Hello and welcome to my bookshelf! A few things about me: I love to sleep, eat, cook, knit--actually do almost anything creative--, travel, and of course read. I've been reading since before I was in kindergarten and before that, I was being read to. My mom used to reward me for getting good grades by promises of trips to the book store to buy new books. I loved it. Hmmmm, what else.....oh yes, I love to watch movies (basically I love getting lost in stories).

Oh and I am the proud mom of two of the cutest cats ever. Simon and Moochie. When I finally moved out on my own with no roommates, I was determined to have pets--I've grown up with all kinds and numbers of pets all my life, but had to take a hiatus during college. I went to the animal shelter (because I am a firm believer in rescueing pound animals) knowing that I was going to leave with two kittens. I walked in and heard the cutest meow and walked right over to this mostly black kitten with white gloves and nose (Simon) and he practically tried to push through the cage door to get to me. Had to have him. Cowering in the back of his cage was an all black cat (Moochie) (yes, I have a thing for black cats) so not wanting to split them up, they both went home with me. They were so tiny that Moochie crawled up into a crack in the underside of my cubbards and oven and parked it there for two days until she dared to start coming out and exploring. Needless to say I couldn't cook anything for that duration and the second she was out, I had to stuff that crack with a towel until they were bigger so that there would be no accidental roastings of kittens. Moochie came home from the pound with a cold; since she was so young it hindered the development of her nasel passages and now when she breathes deeply (sleeping, chilling, sometimes meowing) she sounds like a duck. Heh heh. They are both so cute and I love them so much....good thing too, cuz they wreak so much havoc. I'm constantly teasing them that it's a good thing I love them so much or they'd be homeless. ;)

I also love my family. But I won't tell any stories about them as they might not appreciate the stories that I'd choose to tell. Heh heh.

Well, have fun with this wonderful idea of a website...It's the greatest!


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You are a Water Emerald. You are quiet and to
yourself and then an outburst of joy. You live
to seek peace. Your best freind is right there
and always loving. You might know that special
someone or you might be looking for him. You
enjoy the kelp and sleep, eat, breate, and live
in the greenery of the ocean. You are the most
common mermaid. Would you rate my quiz every
common one counts?


What kind of mermaid are you? (Gorgeous Pics)
brought to you by Quizilla

Here are the countries I've visited:


create your own visited country map
or check our Venice travel guide

And the states:


create your own personalized map of the USA


PS. One of my 2007 New Year's Resolutions was again to stop buying books (except on birthday and x-mas) and to tackle Mt. TBR. We'll see how that goes. ;) I did OK last year, not perfect but OK.

Best reads of 2007 (out of 36):
Julie & Julia - Julie Powell
Gilead - Marilynne Robinson
The Pact - Jodi Picoult
The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman
Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal - Christopher Moore

Best reads of 2008 (out of 32)
Broken for You - Stephanie Kallos
Extremely Close and Incredibly Loud - Jonathan Safran Foer
Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
The Omnivore's Dilemma - Michael Pollan
The Twilight series- Stephanie Meyer
The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien
Riding the Bus with my Sister - Rachel Simon

Best reads of 2009 (out of 47)
Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
Wicked - Gregory Maguire
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
The Year of Magical Thinking - Joan Didion
Change of Heart - Jodi Picoult
Eat, Love, Pray - Elizabeth Gilbert

Best reads of 2010 (out of 38):
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
The Host - Stephenie Meyer
Old Man's War - John Scalzi
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
The Girl who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson

Best reads of 2011 (out of 36):
The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet - Reif Larsen
The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson
The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - Michael Chabon
The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman

Books read so far this year:
1. The Night Circus - Erin Morganstern
2. World War Z - Max Brooks
3. A Game of Thrones - George R. R. Martin
4. Fingersmith - Sarah Waters
5. Morgue Drawer Four - Jutta Profijt
6. Robopocalypse - Daniel H. Wilson
7. Dewey - Vicki Myron
8. The Mummy Case - Elizabeth Peters
9. The Forever War - Joe Haldeman
10. The Fault in our Stars - John Green
11. A Clash of Kings - George R. R. Martin
12. Smokin' Seventeen - Janet Evanovich
13. Behemoth - Scott Westerfeld
14. Elsewhere - Gabrielle Zevin
15. The Book of Lost Things - John Connolly
16. Frankenfine: Fine as Hell - Preita Salyer

Currently reading:
The Worst Hard Time - Timothy Egan
A Storm of Swords - George R. R. Martin








Thanks to cliff1976, here's
My Wish List

"Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us."—Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas," The One Un-American Act." Nieman Reports, vol. 7, no. 1 (Jan. 1953): p. 20.


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