JUST SO YOU KNOW . . .

I finally hit 50,000 words for NaNoWriMo, so I'll be reading again shortly. In fact, I have been sucked into the whirlwind that is Twilight. Freakin'-A! I blame my coworker. She really wants to know what I think, but I've been a little distracted.

There was no way I was going to pick that book back up before hitting 50K -- I knew I wouldn't be able to put it down. I'm about 150 pages from the end. It has taken a lot of willpower to leave it in the living room every night -- it's that or my brain will consume its contents without a break.

So, you will soon be hearing what I think of Twilight. And I have plenty to say about it already, so . . . ;-)

THANK YOU, MR. CRICHTON

I learned today that Michael Crichton has passed away from a battle with cancer. I think few of his fans even knew he was ill. And while I don't necessarily count myself among die-hard Crichton fans, I have to admit that I truly enjoyed a number of his books. The two most prominent books were Jurassic Park and the Lost World. I read them after seeing the movie, and I must say I did enjoy the movie. It scared the crap out of me when I was a teenager. But the books were incredible, and I read them when I was staying in Belgium and was a little on the homesick side. The homesickness didn't last -- at all. But the adoration of Jurassic Park and the Lost World did. I have since read Eaters of the Dead and Timeline, the latter being by far my favorite Crichton story. I've also read Disclosure, which was good, but a little too mature for me when I read it.

Timeline will forever be my favorite Crichton book, and I have refused to watch the movie adaptation because I read the synopsis of it, and it totally screwed up the storyline. This is saying something because I am a die-hard Gerard Butler fan (I would marry him tonight if he asked me). Ask any of my girlfriends, and they'll tell you its a big deal if I refuse to watch a movie with him in it.

Anyway, with his passing, I think the majority of readers my age will be sending their thanks for thoughtful, gripping stories with him wherever he decides to rest.

SLEEPY HOLLOW

Not only is it one of my favorite movies, but it's also one of my favorite short stories. Every year that I taught, I read the Legend of Sleepy Hollow to my classes on Halloween, or whichever day we celebrated it. It was always a big hit. I would turn the lights off and sit in the middle of the room with just a flashlight. It was just spooky enough not to scare anyone.

Still, if you are reading that story in the dark, it is creepy enough to make you sit on the edge of your seat. If you've never actually read the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, you really should give it a read tonight. It's fantastic!

A SUPPOSED HISTORY

I have finally finished another book. Whew! It was short, but I've been so busy that it's taken what seems like FOREVER!

I completed The Persian Legacy and the Edgar Cayce Material by Kevin J. Todeschi. I was not really familiar with Cayce, but he was a psychic and medium of sorts of the early 20th Century. His specialty was past life reading, and the book I read was a historical narrative of sorts created from specific past life readings regarding Persia.

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. As a History buff, that's what I was most interested in, even if it is just a supposition. Still, it was interesting to read about the beginnings of Zoroastrianism as well as a history of the Greek conquests. Cayce claimed that evidence of this City of the Plains and Hills, around which the stories centered, could still be found around the city of Shushtar. Todeschi points out in his afterword that the city of Troy was believed at one point to be a legend and nothing more. It is a good point.

I don't know that I'd necessarily recommend this book. It was very different. Cayce's "writing" style was quite odd and antiquated, which made those passages difficult to read. Granted, I was really interested in them in the first place. Overall, it was a quick read. And slightly thought-provoking, and I'm just glad I only paid a quarter for it!

And rest easy, Stephen O'Shea -- Sea of Faith has made it out of the bathroom!

READING IN THE BATHROOM

Admit it. You do it. We all do it. We're taught to do it. Society teaches us to do it. Hell, Pottery Barn sells magazine racks designed specifically for the bathroom. The other night, at my birthday party, my friend's wife went to the bathroom and was gone for a little while. When I asked him if she fell in, his reply was, "I don't know. Are there books in there?"

I live alone, so go ahead and make your own assumptions about my mental state after a week of work and not seeing anyone outside of it but my reflection. What else am I supposed to do but read in the bathroom? I even have specific books for the bathroom. Yes, books. I don't even bother with magazines anymore. I just take a book into the bathroom to read when it's necessary. For all you know, I'm reading in the tub, which a dear friend of mine does every morning.

What kind of books do I read in the bathroom? Usually nonfiction, oddly enough. Don't ask me why. It makes no sense. I just read history books in the potty room. What can I say? Right now, I'm reading Sea of Faith by Stephen O'Shea. I bought it a couple of years ago and read the introduction before moving onto something else -- which I do, as you know. I doubt O'Shea would ever make it onto my blog, but if he did, I would hope he doesn't take offense to the fact that his book is my bathroom read. It's just where I decided to pick it back up again. And now that's where it will remain until I finish the other book I'm reading. Then it'll graduate to bus read!

So now I want to know -- which book/genre do you read in the bathroom? And you can't claim you don't read in the bathroom. Like I said, it's ingrained.

By the way -- this is my 20th post on this site! Woo-hoo!

NaNoWriMo

Hi, all! So I'm still working on reading a new book to tell you all about. It's a little funky, but it's been quite interesting. I should finish it within a day or two.

But why I'm posting is to tell you all about NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo encourages anyone willing to try to write at least 50,000 words of a novel between midnight of Nov. 1 and midnight of Dec. 1. For years, I've heard of NaNoWriMo, but have never taken part. This year, I'm determined to do so.

We all love books, right? So why not try to write one? I think we all have great stories to tell. So tell one. And if you want to learn about what I'm going to write, visit my writing blog: etasjes.blogspot.com. I'm putting up ideas and having readers vote on them. Then I'll post my installments as I write -- I'm shooting for 5,000 words a day. That'll get me well over the 50,000 mark. Wish me luck!

SLIGHTY OFF-TOPIC

Again. What can I say?

Anywho, the reason for this post is to announce that I have claimed all three of my blog addresses at Technorati. Whatever the hell that means. ;-) It means no one can mess with my titles.

This blog is the oldest of my three. And probably the least read, which is unfortunate. So read it, people! ;-)

Thanks!