Recovery Man - Kristine Kathryn Rusch

This took me forever to finish, because it bogs down a bit in the middle. I think it suffers the usual problem of a book that is later in a series: too little editing. Still, it was a worthwhile read, and I still look forward to more in the series. Her descriptions of the domes on the Moon and Callisto are so vivid that I can picture people actually living there. It actually makes me a little sad to think we might not ever get our act together enough to do that, or at least not in my lifetime. This one focuses less on her usual protagonist Miles Flint, and more on his ex-wife and her/their daughter, but I found all of the characters interesting enough. I wouldn't recommend starting her series with this book, however.

Only a little

You've Been a Little Ruined by American Culture

Whether you live in the US or not, deep down you're a little American. And there's nothing wrong with loving American culture, but it may have negative effects on your life. Slow down and enjoy what you have. Reconnect with life's simple pleasures. You don't need to be in a consumerist rat race. Life's too short to overwork yourself!

Has American Culture Ruined You?

Mystery

I've been spending (too much) time on various message forums, and I have encountered a mystery. I understand some people can't be bothered with capitalization, so they write like e.e. cummings: "i have a question about..." And of course there are the usual shouters who have never been online before "I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT..." but the ones I find most mysterious are the all initial caps: "I Have A Question About How We Add Signatures To Our Posts..." I mean, that takes effort to do (unless there's a shortcut I don't know about), and it just looks...weird.

Weekly Geeks

Dewey at Hidden Side of a Leaf is sponsoring Weekly Geeks - a chance to discover new blogs. This week the challenge is to find 5 new blogs and comment on them. I found:

Ravenous Reader - whose description of a short story collection makes me want to run out to the bookstore!

Bibliolatry - who has a terrible book joke.

Everyday reads - who seems to share my love of nonfiction, and shoe shopping, and has excellent taste in books.

She Reads Books - She stayed up all night to read a new book!

Park Avenue Princess - who is raffling off some books.

A+

Your Vocabulary Score: A+

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary! You must be quite an erudite person.

How's Your Vocabulary?

Friday linkage

Becky at Becky's Book Reviews is hosting a book club in May for "Life As We Knew It." I read it already, but I think I'll try to participate. I loved that book and I can't wait for the follow-up.

Wil Wheaton has a custom Lego Wesley. So funny.

BTT: Springing

From Booking Through Thursday:

Do your reading habits change in the Spring? Do you read gardening books? Even if you don’t have a garden? More light fiction than during the Winter? Less? Travel books? Light paperbacks you can stick in a knapsack?

Or do you pretty much read the same kinds of things in the Spring as you do the rest of the year?

I don't think my reading habits change much. I might read more in the Summer when there are fewer new television shows on, but otherwise I think my pace is pretty steady. Maybe I read more travel books if I am planning a trip, and I do start choosing what books I will take on said trip far ahead. (Needs to be long enough to last for a plane ride, but light enough to carry in my bag.)

I really do hate the customized pages - and the automatic music

Created by OnePlusYou

Movie: Juno

I was prepared to be disappointed in this, after all of the hype around this movie, but I found it enjoyable. I think they tried too hard in parts to be "real," but overall it was refreshingly unsentimental and mostly natural. Ellen Page was excellent in the title role, and I'm always glad to see Allison Janney (as the stepmother) working. She was so great on The West Wing!

How profound...

As seen at The Watcher's Counsel:

You Are Disturbingly Profound

You're contemplative, thoughtful, and very intense. Taking time to figure out the meaning of life is a priority for you. Because you're so introspective, you often react in ways that surprise people. No one can really understand how you are on the inside... and that disturbs them.

Are You Disturbingly Profound or Profoundly Disturbing?

TBR mountain

Here's a picture of my next-to-be-read books. I had to move it from my bedside table for fear it would topple and smother me in the night. I don't know when I think I'll get to all of these, but you might notice one of the books is "Getting Things Done." If I ever get around to reading that one, maybe then I'll find more time in my day. I'm halfway through "Recovery Man" and "Flat Broke," and about a third of the way through "Nudge", so maybe I'll get some reviews up this week. Hope you all are enjoying your day!

Me? Too much caffeine?

Created by OnePlusYou

Retirement

Not mine!  I'm off to a retirement reception for a favorite professor.  He was one of my first year law school professors, and he was tough!  It's a shame that more first years won't be scared to death by him as I was.  He later hired me as a research assistant, which was a valuable experience.  I just hope there's good food at this thing!

BTT: Vocabulary

From Booking Through Thursday:

I’ve always wondered what other people do when they come across a word/phrase that they’ve never heard before. I mean, do they jot it down on paper so they can look it up later, or do they stop reading to look it up on the dictionary/google it or do they just continue reading and forget about the word?

I can remember being in about 6th grade and first encountering the word "bourgeoisie." I had no idea how to say it, much less what it meant, so I looked it up. But then, as now I usually just tried to figure out an unfamiliar word based on the context. If I can't do that, and it seems like an important word, or I am curious, then I will look it up. Naturally, if it were a school book or something then I would just look it up right away. This issue seldom comes up in other books, though.

Why do we read?

This is a non-meme that I saw first at The Hidden Side of a Leaf:

Like Dewey, I can't remember not reading. The family story is that I taught myself to read by being read to: mostly Dr. Seuss. My grandparents subscribed me to a book of the month club for kids, and my mother thought I was just memorizing the books. Until we got the new book one month, and I proceeded to read it to my little sister without having it read to me first.

But why do I continue to read? Why do I read every chance I can get, and feel "wrong" if I haven't read something in a while? Lots of reasons, of course, but three main ones:

1. I love words. I love playing with words, and seeing what other people do with them. I love how the change of one word in a phrase can completely alter the meaning.

2. I want to escape. I want to travel to other places and times and lives and see them from the inside. I want to explore worlds that we can never see: travel through space and time and encounter other people and see our life reflected in theirs. I think this is the main reason I loved reading as a child. I grew up in a small town, and reading allowed me to experience the outer world from a safe place.

3. I want to know things. I want to know everything! Before the internet, books were the only source of information. I used to (and still do) just browse in the nonfiction section of the library or bookstore and just pick up whatever catches my fancy, then read everything I can get my hands on about the topic until I feel I know "enough" to move on to the next thing. The internet has helped to fill this need for me, but books still are vital to me for this.

So what about you? Why do you read?

Useful information?

I was looking for something else, and stumbled upon this:


Created by OnePlusYou


Also, a tax day joke I heard on the radio:

What is the difference between death and taxes?
Congress doesn't meet every year to make death worse.

Unofficial Blogger Appreciation Day

In honor of the (unofficial) Blogger Appreciation Day, I want to thank Literary Feline over at Musings of a Bookish Kitty for being one of my inspirations for book blogging. Hop over to her blog, because she's giving away books!

Reading...

...and enjoying our nice weather. Back tomorrow!

Deep Thoughts

Your Thinking is Abstract and Sequential

You like to do research and collect lots of information. The more facts you have, the easier it is for you to learn. You need to figure things out for yourself and consider all possibilities. You tend to become an expert in the subjects that you study. It's difficult for you to work with people who know less than you do. You aren't a very patient teacher, and you don't like convincing people that you're right.

What Kind of Thinker Are You?

Just how my mind works I guess

When I saw the picture of Dick Cheney's glasses - the one that many people think looks like a naked woman - I thought it looked like an alien. Like an X-files alien. But that's just me, I guess.

BTT: Writing Challenge

Booking Through Thursday time again:

#
Pick up the nearest book. (I’m sure you must have one nearby.)
#
Turn to page 123.
#
What is the first sentence on the page?
#
The last sentence on the page?
#
Now . . . connect them together….
(And no, you may not transcribe the entire page of the book–that’s cheating!)

Okay, my book is "Recovery Man" - by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (the latest in the Retrieval Artist series).

This part of the ship was dark and filthy. He must have turned off onto one of the side corridors, which all had shimmery barriers like the ones on the airlock doors.

See what I did there? I didn't connect them, because I think they connect pretty well by themselves. Which makes me wonder if the book isn't a bit long winded, but that's another story for another day.

As seen at...

the Watcher's Counsel (what a great name for a blog)

What Your City Walk Means

You are thoughtful and contemplative. You enjoy spending time alone with your thoughts. You are quite introverted and maybe even a little shy. You prefer to interact one on one with people. Money is important to you in as far as you'd like to have enough to survive. You are curious about ideas. If you had the means, you'd like to explore the whole world.

The City Walk Personality Test

Sense and Sensibility - Masterpiece [Theatre]

I enjoyed this version, and I think it only suffers in my opinion by coming after the Emma Thompson version (which I loved). If this had been done first, it would probably be my favorite. I thought the casting was great (even though there was no Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon in this one). It was very faithful to the book (at least as far as my memory serves me), and I'm very glad they chose to do it in two parts rather than trying to cram it all into a couple of hours. As the eldest sister myself I identify with Elinor more than Marianne, and I will admit I always cry at the part when Marianne is so sick that Elinor fears for her life. It gets me every time, even though I know it's coming.

For some reason, this made me laugh

The Movie Of Your Life Is Film Noir

So what if you're a little nihilistic at times? Life with meaning is highly over-rated. Your best movie matches: Sin City, L. A. Confidential, Blade Runner

If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?

Random Sunday

My nephew put on his own little train show this morning - he set up all of his train sets around the house, and took me and his grandparents around on a "tour." He even made tickets for us, and put up a sign that read "Trains Show." Too cute. I think we all had fun. He even had refreshments for us! (Juice and donuts.) Then we all went out to lunch, and now I'm back home doing laundry and planning to pop in a movie. Overall, a pretty good day!

New Additions to the TBR pile

(the pile that threatens to take over my room!)

"Ask Again Later" - Jill A. Davis
"Strangers in Death" = J.D.Robb
"A Prisoner of Birth" - Jeffrey Archer
"Stalking the Wild Dik-dik - One Woman's Solo Misadventures Across Africa" - Marie Javins
"Flat Broke with Children - Women in the Age of Welfare Reform" - Sharon Hays
"American Dream - Three Women, Ten Kids and a Nation's Drive to End Welfare" - Jason DeParle

Battlestar Galactica

The season premiere is tonight! Yay!

BTT: Lit-Ra-Chur

From Booking through Thursday:

*
When somebody mentions “literature,” what’s the first thing you think of? (Dickens? Tolstoy? Shakespeare?)

The first thing I think of is the "boring" stuff they make you read in school. Of course, I never personally though all of it was boring (just some - I'm looking at you, Mr. Faulkner), but I think of literature as the "important" books - the ones you are supposed to find symbolism and deep meaning in, and not necessarily enjoy.

Of course, I read Jane Eyre after I stumbled upon it in the local library, and read it and loved it without knowing it was a "great" book. And I tore through Les Miserables when it was assigned in 11th grade English, because the assigned reading was too slow paced for me - I had to know what happened next!

*
Do you read “literature” (however you define it) for pleasure? Or is it something that you read only when you must?

I read. Anything. For fun.

Trekkie test

via Wil Wheaton:

A three question quiz to determine if you are a trekkie. I only answered yes to 1 and 3, so I guess I'm only a partial geek.

That pioneering spirit

Hop on over to Google's latest: Virgle.

Movie - Dan in Real Life

Loved this. Steve Carrell is brilliant as the advice columnist who is watching his own life fall apart - not in a dramatic way, but in small increments. He is a widower, still grieving his wife, and living according to the rules. He meets someone who, while not perfect, is pretty close, and she turns out to be his brother's girlfriend. Of course, he is a moral person, so he wouldn't think of stealing his brother's girlfriend, and there is the tension and the drama. Add in that he doesn't understand his daughters, and it's a great story. Overall a great depiction of a "life of quiet desperation."

Movie - Enchanted

What a cute little movie. This was perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon. Fluffy and romantic, and so cute. Did I say that already?

