Sunday, September 3, 2006
10:20 PM
Another dinner out with Grace. She did well, but after two hours in a crowded restaurant, I think we were ALL ready to go home and go to bed.
Before I fall between the crisp, cool sheets, here's a meme I got tagged to do a while back. Thanks to Melanie for tagging me- I rarely get tagged! I have one that Dara tagged me for ages ago, as well. I'll do that tomorrow.
1. One book that changed your life:
Oh, man. I wouldn't read so obsessively if most of them didn't change me in some small way. I remember feeling very changed after reading "Poisonwood Bible", and all of Alexander McCall Smith's books on Botswana make me feel very peaceful and appreciative of the blessings in life. Anne Lamott and Elizabeth Berg's books have also had a huge impact on me- both authors have a knack for saying all the things that I feel but can't hope to express.
Eat. Pray. Love is a recent book I've read that changed me. I need to buy that so I can read it again...
2. One book that you’ve read more than once:
A LOT. I read books over and over. I still have all the books I bought as a kid, and if I buy a book, there's a 90% chance it's going to be read at least one more time. I have been borrowing a lot of books from the library for the last few years, though- if I read something outstanding, I buy it so I can re-read it. I re-read Elizabeth Berg, Sue Monk Kidd, Anne Lamott, Maeve Binchy, and Alexander McCall Smith pretty much every season/year.
3. One book you’d want on a desert island:
Wow- I don't know. Probably Elizabeth's Berg "A Year of Pleasures" or "Range of Motion", also "Eat. Pray. Love."
4. One book that made you laugh:
Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series is funny. The last book was very funny.
5. One book that made you cry:
"Talk Before Sleep" Elizabeth Berg.
6. One book that you wish had been written:
The book that makes everyone BELIEVE that they are okay.
7. One book you wish had never been written:
Any text which encourages evil, cruelty, judgement, persecution.
I also despise "victim fiction"- those books that seem to revolve around little girls getting taken advantage of in cruel ways and who grow up and have terrible lives and then die some tragic death. Oprah selected several of these for her book club a few years ago ("Ellen Foster" and "Fall On Your Knees" were both miserable.) No resolutions- just misery wrapped up in fancy words. No thanks.
8. One book you’re currently reading:
I do most of my reading in bed before I fall asleep, early in the morning before Gracie gets up, or in the middle of the night if I can't sleep. Right now I'm re-reading Anne Lamott's "Operating Instructions" until the library opens Tuesday and I can check out all the books I have on reserve.
I also read a lot in the bathroom- recently bathroom breaks are the only chance I get during the day to be alone and quiet for a few minutes. There's some Dr. Phil book in there right now. I take in stuff that I find around here that I bought and never read and probably wouldn't read if not for the bathroom breaks.
9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:
"The Other Boelyn Girl"... there's so many books that I want to read, but somehow get lost in the shuffle of the books I HAVE to read. I check out too many books and three weeks goes by too fast and they all go back and I don't renew them because there's another stack waiting for me.
I'd like to get through "Simple Abundance"- I always abandon it after a month or two.
Okay, bed.
