My Bookshelves

I finally got a digital camera. So, of course, I had to take pictures of my cats. Then my nephew. Finally, I got around to the bookshelves. This one is cookbook central. Along with cookbooks here are magazines and sections torn out of magazines neatly sorted onto folders. It's not a proper bookshelf. Just painted milk crates. I used to have them neatly arranged and corded together with ropes. It looked trés chic but it was a pain to clean.

More crates. This is my overflow.

This is the main bookcase. It's organized with the crime books on top. Next down is the books for the Book of Great Books. Under that is the books for my challenges and book clubs. Next to the bottom is magazines---Smithsonian and the most recent National Geographic. And on the bottom I have some of my nonfiction.

I'm not foolin' when I say I need another bookshelf.

Deep Freeze

"Deep Freeze" by Lisa Jackson

"Deep Freeze" is my last Blogroll Game book. I kinda liked it. It was a little big long (500 pages) to give too few clues about who the serial killer was. The red herrings were too obvious so you knew the actual perpetrator was someone seldom mentioned.

Jenna Hughes was a famous movie star who gave up Hollywood after her sister's death on a set. She takes her two daughters and moves to a small town in Oregon. And a "fan" begins killing women trying to make a wax museum of sorts out of the bodies in a process too complicated to get into here. Enter the predictable taciturn sheriff.

This was supposed to be one of those "romantic-suspense" mysteries, but the romance was very scanty. The murder plot was very suspenseful and kept me glued to the book. Jenna's teenage daughter was the typical rebellious teenager, but there was just a little too much rebellion. She was just so hateful I kept hoping she would wind up a victim.

And the end really pissed me off. In the last chapter, after the resolution, a child disappears. This is to set up the plot for the next book from the author. I mean really!!! One book at a time, please.

Shopgirl

"Shopgirl" by Steve Martin

This was a pleasant surprise. I won it on the Blogroll Game. After my 2nd unavailable choice, Susan gave up and just sent me this. I'm glad she did. I'm not much of a slapstick fan. I've never been fond of Lucy, the three Stooges or any of the Saturday Night alumni, and I expected uberlameness from the likes of Steve Martin. But I was charmed by the book.

It's a simple story about two people who embark on a romantic relationship. Problem is, neither of them are really in tune with what they actually need from such a relationship. Ray spots a girl about half his age, Mirabelle, working at the glove counter and is immediately smitten with her. Mirabelle is looking for a decent man and decides to date the rich, successful businessman. And both find themselves seeing in the other person what they want to see---not what is there.

And about Steve Martin---I really enjoyed his writing. It was intelligent and humerous. Humerous as in witty. One phrase I especially liked was when Mirabelle was describing her fellow sales-clerks when they are still. She states "their faces become vacuous and frozen, like the Easter Island of the Barbie Dolls." LOL

Harry Potter

I've wound up behind on the Harry Potter saga. I am now forced to catch up before the final book becomes public knowledge. Society keeps some things secret for quiet a while. I was 40 before I found out who Rosebud was. But "The Crying Game was only a mystery about 3 months.

I ordered a copy of "Harry Potter and the Deadly Hollow" from B&N for my sister. I took it to her Friday night. Her son immediately read the first few chapters. My sister got it Saturday morning. She ran across a certain incident and commented to her son. Within my earshot. Crap!!

So now I've got to get a move on it. But, I'm going to be hibernating until I finish. I haven't told my sister yet, but I'm borrowing her book next weekend.

Rockin' Girl Blogger

I logged on to complain about having a book in the house I can't read (it's my sister's Harry Potter and I have to read VI before I force it out of her book-a-month reader's hand---but that's another post)and learned Stephanie has listed me as a Rockin' Girl Blogger. Yeah! go me. And now I get to nominate 4 of my bloggettes.

First is Petunia because she pointed me to a book that I fully expect to help enrich my little literary critiques. And check out her vacotion photos. I liked the waterfall and the caves. I love caves---big time.

Second is Tammy . Her blog is brand new, but her book lists could be carbon copies of mine. And with her last post she convinced me to move "Beloved" up my TBR list.

Third is Dewey who recently hosted the Blogroll (where I won 2nd place---Yeah for me. Again) She always has something interestind. She also started a side blog for Harry Potter discussions---but beware spoilers. This new page is here.

And lastly, I name 3MHer blog is always very interesting---and a good place to find a good challenge. I can almost guarentee I'll be joining the Books to Movie Challenge.

Finally, I would like to thank Stephanie for the notice. I wish I could renominate you.

My Intuition

You Are 24% Intuitive

You're definitely an intuitive person, but you never go on your gut alone. You tend to be more analytical than intuitive - possibly because your intuition has failed you in the past. When you don't have enough facts to make a decision, you don't mind listening to your gut to figure out what to do.

How Intuitive Are You?

I knew it. Dense as a post. Bummer

Shiva Descending

"Shiva Descending" by Gregory Benford and William Rotsler
1980

A meteor is headed for Earth...oh, no!!!

This was a fun book to read. I've seen umpteen meteor movies, including Meteor. But, this is only the second book I've read. The first was "Lucifer's Hammer" 100 (200?) years ago.

Well known premise: meteor is going to hit Earth. This one is named Shiva and is in a swarm of meteors of all different sizes. The swarm has been orbiting the sun in an elliptical path getting closer to Earth with each pass. Earth has been getting hits from the edges of the swarm for eons. Now they're coming hard and fast. Cities are being destroyed from direct hits, tsunamis or firestorms. The next pass is a direct hit from the Gargantua in the center. And since Shiva is the size of a mountain, the entire human race is in dire straits.

Chaos reigns. A charismatic speaker decides it is God's will and accumulates quite a following to make sure Shiva is not blown out of the sky. NASA is under attack from the hundreds of thousands that believe the Millennium is the end of days. A sect from India take the hedonistic road and call themselves the Shiva Dancers. Orgies all over the planet. Elsewhere, riots, murder, looting---all the anarchy you would ever wish for. People are also committing suicide in memorable numbers. And the president goes completely off his rocker. He spends the last days before impact holed up in the White House with his mistress and a banjo.

This was writen in the days of the Cold War, so America and Russia have to band together with American space shuttles, Russian bombs and no trust. Of course, the Russians are very secretive.

Needless to say, Earth survived.