Jenny McCarthy: Belly Laughs

Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth by Jenny McCarthy

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book,as well as her others, is too too funny. Any woman who has EVER given birth will appreciate her perspective. Any woman who is thinking about having a baby should read it, as long as it doesn't scare you off, LOL. She approaches the less appealing aspects of motherhood with sarcasm and wit.



If you need a laugh, this is for you.


View all my reviews.

Joanne Harris: Chocolat

Chocolat by Joanne Harris

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved the book and I loved the movie equally. Read the book first (after buying the dvd) and they really aren't the same...similar, but not the same...



But I loved them both. I count the movie as one of my all time favorites (with Whale Rider and Roman Holiday). The movie is beautifully done and tells the story it is meant to tell.



But the characters in the book! Wow! I just loved them all, well nearly all...the priest was a bit of a jerk.



There are basic similarities to Like Water for Chocolate in that the alchemy of emotions and cooking are prevalent in both.



Read the book, watch the movie, and enjoy both! Can't wait to read the sequel to this book, plus the 2 or 3 others of hers sitting on my shelf whispering my name.


View all my reviews.

Scott O'Dell: Island of the Blue Dolphins

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I had, and read, this book as a child and it has stayed with me since. I absolutely loved this book. So much so that even recently I researched the true story the book is based on...which I have to say does not end so well, really making me wish I hadn't looked it up.



As with most aboriginal tribes in North America coming in contact with other peoples, her culture was wiped out. No one really knows what happened to them, whether they were assimilated into another tribe thru capture, or died due to exposure to relatively minor diseases of the european descended settlers.



Mr. O'Dell does a wonderful job with this story for young readers. The pictures he weaves with words still stays with me nearly 30 years later. This is one of the FEW books on the required/accelerated reading lists that I think really belongs for younger readers. Usually the books are so depressing and grim, that they really aren't appropriate for youngsters who are undergoing such tremendous changes anyway...






View all my reviews.

quote

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
Arthur Schopenhauer

The memory should be specially taxed in youth, since it is then that it is strongest and most tenacious. But in choosing the things that should be committed to memory the utmost care and forethought must be exercised; as lessons well learnt in youth are never forgotten.
Arthur Schopenhauer

Kathleen McGowan: The Expected One

The Expected One: A Novel by Kathleen McGowan

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
NOTE::::: not for those who won't accept the possibility of MM and Jesus having a bloodline that still possibly exists.









Started this book, decided after reading the afterward and author's notes that I need one to highlight. So will return to library and keep an eye out for my own copy.



Okay, now half-way thru,changed my mind about buying it for myself...will just read the library book and when the sequels come out will do the same.



It is pretty well written, and rehashes some "theories" already out there, but a little different take than The DaVinci Code. Definitely harsh on Paul (in my mind that's okay by me, don't care for him anyhow), John the Baptist, and several others. Also doesn't idealizes DaVinci like the other book did.



I guess learning a bit more about the author has tinted my view of the book, as I was actually enjoying it before googling her and then "hearing" some of her actual beliefs from her own posts...I actually suppose that if I could speak to her face to face she wouldn't seem so....out there. But to read it without tone and inflection, she sounds a little loony. But her right and that's okay. She actually sounds like people I used to hang around a lot with before I moved to "small-town" America.



Some of the plot themes are now hindering my enjoyment of the book as well, but if it had been written about entirely fictional characters, would not be bothering me...so I adjust my thinking for that.



I don't want to turn anyone off the book, it isn't bad at all. Just my own preconceived notions block my complete enjoyment of the book.



I can accept the possibility of MM and Easa being wed and having children, that, in my mind, is NOT outside the realm of possibility. Nor is the presumption that she may have held a more "pure" interpretation of Easa's teachings. That also is firmly entrenched in my brain as not only acceptable, but probable.



But for the executions of Marie Antoinette and Louis as part of a grand scheme to wipe out the bloodline, ordered by the RC church seems just a wee bit farfetched...but that's okay too...whatever moves the plot along. And I know that some believe all the "theories" surrounding the legend of MM. But bits and pieces of it bug me, and I cannot explain why.



So read the book, make your own mind up...but it is most assuredly NOT FOR the most conservative christian mind.





Update:::: 1 August 2008



Finished book. Enjoyed it so much better there at the last half of the book. While it does go over SOME of the same material as DaVinci Code, it takes quite a few sudden turns away from it as well. As noted before, the issue of DaVinci is quite a bit different.



The author relates in the AUTHOR'S NOTE at the end of the book that it is based much on her own experiences. This is where I had a minor problem. Not a problem for me now, but it was while in the midst of reading it. Despite that, if even half of what she puts forward in this book is, in fact, well, factual and real, then it is impressive and hopeful. I am looking forward to the next part of the series.



The ONLY reservations I had with this book is the fact that I am overly skeptical when I cannot discern tone and intent because of no "face to face" interaction. Many of her, for lack of a better word, theories I do hold with. A lot of them I grew up believing, in some depth or another.



I have always had a problem with the church's stance on women's roles, Paul's theology, the lack of info on the female's in Jesus' life, and the dismissal of even the possiblity that Jesus could have married and had a family. Being a Jew of the times, it would have been strange if he did not. And Pope Gregory, I think it was, that made Mary Magdalene a prostitute did a great disservice to her. She was the one, the only one, who witnessed Jesus' return after the crucifixion. She was also termed the Apostle to the Apostles. And Jesus' closest companion. I believe these are all mentioned in the accepted form of the Bible. For her to be so denigrated as she has been for 2000 years is reprehensible and disgraceful. Not only for her, but for the church and for women everywhere.



I still am a bit skeptical of the author's assertions about Marie Antoinette, the Borgia's and various artists, but then I've never really done much research on the aforementioned people due to lack of interest.



Read this book with a somewhat open mind. The author writes a good story, whether or not you believe it is a fictional account of her own experiences.


View all my reviews.

Bill Bryson: A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Anyone who has EVER backpacked, had anything to do with roughing in camping, the Appalachian Trail, should get a kick out of this book.



Bryson has a wit about him that I truly appreciate. You can visualize the various incidents and the frustrations and absurdity behind each one.



This book is just plain humorous, like most of Bryson's books!


View all my reviews.

Edain McCoy: Celtic Myth & Magick: Harness the Power of the Gods and Goddesses

Celtic Myth & Magick: Harness the Power of the Gods and Goddesses by Edain McCoy

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Some people don't like Edain McCoy's books, they relegate them to "fluffy-bunny" status. I personally despise that term and think that the ones who use it are self-important wanna be know-it-alls. There, I said it, LOL. Whatever level ANYONE is in their own search for faith and spirituality should never be demeaned and condescended to as these people who use such a term tend to do.



I liked this book, it was more of a dictionary for me of some of the lesser known (to me) deities and figures in celtic mythos. The rituals would be helpful to those who use them, I personally would only use someone else's to build upon to make my own, if I were so inclined. But this is her, McCoy's, path and choice. She did a pretty decent job in this book.



Although the elitist crowd will still look down on her work, if you are just beginning your studies into Celtic Myth, then this is a good reference.



Also look into Patricia Monaghan!


View all my reviews.

Jo Frost: Supernanny: How to Get the Best from Your Children

Supernanny: How to Get the Best from Your Children by Jo Frost

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Really, it's just common sense parenting tips. At least it was in my family as I was growing up. Well, partly. And of all the idiot reality shows out there, hers ranks as one of the few that are worth watching to me... though it is painful to watch at times, LOL.



Should be read BEFORE you have kids, or at least before they start talking and walking... because it is so much easier to start at the beginning than to change gears in mid-trip.


View all my reviews.

Jill Churchill, Grace and Favor: In The Still Of The Night

In the Still of the Night: A Grace and Favor Mystery by Jill Churchill

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the first I read of the Grace and Favor books, book 2 I believe. It was the only one at the nearest library they had (the other one had most of the others). This one got me hooked, but it isn't my favorite, Someone To Watch Over Me is my favorite.



The plot of this one, if I remember (being a few months ago that I read the one's I've read) was pretty good. It wasn't the easiest one I've read, so that's good.



Again, as with the other Grace and Favor books, you get a bit of a history lesson with your read.





Blurb from Author's site:



In the Still of the Night

Lily Brewster and her brother Robert have all the appearances of being rich even though the family fortune went out the window with the crash of 1929. But thanks to great-uncle Horatio who left them Grace and Favor Cottage, a huge mansion, the Brewsters live in the style which they had become accustomed. To make sure they didn't go back to being society bums, crafty old Horatio attached some strings to his bequest–the poor Brewsters have to work for money to survive When Lily came up with the ideas to turn a profit by luring their society friends to Grace and Favor for a paying weekend, she didn't plan on a who-dun-it with one guest dead, one missing, and Lily and Robert chasing a murderer.


View all my reviews.

Jill Churchill, Grace and Favor: Someone To Watch Over Me

Someone to Watch Over Me by Jill Churchill

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I liked this book the best of all the Grace and Favor books. The author enlightened me to even more of 1930's history, such as The Bonus Army, the despicable actions of Hoover and MacArthur (yes, THAT MacArthur) with the somewhat unwilling participation of Eisenhower as well. (this last bit I found out while researching the Bonus Army and the horrid things they went thru due to the mistreatment and disregard of the government...sound familiar?)



Of all of Jill Churchill's books, this one I most recommend. This one has a period of our history that we forgot and need to remember, especially during our own time of war today. We need to make sure, irregardless of our own opinions of the war- for or against- that those that fight and defend us in the USA and other places are treated with respect and dignity and taken care of when they return.



Blurb from Author's Site:



SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME

Lily and Robert each have a murder to solve. Robert’s is discovered when he’s got helpers taking down the old ice house in the woods to reuse the wood. It’s an almost mummified body of a well-dressed man. Robert can’t stand not knowing how and when and why he got there.



Meanwhile, Lily is at the Voorburg Ladies League meeting when Police Chief Walker arrives to tell one of the other women her husband’s been killed. Lily is determined to get to the bottom of this before the Police Chief can.



While lots of people’s old secrets are revealed and picked apart by the brother and the sister, Jack Summer has gone to take a first hand look at the Bonus March going on in Washington D.C. and gets into the thick of the horror there.



There are some surprising twists and turns as all three stories are resolved.


View all my reviews.

Jill Churchill, Grace and Favor: Love For Sale

Love for Sale: A Grace & Favor Mystery by Jill Churchill

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
As much as I like the Grace and Favor books, this one just didn't live up to the others as much. But it is still good and I do recommend.



It was a weird, convoluted read, and while you may pick the "bad guy" out early on, and the reasons behind it, it still takes you for a mental rollercoaster of a ride trying to sort out the stories.





Blurb from Author's site:



LOVE FOR SALE

Sister and brother Lily and Robert Brewster raised in the lap of luxury, may no longer have a penny to their names. But at least they have a roof over their heads — which is more than may can say in this bleak November of 1932. And now there’s even some cash rolling in, since the Brewsters have taken part time teaching duties at the local grade school.



But their luck turns sour when a mysteriously and badly disguised stranger comes to Grace and Favor wishing to pay generously to have a very secret meeting there shortly before the national election of either Hoover or Roosevelt. Are they gangsters? Pretty Boy Floyd is rumored to be somewhere near. Worse yet, are they a rabid political group trying to stop Roosevelt being elected at last minute by making up some real dirt about him?