Some free online books

Here's a link to a post with links to some free online SF/fantasy books:
Fantasy Book Critic

Friday's Feast 185

Appetizer

What does the color dark green make you think of?

It makes me think of the carpet I would like to have in my own personal library.

Soup

How many cousins do you have?

I have two first cousins on my dad's side. Lots of second cousins, though.

Salad

On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how honest are you?

Wasn't this a question before? I think I said 8 before. I do fib to save people's feelings.

Main Course

Name something that is truly free.

Imagination.

Dessert

Using the letters in the word SPRING, write a sentence.

Some
People
Really
Intend
No
Good

Not really about spring, though.

BTT: Cover Up

This week's Booking Through Thursday:

While acknowledging that we can’t judge books by their covers, how much does the design of a book affect your reading enjoyment? Hardcover vs. softcover? Trade paperback vs. mass market paperback? Font? Illustrations? Etc.?

If I'm in a bookstore, the cover might entice me to pick up the book and at least read the synopsis on the back. Now that I shop for most of my books online, the cover is less likely to be a factor. I generally prefer trade paperbacks, because mass market ones seem to feel "cheap" - flimsy covers, stiff pages that fall out when you open the book too far.

Your Mind is Orange

Of all the mind types, yours is the quickest. You are usually thinking a mile a minute, and you could be thinking about anything at all. Your thoughts are often scattered and random - but they're also a lot of fun! You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about esoteric subjects, the meaning of life, and pop culture.

What Color Is Your Mind?

Movie - I Am Legend

I had lowered my expectations for this after reading too many other reviews, but I did enjoy this. Will Smith is great, and I thought the suspense was quite good (especially at the beginning). I thought some of the special effects were pretty fakey, though. CGI people/creatures just do not move the way normal people move - they are too bendy/bouncy or something. It bugs me and forces me out of the experience every time. (I'm thinking especially of Spiderman here.) I thought the shots of a totally empty New York were great, though - very haunting.

Life As We Knew It - Susan Beth Pfeffer

This is shelved in the "teen" section, but I heard about it on another blog and thought it sounded interesting. I was not disappointed! This is told as a diary of a teenage girl as she describes her experiences after an asteroid knocks the moon out of its usual orbit. The result is floods, volcanoes, and a kind of nuclear winter from all of the ash from the volcanoes. The style is very clean and the characters are interesting. I was happy to read on Amazon that there is a sequel of sorts coming out in June - not really a sequel, but a sort of parallel story about what happened in New York City during the same period. I think that is an interesting idea; one of the few flaws in this book is that the family is totally cut off from outside news, so we know very little of what is happening elsewhere.

Also, they spend a lot of the time hungry - food supplies are cut off. This made me hungry reading it, so be prepared with snacks. (I had the same problem with We the Living by Ayn Rand.)

Easter

Happy Easter to everyone celebrating it! I'm off to my sister's for brunch and to watch my nephew open 4 Easter baskets. No, he's not spoiled! (One from the Easter bunny, one from each set of grandparents, and one from me). He's getting mostly toys, not candy. Enjoy the day!

Easter quiz

What Your Easter Egg Says About You

You are truly optimistic, open, and hopeful. And your optimism gives you the courage to live life adventurously. You love new experiences, ideas, and challenges. You see life as a fluid, growing process.

The Easter Egg Personality Test

Friday's Feast 184

Friday's Feast:

Appetizer

Given the choice, would you prefer to live in the country or in the city?

Well, where I currently live has the best of both worlds: I'm in the city, but the country (well, desert) is only a 15 minute drive (at most). So we have all of the cultural benefits of the city, and the good shopping, but can get out into nature quickly.

Soup

Who is the cutest kid you know?

My nephew, of course!

Salad

Fill in the blank: I couldn’t believe it when I heard ___________.

...Caprica had been greenlit! This is the prequel to Battlestar Galactica, and it seems the writer's strike helped with getting it approved, as the idea had already been tossed around.

Main Course

If you could star in a commercial for one of your favorite products, which one would you want to advertise?

Netflix!

Dessert

What type(s) of vitamins and/or supplements do you take on a regular basis?

I take a generic multivitamin. I don't like taking a lot of pills, but I like the extra vitamin C and the iron.

BTT: The End

From Booking Through Thursday:

You’ve just reached the end of a book . . . what do you do now? Savor and muse over the book? Dive right into the next one? Go take the dog for a walk, the kids to the park, before even thinking about the next book you’re going to read? What?

(Obviously, there can be more than one answer, here–a book with a cliff-hanger is going to engender different reactions than a serene, stand-alone, but you get the idea!)

It does depend on the book to some extent. If it was a "heavy" book, I might wait until the next day to start something new. Of course, I usually have more than one book going at once, so it would be unusual for me to finish everything all at once. I do tend to take a break before reading more of the same genre, unless it is a series that I am anxious to find out what happens next.

Battlestar Galactica

The BSG cast will be on Letterman tonight. Here's a link to the top 10 list they'll be doing. I can't wait for the premiere of the new season!

Arthur C. Clarke

Clarke and Asimov were the writers who got me interested in science fiction. I'm sad to read that Mr. Clarke has passed away. Story here.

Movie: Michael Clayton

I think my expectations were too high for this movie. I thought it was good, but not great. I loved George Clooney, and the plot was interesting enough, but I thought the pace was too slow. Maybe I'm just impatient, though.

Movie - Right At Your Door

I posted back in August that I was looking forward to this movie, and I finally got it from Netflix. I was not disappointed. The characters and dialogue are sharp, the people are interesting, and it keeps you guessing right to the end. I love movies with unexpected endings, and this one did not disappoint.

A Pooh Quiz

Your Score: Rabbit

You scored 17 Ego, 15 Anxiety, and 17 Agency!

