HSU IT Department

Read! Share! Post! Let's have a little book talk :)

1. Favorite childhood book, and why? - A tie between (1) Little Women (Louisa May Alcott), with its rich complex characters, warm and loving family life, and fully-realized range of affections and passion that it illustrates, both personal (art, talent, personal best) and interpersonal (sisters, parents and children, husbands and wives, new and old lovers), and (2) The Phantom Tollbooth (Norton Juster), because it's so original, weird, sharp, and creative. I mean, who comes up with the idea of a symphony that plays the colors of the world, or Subtraction Stew, or literally eating one's words? And of course Azaz the Unabridged totally reminds me of Dumbledore ("Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!")

2. First book you clearly remember reading? - Bambi. My stepdad gave it to me for my seventh birthday and I adore it to this day.

3. Favorite reading snack? Cheese and crackers. Salty, crispy, yummy, and doesn't leave grease stains on the pages.

4. Favorite reading location as a child? As an adult? - As a child I would take a bag of apples and a book and climb a tree. Now I'm more about the sofa and a glass of wine.

5. Most intimidating book you've tackled and why (and what happened?!) - Gravity's Rainbow. Still haven't made it past about page 50.

6. The longest you've gone without reading? - Um...six hours?

7. Genre you rarely read but wish you did? - Biography. I'm sure there are a ton of amazing bios out there, but mostly I just get bored when I read someone's life story. Which is odd since I've kept a journal myself since I was eleven lol

8. If you were taking a ten-day trip, how many books would you pack? 12-15. I have to have options, since I don't know what I'll be in the mood for.

9. What books are on your nightstand right now? - Red Rising, This Census Taker, Gods of the Blood, and Talking God.

Nicked from kerravonsen. All questions must be answered with a single word.

1. Where is your (mobile) cell phone? dead
2. Your hair? silvering
3. Your dad? Trumping >:P
4. Your other half? out
5. Your favourite food? wine
6. Your dream last night? Picard!
7. Your favourite drink? wine
8. Your dream/goal? publication
9. What room you are in? kitchen
10. Your hobby? words
11. Your fear? dishonor
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? retired
13. Where were you last night? worrying
14. Something that you aren't? thin
15. Muffins? YESSSS!
16. Wish list item? simplicity
17. Where you grew up? red-state
18. Last thing you did? munched
19. What are you wearing now? jammies
20. Your TV? pernicious
21. Your pets? ancient
22. Friends? absent
23. Your life? complicated
24. Missing someone? always
25. Car? topless
26. Something you're not wearing? out
27. Your favourite store? book
28. Your favourite color? blue
29. When is the last time you laughed? today
30. Last time you cried? today
31. Who will redo this? you
32. One place that you go to over and over? Hobbiton
33. One person who emails you regularly? wendy
34. Favourite place to eat? alfresco

I have never actually had a hot buttered rum. Perhaps I should try one.

Day 1 - Ten random facts about yourself
Day 2 - Nine things you do everyday
Day 3 - Eight things that annoy you
Day 4 - Seven fears/phobias
Day 5 - Six songs that you’re addicted to
Day 6 - Five things you can’t live without
Day 7 - Four memories you won’t forget
Day 8 - Three words you can’t go a day without
Day 9 - Two things you wish you could do
Day 10 - One person you can trust

First, last, and always: The night I met Mr Psmith. It was at an Irish pub; he knew all the words to the songs, he made me laugh (he was wearing this Renaissance-y shirt with big sleeves and greeted me with, "Ola! Mi llamo Fernando!"), he quoted both Monty Python and Amadeus at me, and that was pretty much all she wrote :) It was in February and our first date a week later for sushi came in the middle of a colossal blizzard, but he drove forty miles through it to meet me... I think everyone has vivid memories of the night they met their Significant Other, the person who changed your life for the better and became your best friend and companion. How could you not?

