Abandoned Book

I have abandoned the book Nineteen Minutes for now and no, I don’t really feel guilty about it, for once.  I just feel disappointed because I did not feel the same way about this book as I did Picoult’s Change of Heart.  I never felt a connection with any of the characters and the story line was too depressing for me.  That’s all I have to say about that. 

Now I am trying to decide on what to read next.  Last night the hubby and I stopped at the PX to kill time before seeing The Chronicles of Narnia ~ Prince Caspian .  I did manage to find three books in their minute book section. 

My Best Friend’s Girl by Dorothy Koomson

Frannie & Zooey by J.D. Salinger

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. 

I read Frannie this morning.  It was a short story that first appeared in The New Yorker Magazine in 1955.  It was not quite what I was expecting.  I don’t know what I was expecting though.  It was ok, but I guess being a huge fan of The Catcher In The Rye, set a certain expectation for any of his other work.  It was about a Yale student named Lane and his girlfriend Frannie and their first visit together in a few weeks.  She had taken the train to visit him at school for the weekend from her school and after picking Frannie up at the station they went to lunch at a restaurant.  There, they are silently trying to decide if they are still excited by this relationship.  After one sided conversations on both parts you are led to believe that they don’t make it past this weekend together.  The dialoge was interesting but very strange.  Lots of “goddam”s and “I’m not kidding”s heavily peppered throughout the story. 

Now, I’m off to a fun night of Karaoke with the hubby (no, he doesn’t sing but he’s my #1 Fan and claps better than the rest of ’em) and our friends Gale & Jim.  I’m listening to some Aretha Franklin to get warmed up. 

I hope you have a fun weekend ahead of you.  Happy Friday!!!

 

Friday Random iPod Ten

After browsing some of your blogs I came across Verbatim via The 3 R’s and found something that is right up my alley.  The post is titled “Friday Random iPod Ten” and it’s a list of, you guessed it, ten songs randomly picked from your iPod/iTunes library.  Here’s Mine!

1.  Missing You ~ Alison Krauss & John Waite

2.  Take It Easy ~ The Eagles

3.  It’s Like That ~ Mariah Carey

4.  Athens ~ Pat McGee Band

5.  Like A Prayer ~ Madonna

6.  Cute As  Bug ~ Lyle Lovett

7.  Connected ~ Stereo MC’s

8.  Musicology ~ Prince

9.  Hard To Handle ~ The Commitments

10.  Heartbreaker ~ Pat Benatar

BTT ~ What Is Reading, Fundamentally? May 29th

What is reading, anyway? Novels, comics, graphic novels, manga, e-books, audiobooks — which of these is reading these days? Are they all reading? Only some of them? What are your personal qualifications for something to be “reading” — why? If something isn’t reading, why not? Does it matter? Does it impact your desire to sample a source if you find out a premise you liked the sound of is in a format you don’t consider to be reading? Share your personal definition of reading, and how you came to have that stance.

I believe that books, the internet, magazines, newspapers and e-books, comics and graphic novels are reading.  Audiobooks, not so much.  I think audiobooks fall under the “being read to” category.  It’s hard for me to stay alert and keep my attention on the topic when being read to as an adult.  When I was little I loved being read to by my folks though.  Maybe the imagination works differently when we are children to when we are grown?  I don’t have trouble listening to NPR but I’m pretty interactive and talk back to the radio or Podcast when I do. 

To me reading means that I am learning something by taking in the information through the “physical act of reading”.  I do believe that reading things on the internet does register as that.  I probably read more on the internet than any other medium, second being books and magazines.  I look forward to the day when I have a “Kindle” and will read e-books.  I love to read and always have.  I feel that lately I am always reading due to my new

Inspirational, Motivational ~ the Hump Day for May 28, 2008

I found this question via The 3 R’s: Reading, ‘Riting, and Randomness and thought I would write a response here.

“This week…it’s all about the other guy (or gal). One of the greatest things we all say we find in blogging is community. What post, blog or blogger has inspired you? It could have been a comment, a post, something someone did. Perhaps you’ve become friends. Big or small, if it moved you and caused you to take action in your own life, tell us about it. Tell us what inspired you, and then let us know the story from there—your story.”

I have dabbled in blogging over the last few years but it wasn’t until discovering Stephanie’s The Written Word and Lisa’s Books On The Brain blogs that I was inspired to really stick to it and focus on books and music for topics.  I started reading TWW in the spring of last year.  I loved the way her site looked and I really enjoyed her posts.  When I first started to read TWW, it was an on-line book club but as time passed and a new daughter was brought into the family it has changed into a blog sharing a little bit of everything.  It is no longer a book club but books are still discussed and recommended.  The posts were informative and clever.  Funny and entertaining.  I came across BOTB through comments left by Lisa on TWW.  Isn’t that how we discover so many of our favorite blogs?  BOTB continues to be a source of book blogging inspiration.  She is very active in the book reviewing community and is always discussing interesting books, old and new.   BOTB is full of book reviews, stories about the kids and hubby and fun meme’s that you are invited to share in. 

Planet Books has become a mix of a book lovers, music lovers and everything else type of blog.  As a result of blogging and reading other blogs, I find that my interests have expanded in the “real world”.  I am more interested in politics (I know it’s hard not to be right now), culture, the news, discovering new music and books and working on myself as a person, woman and member of society.  Having a blog gives me a great outlet to discuss some of these ideas and discoveries and I love the community I have become a part of and the friends I have made.  Though I may never meet these ladies or the many other people I have “met” via blogging, I appreciate all the words they share with us in the blogging community.  I enjoy sitting down everyday and learning something new from people out there just living their lives, making new discoveries themselves and then blogging about it. 

Today’s Favorite Song

Today I’ve been listening to a ton of music by The Beatles.  The first Beatles album I ever heard was my dad’s vinyl copy of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”.  I was in the 7th grade and my friend Lisa was over and going through my family’s records and when she came across this one she put it on and we listened to it from beginning to end.  I’m sure I had heard to it before that day but that was the first day I listened.  The Beatles are pretty well loved in my family, especially by my sister Sonja (you can find her blog at AudioInput and DrawMeAStory).  I just got a bunch of cd’s by The Beatles and came across one of my favorite Beatles songs.  It’s called “Rock & Roll Music” and it’s on the “Beatles For Sale” album. 

Slowing Down

The Hubby got back yesterday and boy are Rocky and I happy to have him home!  It’s just tough to get another body (besides the dog) back in bed with you after two weeks of “sleeping single in a double bed” (actually our bed is a queen but the the Barbara Mandrell song says double). 

Because of the preparation for his return and then the initial return, I haven’t picked up “Nineteen Minutes” since Monday morning.   I don’t know why I have trouble getting back into the book when I’ve been away from it for a little while but I am.  Maybe it’s bringing back memories of sadder times for me  (living in Denver when the shootings at Columbine occurred) or something but my eye keeps wandering to the other books on my shelves throughout the day.  I’ll give it one more go and if the same thing happens after putting it down again, then I will have to revisit it at another time. 

Does this happen to you?  Do personal reasons ever prevent you from being able to enjoy a work of fiction?  Which book did you experience this with most recently?  I know I’m probably not the only one who this has happened to but I still feel a little guilty for leaving a book unfinished.  I have found myself doing this more than usual over the last few months. 

Today’s Favorite Song

In 1990 a little tune emergedtube on the scene and danced into my ears.  Soho’s “Hippy Chick” is a blend of great vocals, a catchy chorus and a beat that doesn’t stop.  This song has haunted my mind since at least the early 90’s.  I LOVE IT!!!!  I just found it on YouTube and have played it over and over and over all day.  The video is simple, just footage of the group performing.  I don’t have any specific reason for loving this song.  I guess it represents a carefree, playful time in my life when the teen years were over but I hadn’t yet stepped into the real world yet.  Does this song bring back any memories for you?

Today’s Favorite Song

One of my all time favorite albums is Nine Inch Nails “Pretty Hate Machine”.  I received this cd as a gift recently and was so happy to have it in another form other than my old tape from my college years.  I listened to the whole album this morning, I know it’s Sunday but good music is good music no matter what.  The most popular track on the album is “Head Like A Hole”.  I had a NIN t-shirt for years in the early 90’s and I would listen to this album over and over again with my friend Erin as we rode around in her well loved but beat up Honda Prelude she had named EDDIE after Eddie Vedder.  She also had a black dog (Black Lab and Cocker Spaniel mix) named Zepplin.  If you want a good jolt of energy than this is the song for you today!

Sunday Salon ~ May 25th

How did we get to Sundayand the SUNDAY SALON again so quickly?  Time has flown by this past week.  I have gotten a lot read but not all in one place today.  After having lunch with my friend Rene at an AMAZING burger joint (yes for you  Oki dwellers- I said BURGER JOINT!) and then running a few errands I headed home and to my study.  I read up on some news, checked out Perez Hilton’s site and then caught up on some friends blogs.  After about forty-five minutes of this type of reading, I hit the guest bed with the book I’m reading at the moment, “Nineteen Minutes”.  I didn’t pick it up at all on Friday or Saturday, so after refreshing myself with a page of so, I settled in to reading before giving in thirty minutes later and taking a nap. 

In “Nineteen Minutes”  there are secrets that have yet to be revealed and it’s getting a little annoying.  Please Ms. Picoult, unravel some of these secrets so the story moves a little faster!!!  SOON!!  (Readers of this blog, pelase don’t leave any spoilers in the comment section.)  I am still enjoying the book but I am finding myself getting a little depressed when I imagine the students and faculty of Columbine HS and Virginia Tech living these situations.  To keep the book in the fiction realm, I am imagining the characters resembling some of the actors in the tv shows “Heroes” and “Friday Night Lights“.   I am looking forward to finding something a little lighter to read when I’m done with this book though.  Any suggestions?

Today’s Favorite Song

Today was a gorgeous day in Okinawa and a perfect day for a party.  This week I had been invited to my friend Cathy’s house for a Memorial Day cookout this evening.  I woke up today very excited because Cathy always has fantastic eats at her gatherings.  She had called me earlier in the week and asked me to put together the music for the party and I accepted the task with pleasure. 

This morning I put together the 2008 summer playlist that will last me through the next few months.  The following songs are just a few of the 711 song playlist I created for my iPod.  ENJOY!!