Writers Workshop: Where do you want to go today?

It's been an awfully long time since I've done one of Mama Kat's Writers Workshop prompts, but today I feel inspired.

Here's today's prompt:
4.) List 5 things you like to do while camping...or 5 places you'd like to go.
(inspired by Kisatrtle)

OK, here's one thing you need to know about me: I don't go camping. I don't like bugs in my hair, sleeping in dirt, or wild creatures sneaking around my campsite--especially snakes. I have a serious serpent phobia here. The only thing good about camping is smores, but I can easily make 'em over my parents' firepit (and I have).

Anyhoo, in lieu of this, I am giving you a list of five places I'd like to go:

1. Australia
I've always wanted to visit the land Down Under, and after reading In a Sunburned Country, I'm more determined than ever to go. The people there seem so nice, so friendly, so laid-back...not to mention, their accents are rawther sexy.

And I wouldn't mind getting a glimpse of this guy, either:

2. California
There are various places in California I'd like to visit. I would love to do the tourist thing in Hollywood and L.A., of course, but I'd also like to visit the beaches in San Diego, as well as spend an extended stay in Napa Valley.

3. Quebec
I last visited Montreal back in 1995, and I really, really want to return. I went on a weekend trip with my college choir, and had so much fun. I only got a small taste of what Quebec has to offer. A good friend of mine recently spent a week there and told me all about her visit. Next year I'm begging her to take me along.

4. The Adirondacks/Lake George region
My maternal grandparents owned a cabin in upstate New York. We used to go every summer and spend a week there. Their cabin was right on the Hudson River, and they had a pontoon dock. I'd go fishing on the pontoon dock every day.

Hmmm...I feel a Friday Flashback post comin' on...

5. Italy
The land of my ancestors. My parents went on a big trip to Italy last year and loved every single minute of it. Some of my friends went on a trip a couple of years back with their choir and had some gorgeous pictures to share--especially in the sunflower fields of Tuscany.

There are many, many other places that I want to travel to, but since the prompt only required five, I'm going to stop here for now. Maybe I'll write a sequel post next week.

Now, what about you, kittens? Where do YOU want to go?

Tagged!

My good pal Vickie tagged me for this fun meme. Here's how it works:

The Rules:

1. Respond and rework; answer the questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your invention, add one more question of your own.

2. Tag other people.

What is your current obsession?
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. I never watched much of Conan when he was on at 12:35, because I couldn't stay up that late, but now that he's on an hour earlier, I love to watch him. I love his sense of humor; I love geeks and goofballs. He just may replace Brian Williams as my TV boyfriend.

What are you wearing today?
A t-shirt, capri jeans, and my zip-up hoodie. It's cool for a July day in Connecticut. It feels more like a late spring day.

What’s for dinner?
Leftover pasta and vegetables.

What would you eat for your last meal?
My Mama Cat is one of the best cooks in the world. My last meal would have to be what I ask for my birthday meal every year: pork chops with mustard, her homemade macaroni and cheese, and her homemade applesauce. I'm drooling just writing about it.

What relaxes you the most?
Reading and sleeping.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
The beach, either in the Mexican Riviera or the Caribbean.

Which language do you want to learn?
I would love to learn Italian.

What do you love most about where you currently live?
Everything I need is within a ten-minute drive or less--shopping, mall, car repair, BOOKSTORE, etc.

What style is your current home decorated in?
There really is no style. It's very simple. I've got some framed prints on the walls, some framed crochet that Mama Cat gave me a few years back, and lots of pictures of family and friends. Most of the framed prints I got from tag sales.

If you were a time traveler what era would you live in?
The 1950s. I should have been a kid or a teen in the 1950s. Times seemed so innocent then. I honestly think I was born during the wrong decade. A lot of my personal values and beliefs just don't seem to jive with 21st century living.

What is your favorite color?
I adore purple. The deeper and plummier the shade, the better. :)

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe?
The $6 Lee jeans that I bought from Big Lots. They're my most comfy pair, and they fit me very well.

What were you doing ten years ago?
I was 23, living with the rents, working full-time and prepping for my first year of grad school.

Describe your personal style?
Very casual. I don't really have much of a style, though. Can someone nominate me for What Not to Wear?

If you had $300 now, what would you spend it on?
Once again, let me remind you that I am the Bookkitten. Take me to Borders!!!!!

What are you going to do after this?
Take a shower. I'm still housesitting right now and made a quick trip home to check on my girls. The outfit I described to you earlier is what I plan to wear today after I clean up. :)

What are your favorite films?
You can't beat any of the Disney animated films, or for that matter, their live action films from the 1960s and 1970s. Think The Parent Trap, Escape to Witch Mountain, and my personal fave, The Love Bug and all of its sequels.

Your favorite books?
I cannot emphasize my love for the Anne of Green Gables series enough. I must say, however, that the Little Women trilogy is rapidly becoming an addition to my all-time faves.

Do you collect anything?
I used to collect Beanie Babies. I don't anymore, but still display my collection of bears in my living room. Right now I collect refrigerator magnets from places I've traveled, but not much else.

What makes you follow a blog?
I really love how one's personal story unfolds over the life of a blog. It's what keeps me visiting over and over again. I feel like I've made many new friends without ever leaving the comfort of my home. I especially love a person's sense of humor.

What was the most enjoyable thing you did today?
Coming home for a spell, snuggling with the cats, visiting my pals in the blogosphere, and writing this post. :)

Ann's Question:What makes you comment on a blog?
If it's a post of something that interests me, I will comment. I usually try to comment whenever I visit someone, but if I can't think of anything to say, I don't. It's nothing personal; I just don't like to try too hard when leaving a comment. I like to say meaningful things, more than just "nice post!"

Amy's Question:What is your favorite thing to do when you have some free time?
Blogging, reading, cross stitch, cooking, scrapbooking, watching The Tonight Show. (Told ya I was obsessed!)

