Posts made in September, 2009

A few weeks ago,  a friend who is a fellow writer and reader asked me if I kept a log of the books I read. I do, but unlike her, I’ve only been keeping mine since 2002. She began hers when she was in seventh grade, and said she started it because she learned her grandmother kept a log of the books she read and thought it was a neat idea. At the time I started my reading log, I was working in a library, and I noticed a few different library patrons, usually older women, who kept notebooks of the books they had read, in some cases so they didn’t mistakenly read the same book more than once. Since, I don’t usually consult my reading log to see if I’ve read a book or not (I usually rely on my memory), I’m not sure what the purpose of my...

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve spent a lot of time behind the wheel of my car, both for work (My job involves driving around visiting libraries, how cool is that?) and for family obligations (there was a round trip to Maine which included a traffic-filled ride up to Vacationland). I actually kind of enjoy driving with the exception of that trip up to Maine. The problem with spending so much time on the road is that it cuts into my reading time. Audio books are my salvation. Over the past couple of weeks I’ve “read” Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows, The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington and I am in the midst of Looking for Alaska by John...

I tend to think faster than I type, and while I haven’t seen a manuscript that looks quite this messed up, I’ve certainly managed to creatively type a word or two. I think that’s the only reason I can actually read the text below. fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can. i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not...

I went down to the local book shop to pick up a copy of Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater last weekend. I was glad to see that only did they have the book, but they had it displayed in their front window. Their “Stephenie Who?” display suggested it might be appropriate for Twilight fans looking for their next fix. Cool as the display was, it did concern me. I’m one of those oddballs, that didn’t really like Twilight. While I can see how Twilight fans might also like Shiver, I have to point out that even folks who loathed Twilight, might still enjoy Shiver, which is a completely different book. Yes, both books have legendary fantastic creatures presented in a new and different way. Yes, both novels feature an ordinary human girl who falls in love...

When I was in college, I had to have my wisdom teeth removed. Besides the fact that this seemed somewhat ironic, I mean here I was paying all this money to go to school and get smart, and then at the same time they were ripping my wisdom teeth right out . . . what I recall about my oral surgery is how I prepared for the event. I had been told that I wasn’t allowed to have anything to eat for a set amount of hours before the surgery. Since my surgery was in the morning, this meant going without breakfast, which is not something I am normally capable of. I can skip any other meal of the day, but don’t make me skip breakfast. Knowing that I was going to have to go without breakfast, and that the next week or so would be spent eating things like apple...