So I'll do four besides that one. These are the first four that come to mind, in chronological order:

1) When I was in first grade, a little boy in my class -- Todd -- lost his entire family in a house fire: mother, father, four brothers and sisters. Only he and his little brother survived, because the parents put them out the master bedroom window onto the garage roof just before the floor of the room gave way. I remember the headline in the paper the next day was, "I heard my toys falling." But of course it wasn't toys... They lived just down the block from my best friend Erica and the fire happened right around Halloween. A few days later we went to Erica's house -- I don't remember if we were picking her up or dropping me off -- and drove right past Todd's house. The house was a blackened ruin, the roof collapsed, the big bay window in the living room blown out, and sitting on the sill was a half-burned jack-o-lantern. Real horror movie stuff, eh? Todd never came back to school; he and his little brother went to live with relatives, I suppose. To this day I wonder about them, where they went and where they are today.

2) My first day of Catholic school, in third grade. We're not remotely Catholic, but my mom decided to send me to a Catholic school that year, I guess because it was a really good school. My first day, in Sister Marie Helen's homeroom, we started off with the pledge of allegiance which I knew very well. Then we did the Lord's Prayer, which I sort of knew from occasional forays to church on Christmas and Easter. Then they all launched into "Hail, Mary, full of grace" which for all I knew might have been the school fight song. Sister Marie Helen, a chubby little woman (and if she looked little to ME, who was three feet tall for about three years straight, you know she was tiny), came bustling over to me with this very worried look. "What's wrong, dear? Don't you want to say the hail Mary with us?" she said. I looked around at all the staring little faces, then down at my shoes and mumbled, "I don't know it." I looked up to see a look of appalled horror on her face, like "Oh, the poor little heathen thing!" and she told off one of the other students to take me into a corner and teach it to me. I spent two years at St. John's but I'll never forget that feeling of being an utter alien, where everyone else knew something I didn't. (Sister Benedicta's penmanship class was a whole 'nother kind of unforgettable...)

3) The night I suddenly realized that grown-ups weren't some alien species but just varying degrees further along the continuum than me. I was twelve and had been babysitting for a young couple -- they couldn't have been more than 22 or 23, but of course they were GROWN-UPS so they seemed old and serious -- and afterwards the husband drove me home. I was pretty shy and didn't say much, but about halfway home he said, "Oh hey, do you mind if I turn this up? I really like this song." Of course I said no, I didn't mind. I had just discovered popular music and the song was "My Sharona", which I LOVED, and as the radio thumped out the beat and he sang along with it and kept time on the steering wheel, it was like this window opened up and I realized that grown-ups were actual people that might like some of the same things I liked. It was a real paradigm shift.

4) The night I met my first boyfriend. I was fourteen and we met at a German Club party in high school (yes, German Club -- as John Bender would say, "Demented and sad, but social" lol). He was a year ahead of me in school, and since I skipped a year when I was young that made him two years older, which seemed so grown up to me at the time. I thought he was so handsome, big blue eyes and shaggy tousled brown hair. When he dared me to guess his last name, I got it on the first try (Alexander). He drove me home in his forest-green Plymouth Satellite, blasting AC/DC's "Hell's Bells" at ear-shattering decibels the entire way, and I think I was in love before we got to my house :) We ended up dating for two years. He was sweet and warm and funny and smart and loving and kind, and although we ended up going our separate ways, I will always be grateful to him that my first love was a good one.

Day 1 - Ten random facts about yourself
Day 2 - Nine things you do everyday
Day 3 - Eight things that annoy you
Day 4 - Seven fears/phobias
Day 5 - Six songs that you’re addicted to
Day 6 - Five things you can’t live without
Day 7 - Four memories you won’t forget
Day 8 - Three words you can’t go a day without
Day 9 - Two things you wish you could do
Day 10 - One person you can trust

Another tough one! I have so many; music has always been a big part of my life. Here are six that I can listen to over and over and never get tired of them.