When one of the mystery guests is murdered in his bath, and Mary Towerton’s little boy is kidnapped, the pace becomes hectic. In the end a local woman Lily has made friends with, a secretary from upriver, and one of the children at the school provide the vital clues that allow Lily to put two and two together, but only after a wild car chase with three women drivers.




View all my reviews.

Jill Churchill, Grace and Favor: It Had To Be You

Who's Sorry Now?: A Grace & Favor Mystery by Jill Churchill

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoy Jill Churchill's Grace and Favor books, but haven't read nearly enough of them, LOL. I learned a lot of history just by researching some of the social situations she mentions and/or alludes to in her books.



This book was a really good read, but I did kind of wonder about the swastika mentioned in the book. I wondered if that really would have had such an impact before WWII as after. That would be my only real criticism.



Recommended for any who enjoy mysteries set in the depression era, or anyone who loves cozies.





Blurb from Author's site (www.cozybooks.com):



WHO'S SORRY NOW?

Sister and Brother duo Lily and Robert Brewster may not have a penny to their names, but at least they are in good company. Times are bad for the whole country in 1933. The town's post office burned down and wasn't replaced, so the mail gets dumped off in bags by trains going up the Hudson River, and people have to rummage for their letters and packages.



When a shocked Robert hears a group of gossipy old women going through other people's mail and even threatening to destroy it, he knows something must be don. Perhaps the kindly porter at the train station who recently help haul bags and trunks for a young woman and her newly arrived German Grandfather, would sort throught the mail in a orderly and private fashion.



But when the porter is found dead, and a red swastika is painted on the German's tailor's new shop window, Robert knows that something deeper and more sinister is going on. Even back at Grace and Favor, the town's best handymen, Harry and Jim Harbinger, are hired to pull out some dead bushes in front of the house, a very old skeleton is is found tanlgled in the roots, which Lily finds interesting when a visiting archeologist carefully unearths it. Robert's not happy about this.


View all my reviews.

Jill Churchill, Grace and Favor: Who's Sorry Now, Bk

It Had to Be You: A Grace & Favor Mystery by Jill Churchill

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I must say, I like the Grace and Favor books better than the Jane Jeffrey books (not that I dislike them). In these books, I learned a bit of history I didn't learn in high school. But then that isn't hard considering that in the south that I grew up in most of American History classes revolved around the Civil War. The era just before FDR came to be president is a bit of a blur. Churchill's books, while fiction, helped fill in some details...and trust me, I checked if some of these were real incidents or not. And they were.



These are not "heavy thinking" books, they are cozies to be enjoyed as a relatively quick read. Despite that, I really recommend these books for history buffs as well as cozy readers.







Here is the blurb from the author's site:



IT HAD TO BE YOU

CIt’s the 3rd of March 1933, the day before Franklin Roosevelt’s inauguration and Robert goes to Washington D.C. for the event. While he’s gone, Lily is visiting a nursing home close to Grace and Favor. The owner, Miss Twibell, an experienced nurse who owns it, is minus an assistant nurse. She wants to hire Lily and Robert.



One of the patients, a nasty old man, Sean Connor, is the only patient who is seriously ill, and not expected to live very much longer. The first day the Brewster’s work there, he goes into a coma and dies. Nobody’s surprised until it’s revealed that he’s been murdered. Chief of Police Walker can’t imagine why somebody would bother to murder old Mr. Connor when he had only hours to live. Several people visited that morning.



Walker also has another crime to deal with. A young man was reported to have been pushed into an almost frozen lake near a town upriver before last Christmas. No body was found. Now, when the ice started the spring break-up, a body came to the surface, so deteriorated that nobody can figure out who it might be. Walker interviews some of the neighbors. Then having given the temporarily disabled chief of police a bit of advice, before going back to Voorburg.



Walker, helped along by Lily and Robert’s snooping, begins to see the patterns in both crimes starting to turn into good theories. But lacking solid proof, he has to call on Lily and Robert to acquire a vital piece of evidence.




View all my reviews.

Love this blog

http://italianroots.blogspot.com/

Nice video

Cat had this posted on her blog and I loved it, so I snitched it, LOL...enjoy this youtube video. To quote Cat:

Next time you have trouble blessing the earth, or loving your fellow human, remember this. Watch it again. Yeah, you can see signs of how troubled we all are--there's poverty, and women and girls are noticeably absent from shots from some cultures.

But what there is not is anyone to hate. What there is not is any enemy, anywhere. And, guess what? That's really true. (I know; God told me so.)

There's only us. There's only us--a little broken, maybe. A little silly looking even, when we dance alone. But we can laugh, and we can dance.

L'chaim, everybody. Blessed be.(And thanks to deborah oak, for posting this, and to Matt Harding, for crafting it.)

Cleo Coyle

Cleo Coyle
Pseudonym for Alice Kimberly.

Cleo Coyle is the pen name for Alice Alfonsi, who writes with her husband, Marc Cerasini.

This popular married writing team was born and raised in Pittsburgh, met in New York City, and married in Las Vegas.

Together they've authored a number of bestselling books.

As Cleo Coyle, they write The Coffeehouse Mysteries.

As Alice Kimberly, they write The Haunted Bookshop Mysteries.


website: http://www.coffeehousemysteries.com/

______________________________________

Stephanie Pui-Mun Law Artwork

The beautiful artwork of Stephanie Pui-Mun Law: http://www.shadowscapes.com/







Here are a couple of examples:

The Empress







The Queen of Cups




*****************************

Great blog

I found this blog thru another blog, and really liked it, so thought I would share here...take a look, especially if you like cute crocheted critters and yummy looking vegetarian cooking.
http://bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/

********************************

When God Was a Woman by Merlin Stone

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars



View all my reviews.

