Even MORE books!

Smitty posted the Modern Library list of 100 top books, so let's do it again! Bold for read, italics for mean to read.

I find this list equally flawed. (Only 17 for me.) Looks like they just compiled syllibi from college English courses -- let's see, how many books can we list by the same author? And crazy, Death Comes for the Archbishop as the only Cather? I was a Cather fiend in high school, and My Antonia was much better. Maybe they just picked it because it was short.

Of course, reading this one makes me realize who wasn't on the other list, and wow, how do you not include Faulkner? Or Cather, for that matter.

Anyway, books are fun!

1 Ulysses – James Joyce
2 The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
3 Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – James Joyce
4 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
5 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
6 The Sound and the Fury – William Faulkner
7 Catch-22 – Joseph Heller
8 Darkness at Noon – Arthur Koestler
9 Sons and Lovers – D.H. Lawrence
10 The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
11 Under the Volcano – Malcolm Lowry
12 The Way of All Flesh – Samuel Butler
13 1984 – George Orwell
14 I, Claudius – Robert Graves
15 To the Lighthouse – Virginia Woolf
16 An American Tragedy – Theodore Dreiser
17 The Heart is a Lonely Hunter – Carson McCullers
18 Slaugterhouse-Five – Kurt Vonnegut
19 Invisible Man – Ralph Ellison
20 Native Son – Richard Wright
21 Henderson the Rain King – Saul Bellow
22 Appointment in Samarra – John O'Hara
23 U.S.A. – John dos Passos
24 Winesburg, Ohio – Sherwood Anderson
25 A Passage to India – E.M. Forster
26 The Wings of the Dove – Henry James
27 The Ambassadors – Henry James
28 Tender is the Night – F. Scott Fitzgerald
29 The Studs Lonigan Trilogy – James T Farrell
30 The Good Soldier – Ford Madox Ford
31 Animal Farm – George Orwell
32 The Golden Bowl – Henry James
33 Sister Carrie – Theodore Dreiser
34 A Handful of Dust – Evelyn Waugh
35 As I Lay Dying – William Faulkner
36 All the King's Men – Robert Penn Warren
37 The Bridge of San Luis Rey – Thornton Wilder
38 Howard's End – E.M. Forster
39 Go Tell it on the Mountain – James Baldwin
40 The Heart of the Matter – Graham Greene
41 Lord of the Flies – William Golding
42 Deliverance – James Dickey
43 A Dance to the Music of Time – Anthony Powell
44 Point Counterpoint – Aldous Huxley
45 The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway
46 The Secret Agent – Joseph Conrad
47 Nostromo – Joseph Conrad
48 The Rainbow – D.H. Lawrence
49 Women in Love – D.H. Lawrence
50 Tropic of Cancer – Henry Miller
51 The Naked and the Dead – Norman Mailer
52 Portnoy's Complaint – Philip Roth
53 Pale Fire – Vladimir Nabokov
54 Light in August – William Faulkner
55 On the Road – Jack Kerouac
56 The Maltese Falcon – Dashiell Hammett
57 Parade's End – Ford Madox Ford
58 The Age of Innocence – Edith Wharton
59 Zuleika Dobson – Max Beerbohm
60 The Moviegoer – Walker Percy
61 Death Comes for the Archbishop – Willa Cather
62 From Here to Eternity – James Jones
63 The Wapshot Chronicles – John Cheever
64 The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
65 A Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess
66 Of Human Bondage – W. Somerset Maugham
67 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
68 Main Street – Sinclair Lewis
69 The House of Mirth – Edith Wharton
70 The Alexandria Quartet – Lawrence Durrell
71 A High Wind in Jamaica – Richard Hughes
72 A House for Mr. Biswas – V.S. Naipaul
73 The Day of the Locust – Nathanael West
74 A Farewell to Arms – Ernest Hemingway
75 Scoop – Evelyn Waugh
76 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie – Muriel Spark
77 Finnegans Wake – James Joyce
78 Kim – Rudyard Kipling
79 A Room With a View – E.M. Forster
80 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh
81 The Adventures of Augie March – Saul Bellow
82 Angle of Repose – Wallace Stegner
83 A Bend in the River – V.S. Naipaul
84 The Death of the Heart – Elizabeth Bowen
85 Lord Jim – Joseph Conrad
86 Ragtime – E.L. Doctorow
87 The Old Wives' Tale – Arnold Bennett
88 The Call of the Wild – Jack London
89 Loving – Henry Green
90 Midnight's Children – Salman Rushdie
91 Tobacco Road – Erskine Caldwell
92 Ironweed – William Kennedy
93 The Magus – John Fowles
94 Wide Sargasso Sea – Jean Rhys
95 Under the Net – Iris Murdoch
96 Sophie's Choice – William Styron
97 The Sheltering Sky – Paul Bowles
98 The Postman Always Rings Twice – James M. Cain
99 The Ginger Man – J.P. Donleavy
100 The Magnificent Ambersons – Booth Tarkington

Books! Books everywhere!

The Big Read is an NEA program designed to encourage community reading initiatives. They've come up with this list of the top 100 books, using criteria they don't explain, and they estimate that the average adult has only read 6 of these. So, we are encouraged to:

1) Look at the list and bold those we have read.
2) Italicize those we intend to read.
3) Underline the books we LOVE
4) Reprint this list in our own blogs

I've read 38, which isn't bad! I could say I've read more, but I guess watching BBC versions of Austen doesn't count, huh? And what can I say, I don't care for fantasy, never have.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare -- well, not complete ...
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Resuscitated

So, hi. Yeah, I know, I've disappeared. Frankly, nothing earth-shattering has happened. I'm working away at the first issue of the magazine (if my designer would ever get her s*$% together and send me pages!!!), and we're fleeing the country in six days. I seldom think to visit my blog, or any of yours, dear readers, since it's not my homepage on the work Mac. And I'm hardly ever on at home, though if I am it is generally to be sucked into my addictive mommy forum. (A., have you tried centralpiedmontmommies.com? Jenny, there's an indymommies.com! You will waste inordinate amounts of time, but it's fun!)

The fam is doing well. This week's big news: Abigail read me "Green Eggs and Ham." I'm so incredibly proud! A real, long book, not just a little easy reader! It was very, very exciting, and we've since added "Hop on Pop" and a couple other longer beginner books. She's done loads of other interesting things, too, including a few days in January of playing The Blitz after falling in love with a book about London history her Auntie Manda gave her. Nothing like hearing pretend explosions all afternoon!

She also really likes my Mac and the many special effects of Photo Booth





So the family is good. I'm good. The magazine is overall good. Some of the writing leaves a bit to be desired, but I think that will improve as time goes on. I'm really excited about the next issue, which will have a green-ish theme. The stories should be even more interesting. If all goes well, I'm happy to mail copies to anyone! If all doesn't go well, we never spoke of this ...

And now, to make this even longer and more random, a fabulous meme I stole from Jenny!

Create your own band.
1 - Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
2 - Go to Random quotations: http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.
3 - Go to flickr's "explore the last seven days” http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
Put it all together, that's your first album

Catch the debut release by Neoschumannia kamerunensis entitled Rarest Thing I Know

Available for a limited time only on this Web site!

I need an empire waist dress

How on earth can I not like this one? Thanks, Shana! Though I do have to dig out my Austen to remember exactly who Jane was ...

(Later: Damn, this is annoying! I've read the book, I loved the book. Who the hell was Jane?! I think I'm all confused with "Sense and Sensibility" ...)

You scored as Jane Bennet. As someone who would rather see the good in people, Jane is a true pacifist and caregiver. At times, her shy temperament and naive outlook of people can land her in a compliant position, but those who know her love her for her positive spirit and cheerful view of what surrounds her. Jane Bennet 59% Elinor Dashwood 50% Elizabeth Bennet 41% Emma Woodhouse 41% Marianne Dashwood 31% Charlotte Lucas 19% Lady Catherine 9% Which Jane Austen Character are You? (For Females) Long Quiz!!! created with QuizFarm.com

Hardcore Backyard Wrestling

My brother-in-law may be a Dunce, but he has a knack for finding entertaining sites. Acronym Finder is a highly entertaining waste of time, where you can enter your initials and see all the corresponding abbreviations, initializations and acronyms. For me, my favorite was the title of this post, though my maiden name also came up with Hybrid Fluidized Bed. Not bad. I know my sister is just pleased there are other responses to her old initials other than the elementary school bully favorite, "Your initials backwards spell bra!"

Yours truly, Hartree Fock Bogoliubov

Me, me, me, me

Well, now this is absolutely lovely and totally self-centered! :)

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 3,533 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

And, hey, mom! There are only four of you. Even better, just one with your maiden name! Just 13 of me pre-marriage. And just 42 for Abbey (lots more for Abigail).

Should ... not ... give ... in ...

But of course I will. Feel free not to read the following 101 self-absorbed questions (gee, thanks, Carrots):

1. ONE OF YOUR SCARS, HOW DID YOU GET IT?
The lovely bikini slash across my abdomen, thanks to Abigail. Or rather pre-eclampsia.

2. WHAT IS ON THE WALLS IN YOUR ROOM?
My degree, pictures of college family, a plate of my first front page, a comic featuring Brad drawn by his best friend, pictures of my family.

3. DO YOU GRIND YOUR TEETH OR TALK IN YOUR SLEEP?
No, but I think I clench them.

4. MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO?
Last one I wanted to hear was Coldplay, but of course I forgot to put the CD in. Otherwise, most recently heard were Athlete and Jay Clifford.

5. DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME YOU WERE BORN?
7:04 a.m.

6. WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING RIGHT NOW?
A better coffee pot.

7. WHAT DO YOU MISS?
Travel

8. WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRIZED POSSESSION(S)?
All my many books. And my new dress that I really hope I can wear to an upcoming wedding.

9. HOW TALL ARE YOU?
5'6" or 5'7", depending on my mood

10. DO YOU GET CLAUSTROPHOBIC?
Not often, but yes when it's really hot and humid or when I'm shoved into a street with thousands of Germans and can't move

11. DO YOU GET SCARED IN THE DARK?
Not more than the ocassional creepy feeling requiring a dash upstairs at night.

12. THE LAST PERSON TO MAKE YOU CRY?
I guess Brad, but it was really just me being over-tired and defensive in an argument

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOGNE FOR A GUY?
None.

14. WHAT KIND OF HAIR/EYE COLOR DO YOU LIKE ON THE OPPOSITE SEX?
Dark hair, dark eyes

15. WHERE CAN YOU SEE YOURSELF PROPOSING/ BEING PROPOSED TO?
It was at Freedom Park, under the willow

16. COFFEE OR ENERGY DRINK?
Cooooooffffffeeeeeeee

17. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PIZZA TOPPING?
Ham and pineapple. Or mushroom, spinach and an egg if in Europe.

18. IF YOU CAN EAT ANYTHING RIGHT NOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Very rich, chocolate pastry

21. WHAT WAS THE FIRST GIFT SOMEONE EVER GAVE YOU?
Of the assorted baby toys, I think I'd say Mousie, the amorphous gray stuffed mouse

22. DO YOU LIKE ANYBODY?
I generally give everyone the benefit of the doubt.

23. ARE YOU DOUBLE JOINTED?
No.

24. FAVORITE CLOTHING BRAND?
I generally have the most luck at Gap Outlet.

26. DO YOU HAVE A PET RIGHT NOW?
Mom's cat is technically mine.

27. WHAT KIND IS IT?
A Maine coon.

28. WOULD YOU FALL IN LOVE KNOWING THAT THE PERSON IS LEAVING?
Yes

29. WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO TELL SOMEONE HOW MUCH THEY MEAN TO YOU?
Listen attentively and sympathetically.

30. SAY A NUMBER FROM ONE TO A HUNDRED:
29

31. BLONDES OR BRUNETTES?
Brunettes.

32. WHAT IS THE ONE NUMBER YOU CALL OFTEN?
Mom's.

33. WHAT ANNOYS YOU MOST?
Geez, I don't even think I can start here. Let's say SUVs.

34. HAVE YOU BEEN OUT OF THE USA?
If you don't know this answer, you don't know me.

35. YOUR WEAKNESSES?
Chocolate. Television.

36. MET ANYONE FAMOUS?
I don't think so.

37. FIRST JOB?
Besides baby-sitting, cashier at T-Bones, a small grocery store in the 'Burgh.

38. EVER DONE A PRANK CALL?
Maybe a few in junior high.

39. WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEFORE YOU FILLED OUT THIS?
Preparing to take a shower.

40. HAVE YOU EVER HAD SURGERY?
Several.

41. HAVE YOU GOTTEN YOUR WISDOM TEETH REMOVED?
Yes. How old is the target audience for this thing?

42. WHAT DO YOU GET COMPLIMENTED ABOUT MOST?
Lately, my hair.

43. HAVE YOU EVER HAD BRACES?
Yes.

44. WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY?
A new coffee pot.

45. HOW MANY KIDS DO YOU WANT?
Two.

46. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
My middle name is for my dad's mom.

47. DO YOU WISH ON STARS?
No, clasps of necklaces and green and yellow M&Ms.

48. WHAT DID YOU DO TODAY?
Drank coffee, read the paper, read Babar the Elephant.

49. WHAT KIND OF SHAMPOO DO YOU USE?
Pantene Brunette Expressions.

50. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Kind of, it's like Dad's.

51. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Roast beef?

52. ANY BAD HABITS?
Loads and loads, most notably procrastination (exhibit A).

53. WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING CD ON THE SHELF?
I think I've shed the truly embarassing, like Mariah Carey from when I was 13 that I swear I never listened to all the way through.

54. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Hopefully, but I'm very shy.

56. DO LOOKS MATTER WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX?
Yes.

57. HOW DO YOU RELEASE ANGER?
Get snippy, go for a drive or walk, throw things, sometimes just cry.

58. WHERE IS YOUR SECOND HOME?
Clemson, SC.

59. WHO IS YOUR FAMOUS/ ACTOR/SINGER CRUSH?
Don't have one.

60. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHILD?
Barbies and Cabbage Patch Kids

61. HOW MANY NUMBERS ARE IN YOUR CELL PHONE?
maybe 20

62. WERE YOU A FAN OF BARNEY AS A KID?
Rubble, sure. Much more predictable than Fred

63. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
Loads

64. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN A MOSH PIT?
No.

65. WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A GUY/GIRL?
Sense of humor, literary appreciation, desire to eat really well and travel.

66. WHAT ARE YOUR NICKNAMES?
Once upon a time, I was Cowgirl, Tiger, Bucky, Buxton, Jasmine, Heather Feather.

67. WHATS YOUR FAVORITE BAND/SINGER?
Jump, Little Children.

69. WHAT WAS YOUR ACT/SAT SCORE?
I used to claim 1490, but I think it was 1410.

70. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?
Maybe Moose Tracks. In France, Cassis.

71. DO YOU HAVE ALL YOUR FINGERS AND TOES?
Yes

72. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WORKED OUT?
Yesterday.

73. WHO/WHAT DO YOU MISS MOST RIGHT NOW?
Dad.

74. WHATS THE FASTEST YOU HAVE GONE IN A CAR?
Once Brad made it past the ATL airport in four hours -- I stopped looking at the speedometer out of fear.

75. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS?
Why not

76. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO?
Traffic.

77. LAST THING YOU DRANK?
Coffee.

78. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Mother-in-law.

79. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE IN THE OPPOSITE SEX?
Face.

80. FAVORITE THOUGHT PROVOKING SONG?
That one by Blue October that makes me want to cry.

81. FAVORITE THING TO HATE?
Conspicuous materialism.

82. FAVORITE MONTH OF THE YEAR?
October

83. FAVORITE SPORT?
Hiking.

84. YOUR ZODIAC SIGN?
Leo.

85. WHAT IS YOUR HAIR COLOR?
Dark brown.

86. EYE COLOR?
Brown.

87. WHAT IS YOUR HERITAGE?
In descending order: German, English, Scots-Irish, Cherokee, French.

88. SIBLINGS?
1 sister

89. FAVORITE FAST FOOD RESTURANT?
Don't eat it much. Do Steak-n-Shake or McAlister's count?

90. YOU LIKE SUSHI?
I've tried, but no.

91. LAST THING YOU WATCHED?
Egad, "Wife Swap." I needed something while I ironed.

92. WHATS YOUR FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR?
Christmas Eve.

93. PLAY ANY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS?
Flute and piano.

94. REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT?
Democrat.

95. KISSES OR HUGS?
Hugs.

96. RELATIONSHIPS OR ONE NIGHT STANDS?
Can anyone honestly see me in a one-night stand?

97. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT?
Earrings.

