Day Fifteen; A FanFic (Or Not)

Ummmm, I've NEVER read a single fanfic. I'm not so clueless that I had to google it, but I still haven't read one and really don't have the energy to come up with my own to post here. So, I'm going to ignore the post and tell you about something else! :) That's the great thing about having my own blog; no one can make me post anything!! ;)

Have you heard of Booksfree? It is awesome if you're a voracious reader like me. The best way to explain it is that it's like Netflix for books. You pay a monthly fee, get a certain number of books based on your membership level and then you send those books back when you're done reading them. There's no late fees, either. You can have a single order plan or a rotating order plan, too. With the single order plan, you send the books back and your next books are sent when the company receives. That means that you're left with a period of no-books. :( The rotating order plan means that you send back as many books as you receive, and you're never without books (unless you just happen to send them all back at the same time). I went with the rotating plan because I can barely stand the wait for a new package.

Now, I do realize that there are free options for voracious readers, like the library, but what do you do when you live in a tiny town nowhere near a metropolitan area with a tiny library? This was the answer for me! I'm still a card-carrying library lover, but what's a girl to do when she's already read entire sections of her local library?!

There are four books on their way to me right now and I can't wait to get them. I've had booksfree memberships before, but I've been on hiatus from it for a while. This is my first order since signing up again and I'm on the edge of my seat to get them. Maybe this blog will end up turning into a book review after all. We'll just have to wait and see. For now, I will just wait patiently for my first order and the let the reading begin!

Day Four: Your Favorite Book

There are certain questions that are just off-limits for certain people. Asking me to pick my favorite book is like asking me if I could pick my favorite child (assuming I had any). I just LOVE to read. Most of the people I associate with do as well. If I had a gun to my head and the mad-man MADE me pick a book, I would have to go with Memoirs of A Geisha by Arthur Golden.



I just love the entire story, the mysticism of pre-war Japan. Part of it probably stems from a desire to know more than I do about my family's heritage. I've worn three copies of this book ragged already and I'll probably wear through many more in the future. I never get tired of reading it.

There are several other favorites that I just can't leave out, so I'll list them here, in no particular order.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Bamboo and Lace by Lori Wick
The Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of The World by Haruki Murakami

I was late to work today

Want to know why...because I HAD to wash the dishes. Isn't that CRAZY?!?! I was so worried about the dishes in the sink that I had to stop, put my coffee down, take off my rings and bracelet, roll up my shirt sleeves, grab an apron and scrub away. (I have to mention that if I had walked out the door without doing so I still would have been late, but 5 minutes, not 20.) Apparently I am so CDO (obsessive compulsive disorder, for those of you that don't have it and can say it in not alphabetical order), that I would prefer to be late to work than to leave a sink 1/4 of the way full of dirty dishes. It's shameful, really. Oh well. At least I'll be going home to a shiny sink and clean dishes.

Tonight will probably be a busy night tonight. We're having blackened salmon with gnocchi and pesto sauce and I may bake some acorn squash to go with it for dinner. Yum! I'd like to get most of the laundry finished by tonight and also get at least a room or two clean. Addam's Family Values starts at 7pm and I hope to be sitting on the couch working on a ridiculously useless beaded bookmark on my new beading loom. It better turn out this time or else. I HAVE to mail off my swap package tomorrow morning. No if's, and's or but's!

I'm not sure what the weekend holds. I'm sure there'll be a trip to McCoy's, as usual, and I'd like to go to one of the general-store type places to browse for some more goodies to throw in the swap box. I'm sure Jason would like to go to the shooting range, but I also know that he has to start some stamping on a leather knife sheath he's making for a customer. I'd also like for him to start on a belt for me, but he has to take care of the paying customers first. Typical...

I may have mentioned that I'm reading Bless Your Heart, Tramp: and Other Southern Endearments by Celia Rivenbark. This book is hilarious. Jason is getting tired of me laughing out loud as I read in bed at night. I'm definitely not as "Southern" as the subjects in her book, but I do recognize each and every character. Her story-telling is admittidly a bit crude, but I haven't read anything overtly offensive. It's not something I'd read to my kids, but it definitely covers topics that every woman goes through, whether they're a Southern Belle or not. I'm about halfway through that and then will move on to my new Sarah Dunant.

Chilling Out Tonight

Today has been a decent enough day. We went out to eat for a work birthday and I had a delicious grilled chicken salad. It was a pleasant surprise as the restaurant used to stink. They changed owners and everything about it is better now. I'm also happy to report that the carrot cake I made last night was delicious and everyone loved it. I have to quit doing that. The better I bake, the more I get asked to. SIGH!

I also went to the book store to order a new book for Jason and ended up buying 4 books for myself and 2 books for my craft swap partner. It was a little difficult to buy for her as I wasn't sure what to get, but I found two books that I read recently and LOVED. I won't post them here, just in case she happens to read this, but I hope that she hasn't read them and that she'll enjoy them.

I bought Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, What's A Christian To Do With Harry Potter by Connie Neal and The Color Purple by Alice Walker for myself. I don't know when I'll ever get to reading them considering I'm half done with Bless Your Heart, Tramp: And Other Southern Endearments by Celia Rivenbark and have Transgressions by Sarah Dunant (one of my new favorite authors) waiting as well. They're from booksfree.com and take precedence over the others so that I can mail them back ASAP. I also have the two books that my swap partner sent me to read. I need help. This is definitely a borderline addiction.

After work I'm planning on jogging and hitting the heavy bag for a bit. We're having leftovers for dinner and are going to lay on the couch and watch The Addam's Family on ABC Family tonight. I also have to finish crafting for my swap partner so that I can send tomorrow and then I'll move on to the other two swaps I've signed up for. That may be an addiction as well. I'll get back to you on that one!