Category: lists

Time Traveling

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Since we jumped ahead in time this morning I thought I’d talk about some of my favorite time travel novels. 

Cover ImageMy favorite time travel series is by far the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.  A WWII nurse walks through magical stones and finds herself in Scotland 200 years earlier.  This book has it all – love, war, death, hatred, jelousy, political intrigue…and yes, time travel.

Cover ImageI just read this book in January and loved it.  The narrator jumped ahead and saw what the world would become.  My review is here.

Cover ImageThis book, and series, is a childhood favorite.  The world of Meg, Charles, Calvin, and Mrs. Whatsit had me reading this book more than once as a kid.

Cover ImageI loved this outrageous book.  Arthur  and Ford’s galaxy tour was a laugh out loud riot.  I read the first few books of the series, but never finished it.  Maybe I should.

What are your favorite time travel novels?

Starts with “H”

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These meme has been making the rounds and I finally decided to participate, so Heather at Book Addiction assigned me the letter H.  I am to list 10 things that I love that begin with the letter H.  Not too hard, right?  Well, let’s see…

1.  My Husband Jason is #1, of course!  He is my best friend and makes me strive to be a better person.  And he’s pretty much the best husband ever.

2. Hugs. Love ’em.  If I’ve met you more than once and haven’t seen you in awhile – expect a hug.

3. Home.  I love the home Jason and I have made for ourselves and I love going home to my parents’ house.  When I say home I could be talking about either one of these places. 

4. Holidays.  Thanksgiving is my favorite, but I enjoy Christmas and New Year’s as well.  I think Veteran’s Day is important to recognize and all veterans should get this day off work, no matter what their job is!

5. Hot tub.  Jason surprised me by buying a hot tub a few years back – while I was out of town.  I thought it was an unnecessary extravagance.  Now I think it is a de-stress necessity.

6. Hair color products.  I had gray hairs around 20, so hair color has been an important part of my life for awhile.  Actually, I’m going in today for color and highlights.

7. Herbal Tea.  This is pretty much the only healthy liquid I like (since coffee, Diet Coke, and wine are not considered healthy in excess).  Right now I’m loving Jasmine white tea.

8. Honesty.  Don’t tell me my butt looks fat in my favorite jeans, but everything else I can handle (and appreciate!).

9. Hats.  I wish I had more.  I own more handbags, but I wish I had more hats!

10. Half-Priced Books and any other bookstore.  I’m trying hard to avoid them because I need to read what I already own, but I’m not that successful!

Well, that wasn’t too bad.  If any of you want to try it  leave a comment and I can assign you a letter!

What I Learned Today

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 I saw this done on another blog (sorry, but I don’t remember where) and thought I’d steal the idea for today.  I used the Go To a Random Blog button and tried to learn at least one thing from each before I moved on.  I went 10 places and you can see what happened.  It was interesting to say the least.

On MyCoffeBreaks every post was written in a language I didn’t know except one.  The one written in English?  Lyrics to Goodbye My Lover by James Blunt. 

From Katara I learned the rules for a good, clean fight with my husband.

At Princess and Bear Go to the Movies the last 8 posts were reviews for various Friday the 13th movies.  I realized that maybe I am the only person in the world who has never seen any of them.

From Index Beating  I learned that a blog can sound just like my husband when he’s talking about work…oil, indexes, subprime, trades…

Over at Projecy Progeny  I learned the travails of a working mom and the struggle with infertility.

At Secret Angel Cat I learned about Tigerfeet, a 24 year old Tauren who loves chocolate ice cream and blackberries.

CashMattress’s Weblog  has 400 members and offers  $10 prizes for things like completing the most offers?

The Desert Duck is a funny blog written by an elementary school teacher.  I enjoyed the stories about her students.  This was my favorite of the 10.

http://bookwyrmknits.wordpress.com/ has lots of info and photos for knitters.  My favorite photo was of cute kitty, Suzy. 

 From Where is Olga?  I learned that Olga has been quite a few places.   It’s organized and easy to find specific places.  She includes lots of photos.

Go ahead and try it.  See what you can learn today 🙂

7 Things You May Not Know About Me(me)

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You are the unsuspecting readers of  Seven Random Things You Probably Don’t Know About Me.  You can thank Don (here) for these few minutes you won’t get back.

1. On my 16th birthday my parents gave me a 1980 Camaro.

2. This is one of the perks of being an only child.

3.  I failed my driving test twice before I barely passed on the 3rd try.

4. I got into an accident a month after that.

5. When I moved to Washington DC my Buick was stolen and found a few days later.

6. When I picked it up at the junkyard the attendant showed me how to start my car using a fork from the ground because my steering column was busted.

7. I used that fork for almost a month before finally getting the steering column fixed.

Now you know…

I’d like to hear from all of you, so you are all tagged!

The Rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules.
3. Write 7 random things about yourself.
4. Tag 7 people and link to their blogs.
5. Let each person know they were tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry has been published.

2009 Anticipated Books

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Here are a few of the books I can’t wait to get my hands on this year… What are yours?

Diana Gabaldon’s An Echo in the Bone

Janet Evanovich’s Plum Spooky – out next week. 

Susan Elizabeth Phillips’  What I Did for Love – out this month.  I’ve read all of her romances and am always looking forward to the next one.

Harlan Coben’s Long Lost – out in February.  Don’t know what I’d do without my yearly Coben fix 🙂

John Sandford’s Wicked Prey – out in May.  I love the Lucas Davenport series.

Judith McNaught’s Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You – out in May.  I love all of her romaces and they don’t come out that often, so I’m overdue.

Any that you are eagerly anticipating?

My favorite books of 2008

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Only one of these was published in 2008, but since I just read all of them this year it counts for the purpose of this list.  I’ve included the link my review.

5 Stars – Perfection

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen KingCover Image

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott CardCD Audiobook Cover

4 1/2 Stars – Very close to perfect

Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr

How Not To Write a Novel by Mittlemark & Newman

The Coffin Dancer by Jeffery Deaver

Splendor by Brenda Joyce

Fear & Trembling by Amelie Nothomb

A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler

Time’s Top 10 Fiction Books of 2008

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Time magazine chose the top 10 fiction books of 2008 (http://www.time.com/time/s pecials/2008/top10/article/0,30583,1855948_1864238,00.html) and sadly I have not read any of them.

1. 2666 by Roberto Bolano

2. Lush Life by Richard Price

3. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

4. Anathem by Neal Stephenson

5. Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

6. Personal Days by Ed Park

7. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Shaffer and Barrows

8. When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson

9. The Graveyard Book by Neal Gaiman

10. The Widows of Eastwick by John Updike

How many have you read?  Would you recommend them?

I’ve looked over the books I’ve read that were published this year and came up with four favorites.  Hold Tightby Harlan Coben,  Inside Out Girl by Tish Cohen, Sweet Carolineby Rachel Hauck, and Enemy Combatantby Ed Gaffney.

Do you have a favorite book that came out this year?

A-Z favorite music-Have fun with me(me)

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Don has a meme that I decided I would try.  You are supposed to list your favorite band or artist from A – Z.  I decided to cheat a little and list my favorite songs.  As you might guess from my list I spent the 80’s in junior high & high school with the big, teased hair and acid wash jeans.

I am not really into music, so don’t hate me for the choices I’ve made!  Also, some letters just gave me trouble and two songs made it on here by default (I could think of nothing better).  I’m not going to tag anyone, but if you feel like a fun challenge go ahead and join me.  At the very least it should provide good Thanksgiving table conversation!

Feel free to chime in with your two cents!  They should all be linked to the video.

Adia – Sarah McLaughlin

Burning Down The House – Talking Heads

Careless Whisper – Wham

Don’t You Want Me – Human League

End of the Road – Boyz II Men

Faithfully – Journey

Grease – Bee Gees

Hotel California – The Eagles

Imagine – John Lennon

Joy to the World – 3 Dog Night

Kiss From a Rose – Seal

Lose Yourself – Eminem

Mickey – Toni Basil

No Son of Mine – Genesis

Out Here On My Own – Irene Cara

People Are Strange – The Doors

Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody

Rock Me Amadeus – Falco

Something – The Beatles

Time After Time – Cyndi Lauper

Under Pressure – Queen & David Bowie

Video – india.arie

Walk This Way – Aerosmith

Xanadu – Olivia Newton John (obviously this one is by default)

Yesterday – The Beatles

ZZ Top’s Legs

2009 Book Challenge

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readown3I’ve decided to participate in my first reading challenge.  This one is right up my alley and it should help me clear off my shelves.  The challenge is to read books already on my shelf.  If you haven’t seen how many that is for me, check this out. 

I perused the hundreds of titles on my shelves and chose these 50 that I’m committed to reading in 2009.  I know I will read more than that, but these are titles that have been on my shelves awhile and I need to get them read! 

I know it’s early, but these are the 50 I’ve chosen…

1. A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving

2. Angels & Demons by Dan Brown

3. Second Nature by Alice Hoffman

4. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

5. The Pigman by Paul Zindel

6. Skinny Legs & All by Tom Robbins

7. The Little Friend by Donna Tartt

8. The Man Who Ate the 747 by Ben Sherwood

9. The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

10. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

11. Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophi Kinsella

12. The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve

13. The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver

14. Naked Came the Matinee by Hiaasen et al.

15. Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire

16. Summer’s Child by Luanne Rice

17. The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks

18. Mercy by Jodi Picoult

19. The Tenth Justice by Brad Meltzer

20. An Invisible Sign of My Own by Aimee Bender

21. Shoot the Moon by Billie Letts

22. Joy School by Elizabeth Berg

23. Nickel & Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

24. Damage by Josephine Hart

25. Wacky Chicks by Simon Doonan

26.. The Rival by Brenda Joyce

27. Deep Shaker by Les Roberts

28. Small Town Girl by Lavyrle Spencer

29. Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell

30. The Angel by Carla Neggers

31. Summer in the City by Robyn Sisman

32. Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner

33. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

34. Watchers by Dean Koontz

35. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

36. The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer

37. The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber

38. Bump & Run by Mike Lupica

39. Billy Budd by Herman Melville

40. Chocolat by Joanne Harris

41. Murder by the Glass by Michele Scott

42. The Stone Monkey by Jeffrey Deaver

43. The Time Machine by HG Wells

44. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

45. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

46. Red Light by T. Jefferson Parker

47. Dead Sleep by Greg Iles

48. On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon by Kaye Gibbons

49. Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

50. The Thieves of Faith by Richard Doetsch

(Yes, I’ve doubled my original goal.  I looked at my shelves and decided I needed to do it.)

My Obsessions

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I’ve been tagged by Don  to confess my obsessions/addictions.  Today I turn 37 and since I’m feeling contemplative I think I’ll list one for every year.

Flavored coffee, black is my favorite way to start the day.  And continues until the afternoon begins.

Red wine is my relaxation in the evening.  I probably like it a little too much, but it’s healthy, right?

Buying books seems like a healthy addiction, but it can override common sense.  I can go to a bookstore and purchase 10 books for a $10 and not have time to read any of them before more books find their way into my shopping bag a few days later.  I do have a reading and writing addiction which seem to fit in with my book problem.

My grandparents passed onto to me the puzzling gene.  Working on jigsaw puzzles is a good way to work out stuff in your head.  If I’ve got a problem I need to work out, doing a jigsaw is the best medicine.  I am currently finishing (600 pieces or so)  a 5,000 piece jigsaw puzzle of Florence, Italy.  I will include a picture when I get it done because it is a much anticipated achievement.

Chocolate and cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory are two addictions.  I am currently eating a piece of Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake and it is heavenly.

Ohio State football season is my favorite season of the year!  And that explains my favorite color, red.

I love my family and they are my rock.  On a related note I frequently become obsessed with genealogy when I find a new branch in my family tree.  Which leads me to trees – I love them and never feel more at peace with nature than when I am surrounded by them.  I also feel very much at peace when I am surrounded by my wonderful friends.  Cleveland has made me appreciate and look forward to snow.  On the other hand, I adore saunas.  This time of year always reignites my interest in politics (just ask my dad who was here this weekend).  I have become more interested in my blog- and in yours- than I thought I would when I started.  I check email constantly.  But I love getting snail mail.  I also love to send letters and cards. I love meeting new people and going to parties, which go together very nicely, thank you.  My only fashion addiction is Kathy Van Zeeland bags (I’ve given away everything else!) and I won’t confess to how many I own.  I love romantic movies and can watch my favorites over and over. On the TV front…I can spend too much much money at QVC, I tape The View everyday, if I’m home I watch General Hospital with only a little guilt, and when the tv is on, its default station is CNN.  I love to play board games and am a bit competitive.  Especially during March Madness when I become completely obssessed with beating my husband on our brackets.  I go to New York City as often as I get the opportunity (which isn’t often enough!).  I love getting into the hot tub on a cool night with my husband.

Which leads me to my obsession with getting my cat, Scout, to gain weight and getting my dog, Max, to lose the pounds.  Of course, my best obsession is my husband, Jason.  And for #37 I asked Jason what he thought my obsession was.  He thought about for a few minutes and said, “You like to make other people happy.”  Maybe I should just make him addictions 1-36 🙂

I’m tagging Kathy & Elena to confess their obessions/addictions.