98. WHAT KIND OF CAR DO YOU DRIVE?
Honda Civic.

99. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?
The Inheritance of Loss.

100. ARE YOU BORED?
No.

101. MASHED POTATOES OR MACARONI AND CHEESE?
Uh, potatoes, I guess.

I always hated tag ...

... but this involves books, so you know I have to do it. And I'm not even technically related!

1. One book that changed your life?

Perhaps not very profound, I'd have to say "Anne of Green Gables" by L.M. Montgomery. While I always loved reading, that's what fully put literature on a pedestal for me and inspired the English-majorness. I could also add "Busy, Busy World" by Richard Scarry, which very well may have given me that first glimpse of a tantalizing wider world.

2. One book you have read more than once?

Most notably, the entire "Anne" series eleven times, as well as "Emily of New Moon" and the rest of that series. My large collection of Berenstain Bears was probably my first obsession, followed by "Little House on the Prairie" et al. at least five times.

Oh, and I have reread as an adult! "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamant is an amazing take on the often overlooked women of the early bible.

3. One book you would want on a desert island?

Um, um, um -- that's hard! I'd tire of the same fiction over and over, so I guess I'll be good and say the Bible.

4. One book that made you laugh?

"The Mother Tongue" by Bill Bryson is a hoot for any language fiend. Yes, I know he's not 100% correct, but it's still loaded with amazing facts and humor.

5. One book that made you cry?

I love books that make me cry, so there have been many in this category. I know I openly bawled at the end of "Anne of Green Gables," "The Red Tent," and "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving.

6. One book you wish had been written?

What a good question. Perhaps a gospel from the point of view of Mary or Mary Magdalene. Yes, there's an apocryphal version accredited to the latter, but a canonical version would be nice.

7. One book you wish had never been written?

Not that I have anything against Edith Wharton, but "Ethan Frome" was the bane of my 11th grade existance. How my self-destructing, Elmer Fudd look-alike teacher could take more than two months on a novella is beyond me.

8. One book you are currently reading?

"Change Me Into Zeus's Daughter" by Barbara Robinette Moss for a book club I'll never actually attend. So far it's mainly making me mad that the mother wouldn't leave her husband to protect her seven kids.

9. One book you have been meaning to read?

There are so many on this list. Too many to name, and some of which would be embarassing to admit are still lingering on my to-do list.

10. Now tag five people.

They'll love me for this, I'm sure, but Carrots, Smitty, Coffee, Rambling and Years.

Okay, and I couldn't pass this one up

You Are French Food

Snobby yet ubiquitous. People act like they understand you more than they actually do.

What Kind of Food Are You?

It's been too quiet in quiz world

Your Hair Should Be Purple

Intense, thoughtful, and unconventional. You're always philosophizing and inspiring others with your insights.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

something different, yet oddly reminiscent of recent posts

Your personality type is SCOAN

You are moderately social, calm, organized, accommodating, and moderately non-intellecutal, and may prefer a city which matches those traits.

The largest representation of your personality type can be found in the these U.S. cities: Reno, San Diego, Cleveland, Providence, Kansas City, Greenville/Spartanburg, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Orange County, Houston, Charlotte, Columbus and these international countries/regions Kazakhstan, India, South Korea, Ukraine, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Romania, Russia, Norway, Switzerland, Middle East, Italy

What Places In The World Match Your Personality?
Powered by CityCulture.org

Two comments on this: There's Greenville/Spartanburg again. I think these things are trying to tell me something. Then again, comment number 2: Kazakhstan???

There but for the grace ...

Since Brad is quite into this at the moment, I thought I'd share my Myers-Briggs results, though they're slightly different from when we did this with marriage counseling. Of course, I've also become a very different person since then ...

ESFJ
Strengths: 11 percent Extroverted
25 percent Sensing
62 percent Feeling
56 percent Judging


* slightly expressed extrovert
* moderately expressed sensing personality
* distinctively expressed feeling personality
* moderately expressed judging personality

Provider Guardian
This seems fairly right, though I'm so slightly extroverted that the perfect hostess bit is a bit off. And I certainly can't see myself in sales! I have an incredibly sense of responsibility, a desire to be involved in things like church and charities to make a difference, and I definitely think I'm a giving person -- though perhaps too much sometimes, like always agreeing to switch my schedule for other people to be off. I'm a shy extrovert, for whatever sense that makes. I love being with people, I get depressed when I'm too alone and inactive, but I'm so incredibly nervous about meeting new people. I'm one of those hang on the side of the room with people you know types at parties, though I do enjoy having people over and the idea of dinner parties. Oh well, that's what happens when you try to pigeonhole people!

But as for what I'd do if I hadn't gone to college, that's a really scary question. I have experience in clerical stuff, but what I love is language and communication. While it's theoretically possible to become a journalist without at degree, they usually require you to complete one as you work, so I'm not sure that would count for this hypothetical. I'm not particularly good with my hands, so trades are out. I guess I might have gotten at two-year nursing degree, but I've never been that interested in biology.

It's a difficult thing to get your mind around, the idea of not going to college. My whole life was geared that way. When I was in junior high, I thought I would be a history professor. I was in honors classes where it wasn't a question of if you'd go to college but where. Heck, my whole high school was pretty much like that, something like 90 percent of us went on for some kind of higher education. Looking at the options that remain if you don't go, I feel bad for those who can't!

I do agree that there are many people in college who shouldn't be -- several business majors I knew come to mind, especially the infamous Jeremiah. Part of that stems from the coddled state of many middle- to upper-class children, though. They can't conceive of having to work for something. They've always just coasted and turned to mom and dad, so they coast through college with C's and a business degree and get some job that is just for them to make money and go on with the rest of their lives. Not to say there aren't passionate, hard-working business majors out there. You find people like this in almost any major. Girls at college for their MRS, guys there as a way to legitimize partying. It's sad, they are the ones that bring the rigor level of universities down.

It's a mania!

Wow, that city list thing just exploded, huh? I must say, though, seeing other people's lists, I definitely agree with Smitty that towns must have been paying to be on that site. Why else would so many people get Tulsa and Sheboygan? And Palm Springs, Calif., out of nowhere? Johnson City, Clarksville, Little Rock ... they're all suspicious. As my sister noted, where was New York? Or even Charlotte, for those of us with heavily Southeastern lists (not that I'm recommending it, really). Or Atlanta? Interestingly, all places people are already moving to ...

Anyway, that was fun! Thanks Chiff! Now you just need to add to the hilarity by posting pictures of that pimped-out car!

Home sweet home

According to this site, this is the list of top 24 cities for me. A friend did it with the purpose of finding a place to live, but I just did it for fun. These are so completely unsurprising! If I had come up with this list off the top of my head, many of the top 10 have been there anyway -- I've talked about Asheville and Roanoke since I was 18 -- uh, not Tulsa. But am I predictable or what? Sad thing is, if Brad did this survey, his answers would be NO WHERE NEAR MINE. Good thing reality isn't an Internet quiz.

1. Asheville, NC
2. Roanoke, VA
3. Chattanooga, TN
4. Brevard, NC
5. Johnson City-Kingston, TN
6. Greenville, SC
7. Hickory, NC
8. Boone, NC
9. Maryville, TN
10. Knoxville, TN
11. Tulsa, OK
12. Charlottesville, VA
13. Hendersonville, NC
14. Lynchburg, VA
15. Waynesville, NC
16. Clarksville, TN
17. Berea, KY
18. Culpeper, VA
19. Abingdon, VA
20. Morganton, NC
21. Clayton, GA -- the fruitcake place? maybe not
22. Gainsville, GA
23. Mount Airy, NC -- start whistling!
24. Palm Springs, CA -- where did that come from?!

