It's almost the new year

Well I survived Christmas. My 9 year old nephew got me up at 6:30. The problem was that I had insomnia the night before and only fell asleep about 2:30 or 3. Needless to say I was a bit spacey all day. But all in all, it was a nice holiday. I hope that everyone else had a good one too.

Now its almost the new year. Time for those resolutions that I usually always break. Tops on my list: eat healthier. Last time I lost a lot of weight (which has come back) I got there by eating healthier. Maybe this will do the trick again.

Web site recommendation of the day: Stuff on my Cat . Its lots of pictures of cats with stuff on them: toys, clothes, etc. Kind of childish, but funny. Especially since the cats usually have a really disgusted look on their faces.

Reference Web Site

I know I've said that I am a librarian in a public library, but I may not have said that I actually work at the reference desk. People are always coming in to ask for medical information. Many times the books are checked out and I always recommend this site: Medlineplus.gov. This site is from the National Library of Medicine and is an EXCELLENT medical site. They have their own content as well as link to other RELIABLE sites including other government sites, professional organizations, and non-profit organizations. The information is clear and concise. Even I can understand it. Plus many times there are demos or tutorials. You can also look up medications and get side-effects and so on. And best of all: IT'S FREE! I cannot recommend this site enough. If you EVER need to find medical information, start here!

Not as grumpy

Christmas is almost here. I've finished my shopping and I have wrapped the presents. I am off work until next Wednesday so I can avoid listening to Christmas music if I want, and I went out looking at Christmas lights this evening with my 9 year old nephew. I think I'll make it. Here is a fun Christmas quiz:

Which of Santa's Reindeer are you? Dancer Like Dancer you are graceful and elegant. People can't help but watch you when you walk into a room Find out which of Santa's Reindeer you are at Quizopolis.com

WooHoo!

I FINALLY finished my Christmas shopping and the wrapping.

Book Banning

There have been some stories in the news again about people trying to ban the Harry Potter books in some schools. The challengers claim that it promotes witchcraft. Its fine if you don't want your children to read the series, but please don't try to prevent other people from reading them. I happen to like the series, but I'm sure that there are many people who do not. One thing you can't argue with: J.K. Rowling has gotten kids to read. Each time the newest book is released, the waiting list in my library is HUGE.

The American Library Association has a list of the 100 most frequently challenged books between 1990 and 2000. Out of the 100 listed, I have read 42 (or at least 1 in the listed series). I will say that according to the statistics from the ALA, most of the challenges are in schools. I wonder if people realize that when they ask for restrictions to be placed on books that that makes many people want to read it more.

Ok...I'm off my soapbox.

Christmas Music

I can't seem to escape the Christmas music. It's in every store. They are playing it at work in the workroom. They are playing it softly at the desk. For the past week I have heard the Carpenters, and Perry Como. For Pete's sake, last night they played Clay Aiken! Ok if you like Clay Aiken thats fine. But for someone who would rather be listening to Green Day or the Black Eyed Peas , its torture! If I hear one more Christmas song, I may just lose it!

Stress

It's really hard to be happy for people when you are unhappy. And this time of year seems to make it worse.

Best of Lists

One of the most interesting things at the end of the year are all of those "Best of" lists at the end of the year. Well there is a collection of them at Fimoculous.com. They have collected lists of books, movies, music, and just about everything. There are even lists like words of the year and best blogs that maybe you aren't reading.

Computer Annoyances

Ok. A few weeks ago I upgraded my computer's operating system to Windows XP. I was running Windows ME and it was not the greatest. I just realized last night that with the XP upgrade, my cd burner no longer works. Apparently it has something to do with something called ASPI (or something like that) and it makes the CD burner run. Well I found a web site to download that stuff, but I can't figure it out. Anyway if nothing else I'll upgrade my burner and software.

NBC.com has the episodes of Heroes for viewing for free. I wanted to watch this show but never got a chance to. So far I've watched episodes 1 and 2. So far its a really good show. I can't wait to watch the others. Hopefully I'll get through them before NBC takes them off.

Crowds

I went to Walmart today to do some more Christmas shopping. What a mistake! Someone please tell me: why do people INSIST on stopping their carts in the middle of the aisle? Can't they PLEASE move to one side or the other? I mean at my Walmart the aisles are barely big enough for two carts to pass. I actually stayed quite calm though.

