Meme time!
a) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
b) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Reprint this list and leave a comment——————————————–
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 (I've started it a couple of times)
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
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 (uggh, regretfully)
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
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 (has anyone really read it?)
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 (which one?)
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
Wow, I'm fairly impressed with my list. Of course, most of the classics I read in class, so I guess that's an unfair advantage... Also, it's cheating slightly to say "The Chronicles of Narnia" AND "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"!
Showing posts with label meme. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meme. Show all posts
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
The Number 4
Since Secret Knitter so kindly tagged me for a meme, I thought I'd respond within 4 days.
The meme is "4 Things"--I went back to Secret Knitter's source, but I think you can pick any number of four things to write about.
4 Jobs:
1. Resident Assistant: 4 years in college, and I loved all but the last year. The last year taught me that a pleasant supervisor can make all the difference in the world between loving and hating your job.
2. Writing Center Assistant: 3 years of tutoring writing and speech taught me a lot. I like tutoring writing--and my future career is along those lines.
3. Secretary, Civil Engineering: my first "real" job outside of college, it was supposed to be a placeholder until I departed for graduate school, but then I got promoted to...
4. Admin Assistant for the College of Engineering. I like it (mostly), and it is a fantastic way to save money and get cheap graduate school tuition.
4 Movies I could watch again and again:
1. Ever After: I think I adore this movie because she rescues herself at the end of the movie and generally represents a strong female character. I like that. I first watched it in high school and have adored it ever since.
2. Gilmore Girls: I've watched each season repeatedly--it's quirky, has great dialogue, and even when it gets dramatic, I still like it.
3. Moulin Rouge: I LOVE this movie--and sing along loudly every time I watch it.
4. Sense and Sensibility: I also adore this movie; it's a fantastic adaptation of Jane Austen's novel, and it's like watching the novel come alive. I didn't realize until recently how very good it was and faithful to the novel.
4 Places I've lived
1. Modesto, CA: from a wee tot until age 10, my home was in California. My parents fled to...
2. Harrison, AR. I finished growing up here, went to high school in the area, and found out that I was "smart".
3. Since I was "smart", I managed to get a scholarship to UCA, so I moved to Conway for 5 years, becoming the first person in my family to complete a Bachelor's degree. Since a BA wasn't enough for me (and I was dating someone pretty cool), I took off for...
4. Fayetteville. My current home, and where I work and attend graduate school. Fortunately, I'm still dating the feller that I followed up here, so I can pretend like I moved for other reasons than him, though everyone might think differently.
4 Places I've been:
1.) Guadalajara, Mexico: my first study abroad experience. I was sooo young and didn't take as much as I could have from the experience, but it was still quite educational and life changing. (I also lost 20 lbs because I didn't eat much and walked a lot during my 5 week stay).
2.) New Mexico/Arizona: another travel trip through the university, where we set out to study Native American history and culture. We visited the Navajo, Hopi, and Pima reservations, read great books, saw the Grand Canyon, visited Flagstaff (a lovely town), and played in the desert. It was also a great experience that I wish I could go on again, but alas...
3.) Wyoming/Montana: we set out for Montana on a road trip (we were invited to a wedding!) and ended up playing in Yellowstone and seeing some awesome stuff. The wedding was fun, the camping was great, and I had a blast on this trip--in fact, we might repeat it soon.
4.) Spain!!: our most recent trip abroad. It was two weeks of traveling, seeing cool stuff (the Prado! La Sagrada Familia!), and I would do it again in a heartbeat (but I'd also buy Eurorail passes before I went--trains were way too expensive).
4 Favorite Foods:
1. Curry (Thai/Indian): I once did something slightly embarrassing for leftover Thai curry.
2. Broccoli/greens/asparagus/brussels sprouts/peas: I love them green veggies.
3. Beans: especially in bean burger format. Or really any format; I'm not too picky.
4. Ice cream: mmm, ice cream. Delicious. (If it was all healthy food, someone might suspect me of lying!)
4 Places I'd rather be (than work):
1. Home
2. Camping
3. running around the park
4. Colorado
...and
4 people to respond:
1. Justin
2. Aimless Wanderer
3. ADAllen
4. Kerry
(and whoever else might like to, like you, Tim.).
The meme is "4 Things"--I went back to Secret Knitter's source, but I think you can pick any number of four things to write about.
4 Jobs:
1. Resident Assistant: 4 years in college, and I loved all but the last year. The last year taught me that a pleasant supervisor can make all the difference in the world between loving and hating your job.