Tonya's question:What is a talent you wished you had?
I would love to be able to make my own clothes. Amber often posts her homemade works, and she does a phenomenal job. I would love to have even a fraction of her talent!

Gena's question:As you may know, I am all about "Serene Moments", so what is your "Serene Moment"?
This may not sound so serene, but for me, it is. I love looking out my window during thunderstorms and watching the rain fall. I love to watch rain fall. I find it very peaceful. I feel the same way about watching snow fall, too.

Noelle's question: If you could go to heaven who would you see, and why?
My maternal grandmother. She died of pancreatic cancer when I was 9 years old. I knew her as the grandma who gave me toys and took me places, but I never got to know her as a woman. She sounded like a really neat lady, and I would have ached for the chance to get to know her better.

Vickie's question: Who is your favorite actor?
OK, well, Conan really isn't an actor, so I don't think I'll count him here. But I've got two words for you: HUGH JACKMAN. Love him, love his Australian accent. Me-OW!

My question: Other than Blogger, Facebook, and/or Twitter, what are your most frequently-visited websites?
I like to visit CNN, YouTube, Yahoo! Mail, and my Gmail account.

And now, I tag thee:

Jenners
Septembermom
Jodi

...and whoever else would like to participate and join in the fun! Thanks Vickie!

Little Men, by Louisa May Alcott

Yes, it is way past my bedtime, but I always try to write my reviews right after I've finished a book, and I finished this one in just two sittings. Little Men, like Little Women, is a very charming, lovely novel, and a worthy successor to the first book in Louisa May Alcott's trilogy.

In Little Men, Jo is now married to a professor and has two young sons. She also, along with her husband, Fritz, runs the Plumfield School, a boarding school of fourteen boys and two girls. There are all kinds of personalities here at the school, but they are mostly orphaned, emotionally troubled, or have learning difficulties.

Nat is one of the boys, and he arrives at Plumfield at the beginning of the novel. He is an orphan who used to play the fiddle in the streets. He comes to Plumfield on the recommendation of Jo's old friend Laurie, who was her next door neighbor in Little Women. Dan is another orphan; he is much older, around sixteen or seventeen, and met Nat during their street urchin days. Tommy has a family, but is known as the "scapegrace" of the school and is constantly getting into mischief. It is implied that his family sent him to Plumfield in the hopes of acquiring some discipline and manners.

Demi is another one of the students at Plumfield; readers of Little Women will also know him as Jo's nephew or Meg's son. He is the bookworm and moral compass of the group. His twin sister, Daisy, is also a Plumfield student, and for a while, is the lone female. This changes when Nan enrolls at the school. While Daisy is refined and polite, Nan is a tomboy who likes to stir things up.

Alcott writes about all of these students, plus a few more, and their adventures over six months time. There is no real sequence to the story; like Little Women, Little Men is presented mostly as a series of vignettes. In spite of this, however, you do see character progression throughout the novel. For example, you get to see Dan mature from a tough, undisciplined fellow to a well-spoken, polite young man. Nan remains a tomboy, but Daisy helps her become less naughty.

Overall, there is one overarching theme: in spite of their differences, all of the students at Plumfield really love each other, and have particularly great affection for Jo and Fritz, whom the students know as Mother and Father Bhaer. There are occasional squabbles and scrapes, but each of the stories has a way of resolving itself in the end, with each character learning a lesson--very similar to the lessons that the four March sisters learned in each chapter of Little Women.

It is especially interesting to see how Jo has matured between Little Women and Little Men. In this book, Jo has entered the "Marmee" role, providing counsel, love, and support for each one of her students. She meets with each student every Sunday night and discusses their weekly reports in her "Conscience Book," a book which details all of the accomplishments, and possibly scrapes, that her students have done during the week. She has great affection for her boys, and often sees her girlhood self in some of them. The love and support that Jo and Fritz give their students is evident throughout the novel, and is what keeps the reader hooked.

I was left with the same warm feeling that I had after I finished Little Women. There is one last book in the trilogy, Jo's Boys, which I plan to start tomorrow. I'm currently finishing this at 1:39 AM EDT, and really can't stay up any longer. Besides, if I start Jo's Boys now, I'll get hooked and will possibly finish it by morning...but sleep calls!

This is the latest entry in my 2009 100+ Reading Challenge, my 2009 Read Your Own Books Challenge, and my 2009 2nds Challenge. As always, click on the buttons in the right sidebar for archived lists of all of my past reads!

Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell

A year and a half ago, I had read Malcolm Gladwell's first book, The Tipping Point, and really admired his thinking processes. I had started to read Blink, but due to some difficult circumstances going on at the time, never finished it. (But I fully intend to pick it up again).

When his third book, Outliers, came out, I decided to wait to read it, and couldn't wait any longer. This is his best book yet.

On the front flap of the book's dust jacket, an "outlier", according to Gladwell, is a person "whose achievements fall outside normal experience." Bill Gates and the Beatles are considered to be outliers, but so are Silicon Valley billionaires as well as top New York lawyers. All of these groups are profiled in this book.

Outliers argues that success has little, if anything, to due with hard work, intelligence, or ambition. Gladwell insists that success is the result of the environment in which one is raised, cultural legacy, even the year and month of one's birth. In other words, success depends largely on chance.

Take Bill Gates, for instance. In the seventh grade his parents enrolled him in a private school in Seattle. During his second year, the school purchased a computer that had a direct link to a mainframe in downtown Seattle. The computer was an ASR-33, considered to be a state-of-the-art piece of equipment for its time--the year 1968. (p. 51)

Long story short, Gates eventually started spending time programming at the computer center at the University of Washington. He would program anywhere between twenty and thirty hours a week, including weekends. (p. 52)

Gates, Gladwell argues, had an opportunity to develop computer programming skills at an early age, and especially at the time when the industry was just developing. These skills, and the amount of time he spent with computers, were what helped Gates when he founded Microsoft.