I just finished reading The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerritsen. Its another serial killer book, but a bit odd. Usually Gerritsen is pretty straightforward with her explanations. This one was rather different. The plotline is this: there is a brutal serial killer in Boston. At the scene of his murders he leaves strange symbols and latin phrases. Is he a satanist, or just trying to through the police off of his trail? He has caught the attention of the Mephisto Club, a club of eccentrics who study the nature of evil. Then a detective is killed on the door step of one of the members. It seems that the killer has become interested in the Mephisto Club as well. Detectivc Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Dr. Maura Isles have to decipher the symbolism and catch the killer before he strikes again.

Gerritsen seemed to use a lot of ancient symbolism in this and she definitely left it open for a sequel. The book was a page-turner and captured my interest pretty quickly.

Flickr!

If you've read this before, you know I work in a library. We have a committee that teaches lots of tech topics to our co-workers on just about everything from how to check our work e-mail from home to how to download audiobooks to an mp3 player. One of the things we've been talking about are the social networking or sharing sites. And one of our future topics is Flickr! So, I broke down and opened an account. Yay me! Here is my address: http://www.flickr.com/photos/msbookworm/. Stop by and visit! I don't have many photos yet, but I will be adding more.

Pop Culture

I LOVE pop culture. One of my guilty pleasures is all of those countdown shows on the E network and VH1. Dumbest things ever said, least metal moments, best videos of the 80s, I love them all. And one of my favorite blogs to keep up with this stuff is Whitney Matheson's blog for USA Today called Pop Candy. She talks about tv, movies, celebrities, music, comics and all sorts of stuff. I really like to read it after Lost is on. There is always a HUGE discussion about what symbols and meanings we may have missed. If you like this kind of thing, don't miss Whitney's blog!

The Most Stressful Time of the Year

I am known as a scrooge by my friends and family. Every year I try to get into the Christmas spirit and I fail miserably. Why is Christmas so busy and expensive. I was doing fine until my car window decided that it was not going to go down anymore (its not an automatic window) so I am going to try to find the time and money to take my car to the mechanic. And of course my car is 11 years old so they will have to order a part. So that means I have to rent a vehicle so that I can get to work and try to earn money to pay for all of this. This will be on top of the Christmas presents going to my credit cards, the $6500 heat pump that I will be paying for til I die, a dentist visit, a visit to the eye dr., contact lenses for the year, and repairs to my well and water softening system. Its hard to be cheerful when I just see myself getting farther and farther into debt. How much longer til this holiday is over? I'm ready for Springtime already.

A Beautiful View

Here is one of my favorite views. It is the view from Jefferson's Rock at Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. This is the time of year that I want to hibernate. It is dark when I come home from work and the weather is so cold. Even when we have a few nice days like we did last week, I am stuck inside the library and unable to enjoy it. So I like to look at these pleasant views of places that I have visited and imagine that I am there in nice, warm, sunny weather.

I have not reviewed a book in a while, so I really should get back to it. Terry Pratchett has written tons of books. Most of them are fantasy works and they take place in this fantasy world called Discworld. They are truly funny. The ones I especially recommend are his three Tiffany Aching books:

1. The Wee Free Men
2. A Hat Full of Sky
3. Wintersmith

You definitely must read them in order. The series starts with young 9 year old Tiffany Aching travelling to Fairyland to rescue her sticky little brother, Wentworth. Its a harsh journey, so to assist her she has the Wee Free Men, or Nac Mac Feegles. Tiny blue, heavily tattooed Pictsies (yes that's how it is spelled) that speak with a heavy Scottish brogue and love nothing more than a strong drink and a good fight. The Feegles are the best part of the books. Very comical. I also recommend this on audio so that you can get the full effect of the Scottish accent.

Election Day

Tomorrow is election day, so everyone make sure to go out and vote. I know that sometimes its hard to choose, especially when it seems like none of the choices are good. But just vote for the person that you hate the least :-) Here in my region of Virginia, one of our two senators is up for re-election (Senator George Allen). And its a tight race. My congresswoman is also up for re-election. I'm not sure I trust any of them, but I am definitely going to vote. If you don't vote, you cannot complain. Project Vote-smart is a great web site for political information.