1) Queen, In the Year of 39. I love the way this song hints at a much larger, much more complicated story. Why did they have to go off searching for other planets? Where were they from? Who were the volunteers? Why did he leave her behind? So many questions. I keep hoping someone will write the story to go with it. Their Seven Seas of Rhye is the same way: anything that has beings descending from the sky saying, "I command your very souls, you unbelievers" just demands a kickass story to go with it. And oh god, that piano...

2) Loreena Mckennit, The Highwayman. This one tells a complete story, and it breaks my heart every time. I loved the poem from the time I read it in high school and was thrilled to discover the song, even though it's so sad.

3) Meat Loaf, Hot Summer Night. Just a damn good rock anthem. It's hard to beat the Loaf.

4) Runrig, The Summer Walkers. As a manuscripts librarian, this song had me at the phrase "archive gold." A gorgeous meditation on how things used to be, and how they are, and what we've lost.

5) Nightwish, I Wish I Had An Angel. Symphonic metal at its best: lush, heavy, thumping, operatic and gorgeous.

6) Warren Zevon, Accidentally Like a Martyr. This one carries a lot of bittersweet memories for me, which I suppose is exactly why it has stuck with me for so long.

There are a lot more, of course: The Mingulay Boat Song, a perennial favorite at the final pub sing; A Sailor's Prayer for the strength of its lyrics; and just recently I've become obsessed with Leonard Cohen's Come Healing.

But if I don't stop now I'll just go on and on and on, so I'd better hie me off to bed :)

Day 1 - Ten random facts about yourself
Day 2 - Nine things you do everyday
Day 3 - Eight things that annoy you
Day 4 - Seven fears/phobias
Day 5 - Six songs that you’re addicted to
Day 6 - Five things you can’t live without
Day 7 - Four memories you won’t forget
Day 8 - Three words you can’t go a day without
Day 9 - Two things you wish you could do
Day 10 - One person you can trust


Only eight???

1) People who don't keep their word/do what they say they will do.
2) Printers. They seem to have some evil intelligence that springs to life whenever I interact with them: they print stuff landscape or backwards, create paper jams, and just generally become disobedient and contrary.
3) Tuvan throat singing. Mr Psmith has started practicing it and it's driving me maaaaaaaaad.
4) People who are unkind to animals. There is simply no excuse for that. You should be beaten with a rubber hose.
5) People who are anti-science. You have a brain for a REASON, people. It's not just filler to keep your head from imploding.
6) The rampant mindless idiocy that has allowed people like the Kardashians, the cast of Duck Dynasty, and every single person on Jersey Shore to become famous and rich.
7) Words like "irrespective" and "orientate." Also corporate buzzwords like "facilitate" and "synergy" and "leverage".
8) George W. Bush. I can't help it, his fact just makes me want to smack him. Plus he invaded a country that didn't bomb us.

And here's a bonus one: The bottomless gulf between library funding and football/basketball coach salaries.

Day 1 - Ten random facts about yourself
Day 2 - Nine things you do everyday
Day 3 - Eight things that annoy you
Day 4 - Seven fears/phobias
Day 5 - Six songs that you’re addicted to
Day 6 - Five things you can’t live without
Day 7 - Four memories you won’t forget
Day 8 - Three words you can’t go a day without
Day 9 - Two things you wish you could do
Day 10 - One person you can trust


