca, Mexico. The people there, by no means wealthy, will greet a train as it comes by and throw food, drinks, blankets and clothes up to the hungry and thirsty migrants atop the train. Those with food, give food; those without, give bottles of water; those without, offer a prayer.

“If I have one tortilla, I give half away. I know God will bring me more.”

“God says, when I saw you naked, I clothed you. When I saw your hungry, I gave you food. This is what God teaches,” said the food throwers. They know the horror as some of their own struggled to reach the U.S. and they know the hardship is worse for those from Central America.

“If we don’t want to be stopped from going into the U.S., how can we stop Central Americans in our country?”

Then there is story of a volunteer, who uses her money to buy blood (yes, blood) and medicine to help the sick and injured migrants.

Gosh I cried so hard as I read.

Time: 5:38pm

Currently Reading:

Reading Location:On my favorite papasan chair.

Total Pages read so far: 113

Enrique’s Journey: pg 25 – 178 (154)
The House at Sugar Beach (audio) pg 116 – 202 (87)

Total Time spent reading so far: 4 h 45 min
8:30am – 9:00pm Enrique’s Journey: pg 25 – 50 (30 min)
9:40am – 10:20am The House at Sugar Beach (audio) pg 116 – 146 (45 min)
1:00pm – 2:30pm The House at Sugar Beach (audio) pg 147 – 202 (1 h 30 min)
3:10am – 5:10pm Enrique’s Journey: pg 51 – 178 (2 hr)

Other Readers I have visited:

Noumena
Dancing-Dog
shaunesay
mhs160
CandyTX
Kanaye44
Elsi
VeganMedusa

Books I have munched on:

Enrique’s Journey
by Sonia Nazario

The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood
by Helene Cooper

Books I have finished:

Read-a-thon Hour 7

azuki726 — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 18:47:05 +0000

Back from volunteering at the library, ate sushi for lunch. I was able to listen to an audio book while driving and cooking, but now seriously going to sit down with a book!

Time: 2:33pm

Currently Reading:

Reading Location:On my favorite papasan chair.

Total Pages read so far: 113

Enrique’s Journey: pg 25 – 50 (26)
The House at Sugar Beach (audio) pg 116 – 202 (87)

Total Time spent reading so far: 2 h 45 min
8:30am – 9:00pm Enrique’s Journey: pg 25 – 50 (30 min)
9:40am – 10:20am The House at Sugar Beach (audio) pg 116 – 146 (45 min)
1:00pm – 2:30pm The House at Sugar Beach (audio) pg 147 – 202 (1 h 30 min)

Other Readers I have visited:

Noumena
Dancing-Dog
shaunesay
mhs160
CandyTX
Kanaye44
Elsi
VeganMedusa

Books I have munched on:

Enrique’s Journey
by Sonia Nazario

The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood
by Helene Cooper

Books I have finished:

Read-a-thon Hour 2

azuki726 — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 13:36:11 +0000

Spent time visiting other readers… so the first hour wasn’t very productive.

Now heading out to volunteer at the library, be back at around 1pm, when I plan to resume with full force.

Time: 9:32am

Currently Reading:

Reading Location:On my favorite papasan chair.

Total Pages read so far: 26

Enrique’s Journey: pg 25 – 50

Total Time spent reading so far: 30 min
8:30am – 9:00pm Enrique’s Journey: pg 25 – 50

Other Readers I have visited:

Noumena
Dancing-Dog
shaunesay
mhs160
CandyTX
Kanaye44
Elsi
VeganMedusa

Books I have munched on:

Books I have finished:

Dewey’s Read-a-thon Hour 1

azuki726 — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 12:39:05 +0000

Officially starting the Read-a-thon at 8:18am. I wondered yesterday whether it’s okay to get a headstart before 8, but like many problems in life, they resolve themselves. We have a cold front in Miami, which means temp dipping into the 70s (yeah, go ahead and sneer…) I prepared myself a hot chocolate and now settled down to read my first book:

Starting: Pg 25

A little introduction:

1)Where are you reading from today?
At home, in the sunny but slightly chilly Miami, Florida

2)Three random facts about me…
- I am a BookCrosser
- I love playing Dinoparc
- I have a parrotlet names Wall-e who likes to punch holes in everything…

3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
My pile now has 12 books. Which is way less ambitious than VeganMedusa who has one for every hour. : P
I do not attempt to read all, but enjoy the feeling of bountifulness, to pick and choose from.

4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?
I do not plan to break any record, just happy to catch up on my BookObsessed owed books and book rings.

5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?
Take a power nap! You’ll come back much refreshed and resume a good pace, rather than glossing over the same sentence over and over…

And lastly, the sites of my fellow BookObsessers:

Noumena
Dancing-Dog
shaunesay
mhs160
CandyTX
Kanaye44
Elsi
VeganMedusa

Dewey’s Read-a-thon

azuki726 — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 02:46:05 +0000

It’s that time of the year again! Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-thon

By some miracle I do not have to work on Saturday, and my husband is out of town! So I can dedicate myself to some serious reading. As usual, I have piled up a tall stack of TBRs that is, in all honesty, very unrealistic.

Heading off to a good sleep!

How To Make A Bally Roll

azuki726 — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 03:34:59 +0000

In the BookCrossing Monopoly game, this round we landed on “restaurant”. Looks like it’s time to take Bally to wine and dine. Turns out Bally likes sushi. In fact, he likes it so much he’s turned into one!

First, we have to decide what book to release. As the organizer of the Yummy Yummy Bookbox, I have no shortage of food-themed titles. I settle on this one, In The Miso Soup. It’s a thriller with quite a bit of gore.

I get a sheet of yellow foam (from Michael’s) to cover the book.

Now on to make a Bally Roll. I need a white towel, and a strip of black paper.

Bally is ready to roam!

Tada!! Bally Roll!!

Now Bally is ready to strike. I take him to this merry-go-round sushi place, or in Japanese, kaiten zushi. I love kaiten zushi since I was in high school, because it doesn’t feel awkward to eat alone, it is fun to watch the sushi parading by, and I can just eat enough to fit my student budget.

Look! There is some tamago sushi! Hmmm, they look kinda like Bally Roll, don’t they?

Bally decides to fill to his belly first – with a banana nutella roll, which he enjoys very much.

Well, it’s time! Bally hops onto the sushi boat, and float gently down the stream. Merrily merrily merrily, there a book goes free!

BC Monopoly Release

azuki726 — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 06:42:03 +0000

In the BookCrossing Monopoly Game, our team landed on the square “Playground”, so we have to scout around for the perfect spot to do our release.

I found it in Aventura Mall, where they have built a super-kawaii is an indoor playground in front of Sears.

http://www.friendswithyou.com/blog/rainbow-valley

First I spot the rainbow. In the last round we have planned to use the book Wizard of Oz, but so happens my team mate fell ill and was not able to do the release. I thought, it would be perfect to just place Wizard of Oz over the rainbow. Then I looked again at the picture. What is that? A giant white… tadpole? Is it just me? Could I be the first person to notice that it looks like a …. very adorable giant sperm?

Now I found the perfect location I need the perfect book to go with it. As there isn’t time to shop online, I visited the local used book store, Book Barn. Not only did I find the perfect title, So That’s How I Was Born, I also caught a wild BC book! I was digging through the bins and noticed a Bally label on the spine. Turns out this book has been in the wild for almost 7 years!!

Anyway, we believe that fun and education should go together, so what’s more appropriate than releasing this title by the giant “tadpole”?

We hope that by leaving this book at this playground, when a little boy asks his daddy, “Daddy, what is this?”

“Er, it’s a wisp of cloud… a water sprout.. an eel… No actually I think it’s a tadpole..”

“A tadpole?”

“No, Bobby dear… I think it’s time you know. It’s a sperm.”

“What is a sperm? Do I have a sperm?”

Daddy can then confidently read from this book, “Well, only a daddy has a sperm and only a mommy has an egg. A sperm looks like a little fish or tadpole… it goes inside a mommy’s body, it swims to meet the mommy’s egg. When they join together, a baby starts to grow inside the mommy.”

I went to the mall on a weekday morning. There was an attendant so I was a bit worried that I may not be let in, but I guess I look harmless enough.

So tell me, what does it look like to you? My husband said it looks like a marshmallow, stubbornly refused to acknowledge that marshmallows don’t usually have tails… Hmm, is it just lack of imagination? Something more Freudian?

Soon after I released the book, a little boy discovered it.

But then the little boy walked away, and the attendant noticed the book on the floor. So I had to make a hurried exit in case she came after me. XD I am definitely not the wild release type of BCer!!

Once Upon a Read-a-thon Wrap Up

azuki726 — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 21:15:19 +0000

This is the first year I joined this Read-a-thon, introduced to me by my BookObsessed friends. In the past I’ve joined Dewey’s Read-a-thon, which is an intense 24-hour event where you read till your eyelids drop. This one is a more relaxed pace, while still giving me extra boost in reading more.

I didn’t finish any book from cover to cover, but managed to end two books I was reading and started on a new one, logging a total of 463 pages. They are all pretty enjoyable books, and my favorite among them is The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian – funny, sad and poignant.

FINISHED
Messenger by Lois Lowry

FINISHED
The Magic and The Healing by Nick O’Donohoe

Another Shot by Joe Kita

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie