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Stephario

From Decatur, Alabama USA
Age 52
Joined Sunday, November 25, 2012
Recent Book Activity
Statistics
4 weeks all time
books registered 0 1,071
released in the wild 0 94
controlled releases 0 260
releases caught 0 6
controlled releases caught 0 246
books found 0 277
tell-a-friend referrals 0 2
new member referrals 0 1
forum posts 0 1,408
Extended Profile
Wow, it’s been a long time and a lot has happened. Most of my books are gone. I had to seriously downsize because I was forced to sell my house after my husband passed in June 2021. My son and I have moved to a small apartment and are basically treading water right now. If you see a book you want, pm me. I can’t guarantee I still have it (one of these days I’ll update my library) but if I do and it’s not one of my permanent collection, I’ll be glad to send it your way. Thank you Josie for the wings. I don’t know that I have the mental energy to participate again, but I’ll try. Blessings to all.

Page Updated 05/31/2014 @ 1:20 p.m. Central USA Time

Update 05/31/2014: I am sooo back into the swing of things. Today, I am finally getting back to working on registering the massive hoard of books I bought back in August! Whew! It feels great to be back at it, more to want to be back at it. Thank you, loyal BC friends, for being there in the background for me and not giving up on me! I appreciate it more than you will ever know. Anyway, keep your eyes peeled for any books you might want to request. As always, my AVLs are up for the asking (USA only due to finances, sorry), and TBRs are up for grabs if you don't mind waiting on me to read it first. Don't hesitate to ask (again, USA only) as you might help me decide my next book. And, if there's enough interest in a book, I'll offer it up as a ray. Wouldn't that be fun? Do read my previous updates below if you haven't already. I know I owe somebody something.

Update 05/26/2014: Wow! What a rough ride! I think I'm finally ready to return and participate again. I do still have a lot of catchup to do, but I don't feel so overwhelmed by it anymore. I guess that's a good thing. Please, if I owe something, DO email me about it or catch up with me on Facebook (Kelli Wadsworth in Alabama) and remind me, gently, about it. I definitely want to catch up and get out what's owed. Part of the reason I've been so long in coming back, aside from my mental health issues, is that I've had some other health issues kicking me in the butt. We're still working on finding a treatment for my psoriatic arthritis as I've had a bad reaction recently to the Humira. As well, we're still trying to figure out my psych meds as I've been having issues with them as well. In fact, of late, they're the major reason I haven't been around. Mood-wise, I'm fine. Side-effect-wise, major issues. The one med the doctor has me on is messing up with my vision, to the point where I can no longer read a print book or even drive. I'm still able to read books on my Kindle and my iPad because I can make the print bigger, but I can't even see my TV anymore (oh, that is so breaking my heart....NOT!) or read road signs. If I drive somewhere, which is try not to do anymore unless I have to, I have to bring a passenger to read the signs to me so I can get where I'm going without killing someone. Anyway, I hope I'm back now. I've missed you guys!

Update 01/17/2014: I have been out of the loop since early December 2013 due to a crippling depressive episode that actually started creeping up on me in October 2013. I am so far behind on packages and rings and Secret Santas and book boxes that I'm pretty overwhelmed. Fear not intrepid bookcrossers! I am gradually getting better, it's just going to take me a while to catch up. I'm sorry to everyone who has worried about me over the past couple of months. Unfortunately, this is the way things go when you have both severe bipolar disorder and severe seasonal affective disorder. Despite being maximally medicated, I still suffer winter depressions every year. They're not usually this bad...as I said before, this one was especially crippling...but I'm on the mend. I'm gradually getting better and should be able to get caught up on everything I owe within the next few weeks. I'm still struggling to check my regular email daily, so if you need to get in touch with me NOW, please email ariannah2011 at gmail dot com. That gets sent to my phone, which won't let me ignore it for long. Again, I apologize to everyone I've let down this past holiday season. It certainly wasn't intentional, and I do promise to make it up to everyone.

Ah, where to start? Who am I? I am a homeschooling mom of a wonderful teenage boy who eats, sleeps, and breathes video gaming. Some days I feel like banging my head on a wall because of this as he'd rather game than read, whereas I'd rather read than anything else. I love books and have nearly my whole life. As a child, books were the gateway to new and better places to be. As an adult, they're still the gateway to new and interesting places, but they're also the gateway to new things to learn and do. Someday, my gamer boy will understand that.

My bookshelves do not necessarily reflect my taste in reading. I found this site through my son's homeschool science class--it was one of the projects they could do to help the environment--so there are a lot of children's and teen books registered. In addition, as you'll read below, I like to play several of the games and sweeps available in the various forums, so I buy books specifically for people. If you want to know the kinds of books I'm TRULY interested in, have a gander at my vast wishlist. And no, I don't expect to get every book on that list through this site. I use it not only as a wishlist for the wishlist games and sweeps but also to keep track of new books that I want to eventually acquire on my own.

I welcome PMs and book requests, especially once I finally get my hoard...yes, I said hoard...catalogued and registered (I'm still registering, so keep coming back to look every so often), but please do understand that with homeschooling, my time is extremely limited. I may not get to your PM right away, but I WILL get to it. Also, due to my distance from town, I do not get anywhere near the post office to ship on a daily basis. If I promise to release a book to you specifically, it could be a week or two before I have enough errands in town to justify a trip to the post office. Unfortunately, due to raises in postal rates for international shipping, I cannot ship outside the United States for anything other than the very few international sweeps I enter. I cannot afford to ship anything in my hands outside of the states. I'm truly sorry. If the economy ever recovers enough or postal rates ever come down (ha! like THAT will happen), perhaps I can ship internationally again, but for now, I can't. I'm sorry.

I have also discovered the RABCK forum and the Wishlist Tag games and have fallen totally in love. I've even discovered the concept of secretly tagging someone with a wishlist item, which is made so much easier when the recipient's address is up-to-date on RABCK.com. I really enjoy these activities, so I've entered my own profile over at RABCK.com so other BC'ers can tag me as well. As long as this page is current and up-to-date, my RABCK.com profile can be considered current and up-to-date.

I'm always adding to my bookshelf here as I work through my home finding all the stashed books I've forgotten about or hidden too well from my husband. So, keep checking back to my bookshelf and see what I've added this week!

Regarding the Wishlist Tag Games, I am a coffee fanatic (NOT decaf), so I have added "Flavored Coffees" to my wishlist. It's one of the few vices left to me since my diabetes diagnosis. Lots of places, in the coffee section near the fresh-ground coffees, sell trial sizes, pre-ground, of various flavored coffees. I'm not talking the powdered stuff that's full of sugar that you add to regular coffee, I'm talking the beans are flavored during roasting, available either pre-ground or whole bean, and then brewed or ground and brewed just like the pre-ground Maxwell House stuff. I'm open to any flavors except chocolate. My favorite flavor is Irish Cream, which I'm finding harder and harder to locate around here. I will ALWAYS be happy to be tagged with a trial size of a new flavor or even an old favorite. Like any good coffee aficionado, I have my own coffee grinder that I keep scrupulously clean between grindings so as not to mix flavors, so I'm good with either pre-ground or whole bean coffees. I AM open to trial-size flavorings that you add to regular coffee, but please remember that I do have uncontrolled diabetes and so must stay away from anything with sugar, corn syrup, or sugar alcohols in them. I know sugar alcohols are supposed to be low glycemic impact, but they actually raise my blood glucose worse than regular sugar OR corn syrup.

And now we come to Oppem's Birthday List for 2014. It has been requested that participants put a list of wishes other than books that they might like for their birthday. So here's mine in no particular order. Those participating in tchaikovsky's Secret Santa 2013 can use either this list below or this list for ideas, but honestly, I like the "Surprise me" option the best. :)
- Wishlist books
- Flavored coffee
- K cups (no favorite yet...getting the machine for Christmas 2013)
- Smooth artist's trading cards
- Smooth artist's greeting cards
- 2-mm graphite lead holder
- Staedtler 2-mm graphite lead in any hardness but especially H, HB, or B
- A chatty letter
- A pretty greeting card or postcard
- A link to a neat HD photo I could draw (no people please)
- Low carb/Paleo recipes
- HB or B General's graphite powder
- A small blusher brush for applying graphite powder
- A tote bag
- A novelty/snarky T-shirt (3X US)
- Anything handmade (cannot wear pierced earrings due to nickel allergy)
- Surprise Me! Purple is my favorite color, and I love mysteries (especially cozy mysteries), thrillers, suspense novels, the occasional horror. I collect coffee mugs with advertising (such as a company name, service, etc., but not tourist mugs) and snarky refrigerator magnets. I can always use pet supplies/toys for a small, neurotic, overweight dog and an elderly cat. Despite the fact that I like to draw, I'm not very creative so I always love to see how creative other people can be. So, like I said, Surprise Me with something neat that I haven't thought of yet!

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Currently Reading:
Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Red Rising (ARC), by Pierce Brown
Eggsecutive Orders, by Julie Hyzy (This one's gone on walkabout. I'll get back to it when I find it.)

