Flashback - The Year 2001

Economics

Federal spending: $1,864 billion
Federal debt: $5,807 billion
Consumer Price Index: 177.1
Unemployment: 4.8 %
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.34

Terrorists attack United States. Hijackers ram jetliners into twin towers of New York City's World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A fourth hijacked plane crashes 80 mi outside of Pittsburgh (Sept. 11). Toll of dead and injured in thousands. Within days, Islamic militant Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda terrorist network are identified as the parties behind the attacks.

George W. Bush is sworn in as 43rd president (Jan. 20).

Anthrax scare rivets nation, as anthrax-laced letters are sent to various media and government officials. Several postal workers die after handling the letters (throughout October).

Events

• Gladiator takes five Oscars, including those for Best Picture and Best Actor (Russell Crowe). Julia Roberts finally wins her gold statue for her performance in Erin Brockovich. Double nominee Steven Soderbergh defies expectations with his Best Director win for Traffic; many had expected his nominations for Traffic and Erin Brockovich to cancel each other out. For a full list of winners see Academy Awards (March 25).

Movies

• A.I. Artificial Intelligence
• Ali
• A Beautiful Mind
• Bridget Jones's Diary
• The Fellowship of the Ring
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
• The Majestic
• Monsters, Inc.
• Ocean's 11
• Pearl Harbor
• Shrek
• Vanilla Sky

Let's Go Back To The Eighties Today!

~Todays Random Dozen~

The Random Dozen is hosted by Linda at 2nd Cup of Coffee!

1. How good are you at delaying gratification?
Very good.....I can take a long time eating a wonderful dessert......

2. Maybe a marshmallow wouldn't be too difficult a temptation for you. What food (or anything else) would be most tempting?
Definitely Pizza.....New York style Pizza!

3. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being saintly) how patient are you?
I have absolutely NO patience.....so, a 1!

4. Have you ever waited for something in life only to be disappointed upon realization of the goal/object/etc.?
Yes.....

5. Are you a person who takes shortcuts?
Not really.....

6. Which line is hardest to wait in?
The line at the drugstore when you're sick.......

7. Did you wait to discover the gender of your unborn child until its birth?
N/A

8. Are you more patient with children or the elderly?
The elderly.....

9. Did you ever sneak a peek at a present?
Oh no, I never wanted to ruin a surprise!

10. What is the longest you've ever waited for anything?
37 years....for my husband, who is my soul mate.....

11. Who has more patience, you or your significant other?
Significant other, 100%

12. Which of the following songs about waiting is your pick for the best? (OK, you may substitute another, if you like.

A) Anticipation by Carly Simon
B) The Waiting by Tom Petty
C) Right Here Waiting for You by Richard Marx
D) Wait for Me by Rebecca St. James

Tom Petty, of course!

~Oooh, this looks GOOD~

My Waiting On Wednesday pick for this week is:

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake: A Novel by Aimee Bender

Product Description

The wondrous Aimee Bender conjures the lush and moving story of a girl whose magical gift is really a devastating curse.

On the eve of her ninth birthday, unassuming Rose Edelstein, a girl at the periphery of schoolyard games and her distracted parents’ attention, bites into her mother’s homemade lemon-chocolate cake and discovers she has a magical gift: she can taste her mother’s emotions in the cake. She discovers this gift to her horror, for her mother—her cheerful, good-with-crafts, can-do mother—tastes of despair and desperation. Suddenly, and for the rest of her life, food becomes a peril and a threat to Rose.

The curse her gift has bestowed is the secret knowledge all families keep hidden—her mother’s life outside the home, her father’s detachment, her brother’s clash with the world. Yet as Rose grows up she learns to harness her gift and becomes aware that there are secrets even her taste buds cannot discern.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is a luminous tale about the enormous difficulty of loving someone fully when you know too much about them. It is heartbreaking and funny, wise and sad, and confirms Aimee Bender’s place as “a writer who makes you grateful for the very existence of language” (San Francisco Chronicle).

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday (June 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385501129
• ISBN-13: 978-0385501125

What are YOU waiting for today?????

Where's my teaser today?

I have had the awfullest time lately with reading. I am reading a self help book (this is required reading) and I have tried to read several other books for enjoyment. None of them have grabbed me. I get so sad when a book just doesn't grab me in the first few chapters. Reading isn't exciting to me unless that happens. I started three books within the last week, and have made it to page 50 or so, and they were just blah. Until last night......

Last night, I stood in front of my over-stuffed TBR shelves, closed my eyes, and just picked a book....hoping to pick something that would surprise me. I landed on a lucky one...A. Manette Ansay's "Limbo: A Memoir".
This book is actually on my reading list for the Awesome Author Challenge,
I just hadn't gotten it off of my shelf yet. Perfect!

So far so good with this memoir. The story starts out in 1975 when she is 11 years old. She has her sights set on being a concert pianist. But her dream is crushed when she falls ill with a mysterious disease that incapacitates her, at the young age of 19.

I am enjoying this book, and had a hard time putting it down last night. I have left the book at home today, so, no teaser....but there should be a review coming up soon. It looks like this is going to be an interesting, fast-paced read.

FROM AMAZON.COM:

From Publishers Weekly

In this gorgeous memoir, Ansay (Vinegar Hill; Midnight Champagne) recounts how, at the age of 19, an undiagnosed muscle disorder cut short her promising career as a concert pianist. Describing memory as "the switch on the wall. The pull chain on the lamp," Ansay beautifully illuminates selected details of her Catholic childhood, her struggles with religious faith and her growing realization that her illness is a permanent one. In her rural community, where "illness and shame still go hand-in-hand," Ansay's family is unsympathetic to undefined injuries. Head colds call for "hot whiskey punch with lemon and sugar," and toothaches are cured by chewing on the other side of one's mouth. In deference to her musical ambitions and religious upbringing, Ansay tries to transcend her pain, suffering through piano lessons, recitals and conservatory training. But she never lets this memoir devolve into one of those stories about "crippled children with heroic personalities." In fact, she pokes fun at such narratives: "Thanks to the power of faith... the family rallies around the child, discovering in the process that instead of a tragedy, this child is the greatest blessing of their lives." Instead, Ansay reveals the painful indignity of having a debilitating physical condition that is immediately visible: "It's right there, out in the open, where anyone might choose to poke at it, probe it, satisfy their grim curiosity." (Oct. 16)Forecast: Ansay's novel Vinegar Hill was an Oprah-anointed bestseller; that and a generous marketing campaign including advertising in the New York Times Book Review, as well as a 15-city NPR campaign will give this memoir well-deserved prominence.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (September 17, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380732874
• ISBN-13: 978-0380732876

Mailbox Monday

I got a few books in the mail last week - Can't wait to get started on them!

From a friend:

Breathless by Dean Koontz

In the stillness of a golden September afternoon, deep in the wilderness of the Rockies, a solitary craftsman, Grady Adams, and his magnificent Irish wolfhound Merlin step from shadow into light…and into an encounter with enchantment. That night, through the trees, under the moon, a pair of singular animals will watch Grady's isolated home, waiting to make their approach.

A few miles away, Camillia Rivers, a local veterinarian, begins to unravel the threads of a puzzle that will bring all the forces of a government in peril to her door.

At a nearby farm, long-estranged identical twins come together to begin a descent into darkness…In Las Vegas, a specialist in chaos theory probes the boundaries of the unknowable…On a Seattle golf course, two men make matter-of-fact arrangements for murder…Along a highway by the sea, a vagrant scarred by the past begins a trek toward his destiny…

In a novel that is at once wholly of our time and timeless, fearless and funny, Dean Koontz takes readers into the moment between one turn of the world and the next, across the border between knowing and mystery. It is a journey that will leave all who take it Breathless.

From Paperbackswap:

The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll: The Search for Dare Wright by Jean Nathan:

A glamorous, haunted life unfolds in the mesmerizing biography of the woman behind a classic children's book

In 1957, a children's book called The Lonely Doll was published. With its pink-and-white-checked cover and photographs featuring a wide-eyed doll, it captured the imaginations of young girls and made the author, Dare Wright, a household name. Close to forty years after its publication, the book was out of print but not forgotten. When the cover image inexplicably came to journalist Jean Nathan one afternoon, she went in search of the book-and ultimately its author. Nathan found Dare Wright living out her last days in a decrepit public hospital in Queens, New York. Over the next five years, Nathan pieced together a glamorous life. Blond, beautiful Wright had begun her career as an actress and model and then turned to fashion photography before stumbling upon her role as bestselling author. But there was a dark side to the story: a brother lost in childhood, ill-fated marriage plans, a complicated, controlling mother. Edith Stevenson Wright, herself a successful portrait painter, played such a dominant role in her daughter's life that Dare was never able to find her way into the adult world. Only through her work could she speak for herself: in her books she created the happy family she'd always yearned for, while her self-portraits betrayed an unresolved tension between sexuality and innocence, a desire to belong and painful isolation. Illustrated with stunning photographs, The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll tells the unforgettable story of a woman who, imprisoned by her childhood, sought to set herself free through art.

Sisters of Misery by Megan Kelley Hall:

There are some girls who have everything...

She has the right clothes, the right friends, and the right last name, but fifteen-year-old Maddie Crane sometimes feels like an outsider in her clique in the wealthy, seaside town of Hawthorne, Massachusetts. And when her gorgeous, eccentric cousin Cordelia LeClaire moves to town, Maddie is drawn toward her ethereal, magical spirit and teeters even more toward the edge of her friends' tightly-knit circle...

Then there are the jealous ones...

Kate Endicott and the Sisters of Misery--a secret clique of the most popular, powerful girls in school--are less than thrilled by Cordelia's arrival. When Kate's on-again, off-again boyfriend Trevor takes an interest in Cordelia, the Sisters of Misery become determined to make her pay...

Now Maddie must choose between the allure and power of the Sisters of Misery and her loyalty to her beloved cousin. But she'll have to give up on ever fitting in and accept the disturbing truth about the town, her friends, her mysterious cousin, and even herself as she faces the terrifying wrath of the Sisters of Misery...

What was in YOUR mailbox today?

~Flashback - The Year 2000~

Economics

Federal spending: $1,788.83 billion
Federal debt: $5,674.2 billion
Consumer Price Index: 172.2
Unemployment: 4.0%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.34

U.S. Events

U.S. Statistics

President: William J. Clinton
Vice President: Albert Gore, Jr
Population: 281,421,906

More U.S. Statistics...

• Wary investors bring stock plunge; beginning of the end of the Internet stock boom (Feb. 25).
  
  
• Cuban boy Elián González, 6, at center of international dispute, reunited with his father after federal raid of Miami relatives' home (April 22).
  
  
• U.S. presidential election closest in decades; Bush's slim lead in Florida leads to automatic recount in that state (Nov. 7-8). Republicans file federal suit to block manual recount of Florida presidential election ballots sought by Democrats (Nov. 11). Florida Supreme Court rules election hand count may continue (Nov. 21). U.S. Supreme Court orders halt to manual recount of Florida votes (Dec. 9). Supreme Court seals Bush victory by 5-4; rules there can be no further recounting (Dec. 12). See 2000 election chronology.

Entertainment

Charles Schulz, the cartoonist who created the "Peanuts" comic strip, dies in his sleep after a battle with colon cancer. In a career that spanned nearly 50 years, Schulz drew more than 18,250 "Peanuts" comic strips, which expressed a droll philosophy through the precocious children. The "Peanuts" debuted in 1950 and went on to be the most widely read comic strip in the world, with an audience of 355 million in 75 countries. It ran in 2,600 newspapers and was published in 21 languages, including Serbo-Croatian, Chinese, and Tlingit (Feb. 12).

Richard Hatch, the overweight "Island Machiavelli," outwits and outlasts the other Survivor cast members and walks off the island in the South China Sea with $1 million. Rounding out the final four were river guide Kelly Wigelsworth, former U.S. Navy SEAL Rudy Boesch, and truck driver Susan Hawk. An estimated 51 million viewers tune into the final episode of the summer phenomenon (Aug. 23).

Oprah Winfrey debuts O magazine. The Queen of All Media graces the cover and plans to be front and center on all issues "for the foreseeable future." Winfrey labels her latest endeavor "a personal growth guide" that's targeted to the 25-to-49 demographic (April 19).

Movies

• Chocolat
• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
• Erin Brockovich
• Gladiator
• Traffic

Booking Through Thursday - Favorite Unknown

Today's Booking Through Thursday question is:

Who’s your favorite author that other people are NOT reading? The one you want to evangelize for, the one you would run popularity campaigns for? The author that, so far as you’re concerned, everyone should be reading–but that nobody seems to have heard of. You know, not JK Rowling, not Jane Austen, not Hemingway–everybody’s heard of them. The author that you think should be that famous and can’t understand why they’re not…

My pick is definitely T.L. Hines. I read his book The Unseen last summer while on vacation, and WOW! It was a page-turner! After that, I read Waking Lazarus, also a great story. He has written others....I have The Dead Whisper On in my TBR stack, and Faces In the Fire is on my waiting list on Paperbackswap.com. If you haven't read T.L. Hines, you need to check him out!

Look! Another Animal Memoir - My Favorite!

As most of you know, I love memoirs....especially about animals. I am excited to see this memoir of Oscar, the nursing home cat, who somehow knows when the end is near, and offers comfort to those who are preparing for their spiritual journey from this world to the next......

Making Rounds with Oscar
The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat
by David Dosa

Product Description

A remarkable cat. A special gift. A life-changing journey.

They thought he was just a cat.

When Oscar arrived at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Rhode Island he was a cute little guy with attitude. He loved to stretch out in a puddle of sunlight and chase his tail until he was dizzy. Occasionally he consented to a scratch behind the ears, but only when it suited him. In other words, he was a typical cat. Or so it seemed. It wasn't long before Oscar had created something of a stir.

Apparently, this ordinary cat possesses an extraordinary gift: he knows instinctively when the end of life is near.

Oscar is a welcome distraction for the residents of Steere House, many of whom are living with Alzheimer's. But he never spends much time with them--until they are in their last hours. Then, as if this were his job, Oscar strides purposely into a patient's room, curls up on the bed, and begins his vigil. Oscar provides comfort and companionship when people need him most. And his presence lets caregivers and loved ones know that it's time to say good-bye.

Oscar's gift is a tender mercy. He teaches by example: embracing moments of life that so many of us shy away from.

Making Rounds with Oscar is the story of an unusual cat, the patients he serves, their caregivers, and of one doctor who learned how to listen. Heartfelt, inspiring, and full of humor and pathos, this book allows readers to take a walk into a world rarely seen from the outside, a world we often misunderstand.

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (February 2, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401323235
• ISBN-13: 978-1401323233

What are YOU waiting for today????

Mailbox Monday

I received just one book last week.....this one from Paperbackswap:

Breaking the Bank by Yona Zeldis McDonough


MONEY ISN'T EVERYTHING

Mia Saul is down on her luck. Dumped by her husband, jettisoned from her job, and estranged from her adored older brother, she and her young daughter, Eden, have had to make a downscale move to a crummy apartment, where their neighbors include a tough young drug dealer and a widower who lets his dogs use the hallways as their own personal litter box. Juggling a series of temporary jobs, wrangling with her ex-husband over child support, and trying to keep pace with Eden's increasingly erratic behavior have left Mia weary and worn out.

EXCEPT WHEN IT IS

So when a seemingly functional ATM starts handing Mia thousands and thousands of dollars -- and not deducting the money from her account, because it sure isn't in there -- she isn't about to give it back. Her newfound cash stash opens up a world of opportunity, and a whole lot of trouble. Worried friends, family, and in-laws start questioning her judgment about everything, and the cops really, really want to know where all that cash is coming from. And then there's Patrick, a man Mia most definitely would never have met if things hadn't spun out of control. Mia is beginning to think that maybe somebody, somewhere, is trying to teach her a lesson about what matters in life, and what doesn't....

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Downtown Press; Original edition (September 8, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439102538
• ISBN-13: 978-1439102534

What was in YOUR mailbox?

~Flashback - The Year 1999~

Economics

Federal spending: $1716.95 billion

Federal debt: $5978.5 billion

Consumer Price Index: 166.6

Unemployment: 4.2%

Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.33 (as of 1/10/99)

The world awaits the consequences of the Y2K bug, with more drastic millennial theorists warning of Armageddon.

US Senate opens impeachment trial of President Clinton (Jan. 7); Senate acquits Clinton and rejects censure move (Feb. 12). Background: A Short History of Impeachment.

John William King, 24, a white supremacist, is convicted of murder and sentenced to death in case involving the dragging death of a black man, James Byrd, Jr. (Feb 23).

Students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, storm Columbine High School in Littleton , CO, killing twelve other students and a teacher, then themselves (April 20). Background: A Timeline of School Shootings and 1999 in Review.

John F. Kennedy Jr., wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and her sister Lauren G. Bessette are lost at sea when a plane he was piloting disappears near Martha's Vineyard, off Mass. coast (July 16). Background: John F. Kennedy, Jr. Remembered and Timeline of Kennedy tragedies.

Events

The merger of two major recording labels, Universal and Polygram, causes upheaval in the recording industry. It is estimated that the new company, Universal Music Group, controls 25% of the worldwide music market.

About 48.5 million people tune in to Monica Lewinsky's first televised interview. In her sit-down with Barbara Walters during 20/20, the former intern was alternately smug, insecure, funny, and girl-like (but she did look like a million bucks).

ER's Dr. Doug Ross bids a bitter farewell to Chicago's General Memorial Hospital. George Clooney played the maverick pediatrician since the show debuted in 1994.

Chicago Tribune film critic Gene Siskel dies at age 53.

Stanley Kubrick, the iconoclastic director of such legendary films as Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and A Clockwork Orange, dies at his home outside London. He was 70.

The Blair Witch Project emerges as an instant cult classic and becomes the most profitable film of all time, grossing more than $125 million. The film cost $30,000 to make.

Rev. Jerry Falwell outs Teletubby Tinky Winky and calls him a gay role model. Falwell deduced that because Tinky Winky's purple, carries a purse and has a triangle on his head he's gay.

Woodstock '99 kicks off in Rome, N.Y. Concertgoers complain that the spirit of the original Woodstock has been compromised and commercialized. The event is far from a love-in; the crowd set fires and destroyed property during the finale and there were several reports of sexual assaults.

Star Wars Episode I--The Phantom Menace opens and breaks a string of box office records. The film grosses $102.7 million in its debut five-day weekend.

Movies
Blair Witch Project, American Beauty, Three Kings, The Sixth Sense

What were YOU doing in 1999?

Friday Finds

A Year and A Day by Leslie Pietrzyk

In this heartfelt if familiar coming-of-age novel set in smalltown Shelby, Iowa, in 1975, Pietrzyk (Pears on a Willow Tree) chronicles a year in the life of 15-year-old Alice Martin after her mother's suicide. "Once you get through this first year, you're fine," the high school principal promises her, reading from a manual. But Alice isn't so sure. Three days after her mother's death, as Alice tries to fill her place by preparing Sunday morning pancakes, her mother speaks to her, providing advice on cooking, makeup and driving, but rarely answering the questions Alice really wants answered: Who is my father? What happened to him? How could you leave me? All Alice and her older brother, Will, know is what their great-aunt Aggy tells them: their mother moved away at age 17 and came back pregnant, with a baby in her arms. Over the course of the year, Alice uncovers secrets, unravels mysteries and finds that nothing and no one are what they seem. Her baseball-star brother runs away to see the Red Sox, Alice herself dallies with the school's bad boy and Pietrzyk allows the reader hints of why Alice's mother might have killed herself. Eccentric mothers and long-suffering daughters are a dime a dozen in recent fiction, but Pietrzyk paints a rich picture of life in rural Iowa, from summer jobs detassling corn to the suffocating force of conformity. As one Shelby housewife advises Alice, "Fitting in is so important. Everything is simpler that way."

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (March 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060554665
• ISBN-13: 978-0060554668

What did YOU find today?

Waiting On Wednesday

The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard

As a child, Nellie Burton dreamt of a terrible tornado just one week before a giant twister struck their tiny Kansas town of Rose. Perhaps that's why now, twenty-two years later, Nellie's friend Laurie Napier turns to her when she has a disturbing dream of murder. When this unsettling vision also comes horribly true, the town that prides itself in being one of the safest places on earth is scared and shaken. Adding to the drama is the disappearance of Belle Lindstrom, Nellie and Laurie's dear friend. Long-buried truths erupt like the gas fires suddenly and mysteriously igniting in the countryside around Rose. Amid unbridled greed and murderous conspiracies, three best friends must revisit the past, drawing ever nearer to a present day killer hiding in plain sight. Haunting and powerful, this is Nancy Pickard's finest achievement to date: a gripping novel of family secrets, crime and redemption.

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (April 20, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345471016
• ISBN-13: 978-0345471017

What are YOU waiting for today?

Today's Questions and Answers

The Random Dozen is a meme hosted by 2nd Cup of Coffee!



1. When was the last time you craved a food--what was it, and did you cave?
Today - Chocolate - No

2. M & M's or Skittles?
M&M's

3. Have you ever read the Bible completely through?
No, but I would like to.....

4. How long does it take you to really wake up in the morning?
I usually wake right up!

5. Have you ever been on a cruise? If not, would you like to?
I've never been, and no, I don't want to...the thought of being surrounded by water scares me.

6. Who is your favorite actress?
Diane Lane

7. ______ is something that I will just never understand.
Texting

8. How much of a technology junkie are you?
None at all!

9. Do you enjoy selecting greeting cards for people, or is it more of a cultural "have to" for you?
I love picking out greeting cards for people

10. When was the last time you got a new style/haircut?
New Style: June '09, last haircut: November

11. What do you enjoy shopping for most?
Books!

12. What's the last thing you think of before you leave the house?
How sad my cats look that I'm leaving.....

~Book Review - The Tin Box by Holly Kennedy~

From the back cover:

When her closest childhood friend dies, Kenly Lowen is given the old tin box they once shared. Inside is a secret she has kept for years.
This unexpected gift takes her back fifteen years, to a small town that was filled with hidden treasures; terminally ill Tommy, who loved her; old Max, who showed her that a fire pit is sometimes the best medicine; and edgy Lexie, who believed life should be lived. The people who changed Kenly's life forever.
The past can be treasured but it can also be a weapon. Kenly knows that it is time to free herself of old debts so that she can finally live her life without shame. If she reveals her secret it could end her marriage and shatter her world...But can she continue to shoulder the weight of years of silence?