The Beatles are a similar success story. In 1960, a man named Bruno, who owned several nightclubs in Hamburg, Germany, saw the Beatles play in Liverpool and invited them to play at his clubs. Between 1960 and 1962, they made five trips to Hamburg. Gladwell writes about their experiences:

On their first trip, they played 106 nights, five or more hours a night. On their second trip, they played 92 times. On their third trip, they played 48 times, for a total of 172 hours on stage. The last two Hamburg gigs, in November and December of 1962, involved another 90 hours of performing. All told, they performed for 270 nights in just over a year and a half. By the time they had their first burst of success in 1964, they had performed an estimated twelve hundred times. Do you know how extraordinary that is? Most bands today don't perform twelve hundred times in their entire careers. The Hamburg crucible is one of the things that set the Beatles apart. (pp. 49-50)

The examples of Bill Gates and the Beatles illustrate another argument that Gladwell makes about success: according to some experts, in order to achieve true expertise in any given field, one must put in 10,000 hours of practice.

If that's true, then that's a loooonnngg road to Carnegie Hall--long, but worth it.

That's just one of the factors of success that Gladwell gives. There are many more, which I won't go into detail about here. I will say, however, that the chapters on cultural legacy, particularly the one about Asian achievements in math, are very, very interesting, perhaps the best portion of the entire book. He puts up some very valid arguments here.

What I have always liked about Malcolm Gladwell is that he takes very complex, abstract ideas and writes about them in very simple terms that everyone can understand. He doesn't dumb his ideas down, not by any means. He makes them very accessible.

This is the latest entry in my 2009 100+ Reading Challenge, my 2009 Read Your Own Books Challenge, and my 2009 Dewey Decimal Challenge. As always , click on the buttons in the right sidebar for all of the archived lists!

Bored, bored, bored...really don't like it, really don't like it...

WARNING: I am a little whiny in this post today. Please bear with me.

Well, I had my relaxing, laid-back July 4th weekend. I am still on vacation. Now I am bored.

I got all my errands done last week. I'm setting up my volunteer schedule right now. The boredom will go away, but right now, I am just trying to figure out what to do with my time.

I went to bed tres late last night and woke up at 6. I am still housesitting. I only woke up early because my friend left her car behind, and someone was picking it up to take it to the mechanic for some routine maintenance. So, I had to be up, dressed, and looking presentable when the guy came. My friend said, "Oh, he'll be there somewhere 'round 7 or 7:30."

He arrived at 9. I didn't sweat it; I just made some coffee, had breakfast, and read the god-awful, newly revised Hartford Courant. (My friend has tried and tried again to cancel her subscription, but she keeps getting sucked into the sales pitch). The guy said he'd drop the car back off around 5.

Now that I no longer felt prisoner in the home, I needed to get out. But where would I go? I didn't feel like shopping, was too tired to exercise, so I decided to go home, back to my kitties.

They were glad to see me. Gabs is on the desk now, stretched out and napping.

Napping...good idea!

I'd go to the beach, gladly, but it's not warm enough. At 75 degrees, it's still cool enough for me to walk around in a t-shirt and jeans as opposed to shorts.

It hasn't really felt like summer yet. With the exception of a few gratefully appreciated sunny days here and there, it's been raining like mad here in our fair state of Connecticut. It's scheduled to rain tomorrow and Wednesday, but it's finally going to get hotter by the end of the week. Maybe there will be beach days after all!!!

It also doesn't help that almost half of my friends are out of town. My friends in the choir are currently on a tour of Prague, Bucharest, and Vienna--jealous, yet very, very happy for them. The friend I'm housesitting for is touring the same cities, but on a river cruise. (I've already told both parties to keep an eye out for them...that would be wild if they met each other for the first time!)

The other half of my friends are working during the day or tending to their families.

Well, now that I'm home, I can get my camera. I think I'll go check what this week's Friday Shoot-Out topic is, take a nap, go back to my friend's house, and take some pictures.

OK, now I've got a plan. Boring day...over! Thanks for letting me figure it out!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

Just found this via J. Kaye's marvelous book blog, and I'd thought I'd share with you what I'm reading right now.

I'm currently in the middle of four books, all of which are very good. Here's a quick summary on each one:

Little Men: I started this this morning, and am two chapters in. It's got the same warm, gentle tone that Little Women has, and I am enjoying it.

Outliers: I've read Malcolm Gladwell's first book, The Tipping Point, and really liked that one. I like the way he thinks.

Beginner's Greek: I'm already casting Cameron Diaz in the role as the female protagonist.

Holly's Inbox: This is a book told entirely through E-mails. Because of this, it's proven to be a very quick read.

More detailed reviews of each of these books will come once I finish them. Kittens, what are you all reading?

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

I was presented with the gift of Little Women when I was in the 4th or 5th grade; I can't remember. It sat on my bookshelf for years and years, never read, but very worn, because I'd pick it up now and then and flip through the pages to see what all the fuss was about. I knew it was a classic, and I had picked up its two sequels over the years, but never, ever read it.

Until now.

And I regret that I didn't read it sooner.

Little Women is one of those books that just--and forgive me for sounding corny here--warms your heart and leaves you contented and happy. It's a really lovely book, and you can really feel the warmth, love, and support that the March sisters all share with each other. Like all siblings, they have their own scrapes, arguments, and disagreements, but they recognize how important family bonds are, and this is a family bond that is very difficult to break.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part chronicles the childhood of the four March sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. Meg is the oldest, who only wants the very best, refined things and experiences that life has to offer. She is polite, well-mannered, and feminine. Jo, the second oldest, is a tomboy with a quick temper and a sharp tongue, who couldn't care less about refinement or politesse. Beth, the third March sister, is quiet, polite, does what she is told, and is the moral compass of the quartet. Amy, the youngest, is spoiled, a little stuck-up, and will do anything to fit in with her classmates.