When Women Were Priests: Women's Leadership in the Early Church and the Scandal of Their Subordination in by Karen J. Torjesen

My review

Wow, just checked my book and it's a first edition, wouldn't ya know...

I've had this book for quite a while, started reading it a long time ago (there is a book marker in there where I took a note on a showing of Riverdance, hmmmm)

If anyone is interested in the roles of women in the early Catholic church, this would be a good book to read.


View all my reviews.

Another book I want

The Hebrew Goddess 3rd Enlarged Edition by Raphael Patai

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This has been recommended from several sources, most notably, Patricia Monaghan, and the members of the yahoo group Jewitch. Need to find it first.



If anyone has a copy of this book and would like to sell, at a reasonable price, i.e. not as high as amazon or such, I'd be willing to buy.


View all my reviews.


Selected bibliography from wikipedia

Patai, Raphael. (1998) Arab folktales from Palestine and Israel. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.

Patai, Raphael; (1998) The children of Noah: Jewish seafaring in ancient times. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.

Patai, Raphael. (1997) Jadåid al-Islām: The Jewish "new Muslims" of Meshhed Detroit: Wayne State University Press.

Patai, Raphael. (1996) The Jewish mind. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.

Patai, Raphael. (1996) The Jews of Hungary: History, culture, psychology. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.

Patai, József; Patai, Raphael. (1995) Souls and secrets: Hasidic stories. Northvale, N.J.: J. Aronson.

Patai, Raphael; Goldsmith, Emanuel S.. (1995) Events and movements in Modern Judaism. New York: Paragon House.

Patai, Raphael. (1994) The Jewish alchemists: A history and source book. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.

Patai, Raphael; Goldsmith, Emanuel S.. (1994) Thinkers and teachers of modern Judaism. New York, N.Y.: Paragon House.

Brauer, Erich; Patai, Raphael. (1993) The Jews of Kurdistan. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.

Patai, Raphael. (1990) The Hebrew Goddess. 3rd enl. / edition. Detroit, Mich.: Wayne State University Press.

Patai, Raphael; Patai, Jennifer. (1989) The myth of the Jewish race. Rev. edition. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.

Patai, Raphael. (1988) Gates to the Old City: A book of Jewish legends. Northvale, N.J.: J. Aronson.

Patai, Raphael. (1988) Apprentice in Budapest: Memories of a world that is no more. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.reprint

Goldziher, Ignác; Patai, Raphael. (1987) Ignaz Goldziher and his Oriental diary: A translation and psychological portrait. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.

Patai, Raphael. (1987) Nahum Goldmann: His missions to the Gentiles. University, Ala.: University of Alabama Press.

Patai, Raphael. (1987) The seed of Abraham: Jews and Arabs in contact and conflict. 1st paperback edition. New York: Scribner.

Patai, Raphael. (1986) The seed of Abraham: Jews and Arabs in contact and conflict. Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press.

Patai, Raphael. (1984) The Kingdom of Jordan. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.

Graves, Robert; Patai, Raphael. (1983) Hebrew myths: The book of Genesis. New York: Greenwich House.

Patai, Raphael. (197; 1983; 2002) The Arab Mind. Rev. edition. New York: Scribner. Reprint with introduction by Norvell de Atkine, Hatherleigh Press.

Patai, Raphael. (1983) On Jewish folklore. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.

Sanua, Victor D.; (ed.). (1983) Fields of offerings: Studies in honor of Raphael Patai. Rutherford N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.

Patai, Raphael. (1981) Gates to the Old City: A book of Jewish legends. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.

Patai, Raphael; Rosow, Eugene; Kleiman, Vivian. (1981) The vanished worlds of Jewry. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

Patai, Raphael. (1980) The vanished worlds of Jewry. 1st American edition. New York: Macmillan.

Patai, Raphael. (1980) Gates to the Old City: A book of Jewish legends. New York, N.Y.: Avon.

Patai, Raphael. (1979) The Messiah texts. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.

Patai, Raphael. (1979) The Messiah texts. New York: Avon.

Patai, Raphael. (1977) "The Jewish Mind. New York: Scribner.

Patai, Raphael. (1976) The Arab Mind. New York: Scribner.

Patai, Raphael; Patai, Jennifer. (1975) The myth of the Jewish race. New York: Scribner.

Patai, Raphael. (1973) The Arab Mind. New York: Scribner.

Patai, Raphael. (1973) Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria: An annotated bibliography. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press.

Patai, Raphael; Utley, Francis Lee; Noy, Dov. (1973) Studies in Biblical and Jewish folklore. New York: Haskell House Publishers.

Patai, Raphael. (1971) Tents of Jacob: The Diaspora, yesterday and today. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice Hall.

Patai, Raphael. (1971) Encyclopedia of Zionism and Israel. New York: Herzl Press.

Patai, Raphael (ed.) (1971) Essays in Zionist history and thought. New York: Herzl Press.

Patai, Raphael. (1968) The Hebrew goddess. New York: Ktav Publishing House. reprint with an introduction by Merlin Stone

Patai, Raphael. (1967) Golden River to Golden Road: Society, culture, and change in the Middle East 2nd edition. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Patai, Raphael. (1967) Women in the modern world. New York: Free Press.

Graves, Robert; Patai, Raphael. (1964) Hebrew myths: The book of Genesis. 1st edition. Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday.

Patai, Raphael. (1959) Sex and the Family in the Bible and the Middle East. Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday.

Patai, Raphael. (1958) The Kingdom of Jordan. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Patai, Raphael. (1947) Man and Temple in Ancient Jewish Myth and Ritual. New York: Nelson.

