5 books meme

Gimme five! by Funkdooby via flickr CC

With thanks to @flexnib for this one:

1. The book I’m currently reading:

Thud by Terry Pratchett.

2. The last book I finished:

Jingo, also by Terry Pratchett (I’m going through a phase)

3. The next book I want to read:

On my bedside table is The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf. It’s been sitting there a while as the storyline is about 2 missing little girls and the unravelling of a community, so I’m not sure if I’ve got the internal fortitude to read it….

4. The last book I bought:

52 Suburbs, the book of the blog.

5. The last book I was given:

I got Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks for Mothers Day

A library meme…

'library' from uberculture via flickr CC

I came across this ‘channel surfing’ on the interwebz tonight, thanks to Nose in a Book for the inspiration.

1. Do you remember learning to read? How old were you?
I don’t remember learning to read – I know I was quite young and could possibly read by the time I started school.  Certainly mum & dad were (are) both great readers and I know we used to go to either the library or the newsagent (it was a small country town) for me to borrow or buy a book each week.  I was really lucky, mum & dad never censored my reading (except perhaps by price I guess!). 

2. What do you find most challenging to read?
Science fiction and anything that won a major prize.  I suppose I like to read for fun and if it’s TOO challenging then it’s no longer fun? Someone gave me Wolf Hall for Christmas this year, looking forward to reading it as I love historical fiction but a bit scared by the Man Booker sticker!

3. What are your library habits?
I love my public library and use it regularly.  My daughter & I often spend our ‘Tuesday night girls night’ at the library – she doing research while I browse and borrow books and magazines.  Sometimes I will go with a specific idea in mind, more often than not I’ll browse shelf ends and display titles and pick up something that takes my fancy.  I’ve also been known to pick a random non-fiction shelf bay and choose something to borrow from the books on offer. 

4. Have your library habits changed since you were younger?
If anything I use it more.  We were frequent library users as kids, mum and (more particularly) dad used to take us to borrow and read all the time.  When my kids were little I used to take them for storytime but not on a regular basis as parking was so difficult due to its popularity!

5. Has social media changed your reading life?
Twitter puts me in touch with lots of things to read that I might otherwise not have ever heard about.  I follow a lot of blogs – some of them review books, but if it sounds interesting I’m likely to read it regardless of the review I might have read.

6. What percentage of your books do you get from new book stores, second hand books stores, the library, online exchange sites, online retailers, e-books, other?

I rarely buy new books. I have a thing about spending money to start with, then there’s the whole sustainability issue so I’d rather re-read, recycle or buy second hand.  I have a healthy book swapping habit with a few friends and usually borrow a few from my mother when I visit her as well.  Then there’s the library of course – probably about 50% of my reading comes from there.  I don’t do e-books but LOVE audiobooks.

Having said that, I have a few author friends and the whole business of library vs buying the book does strike at my conscience a little when I consider them….

7. What are your pet peeves about the way people treat books?
Would you believe I don’t really have any? I’m pretty hard on books, the only thing I really hate is when I get sand in them at the beach….. 

8. Do you read for pleasure or for work?
Both. Most emphatically both.  Luckily, it often crosses over

9. When you give people books as gifts, how do you decide what to give them?
Usually by considering their interests and choosing something I think might interest them but is just ‘off centre’ enough to be pretty sure they might not have bought it for themselves.  I love buying books for my kids – I have made some bad choices there, but not too many over the years.

To meme or not to meme?

When I first started #blogeverydayinjune I had no idea what a meme was.  I ended up ‘doing’ a few, but was curious about the origin of the term, and what it actually meant.  I was startled to find some quite in depth discussion of meme-ing out there in cyber space (even a TED talk on the concept).

Now I’m curious about correct sentence construction around the word ‘meme’.  Is meme a noun or a verb in popular usage? Do we participate in a meme? Perhaps do a meme? Or am I memeing?

It’s Friday afternoon.   I could probably expand this thought much, much further.   Just not today.

