Safe and Sound

I love reading.  I finished Catching Fire Friday afternoon

and immediately started Mockingjay that evening. 

I read a couple hours on Friday, most of Saturday afternoon, and finished it early Sunday morning.  If you haven't started reading The Hunger Games trilogy, start it RIGHTNOW.  I totally didn't think I'd like it after reading the synopsis on the back of the first book so I put off reading it, but when my brother-in-law finished the first book, read the entire second book, and started the third during the three and a half days I saw him at Thanksgiving (which prompted my sister to spontaneously pick up the first one, finish it, and start the second one during the same time span and then loan the first one to L, who read all three in the week after Thanksgiving), I figured it needed to get moved up on my list.  L has now read the first two twice and was going to start the third but I needed it so I could read it for the first time.  I read all seven of the Harry Potter books (which are great) and the entire Twilight saga (which I finished, but somewhat begrudgingly so), so it would stand to reason I'd probably like The Hunger Games, but I have to say I was shocked that L read them all and 2/3 of them twice because L doesn't usually care to read fiction, and certainly not YA fiction.  Go buy all three and start reading them.  Especially if you're off today.  You can have the first book finished by dinner if you start before noon. 

It goes without saying that I'm psyched to see the movie.  Good thing I only have about 9 weeks left to wait!  And I do love the song Taylor Swift and the Civil Wars collaborated on for the movie.  I played it for L tonight and he thought it was fantastic.  Beautiful, but slightly haunting... it's perfect.

I'm on to The Night Circus now.  I'm about 40 pages in and so far I have mixed feelings about it.  I mean, it's no The Hunger Games, but then, there are also at least twice as many words per page and where TGH is written at probably a 6th grade level, The Night Circus is definitely for the AP English crowd.  Probably it wouldn't seem so advanced had I not just come from three YA novels.  The stimulation is kind of nice, though.  Refreshing.  Now if only it will hook me into the story sometime in the next few chapters...

Those Sweet Words

Just following suit on this one.  A run-down of books I read in 2011 that are worth sharing.  No order of importance; just the random order in which I read them:

Half-Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Bossypants by Tina Fey

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

One Day by Dan Nicholls

Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe

 

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins



Not exactly a stellar list in terms of quantity (although I did read a few more that I didn't include on here, either because they were re-reads or because they weren't worth mentioning), but I do feel the need to point out that Gone With the Wind is more than 1,000 pages.  In terms of quantity, it's a GREAT list.  I absolutely recommend any of these.  Goal for 2012: read more.  I'm already working on this one.

Reading Rainbow

I just had such a great and exhausting weekend, like the kind that's so packed full of stuff that you need a day off to recover from it.  It's not going to sound nearly as full in my retelling, but it felt non-stop to me.

L and I stayed in on Friday and layed low.  I knew I had to be up at 7:20 on Saturday morning because I was volunteering at the National Book Festival via JLW.  Apparently at some point on Friday night, L mentioned that he had to go in to work on Saturday morning.  I have no recollection of this.  This is just the latest in a series of events where he tells me something when I am completely awake and having a conversation with him and I end up with absolutely no memory of that entire part of the discussion. We are currently in an ongoing debate about whether I am becoming incredibly forgetful (which seems unlikely from my vantage point because have you met me?  I have a memory that tends to stun some people) or if he's having a one-sided conversation in his head.  So far, neither of us is budging on our stances.  This could all be a horridly clever joke in which L makes me believe over a span of several years that I am beginning to lose my mind at the mild age of 30.  Except that is so mean and unkind.  I'm all for jokes and cleverness and building to a punchline, but this would be excessive.  Thoughts?  Anyone out there know that maybe I really am only amazing at remembering some things and horribly forgetful with others?  Seriously, I'd like to know.  Right now I'm hearing crickets from the lack of responses. (Seriously, as I type this, the neighborhood crickets are gathering on my front porch and chirping away.  Apparently it's high cricket mating season in these parts.)