2. Writing Center Assistant: 3 years of tutoring writing and speech taught me a lot. I like tutoring writing--and my future career is along those lines.
3. Secretary, Civil Engineering: my first "real" job outside of college, it was supposed to be a placeholder until I departed for graduate school, but then I got promoted to...
4. Admin Assistant for the College of Engineering. I like it (mostly), and it is a fantastic way to save money and get cheap graduate school tuition.
4 Movies I could watch again and again:
1. Ever After: I think I adore this movie because she rescues herself at the end of the movie and generally represents a strong female character. I like that. I first watched it in high school and have adored it ever since.
2. Gilmore Girls: I've watched each season repeatedly--it's quirky, has great dialogue, and even when it gets dramatic, I still like it.
3. Moulin Rouge: I LOVE this movie--and sing along loudly every time I watch it.
4. Sense and Sensibility: I also adore this movie; it's a fantastic adaptation of Jane Austen's novel, and it's like watching the novel come alive. I didn't realize until recently how very good it was and faithful to the novel.
4 Places I've lived
1. Modesto, CA: from a wee tot until age 10, my home was in California. My parents fled to...
2. Harrison, AR. I finished growing up here, went to high school in the area, and found out that I was "smart".
3. Since I was "smart", I managed to get a scholarship to UCA, so I moved to Conway for 5 years, becoming the first person in my family to complete a Bachelor's degree. Since a BA wasn't enough for me (and I was dating someone pretty cool), I took off for...
4. Fayetteville. My current home, and where I work and attend graduate school. Fortunately, I'm still dating the feller that I followed up here, so I can pretend like I moved for other reasons than him, though everyone might think differently.
4 Places I've been:
1.) Guadalajara, Mexico: my first study abroad experience. I was sooo young and didn't take as much as I could have from the experience, but it was still quite educational and life changing. (I also lost 20 lbs because I didn't eat much and walked a lot during my 5 week stay).
2.) New Mexico/Arizona: another travel trip through the university, where we set out to study Native American history and culture. We visited the Navajo, Hopi, and Pima reservations, read great books, saw the Grand Canyon, visited Flagstaff (a lovely town), and played in the desert. It was also a great experience that I wish I could go on again, but alas...
3.) Wyoming/Montana: we set out for Montana on a road trip (we were invited to a wedding!) and ended up playing in Yellowstone and seeing some awesome stuff. The wedding was fun, the camping was great, and I had a blast on this trip--in fact, we might repeat it soon.
4.) Spain!!: our most recent trip abroad. It was two weeks of traveling, seeing cool stuff (the Prado! La Sagrada Familia!), and I would do it again in a heartbeat (but I'd also buy Eurorail passes before I went--trains were way too expensive).
4 Favorite Foods:
1. Curry (Thai/Indian): I once did something slightly embarrassing for leftover Thai curry.
2. Broccoli/greens/asparagus/brussels sprouts/peas: I love them green veggies.
3. Beans: especially in bean burger format. Or really any format; I'm not too picky.
4. Ice cream: mmm, ice cream. Delicious. (If it was all healthy food, someone might suspect me of lying!)
4 Places I'd rather be (than work):
1. Home
2. Camping
3. running around the park
4. Colorado
...and
4 people to respond:
1. Justin
2. Aimless Wanderer
3. ADAllen
4. Kerry
(and whoever else might like to, like you, Tim.).
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
I Read Banned Books!
Thanks, ADAllen, for the meme.
The name of the game: highlight/comment on the following banned books you've read.
The American Library Association's most challenged books of all time
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" (Maya Angelou)
"The Chocolate War" (Robert Cormier)
I read this one in my adolescent literature class in undergrad. It's definitely a book for boys, but it has something to offer teens of all sorts about resisting the pressures of authority if personal convictions conflict with that authority. A valuable lesson, especially under our current administration. Oh wait, that's probably why it's banned...we don't want kids to learn to challenge their social structures.
"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (Mark Twain)
Thanks to my liberal education (haha), I read this in American Literature in college. I was always puzzled by the accusations of racism--the book is about as anti-racist as a book published in nineteenth century America could possibly be. Twain would be both proud that his book can spark so much to debate, and a little sad (maybe) that people are dumb enough to only read the surface, to only see the words and think that's what the book means.