1. I'm quite a good pool (billiards) player.
2. I used to hate brussels sprouts and now they are my favorite cruciferous vegetable :)
3. I hate pickled ginger. It's the only part of sushi that makes me unhappy.
4. My first job was at Long John Silver's when I was fourteen. I smelled like grease for two years BUT I HAD MONEY!!!
5. If I were single/unattached I would get a job with Amtrak. I love riding the train.
6. I once got a pony for Christmas. Really. (Best Christmas EVER.)
7. I found out the other day that someone I worked with briefly more than ten years ago still holds a grudge against me and I have no idea why. This is more than a little discomfiting, but there you go: you can't please all of the people all of the time.
8. The first movie I actually remember going to the theatre to see is Star Wars (1977). For years I thought the 20th Century-Fox fanfare was actually part of the Star Wars soundtrack (also, that scene where Luke puts one foot up on the rock under the binary-sunset? I thought for sure he was going to sing lol!)
9. I've kept a journal since I was eleven. Early entries consist of Deep Thoughts like "My brother is an annoying toad."
10. In first grade I got sent to the principal's office for chasing a little boy and trying to kiss him.

So, the book meme! It's been such fun to read everyone's lists -- some of them overlap considerably with mine, while others consist mostly of books I've never heard of. It amazes me what readers you all are, and it's such an education to be exposed to new and different authors. I do love books. Books books books. We might have had a contractor in two weeks ago to talk about putting built-in bookshelves in my room (and maybe if there's room, a window-seat under the window for Drinking Tea and Reading In/On. anemonen tagged me with it, so here we go!

Rules: In a text post, list ten books that have stayed with you in some way. Don’t take but a few minutes, and don’t think too hard — they don’t have to be the “right” or “great” works, just the ones that have touched you. Tag ten friends, including me, so I’ll see your list. Make sure you let your friends know you’ve tagged them!

1) Atlas Shrugged (Rand)
2) Lord of the Rings (what, like I need to tell you who it's by?)1
3) The Velveteen Rabbit (Williams)
4) The Fionavar Tapestry (Kay)2
5) Little Women (Alcott)
6) A Wizard of Earthsea (LeGuin)
7) The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (Shirer)
8) God Is Not Great (Hitchens)
9) Stories of Your Life and Others (Chiang)
10) On Writing (Stephen King) and Turn Not Pale, Beloved Snail (Jackson)3

1. OK, technically this is a trilogy -- but that wasn't Tolkien's idea, it was his editor's, so I'm only counting it as one
2. OK, this one's a trilogy too, but hey, who's counting?
3. They're both about writing, so I figured I'd squish two in one

I in turn shall tag nursedarry, ennyousai, madeleone, perverse_idyll, ladyoneill, mundungus42, chthonya, amorette, irishredlass, teddyradiator and a_boleyn.

(If you've already done it, which I know a lot of people have, just put a link to your post in the comments so I can go look at it!)

Quite a few folks on my flist are doing this. It's quite an interesting test -- I particularly like that you are free to place your answers anywhere along a spectrum rather than just YES or NO. I am totally unsurprised at my results, especially the very very tiny box at lower right :)

I am a RESPECTFUL INVENTOR.

Respectful Inventor

Your imagination, self-reliance, openness to new things, and appreciation for utility combine to make you an INVENTOR.

You have the confidence to make your visions into reality, and you are willing to consider many alternatives to get that done.

The full spectrum of possibilities in the world intrigues you—you're not limited by pre-conceived notions of how things should be.

Problem-solving is a specialty of yours, owing to your persistence, curiosity, and understanding of how things work.

Your vision allows you to identify what's missing from a given situation, and your creativity allows you to fill in the gaps.

Your awareness of how things function gives you the ability to come up with new uses for common objects.

It is more interesting for you to pursue excitement than it is to get caught up in a routine.

Although understanding details is not difficult for you, you specialize in seeing the bigger picture and don't get caught up in specifics.

You tend to more proactive than reactive—you don't just wait for things to come to you.

Your independent streak allows you to make decisions efficiently and to trust your instincts

You are balanced in your approach to problem-solving, not letting your emotions hold you up.

You prefer to have time to plan for things, feeling better with a schedule than with keeping plans up in the air until the last minute.

Never one to be found in chic boutiques or trendy clothing stores, you take an extremely practical approach to getting dressed.