Bella

My cat Bella playing with a troll doll.

Autumn

Its fall here in the great state of Virginia and the leaves are changing colors. The temperature has gone down to highs in the 60s (well...except those two days last week that got up to 78). I like the colder temperatures. I like the changing leaves and the smell of fall. I like Halloween and the creepiness of the holiday. The only problem with fall is that it means winter is just around the corner and I HATE winter.

There is nothing good about winter. Its dark when I get home from work. Its cold and its dreary. If we get any messy weather its usually freezing rain which means the library stays open and I drive in with a death grip on the steering wheel. And the worst is January and February! December is good because there are the holidays and it is usually not too cold. But January and February are cold and dark and there are no holidays to look forward to.

Dogs

Admittedly, I am a cat person. I have never cared too much for dogs. I was bitten by one when I was in elementary school and it has turned me against them ever since. There is a growing trend in my neighborhood for people to just let their dogs run free. It would be one thing if they were outside with their animal and constantly on alert for them. But they are not. Either they are in and out of their house, or they are so spaced out that they don't notice their animals running loose.

I like to walk around my neighborhood for exercise. But lately it has gotten difficult because I will be on the street minding my own business when one of these animals comes running up to me barking!!! They are large dogs. If it was a small dog I could kick it at least. But not one of these dogs. And then my idiot neighbors say "Oh he is friendly. He won't bite." The blasted dog is named Cujo!! Sure you think he is friendly, but not everyone believes that. Recently in the neighboring county we had a woman and her small dog mauled to death by 3 roaming dogs. The owner had been warned several times but did nothing. The victim was outside minding her own business walking her small dog when she was attacked. The owner of the dogs is now going to jail.

For all of you dog owners out there: please secure your pet. Even if you don't care about other people, think about your pet. Secure them for their own protection.

Is anyone reading?

I have not posted in a while and was wondering if it was worth continuing.

Back to normal

Life is getting back to normal now. My vacation is over. My nephew and I went to stay with my parents in the panhandle of West Virginia and I took day trips. After getting a new heat pump back in May, thats all I could afford. While I was visiting a state park in Maryland, I lost my digital camera. Idiot me walked off and left it sitting at an overlook. When I went back it was gone. The thing is, I'm not even sure where exactly I left it. I asked the park rangers, but of course no one turned it in. So...if anyone found a digital camera at Gambrill state park at the end of June, let me know!

Then July 1 was my birthday. Then the 4th. Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

I just finished The Colorado Kid by Stephen King. Don't worry. Its not a typical Stephen King! There is a paperback publisher releasing books under the "series" title of Hard Case Crime. They are all of these old noir type fiction. You know...the hard boiled detective, etc. Some are re-releases from the 30's. Others are new. This is one of them. The summary is this:
One day in early spring in 1980, a man is found dead on a beach on a small secluded island off of the coast of Maine. No cause of death is apparent, and neither is his identity. Who is this man? Why was he sitting on a beach at night without a coat, How did he die? Two local newsmen, and a graduate student in forensics try to find answers, but instead are left with just more questions. I would recommend this one to any mystery lover.

10 Things!

Wow! I have been gone a long time. Life just intruded I guess. This was a challenge from Beading Gal. 10 things that I like starting with the letter K. And what a challenge it was! I must confess that I cheated a bit. I used a dictionary!

1. Kid...or one kid in particular: My 8 year old nephew. He is the greatest kid I know and a lot of fun to be around.

2. Kitties...This is for my two cats, Bella and Calvin. I never considered myself an animal person in the past, but I really like these two.

3. Kin...Family is very important to me. They are my support system.

4. Knapsack...OK, I fudged this one a bit. This is because one of my favorite things to do is find some quiet woods and take a hike (carrying my knapsack of course!)

5. Kickboxing...as an example of exercise. I like to keep active with exercise DVDs including dancing and kickboxing.

6. Keyboard...and all of the computer stuff that it is connected to. I use a computer all day at work, but I love to get on the internet at home and read blogs. I may not always comment but I do lurk.

7. Kitchen...well, I hate to cook, but I LOVE to eat. I really love chocolate, but that does not start with a "k."

8. Knight...another stretch. This is for one of my favorite types of books to read: fantasy. Pure escape.

9. Knowledge...this stands for my job as a librarian. Even though I complain about it, I really do love my job and helping people find the answers they need.

