The Need to Read

In the last 6 months I have reacquired my need to read. When I was a kid my mom used to sneak into my room to catch me reading late which she always said was a hard thing to punish. My dad would complain about the Waldenbooks purchases and my mom would tell him she couldn't get me books fast enough. He said to take me to the library. This is a great idea, but I had read almost all the books in my age range at the neighborhood library. I would search the shelves for a new young adult fiction book. Sometime between junior high and high school this need to read evaporated. Well, it is back with a vengeance. The problem is I have a difficulty putting a book down once I am hooked.

My current recommendations:

On Beauty by Zadie Smith
If you liked Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections you will enjoy this novel looks at academia through the feuding Kipps and Belsey family. Full of flawed characters you will love to hate.

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
For years I have said I don't like science fiction. When this was selected for my book club I was a little hesitant, but wow is it amazing. A story of an expedition led by a Jesuit priest to an alien land is full of suspense. The details in the alien culture are amazing. The narrative is difficult for some readers because it jumps from present day to the past, but hang tight because it will start to make sense. Russell asked questions about religion without preaching. Her characters wonder how can one can live in a world where God cannot be trusted to end pain. Along with the religious themes the book explored the concept of first contact with another land.

A Mighty Heart by Mariane Pearl
The story of kidnapping and killing of journalist Daniel Pearl was very difficult for me to read. The intense pain and lack of control Mariane captures in her writing is palpable. It is so unreal to me that in a country so filled with people they came so close to finding him. Her strength was and is still amazing to me.

Of course I cannot end this post without a shout out to Harry Potter. I have so enjoyed the story and will miss the anticipation of another. If you are one of few that hasn't read the books. Do it...

Obsession

I have always loved the end of a weeknight drama..."Next on." It creates the end of your seat suspense that everyone needs to stay tuned in. This is the reason that I should never be allowed to have access to an entire season of any show. I have had two such experiences (Grey's Anatomy Season Two and Weeds Season One) in the last year that have both confirmed my lame life and led to many a sleepy workday.

The most recent TV obsession: Brothers and Sisters
Days that it took me to watch the entire season on the ABC website: 4
Number of episodes: 16
Time of each episode: 42 minutes
Look on my face when alarm goes off in the morning after not enough sleep: priceless (actually this is pretty much everyday, but you will have to visit my husband's blog for any stories about my annoying snooze habits)

Now I have to give a shout out to ABC for the amazing ability to watch your show online with only three short commercial breaks, however, they should have thought about the hazard this may cause to people like me.

Description of such hazards:

• Trying to wash your hair with shaving cream.
• Feeding your dogs the wrong food or in some cases feeding one dog twice while the other dog says, "What the..."
• Sending emails to incorrect people on Microsoft Outlook. Remember, if there are two such people with the same first name it will send the email to the most recently send Tom instead of the one the Tom that you intended to send the email.
• Knocking over an entire 20 OZ bottle of Diet Mountain Dew on your keyboard and then trying to clean it up with a towel your office mate cleaned up urine with (I work with dogs, OK!).
• Wearing the wrong bra with the wrong shirt in a cold building. Gals, you know what I mean here.

As you can see, I would recommend against this obsession. I have seriously thought about attending my own twelve step program, but I think I will just stick to avoiding the free downloads and staying away from the TV rental section at the Blockbuster.

Sort of Sonnet

Not a lot of time because I am preparing to go out of town to Austin to visit my parents (Hooray!). I took a creative writing class at Metro this quarter to have something to do during the winter that didn't involve complaining about how I hate winter. I wrote several poems and thought I would share one with my readers...all four of them. The assignment was to write a "sort of sonnet." We didn't have to adhere to every rule, but just a few. For more on sonnets visit: Wikipedia. This sonnet materialized out of a journal page written about what was under my bed. Enjoy!

My Bed

There is an eddy under my bed

The swirling of dirt is like a tumbleweed; light and airy

The tent of poplin sheets contains the dread

The swing of the door pushes the particles and causes them to marry.

The socks trapped in the dirt are unwilling guests.

They would much rather do the jobs of warmth holder.

The dust clings to the chenille ripples to create a mess.

Retrieving these defacto swiffers is hard on the shoulders.

Newsprint, magazines and assorted papers fall victim to the suction

The papers are wrinkled and ready to meet the recycle bin.

The space heater brings in the winds and rustles up a disruption.

The papers rise off the ground, elevate and then drop like a fish fin.

The bed seems to breathe these objects in and out.

It is a breathing animal that will eat anything; a goat.