IT was going to be one of Rabbit's busy days. As soon as he
woke up he felt important, as if everything depended upon him.
It was just the day for Organizing Something, or for Writing a
Notice Signed Rabbit, or for Seeing What Everybody Else Thought
About It. It was a perfect morning for hurrying round to Pooh,
and saying, "Very well, then, I'll tell Piglet," and then going
to Piglet, and saying, "Pooh thinks--but perhaps I'd better see
Owl first." It was a Captainish sort of day, when everybody
said, "Yes, Rabbit " and "No, Rabbit," and waited until he had
told them.

You scored as Rabbit!

ABOUT RABBIT: Rabbit is generally considered Clever by his many friends and relations. He is actually a much better reader and writer than Owl, but he doesn't consider it worth mentioning. Instead, Rabbit's real talent lies in Organizing Plans. He organizes rescue parties, makes schemes to reduce Tigger's bounciness, and goes on missions to find out what Christopher Robin does when he's not at the Hundred Acre Woods. Sometimes, however, his Plans do not always go as Planned.

WHAT THIS SAYS ABOUT YOU: You are smart, practical and you plan ahead. People sometimes think that you don't stress or worry, but this is not the case. You are the kind of person who worries in a practical way. You think a) What are my anxieties about and b)what can be done about them? No useless fretting for you. You don't see the point in sitting around and waiting for things to work out, when you could actually work them out today and save yourself a lot of time and worry. Your friends tend to rely on you, because they know that they can trust you help them work things out.

You sometimes tend to be impatient with people who are less practical in their ways. You don't have much patience for idiots who moan about things but never actually DO anything about them. You have high expectations of everyone, including yourself. When you don't succeed at something, or when something goes wrong despite your best efforts to prevent it, you can get quite hard on yourself. You need to cut yourself some slack and accept that everyone has their faults, even you, and THAT IS OKAY. Let yourself be faulty, every now and then, for the sake of your own sanity.

Link: The Deep and Meaningful Winnie-The-Pooh Character Test

Negativity Meme

From Dewey:


1. When you dislike a book, do you say so in your blog? Why or why not?

Those of you who have been reading my blog know the answer is yes. I try to explain why I disliked something, but I try to be honest.


2. Do you temper your feelings about books you didn’t like, so as not to completely slam them? Why or why not?

I try to be fair and explain what it was I didn't like. And if there is anything I did like about the book, I try to mention that as well.

3. What do you think is the best way to respond when you see a negative review about a book you enjoyed?

I try to recognize that different people like different things. I might try to explain what I did like and why, but it's hard to change someone's opinion (including my own!).


4. What is your own most common reaction when you see a negative review of a book you loved or a positive review of a book you hated?

I might wonder if they read the same book, but I don't often feel I need to comment. Different people like different things, and expect different things from what they read.

5. What is your own most common reaction when you get a comment that disagrees with your opinion of a book?

Unless the comment is offensive or abusive, I leave it. Sometimes I'll respond, especially if I think they make a good point. I enjoy the dialogue, though, and I'm usually glad my opinion at least encouraged someone to respond!

6. What if you don’t like a book that was a free review copy? What then?

This is a tough one. I never promise to review a book I get as a free copy. If I finish the book, I'll probably review it, and I'll be honest.

7. What do you do if you don’t finish a book? Do you review it or not? If you review it, do you mention that you didn’t finish it?

I give up on a lot of books. If I've mentioned the book previously, I might mention that I've abandoned it. If there's something I think is really awful about the book I might spend more time explaining why I abandoned it.

BTT: Playing Editor

Booking Through Thursday time again:

How about a chance to play editor-in-chief? Fill in the blanks:

__________ would have been a much better book if ______________________.


"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" would have been a much better book if it had not had the epilogue at the end. I know this is sacrelige to say that there is anything wrong with the HP books. However, I think the final book would have been better without the little peek into the future offered at the end. I would have preferred if JK Rowling had left it to us to imagine what might happen to all of our beloved friends, rather than wrapping it all up for us quite so neatly. The cynic in me thinks she was trying to control the fan fiction versions of the future, but I suspect really she didn't want to let them all go yet, and wanted to put us at ease that everything turns out right in the end. I can understand that; I want an easy life for our Harry as well. Life isn't really like that, and his personality and talent for finding trouble would suggest his adult life would be as interesting as his childhood was, Voldemort or no.

What I'm Reading

Firefly Lane
Sense and Sensibility
Recovery Man - Kristine Rusch
various magazines

What I'm planning for my two days of vacation this week:

I have two days off this week: the judge is off, so I am too!

1. Sleep.
2. Read.
3. Shop!
4. Cook! I want to try out some new recipes, and maybe bake some cookies or something.
5. Spring clean - I want to clean out my closet to make room for new spring clothes!
6. Watch Movies: I have Michael Clayton and Right Outside Your Door on the way from Netflix.
7. Read some more!

What would you do with two days off?

They have a quiz for everything...

What Your Sleeping Position Says

You are calm and rational person with a good deal of balance in your life. Friends consider you to be kind, caring, and truly loyal. You are easy going and trusting. However, you are too sensible to fall for mind games. Open to the world, you are not afraid to be yourself. If you don't get enough sleep, you are: Able to cope It's hard to sleep next to you because: You're a bed hog

What Does Your Sleeping Position Say About You?

Feast 182

Friday - er - Sunday's Feast:

Appetizer

If you could be any current celebrity for one whole week, who would you want to be?

This is a tough question. Would I be me, just in a celebrity's body (like Freaky Friday)? Or would I actually become that person? If I could be me in another person's body, I think I would be Britney Spears, so maybe I could help her out of her sad situation. If I would actually be that celebrity, I think Jennifer Garner, because she seems so normal, and hey, Ben Affleck.

Soup

On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you enjoy talking on the phone?

I think a 5 or so? I don't talk on the phone a lot, and then mostly to my sister. Email is the way to go.



Salad

Name a charitable organization to which you have donated (or would like to).

The food bank.

Main Course

What is a food you like so much you could eat it every single day for a month?

This one's easy: Chocolate!

Dessert

Have you or anyone in your family had the flu this year?

No, we all had our flu shots as usual, and so far we've been lucky. I did have a pretty bad cold earlier in the winter.

Not a bad way to spend the day

My nephew is crazy about trains. Last year they heard about a "garden" train club here in town, where people have these elaborate setups in their backyards, and once a year they open them up for tours. We went to 4 of the houses today and had a blast. Here's a sample:

I love this

The Reader's Bill of Rights:

1. The Right to Not Read
2. The Right to Skip Pages
3. The Right to Not Finish
4. The Right to Reread
5. The Right To Read Anything
6. The Right to Escapism
7. The Right to Read Anywhere
8. The Right to Browse
9. The Right to Read Out Loud
10. The Right to Not Defend Your Tastes

(by Daniel Pennac, via Becky's Book Reviews)

BTT: Hero

From Booking Through Thursday:

You should have seen this one coming … Who is your favorite Male lead character? And why?

As with last week's BTT, I have a few: Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, Mr. Darcy (of course), Corwin (From Nine Princes in Amber), Stu Redman from "The Stand" (although perhaps more because Gary Sinise did such a great job in the miniseries). But if I had to pick just one, it would be Harry Potter, for being brave, and true to himself, and turning into a wonderful young man despite his relatives' best efforts.

Randomness

This blogging every day thing is hard! Work has been taking up a lot of time and mental energy, and I don't feel comfortable blogging about most of what goes on there for confidentiality reasons, so I don't have much to contribute. But here are some random thoughts:

1. I'm jealous that the Republicans already know who their candidate is. The whole Clinton/Obama thing just shows how diverse the Democratic party is, so I don't see how we'll ever agree on a candidate enough to actually install a Democrat in the White House. I liked Edwards, myself.

2. I still hate pledge week on PBS.

3. I still love American Idol.

4. I think I need to move my TBR pile because it threatens to tumble down on top of my bed, which is probably a safety hazard.

5. March really is windy.

6. Some people do terrible things to their children. And some children do terrible things themselves. Every time I think I've heard the worst at work, I hear something even more awful.

7. Some people are amazingly wonderful to children not biologically their own. What would we do without foster/adoptive parents!

It's not quite espresso, but the Senseo is fun...

You Are an Espresso

At your best, you are: straight shooting, ambitious, and energetic At your worst, you are: anxious and high strung You drink coffee when: anytime you're not sleeping Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Sense and Sensibility

Becky is hosting an online book group for "Sense and Sensibility." I'm planning to participate, but I'm already behind in the reading, so we'll see how that goes.


Why does PBS show only "special" programming during pledge week? Actually, it seems to just be "Celtic Woman." It seems like it would make more sense to show the regular programs, so that the people who watch PBS would actually pledge, because they are watching the show anyway. I rarely watch during pledge week, because they programming is so annoying. Just my two cents.

Reading break

Reading - more tomorrow!

I had pizza for dinner....

Cheese Pizza

Traditional and comforting. You focus on living a quality life. You're not easily impressed with novelty. Yet, you easily impress others.

What's Your Pizza Personality?

BTT: Heroine

From Booking Through Thursday:

Who is your favorite female lead character? And why? (And yes, of course, you can name more than one . . . I always have trouble narrowing down these things to one name, why should I force you to?)

I can think of so many that are my favorite in different ways. The usual suspects: Jane Eyre, Elizabeth Bennet, Laura Ingalls, and Meg Murphy (A Wrinkle in Time). I think my current favorite is Hermione Granger, because she is smart and not afraid to show it, brave, loyal to her friends, and sensitive to the injustices of the world.

(Oh, and tomorrow is our "free day" for Blog 365, so no posting. Enjoy your Leap Day!)

Movie Review - No Reservations

I watched this on DVD over the weekend, and I am really glad I didn't bother to see this while it was in the theater. It was cute enough, but very slow paced and extremely predictable. The plot was a typical romance, but with no twists: the "misunderstanding" that predictably separates the couple is trivial and quickly resolved. I think the actors did the best they could with the material, but there wasn't much for them to work with.

Subscriptions

I started subscribing to both Asimov's and Analog and I received my first issues of each today. Of course, even though I prepaid for my subscription, they have both managed to send me no fewer than 2 offers to renew. I hate getting offers to renew before I even have the first issue! It's a real pet peeve of mine. I think their subscriptions are a little pricey, so I'll probably only keep one of them, but I have 6 months or so to decide.

Is it a full moon?

Today was a crazy day at work: other bailiffs out sick, so we're all trying to cover. This is not too bad on a normal day, but on a day when attorneys are late or no-shows, the schedule falls apart. I'm exhausted, and I feel like I walked about a million miles today trying to track down attorneys. Is there something in the air?

Lazy Sunday

I'm planning to spend the day reading and watching TV. Specifically, "The Day After" is on SciFi at 3, "White Oleander" is on Lifetime at 6, and the last part of "Pride and Prejudice" is on "Masterpiece [Theatre]" at 8. So I'm all set!

Observational Skills

Your Observation Skills Get An A-

Hardly anything gets by you... You have a great memory and eagle eyes

How Observant Are You?

Friday's Feast

Feast 180:



Appetizer

Have you ever played a practical joke on anyone? If so, what did you do and who was your victim?

I can't recall anything in particular. I've been the victim of a few, because I'm pretty gullible.

Soup

What do your salt and pepper shakers look like?

They are just the plain "disposable" ones from the store. Although we have a Christmas set where the salt is a Reindeer and the pepper is Santa.

Salad

Where is the next place you plan to visit (on vacation or business)?

Orlando! Unless I can talk my sister into a weekend trip to Vegas, anyway.

Main Course

What kind of lotion or cream do you use to keep your hands from getting too dry?

I've tried almost every lotion available, but I think I've finally found one that helps: Eucerin Calming Cream. I have very dry skin on my hands, and of course I live in the desert so the air is dry almost the whole year. This stuff really seems to help.

Dessert

Make up a dessert, tell us its ingredients, and give it a name.