Generally, you believe that you control your life, and that external forces only play a limited role in determining what happens to you.


Your reserved nature, understanding of the world, and faith in others make you RESPECTFUL.

You trust those around you to do the right thing, so you tend not to get involved in other people's affairs.

You have fewer friendships than some, but the relationships you do have are very meaningful and important to you.

Your careful and practical observation of your environment has led you to understand that others' situations can be very complex.

Because of this, you are slow to pass judgments on others, even if sometimes you can't see what it is about certain things that upsets them.

You tend to enjoy the world through ideas and reflection, which allows you to get a lot out of the time you spend alone.

Your friends would describe you as laid-back and easy-going.

As someone who is calm and centered, you aren't likely to rush into things—this patience allows you to see many different perspectives and options.

Holy %*(&#$ have I been busy the last six weeks. Since the last weekend in October I have done the following: an out-of-town wedding, two workshops, one conference, a fast trip home for my grandmother's 94th birthday, planned/hosted a luncheon for 22 people (for which I made THE most fun pirate-themed centerpieces, but forget to have Mr Psmith take photo, drat), one play, one fund-raiser at our local zoo, and picked out the Christmas tree.

Oh, and then there was the regular stuff like work and paying attention to Mr Psmith. He mopes when he's neglected.

::collapses::

Anyway, I've at last gotten round to finishing the 50 books meme. "The what?" I hear you say. "I think I remember that but it was ages ago." Yes, well, I shall refresh your memory: "List 50 books and authors that have shaped who I am, how I think, what I treasure in reading, what I aspire to in writing - in short, encounters that have left an imprint. I'm not talking here about reading achievements, but of literary documents (apply definition of your choice) that sent you careening off in intellectual pursuit or struck you with a sense of discovery or seemed exactly what you needed to hear at that point in your evolution."

Et maintenant, sans plus tarder, je vous présente ma liste. Ask away if you want more information on any of them. (Also, speaking of books, I will soon be doing my annual shelf cleanout and book giveaway, so watch this space!)

1. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
2. Tolkien (everything)
3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
4. The New Lucinda by Grace Gelvin Kisinger
5. Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
6. Wizard of Earthsea books by Ursula LeGuin
7. Turn Not Pale, Beloved Snail by Jacqueline Jackson
8. This Star Shall Abide by Sylvia Louise Engdahl
9. Gibbon's Decline and Fall and The Gate to Women's Country by Sheri S. Tepper
10. Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer
11. The Quartzsite Trip by William Hogan
12. The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
13. Bambi by Felix Salten
14. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
15. Magister Ludi by Hermann Hesse
16. The Book of Skulls by Robert Silverberg
17. e e cummings poetry
18. Countee Cullen poetry
19. Textual Poaching by Henry Jenkins
20. Caesar and Christ by Will and Ariel Durant
21. Foundation Isaac Asimov
22. Dragonsong/Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffrey
23. Obituary page of The Economist
24. Ugly War, Pretty Package by Deborah Jaramillo
25. Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
26. Riddlemaster of Hed trilogy by Patricia McKillip
27. Half Magic by Edward Eager
28. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
29. Animal Farm by George Orwell
30. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
31. The Borrowers by Mary Norton
32. Unicorns in the Rain by Barbara Cohen
33. my 8th grade geometry textbook
34. Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
35. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
36. The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
37. The Stand by Stephen King
38. The Cricklewood Diet by Alan Coren
39. What Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
40. The Spirit of the Laws by Montesquieu
41. Aristotle (Poetics, Politics, Nicomachean Ethics)
42. Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay
43. Gaudy Night (Lord Peter Wimsey), by Dorothy Sayers
44. Terry Pratchett (everything)
45. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (illustrated by Jules Feiffer)
46. Dr. Seuss (everything!)
47. Life, Inc.
48. The Dark is Rising (all five) by Susan Cooper
49. Victoria Holt's gothic romances
50. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens