Top Ten Scariest Books

I was placing a order into Barnes and Noble for two books which were recommended to me:

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski

And it got me thinking about my love of all things scary....especially books

I know its not October when this would be a more appropriate post but

I love Horror/Scary books anytime of year

Without further adieux
This is my top 10 Favorite most scary of all books in no particular order

***all book synopsis are from barnesandnoble.com****

1.The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

    My opinion: Anything with demons, the devil, possession or religion scares the hell out of me. The book is twice as scary as the movie. You will not sleep during or after reading this book it is so creepy.

Synopsis: The phenomenal bestseller that inspired the classic motion picture--newly re-released in a version you've never seen before! — Chris MacNeil - adored film star, divorced single mother - has come to Washington, D. C. to finish a movie. Swept up by the demands of her busy, flourishing career, Chris is blind to the subtle warnings that a dark, male...  violent presence has invaded her comfortable townhouse. Powerful and cunning, it is taking possession of Regan, her 12-year old daughter. Every avenue of help leads to a dead end. Now hope lies only in a doubt-ridden priest and his fragile elder... in a terrifying battle with an obscene, unspeakable evil that must end in victory ... or madness and death.

2. The Shining by Stephen King

My Opinion: I work in a Hotel that sits high on a hill and whenever I have to come in extra early or get called to come in late at night I can not help but anticipate seeing those creepy twins beckoning me to "come and play with them" at the end of every hallway. That is how scary this book is when you are thinking about its creepiness long after reading it.

Synopsis: Terrible events occur at the isolated Overlook Hotel. It's a place where the guests are deceased but not necessarily departed, high in the wintry Rocky Mountains in the off season. A family checks in so the father can write, and terror lurks behind every door. Their son, who has psychic powers but does not know he has them and does not know how to use them, struggles to hold his own against the forces of evil that are driving his father insane.

3. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

My Opinion: More psychological suspense then horror this book is a classic ghost story.

Synopsis: The classic supernatural thriller by an author who helped define the genre

First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a "haunting"; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers-and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.

4. Amityville Horror by Jay Anson

My Opinion: It was probably scarier because it was "based" on true events. Growing up there was a house up the street that had the same windows and we used to run as fast as we could past it.

Synopsis: In December 1975, the Lutz family moved into their new home on suburban Long Island. George and Kathleen Lutz knew that, one year earlier, Ronald DeFeo had murdered his parents, brothers, and sisters in the house, but the property complete with boathouse and swimming pool and the price were too good to pass up. Twenty-eight days later, the entire Lutz family fled in terror. Synopsis: "Sometimes dead is better...."

This is the spellbinding, best-selling true story that gripped the nation the story of a house possessed by evil spirits, haunted by psychic phenomena almost too terrible to describe.

5. Stir of Echoes by Richard Matheson

My Opinion: Much Scarier then the movie this book will scare you and then when you think you can't be scared it will scare you again.

Synopsis: Tom Wallace lived an ordinary life, until a chance event awakened psychic abilities he never knew he possessed. Now he's hearing the private thoughts of the people around him-and learning shocking secrets he never wanted to know. But as Tom's existence becomes a waking nightmare, even greater jolts are in store as he becomes the unwilling recipient of a compelling message from beyond the grave!

Dun Dun Duh

(sorry that felt like it should have a dun dun dah after)

6. Ghost Story by Peter Straub

My Opinion: A ghost comes back to avenge against the men that killed her. A secret club of old men (creepy). Even the town and neighborhood this story takes place in is weird.

Synopsis: For four aging men in the terror-stricken town of Milburn, New York, an act inadvertently carried out in their youth has come back to haunt them. Now they are about to learn what happens to those who believe they can bury the past — and get away with murder.

7. Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

My Opinion: I loved the movie but again the book was so much scarier. You can feel the tension with every word and nothing beats your own imagination when envisioning the scene when Rosemary finally sees her baby.

Synopsis: Rosemary Woodhouse and her struggling actor husband Guymove into the Bramford, an old New York City apartment building with an ominous reputation and mostly elderly residents. Neighbors Roman and Minnie Castavet soon come nosing around to welcome the Woodhouses to the building, and despite Rosemary's reservations about their eccentricity and the weird noises that she keeps hearing, her husband takes a special shine to them.Shortly after Guy lands a plum Broadway role, Rosemary becomes pregnant, and the Castavets start taking a special interest in her welfare. As the sickened Rosemary becomes increasingly isolated, she begins to suspect that the Castavets' circle is not what it seems.

8. Pet Cemetery by Stephen King

My Opinion: Stephen King is King and I could have done this entire post on just his books but I tried to be fair and decided to only allow myself to pick two. This book has everything...absolute horror when Gage Creed gets hit, terror from the creepy sister, fear of the cemetery. You name it its in this book. The tag line alone will give you nightmares.

When the Creeds move into a beautiful old house in rural Maine, it all seems too good to be true: physician father, beautiful wife, charming little daughter, adorable infant son — and now an idyllic home. As a family, they've got it all...right down to the friendly cat. But the nearby woods hide a blood-chilling truth — more terrifying than death itself...and hideously more powerful.

9. The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe

My Opinion: Poe is one of my favorite authors and I would have been remiss to exclude him as he is the master of horror. This story is especially scary as it is told from the perspective of an insane person you can almost hear the narrators mind snapping.