10. Keeping quiet...this is just my natural temperment. I like to do quiet things, like read, watch movies, hike, etc.

OK...DONE! But I did cheat a tiny bit.

Weight Issues

I've been away for a while, getting ready for a work presentation in about a month. This post is not about books, but it is something that bothers me.

Today as I was teaching a senior citizen how to use the internet, she made a comment about her daughter and proceeded to pat me on the arm and say "she has weight problems like you, no offense." Well, I pride myself on holding my tongue, especially since it would probably backfire if I said anything back to her. But as I was driving home it bothered me a bit more.

Now, I KNOW I have a weight problem. I try to eat healthy, but I do not handle stress well. She is NOT telling me anything new, but isn't it just a bit tacky to point it out? Especially since it has nothing to do with the topic at hand. Why is it still acceptable to make comments about people's weight? Because I have lost the weight before and I will do it again. She will ALWAYS be rude and tacky.

50 Book Challenge

There is a challenge that is going around the web: The 50 Book Challenge. I'm not sure who originated the idea, but David Harris talks about it in his Salon.com blog. The idea is to read 50 books in a year and keep a list. Actually you are supposed to blog the titles, but I am not going to blog about every single book I read! I counted today and I have read 15 books since the beginning of the year. I know it sounds like I don't do anything else, but I promise you that I do go outside and get fresh air once and a while ;-)

So what am I reading now? I just skimmed through Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat: Secrets of My Mother's Tokyo Kitchen by Naomi Moriyama and William Doyle. I say skimmed, because she has lots of recipes in the book and I did not really read those! The author talks about the healthy lifestyle of the Japanese and how people can duplicate it at home. The recipes looks like they take more specialty ingredients, and I don't cook anyway, but she did give me some ideas about eating more healthy.

Blustery Day

We are having the strangest weather here! December we had a cold snap. That was the month that we got 3 snows. January is much warmer than usual. We have had 50-60 degree weather. EXCEPT for yesterday and today. EXTREMELY strong winds. And very cold too.

I know that I said I don't usually read award winners or "message books" as I call them, but I just finished A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, and it was EXCELLENT. In the late 1940s, in a small town in the south, a young African-American man is accused of murder and sentenced to death. He had gone to the local store with his friends when they decided to rob the store and murder the owner. Even though the young man, Jefferson, did not participate in the murder, he was there and the town wanted someone to be held accountable. Jefferson is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Grant Wiggins is an African American man who grew up in the town, but left to go to college. He returned to teach in the plantation school. The his aunt and Jefferson's godmother ask him to go speak to Jefferson. It seems that in an attempt to save the life of Jefferson, his lawyer claimed that he was not smart enough to plan a robbery and murder. He was not man enough to do it. Now Jefferson refuses to eat. His godmother wants Grant to teach him how to be a man. To have pride in himself. Grant does not want the responsibility, but visits Jefferson anyway. Mostly just so he does not have the pressure from his aunt and Jefferson's godmother. And during these visits, not only does he teach Jefferson, but he learns a lesson himself.

Honeymoon by James Patterson and Howard Roughan

Nora Sinclair has it all. Men want her and women envy her. She's beautiful, wealthy, has a great apartment and a wonderful job as an interior designer. She even has two gorgeous, rich men who want to marry her. Now, the only question is...who should she kill first?

Enter FBI Special Agent John O'Hara. Nora's banking transactions to the Cayman Islands have attracted the attention of the government, and the FBI is starting to think that Nora might have killed her fiance, and possibly her first husband. O'Hara poses as an insurance investigator to trap Nora into revealing herself. He did not expect to fall for her. Now O'Hara has let his guard down and Nora is planning on taking advantage of it. The honeymoon is over.

I have to do a presentation in March recommending books and I thought about doing this one. This is my rough draft of my booktalk. Any recommendations? This book is a very fast read. Short, quick chapters that make you want to keep turning the pages.

What books have been absolute page-turners for you?

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone! I have a feeling that 2006 is going to be so much better than 2005! I usually hate to make new years resolutions, since I am SO bad at keeping them, but a new year means a new start. Here's to a happy, healthy, and peaceful new year!