One of the restaurants in the mall (that isn't there anymore) had a fabulous sundae: coffee ice cream with chocolate syrup and chocolate ice cream with caramel syrup, and whipped cream, cookie pieces and a cherry on top. I don't remember what they called it, but I'll call it delicious! Or maybe Choco-coffee caramel whip dream. Yum.

BTT: Format

Booking through Thursday time again:

All other things (like price and storage space) being equal, given a choice in a perfect world, would you rather have paperbacks in your library? Or hardcovers? And why?

All things being equal? Trade-size paperback. They still have the heft of a good hardback, without the weight of the hard covers. They seem to have better quality paper than the mass-market paperbacks, and don't have the jagged edges of the hardcovers. I hate those uneven edges - they look unfinished to me.

Paloma - Kristine Kathryn Rusch

This is the fourth in her "Retrieval Artist" series, and the quality has held up throughout the series. There is one more book that follows this one. They are best read in order, because the later ones generally assume you've read the earlier ones.

The series is set in the future, when we've colonized the moon and have encountered many other species, and are trying to maintain a relationship with all of the different alien cultures. The setting is the Moon, and her descriptions of the domes that make up the city of Armstrong on the Moon are so vivid I think I could step into that world. I love the details about the food, the buildings, and the government. Her characters are also pretty well rounded.

These are a quick, light read, and quite enjoyable.

M is for Mouse

As in Mickey Mouse.  Lately I have been obsessed with planning my trip to Orlando and my one day in Disney World.  It has brought back many memories of childhood trips to Disneyland with my family.  We used to go every couple of years or so, as it was only a day's drive, and my mom always wanted to go to California for the beach.  I can remember getting up at 4 a.m. to start the drive - we would stop for breakfast along the way - and getting to our hotel in the late afternoon.  Then we would get to swim before dinner.  The next day would be Disneyland - with our first stop at the hat shop to get the Mickey ears and have them personalized.  When we were very little we would go back to the hotel after lunch for a rest and a swim, then return to the park for the parade and fireworks.  My favorite treat was the ice cream on a stick.  I can remember the A, B, C, D and E tickets, and when they started the "flat rate" ticket pricing when you had to show your pass at every ride.  

 

When I was in high school, the academic team I was on got to go to Florida (twice) for a competition.  One year we went to Epcot, the next year we went to the Magic Kingdom.  I remember those trips, but they are not as vivid as the childhood ones to Disneyland.

Strong and intense

You Are an Espresso

At your best, you are: straight shooting, ambitious, and energetic At your worst, you are: anxious and high strung You drink coffee when: anytime you're not sleeping Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Best Valentine Ever

This is the Valentine I got from my nephew - too cute!

Some stuff I found around the internets

If you like coffee, and would like a Senseo machine for only the cost of shipping, head over here and fill out the survey. If they choose you, you just pay $15 and they ship you a Senseo machine and some of the coffee pods and a canister to hold them in. I have mine already - it really works! (Be sure to use an email you check regularly, because that's how you find out if you've been chosen and get the link to pay the $15.)

If you'd like a $5 gift card to Sears just for signing up for their email ads, go here. I just heard about it today. For this, I used an email I don't check as often.

Enjoy!

NaBloPoMo Redux

So NaBloPoMo is up again, and has moved beyond November. The details are here. I think I'll join up - after all, I'm doing Blog 365 so I'll be posting every day anyway! The theme for March is "lists" - could be interesting!

BTT: After the Honeymoon

From Booking through Thursday:

Here’s something for Valentine’s Day.

Have you ever fallen out of love with a favorite author? Was the last book you read by the author so bad, you broke up with them and haven’t read their work since? Could they ever lure you back?

I have a couple that I can think of: Patricia Cornwell and Robin Cook. Also Diana Gabaldon. All of them started off great, then turned formulaic and their editors stopped editing them. Michael Crichton is very close to being put on this list for me as well. I keep hoping he has another Andromeda Strain in him. So I guess he's just "on notice," while the others are "dead to me." (Hat tip to Stephen Colbert. Hee.)

Online Book Group

Becky is running an online book group in March for Sense and Sensibility - I think I'll give it a try. (This month she's doing Their Eyes Were Watching God, but I'm passing on that.)

TBR updates

Currently reading:
Intern - by Sandeep Jauhaur
The Winter Rose - Jennifer Donnelly
Hammered - Elizabeth Bear

TBR (in no particular order):
My Year of Meats - Ruth Ozeki
Nekropolis - Maureen McHugh
The City, Not Long After - Pat Murphy
Scardown - Elizabeth Bear
After This - Alice McDermott
Firefly Lane - Kristin Hannah
Dust - Charles Pellegrino

Abandoned:
One Month to Live - Kerry & Chris Shook (This reminded me a lot of The Purpose Driven Life, which is not necessarily a good thing. I had to read Purpose Driven life in my prior life as a church secretary, and I did not enjoy it. I'm not a particularly religious person, and I especially don't care for the super-simplified version Rick Warren propounds. Christianity is complex, and I prefer my religion to be more private.)

My Soul to Keep - Melanie Wells (Mostly I disliked it because I don't care for mysteries in general. This one has a Christian slant, which on its own isn't enough to make me set it aside. However, this is also the second in a series, and I have not read the first one.)

Passport to the World

I got my shiny new passport in the mail today! If I had known how free it would make me feel I would have applied for one years ago. Now I just have to decide where to go first - and when!

Sunday Fun

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Eminence the Very Viscountess Janiejane the Foamy of Ofsted in the Bucket Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

17

That's how many books I have out from the library right now. So...I guess I should read some of them. Enjoy your Saturday!

Friday Fill-In

As seen at Musings of a Bookish Kitty:

1. I'm looking forward to spending the weekend reading and shopping!
2. Italy is a place I always wanted to visit and haven't made it there yet.
3. I've fallen in love with bargain hunting on the internet. Ebay, especially.
4. Six of one is half a-dozen of another is one of my favorite sayings.
5. Addiction is an overused word.
6. The stories my nephew tells crack me up! He tells very detailed stories about what happened in preschool, etc. He has a real eye for detail.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm vegetating in front of the TV, tomorrow my plans include hitting the mall and Sunday, I'll do laundry and other housecleaning, and read!

BTT: But, enough about books

From Booking Through Thursday:

Okay, even I can’t read ALL the time, so I’m guessing that you folks might voluntarily shut the covers from time to time as well… What else do you do with your leisure to pass the time? Walk the dog? Knit? Run marathons? Construct grandfather clocks? Collect eggshells?

What do I do when I'm not reading books? Read stuff about books online. Watch a lot of TV (sometimes while reading, though). Play video games on the computer or on the DS Lite. When my nephew comes over: play trains, or hide-and-seek, or Monopoly, or Parcheesi. (He shares my love for board games.) Watch movies.

One of the more unusual quizzes:

You Should Paint Your Room Orange

Fiery and fresh, an orange room brings intense happiness. Your orange room will set a positive vibe - and brighten up any gathering. Orange also promotes healthy communication... and stimulates the appetite!

What Color Should You Paint Your Room?

The Break-Up Diet - Annette Fix

I received an advance copy of this through Library Thing, and I really enjoyed it. This is a memoir of a woman who survives a break-up and comes out the other side a better person, with a better relationship. The "twist" of the story is that she is a single mom who is making ends meet by topless dancing while trying to establish herself as a writer. I'm so glad she was able to persevere in the writing, because she has a very fresh, easy style that is fun to read and quite entertaining. The "recipes" for things such as "doubt cake" and "guilt stew" are very clever.

The author's website has some pretty entertaining break-up stories, and a quiz, as well as some other fun stuff.

Overall, one of the more entertaining things I've read lately.

Suze Orman

In keeping with my wish to become more financially aware, I read four Suze Orman books over the weekend. Well, skimmed really, but that's all I was planning to do. I read:
Women and Money
Ask Suze
The 9 Steps to Financial Success
The Courage to be Rich

I have seen her show on CNBC, so I was familiar with her style. I thought the books were fairly informative and straightforward, although it was mostly information I already knew. She advocates keeping your records in order and paying off credit card debt, both of which I think are valuable. She's more aggressive with the investments than I am right now, but I think I'll get to a point where I'm more comfortable with that. I have an employer paid retirement right now, but I want to open a Roth IRA this year. I think her advice to become knowledgable and take control of your finances is good, and she seems intent on empowering women to do this especially. In terms of basic knowledge, I think these are good books. They are repetitive, so one probably only needs to read one of them to get the idea.

Lazy Sunday Meme

Here are the rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

The closest book was "The Stand" by Stephen King. The sentences are:
"A doctor in Sipe Springs had made some good guesses, and a pair of reporters for a Houston daily had linked what was happening in Sipe Springs with what had already happened in Arnette, Verona, Commerce city, and a town called Polliston, Kansas. Those were the towns where the problem had gotten so bad so fast that the army had been called in to quarantine. The computer had a list of twenty-five other towns in ten states where traces of Blue were beginning to show up."

I love these memes because the are so random: like the Exquisite Corpse game the Surrealists used to play. I confess we used to spend hours playing that in college; we were such geeks. I won't tag anyone, but you are welcome to play and post in the ocmments if you do!

Library Meme

I saw this over at Becky's Book Reviews and it looked like fun:

February is Library Lovers' Month)

How do you plan on celebrating Library Lovers month?
By visiting the library as usual!

How often do you accidentally spell library as 'libary' when you're in a hurry?
Well, I thought my answer would be "never" but I did it once while writing the opening to this post, so...

What is the most amount of books you've ever had checked out at one time?

From the university library as an undergrad, I think I had 50 or so out at once while working on my senior thesis. Students in the Honors Program were allowed unlimited checkouts, and the due date was the end of the semester instead of 3 weeks, so I accumulated a lot of books. My roommate and I loaded up her car with all of our books at the end of the semester and returned them all at once.

From the public library, I think 25 or so. I think they limit us to 30, so I try to stay well within that!

What is the longest you've ever gone without visiting the library?
Maybe two weeks? Right now I'm spoiled because I can put books on hold at the library and my mom will go pick them up for me, because they let us link our cards together. So I don't have to go, but still get the library books!

What is the biggest fine you've ever had?

I had to pay to replace two audio books because they were in my car when it was destroyed in a parking lot fire.

Oh, you want the rest of that story? Okay:
It was my last day of work at this company. I parked in a different spot than usual, because I scored a shady spot after lunch. The person who owned the car that was parked next to mine took their smoke break in their car. After they lit their cigarette, they tossed the match into the back seat (apparently thinking it would go out by itself?) and it landed on some newspaper in the back seat. They tried to put it out, but failed, and by the time the fire department got there my car and the car next to mine (as well as the original car) were all totally engulfed in flames. Of course, I didn't know anything about it until they evacuated our building "due to a fire in the parking lot." And there was my poor car.


Have you ever been shushed or hushed by a librarian?
In high school, more than I'd like to remember. The public library now doesn't seem to have a noise policy, unfortunately.

What is the worst (against-the-rules) thing you've ever done in the library?
Eating lunch in the law school library.

What's the worst thing you've ever done to a library book?
Nothing intentional.

Have you ever had a "favorite" librarian?
My dad was a librarian, so I guess he wins!

If you could change one thing about your library it would be...
I wish they had the budget to have a wider variety of books, and more magazines. Also that they had a noise policy.

Friday's Feast

From Friday's Feast:

Appetizer
What is your favorite kind of cereal?
Rice Krispies, but only while they are still crisp - I don't like the soggy ones at the bottom of the bowl.

Soup
When was the last time you purchased something for your home, what was it, and in which room did it go?
Do books count? I consider them part of the house! I just received "The City, Not Long After" from Amazon on Monday, and it's in my room on my giant TBR pile.

Salad
What is the funniest commercial you’ve ever seen?
I love the Geico commercial where the lizard is talking to the jellyfish. It makes me laugh every time. Of course, I have a strange sense of humor. Maybe not the funniest I've ever seen, but right up there.



Main Course
Make up a name for a company by using a spice and an animal (example: Cinnamon Monkey).
Paprika Panda.

Dessert
Fill in the blank: I haven’t ______ since ______.
I haven't been on a vacation since 2002. This explains why I am so excited about my trip in May!

BTT: Quirky

From Booking Through Thursday:

Sometimes I find eccentric characters quirky and fun, other times I find them too unbelievable and annoying. What are some of the more outrageous characters you’ve read, and how do you feel about them?

I generally don't care for characters that have something odd about them just for the sake of something odd. On the other hand, I do like eccentricities and things that make a character seem real and different. I can't think of a particular character at the moment though. I guess Dumbledore (from Harry Potter) counts as an eccentric, and I LOVE him.

Backyard garden

Flashback Tuesday

Via Wil Wheaton:
He links to 3 hours of MTV from 1983 - for those of us who remember when they played music - and it includes commercials!

TBR additions

I have 3 new ARCs to add to the TBR pile: "The Break-Up Diet" by Annette Fix; "My Soul to Keep" by Melanie Wells; and "One Month to Live: Thirty Days to a No-Regrets Life" by Kerry and Chris Shook. I also just ordered and received "The City, Not Long After" by Pat Murphy. They all look like pretty fast reads, so hopefully I can add some reviews to the blog soon!

Sunday quiz

Your Travel Personality Is: Easygoing

When you travel, you're looking for a lot of downtime. Vacations are your chance to recoup. All you need is a scenic spot and plenty of time on your hands. You'll figure out the rest. You're not one to make lots of plans when you travel. You just follow whatever path seems right.

What's Your Travel Personality?

Another meme

As seen at the hidden side of a leaf (original source is Eva):

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?

Water for Elephants comes to mind - I just can't bring myself to pick it u p. I've been burned too many times by lots of positive reviews that get my hopes up, I guess.

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?

How about a nice dinner party, and I'll invite Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice (for lively conversation), Andrew Wiggin from Ender's Game (for deeper philosophy), and Harry Potter to protect us from the dark forces?

(Borrowing shamelessly from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde): you are told you can’t die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realise it’s past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave?

Anything recent by John Grisham.

Come on, we’ve all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you’ve read, when in fact you’ve been nowhere near it?

The Odyssey - this was assigned for a college class, and I managed to not read it and still pass the exam.

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realise when you read a review about it/go to ‘reread’ it that you haven’t? Which book?

Wuthering Heights - I have this on my shelf, but I've never read it. Of course I know the story, so that makes me think I've read it.

You’re interviewing for the post of Official Book Advisor to some VIP (who’s not a big reader). What’s the first book you’d recommend and why? (if you feel like you’d have to know the person, go ahead of personalise the VIP)

This is tough - I think Harry Potter, because it's so accessible, and has a good message about heroism and family as well.

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with?

Japanese, because I would like to someday go to Tokyo and be able to read the street signs.

A mischievous fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick?

Bellwether by Connie Willis - it never fails to amuse me.

I know that the book blogging community, and its various challenges, have pushed my reading borders. What’s one bookish thing you ‘discovered’ from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art-anything)?

I've discovered so many books from reading other people's blogs - my TBR pile is always getting taller! It's good to be part of a community that enjoys books.

That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she’s granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leatherbound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favourite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead-let your imagination run free.

It would have shelves on every wall, and big comfy chairs to sit in, with lots of light from windows and lamps. It would still have my mix of nice hardcovers and regular paperbacks, but they would be arranged by genre, I think. And there would be a designated place for books that I didn't want to keep but were ready to pass along to someone else. And there would be lots of chairs for friends!

Masterpiece...

I'm not the only one who noticed they dropped the "Theatre" from "Masterpiece Theatre." Television Without Pity says it better than I can...

BTT: Huh?

This week's Booking through Thursday:

"What’s your favorite book that nobody else has heard of? You know, not Little Women or Huckleberry Finn, not the latest best-seller . . . whether they’ve read them or not, everybody “knows” those books. I’m talking about the best book that, when you tell people that you love it, they go, “Huh? Never heard of it?”

Most of my favorite books are unknown to people who don't read science fiction: "Bellwether" by Connie Willis and "Beggars in Spain" by Nancy Kress come to mind. I managed to get my sister to read Bellwether, even though she "doesn't like sci-fi."

In other news, this blog might now have been "outed" to my mother - I got a book in the mail today addressed to "Janiejane" (not my real name, of course) and she asked about it. I told her it was a name I used on the internets. So, if she googles the name and finds this: "Hi mom!"

Games

I made the mistake of checking Ebay for Nintendo games (for my little DS lite). It turns out it's a pretty good source of used games. I love video games but hate to spend very much money on them, especially because I get tired of them quickly. I managed to get Tetris, which was my favorite on the old Nintendo NES. Big mistake. However I have discovered my reflexes aren't what they used to be - or the keypad isn't as sensitive - because I can no longer make it past level 8 on Tetris, and can't escape the ghosts on Pacman. Still, they are fun to play!

Heh.

You Should Be a Politician

Confident, assertive, and dedicated - you know what you want in life and how to get it. Stubborn and opinionated, you can stand your ground... even if it's unpopular. And while you have strong views, you never overwhelm people with your opinions. A true charmer, you subtly influence people into seeing things your way. You do best when you: - Work according to your own rules - Can change the world with what you do You would also be a good lawyer or talk show host.

What Should You Be When You Grow Up?

Punching In - Alex Frankel

The subtitle of this is: "The Unauthorized Adventures of a Front-Line Employee."

The author spent a year working at various retail-type jobs, and recorded his experiences. He worked at UPS, Starbucks, Gap, the Apple Store, and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. The behind-the-scenes aspect of this was interesting, but I was expecting more of a "Nickel and Dimed" approach. This is a journalistic account, rather than a sociological approach, but it was still interesting.