While Alaska and Northern Canada have been giggling up their parka sleeves, much of the US has freaked out over the weather.

So today’s word is: wonderland

Merry Christmas! I hope you’re spending the day with people you love, following whatever traditions you may have, be that a Christmas feast or Chinese take-out.

Today’s word is: joy

Got tagged in a book meme today on Facebook, and since I had nothing else to post today, I’m replying here.

Rules: In your status line, list 10 books that have stayed with you in some way. Don’t take more than 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 10 friends, including me, so I’ll see your list.

First off, ten? Are you kidding me? I read more than 120 books a year! I’m 42 and a half years old, and I’ve been reading since I was four! Just ten?

So, screw your ten. These are the books that have been important to me, and had an affect on me, since, say, I was a teenager.

The Hobbit – JRR Tolkein

This is the first non-kids book I remember reading, and until college, I read it at least once a year. I read my first copy, literally, to pieces.

The Complete Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

This is the second non-kids book I remember reading, and this book to I read almost every year. This book set the bar by which most other mysteries fall short, because no other detective is Sherlock Holmes. It’s also the book behind my love of the historical English setting for books.

The Mirror Crack’d – Agatha Christie

My other favorite mystery author is also English, but although I read many (perhaps even most) of her other books, it is only Miss Marple that I love. Her mind like a sink. Her gentle inquisitiveness. Her patience and willingness to listen that were the key to solving so many mysteries. I want to be a woman who wears purple when I am old, but I’d settle for being Miss Marple.

This particular story has parts that have always stuck with me–the woman, staring, struck as if by some terrible fate. The secretary and her nose drops that she realized, and instant too late, smelled of bitter almonds. This is what I want cozy mysteries to be, but they never are.

The Belgariad – David Eddings

I ended up with this series as part of a Christmas gift exchange at a restaurant where I worked in college. I hadn’t read any fantasy since my usual re-read of The Hobbit, and I devoured this series, falling in love with fantasy all over again, and I haven’t stopped reading it since. I particularly loved Polgara, how she fought the restrictions placed upon her, solely because she was female.

On a Pale Horse – Piers Anthony

I’ve always been slightly obsessed with death–the rituals, the pageantry, the ceremonies, but even more, the many ways that people deal with loss. This story of a man who becomes death resonated deeply with me, as did the many deaths he (as Death) witnessed. It’s perhaps what started my obsession with Good Death–for individuals at the end of their lives to spend their last days in comfort and love.

These Mists of Avalon – Marion Zimmer Bradley

I haven’t read this book in years, partially because it’s a tome, and I don’t want to hold it, but also because I fear it won’t have held up to what it is in my memory. This book kindled my love of strong, female leads in fantasy. It also caused me to have little patience for shallow, one-sided villains. Every is the hero of their own story, and I don’t believe in the existence of evil for the sake of evil.

Good Omens – Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

This book introduced me to both Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. And it’s hilarious. And marvelous. I’ve spent many many hours lost in stories written by these authors, but somehow, together, they managed to be greater than the sum of their individual parts, and I love this story better than any single book either had written alone.

Best-Loved Folktales of the World – Joanna Cole

This is another book that is worn, the dust cover lost decades ago. It’s also the reason I have two shelves of folk and fairy tales and mythology. I remain fascinated by the themes that crop up time and again in stories from different cultures. And it delights me to see these ideas and themes pop up in books.

Rising Stars – J. Michael Straczynski

This was the second comic series I read as an adult and I was completely blown away. I ended up reading it through twice, and have to be careful when I’m going through my comics, because if I flip through any one of the books, I’ll end up reading them all again, in one sitting, usually on a cold floor, because I can’t be bothered to move somewhere comfortable.

Small Vices – Robert B Parker

I picked this up as an audio book, narrated by Burt Reynolds, to listen to while I was doing cell culture. It was an enlightenment. Spenser is almost killed in this book, and instead of shrugging off the injuries, he spends months recovering. Spenser’s first attempt at the hill was as gripping and thrilling as any shoot out or chase. That might sound stupid, but it’s true. For me, the mystery has always played second fiddle to the time they spend in California, but never fear, the mystery is also top notch, and between the two, I can read this book time and again, and fall in love with Spenser just like I did the first listen.

Swordspoint – Ellen Kushner

What I find fascinating about this story is that it as classified as a fantasy, even though there is not one drop of magic in the pages, besides the magic of the story itself. It’s what I read when I want to lose myself, and completely disappear into a world that never existed, but very easily could have. This story is not action and adventure, but instead a long slow soak in a gorgeous setting with fascinating characters.

The Fencing Master – Arturo Perez Reverte

I picked this book up and discovered that, “Hey! Books that are translated into English from another language aren’t all boring crap read by pretentious assholes!” Yeah, that was a revelation to me, and led me to discover many authors who don’t write in English, whose stories I love. (See Andrea Camilleri and Sergei Lukyanenko)

Dreams Underfoot – Charles de Lint

This was the first Charles de Lint book I read, and it was adoration from the start. He writes novels, and I like those novels, but I love his short stories more, and eagerly snatch up any anthology he puts out. These are stories filled with bad things happening to people, but they are not in any way dark, and with very few exceptions, I always feel better after reading his stories, no matter how equivocal the story itself may be.

(trumpet fanfare)

We’re back! Is everyone ready to play?!

Anyone?

Well, here’s the start, today’s word is: echo

I spent the day organizing (because that’s what I do when I’m anxious) and discovered that I have a huge pile of postcards from various places I’ve visited over the past five or six years.

If the place is somewhere I’m likely to go again in the near future, I’ve set those cards aside.

Which still leaves me with a large stack of cards.

So, if YOU would like to receive a piece of actual MAIL that is not a bill or junk, let me know, and I’ll send you something. (If I don’t have your address, you’ll need to email it to me.)

OR

If you would like me to send a card to someone you know, I can do that as well! (Again, you’ll just need to email me their name and address.)

I’ve been told that small people ESPECIALLY like getting mail, so if there are small people in your life who would love surprise mail, let me know!

Lots of things!

A little girl dressed as all 11 Doctors. (not all at once)

 
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Actors reprise their roles.

I have no idea what it was, but I kept coming back and looking at these pictures.

(I’ll be honest, this was my favorite picture–Simon Pegg is so damned adorable!)

 
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As a huge fan of the Rose Bowl parade, I loved these flower sculptures.

 
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This one I have complicated feelings about.

To Flatten A Heroine: Artist Puts Disney Princess Filter On 10 Real Life Female Role Models

First, you should read everything the artist has to say. Here’s an excerpt:

“My experience of female role models both in culture and in life has shown me that there is no mold for what makes someone a role model, and the whole point of Merida was that she was a step in the right direction, providing girls with an alternative kind of princess. Then they took two steps back, and painted her with the same glossy brush as the rest. So I decided to take 10 real-life female role models, from diverse experiences and backgrounds, and filter them through the Disney princess assembly line.

First and foremost, I appreciate that the artist has created some gorgeous pictures.

Second, he makes good points about forcing female models into a single mold. It shouldn’t happen, yet it does.

Third, I now want a Justice Ginsburg action figure. Preferably one with a broadsword, so she can cut through the BS.

 
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No Ents betweehn Eryn Vorn and Fangorn forest
Free shuttle horses provide alternate service

Debunking ALL the flu vaccine myths

The Fug Girls now have a shoe line, with all their proceeds going to the Alzheimer’s Association

That’s right! It’s almost Halloween! Which means it’s also almost Dia de los Muertos. So today’s word is: skulls

This week’s word is: base

We saw BB King last night, so in his honor, today’s word is: blues

I now have a shockingly large amount of frozen puree in my freezer–and three left still to be cooked down. SO today’s word is: pumpkin

Today’s word is: crawfish

And today’s word is: reading

Summer is over, and so is the Summer 2013 Reading Program.

I fully admit that I fell down on the job for the past two months–I forgot to enter any books. But since I wasn’t eligible to win my own contest, it hardly mattered, since the total without my added books was 187.

That means I’m going to donate $100 to the shack. I’ll let y’all know when I do so.

The WINNER was Sherri Lewis who read 76 book. That’s more than I read this summer, and I read more than anyone else I know. Congratulations Sherry! (If you’re reading this, let me know if you prefer something that arrives in the mail or something that arrives via email.)

The runner ups was Janiece who read 35 books.

Prizes will go out soon!

And now, a bit about what we read, because I LOVE information!

The most commonly read genre was mystery, with general fiction as a runner up. I was honestly surprised that SF came in 4th, because although I don’t read it, I know many of you do.

Mystery: 44
General Fiction: 39
Fantasy: 36
Science Fiction: 15
Historical Romance: 12
General Non-Fiction: 11
Romance: 6
Biography: 5
History: 3
Young Adult / Kids: 2
Religion / Philosophy: 1
Graphic Novel: 1
Nonfiction: 1

The mostly commonly read authors were:
Philippa Gregory: 8
Terry Pratchett: 5
Neil Gaiman: 5
Diana Gabaldon: 5
Candice Hern: 4

Weirdly, I’ve read all those but Philippa Gregory, even though I HAVE at least two of her books. Those Diana Gabaldon? All me, as were the Candice Herns. But looking at my ratings, I wonder why I kept reading Candice Hern, since I didn’t apparently like her books very much. All the other authors were primarily 4 and 5 star authors.

Out of all the books in the world, three were read by one or more of you.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane: 3
The Last Word: 2
The Invisible Man: 2

The Ocean at the End of the Lane doesn’t surprise me, since it was a Neil Gaiman new release. In fact, I’m kinda surprised more people hadn’t read it. (Yeah, I haven’t read it yet. It’s on The List.)

And it looks like people most read books they enjoyed, which is a good thing!

5 Stars: 51
4 Stars: 89
3 Stars: 30
2 Stars: 9
1 Star: 1

Only a single one star rating is pretty good I think. I’m leaving the results up, so you’re free to peruse the list at your leisure.

But if you’re looking for some recommendations, here are the five star books that had comments (there were lots more 5 star books, they just didn’t have comments.)

Walking Your Octopus: A Guidebook to the Domesticated Cephalopod by Brian Kesinger; [genre: Graphic Novel] “I loved this.”

The View From Penthouse B by Elinor Lipman [genre: General Fiction] “I love a book that leaves you with a smile”

The Privilege of the Sword and The Privilege of the Sword (audio) by Ellen Kushner (Swords of Riverside) genre: Fantasy “I love this book” and “Just wonderful”

Justice for Sara by Erica Spindler [genre: Mystery] “If you enjoy thrillers then this is definitely a must read!”

This I Believe (II): The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman, eds. [genre: General Non-Fiction] “Restores your faith in humanity”

Wicked Prey by John Sanford (Prey series) [genre: Mystery] “Minnesota author writing about Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension detective Lucas Sanford. These books are fun, fast reads.”

Grimoire of the Lamb by Kevin Hearne (The Iron Druid Chronicles) [genre: Fantasy] “I love The Iron Druid series. Truth be told, it’s the characters I love most. This is a novella, or possibly even a short story, but a fun read.”

Coraline by Neil Gaiman [genre: Young Adult genre: Kids] “A beautifully written, beautifully paced, beautifully balanced book.”

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman [genre: Science Fiction] “A crystalline novella of moments, memory and friendship.”

The World of the End by Ofir Touche Gafla [genre: Science Fiction] “A heart-breaking, bitterly funny, many-layered look at life, death, love and the afterlife.”

Courting Greta by Ramsey Hootman [genre: General Fiction] “I loved this book so very much.”

Since I seem to have nothing to post at the end of the week anymore (Should I bring back Friday Cat Blogging, perhaps?) here are some of the things around the Internet that interested me this week.

A couple weeks ago, I put WWII Today in my RSS feed. It posts events from WWII 70 years after their happenings. I fully admit that I scan many of the posts, but some of them are quite fascinating. Take this post from the 14th: Auschwitz: selected to work by Mengele. It IS a depressing read, but also a fascinating one.

I looked up and saw the paradoxical Auschwitz sign, “Work makes you free.” By leaving Auschwitz, I felt that we had a new lease on life. A large group of people were being led into the camp. They were gypsies, and I had to think of the contradiction, that they, people who loved so much their free spirit, were also chained in Auschwitz.

And the photos are amazing, especially placed in context.

This was my grandparent’s generation, and as far in the past as it seems, my father was a child during this part of the war.

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As you can tell, I’ve been baking more, now that the temperatures have dropped, and think I really need to make this recipe for pumpkin sweet rolls.

As there are conflicting reports as to whether the weather this summer has damaged many pumpkin crops, I’ll be making sure to pick up my pumpkins early this year.

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I supported Stacey, in her walk in memory of Mo, my friend Janiece’s daughter, who committed suicide this summer.

I’ve talked recently about depression, and know it’s a terribly difficult subject for some people to discuss–or even admit–but if you’re feeling depressed, TALK TO SOMEONE.

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I’ve started listening to the WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE podcast, which is very demented and not for everyone.

But I like it.

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And I’ve spent a lot of time this week being annoyed at Microsoft. This isn’t particularly anything unusual, considering my job, but I have found parts of Office 365 to be expecially egregious.

Like this:

“Searching in People” and “To search in People.” Seriously, how did someone not stop and think, “this is really screwed up”?

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And if anyone cares, I’m on Pinterest. I tend to pin… well, yeah. I pin stuff I find interesting. I think Geek Stuff and Vintage get the most pins.

So that’s this week’s wrap-up. Anything interesting in your neck of the woods?