BACK TO THE POINT.  So yeah, I was up and at it at the early out of 7:20 on Saturday morning.  I debated about whether to shower, so as to be so fresh and so clean, clean, but then I did a quick weather check and opened the front door and realized that 100% humidity = not awesome for the hair, even if it was going to be under a JL hat.  Also, I'm smart enough to know that this situation would only create an extreme hat hair sitch that would require a post-volunteering shower, so instead I just dolled myself up as best as possible, threw on my NBF staff t-shirt and sassiest khaki pants (is there such a thing?), and off I went to the Metro.  I'm thrilled to say I definitely saw a girl in the midst of a ride of shame.  So far, the one great thing about having to get up early on weekends for JL activities is that EVERY TIME, I've seen someone shame riding home on the Metro.  Hilarious.  The juxtaposition of all the volunteers in our staff shirts and all the families with their small children heading off to a wholesome family event and this lovely young lady with her hair pulled back in a messy pony tail and wearing a black, lacy dress with a man's jacket of sorts over it just makes onlookers bite their lips in an attempt to not smile/laugh at the poor girl.  Yes, I was one of the onlookers.  I wanted to take a pic but I just couldn't do it.  Going home at 8:30 a.m. wearing a dress from the night before with a dude's long-sleeved shirt/jacket and messy hair and make up while you sit next to families who are just starting their days has to be mortifying.

I was excited for the National Book Festival because I missed it last year.  (If you have to miss an event you really want to go to, I highly recommend going with 3 of your closest friends to Las Vegas.  Totally worth it.)  A little background info for you: NBF was started by Laura Bush during #43's first year in office.  She also started the Texas Book Festival and NBF is based off the success of TBF.  Having never attended TBF or NBF before, I had no idea what to expect, but based on the info shared in our volunteer training last Wednesday night, I knew it was going to be a pretty sizable event.  It's held on the Mall and spans seven blocks.

I rolled in on Saturday and checked in and went to my assigned tent, the Pavilion of States.  Each state and territory sent representatives to the festival to promote literacy and reading.  Because I had the first shift of the day, I was able to choose which state's table I wanted to work at.  I chose Texas. Obvi.  The Texas table:

Sorry you can't actually see the table.  We were very popular because we were giving out a lot of free stuff, and people freak out about free stuff.  To the parents who wanted the bulk packages of bookmarks (100 in each package): what exactly does your one seven-year-old need 100 identical bookmarks for?  Those are going to get thrown in the trash.  Stop being quite so greedy and just take a handful of the single ones and let the teachers and librarians take the bulk packages.  Seriously.  Because one or two bookmarks might be cool to your child or nephew or grandchild.  One hundred of the exact same one over and over again is overwhelming and boring.  Our nextdoor neighbor was Guam.  They were pretty cool. 

I spent the morning passing out bookmarks, posters, maps, brochures, encouraging teachers and librarians (of which there were hundreds) to enter a drawing for children's books, and stamping maps for kids as part of a game sponsored by the festival where each participant got a blank map of all the states and territories and was supposed to visit each state/territory's table and receive a stamp or sticker in the state's shape on the map.  Once the map was filled in, the child received some sort of prize.  No idea what it was, but it was fun stamping the maps.  We had 3 Texas stamps: a mockingbird, a bluebonnet, and I can't remember what the other one was because we misplaced it.  Or someone stole it off the table.  Either one.  Honestly it's a toss up.  Anyway, for you Texans out there, you might notice a theme with the two stamps I can remember: state symbols (mockingbird = Texas state bird, bluebonnet = Texas state flower).  I opted to use the mockingbird stamp because it was bigger, the ink was darker, and it was just more fun.  What I learned from this is that most people are idiots when it comes to birds.  These same people think they are brilliant.  99% of the people whose maps I stamped thought it was a roadrunner.  I found this annoying.  New Mexico's bird is the roadrunner.  Yes, we have roadrunners in Texas.  We also have a gazillion other species.  It doesn't mean the stamp is a roadrunner.  That would be so random.  I may or may not have almost gotten in an argument with a lady about this.  I don't even know why she was getting the map stamped in the first place; it was an activity for children.  Regardless, this otherwise nice-looking lady insisted I was incorrect, despite my explanation that I was from Texas; the state bird is a mockingbird; mockingbirds have feet, just like roadrunners (the bird on the stamp was standing, not in flight); and that the stamps were symbols of Texas.  We seriously went back and forth for a full minute, which was a long time given the number of people that visited our table.  Most people stayed for 20 seconds or less.  FYI, this is a roadrunner:

via CardinalPhoto.com

And this is a mockingbird:

via Flickr

I suppose it's the long tails, feathers, beaks, heads, and dual feet and wings that got her.  We eventually agreed to disagree.  That was my doing.  It was time for her to move on and be an expert about some other unlucky state or territory's stamps or stickers. 