My friends blog entry

She makes a valid point on dealing with doctors and chronic illnesses. They are butts, but anywho.

Here's the link to her post:
http://www.lemon-aideonline.com/?p=31

She says that astronomers ought to be doctors because they always like exploring the unknown!

Undiscovered by Debra Winger

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Just checked this out of the library and am only a few pages into it. I'm impressed so far. I will have to say that I am surprised, because I remember that Debra Winger had a "reputation" of being difficult to work with. But after I saw her, briefly, on The View, and saw this book, I think the label was not exactly deserved. Or rather misunderstood.



But she has sketches, poems and other stuff in the book too, at least so far. She also includes a snippet from "Shadowlands", a really good movie with her and Anthony Hopkins about CS Lewis and Joy (can't remember her last name)

will write more on this later!


View all my reviews.

From "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Ultimate Reading List"

page 42
"Cozy" refers to the tone of a mystery and is most often used to describe mysteries in the amateur sleuth subgenre. In a cozy mystery, vilence and graphic language are kept to a minimum. The mood of the story is gentle, civilized, and refined. Most of the characters know each other, and the murder takes place in a closed environment, such as a countery estate or small town."

page 208
Julia Child a spy? Yes! Child met her future husband Paul Child during World War II when they were both stationed in Thailand working in the OSS (the precursor to the CIA).

Childs, Laura: Frill Kill

Book Description from Goodreads.com

published October 2nd 2007 by Berkley Hardcover
binding Hardcover
isbn 0425217302 (isbn13: 9780425217306)
pages 288

This Halloween, the bestselling mystery author makes New Orleans even spookier than usual. Carmela's friend Ava is having a Halloween bash at her scrapbooking store, and she hires a sexy Tarot reader named Giovanni to work the crowd. What he doesn't foretell is that on her way home Carmela will find the body of a beautiful model behind a Dumpster, and be attacked herself. But he's the one who appears to save her-or was he already there? Giovanni's the number one suspect, but Ava is determined to stand by her employee...even if he does have a way of dodging questions. Ava and Carmela have plenty of other strange leads to follow up, like the tooth marks around the victim's neck, and the non-human hairs found at the scene. As the witching hour draws closer, Carmela must discover what's lurking in the shadows of the French Quarter-or the only thing left to scrapbook will be her death certificate.

Book excerpts:

Chapter 4, page 31-

Flicking the lights on, Carmela's eyes fell upon a collection of miniature paper theaters. Those little half-completed objects made her smile again. Her regulars were always pressing her for new and creative projects, projects that incorporated scrapbooking, paper arts, rubber stamping, embossing, tag art, and even calligraphy. And after a little consideration, Carmela had come up with these crazy little paper theaters.

First made popular in the eighteenth century, paper theaters re-created opera sets, Punch and Judy shows, fairy tales, tales of Greek mythology, Wild West shows, children's stories, and pretty much anything you could think of.

Gabby had turned a fourteen-by-fourteen-inch wooden box into a Venetian theater, complete with marbleized columns, tiny velvet curtains, movable pieces of scenery, and a top cornice that included a small clock flanked by gilded masks. Her cast of miniature cardboard characters included clowns, minstrels, circus performers, and magicians.

Carmela herself had taken a cardboard gift box with top flaps, flipped it on end, and was working on turning it into a Theatre de la Vampyr. Looking very much like a triptych now, she had a added a purple velvet backdrop, black and silver paint, and a miniature lamppost. Spooky castle turrets out of plastic modeling clay. She was going to add wax seals, purple tassels, and miniature iron gates to the proscenium and was searching for some bits of black lace to really stylize it.

Chapter 15, page 142-3

Carmela took a sheet of paper and spread it across the tombstone, taping it in position with strips of masking tape. Then she carefully ran a hand over the paper to ensure no bubbles or bumps would interfere with her rubbing.

"I think a charcoal gray would offer the most contrast on white," she said, selecting a piece of chalk.

"Wouldn't black work better?"

"First we'll get the words and details down," explained Carmela. "Then later, back at my shop, I can always use black to outline the letters and carvings, really make 'em pop."

"So you just use regular chalk?" asked Ava.

"Archival chalk. It's softer and will capture the best impression from the stone."

"Sidewalk chalk's not good enough, huh?" sad Ava.
....

"This chalk's better," said Carmela. "Watch." She bent over and started rubbing the chalk against the paper. She started off slowly, then moved on to bolder and larger strokes. Amazingly, the impression of the stone began to appear in even greater detail than it had originally looked to the naked eye. Cracks and fine lines materialized, making the flat sheet of paper seem almost three-dimensional.

Chapter 17, page 159-160

"Do you have a new idea?" asked Tandy, looking interested.

Carmella nodded. "I was going to save this project for my Dream Weaver classes, but it might be fun to take a test run."

"On what?" asked Baby.

Carmela stood up, slid out one of the drawers in her flat file, and pulled out two white cardboard templates. "They're templates for purses," she said, laying the pieces in front of Baby and Tandy. "I've got these two all ready to go." She paused. "Here's the thing. First you stamp and decorate them, which is a lot trickier than it sounds. Then you fold them up so they really look like a constructed handbag. See, I've already made dotted lines for folding. to finish them off, you add side tabs, a handle, and maybe a fancy closure."

"What's the finished size?" asked Baby. She was already folding her template, eager to get a sense of what her little purse would look like when it was finished.

"About eight inches long, six inches tall," said Carmela.

"A purse," said Tandy, slowly warming up to the idea. "For what purpose?"

"Decorated with beads and fibers, they make adorable gift bags," said Carmela. "For jewelry or candles. Or a piece of lingerie. Or maybe even some homade cookies."

p.162

Carmela figured she'd procrastinated as much as she could and now had to buckle down. So she dragged her papier-mache pumpkins out from her office.

"YOu're doing more pumpkins?" asked Baby.

"For Halloween luminarias," said Carmela. "To line the runway at Moda Chadron."

....

She was busy painting the papier-mache pumkin with a coat of adhesive.

....

Gabby slit open a package of gold foil and handed a piece to Carmela. It was thin, flimsy material and required a delicate touch.

Carmela put a finger to her adhesive, testing it. Perfect. Tacky, but no longer wet. She took the sheet of gold foil and applied it to the surface of the pumpkin. Then she worked the foil carefully, patting it, smoothing out wrinkles as she went along.

"That looks good," said Gabby.

Carmela eased another piece on, continued to smooth it gently. When the entire pumpkin was covered, she'd take a small dry rag and wipe it all over the surface. That technique would smooth out any final wrinkles, flake off any extraneous pieces.

Chapter 23, page 226

"Ephemera. I keep hearing about it as the newest thing, but I'm not sure exactly..."

"Carmela?" said Gabby. "Do you want to ..."

"Ephemera is and isn't new," said Carmela. "It's new as a kind of hot topic in scrapbooking and collecting, but it's really about old things."

"Explain please," said the woman, looking even more interested.

"The term, ephemera, is meant to define something short-lived or transitory. Particularly paper documents. And by that I mean sheet music, vintage postcards, old maps, tourist brochures, antique valentines, catalog pages, and such."

"I get it," said the woman, nodding.

"Some people love to incorporate ephemera into their scrapbooks," said Carmela. "There ws a woman in here last week who was doing a scrapbook for her future daughter-in-law. She mixed photos of her son as a child with things like his old report cards, his Captain Midnight manual, a book report, and some old postcards he had sent from camp."

"What a wonderful idea," said the woman.

"Of course," said Carmela, "you can use just a piece or two to enhance a scrapbook page. An old valentine juxtaposed with a wedding photo, and antique playbill with a school play, an old map for a scrapbook page detailing a vacation."


The above are excerpts from the book that looked like interesting projects. There are other tips and some recipes in the back of the book (I just photocopied them, mostly so I can read them, even do it to the ones I buy, check the book out of the library and copy them as my eyes now hate me, LOL)...as with all her books there are always extras in the back!!

***********************************************************

Secrets of the Dead: Amazon Warrior Women

Just watched this program on our local PBS station. It is 4 years old, and I think I have it recorded somewhere, but this is my first time watching it. I enjoyed it, if you can say that. I have been interested in archaeology/anthropology since childhood, and it was one of the professions I was truly interested in going into, but it wasn't recommended, no jobs they said... Crap. Should have done what I wanted, would have been much happier, and probably more successful. Instead, I thought at the time that having a job that paid well was more important than doing what you were interested in. Got that from my mom I think, though I don't think that was the impression she was trying to give. Just my perception. Was also interested in mythos/folklore and didn't see a future in that either. Oh well, the past is the past I guess.

So anyway, this program, as noted, was about the Amazons and what might have become of them. And Jeannine Davis-Kimball pretty much found out, in the western steppes of Mongolia. And proved it thru mitochondrial DNA. Love this stuff. Any way, here is the link to the site for the program:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/previous_seasons/case_amazon/index.html

(((((

I Want this book!!!!!!!!!!

Pitching My Tent: On Marriage, Motherhood, Friendship, and Other Leaps of Faith by Anita Diamant

My review

I WANT THIS BOOK!!! Really badly. I have it checked out from the library, and quite frankly, had to quit reading as I really need my own copy that I can notate places in the book!



3 pages in and already decided!!!! EEEEEKKKKKSSSS!






View all my reviews.


Friday, July 18, 2008:::::Returned it to the library yesterday, didn't want to, wonder if I could sneak it out and keep it, LOL!

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I don't know as I actually read the book, I own it, but did listen to it on audiotape...literally. I have a set of cassette tapes with the book acted out with a cast. Loved it!



I actually like the personifications of the legendary characters in this book better than the traditional tellings. While very much imbued with magic and sorcery, it seems much for a propos of the actual times it would have occured.

Never did buy into the whole "women/evil man/misguided fool" of the original telling. This retelling fills out their stories better, gives more "valid" reasons for the actions of particular characters. And the fact that there really isn't a "bad guy" atmosphere, more of a clash of cultures.


View all my reviews.

A Dilly of a Death by Susan Wittig Albert

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have FINALLY finished this book. I bought it a few years back, but must have been distracted because I never got past the first few pages. I have managed to read all the latter books from the library, and then checked this one out and thought, hmmm, this looks familiar. Went and checked my bookshelves and lo and behold, there it was. So took the library copy back and pick this up and read it.



Very good book, kinda figured out who-dun-it early on, but then doubted myself several times with the "red-herrings" the author set out.



And the recipes?! I'll have to try some of them, but finding some of the ingredients is going to be difficult. Like rose hibiscus (I think that's it) leaves. Where am I supposed to find something like that? I can't find bulk herbs of the more common variety around here, much less this. So off to the web I go to do a search.



If you like Susan Wittig Albert's China Bayles series, you might also like these series:



Laura Childs teashop and scrapbooking series.

Cleo Coyle's coffeshop series

Tim Myers' soapmaking and candlemaking series as well as the card making series he writes under the name of Elizabeth Bright.

There are a few others, but right now can't remember names.



If anyone has any suggestions for like-minded series, please leave me a comment telling me of them.




View all my reviews.

Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Okay, don't get me wrong, I like the Hitchhiker and Dirk Gently books too. But this book is by far the best book that Douglas Adams wrote. And it's non-fiction.



Adams is on tour for the BBC to do a documentary on vanishing species around the world. His snarky jabs at humanity and its lack of caring for how humanities actions are very often detrimental to the wellbeing of the planet.



He looks for lemurs in Madagascar, komodo dragons, the kinkajou (spelling is off there) and several other species. His journey, and all the comical escapades he and his entourage go thru makes this a must read!


View all my reviews.

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Loved this book! If you are interested in how the biblical story of Dinah would have been if told from her point of view, this is it! And to get an aspect of ancient hebraic belief systems were probably, well-most likely, not monotheistic, then you will learn a bit of how the each family had "totem" gods, household gods that were revered as well, maybe not on the same level as Yahweh, but still.



If you loved this book, check out India Edghill's books as well.

Queen Maker- about Micah, David's first wife

Wisdom's Daughter- King Solomon's daughter and the Queen of Sheba.






View all my reviews.

Another of my all time favorite books!

The White Stag by Kate Seredy

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I cannot remember if this came first or The Good Master. But the reviews are pretty much the same, a must read for children of all ages. The Good Master and The White Stag are the only two books of Kate Seredy's I've read, but would love to read/have them all!



Definitely, her books are recommended for girls, but boys might like it as well. A lot of Hungarian folklore in the books. And the artwork is amazing, if simple, not elaborate. Very much a must have on the bookshelf!


View all my reviews.

One of my all time favorite books!!! Recommended for children of all ages

The Good Master by Kate Seredy

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
One of my favorite books from childhood! It is too bad that more people don't know of her. I always thought the book was semi-autobiographical, reminiscing about her life in Hungary growing up. This book and The White Stag are must reads! Even for grownups. And she also does her own amazing illustrations.


View all my reviews.

Feast One Hundred & Ninety Six

A Meme swiped from http://fridaysfeast.com/

Appetizer
When was the last time you had your hair cut/trimmed?

probably about a month, month and a half ago, need one now

Soup
Name one thing you miss about being a child.

being comforted

Salad
Pick one: butter, margarine, olive oil.

Olive oil

Main Course
If you could learn another language, which one would you pick, and why?

Well, I've already had french, spanish and english, so let's go with any of the gaelic languages.

Dessert
Finish this sentence: In 5 years I expect to be…

doing the same damned thing I'm doing now, gosh durn it!

File M For Murder: A Cornelia Upshaw And Fancy Mystery by India Edghill

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Enjoyed this book. Was hoping she'd write more in the series, but not holding out hope. I read this a while back, so can't offer my opinion just yet, will have to re-read it. But love anything by India...


View all my reviews.

Wisdom's Daughter: A Novel of Solomon and Sheba by India Edghill

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
A very, very good book about the household of King Solomon, the visit by the Queen of Sheba, and the life of Solomon's daughter. I loved this book and highly recommend it. It is told from a female perspective. Also related is a belief system other than the judaic one. The Queen of Sheba's religion is goddess oriented and very nicely related.

The author, the last I heard, was working on her next novel about Delilah. Wish she'd hurry, ;)


View all my reviews.

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
One of the BEST books I have read in a LOOOOOOONNNNNGGGGGG time. I think I highlighted most of the book, I know I went thru 3 or 4 highlighting pens. Excellent book!





I loved this book! And it came at the right time (life pretty much sucked, LOL) To read her travel, the ironic/funny moments etc was wonderful. My mom checked out the audiobook from the library and made a copy for me to hear. She said that after reading the book, you've got to hear it in the author's voice. Haven't done it yet. But will!!!

Books by Jilly's father!

From my friend Jilly in the UK...who informs me of her father's books. I've heard of these and now will have to search them out and read! Cool! Off to the book lists!
Michelle



Hi Michelle

I've spent most of my day up to my eyes in spiders, slugs and snails in the shed at the bottom of my garden which I'm trying to clear out! So it was a nice relief to come to friends and read some posts .... A return to sanity!

Thanks for showing an interest about Dad ... but I'm thinking that they're maybe not the sort of books that you would naturally go for. They're written for 2 particular commercial markets,

One is the Gothic Novel market and he writes those under the pen name of Madeline Brent.

The other books he writes are these Modesty Blaise books below which he writes under his own name of Peter O'Donnell.

Amazon.com sell many of his books, the Modesty Blaise Novels and the Madeline Brent Novels are listed there. There are also a lot of his comic strip books which are published by Titan.


Modesty Blaise Books

Books:

1965 Modesty Blaise

1966 Sabre-Tooth

1967 I, Lucifer

1969 A Taste for Death (not to be confused with P. D. James')

1971 The Impossible Virgin

1972 Pieces of Modesty (short stories)

1973 The Silver Mistress

1976 Last Days in Limbo

1978 Dragon's Claw

1981 The Xanadu Talisman

1982 The Night of Morningstar

1985 Dead Man's Handle

1996 Cobra Trap

Movie:

1966 Modesty Blaise (starring Monica Vitti)

2004 My Name is Modesty (starring Alexandra Staden)


Newspapers:

The comic strip started in 1963 in the London Evening Standard, and

is also carried in

The Detroit Free Press (Detroit, USA)

The Bombay Samachar (Bombay, India)

The Telegraph (Calcutta, India)

The West Australian (Perth, Australia)

Express (Trinidad and Tobago)


Other books written by Peter O'Donnell

Screenplay:

Mr. Fothergill's Murder (first performed in Hull 1982)

Books written by Peter O'Donnell under the name Madeleine Brent

Tregaron's daughter (ISBN 0449243915) 1971

Moonraker's Bride (ISBN 0449235947) 1973

Kirkby's changeling (ISBN 0285621785) 1975

(Alt. title) Stranger at Wildings (ISBN 0449230856) 1975

Merlin's Keep (ISBN 0449238105) 1977

Capricorn Stone (ISBN 044920149X) 1979

The Long Masquerade (ISBN 0449204847) 1981

A Heritage of Shadows (ISBM 0449206432) 1983

Stormswift (ISBN 0449208117) 1984

Golden Urchin (ISBN 0449213897) 1986


There are a lot of websites, but you can either punch Peter O'Donnell into Google

or here are one or two sites

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_O'Donnell

and

http://www.modestyblaiseltd.com/index.html

and

http://www.cs.umu.se/~kenth/modesty.html


I do hope life is treating you well Michelle ..... bye for now,

The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within by Stephen Fry

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
The ONLY reason I didn't give this 5 stars is the fact that I would really love to have this book with an audiobook cd attached, read by Stephen Fry himself. It was so easy to get through when you can imagine his voice reading the words but I kept losing that voice and thus losing my ability to keep up with what I was reading. It makes so much more sense when you "hear" him reading it, and doesn't seem so dry then. If you know his voice, then you probably know what I mean.




View all my reviews.

Meme: The Fifth Sentence

The Fifth Sentence


Grab the nearest book.
Open the book to page 123.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
Don't search around and look for the "coolest" book you can find. Do what’s actually next to you.

Cool site

Followed a link from "Peeling A Pomegranite" to this site:

http://wordle.net/

This is kinda cool, check it out....

Happy Birthday to my cousin Jenny

Banned books

Banned Books
How it works: these are the 110 top banned books. Bold what you’ve read, italicize what you’ve read part of. Read more.
(I personally will put in blue the ones I own, and bold the ones I have read---trust me there is a difference, LOL...some of these would put me to sleep! And some of the southern writers, thanks but I avoid like the plague. And before you get on your high horse, I am myself from and in the south and really just don't care to ever hear the words "Gone With The Wind" again! Some of these I've seen the movie versions and didn't really care to read the book for some reason or another. These I'll put in green.)

#1 The Bible
#2 Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
#3 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
#4 The Koran
#5 Arabian Nights
#6 Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
#7 Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
#8 Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
#9 Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
#10 Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
#11 Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli
#12 Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
#13 Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
#14 Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
#15 Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
#16 Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
#17 Dracula by Bram Stoker
#18 Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin
#19 Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
#20 Essays by Michel de Montaigne
#21 Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
#22 History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
#23 Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
#24 Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
#25 Ulysses by James Joyce
#26 Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
#27 Animal Farm by George Orwell
#28 Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
#29 Candide by Voltaire
#30 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
#31 Analects by Confucius
#32 Dubliners by James Joyce
#33 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
#34 Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
#35 Red and the Black by Stendhal
#36 Capital by Karl Marx
#37 Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire
#38 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
#39 Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence
#40 Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
#41 Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
#42 Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
#43 Jungle by Upton Sinclair
#44 All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
#45 Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
#46 Lord of the Flies by William Golding
#47 Diary by Samuel Pepys
#48 Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
#49 Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
#50 Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
#51 Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
#52 Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
#53 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
#54 Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus
#55 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
#56 Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
#57 Color Purple by Alice Walker
#58 Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
#59 Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke
#60 Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison
#61 Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe (I think I've seen this movie)
#62 One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
#63 East of Eden by John Steinbeck
#64 Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
#65 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
#66 Confessions by Jean Jacques Rousseau
#67 Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais
#68 Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
#69 The Talmud
#70 Social Contract by Jean Jacques Rousseau
#71 Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
#72 Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence
#73 American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
#74 Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler
#75 A Separate Peace by John Knowles
#76 Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
#77 Red Pony by John Steinbeck
#78 Popol Vuh
#79 Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith
#80 Satyricon by Petronius
#81 James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
#82 Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
#83 Black Boy by Richard Wright
#84 Spirit of the Laws by Charles de Secondat Baron de Montesquieu
#85 Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
#86 Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
#87 Metaphysics by Aristotle
#88 Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
#89 Institutes of the Christian Religion by Jean Calvin
#90 Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
#91 Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
#92 Sanctuary by William Faulkner
#93 As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
#94 Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
#95 Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
#96 Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
#97 General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
#98 Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
#99 Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Alexander Brown
#100 Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
#101 Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines
#102 Émile by Jean Jacques Rousseau
#103 Nana by Émile Zola
#104 Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
#105 Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
#106 Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
#107 Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
#108 Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck
#109 Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
#110 Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes



My comments on some of these:

Steinbeck, the only one of his that I have actually read, and enjoyed by the way, was his retelling of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The rest of his stuff just seemed way too depressing.

Gone With The Wind, are you freaking kidding me? Not on your life will I ever read that book, unless you put an ultimatum to me. I saw the movie, I lived in Atlanta, I've had as much GWTW as any one human should be forced to endure. This book is one of the main reasons why I HATE studying anything about the civil war, LOL!

Mark Twain- well, I've read some of his stuff, like some, but the Huck Finn and Mark Twain? Well, bad experience with a movie version when I was a kid, so nope, no way, no how, LOL.

I want to read these:18, 24, 25, 31, 59, 69, 86, 87 as well as some of those I own but haven't read.

Hemingway, Faulkner, etc. no thanks...and not on this list, but should be (LOL) is anything by Flannery O'Connor! If I have to read "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" one more freaking time I'll puke!

Wizard of Oz is on some lists too, as well as The Book of Kings from the Bible, Cinderella (actually any fairy tale), and as mentioned Harry Potter.

Some are on the list due to language (Twain), some due to mention of magic/sorcery/witches, and others just cause some people are stupid.


********************************************

quote

"You see this is the south and we're proud of our crazy people. When company comes, we don't hide them in the attic we bring them into the living room and show them off. We don't ask if you have crazy people in your family we just ask which side they're on. And in case you're wondering mine are on both."
-Julia Sugarbaker, Designing Women