"It's Perfectly Normal" (Robie Harris)
"Scary Stories" (Alvin Schwartz)
"Daddy's Roommate" (Michael Willhoite)
"Of Mice and Men" (John Steinbeck)
This is a beautiful, sad book. I'm guessing it's banned because of violence; however, the novella is a tragic story of friendship and the inability to survive in this cruel world for someone who is different and misunderstood. I cry every time I read this book.
"Harry Potter" series (J.K. Rowling)
I'm a fan. I actually avoided the series in high school because my parents warned so strongly about it (the one time that they actually said anything about books that I paid attention to). I finally picked up the first book when the movies were coming out because all my friends were reading them, and I was hooked. (This is also, incidentally, where I started to realize that my parents' judgment was not absolute, and that perhaps I should start figuring things out for myself.)
"Heather Has Two Mommies" (Leslea Newman)
"Goosebumps" series (R.L. Stine)I read a couple of these in junior high, and found them stupid. They really were just not my kind of book.
"The Catcher in the Rye" (J.D. Salinger)
Why does the best literature always get banned? I didn't encounter Salinger as a teenager, unfortunately, but when I read The Catcher in the Rye, I realized why so many adolescents love this book and found meaning in Holden's narrative.
"The Color Purple" (Alice Walker)
"A Wrinkle in Time" (Madeleine L'Engle)
I read this many times as a little kid, and am baffled as to why it's on the banned list. I haven't read it for a while, so maybe I should go back and read it again...
"Earth's Children" series (Jean M. Auel)
"In the Night Kitchen" (Maurice Sendak)
"The New Joy of Gay Sex" (Charles Silverstein)
"Blubber" (Judy Blume)
"The Handmaid's Tale" (Margaret Atwood)
Of course a feminist dystopia would be banned--it's too easy to misunderstand Atwood's intention, which is to horrify and shock us into seeing how easy it would be for our world to become like the one in her novel. I'm guessing most of those crying out for the book to be banned get caught up with all of the sex and violence and miss the true point...if they bother to read it at all.
"The Bluest Eye" (Toni Morrison)
"The Outsiders" (S.E. Hinton)
I like The Outsiders. It's another one of those books about not belonging, a condition so many teenage readers could identify with, I'm sure. If they were allowed to read it...
"Captain Underpants" series (Dav Pilkey)
Banned because the hero wears underpants? How silly...I've seen these books and thought they were harmless and cute. My potential kids are going to be so corrupted...
"A Light in the Attic" (Shel Silverstein)
How can they ban Shel Silverstein? The man who gave us The Giving Tree? Man, this book was hard to find in my elementary school library because so many kids wanted to check it out all the time. I'm guessing the silly poems about boogers didn't endear it to parents in the same way that it captured so many children's imaginations.
"Brave New World" (Aldous Huxley)
"Asking about Sex and Growing Up" (Joanna Cole)
"Cujo" (Stephen King)
"James and the Giant Peach" (Roald Dahl) .
I have a great story about this book. When I was seven or so, I was reading this book and noticed the word "ass" cropping up a lot. (I think the grasshopper calls everyone an ass). So I showed my parents. Shocked and outraged, they then petitioned to have it banned from school--in the end, they blacked out all the "ass" with a Sharpie. Little did they know that their act would help create a die-hard anti-censorship liberal daughter...
"The Anarchist Cookbook" (William Powell)
"Boys and Sex" (Wardell Pomeroy)
"Ordinary People" (Judith Guest)
"American Psycho" (Bret Easton Ellis)
"Athletic Shorts" (Chris Crutcher)
"The House of the Spirits" (Isabel Allende)
I've started this several times. Allende is a great writer, and I really need to finish it...
"Slaughterhouse Five" (Kurt Vonnegut)
I feel like a bad English major for not having yet read any Vonnegut.
"Lord of the Flies" (William Golding)
The rule must be "all disturbing literature shall be kept from those of tender years". You know, because kids need to be innocent until they encounter all the world's nastiness in person.
"Mommy Laid an Egg" (Babette Cole)
"Private Parts" (Howard Stern)
"Where's Waldo?" (Martin Hanford)
I was enlighted by ADAllen that this is banned because of wantonly bared tiny breasts. I never saw any tiny breasts, since I was too busy looking for Waldo.
"Girls and Sex" (Wardell Pomeroy)
"How to Eat Fried Worms" (Thomas Rockwell)I'm always astounded by what makes it on the list. Is it because he eats worms? I don't get it...I remember this book being tremendously entertaining and with some sort of good message.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Last Shopping Trip...