Top 26 on Mt. TBR (In Order, sort of)
1. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyn
2. **Jesus Was A Time Traveler, by D.J. Gelner
3. **Hat Trick, by Brad Keene
4. **Reckoning at Harts Pass, by Elizabeth G. Macalaster
5. **The Illuminated Vineyard, by Jean Moynahan
6. **Cube Sleuth, by David Terruso
7. **The Deep Mystery: The Day the Pole Moved, by B.L. Freeborn
8. **Halls of Ivy: Pathfinder, by Roland Nunez
9. Defending Jacob, by William Landay
10. The Boy in the Suitcase, by Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis
11. C is for Corpse, by Sue Grafton
12. Calico Joe, by John Grisham
13. allmenarebastards.com, by Allison Rushby
14. Moody Gets the Blues, by Steve Oliver
15. Desert Sinner, by Ralph McInerny
16. Mrs. Polleax and the Second Thief, by Dorothy Gilman
17. Slow Dancing With the Angel of Death, by Helen Chappell
18. Living With Your Kids is MURDER, by Mike Befeler
19. A Cat By Any Other Name, by Lydia Adamson
20. Murder By Owl Light, by Corinne Holt Sawyer
21. The China Governess, by Margery Allingham
22. The Inferno of Dante, by Dante
23. The War of the Worlds, by H. G. Wells
24. The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?, by Warren Rick
25. Phule's Paradise, by Robert Aspirin
26. Children of the Flames: Dr. Joseph Mengele and the Untold Story of the Twins of Auschwitz, by Lucette Matalon Lagnado & Sheila Cohn Dekel

@Book has already been promised to another BookCrosser.
**ARC Giveaway from GoodReads FirstReads program OR LibraryThing Members Giveaway program
++Unregistered/Kindle Book

February 2013 Read-a-thon Totals
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Goal -- 24:00 Hours/Goal met @ 24:45 Hours
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March 2013 Read-a-thon Totals
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Goal 1 -- 24:00 Hours - Goal Not Met - 22:15 Hours
Goal 2 -- 25:00 Hours - Goal Not Met - 22:15 Hours
Goal 3 -- Finish This Book is Full of Spiders, The Killing Edge, and The Racketeer - Goal Met
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April 2013 Read-a-thon Totals
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Goal 1 -- 15:00 Hours - Total = 13 Hours. Goal NOT met
Goal 2 -- Finished B is for Burglar, First Among Sequels, One of Our Thursdays is Missing - Goal NOT met
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May 2013 Read-a-thon Totals
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Goal 1 -- 15:00 Hours
Goal 2 -- 4 books finished
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Total - 14:31 Hours, 3-1/2 books completed
Oh Man! I was so close! Maybe next month.
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June 2013 Read-a-thon Totals
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Goal 1 -- 24:00 Hours: Goal MET @ 30:56 Hours!
Goal 2 -- Finish Ladies' Night: A Novel, by Mary Kay Andrews: Goal NOT met
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July 2013 Read-a-thon Totals
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Goal -- 12 Hours: Goal MET @ at least 15 Hours!
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August 2013 Read-a-thon Totals
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Goal -- 16 Hours: Goal MET @ 19:34 Hours!
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September 2013 Read-a-thon Totals
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Goal: 15 Hours: Total 8:23 Hours, Goal NOT met
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October 2013 Read-a-thon Totals
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Goal: 12 Hours; 3 books finished
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Total: 21:36* Hours; 6 books finished - Both goals MET!

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Wishlist Tag Games: To prevent the headache I had this last time I was set to go to the post office with Wishlist tags, I'm listing here whenever I promise a book to someone in one of the Wishlist Tag Games. Once I receive confirmation the tag has been received, I'll remove the person and book from the list.
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Stone Tables tagged to Dove-i-libri on 11/6/13 -- Shipped from BWB

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Book Rings, Rays, Boxes, etc. I'm Involved In:
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Mystery/Thriller/Suspense US/Canada VBB, hosted by bookstogive
New Wrap-It-Up Bookbox, hosted by waternixie - MIA
Otherworldly Bookbox: Sci-fi/fantasy/horror (US Only) hosted by emmejo
US only Anything Goes VBB Round 3 hosted by Ollie1976 - Currently suspended
Holocaust VBB (US Only), hosted by tabby-cat-owner

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If you've made it this far, then you deserve to know a little "secret." Okay, so it's not really a secret, but perhaps you haven't been perusing the boards lately and haven't heard about it. I have recently, 8/17/2013, purchased a metric butt-ton of books at an auction. I bought enough that I had to purchase 8 more 5-shelf bookcases to accommodate everything. My husband and I spent the last week in August putting the cases together and getting the books unloaded onto the shelves. Now that that has been accomplished, I am doing my darndest to get everything registered here. I'm getting about half a shelf a day done. Realistically, I have no interest in at least half of these books, but to get the ones I wanted, I had to take the ones I wasn't interested in. So, please, check back frequently to see what has been added. I will be more than happy to ship off any book marked AVL to anyone in the United States. I'm sorry to the International people...I really wish I could include you, but postage rates going out of the US are insane. I can't afford them, so this offer has to remain strictly US only, especially as easily 90% of the books are hardback books.

Are you sure you want to delete this item? It cannot be undone.