I actually love these things, call me crazy

1. First Name:Heather
2. Were you named after anyone? My parents had a dear friend Heather in Australia before I was born, but they say they just liked the name
3. Do you wish on stars? No, but I do wish on green and yellow M&Ms and the clasp of my necklace when it's down at the pendant
4. When did you last cry? I teard up one day when Abbey was at the beach with her Nana when I said something she says a lot, though I don't think I actually cried.
5. Do you like your handwriting? I used to hate it, but now it reminds me of my dad's
6. What is your favorite lunch meat? Depends. Virginia baked ham or roast beef
7. What is your birth date? 23 July 1977 -- still enough time for shipping!
8. What is your most embarrassing CD? One of the first CDs I bought at 13 was Mariah Carey. I don't think I ever listened to it all the way through.
9. If you were another person, would YOU be friends with you? I think so, though I'd be really hard to meet since I'm so shy at first
10. Are you a daredevil? not really
11. Who is your favorite cartoon character? There's this incredibly cute PBS show about an Irish pig named Piggly Winks
12. Do looks matter? Yeah, but a guy has to live up to the looks when he opens his mouth
13. How do you release anger? I throw a tantrum. Sad but true. I jump up and down and yell. Or throw spatulas at college roommates.
14. Where is your second home? Clemson, SC
15. Do you trust others easily? Very
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? Barbies and Cabbage Patch Kids
17. What class in high school do you think was totally useless? My biology class. My teacher curved the grades so much I got 125% one quarter. And she was crazy, got her hair done once a week in a giant beehive, which she would scratch a lot as the week drew to an end. And very creepy cultures were growing in the room, and I'm not sure they were all intentional.
18. Do you have a journal? Did until junior year of college, when I realized I was only repeating what I'd already told my girlfriends
19. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Noooo, never.
20. What are your nicknames? Don't really have any now, but I used to be Buxton, Bucky, Yasmine, H (hated that one), Yazz, Heather Feather, and the cruel middle school boys called me Bob
21. Would you bungee jump? No, but I'd parasail
22. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Only my sneakers
23. Do you think that you are strong? Emotionally, very
24. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Cassis or dark chocolate with raspberries
25. Shoe Size? 8.5 or 9
26. Red or pink? dark red
27. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? way way way too shy
28. Who do you miss most? Daddy
30. What color pants and shoes are you wearing? Blue jeans and brown sandals
31. What are you listening to right now? the police scanner and the whir of a very loud computer
32. Last thing you ate? a blueberry muffin from the vending machine
33. If you were a color what would you be? a dark green or blue
34. What is the weather like right now? humid, not too hot, smoky from the fireworks the city just set off -- happy Bastille Day! -- er belated Fourth!
36. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? eyes, height, coloring
37. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Smitty's been one of my closest friends for a decade now -- awwwww
38. Favorite Drink? cappuccino
39. Favorite Sport? hiking
40. Hair Color? dark brown
41. Eye Color? brown with moments of hazel
42.Do you wear contacts? used to
43. Favorite Food? Bread. Pain. Brot. Did I mention bread? Oh, and chocolate.
44. Last Movie You Watched? Luther -- a bit disappointing
45. Favorite Day of the Year? Christmas Eve
46. Scary Movies or Happy Endings? I like to cry
47. Summer or Winter? Winter
48. Hugs or Kisses? Hugs and kisses on the neck
49. What Is Your Favorite Dessert? Chocolate anything
52. Living Arrangements? two-story townhouse shared with husband and daughter and lots of books
53. What Books Are You Reading? Mists of Avalon and many, many kids books
54. What's On Your Mouse Pad? tonight's computer features the Marine Corps -- I rotate work desks
55. What Did You Watch Last night on TV? might have checked the 24-hour weather radar channel
56. Favorite Smells? freshly ground coffee, fresh baked bread, tobacco, Abbey's hair after her bath, 6-month-old babies
57. Favorite Flower? daffodils, daffodils, daffodils -- and some narcissus thrown in there
58. Rolling Stones or Beatles? Beatles.
59. Do you believe in Evolution or Creation? Evolution caused by God
60. What's the furthest you've been from home? Prague, Czech Republic
61. What made you spend all of your time filling this damn thing out? Waiting, waiting, waiting for a story at work