As you may know, we are in the middle of another move.  This one is happening at a leisurely pace which makes it so much more pleasant. The living room is half moved, the upstairs will be empty tonight & all that is left in the basement is the washer & dryer.  Our bedroom, the kitchen & the bathroom are still completely untouched but we will move most of that this coming weekend.  This past weekend we moved some things including our books & book shelves.  Here’s a quick peek at that little piece of the move.

Yes all those boxes are full of books…no we can’t put all of them on the shelves we have.  Not to mention that I seem unable to keep myself from adding to the collection on a regular basis.  Still the shelves will look very nice in my new sitting room.

For the love of Aunt Carrie’s corset I got my first ever blog award yesterday.  My awesome friend Mary over at FitThisGirl was more than kind to award me one of her coveted 10.  ”Becci!! I am nominating you for the Honest Scrap award!! I love your blog honest and raw humor, it is refreshing!”, says the cool girl with the rocking blog.  Well I’m flattered & a little taken aback to be thus noticed.  Anyway, I am here fulfilling my part of the bargain with a post of my own.

The Rules

? “The Honest Scrap Award” must be shared!

? The recipient has to tell 10 true things about themselves.

? The recipient has to pass this prestigious award along to 10 more bloggers.

? Those 10 bloggers need to be notified they have received this award.

? Those 10 bloggers should link back to the blog from where they received their award.

1.  I am afraid of heights! I mean terrified, petrified, completely phobic about heights yet I still want to walk to the edge of the cliff & look down.  I guess I’m trying to face my fear but it never seems to help…instead I’m just paralyzed at the edge of a cliff which seems like a bad thing….

2.  I am also terrified of drowning…needless to say while I love the architecture of bridges crossing them can be my own personal Waterloo.  The Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth, MN is a classic example…I never get tired of looking at or photographing it.  Crossing it is just plain out of the question….

3.  I have 2 tattoos.  One on each shoulder.  My first tattoo is a head shot of Betty Boop & I’ve had it for something close to 12 years.  My second tattoo is a grouping of 4 flowers…each represents a grandparent that Hubby & I have lost.  I am anxious to get a 3rd tattoo which will be a representation of my life with Abe.  If I’m lucky I would also like a 4th tattoo designed by Abe…I have to be patient & wait though as Abe has some ink of his own he’d like to have added on.

4.  I am an incurable insomniac.  Even though right now I’m so tired I’m sliding out of my skin I’m typing away on my laptop.  It’s very hard for me to turn my brain off at the end of the day…even lying in bed trying to clear my mind often ends up having the opposite result.  This will lead to me wide awake in the dark listening to Abe softly snore & wondering if I should have worn different shoes with a particular outfit when I was 14.

5.  I am terrible at keeping my own secrets.  Yours I will take to the grave (maybe I’ll tell Abe but you can trust him…he talks a lot less than I do) but mine I blurt out all the time.  I want you to know what I’m getting you for your birthday/anniversary/Christmas etc so that you can be excited too.

6. I am slightly envious (ok, maybe I’m really envious but in a totally good way) of anybody who is an artist.  I wish that I had the talent to paint, draw or sculpt.  Unfortunately I can’t even draw a decent stick figure so I’m out of luck. I do however love the feeling of movement & swirl of emotion I get when looking at someone else’s creation.  It’s a truly intimate thing to share what comes out on canvas or marble (or any other media) with an audience & I applaud those who do it.

7.  Kids….I adore kids.  There are few things I won’t do to earn a smile & laughter from a child.  Nothing in this world is more fleeting & pure than the sound of a child or baby bubbling over with joy.  It melts my heart every time.

8.  Someday I want to own the following: a motorcycle, a horse, a sailboat & a late model Chevy Corvair convertible.  Preferably all at the same time…yes I realize that it’s impractical because where exactly can one own a horse & sailboat and but them both to use?  I have no idea but in my land of make-believe it’s not only possible but mandatory.

9.  I knew (but wouldn’t admit) the first time I saw Abe that I would marry him.  He picked me up at my apartment, walked me to his car & opened my door, holding it until I was in & then closing it for me.  I leaned across to unlock his door & as I did that I knew I wanted to do it for the rest of my life.  How a nice quiet guy like him ever decided to put up with a crazy, insecure girl like me I will never know.

10.  Books…what can I say?  First off I guess I should mention that some people (looking pointedly at Abe) think I read fast.  I don’t know why anybody would come to that conclusion…just because I can read & retain major portions of books of 500+ pages in a 24 hour period does not mean that I read fast.  Seriously, didn’t all of you read the 7th Harry Potter in 18 hours?  Second I should mention that since I have been a rabid, ravenous, rapacious reader since the age of 3.  I vividly remember checking out the complete works of Shakespeare at age 10.  Both the librarian & teacher looked at me as if I were mental…yet I devoured it–enraptured.  I can read a book with a singular focus…blocking out all things around me (including natural disasters, fire drills & screaming in my ear).

Since summer is “officially” here with the passing of Memorial Day weekend I thought I’d post a list of books that make great summer (or really any time) reads. Some of them I will be looking to read myself in the very near future.

I truly enjoy reading anything by Jenn Lancaster. Her humor & honesty give the reader a look into the rise & fall of life without asking for your sympathy.  She has a new book out which sure to be an excellent read as well & it’s on my list for the next time I’m near a bookstore. (Note to self: you will be near several this weekend be sure to stop.)

One that I read last year “Driving Sideways” by Jess Riley is a funny & touching story.  I found my copy of it again & am thinking about re-reading it again some lazy summer day (Yes, it will only take me one day if I concentrate, don’t write & don’t Twitter.)

Hmmm I guess I don’t have a lot of other recommendations I feel like giving out right now.  Maybe because I’m giving my shout-outs to authors who don’t even know I exist.  Seems since I’m a writer maybe I should put read ME as your #1 recommendation.  Of course that means I’d actually have to write & we all know what a difficult time I’ve been having with that one.

Just over a week ago I was on Twitter (I know you’re shocked) when I saw a conversation among some friends about books that should be read.  Now being the naturally curious person I am (okay when it comes to books I’ll jump in w/both feet) I asked the guys (the 3 talking were? are all male) to make some recommendations as I was looking for something new to read.

To say that I got bombarded is an understatement.  I got books, authors, genres thrown at my head so fast I could barely keep up.  In true bookdork fashion I scribbled it on paper (then promptly added it to my Evernote account so I can access it anywhere) and proceeded to ask questions about why these were recommended. I got the standard answers people give when they are passionate about their reading material: the best books I ever read, true classics, I can’t believe you’ve never read those, etc.  Seeing those responses only fueled my desire for new books.

When I finally took a break from the interweb I ransacked my collection of paperbacks (if a book has an interesting cover chances are I’ll buy it so I have a lot of books….most I only read once) and stacked up many that I no longer had a desire to keep.  Off I went to the local used bookstore to trade (turn in all the books you don’t want, the lady tallies up what she’ll give for them & gives store credit.) for new packets of magic & wonder.

Of course I was going WAY off my normal path of reading material.  Although I have a pretty wide path of material from memoirs to mysteries to classic myth to poetry & everything in between.  One of the few genres I don’t really read or know anything about is scifi/fantasy….(also horror & bodice rippers…) not from dislike mind you but because I know so little about the genre.

Thus my education began.  I was told to check out Anne McCaffrey for what was described by more than one person as truly excellent in scifi/fantasy.  This lady wrote A LOT of books.  I’m going to be busy reading through them for a while.  I was also turned on to (but have yet to read the following: David Drake, Andrea Norton, Robert A Heinlein, Storm Constantine & Terry Goodkind).

While my search at the local used bookshop began I also ran across two names I am familiar with in theory but have not read much of their work–Ray Bradbury& Issac Asimov.  I had seen/been involved in a discussion of literature a few days previously regarding Asimov’s legendary “Foundation” series.  When I saw all but one of the series (missing the last one) I grabbed them up along with a nice copy of “Fahrenheit 451″ by Bradbury.  Even to a virtual scifi ingenue’ such as myself I knew these to be “serious” science fiction works.  As a student of literature I’ve read my fair share of excerpts from the writings of Asimov.  I believe it was in high school that I first read Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

For some reason (okay so I’m a dork) I can remember these three rules (and yet I flunked algebra repeatedly in high school & college)….

I’m well into the 1st Foundation book “Prelude to Foundation” & I absolutely love it.  The elegance & spareness of Asimov’s writing is moving.  It takes me out of this world and into the Galaxy.  Not since the first time I read “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” have I enjoyed a science fiction book.  (“Hitchhiker’s” is a totally different blog post…I was also told to read that book by someone (a Marine friend of mine….he was right I love it) and listened).

Basically all of this to say that I am embracing the dork force & plan to wield it with all my might…I am now a true convert to the scifi/fantasy genre.  I can’t believe it took me so long!