Reading Challenge Book 3: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Y'all:

Three down, forty-nine to go.  Aww yeah!

Reading Challenge Book 2: The Time Machine

Y'all:

An update so soon? What madness is this? Are the end times upon us?

No. I just finished my second book for the year and I wanted to share my impressions of it before my good-for-nothing memory makes the task more difficult.

Reading Challenge Book 1: Paganism 101

BOOK 1
Paganism 101:  An Introduction to Paganism by 101 Pagans
edited by Trevor Greenfield

I started off with this religious text, a collection of essays on various pagan topics written by a whole bunch of pagans! I personally started down the neopagan path years ago, and I'm learning a lot as I go.  Reading this text reassured me in my choice and also showed me that being a solitary isn't at all uncommon.  I still need to study more on this topic before I truly pin down where I fit in the grand scheme of Paganism (as in, what flavor of Pagan I am), but this was a good read.

There is certainly diversity to be had in these pages.  Men and women of varied pagan paths and from various regions of the world come together in this collection to share their beliefs on and anecdotes about Paganism.  Essays are grouped by topic, not by path, which I thought wise.  It was refreshing to get a Wiccan's and a Druid's thoughts on a single topic, for example.

My biggest complaint about the book is the formatting and editing.  As an English major and teacher, I have a deep love of editing.  There were parts of this book that had formatting errors.  I'll give the book the benefit of the doubt on that and blame the Kindle app on my iPad.  Other errors, though, could not be so easily explained away.

Paganism 101 was, overall, an interesting and educational read.  I recommend it to Pagans and non-Pagans alike.
_______________________________________________________

THE ONE AND ONLY,
MAC III

      

A Year of Reading

Y'all:

Here comes my first blog post of the new year.  Oh yeah, I intend to give Idle Prattle some love and attention in 2016.

Just the other day I saw the hashtag #52booksin52weeks pop up in a few places on social media.  I also spent most of my 3-day-weekend cooped up in my apartment playing video games on Steam and battling depression without the aid of alcohol.  I'm not really a "New Year New Me" kind of person, but I got to thinking...

Goodbye, 2015!

Y'all:

It's time for an end-of-the-year wrap-up.  If you ignore me on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Instagram, my website, Tumblr, Pinterest, or this poorly-maintained blog, it's time to bring you up to speed.  Go make yourself a cup of chocolate milk, get a straw, and feel free to blow bubbles in it while  you read this.