June 14th, 2008
I’m primarily a reader of books but there are times when a magazine is the best thing ever, and other times when there is no other reading material available.
I like all kinds of magazines, but am especially partial to literary zines filled with short stories, and home decor / lifestyle publications like Real Simple and Mary Englebreitt’s Home Companion, and sometimes, I confess, I do read good old Martha, even if the fact that her hair is always in her eyes constantly annoys me.
At the salon, I indulge in my guilty pleasure: fashion magazines filled with everything from diet pill reviews to runway fashion shoots, and dishy celebrity gossip. These are the magazines I refuse to actually buy, but enjoy in small doses.
At home, we accept delivery of only three or four magazines: The Writer, Writer’s Digest, Discover and National Geographic.
Everything else, we only pick up as the mood suits.
Your turn: What magazines do you read? Which ones do you avoid at all costs?
Categories: Reading Lists |
Tags: magazines, reading | 1 Comment
September 7th, 2007
…died last night. She was one of my favorite authors, and her works have been important in my life.
I wrote about it here.
Categories: Reading Lists |
4 Comments
August 23rd, 2007
I’ve never been to North Carolina, except in books, and my fictional visits have never centered around Wilmington NC real estate, as much as they have beach houses on the Outer Banks, but even though I’ve never visited, it’s a place I’m drawn to.
I blame Anne Rivers Siddons. Her novels, slightly more romance than chick lit, but only slightly, always have these creative women who live at the beach, and don’t care if their hair is crusted with salt, or their khakis are ancient and worn, so long as they can enjoy the sun and the sand and maybe see a turtle or two.
The thing about Siddons, though, is that she makes all the east coast beaches feel amazing, better than the beaches of California, and far more wild and rugged than they really are. When you’re reading a Siddons book, you don’t have to think about how polluted the water is, or that people are overfishing, or that you’re as likely to get a fish hook embedded in your toe than a perfect summer tan glowing on your skin.
It’s escapism, but it’s escapism that carries with it the scent of salt air.
The ocean is in my thoughts more and more as summer draws to a close. Tourists may love the shore in summer - I always preferred it in fall.
Someday, I want to be one of those salty-haired women who live at the beach.
I want to look out at blue water, and write.
But I’ll write about creative women who sip designer coffee in trendy cafes.
Categories: Coffee, Dream, Reading Lists, Travel, Writing |
4 Comments
February 12th, 2007
I’ve moved and redesigned my bookblog. It can now be found at Bibliotica.com.
DO have a look?
Categories: Geekery, Reading Lists |
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January 14th, 2007
I’ve been playing hermit while I’ve been sick, and it’s only this weekend that I began to get stir crazy, largely because while I did find a stack of unread books, most were mystery-thrillers, and I just wasn’t in the mood for murder and mayhem. I did find a Barbara Delinsky novel called Looking for Peyton Place that I read in fits and snatches in the bathroom to make it last all week (this worked for a change). It was an enjoyable novel, and when I revamp Zenitopia later this week, it’ll be one of my reviews.
Yesterday, because I had things to mail, and needed to pick up some bubble mailers for things I have yet to mail, we ventured out to the post office, where I had a lovely conversation with the woman who helped me, and was gracious enough to find the last sheet of DC superhero stamps for me, when I told her I use them to send mail to soldiers in Iraq. “Here,” she said, “Let me find you the baseball stamps, too. They’ll love those.” I have a meter, but I like to use pretty stamps whenever possible. I also bought an array of Valentine’s Day stamps, including some with chocolate kisses. If only they were scratch-n-sniff as well.
* * * * * Begin Shameless Plug * * * * *
Speaking of writing to soldiers. Whatever your stance is on the war, the fact is that there are men and women serving overseas (not just in Iraq) who either don’t have family to send mail, or have family that won’t or can’t support them. Imagine being that far from home, and not being able to connect with family and friends in any meaningful way. If you like to write letters, or send surprise packages, consider checking out
Soldiers’ Angels - they’re a non-profit, non-partisan organization that allows you to adopt a soldier, not just for Christmas, but for their entire deployment. All you have to do is send a letter weekly, and a small package (and if you’re not the gifty type, there are cool websites with pre-made parcels) once a month. I spend more on COFFEE than I do on that.
* * * * * End Shameless Plug * * * * *
Back to my babbling. Today around six I started getting really stir-crazy. And I’d finished that book. So I yelled up the stairs to Fuzzy, and he said that despite the warnings about ice storms, the roads were pretty clear in our part of the metroplex, and sure, a trip to Barnes and Noble would be fine with him. So we ventured forth, and I spent $66 for $144 worth of stuff, thanks to my spiffy Reader’s Advantage card, and three gift certificates from Christmas. I came home with a spiffy new laptop lapdesk, so I don’t have to overheat my laptop by resting it on pillows when I blog from bed (like now), three books (2 hard cover), 3 magazines, and 3 boxes of stationery. Of course, we had to stop in the cafe on the way out, and I enjoyed a Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce Latte, which is available for the post-Christmas, pre-Easter season. It’s my favorite drink of theirs. Really. And I’m not just saying that because it was my first coffee in eleven days.
As we got into the car, I heard a strange clicking sound, and after looking around, I determined that it happened every time the wind blew. After more investigation, and conferring with Fuzzy, it was determined that the trees in the curb strip between the parking lot and the street had frozen while we’d been shopping, and were now shining like crystal, and clinking like so many marbles.
We drove home through a forest of trees made of glass, and were greeted by dogs all too happy to see us. We settled on the couch with popcorn and puppies, watched Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, which involved much mocking, (”Look, Fuzzy, it’s 80’s Metal Band!Klingons!”) but was a cozy couple of hours nonetheless, and now, now I’m breaking in my new laptop and watching From the Earth to the Moon on DVD, because it’s one of those series that qualifies as a “comfort film” for me, and Fuzzy’s upstairs blowing up aliens or something like that.
All in all, a good day.
Categories: Blog, FrouFrou, Reading Lists |
3 Comments
November 16th, 2006
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Thirteen Things about MissMeliss: Books I Love to Re-read
- Certain Women, by Madeleine L’Engle.
- The Eight, by Katherine Neville
- Bread Alone, by Judith Ryan Hendricks
- Outside Lies Magic, by John R. Stilgoe
- Writing Down the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg
- On Writing, Stephen King
- The Mists of Avalon, by Marian Zimmer Bradley
- Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, by Rebecca Wells
- Maiden Voyage, by Tanya Aebi
- Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, by Kathleen Norris
- A Natural History of the Senses, by Diane Ackerman
- A Year in Provence, by Peter Mayle
- Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
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Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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Categories: Books, Reading Lists, Thursday 13 |
6 Comments
August 26th, 2006
Clarissa Peterson of First Book wrote this to me, and I promised to share:
August 26 and 27 are Borders National Benefits Days. First Book is handing out a coupon for 10% off at Borders on those days - and an additional 10% of purchases made with the coupon will be donated back to First Book by Borders. A good way to save money on back-to-school purchases and help First Book at the same time.
(CLICK THE IMAGES FOR THE COUPON)
Categories: Blog, Reading Lists |
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