My relationship with books...

I had a discussion with a friend where we came to the conclusion that all of our psychosis came from a point in childhood where someone just put us in the corner with a book--some kind of separation from other classmates. As in, "Well, I need to work with these kids, you are fine--just sit there and read a book." Not that that is bad--just that it explains some of our less social behavior at times.

Some of my earliest friends were books. There is something so comforting in picking up a fictional world, and wrapping it around you like a blanket--or B's snuggie as she lays in front of the fire.

A recent read described it best, "Books can be possessive, can't they? You're walking around in a bookstore and a certain one will jump out at you, like it had moved there on its own, just to get your attention. Sometimes what's inside will change your life, but sometimes you don't even have to read it. Sometimes it's a comfort just to have a book around. Many of these books haven't even had their spines cracked. 'Why do you buy books you don't even read?' our daughter asks us. That's like asking someone who lives alone why they bought a cat" (The Sugar Queen, Sarah Addison Allen p. 180). I'm allergic to cats (dogs, too). And you don't have to feed books.

Sometimes I think I have more book friends than friend friends. Goodreads.com lets me keep track of some of them. I also enjoy rereading some classics in bits and pieces via email. It is almost time to beg for another bookshelf, except B really doesn't like the design feel of a room where every available wall space is covered with a bookshelf.

The most recent?

• The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice
• The Sugar Queen & Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
• The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
• Jinx by Meg Cabot
• The Weather Warden Series by Rachel Caine
• The latest Sookie Stackhouse book from Charlaine Harris
• Angels & Demons by Dan Brown

Books I'm in the middle of:

• The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
• The Cranford Chronicles by Elizabeth Gaskell
• The latest Dresden Files book by Jim Butcher
• A Single Voice by Kristen M. Oaks
• The Psychology of Joss Whedon, edited by Joy Davidson
• So many others. . .

Books I pick up when I am feeling blue:

• Jane Austen's Persuasion or Pride & Prejudice
• Robin McKinley's Sunshine
• Katherine Paterson's Jacob Have I Loved
• Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle
• Television Without Pity's 752 Things We Love to Hate (And Hate to Love) About TV
• Black Heart, Ivory Bones--or any of the other retold fairy tales edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling
• Douglas Adam's The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (all 5 in the "trilogy")
• The Book of Mormon

Or whatever mood I am in, and a certain friend is called for--a swashbuckling adventure, a glorious heartbreak, a divine passion, a sneaky caper--I will pick up something I haven't read in ages, or something that is massively careworn in the one place where a scene seduced me with its magic, as books are wont to do. And more often than not, if left alone, I will be caught reading my favorite dialogue out loud--possibly in an extremely dramatic way. . . But only when I am sure I am alone. . .

ETA: Dad & Mom came to visit for the weekend. Dad suggested that instead of another bookshelf I sell some of them--and he was tickled by the horrified look on my face and my response, "Why would I sell a friend? Would you make someone with a pet sell their pet?"

I may be in trouble. . .

Because I totally need another show I am addicted to. Or that I can't stop listening to the music from (I adore the version of Rehab around minute 28, and the last 5 minutes are golden--Who doesn't love Journey?). . .



Yes, K, you created a monster.

Dollhouse

It took a while to grown on me, but as soon as we hit "Man on the Street," I signed on. Thanks, Joss, for the first (and possibly only) season. It was fantastic.


ETA: We got another season, YAY!!!!

Updates from the pile of tissues next to me. . .

My mother gave me some "special" sinuses--like, "please, do I really need a nose?" sinuses. I have allergies year round, and about 3-4 times a year, a sinus infection that hits with the force of a mack truck. Monday, I went to work all kittens and happy times. The day was gorgeous (it wasn't as hot as it had been). My workload was liftable, and then it happened. I started sneezing. A lot. And I couldn't seem to stop it. I checked all my plants to see if any were pollinating--nope. By noon, I thought I had cotton stuffed in my head, and by 1:15, I had slunk out to the car to drug myself into oblivion (or at least out of my head). A few hours later, I had a raging sinus infection with a why-yes-please-stick-a-hot-poker-in-my-ear infection. Yes, I have been to the doctor, and yes, I have antibiotics. Sadly, this thing has me completely wasted and sporting a really low, sultry voice, that you shouldn't use on the phone because they will think you have a whole different job (or what Karen sometimes calls my "Just woke up" voice--brat).