A word to the wise: do not argue with me about a state stamp.  Particularly if it's a state where I lived for 28 years and you have only visited, even if your dad did own an RV that he took to Big Bend and named "The Roadrunner."  (And if you're going to be such an expert on Texas, "that area by the river... you know, the Rio Grande" is called Big Bend.) I will not back down. I will not be mean or rude, but I will refuse to let you win.  Because you will be wrong.  Very, very wrong.  IT'S. A. MOCKINGBIRD!  After that lady left, my annoyance with every parent saying, "Oh, it's a roadrunner!" when their child proudly showed their giant Texas stamp to them only grew.  Obviously the only response to this was to beat them to the punch.  For the remaining 3 1/2 hours of my 4-hour shift, I would stamp each map and loudly say something to the effect of, "There's a MOCKINGBIRD for you!!"  It worked about 70% of the time after that.  I effectively got a child who was about 4 to correct his parents when they told him it was a roadrunner.  That was satisfying. 

You might be wondering at this point if I actually enjoyed myself or if I was just angry and contradicting patrons the entire time.  I actually had a fantastic time and met a lot of fun people.  I'm pretty sure I'll never see any of them again, but nevertheless, it was fun.  I was exhausted by the time my shift was over, though.  It's funny how just being on your feet and being "on" and bending down to talk to children will just take all your energy right out of you.  It's also un-funny how those same things will make your hamstrings tighten way up later in the day. 

If you're wondering what the big draw of the festival was, it was everything.  There were 105 authors present and all participated in book signings and readings/presentations.  Among them were Toni Morrison, Julianne Moore (yes, the actress; she has 3 children's books under her belt), Amy Chua, Tomie dePaola, Garrison Keilor, and Dave Eggers, along with all kinds of characters from kids' books, e.g., the Magic School Bus: 

I didn't see any of the aforementioned authors, to my dismay, but there were TONS of people at the festival.  This was the line to buy books at the merch tent:

You can't really tell, but there's about 6 lines of roping that stretched most of the width of an incredibly wide tent.  Insanity.

Honestly, I actually didn't know which authors were going to be there until the training session on Wednesday night and even then, I realized I was only familiar with a small handful of them.  However, I was super excited to see the name of Joe Hayes on the list.  Joe Hayes is somewhat of a legend in my family.  I have no idea how my dad found him (and rest assured it was absolutely, 100% my dad that discovered him), but we spent many an hour with Joe Hayes's stories.  If you don't know Joe Hayes (and I'd be shocked if you did), he's a children's author and storyteller.  And he's fantastic.  Mr. Hayes is from New Mexico and tells "bilingual" stories (in quotes because he interjects a line or word here and there in Spanish and immediately interprets it) about the Southwest, Hispanic, and Native American heritages and folklore.  The stories are very clever and some have a fable aspect to them in that they may have a moral to them.  My family saw him live at least twice when I was a kid and we stocked up on cassette tapes at each performance. (Is it a performance if it's a storyteller?  I have no idea.  Just go with it.)  Joe Hayes (along with Garrison Keilor and his A Prairie Home Companion) then became the entertainment of choice on family road trips.  You can imagine my delight when, upon reviewing the list of authors and seeing that both Mr. Hayes AND Mr. Keilor would be attending, I realized the sub-theme of the 2011 NBF was A Road Trip with TeamLC's Family: 1983-1988.  I went back to the festival on Sunday specifically to see Mr. Hayes and I'm so glad I did. 