Top 100 for 2010 meme

A meme I’ve copied from Justgirlwithshoes, who got it from Rien d’important the Angus & Robertson top 100 books for 2010.
* = Books I have read
+ = Books I have enjoyed reading
@ = Books I would like to read

1 The Twilight Saga Stephenie Meyer *
2 Harry Potter 1-7 J.K. Rowling *+
3 The Millennium Trilogy Stieg Larsson*+
4 To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee * +
5 The Lovely Bones Alice Sebold *+
6 Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen *+
7 My Sister’s Keeper Jodi Picoult
8 Sookie Stackhouse Charlaine Harris
9 The Time Traveler’s Wife Audrey Niffenegger *+
10 The Book Thief Markus Zusak @
11 Lunch in Paris Elizabeth Bard
12 The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini *+
13 Memoirs of a Geisha Arthur Golden
14 61 Hours Lee Child
15 Dragon Haven Robin Hobb
16 Vampire Academy Richelle Mead
17 The Silent Sea Clive Cussler
18 Mao’s Last Dancer Li Cunxin *+
19 The Lord of the Rings J.R.R. Tolkien *+
20 Tuscan Rose Belinda Alexandra *
21 The Power of One Bryce Courtenay *
22 The Notebook Nicholas Sparks
23 The Pacific Hugh Ambrose
24 Ransom David Malouf
25 Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte *
26 Dear John Nicholas Sparks
27 Magician Raymond E. Feist
28 The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger *+
29 House Rules Jodi Picoult
30 Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte *+
31 A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini
32 Marley & Me John Grogan
33 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls Jane Austen & Steve
34 Breath Tim Winton *++++++++++
35 The Bronze Horseman Paullina Simons *
36 Cloudstreet Tim Winton *+++++
37 The People’s Train Thomas Keneally
38 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Lewis Carroll *
39 Truth Peter Temple
40 Little Women Louisa May Alcott *+
41 Eat, Pray, Love Elizabeth Gilbert *
42 The Host Stephenie Meyer
43 The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown *
44 The Book of Emmett Deborah Forster
45 Ice Station Matthew Reilly *
46 The Road Cormac Macarthy *
47 The Memory Keeper’s Daughter Kim Edwards
48 Persuasion Jane Austen *+
49 Jessica Bryce Courtenay
50 Atonement Ian McEwan
51 Tuesdays with Morrie Mitch Albom *+++
52 The Pillars of the Earth Ken Follet *+
53 The Alchemist Paulo Coehlo *+
54 April Fool’s Day Bryce Courtenay
55 Life of Pi Yann Martel *
56 Angels & Demons Dan Brown *
57 The Pact Jodi Picoult
58 The Five People You Meet in Heaven Mitch Albom *
59 Parrot and Olivier in America Peter Carey
60 Always Looking Up Michael J. Fox
61 Seven Ancient Wonders Matthew Reilly
62 The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien *+
63 Nineteen Minutes Jodi Picoult
64 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Burrows @
65 The Lost Symbol Dan Brown
66 Solar Ian McEwan
67 Fallen Lauren Kate
68 The Historian Elizabeth Kostova
69 P.S. I Love You Cecila Ahern
70 The Chronicles of Narnia C.S. Lewis *+
71 Obernewtyn Isobelle Carmody *
72 A Fortunate Life A.B. Facey
73 Handle with Care Jodi Picoult
74 Cross Stitch Diana Gabaldon *
75 Dirt Music Tim Winton *++++
76 It Stephen King
77 Hourglass Claudia Gray
78 Tully Paullina Simons
79 The Mists of Avalon Marion Zimmer Bradley
80 Shantaram: A Novel Gregory David Roberts
81 The Princess Bride William Goldman
82 Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell *+
83 Requiem for a Species Clive Hamilton
84 The Other Boleyn Girl Philippa Gregory @
85 Break No Bones Kathy Reichs *+
86 Animal Farm George Orwell *+
87 The Six Sacred Stones Matthew Reilly
88 The Five Greatest Warriors Matthew Reilly
89 Maralinga Judy Nunn
90 Fight Club Chuck Palahniuk
91 One for the Money Janet Evanovich *
92 Worst Case James Patterson
93 Once in a Lifetime Cathy Kelly *
94 The Stand Stephen King
95 Anybody Out There Marian Keyes *
96 The Secret Rhonda Byrne
97 Temple Matthew Reilly*
98 All That Remains Patricia Cornwall
99 The Slap Christos Tsolkias *+
100 Interview with the Vampire Anne Rice

Music to my ears

I guess I can occasionally allow a personal post to make a fleeting appearance on this blog – there is a precedent and it is always a meme that gets me….

This one via Snail:

1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that’s playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool!

Opening Credits: Prospero’s Speech – Loreena McKennitt
Waking Up: Lady d’Arbvanville – Cat Stevens
First Day At School: The Arrangement – Joni Mitchell
Falling In Love: New Sensation – INXS [goodness!]
Fight Song: Don’t Ever – Missy Higgins
Breaking Up: Lost in a lost world – The Moody Blues [goodness again!]
Prom: He’s a Rebel – The Crystals
Life: Here come the sirens – My Friend the Chocolate Cake
Mental Breakdown: Run, Baby, Run – Sheryl Crow [OMG]
Driving: Intermezzo Op.118 No2 – Roger Woodward (from The Swoon Collection II)
Flashback: Pants on Fire – Something with Numbers [I actually have no idea what this song is or what it is doing on my iPod but quite enjoyed listening to it!]
Getting Back Together: The Afternoon – The Moody Blues
Wedding: Working in the Coalmine – Razzle Dazzle Soundtrack
Birth of Child: I’m just a singer in a rock n roll band – The Moody Blues
Final Battle: The Selfish Giant – Graeme Koehne: QLD Philharmonic (again Swoon Collection)
Death Scene: Love gets me every time – Shania Twain
Funeral Song: Live to Tell – Madonna [oh dear]
Remembrance Song: Don’t be Stupid – Shania Twain
End Credits: This Nearly Was Mine – Anthony Warlow [oh my - how fab!]

I’m actually not quite as addicted to The Moody Blues as that would seem to indicate – yes it’s a double album, but I have some 2,000 tracks on my iPod and only one Moody Blues album….. Bringing us back to the whole ‘how random is random’ debate.

(Oh and Sally’s comment about the length of time spent searching for photos on flickr has a confronting ring of truth about it for me – sometimes I am not sure which I enjoy more: writing the posts, or searching for a suitable photo!)

image: but the man there said the music wouldn’t play by cvanstane via flickr

Down the path of personal

OK, OK, it’s Monday night of a long weekend and I’m tired and slightly emotional, so this is a personal post, rather than a professional one.  I’m picking up on the ’2 things about me’ meme:

Two names you go by:
1) ‘Miss’ (from the students at work)
2) Mumsy (from Mr 17)

Two things you are wearing right now:
1) fab silver ring I bought myself last weekend just because I could
2) my favourite-wear-it-every-day polar fleece vest I think I paid $4 for in an op shop about 4 years ago

Two things you would want (or have) in a relationship:
1) conversation
2) safety

Two things you like to do:
1)Crosswords

2) Jigsaws

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1) a new fridge
2)a week off work

Two things you did last night:
1) got up to watch the Socceroos play
2) made fab honey/soy/garlic pork chops for dinner

Two things you ate today:
1) homemade apple pie
2)fish and chips

Two people you last talked to:
1) Kids
2)ex husband

Two things you’re doing tomorrow:
1) work
2) um…. work?

Two Favorite Holidays
1) Tasmania
2) Penang

Two favourite beverages
1)red wine
2) coffee

Two things about me! Things you may not have known.
1)I’m a new grad at 43

2) I’m learning to love riding pillion on the motorbike

Two jobs I have had in my life:
1) Librarian
2)Office manager

Two movies I would watch over and over:
1) Four weddings and a funeral

2) Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Two places I have lived:
1) Karachi, Pakistan
2) Christmas Island, Indian Ocean

Two of my favourite foods:
1)olives
2) goat’s cheese

Two places I’d rather be right now:
1) my partner’s house

2) in the Blue Mountains in front of a log fire

image: Alphabetical Crossword Puzzle Jigsaw Blank by Crossword Man via flickr