I’ve had a few phone calls and emails lately asking me if I’m okay—and whether or not I’m still planning to post to my blog. Of course I am. Things just seem to have gotten away from me in the past few weeks though. I haven’t written in my journal for over a month now either.
The problem is: the longer you put off writing a blog entry, the harder it becomes to do one. Instead of it being a natural and spontaneous action, you start questioning if you actually have anything worthwhile to say. Not that I don’t have good reasons for being a blogcrastinator—writing articles, getting ready for my show, preparing my book for the printer, having the flu and so on. But thinking back, I guess the only fun thing I haven’t let slide is Photoshop. I took these two pictures of flowers on my daily walk and then combined them with a couple of textures Lennie posted to her blog on August 21st. There’s nothing like playing around with other people’s photos to get me back in the swing of things. So thanks Lennie. I owe this post to you.
Last Monday Irene was tagged by Leslie to take fifteen minutes and make up a list of fifteen books that have stayed with her—so, of course, I had to make up a list too.
But I limited mine to novels because it was just too overwhelming to make decisions otherwise.
In no particular order (and with some ganging up), here is my list:
The Emily Trilogy by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
Trust Me and Hidden Talents by Jayne Ann KrentzHis Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass) by Phillip Pullman
The Chronicles of Narnia (particularly The Voyage of the Dawn Treader) by C.S. Lewis
Inner Harbor by Nora Roberts
Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Weaveworld by Clive Barker
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein
The Shining by Stephen King
The Tales of Alvin Maker by Orson Scott Card
The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
I think it’s obvious from my list that I was never an enthusiastic English literature student even though I have a B.A. in the subject. I like mystery, fantasy, science fiction, romance, the occasional horror novel and books about individualistic children finding their true path in life.
The only one I actually recall studying in university was Pride and Prejudice. But I didn’t appreciate it until I saw Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy in the 1995 TV mini series. The fact that several people phoned afterwards to say that Colin Firth looked like my husband obviously affected my judgment.
As to the other books on my list, each choice was an instinctive one. I think the books you gravitate to are like the people you hold dear. You can’t always explain the attraction, you just know it’s there, so the best thing to do is just go with the flow.
I’ve had a few phone calls and emails lately asking me if I’m okay—and whether or not I’m still planning to post to my blog. Of course I am. Things just seem to have gotten away from me in the past few weeks though. I haven’t written in my journal for over a month now either.
