I actually had a very good reading month in July, but I couldn't resist the above cartoon, which describes how I felt the last (2) days. Between work, housewifery chores, and a Nissan Altima with a keyless starter that has been acting up, I feel like I need more than a lousy - 2 day weekend...who invented just (2) days for the weekend anyways?
So my husband followed me to the Nissan dealership yesterday (thank goodness for Saturday service appointments) to have the starter checked out. Thank goodness ALSO that the car is still under warranty, so that means FREE right? Well, they fixed the problem. It was a brake peddle sensor that was malfunctioning at times, so the car would not start on the first try.....FREE??....not so fast, while I was out with my hubs car getting a mani and pedi, the dealership called to say (2) filters were really dirty (air and another ?? filter --how many are there anyways??) so hub gave the OK to change them. BIG MISTAKE...$104.00 for (2) filters with labor (yeah right)...but the warranty work was free (and the car starts , so what am I complaining about??....LOL. I really needed to been taken advantage!
July Reading Wrap Up
- I read (17) books, but (2) were children's books, and (1) was an art book.
- (4) of these were audio books
- (3) NF
- (7) library books
- (8) review books)
- (2) my TBR books
- I did add (2) DNF books to the list, for a total of (3) in 2010. This month, I was unable to finish: You Lost Me There
; Baldwin (debut novel) and America, America
; Canin
Completed Books
- Men and Dogs; Katie Crouch (audio) - 3.5/5 (library)
- The Lovers; Vendela Vida - 4.5/5 (review copy)
- The Sisters From Hardscrabble Bay; Beverly Jensen - 4/5 (review book)
- Worst Case; Patterson and Ledwidge (audio) - 3/5 (win)
- Sea Escape; Lynne Griffin - 4/5 (review book)
- Pearl of China; Anchee Min (audio) - 3.5/5 (library)
- Live To Tell; Lisa Gardner - 4/5 (review book)
- The House on Oyster Creek
; Heidi Jon Schmidt - 3.5/5 (review copy)
- Love is the Best Medicine; Dr. Nick Trout - 3.5/5 (library)
- Backseat Saints; Joshilyn Jackson - 4.5/5 (review book)
- My Name is Mary Sutter; Robin Oliveria - 5/5 - favorite (review book)
- Biblioburro: a true story from Columbia; Winters - 5/5 - favorite (library)
- The Red Thread; Ann Hood - (audio) 4.5/5 (library)
- Frida Kahlo: The Still Lifes; Grimberg - 4.5/5(library)
- It's a Secret
; John Burningham - 4/5 (library)
- Blind Hope
; Kim Meeder - 2/5 - least favorite (my stacks)
- The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet; David Mitchell - 4.5/5(review copy)
August Reading Plans
YTD Book Spending
(68) Books Purchased - $198.49
I am committed to reading and reviewing at least these books (but others as well I hope) :
- The Good Daughters
; Joyce Maynard (read but needs review)
- Such a Pretty Face
; Cathy Lamb
- The Lion
; Nelson DeMille (audio)...John Corey is back !
- The Gendarme
; Mustian
- Fragile
; Lisa Unger
- Displaced Persons
; Schwarz
- City of Veils
; Zoe Ferrais
- The Language of Trees
; Ilie Ruby
- A Secret Kept
; Tatiana
- Ape House
; Sara Gruen
(68) Books Purchased - $198.49
Hope all of you enjoyed your reads in July, sadly summer is half over!
Sounds like you did have a rough two days. Glad at least the car is running again. July looks like it was a great month and I hope August turns out even better.
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head with that cartoon. I too have been feeling burned out and overwhelmed (not necessarily in that order. Thankfully Monday is a holiday in my country so i at least have three days to rest up and resume work (on the blog) on Tuesday. I don't know much about cars but it always seems as though those mechanics find all sorts of problems that drain your wallet. I have seen it soo many times with my friends. You take the car in for something as routine as an old change and by the time you go back for it, they tell you that the ac belt needs to replace and you need to change the windscreen wipers and the list just goes on and on...lol Thankfully you've got your wheels back. I hope you have a relaxing Sunday.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with your August reading plans. I haven't read any of those books, but I am curious about Ape House.
ReplyDeleteYou read such varied books! Great.
ReplyDeleteTSS: What Books I Read in July
ha ha darlin' nothing is free from car dealerships. Nuthin'! When we bought our Toyota, the salesman touted the free tires program.. . . 4 years later we qualified for 4 new tires; glee we thought. No so much glee after shelling out $189.00 for LABOR! Oh, puleeeze!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see you rated Back Seat Saints 4.5. I just received that recently. Have a great week!
Auto dealerships/repairs are so frustrating...even warranty work can be a hassle. At least you got a mani/pedi out of it! You had a great July, Diane.
ReplyDeletecar repairs scare me!
ReplyDeleteI had the worst reading month, no reading mojo lately but you did great. I hope you reach your August goals
I'm glad they were able to fix your car - there's nothing worse than having a car you can't rely on. You had a great month in books!
ReplyDeleteUgh. Getting ripped off at a dealerships always cheeses me off. Luckily hubby is a mechanic, so he does the lion's share of our repairs. Well, luckily for me, not so lucky for hubby, who has been spending many hours working on our 2004 van lately :( I'll have to make it up to him somehow!!!
ReplyDeleteI only share Men & Dogs with you... Happy reading for August!
ReplyDeletehttp://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/2010/07/july-monthly-news.html
Gosh, there's some fabulous books in here that you've read. I wish I could have gotten through so many books this month, but sometimes work just gets in the way of it all. :( Hope you have a great reading month for August!
ReplyDeleteTom told me that the Click and Clack boys say to try and avoid going to the dealership if at all possible. Dealers find 'other stuff' to fix!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to read the Biblioburro book. Right up my alley!
WOW!!! Would say you had a fantastic month of reading!!!!
ReplyDeleteCMash
Oh no. I'm sorry about the car. I've been driving around on a loose battery. I'm supposed to go slow until it gets fixed but I always forget.
ReplyDeleteWe have a Nissan too, and I have always wondered what would happen if the keyless ignition stopped working. Now I know! Sorry to hear about this.
ReplyDeleteWOW, what a month of reading you've had!! And all the books I want to read too! :-) Love the cartoon! Sorry about the car troubles! It's amazing what the mechanics can find once you're in their view! I always tell them I need to talk it over with my husband like a helpless lamb, unless it's something I'm actually there for. They must think I live in the dark ages! :-)
ReplyDeleteI loved My Name is Mary Sutter too and agree with your 3.5 stars for Men and Dogs. I enjoyed it but would say its a solid weekend selection (not too much of anything but entertaining).
ReplyDeleteHave a great week!
Getting ripped off by auto repairs is so annoying, and I don't even drive!
ReplyDeleteI hope August proves to be an awesome month of reading.
Nice list. I like how you wrote it up. My reads included a lot of great reads. Let's hope August is as good to us as July was.
ReplyDeleteHow did your total get up that high??? Last time I thought it was 50+....but overall not too bad right?? Sorry to hear about the key thing and then of course, the air filters!! I think you had a great month of reading in July!!! Here's to a wonderful August!
ReplyDeleteGlad you got your car running. They always find something to cost you when you tke a vehicle to the dealer. The next book on my list to read is The Lion by Neson DeMille.
ReplyDeleteWe have a Nissan Altima with the keyless entry too. I hope we don't have the same problem. But we did have a problem with the automatic windows not going up and down right... but they did fix it for free.
ReplyDeleteother than the car issues, you had a great reading month in July! Looks like you have some great books lined up for August! Have a great month!
ReplyDeleteUgh, car issues will always make me feel like that. Granted the burned out feeling I have right now is because it's so freakin' hot here in Texas! :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you are feeling better Diane. At least you had a good reading month. Here's hoping August is a bit more calm and filled with lots of good books!
I love these monthly wrap-ups ... what a great July you had (OK, except for the car issues!)
ReplyDeleteWhy did you have to remind us that summer is half over?!?
Great job with your July reading! I only managed to read 3 books because I was occupied with my relocation to another state and settling into a new job.
ReplyDelete