Happy Birthday, Steve. Or is it in March or maybe November...?

Leave me alone. I'm listening to my iPod.

Or I would if it was working. I don't have anything to do with books to post, since I've been spending all day avoiding reading. Instead, the other obsession - music. A guy from work told me about Pandora.com - it's a site that allows you to make radio stations based on your musical preferences. If you hate the song, you give it the hands down and it's never played again. If you like it, thumbs up and the magical little bunnies at Pandora 'learn' and add other artists and songs based on your opinions. It's one of my new favorite things. 

And the other, which is courtesy of the same guy: Kings of Leon. Who said sexy young things never come from Tennessee? These guys apparently lived in my hometown for five years. They, of course, got smart and moved away. Watch the video for Sex on Fire, which they performed on SNL.

Bookishness

Don't know if I would make one of these but the idea is pretty cool.

Or how about a chair made from recycled books?

Ramblings

I had a lot of time off this summer - a lot. I knitted, I bowled, I drank quite a few dirty martinis, and I watched too many episodes of daytime COPS looking for my relatives back in the South, but other than the Harry Potter series  and a couple of smutty romance novels, I read very little. I'd rather reread a good book 10 times over than pick up a new one and be disappointed, which I frequently am. Plus, I'm cheap, have the attention span of a gnat and still owe a fine at the library from two years ago. 

Now suddenly, there are about 20 I want to read and somehow they are all in hardback or are 500+ pages long. Go figure. 

First, though, I'll start with Susan's suggestions:

The next pick is The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski for our October 25th meeting. Kosinski's biography is just as interesting and controversial as I'm sure the book will be. 

The Color Purple by Alice Walker.

Shoeless Joe Jackson by W.P. Kinsella which is the novel Field of Dreams is based on. 

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, a collection of short stories. If you only read one work of 'fiction' about the Vietnam War, this is the most critically acclaimed. 

The Giver by Lois Lowry, which is probably on every required reading list, with good reason. I highly recommend it - harrowing and thought provoking. 

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I remember devouring this book when I was just out of high school and it remains one of my all time favorites. Throw away Catcher in the Rye and read this slim, spare novel about coming of age. 

On my list:

Well, I just finished H.P. #7 and Midnight's Children is in the mail, but I've got my eye on two books about books.  

The first is The Book Thief by Mark Zukas, a novel set in Germany during WWII and told from the point of view of Death, a reluctant collector of souls and his encounters with Leisel Meminger, the title character, as she steals the books and shares them with the people around her while trying to deal with the encroaching threat of Nazism. 

The other is a  translation, Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruis Zafon. Here's the blurb from Wikipedia:

"The novel, set in post- Spanish Civil War Barcelona, concerns a young boy, Daniel. Just after the war, Daniel's father takes him to the secret Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a huge library of old, forgotten titles lovingly preserved by a select few initiates. According to tradition, everyone initiated to this secret place is allowed to take one book from it, and must protect it for life. Daniel selects a book called The Shadow of the Wind by Julián Carax. That night he takes the book home and reads it, completely engrossed. Daniel then attempts to look for other books by this unknown author, but can find none. All he comes across are stories of a strange man - calling himself Laín Coubert, after a character in the book who happens to be the Devil - who has been seeking out Carax' books for decades, buying them all and burning them. In time this mysterious figure confronts and threatens Daniel. Terrified, Daniel returns the book to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books but continues to seek out the story of the elusive author. In doing so Daniel becomes entangled in an age old conflict that began with the author himself. Many parallels are found to exist between the author's life and Daniel's and he takes it upon himself to make sure history does not repeat."

So, how to feed this addiction without going broke?  Here's a solution: Booksfree.com is like Netflix for books, it's that simple. The books are shipped to your house and there are different payment plans. 

And just for fun, because tonight may be a bloodbath, here's a Sarah Palin quote generator.

Who cares about books...

food is the most important thing. Since we are having the meeting at Steve's place, everyone is welcome to bring something to nosh on. Ellyn has something in the works but I can't decide whether to make Strawberry Marzipan Muffins or Sour Cream Apple Pie.  Any votes? I will be bringing sangria to officially say good-bye to summer. 

Sweet on Geeks

Finally: an online dating site for geeks lookin' for love! Oscar would approve.

Silliness

Click here for link to author Junot Diaz getting the Colbert treatment.