My thoughts:

This is a wonderful story of young love and friendship. Kenly befriends Tommy when she moves to Canada. Tommy has Proteus Syndrome, a disease that causes facial deformity and other life-threatening health issues. Kenly and Tommy grow very close, and when Kenly decides to move to Chicago to go to college, Tommy is heartbroken. They keep in touch for awhile, but soon Kenly meets a man who she falls in love with, and marries. And Tommy is left only with memories of the girl that he fell in love with........

I loved the story and especially loved the characters. I breathed a sigh of relief at the end, because to me, the ending was just perfect.

I highly recommend The Tin Box.

published

October 31st 2006 by Forge Books (first published 2003)

details

Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages

isbn

0765351048 (isbn13: 9780765351043)

VERY GOOD!

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: * Grab your current read* * Open to a random page* *Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page * BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! ;)


~Of course, there were plenty of other homely teenage girls in Port Arthur and they were largely ignored. Janis could have chosen to be inconspicuous, but she decided to fight what other girls accepted as fate.~ pg. 12 ~Scars of Sweet Paradise: The Life & Times of Janis Joplin

What's YOUR teaser today????

~Mailbox Monday~

I received one book from Paperbackswap on Saturday:

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls


I bought 2 books on Saturday!

After You by Amy Efaw

Unbroken: A Memoir by Tracy Elliott

What was in YOUR mailbox today???

An Award for Me!

The lovely Ah Yuan from GAL Novelty has presented me with The Happy 101 Award, and it couldn't have come at a better time! Thanks so much!

I have had a down-in-the-dumps weekend; I was in bed all of yesterday with a back spasm...very painful. I also somehow gained a pound after losing 3 (I have been on Weight Watchers 15 days now) so I was upset about that. This award has cheered me right up!

The instructions are for me to list 10 things that make me happy, then tag some other bloggers with this award.

1. Being at home with my husband and pets.
2. Reading
3. Sleeping (I really really love to sleep!)
4. Listening to music and singing along
5. Fuzzy socks
6. Listening to my cats purr
7. Going to the beach
8. Hearing from friends, new and old
9. Shopping
10. Watching a favorite movie

I want to pass this award on to all of my followers and anyone else who would like to play along - this was fun....many thanks, Ah Yuan!

~Flashback 1998~

Economics

Federal spending: $1675.88 billion
Federal debt: $5750.4 billion
Consumer Price Index: 163
Unemployment: 4.5%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.32

Events

• Titanic becomes the highest-grossing film of all time, raking in more than $580 million domestically.
• An estimated 76 million viewers watch the last episode of Seinfeld.
• Legendary crooner Frank Sinatra dies of a heart attack at age 82.
• NBC agrees to fork over $13 million an episode for the next three years for broadcast rights to the top-rated series ER. The total dollar figure, $850 million, eclipses any price ever paid for a television show.
• Titanic captures a record-tying 11 Academy Awards, including those for Best Picture and Best Director (James Cameron).
• The American Film Institute announces its list of the top 100 films of all time. Citizen Kane tops the list.

Movies

• Affliction, American History X, Elizabeth, Shakespeare in Love, There's Something about Mary

Books

• Edward Ball, Slaves in the Family
• Russell Banks, Cloudsplitter
• Michael Cunningham, The Hours
• Donald Hall, Without
• Alice McDermott, Charming Billy

Booking Through Thursday - Gifts

Today's Booking Through Thursday's question is:

What books did you get for Christmas (or whichever holiday you may have celebrated last month)? Do you usually ask for books on gift-giving occasions or do you prefer to buy them yourself? Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

If I ask my husband for a particular book, he will pick it up as a gift. I have also steered him towards my Amazon Wish List, so he has many to choose from, and doesn't have to ask me....so I will be surprised!

As far as receiving books for Christmas last year, I got 3 from Secret Santas. My in-laws gave me a Barnes and Noble giftcard, which I put to good use...I got 7 books with it. So....10 books for the holidays! Not too bad!

What about you?