In an ironic twist for me, he presented at the same time as good ol' Garrison Keilor.  Since he doesn't seem to have quite the national fame that GK holds, the crowd in the children's tent* was much more intimate.  I liked it that way.  Mr. Hayes told 3 stories and each was as entertaining as I remembered them being.  Made me feel 5-ish again.  His voice still sounds exactly the same and he still does the same funny voices.  I kind of geeked out about the whole thing.  At the end of his performance, he invited all the children to come up and shake his hand.  I hung back and waited for the kids to do their thing and then I went up and introduced myself and told him I grew up listening to his stories and that I was excited to see him again, etc.  He was so cute and nice and he hugged me and thanked me for coming.  I kind of wish I'd gotten a picture with him, but I'm okay with a handshake, a hug, 3 stories, and the pics I posted here.

If you want to check out one of his stories, watch him here:

http://youtu.be/ZOJ2588D4oI


Other weekend activities of note: watching the A&M and Baylor games.  We met the FBIs at Rhodeside for the A&M game which could only be summed up as disappointing.  Because Rhodeside hosts the official watch parties for UT, they get all Fox Sports channels and therefore they had the Baylor game showing once the A&M game concluded.  We stayed until halftime and then L decided a change of venue was a necessity because Baylor managed to blow a small portion of their massive lead over Rice, so off we went to Crystal City Sports Pub to meet up with the official Baylor watch party crew.  (In case you're wondering, L's friend date guy was there.  Things are going well and he seems nice, although he did try and trash talk A&M again.**  But I was nice and gave him back his very dirty Snuggie Sutra book.)


Off topic: a game Champagne and Sprinkles and I frequently play is, "Guess what horrible name I just stumbled across."  Basically, we text, email, or gchat each other any time we encounter an unfortunate name.  A name is considered unfortunate when the spelling is intentionally messed up or when the name is just ridiculous, and it can be ridiculous for countless reasons.  Tonight's find, courtesy of the credits of Gossip Girl's season opener: Zuzanna.  People, please don't punish your children by making up a weird name to make yourself appear unique.  You know Zuzanna has lived a lifetime of saying, "Hi, I'm Zuzanna.... Like Susanna, but with a Z."  Don't make your child clarify spelling for life, and if you must, at least keep it simple, like Sarah versus Sara (I still prefer the h - all the best Sarahs in my life have the h).

*Side note: yes, this was in the children's tent and it was attended mostly by families.  I felt slightly creepy about being the one random adult there by herself, because I totes rolled solo to this event. (L had plans to go see Wilco with a friend.) 

**For as much as people want to say all Aggies can focus on is screwing Texas by leaving the Big 12 instead of on the fact that we're having a good season, I have to say I see the same thing from many Baylor grads.  They focus on the fact that A&M lost their game instead of on the fact that Baylor pulled out another win.  CAN'T WE ALL JUST BE EXCITED FOR OUR TEAMS TO BE WINNING AND THAT WE'RE HIGHLY RANKED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS?? 

As I mentioned earlier in the week, L and I went to a Big 12 Kickoff event two weekends ago with a fellow Aggie friend of mine and her boyfriend. We ended up sitting at a random Baylor table because the A&M table was already at capacity (in case you’re wondering, A&M definitely had the highest turnout) and also because it was a table for four and no one was sitting there. It worked out nicely since there were four of us and we could say we were legit because we had L with us. ANYWAY. The whole point of the event was to get excited about football season and for the groups from each school to sing their fight song or school song (mortifying, btw*). My friends and I were using it as an excuse for something to do and to possibly find out if there are other friends up here that we weren’t already aware of.

I’ve also mentioned several times on here that I’ve been on quite a few friend dates since moving up here. L, on the other hand, does not friend date on his own, or at least he hasn’t thus far. There’s a small possibility that he may have gone on a few FDs prior to me moving up here, but I feel like I’d remember them. Maybe not, though. So getting back to the point. Lots of Baylor people stopped by to introduce themselves since we were at one of their tables and of course they all focused in on L when they realized he was the only BU grad with us. Although he probably wouldn’t admit it, he seemed a little… um… energized? to meet some new Baylor enthusiasts once we were there. One guy came over later in the evening and told L he recognized him but couldn’t place him. They talked for a while and realized they have a lot of mutual friends. Imagine my surprise when I turned around later on and found them exchanging cards and what sounded like plans for the following weekend to watch the first football game together at the same bar.  I was quite surprised because L definitely went into the evening very begrudgingly and very much like, "I'm doing this with you because I know want to do it."  When I heard L making plans with the new guy (who shall hence forth be referred to as Mr. Snuggie), I was determined to see them through.

Fast forward a few days and L started feeling the tingles of excitement that the first weekend of college football bring each year.  I knew the Baylor game was to be held on Friday night so I started asking L what he wanted to do and where he wanted to watch it.  He was a little cagey about it and wouldn't commit... but I gently persisted and asked him if he was going to call Mr. Snuggie.  I was informed that L might need to have a private viewing of the game since he didn't know what to expect from his team (he's very emotional when he watches his Bears; the highs are very high and the lows are very low) and he didn't want to scare people if things went poorly.  And then I got some news on Thursday night!  An excerpt from a gchat conversation with Champagne and Sprinkles:

me: okay something funny


that is kind of a big deal

is that one of the baylor guys L met last week emailed L to see if he wants to meet up and watch the game tonight

they exchanged cards last week

L was being all like "meh" about it last night

and i was like, "NO, WE ARE GOING!"

that guy is not good at friend dating

Champagne & Sprinkles: hahaha

me: ("that guy" is L)

and this is totally a friend date
 
 
THAT'S RIGHT, L was totally asked out on a friend ate!  And by someone so normal!  I was excited.  I want L to have more guy friends here and it's always nice when you get asked on the friend date and don't have to do the asking.  Obviously we went and watched the game with Mr. Snuggie.  I had to put up with A LOT of trash talk about A&M (the majority of which came from Mr. Snuggie... who mistakenly thought I went to UT... and didn't realize his mistake until well into the 3rd quarter because someone was extra classy and held her tongue and close-mouth smiled through all the insults), which was so lame and annoying.  Especially since Mr. Snuggie is from California.  It's not like his whole family went to various other Texas schools and therefore he grew up with lots of animosity or rivalry towards A&M.  His is all built up from his time at Baylor.  Ridic?  I think so!  I thoroughly enjoyed the backpedalling that occurred when it finally came out that I went to A&M.  Hilarious!  I mean, if you're going to talk trash, have some conviction about it and stand behind what you're saying.  Don't change your tune just because you find out someone in your presence is part of what you're talking trash about! 
 
Anyway.  If you're wondering why the new guy is called Mr. Snuggie, it's because a female friend of his showed up halfway through the second quarter and brought a gift for him.  What was it?
 

 
Yeah, that's a book entitled The Snuggie Sutra.  And those are cartoon characters in snuggies sharing intimate moments together on the cover.  I have no idea why Mr. Snuggie's friend gave this to him.  They are definitely platonic friends.  I didn't probe too much about what led to this gift.  If you're wondering what the content is like, this is the introduction:
 

 

At this point, I've likely lost you because you're probably either frantically searching for where you can buy this book (I'm guessing Urban Outfitters, although that is literally just a guess) or actually grabbing your keys and getting in your car because you're so excited to get a copy for yourselves.  I know, it's that good, right?

 

We actually ended up bringing The Snuggie Sutra home because Mr. Snuggie accidentally left it at the bar.  And for those of you with the dirty minds wondering if we've been getting it on snuggie-style, get your heads out of the gutter.  We have not read up on any tips for how to incorporate a snuggie into our most private of moments because, much to my chagrin, I do not have a snuggie.  Footed pajamas?  Yes.  Blankets galore? You bet.  But no snuggie (mostly b/c of the plethora of throw blankets/afghans). 

 

*Do you find yourself wondering why on earth it would be embarrassing to sing your school’s fight song? Imagine standing up (begrudgingly) and realizing some dude is going to pretend to be a Yell Leader for your group of ~60 people. Then he leads your group in a round of BTHO TU. (Can’t even believe I just typed TU.) THEN he continues leading the group in the fight song (complete with the hand gestures to keep the time)… followed by another round of BTHO Big 12. That last part was funny. Also it was a retort to the rest of the room singing, “Na na… na na na na… hey, hey, hey… goodbye” (also funny and very clever, as it had just been unofficially announced that A&M was pursuing other conference options) to all the Aggies as we were standing up and moving together for our whole production.