The novel opens at the start of the Civil War. The March family patriarch, a minister, is away at war. The mother, whom the girls call Marmee, does some volunteer work for the war effort. Marmee and her daughters are extremely close, and every one of the March sisters goes to her for counsel, comfort, and confidence. (Man, I really like how I wrote that last line!)

The first portion of the novel is presented as a series of vignettes, most with a little moral at the end, where one of the March sisters learns a lesson in vanity, want, or controlling temper. For example, in one chapter, Meg goes away on a trip with the wealthy Moffat clan. Meg has always envied the Moffats and their high society ways. However, she learns very quickly that wealth does not guarantee happiness or harmony. Sometimes the sisters learn their lessons from experience, but other times from the comforting words of gentle Marmee, whom I imagine many girls would love to have as their own mother.

The second portion of the novel chronicles the girls' adulthood. Meg gets married, and finds that married life cannot survive on love alone. Amy matures and becomes interested in art and languages, and eventually finds herself on a trip abroad with some relatives. Jo becomes a published author and works to support her family through her writing; she eventually moved to New York to become a governess. Beth's health declines, but remains very supportive of her sisters and all of their accomplishments.

There are other memorable characters in Little Women other than the March family. The Laurences, the Marches' neighbors and benefactors, add a special part to the story. Elderly Aunt March also plays a prominent role. It is wonderful to see how the relationships among all of the characters deepen and mature over the years, and you feel like you're an eyewitness to it all. Alcott makes the readers an integral part of the story; she often addresses them directly.

I won't spoil you with the details of the ending, kittens, other than I will tell you that it is one of the best endings to a book that I ever read, and I found myself on the verge of tears as I finished. I really didn't want this book to end. I am about to embark on its sequel, Little Men, and hope that the second part of the trilogy doesn't disappoint. It has a lot to live up to.

This is the latest entry in my 2009 100+ Reading Challenge, my 2009 1st in a Series Challenge, my 2009 Read Your Own Books Challenge, as well as my 2009 Chunkster Challenge. As always, click on the buttons in the right sidebar for archived lists of all my challenges!

In a Sunburned Country, by Bill Bryson

I am currently writing this in the middle of the afternoon on the Fourth of July, while it's still fresh in my head. To think, I spent this most American of holidays, poolside, reading a book about...Australia.

Bill Bryson is one of my very favorite authors. I have read a few of his wonderful tomes; my two favorites are A Walk in the Woods, his account of hiking the Appalachian Trail, and The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America, where he travels the USA in, of all things, a Chevette. Anyone remember those cars, kittens, the hallmark of GM's glory days?

Anyhoo, pretty much anything involving Bill Bryson and traveling is guaranteed to be a wonderful book, and In a Sunburned Country is just that. Up till I had finished this book, I didn't know much about Australia except for these random facts:

• It is the only continent that is also its own country.
• It is the only continent lying completely below the equator.
• It's capital is Canberra, not Sydney.
• Kangaroos and duckbill platypuses live there.
• Two big symbols of Australia are the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
• Hugh Jackman (SWOON!), Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, and Naomi Watts all hail from there.
• Sydney hosted the Olympics in 2000.
• It's inhabitants have cool accents and colloquialisms.

Bryson's book is thoroughly researched, and takes you all across Australia, to areas of the continent that are still either sparsely or non-populated. Even though it's a small continent, you still have to travel hundreds of miles between tourist destinations and/or cities and towns. He writes about roads that are so isolated, that if your car breaks down in the middle of the hot Australian desert, you're basically screwed.

He also writes about how Australia, in spite of its poor soil, has produced some of the most spectacular plant species in the world, plants that cannot live anywhere else. In this same vein, he writes about the hundreds of species of poisonous insects that can kill a human being instantly. He spends quite a bit of time writing about this throughout the book, particularly in the beginning, where he writes about his fear about being stung by a jellyfish during his attempts to learn how to boogieboard.

Bryson's specialty lies in two areas, one of which is describing cultural phenomenon that are unique to Australia. For example, in chapter 7, Bryson writes about his experience listening to the radio while traveling the eight hundred miles from Canberra to Adelaide:

"As if to emphasize the isolation, all the area radio stations began to abandon me. One by one their signals faltered, and all those smoky voices so integral to Australian airwaves--Vic Damone, Mel Torme, Frank Sinatra at the mindless height of his doo-bee-doo phase--faded away, as if being drawn nby some heavy gravity back into the hole from which they had escaped. Eventually the radio dial presented only an uninterrupted cat's hiss of static but for one clear spot near the end of the dial. At first I thought that's all it was--just an empty clear spot--but then I realized that I could hear the faint shiftings and stirrings of seated people, and after quite a pause, a voice, calm and reflective, said:

'Pilchard begins his long run in from short stump. He bowls and...oh, he's out! Yes, he's got him. Longwilley is caught leg-before in middle slops by Grattan. Well, now what do you make of that, Neville?'

'That's definitely one for the books, Bruce. I don't think I've seen offside medium-slow fast-pace bowling to matchi it since Baden-Powell took Rangachangabanga for a maiden ovary at Bangalore in 1948.'

I had stumbled into the surreal and rewarding world of cricket on the radio." (p. 105)

Bryson's other strength lies in his writings about forgotten Australian heroes. Take, for instance, the tale of explorer Ernest Giles:

"In the same year that he lost Gibson in the desert and stumbled 120 miles through appalling heat [1874], Giles also explored the central regions around the area known as Yulara. One day he struggled up a small rise and was confronted with a sight such as he could never have dreamed of finding. Before him, impossibly imposing, stood the most singular monolith on earth, the great red rock now known as Uluru. Hastening to Adelaide to report the find, he was informed that a man named William Christie Gosse had chanced upon it a few days ahead of him and had already named it Ayers Rock in honor of the South Australia governor.

Eventually, too old to explore, Giles ended up working as a clerk in the goldfields of Coolgardie, where he died in obscurity in 1891. Today he is almost entirely forgotten. No highway bears his name." (pp. 246-247)

I really could go on about the different topics that Bryson explores, but if I did, I would essentially be rewriting the book. In a Sunburned Country is a very affectionate view of the Land Down Under. What I have always liked about Bryson's writing is that he writes as if you were right there with him. Open the book, read a few paragraphs, and suddenly, you're with him in Australia. I love writers who have the ability to do this, to take me places in the comfort of my own chair. I especially love how Bryson takes his readers off the tourist path, to places that tourists wouldn't necessarily explore on their own. He really gets into writing about the depth and breadth of Australian culture.

Before I read this book, one of my goals in life was to travel to Australia. Now I want to go there even more.

This book is the latest entry in my 2009 100+ Reading Challenge, my 2009 Read Your Own Books Challenge, as well as my 2009 Summer Vacation Reading Challenge. As always, click on the buttons in the sidebars for the archived lists of all of my reads!

Clip of the Week: The Jackson 5 and Carol Burnett

The Jackson 5 made many appearances on The Carol Burnett Show during their heyday. This is one of my favorite clips from their guest spots.

With Michael Jackson's memorial service coming up on Tuesday, I thought I'd pay this little tribute. Enjoy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!!!

What's the 4th without a little Bruce as part of the soundtrack?



Happy 4th everyone! Have fun and stay safe!

VGNO: Laid-Back and Independent Edition

Come blog-hopping with me! Time for another Virtual Girls Night Out (VGNO), hosted by the lovely Ann over at Ann Again...and Again. Go over to Ann's blog, find out about the VGNO, and sign Mister Linky to join in on all the fun!

Tomorrow, as you all know, is the 4th of July, the American Independence Day. Ann wants to know how we're celebrating. I'm taking the laid-back route this year; I'm not going anywhere because I have a housesitting gig. Fortunately, the owner, who is also a good friend of mine, has a pool, so you know where I'll be! Usually the 4th is a family affair: I go up to the Cat Homestead and meet the rents and lil' sis, and we all go to a fireworks display. Picnicking is often involved, as well as a lot of games of cards before the first firework goes off.

I can't believe that last year I was in Washington, DC for the 4th. I was attending a conference, and I could see the glimmers of light from the Mall, where the fireworks were set off, but sadly, not the bursts themselves. No one wanted to go to the crowded Mall, and no one knew anyone who knew someone with a "dee-lux apartment in the sky" so we could watch the spectacle free from crowds. Sooo...I watched them the way millions of Americans watched them: on TV. So close, yet so far away.

I really like the idea of a laid-back 4th. No crowds, no worries about the weather affecting our plans, nothing of that sort. Besides, over the past five or six weeks we've had almost nothing but rain here in the Nutmeg State. For the past week we've had thunderstorms and flash floods so nasty that some towns and cities had between seven and nine inches of water within an hour or two. It wasn't pretty. And one town had a tornado last week and is still cleaning up. Scary thing is, I don't live far from that town. Spooky.

Before I go, let me give a shout-out to my Canadian readers: Hope you all had a great Canada Day! How did you celebrate? And for my American readers, how are you celebrating the 4th?

See ya tomorrow! I'm going blog-hopping now! Happy VGNO!

Dear So and So...

Ahhhh...time for my weekly therapy session dedicated to those who have pissed me off who have brought my life joy over the past week.

1. Dear Mama Cat,
Why is it that, whenever I clean my house top to bottom, you never want to come in, but you insist on coming in when it's not up to your museum-like cleanliness standards? I, unlike you, am not retired. Cut me some slack.

Your loving daughter, Kitten

2. Dear A and Piss Off,
I know that the real name for your chain of supermarkets is the A&P, but I have to call you by the name I give you. You're the closest store by me, but I try not to do my primary shopping there. Case in point: last week I used the automatic checkout line, and ran into some problems. It took me longer to find someone to help me than it did to pay for my groceries. I could have spent less time paying in the line that was ten people long.

I don't even understand why I still go to your establishment...oh yeah, it's only good for last-minute items. But I hope this story understands why I don't do my primary shopping there!

Disgruntled customer, Kitten

3. Dear Sony Ericsson,
Earlier I wrote, in my Friday Fragments post, about how the front panel broke off of my W350 phone, and how I couldn't get a replacement. Well, all I can say to you is--I know why that phone was free with my contract renewal! It's the worst cell phone I've ever used, and sadly, I'm stuck with it for another year--unless I fork over $300 for a new, better phone. Which I may just do, once I save up some money to make up for my recent car repair bill.

Frustrated, Kitten

Friday Fragments: The "I'm on Vacation?" Edition

Hello, kittens! Welcome to another edition of Friday Fragments, brought to you by the good people at Half Past Kissin' Time.




How is it that I can be busier on vacation than I am when I'm working? This week was full of errands!

Monday: A routine oil change turns into replacement of my alternator belt, as well as a transmission flush. I think there was another belt replaced, too, but I don't remember which one it was. Oh yeah, and I did get the oil change done too. I have an excellent mechanic who is very honest with me; he showed me the old belt and how much it was damaged. I'm glad he does this; that way I know he's not screwing with me.

Following my visit chez le mechanicien, I had to stop at AT&T Wireless to see if I could replace my phone. I have a Sony Ericsson W350 phone, which looks like this:

I got it for free when my contract expired last year, and the front flip panel broke off. Since I'm not eligible for an upgrade, they can't replace my phone for free. They can, however, give me a small discount on a new phone--provided I pay the $75 early contract renewal fee.

Uh, I just spent $350 on car repair. No thanks.

From there it was off chez le dentiste for my biannual checkup. I had to have X-rays. Once again, they hygenist scolded me for not flossing--and she scolded me more when the X-rays came back and she found a possible cavity between my molars. The dentist himself checked it out, concluded it was not a cavity, and I've been flossing like a banshee ever since.

Tuesday: Visit to Gigi, my therapist, followed by a jaunt to the library, then the Y.

Wednesday: Started a housesitting gig. Had to drive my friend, the owner of said house, to another friend's house. A limo was meeting them to take them to JFK. They're off on a river cruise in Central Europe right now! I'm so happy for them!

I had to drive my friend's Chrysler Pacifica over to the house. I'm not used to driving a car that big, but it was kinda cool. At least I didn't have to back into a parking space.

Thursday: Took my car back to the mechanic's. The belt was still squeaking, and I was concerned. He made a few adjustments and sent me on my way. And I also got a good look at his assistant--younger than I am, but he was adorable!!!

Then I went back to my house to greet Maggie and Gabby, got some stuff I needed, and stayed for a couple of hours. Then it was back to my friend's house, where I had lunch, did some reading on the patio, then went upstairs and took a three-hour nap.

Did I mention there are lots of ants in this house? There are! And they creep up in the weirdest places. Unfortunately this is not my house so I can't invest in ant traps, but I'm tired and creeped out at finding the occasional stray ant in the bed! Yuck!

To my American pals: Happy 4th of July weekend! I don't have any plans other than relaxing by the pool. To my Canadian buddies: Hope you had a great Canada day! And to my international friends: Enjoy the best weekend ever!

I'll be at the VGNO tonight if anyone wants to stop by! See you then, kittens!

Thursday Thunks: July 2, 2009

***Apparently I published the original TT post without answering any of the questions. I don't know how I did that. Here's what I intended to post, with the answers. Sorry about the confusion.***

It's been a long time since I've done the Thursday Thunks meme. Truth be told, I was meme'd out and needed a break. But I'm back, and ready for more!

1. When you close a door, do you close it quick and just let it slam or do you hold the knob and slowly shut it tight?
Most of the time I hold the knob and let it shut slowly. But there are times, and let's admit it, kittens, that you're so pissed off at the world that slamming a door just feels so right.

2.Train A is moving at 60 miles an hour. Train B is moving at 22 miles an hour. They will pass each other at X time. Now what color shoes are you wearing when train A derails?
Black. Most of my shoes are black. But I'd care more about surviving the derailment than I would the color of my damn shoes.

3. What if M&M's grew on trees? What color M&M tree would you have?
Green. ;)

4. How many petals on a flower does it take to make it the perfect bloom?
Enough so I can pick 'em off, one at a time, and go "He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not...HE LOVES ME!!!!"

5. I took you to spend $421.67 on you, what did we spend that money on?
Uh, hello, I'm the Bookkitten! Take me to Borders for a grand ol' shopping spree!

6. If you were a squash, what type of squash would you be?
A pumpkin, cause you can dress it up on Halloween in all sorts of ways.

7. Have you ever gotten a wrong number call and ended up talking to the person for longer than 5 minutes?
No.

8. Why haven't you joined Berleen & Kimber at Insanity Cafe yet? Do we stink?
I'm already addicted to YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook--aka YouTwitFace--and I have a blog. I don't need any other addictions. But thanks for the invite!

9. Now for one of Ber's questions back when TT was brand new... Shampoo bottles say lather, rinse, repeat... do you?
Only if I can't get all the crap out of my hair during the first lather.

10. It's July, the year is half over. Do you see it as "whew that part is over" or best is yet to come?
The best is yet to come. September, October, November, and December are my favorite months of the year. I love autumn, and I especially love the holiday season.

11. Why do you do the Thursday Thunks meme?
I like answering silly questions! Brightens up the blog a bit! Gives my loyal fans another side to my personality.

Second Quarter Reading Challenge Summary, July 1, 2009

Well, kittens, it's time for an update on how I feel I've progressed with my many reading challenges. As you all know, you can click on the buttons in the right sidebar for archived lists of all of my reads; however, lately I have not been that great about updating my lists, but I promise to do this by the end of this week.

Anyhoo, here are my personal reflections on each of my reading challenges:

2009 100+ Reading Challenge: As of last night, I completed my 29th book. I'm currently reading book #30 and am about to start #31. To be honest, kittens, I don't think I'll make it to 100 books by December 31st. I think I'm going to shoot for a goal of 65 books by the end of the year. I thought I would have had more books done, but quite honestly, life and work got in the way. Which happens to many of us. However, I have to look at it this way: last year I only read maybe 15 books. I've doubled my book count between this year and last.

2009 1st in a Series Challenge: I'm a third of the way through and couldn't be happier. Book #31 is Little Women, which is the first of a trilogy. When I complete this book I'll be done with five books. I've also got a couple of other firsts on the TBR pile, such as The Mysterious Benedict Society and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I think I'll be able to complete this by the end of the year.

2009 2nds Challenge: I've got five out of the twelve books done here so far. Notice, if you click on the archived list, that I put The DaVinci Code in this one. This is the second book that features Robert Langdon; the first, of course, is Angels and Demons--which reminds me, I have to add that to my 1st in a Series Challenge! I think I'll be able to complete this one by the end of the year as well. Oh yeah, and my next book to read in the 2nds Challenge is New Moon. I have to do that tres soon; I read Twilight months ago.

2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge: I've got ten more books and I'll be done with this one! I know I can finish this one! I'm so proud of myself for really taking advantage of my local library!

2009 Chunkster Challenge: I'm really surprised at how well I've done with this one. I thought it was going to be my most difficult challenge, but at the halfway point of the year, I'm halfway done. This challenge ends November 30th, and I think I can complete this one, too.

2009 Dewey Decimal Challenge: I think I'll only be able to complete seven out of the ten categories, mostly due to time restrictions. This challenge ends November 30th as well.

2009 Pub Challenge: I think I may only complete about five books for this one, even though I've got several 2009 books in my TBR pile. However, this one lasts till the end of the year, so it's still quite possible I may finish.

2009 Read Your Own Books Challenge: I originally aimed for 30 books, but I may only be able to complete 20. However, books #30 and 31 are both books I own, so it's still a possibility.

2009 A to Z Challenge: I'm surprised at how well I've done with this! I'm more than halfway through, and I think I can do this one! I chose the authors option, and it turns out that my library does have X authors! Yippee!

2009 Summer Vacation Reading Challenge: I'm reading my first book for this challenge right now, Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country. I think I can get through this challenge by Labor Day! It's only seven books!

2009 Take a Chance Challenge: So far I've completed one out of the ten tasks, and borrowed a book yesterday to complete my second one. I won't tell you what it is, though, kittens; you'll have to stay tuned!

2009 World Citizen Challenge: I've completed three out of the nine required books. I have a feeling I'm going to cross list some of my choices with the Dewey Decimal Challenge.

So that's the update for now. I'll be back with another quarterly update at the end of September. However, if you would like instant gratification, at any time, check the right sidebar for all of the latest updates on my current reads, as well as the archived lists.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go read! Later, gators--er, kittens!

Gentlemen and Players, by Joanne Harris

I just finished this book, literally, five minutes ago, and all I can say is, "Oh. My. God."

I really can't tell you too much about this book, kittens, because there are so many plot twists and turns that I'm afraid that I will give away spoilers. Because of the number of plot twists and turns, you may wish to read it again after a while, just so that you can re-trace all of the steps that Joanne Harris has masterfully laid out in this marvelous book.

I will, however, tell you of the basic plot. The story takes place in England, at the St. Oswald's Grammar School for Boys. Roy Straitley is a 33-year veteran Latin teacher at the school, beloved by his pupils and his colleagues. He is also, as you will discover in this book, the center of a rather bizarre, twisted plot of revenge. This revenge plot is very well crafted; it starts of slowly, as a series of minor incidents, but then gradually builds up to a very, very surprising climax in the last chapter.

Joanne Harris really makes her characters come to life. I had read Chocolat when it was first published and absolutely loved it. She puts so much effort into the minor details. Or rather, what you may think of as a minor detail eventually comes along and becomes a much bigger factor in the story. I love books like this!

Now, I've said before that I'm not much of a fan of the mystery genre. I'm starting to warm up to it, though, thanks to books like Gentlemen and Players. What other mystery novels do you recommend?

This is the latest entry in my 2009 100+ Reading Challenge, my 2009 2nds Challenge, my 2009 Read Your Own Books Challenge, and my 2009 A to Z Challenge. As always, click on the buttons in the sidebar for archived lists of all of my challenges!

Watership Down, by Richard Adams

This review is a little different than usual, kittens, for I am fulfilling one of the tasks that the lovely Jenners has spelled out in her Take a Chance Challenge:

Poetic Review. Write a book review in three different forms of verse: haiku, limerick and free verse. (You can pick any book you want to write about.)

So let's start off with a little haiku. I haven't written any haiku in a long time, so I may be a bit rusty:

Disgruntled rabbits
Form their own society
In a large warren.

Haiku: done. Now for a limerick:

I just read a book about bunnies,
Which was not written like the funnies.
They banded together
In all sorts of weather
To form a new tribe of smart bunnies.

OK, not the best limerick in the world, but that part of the challenge is done. And now for the free verse:

Fiver had a premonition:
Man was coming.
Their lives were in danger.
He set out with Hazel and other bunnies
To find a new home.

They found a new home
In Watership Down
And made some new friends along the way.
They also learned
That not all bunnies are as nice and kind as they were.

They went to Efrafa
To find some does,
Or rather, female rabbits,
Because they realized, without females,
They couldn't complete the circle of life.

Efrafa was dangerous,
A strictly-controlled society.
One of their own, Bigwig,
Became a patrol officer
And planned to get some rabbits out.

Efrafa's leader, General Woundwort,
Was authoritarian and controlling.
No one left Efrafa under his watch.
He was a large, intense rabbit
Who easily intimidated.

The General learns of Bigwig's plan,
And immediately plots revenge.
Bigwig and lots of does make their escape,
But Woundwort's bucks follow.
Who will be victorious?

Will Bigwig and the escapees make it back
To Watership Down?
Will the new warren thrive?
It's easy to find the answer:
Read the book!

Kitten's final thoughts: I understand why this book is considered a classic. It's got a lot of the classic literary epic themes in it; various points in the book reminded me of passages in The Odyssey. There is also lots of commentary on political structures, such as Communism and democracy, although it is not directly stated. Read the descriptions of Efrafian society carefully and you'll see what I mean: there are spies everywhere, patrol along the borders of the warren, and bucks who are well-trained in combat.

I really enjoyed the book in the end, but it was difficult to get into at first. It took me a whole month to read. The last 150 pages, though, are where the action really picks up. It's all worth it for that last section.

This is the latest entry in my 100+ Reading Challenge, my 1st in a Series Reading Challenge, my A to Z Challenge, my Support Your Local Library Challenge, as well as the first entry in my Take a Chance Challenge. As always, click on the buttons in the sidebar for all of the archived lists!

The songs in my head

I was going to do a post on this last week, but I already wrote two "Songs in My Head" posts, and decided to postpone this one till now.

Yaya also mentioned this song in her last Friday Fragments post.

So kittens, sit back, relax, and enjoy "That's Not My Name," courtesy of The Ting Tings.

Friday at Bookkitten Headquarters

First of all, thanks to everyone who has dealt with all of my mood swings over the past month. I know I have said it before, but I will say it again: I really, really appreciate every single one of you. I really do love you all, and have missed sharing news of my life with you. Often, if I'm stressed or cranky, I tend to take it out on people, and that's not healthy. I promise you all I will be more careful about this in the future.

The regular members of the Kit Kat Club (aka The Very Best People in the Blogosphere) know that I have had a very busy, at times stressful, two months. At my job, the months of May and June are particularly stressful--and this year was more stressful than most, since I had more professional obligations. Additionally, I had a lot of social events to attend, which was always very nice, but by the beginning of this month, my body was sending me signals--fatigue, the occasional low-grade fever, tickly throat--signals which were supposed to tell me, "Kitten, slow down! You're doing too much!" Well, I ignored those symptoms--almost till it was too late.

What started off as a mild cold proceeded into a moderate sinus infection. Fortunately, it wasn't so bad that I had to go on antibiotics, but it still took me out of commission for a couple of days. Last Wednesday I went to the doctor because I had this annoying post-nasal drip/scratchy throat/colored mucus combo. The Good Doc insisted it was viral, and prescribed me cough medicine with codeine. Now kittens, please keep in mind that, prior to my doctor's visit, I had only been sleeping in four-hour intervals. I was overjoyed when I got this medicine, because I thought, "YAY! I can sleep more now!"

The meds actually made the problem worse--I started sleeping in two hour intervals.

By Father's Day, I had spent over $150 on meds--prescription and otherwise--to treat this stupid illness. Prior to that I had purchased two bags of cough drops, a ginormous box of Kleenex, and renewed the scripts for my inhalers. Finally, out of desperation, I bought a bottle of Mucinex (a wonder drug, by the way) on my way home to the Cat Homestead for the day honoring Dear Old Dad, and how did I spend it? Box of Kleenex to my left, Purell to my right, and working on work that I couldn't do Saturday because I had to sleep all day. Needless to say, I was in a winning mood on Father's Day. Mama Cat E-mailed me the next day, asking how I was, and mentioned that Papa Cat thought I had the flu. Thank God it wasn't that!

So, long story short, I'm feeling MUCH better. The Mucinex did its job, and I'm now on a regular sleeping schedule again. Plus, I'm now on vacation, which also helps tremendously.

Still, it doesn't truly feel like summer--yet. I keep checking my Google maps to make sure I'm still living in Connecticut and not in Seattle. It's been raining...and raining...and raining. Today the sun finally came out, and I was so shocked that I didn't know what to do with myself. I'm serious. I forgot what a sunny day looked like. On the plus side, everything looks so green and lush and gorgeous. Put a blue sky against the backdrop and it'll look fabulous!

Tonight, if the rain stays away (they've been predicting rain forever here), I'm going to attend a New Britain Rock Cats game with the Cat Family. We're celebrating Sister Kitten's 30th birthday. And tomorrow, I'm meeting up with some old friends for an outdoor pops concert in Fairfield. Sunday is our church's annual picnic. I'm sooooo looking forward to these events!

Oh, and one more thing before I leave you all for now...I'm back to reading again! I now have time to hold a book in my paws! I'm on page 231 of Watership Down. It was slow in the beginning, but now it's starting to get really good.

Okay, sorry about the tres long update, kittens, but I wanted to let you all know what was going on and that I haven't forgotten about you! Again, thanks so much for your support and your friendship. It really means a lot to me. Have the best of weekends!

Dear So and So...

Special thanks to Yaya for introducing me to this neat little feature, sponsored by Kat at 3 Bedroom Bungalow.

I think I'm going to enjoy this little feature, as it will help me get some things off of my chest.

1. Dear Blogger,
You have annoyed me beaucoup lately. Nine times out of ten, when I attempt to open my blog, all I get is my header, April's button, and nothing else. No widgets, no posts, nothing. And five times out of ten, I get the old "operation aborted" message. I have read in various places around the blogosphere that good ol' Internet Explorer is the culprit for this, and that Firefox is better. But could you PLEASE tell me the truth as to why you have so many...well, faults? Fix 'em soon, or else I shall defect to Wordpress.

I miss reading my blog, Kitten

2. Dear employees of AC Moore's,
Get your inventories straight! When I ask three different employees about what they sell at the store, I would like to make damn sure that I get one answer--the SAME answer--from each one! Yesterday I went to buy a yarn winder for my sister. One employee said they carried them, another wasn't sure, and yet another said that they didn't! Time for more employee training!

Frustrated customer, Kitten

3. Dear Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield,
I understand why regular Albuterol (a rescue inhaler for asthmatics) was taken off the market, due to its CFCs. I understand why I now have a CFC-free inhaler, but dear God, why must you charge me $35 for it, when I used to get it for $5 as a generic?

Hopefully I won't be another statistic in the ongoing healthcare battle, Kitten

4. Dear Mother Nature,
The last time I checked the map, I lived in Connecticut. Why, oh why, have you decided to transplant me to Seattle? It has rained almost every single freaking day this month. This afternoon I saw a bright light and didn't know what it was at first...and then I suddenly remembered, "Ah, so this is what the sun looks like."

I'm too pale for this time of year, Kitten

5. Dear Hartford Courant,
One of the reasons why I don't subscribe to your esteemed publication is that I can read it online for free. Another reason is that your recently redesigned paper is just plain awful. Well, guess what? So is your newly designed website. That and the fact that I get more local news--that is, news about my town--from our unofficial town blog than your paper. Have you forgotten about our existence? After all, we're home to an esteemed, renowned university as well as one of the country's top diners!

Feeling just a tad invisible, Kitten

And finally...

6. Dear Maggie and Gabby,
You know better than to wake up Mama when she's on vacation. For God's sake, let me sleep! And let me adjust sleeping positions every once in a while, too!

Don't worry, I still love you both, Mama