Justin tagged me for this meme. Since I recently went shopping for non-grocery things (what I normally shop for), I thought I'd use that for today's post.*
I went clothes shopping randomly with a friend. I love clothes shopping, and I was proud that everything I bought was something I could wear to work, since I've been concerned with my work attire lately--I don't think I'm being professional enough in my dress, and I worry about what that might say about me as an employee.
2. What are you embarrassed by?
How much I spent on the wonderful coat. It's actually a good price for a coat--I just hate spending money on things that aren't on sale.
3. What do you think you couldn't live without?
Oh, I definitely could have lived without anything I bought. I usually realize that, but then the pretty sparkly things catch my attention, and before I know it, I'm pulling out my wallet to pay for them. But I do have a reasonable amount of expendable income...
4. What did you most enjoy purchasing?
Definitely the earrings. They were 75% off and are absolutely fabulous! I love cheap, quality jewelry.
5. What were you most tempted by? (This last one may or may not be an actual purchase!)
I was most tempted by the wonderful vintage coat that I ended up buying (I blame the friend who was with me). I fit me perfectly, even in the places that most coats don't normally fit, it's tremendously classy, and I think I'll end up wearing it for years and years. And I had been looking for a coat too. (Listen to me justify my expenditures! I always feel I need to do that. I tend to think a lot about the purchases I make, because while I may gripe about the rampant consumerism of our society, I'm often an active participant...and it's so hard not to be!)
Now tag 5 others!
I tag YOU. Specifically, Secret Knitter, ADAllen, Samantha, Tim, and Amber.
*I know you all aren't used to me posting on the weekends. And while that's normally the case, I have a paper I'm supposed to be working on, so you can do the math.
The purpose of this meme is to inspire some reflection about how we shop and what we purchase. The idea isn't that consumption itself is somehow bad, but that we all could probably stand to put a little bit more thought into what we buy. And, of course, it's supposed to be fun. So here goes!1. What are you proud of?
Pick a recent shopping trip -- for clothes, shoes, groceries, doesn't matter. The only guideline is that it will be easier to play if you purchased at least a few things. Now tell us, about your purchases:
I went clothes shopping randomly with a friend. I love clothes shopping, and I was proud that everything I bought was something I could wear to work, since I've been concerned with my work attire lately--I don't think I'm being professional enough in my dress, and I worry about what that might say about me as an employee.
2. What are you embarrassed by?
How much I spent on the wonderful coat. It's actually a good price for a coat--I just hate spending money on things that aren't on sale.
3. What do you think you couldn't live without?
Oh, I definitely could have lived without anything I bought. I usually realize that, but then the pretty sparkly things catch my attention, and before I know it, I'm pulling out my wallet to pay for them. But I do have a reasonable amount of expendable income...
4. What did you most enjoy purchasing?
Definitely the earrings. They were 75% off and are absolutely fabulous! I love cheap, quality jewelry.
5. What were you most tempted by? (This last one may or may not be an actual purchase!)
I was most tempted by the wonderful vintage coat that I ended up buying (I blame the friend who was with me). I fit me perfectly, even in the places that most coats don't normally fit, it's tremendously classy, and I think I'll end up wearing it for years and years. And I had been looking for a coat too. (Listen to me justify my expenditures! I always feel I need to do that. I tend to think a lot about the purchases I make, because while I may gripe about the rampant consumerism of our society, I'm often an active participant...and it's so hard not to be!)
Now tag 5 others!
I tag YOU. Specifically, Secret Knitter, ADAllen, Samantha, Tim, and Amber.
*I know you all aren't used to me posting on the weekends. And while that's normally the case, I have a paper I'm supposed to be working on, so you can do the math.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Eight Unknowns
Tim has tagged me to provide you with eight things you would possibly not know about me (Lance doesn't count--he has superior knowledge). I say possibly because I may have told you them before (or you might have inferred them), so if I'm repeating, I'm sorry.
#1: I'm the head of a book arts club
You probably didn't know this because I just recently volunteered to be the "facilitator" for the Paper and Pen Book Arts Club, which basically involves marshaling people and sending out e-mails, as well as begging a certain member to stop sending me incessant e-mails and just convey the information to the group himself. We're still in the formation process.
#2: I can draw/paint more than stick figures
I drew a logo for the book arts club!
#1: I'm the head of a book arts club
You probably didn't know this because I just recently volunteered to be the "facilitator" for the Paper and Pen Book Arts Club, which basically involves marshaling people and sending out e-mails, as well as begging a certain member to stop sending me incessant e-mails and just convey the information to the group himself. We're still in the formation process.
#2: I can draw/paint more than stick figures
I drew a logo for the book arts club!
I have skills (without a "z").
#3: I'm dating a person who doesn't rinse his dishes in hot water!
I just found this out myself yesterday, and let me tell you, I'm appalled. When I hand wash dishes, I always use water that's just under the point of scalding. You must wash and rinse dishes with HOT water. Not cold. Not tepid. HOT.
#4: I own a ring made of a 1963 quarter.
It's awesome. Lance made it for me. It makes up for his lack of hot water usage.
#5: I have never read Melville's Moby Dick
To my everlasting shame in my American Picaresque class last week, I was the only one who'd never even attempted to start reading Moby Dick. Apparently it's some sort of rite-of-passage for English majors.
#6: I'm taking swimming lessons this semester
While I can swim, I don't swim well. And I never got thrown into a pool as a little kid, so I'm slightly afraid of water, even though I love playing in it. Luckily the university HPER is offering swimming lessons at an affordable price, so I'm going to take them.
#7: I got up at 6 am this morning and went to the gym
Sorry, I'm running out of unknown things.
#8: I'm the one liberal in a family of conservatives
Somehow as the only girl in my immediate family, I abandoned their strong conservative tendencies. Occasionally we abuse each others' views--or rather, they abuse mine and if I attempt to argue, bad things happen. We now simply avoid the issue, except for snide comments on their part. It took me about a year to admit that I voted for John Kerry in the last election.
All right! Hopefully you learned interesting things about me. If you read this blog and haven't posted eight things yet (Kerry? Justin?), then take up this meme.
#3: I'm dating a person who doesn't rinse his dishes in hot water!
I just found this out myself yesterday, and let me tell you, I'm appalled. When I hand wash dishes, I always use water that's just under the point of scalding. You must wash and rinse dishes with HOT water. Not cold. Not tepid. HOT.
#4: I own a ring made of a 1963 quarter.
It's awesome. Lance made it for me. It makes up for his lack of hot water usage.
#5: I have never read Melville's Moby Dick
To my everlasting shame in my American Picaresque class last week, I was the only one who'd never even attempted to start reading Moby Dick. Apparently it's some sort of rite-of-passage for English majors.
#6: I'm taking swimming lessons this semester
While I can swim, I don't swim well. And I never got thrown into a pool as a little kid, so I'm slightly afraid of water, even though I love playing in it. Luckily the university HPER is offering swimming lessons at an affordable price, so I'm going to take them.
#7: I got up at 6 am this morning and went to the gym
Sorry, I'm running out of unknown things.
#8: I'm the one liberal in a family of conservatives
Somehow as the only girl in my immediate family, I abandoned their strong conservative tendencies. Occasionally we abuse each others' views--or rather, they abuse mine and if I attempt to argue, bad things happen. We now simply avoid the issue, except for snide comments on their part. It took me about a year to admit that I voted for John Kerry in the last election.
All right! Hopefully you learned interesting things about me. If you read this blog and haven't posted eight things yet (Kerry? Justin?), then take up this meme.
Monday, May 21, 2007
7 Random Things
I was tagged by my penpal, Kris, to post seven random things about myself. I'm never much good at these, but in the spirit of the tagging, I may as well post something (mmm, good post fodder anyway). So here goes:
1.) When I read, I often talk out loud about what I'm reading if someone is in the room. I'm not really talking to them, though. I'm simply verbalizing my thoughts, which helps me think. Part of it ends up being an attempt to include them in my thought processes, which often baffles the person I'm including because they don't realize what I'm doing. Lance has become accustomed to my odd habit, and I get a way to think.
2.) I use lots of cinnamon. Most people simply use it when baking, but I tend to add it to my coffee grounds in the morning, dump huge quantities in anything I'm baking/cooking, and otherwise plow through a sack of cinnamon in a short period of time. I'm almost the same way with ginger. I have some ginger jelly that I put in anything from oatmeal to a peanut butter sandwich.
3.) I use some phrases that confuse people. One is "toasted cheese sandwich", which apparently is supposed to be called a grilled cheese. Whatever. A new one is "peanut butter half". I said that one a few days ago, and my co-workers were confused: what is a peanut butter half? they queried. In case you didn't know, it's when you take one slice of bread, slather it with peanut butter (and sometimes honey or jelly), fold it in half, and consume. Peanut butter half. I picked up this and the other weird phrases from my family.
4.) I make random connections between books that I'm reading, music, shows I'm watching, etc. I guess that's what makes me a good analyzer of literature--the ability to make connections. I was relieved when I figured out this was a good skill to have in academia, and can often lead to some good research topics. Though, some roll their eyes at my more obscure connections, like that episode of Dr. Who I just watched last night and the book I just finished by Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake. (Nerd, they whisper).
5.) I'm a sucker for romantic comedies. I just saw Music and Lyrics, and loved it. I know that I should have more...um...cultured? tastes, but I love watching that genre. Of course, if it's an awful film, I won't watch it. And sometimes when I go back and re-watch one, I realize how sort of shallow it was, like Love Actually. (Almost no character development. But still some entertaining bits). I still enjoy them, however, to the chagrin of Lance.
6.) I'm a crafty, creative person who has a desire to learn more things. This desire manifests itself in wanting to sew more, learn new knitting techniques, read non-fiction, etc. I love learning; I love learning new things. It's a random bit of myself that connects my personal life to my academic life--my desire to know. I hope that it never goes away because it is such a pleasure to want to learn, and then to do so.
7.) I'm sort of a mockingbird. Meaning, when I listen to people talk, I tend to pick up their phrasings and ways of speaking and use them (if I like them), or if I'm reading, I'll often write, think, or talk in the style of the author. (Right now I'm reading The Namesake. I read for several hours yesterday and found myself thinking in her short, crisp style.) It's random and weird, so there you go.
I guess I can tag some people. Amanda, Kerry, Justin, Samantha, Kathryn, Amber, and G-girl...you're up.
1.) When I read, I often talk out loud about what I'm reading if someone is in the room. I'm not really talking to them, though. I'm simply verbalizing my thoughts, which helps me think. Part of it ends up being an attempt to include them in my thought processes, which often baffles the person I'm including because they don't realize what I'm doing. Lance has become accustomed to my odd habit, and I get a way to think.
2.) I use lots of cinnamon. Most people simply use it when baking, but I tend to add it to my coffee grounds in the morning, dump huge quantities in anything I'm baking/cooking, and otherwise plow through a sack of cinnamon in a short period of time. I'm almost the same way with ginger. I have some ginger jelly that I put in anything from oatmeal to a peanut butter sandwich.
3.) I use some phrases that confuse people. One is "toasted cheese sandwich", which apparently is supposed to be called a grilled cheese. Whatever. A new one is "peanut butter half". I said that one a few days ago, and my co-workers were confused: what is a peanut butter half? they queried. In case you didn't know, it's when you take one slice of bread, slather it with peanut butter (and sometimes honey or jelly), fold it in half, and consume. Peanut butter half. I picked up this and the other weird phrases from my family.
4.) I make random connections between books that I'm reading, music, shows I'm watching, etc. I guess that's what makes me a good analyzer of literature--the ability to make connections. I was relieved when I figured out this was a good skill to have in academia, and can often lead to some good research topics. Though, some roll their eyes at my more obscure connections, like that episode of Dr. Who I just watched last night and the book I just finished by Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake. (Nerd, they whisper).
5.) I'm a sucker for romantic comedies. I just saw Music and Lyrics, and loved it. I know that I should have more...um...cultured? tastes, but I love watching that genre. Of course, if it's an awful film, I won't watch it. And sometimes when I go back and re-watch one, I realize how sort of shallow it was, like Love Actually. (Almost no character development. But still some entertaining bits). I still enjoy them, however, to the chagrin of Lance.
6.) I'm a crafty, creative person who has a desire to learn more things. This desire manifests itself in wanting to sew more, learn new knitting techniques, read non-fiction, etc. I love learning; I love learning new things. It's a random bit of myself that connects my personal life to my academic life--my desire to know. I hope that it never goes away because it is such a pleasure to want to learn, and then to do so.
7.) I'm sort of a mockingbird. Meaning, when I listen to people talk, I tend to pick up their phrasings and ways of speaking and use them (if I like them), or if I'm reading, I'll often write, think, or talk in the style of the author. (Right now I'm reading The Namesake. I read for several hours yesterday and found myself thinking in her short, crisp style.) It's random and weird, so there you go.
I guess I can tag some people. Amanda, Kerry, Justin, Samantha, Kathryn, Amber, and G-girl...you're up.
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