Why am I posting about this? Because sleep requires breathing, and I can't seem to concentrate enough to read. And I need something to distract me between bouts of coughing up pieces of my lungs, so here it is--my list of things that make me feel better when I am sick (even if I can't seem to shake the other stuff).

1. Good Friends--who will bring you stuff, who chat with you via email even though you haven't talked in ages, who indulge you a little, and who let you hack a bunch after you have persuaded them to watch...

2. A little Buffy or Doctor Who or Supernatural or cheesy musicals--or anything else you are addicted to at the moment.

3. Real Tissues--Sadly, I don't have any at the moment, and I totally need to go get us toilet paper; as I am pretty sure I have single-handedly depleted our entire supply.

4. Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup--no, not the kind with any true redeeming value. Just chicken broth and tiny noodles. With a bunch of crackers crushed into it.

5. Showers--I know it isn't the most environmentally friendly, but it is the only way I have been able to steam the gunk out of my lungs (my roommate has been really nice about not getting mad when I crawl in to hack for a while at ungodly hours of the night--Love you, Ruby!).

I'm sure there are more, but at the moment, those have been the saving graces of this sinus infection. Is there something you can't live without when you are sick?

P.S. I'm sure the childhood memory pathos tie into nearly all of my favorite things. So, here is a clip that reminds me of riding up and down the Iowa hills in Cory's car on a spring day. Good times.

String 'em along with a Song

I love a good sad song. The kind that make you cry a little bit inside and allow your heart to bleed on occasion. But I also have a love of songs that snicker and wink, and ultimately tease the participants. On that note, some of my favorites that I get made fun of for adoring (as I have been on a musical kick, you can presume that these are pretty much all from musicals) are posted below--mostly so I have them all in one place:

• Hello Dolly -- So Long Dearie
  
  
  
  

• Viva Las Vegas -- The Lady Loves Me
  
  
  

• Girl Happy -- Meanest Girl In Town

• Neptune's Daughter -- Baby, It's Cold Outside (It's partway through the trailer)

• Thoroughly Modern Millie (the stage show) -- Forget About the Boy

• Funny Girl -- You Are Woman, I am Man




• Jupiter's Darling -- I Never Trust a Woman (Yep, It is a musical about Hannibal's march on Rome--with Elephants and everything)

• Oklahoma -- I'm Just A Girl Who Can't Say No



• On the Town -- Come Up to My Place (can't seem to find it, but leaving it here nonetheless).
• Mary Poppins -- Sister Suffragette


• My Fair Lady -- Without You
  
  
  

Also see the Bill and Lois clips from the Ann Miller post (from Kiss Me Kate).

Movie of the Week: Movie Alternatives

So, I have seen a few movies lately, but none that have totally stood out enough to blog about them (Wolverine wasn't bad). I apologize for skipping the last two weeks, and I would like to put a plug in for a few movie and non-movie items:

1. Read a book. I've been doing it a lot lately.
2. Watch a TV show on DVD--Pushing Daisies, Chuck, Dollhouse, Supernatural, Doctor Who...
3. Have a Fred & Ginger marathon--have a lovely day to get lost in the rain or a fine romance...


Swing Time is my favorite. I love that she complains that he is all morals (the song starts around 4:38).

Foodie Stuff

So, I know that I have been a little silent of late on anything other than film, but when you are trying to keep up steady posts to two blogs, you can get into a rut. I will try to post a little more variance here. . . Sorry.

Here are some of the posts I've done (semi-recently) for the other one:

• Karen's Pasta Salad!
• Thell's Hummus - well, she gave me the cookbook
• Big waffle holes or small waffle holes. . . that is the question
• A restaurant review
• A tour of foodie posts for March. And April.

I'll have a few more updates soon. It's been a crazy month.