well.... sort of!!
Last night we went over to Mom & Dad's house for dinner -- we've been doing that about every other week since we moved into our new house. It's great to see them and we have such a blast together.
Well last night my dad was talking on the phone to my Aunt Maria -- while in the living room with Mom, Andy and me. They were going on and on and he got to play the "Guess who died?" game (something that I want to give its own blog entry to at some point) and then they were talking about family etc.
My mom was in the middle of saying something when I hear Dad say (with such compassion in his voice that it caught my attention) "yeah -- someone really just needs to drag her into rehab"....
and then all of a sudden I'm realizing that he's talking about Bratney Spears!!!! (spelling intentional) -- he said it with such warmth and compassion that I thought for sure he was talking about a family member or someone he knew!!!!
omword -- so I called him on it and he started nodding and laughing and we all fell to pieces.
TOO FUNNY.
That man needs a new job!! Look what retirement is doing to him!!
courtesy of Dave...
THE BOOK MEME!
* Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror? I have to admit I like all three almost equally... I might check out all three from the library at the same time, but I would read the Horror or Fantasy first...
* Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback? It depends on the size of the book and also when/where I'm reading it -- right now I'm reading a rather large hardback book and it's just too big -- wish I had the paperback version!
* Amazon or Brick and Mortar? Both -- brick and mortar get first preference... unless their price is double what Amazon is...
* Barnes & Noble or Borders? Again -- both -- I find myself choosing B&N here but the Borders in Cheshire Oaks in England was one of the big things that helped me keep my sanity. I guess you could just call me a bookstore ho.
* Hitchhiker or Discworld? I'm likely to catch some flack for this one -- but *whispers* neither. Andy adores both -- esp. Discworld, but I just never got into it -- I tried to read the Discworld books when I first got to England and of course all the subtle humor was lost on me. So about 2 years ago I tried again, and it was all right -- I kind of giggle/smirked in a couple of places but didn't enjoy it enough to carry on reading all of them.
* Bookmark or Dogear? *GASP* as a librarian -- you can completely guess my answer to this -- I can't believe people bend pages in their books!!!!! HOW RUDE!
* Magazine: Asimov’s Science Fiction or Fantasy & Science Fiction? I don't read either -- I'm with Dave -- I would read Empire or any other movie magazine before either of these...
* Alphabetize by author, Alphabetize by title, or random? Again -- I'm with Dave -- Author, in publication date order -- although I would add -- keeping series books together.
* Keep, Throw Away or Sell? Keep -- omgoodness we have soo many books. Although when I moved from the US to England I did have to give some away, and also when we moved from England back to the US, there was some more giving away (and some throwing away)
* Keep dust-jacket or toss it? Keep it -- although I will take it off and set it aside in a safe place whilst reading the book -- otherwise it gets tatty and/or annoys me!
* Read with dustjacket or remove it? See above... lol
* Short story or novel? Both although I am big on novels -- I sometimes read short stories. I seem to recall in Stephen King's book "On Writing" that he said the art of the short story is dying out -- and I would agree -- but is that because people no longer read them or because there haven't been as many out there worth reading?
* Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? Harry Potter for the camaraderie of Hermione, Harry and Ron -- I have read a few of the Lemony Snickets... and just didn't get into them as much.
* Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? Chapter breaks -- but if it's a good book -- when it finishes!!
* "It was a dark and stormy night" or "Once upon a time?" Depends on what kind of mood I'm in -- if I'm in a doom and gloom or "c'mon -- scare me!!" mood, def. dark and stormy... but if I'm in a fluffier mood filled with hope, once upon a time...
* Buy or Borrow? Borrow mostly -- we have a killer library system that just ROCKS MY WORLD!!! I usually buy if it's a book I adored or if it's something I am just dying to read that I don't know anyone who has it...
* Buying choice: Book Reviews, Recommendation or Browse? A little of each -- I will usually read a recommended book, sometimes will go and look up books reviewed in the Border's emails -- but I have also been known to browse.
* Lewis or Tolkien? Both -- I disagree with Dave on this one -- I do like the Narnia series...
* Collection (short stories by the same author) or Anthology (short stories by different authors)? Collection...
* Tidy ending or Cliffhanger? Tidy -- cliffhanger books done well are acceptable... but if you are suddenly reading along all absorbed in the story and SHAZAM it's over and you don't know what happened or why -- ummmm makes me throw the book across the room and scream.
* Morning reading, Afternoon reading or Nighttime reading? All three -- love love LOVE to read!!!
* Standalone or Series? I love series!!! Although some books are wonderful standalones...
* New or used? Both -- I don't mind older books -- like Dave said -- you just have to try to not think about where that book has been/what has been done with it...
* Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? probably Wrapped in Rain by Charles Martin -- he's a great Christian writer who has been around for a few years now -- that book took me by surprise and really touched my heart. At first the characters got my back up and kind of grated on me, but as the pages turned, I fell for them -- and wanted to be more like them.
* Top 5 favorite genre books of all time? hmm i just cannot choose... wayyyy too many.
* Favorite genre series? A toss up between the Outlander novels by Diana Gabaldon and the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan
* Currently Reading? I have about 6 books on the go at any given time -- however the one that I last picked up and read from was "Eldest" by Christopher Paolini -- sequel to "Eragon" -- an excellent book. This is the one which I wish I had the paperback for!! It's about 4 inches thick and weighs a ton.
okay -- so I've got a real thing for quotes lately :) sorry!
This one is from a rubber stamp.....
"Cats regard people as warm-blooded furniture."
I didn't know Winston and Frankie had joined together to create their own rubber stamp business!!
Two great quotes I found in a magazine --
"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."
Anne Frank
and
"No one should negotiate their dreams. Dreams must be free to fly high."
Jesse Jackson
We got heaps of snow last night -- it started mid-afternoon and steadily snowed into the night....
but the poor kids around here still had to go to school today!!
The cool thing was that my Mom sent us (my bros and me) an email reminding us about when we lived in Sidney -- we used to live near this golf course which was VERY hilly -- serious hills. And when it would snow we would head over there, sled most of the afternoon until we were too cold and wet to take any more, go home and throw all the snowsuits, mittens, hats & scarves in the dryer, have a delicious spaghetti dinner, and then go back at night.... They had lights on at
the course... and it was just so much more exciting at night because you couldn't really tell where to aim -- you couldn't see the bumps etc.
The important thing to remember was to bail off the sled before it got all the way down to where
the small stream was!!
Good times....
"If you think you're too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room."
Bette Reese