Turn the Page

I read a lot.  There's rarely a time when I'm not reading something, and actually I'm almost always re-reading something while I'm reading something new (which is exactly the case at this very moment... I'm actually 80% of the way through re-reading Bergdorff Blondes, 60% of the way through re-reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and I am in the midst of deciding on my next new book to read).  Our Labor Day weekend was the best I could have asked for: filled with absolutely no responsibilities, plans, or obligations.  We thought at one point we'd perhaps go visit friends in Philadelphia, but ended up just staying here and while I really want to make it to Philadelphia sometime soon, I'm so glad we stayed here. We haven't had 3 days of with nothing scheduled to fill them in years. Seriously, maybe not since we were dating.

Anyway, amongst other things, I decided to hit up a pool in Clarendon on Saturday while L played golf.  It was a little rainy when I got there, so I hit up Barnes and Noble while I waited for the drizzling to pass.  After browsing for all of 3 minutes, I picked up a book because I liked the cover and tried to decipher the plot line by reading the back cover.  No luck.  The fly pages were filled with reviews, but I still couldn't figure out what the plot was, so I just opened the book up and read the first four pages.  I was hooked and immediately knew I that one was going home with me.  After killing another half hour or so, I headed to the pool and immediately continued reading where I'd left off in the book store.  I took two five minute breaks to use the restroom; an hour break to talk to Champagne and Sprinkles; and another half hour to drive home, change clothes, and catch up with L on the day's events.  I finished the book before the LSU game started that night.  The book was that. good.  What book was it?
 

Seriously, I can't stress enough how good this was.  I can't wait to give it to my parents and sister to read.  It's just so well-written.  I'm also craving a dog now, but we'll see... we have hesitations surrounding that at the present time.  But we know it's coming some day.  ANYWAY, I cannot recommend this book enough.  It's just so fantastic.  Especially if you're an animal lover (particularly in regards to dogs).

Other recent good reads include:

 Bossypants

and Gone With the Wind.  It took me like 3 months to finish GWTW because it's so long (specifically 1100 pages, if you have the version pictured above.  There are shorter versions, but it's only due do page layout and font size.  Regardless, it's amazing and one of the best books I've read; READ IT if you haven't. Far, far better than the movie, which is wonderful.)

I find myself in a quandary now.  What do I read next??  Send any suggestions my way, por favor.  I didn't expect to finish Racing in the Rain so quickly so I don't have any ideas yet.  Help!

Turn the Page

Back in December, my Junior League committee decided to do a white elephant book swap to celebrate the holidays instead of holding our regular monthly meeting.  The idea was simple: everyone should bring a copy of a book they'd recently read that was 1) good, and 2) from their own personal book collection.  I was on board, although I knew I'd have to buy a new one.  It's hard for me to part with any book that is really good.  If I really enjoy a book, I'll totally re-read it multiple times and each time, it will bring me pleasure.  Between that and the fact that I definitely cleaned out my book collection when I moved (now it consists of only the best of the best books), there just wasn't one I was willing to pass on.  I reviewed all the books I'd read in the last 3 years or so and debated a lot and finally decided the book I'd take would be Same Kind of Different As Me.

Y'all, this book was amazing.  My mom had read it before me so I borrowed her copy and when I did, she told me to keep the Kleenex handy when I got about halfway through.  My Austin book club put it on our reading list for January 2009 and every single one of us loved it.  We all cried our eyes out at the same point.  I can't say enough good things about it.  If you haven't read it, here's the gist: it's a true story about how two very different men come to know one another.  Sound interesting?  No, it probably doesn't.  But the way it's written is just so perfect.  It keeps you intrigued.  It's an unlikely story.  And more importantly, it really shows you the good will and kindness of mankind.  It's the ultimate feel-good story, and I don't think there's enough stories like that right now on a daily basis. 

ANYWAY, I was so excited to share this book!  I wrapped it up knowing that it's more fun to unwrap something than to just view a selection and choose from a bunch of unwrapped books on a table, and also because I knew that there would be few people who would know the title and want to read it based on that.  Look at that picture above of the cover.  It doesn't necessarily scream, "I'M THE BEST BOOK EVER!"  So I figured a little pretty wrapping paper and a nice bow wouldn't hurt its chances.  My book was opened about a third of the way in, and all I can say is that the girl who opened it was clearly disgusted that it wasn't something she'd heard of or that looked better in her eyes.  She sneered.  The sneer definitely said, "I'll be donating this at my next gift exchange or to Tossed and Found, whichever comes first."  I was crushed.  Yes, I felt sorry for my book.  FOR A BOOK!  But I should have felt sorry for this inane girl who was literally judging a book by its cover because if she never reads it, she's totally missing out.  I told several friends of mine who aren't on my committee about the whole experience and recommended that they give the book a shot if they were looking for something to read. 

Fast forward 4 months and last night, after another JL function, I took a friend home and she told me that she'd read it and that she LOVED IT!  I was so relieved by this for some reason!  I mean I was really wondering if my Austin friends and my mom and I were all just crazy about it because we lived in Texas or what (the book is set in Fort Worth).  Nope, my friend said she devoured it and balled her eyes out on a plane while she was reading it.  Yes, that made me feel relieved.  I realize that is so silly, but wow, it's nice to feel justified.  AND to know that the sneering girl on my committee who was lucky to get my book is so wrong and totally missing out.

To close, here's my shameless plug: go read this book if you're looking for something good to read.  It's non-fiction, it's fairly short, and it will show you some of the good in the world.


And actually, that's not my closing.  I have a favor to ask of whomever reads this.  Pink Slip Gourmet's family is in need of prayer support right now.  Long story short, Pink Slip's brother and sister-in-law went on a walk on Sunday evening and her sister-in-law went into sudden cardiac arrest and collapsed.  She stopped breathing and her heart stopped pumping.  She's only about 36 and they have three young children.  She was rushed to the hospital and was later flown by Care Flight back to the city where she and Pink Slip's brother live with their kids.  She is still in ICU, but she is now breathing on her own.  I'm asking all of you to pray for the good doctors who are caring for her and for them to provide the knowledge and skills that are needed to help her heal; that she comes out of her unconscious state soon; for healthy cardiac and neurological functions when she does regain consciousness; and for the family, particularly her husband.  This is a hard time for their entire family and I can't even begin to fathom what they must be going through.  So if everyone could just add another item to their prayer list, I would appreciate it, especially if you don't know Pink Slip or her family.  Thank you!

Read My Mind

I'm a big fan of reading.  I'm not one of those people who only reads a certain genre; fiction, non-fiction, youth (yeah, I've read all of Twilight and Harry Potter and I'm so not ashamed of it), cookbooks... I read pretty much anything.  I recently finished reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo at the suggestion of several friends.  (Yes, I was very late to the Dragon Tattoo party.)

I know several people reading this blog have read it. Was anyone else annoyed by the number of times sandwiches are mentioned in this book??? I asked the former Champagne & Sprinkles about it and she didn't notice it. I took to Google to see if anyone else in the world was as annoyed by it as I was and lo and behold, this is apparently a thing.

Depending on the search string you use, you can get anywhere from 258,000 to 1,180,000 returns.  Glad to know I'm not the only one who noticed this!  Allegedly the word (or variations of the word) only appear 18 times in the book, but I'm skeptical.  What I do know for sure is that 99% of the time that food is mentioned, it's sandwiches.  Seriously.  I can think of two meals the main character had where he didn't eat a sandwich.  Is it so stupid to be annoyed by this?  Of course.  But once I noticed it, I couldn't turn it off. 

I'm now reading a book called Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls because my mom and I loved her memoir, Glass Castle, so much when we read it back in 2008.  Mom loaned me her copy of Glass Castle and she wasted no time giving me Half Broke Horses for Christmas.

Half Broke Horses is a prequel of sorts to Glass Castle.  So far, I'm enjoying it just as much as the first book!  Her style of writing keeps you turning the pages, especially because each chapter is short.  If you're looking for a good read, I definitely recommend Glass Castle, and I'm thinking I'll probably recommend Half Broke Horses when I'm done with it.  If you're turned off by the description on the back of the book or the dust jacket of GC, I promise, promise, promise that it's worth the read.  The author has such a shocking life story and it's truly amazing that she ended up where she is today.  Plus, you'll read the whole thing in a weekend.  It's short enough and totally a fast read.

Anyone else have any good suggestions on things I should read next??