Synopsis: An unnamed narrator opens the story by addressing the reader and claiming that he is nervous but not mad. He says that he is going to tell a story in which he will defend his sanity yet confess to having killed an old man. His motivation was neither passion nor desire for money, but rather a fear of the man’s pale blue eye. Again, he insists that he is not crazy because his cool and measured actions, though criminal, are not those of a madman. Every night, he went to the old man’s apartment and secretly observed the man sleeping. In the morning, he would behave as if everything were normal. After a week of this activity, the narrator decides, somewhat randomly, that the time is right actually to kill the old man

10. In a Dark Place: The story of a True Haunting by Ray Garton & Ed and Lorraine Warren

My Opinion: Anything with "true haunting" in the title scares the pants off of me. You can feel the pain and fear of the family as you read this story. And again possession = SCARY

Synopsis: Chronicling the most disturbing case of their career, a demonologist team recounts the haunting of the Snedeker family, whose new home harbored an evil past that resulted in poltergeist activity and the possession of their teenage son.

So that is my top 10 list

How about you? What book has scared the pants off of you?

I know you will wonder with my extreme fear of clowns why I didn't include It by Stephen King and the reason is that I don't even want to think about that creepy clown clutching his bunch of balloons beckoning me with his creepy white gloved hand....damn it! Thank God all of the lights are on ...and now they are staying on!

Sugar Queen Giveaway Winner

And the winner is............................

Ashley from Trees and Ink

Congratulations Ashley!

Please email your address to serendipityslibrary@gmail.com

I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did.

Childhood Friends

I was thinking about a question I read somewhere

I don't remember the exact wording but it was something like :

What book represents or reminds you of your childhood.

So here is a question I pose to you....

What Book (or movie) most represents your interaction with your childhood friends?

My answer is The Body (aka Stand By Me) for my book choice or Then and Now for my movie choice.

Why The Body?
To me the body was more then about the boys going out in search of the body of a dead neighborhood kid. It was about exceptance and adventure. It was about finding friends you could count on and being able to just be yourself.

Growing up I had two great friends Kathleen and Karen. They are sisters Kathleen my age and Karen one year younger then us. Their grandmother lived two houses away from the house I grew up in. Which is how we met Kathleen and I just toddlers thrown together by our mothers probably so they could have a minute to themselves. We ended up attending the same Catholic elementary school and our friendship grew within those walls during the winter months when we only saw each other during those school hours.

I picked this book because it is set in the summer and when we were growing up....

 the summers belonged to us!

Everything about us changed in the summer. We had no school worries. No thoughts of not fitting in. Our parents barely existed in our summer world. We were the queens of the neighborhood.

Summer Life was an adventure to be had and it seemed to stretch on forever.

Back then all we had was our imagination and we made up games, invented danger, drama and ways to scare ourselves. Behind the house Kathleen and Karen shared with their mother and five brothers and sisters was a tall stone wall. It rose at least ten feet high but back then it was like looking up at a sky scarper. Their house sat low on a hill so the top of that wall on the other side was only waist high. To access the other side of the wall you had to go down an alley between two houses.

We were not supposed to go there.

We were not supposed to sit on the wall.

We definitely were not supposed to slip over the wall and climb down into their backyard.

But we did

And we always got caught...a ratting sibling...a big mouthed neighbor....

Like The Body our adventures involved camping out.

We lived in the city so we slept in sleeping bags on small patches of backyard grass or laid across wooden front porches. Also like The Body my older brother made it his goal to torment us as much as possible without getting caught by my mother.

We were inseparable. We were the keepers of each others deepest secrets and darkest fears.

 I never felt left out by not being their sister.

Our story doesn't involve the discovery of a dead body

Although we did think we killed my little brother once

We blamed Karen

Every summer we found ourselves. We were brave, smart and funny. Slowly we started to carry that confidence into the school year. And when we forgot we had each other to help us remember.

The Body ends with with the friends going their separate ways and sadly all but Gordy die young.

Our story ends happier

We all have families now and although we don't see each other very often we can still count on each other

 They were both there for me when my Dad died 14 years ago.

And I hope they felt my love and support when their Mom died last May.

My children know their names and have heard the stories of our adventures.

We are legends if only in my own mind!

So how about you?

I'm Having A Blog Identity Crisis

So here is the situation

When I started this blog I saw it as a way to talk about books, which is one of my favorite things to do.

But the truth is I have more fun with the random type posts and I get more hits on those posts then on any of the posts about books.

I think it is because there are so many more established book review type blogs out there

and I am afraid I will never meet the "standards" that have been set in that part of the blogworld.

So that leaves me to this......I am going to try and do it all.

Originally I thought I would just create additional blogs....

A "journal" type blog

A "book" blog

A "writing" blog

but who has time to maintain all of those blogs? Not Me!

So this idea was born as I looked around my makeshift library/mom cave/living room

A Library is filled with many subjects so why can't my blog, which has library in the title, have many subjects?

I am thinking of  changing my blog a little to reflect the many facets of my personality.

I would like to have tabs across the top that I hope will enable me to do posts on various subjects and allow my followers to click on the tabs and read what they want.

For instance I love all things paranormal...I believe in ghosts. I am pretty sure I was haunted as a child. I watch Ghost Hunters as if its a religion. So I would like to have a paranormal tab where you can read and find paranormal information. I also love technology so maybe info on technology or how tos or answers to IT questions could be under the technology tab. Obviously a book tab but less formal recommendations instead of "reviews" just talking to you and not at you about books.

In essence my blog will become a library filled with different subjects and interests.

Does this sound like a good idea?

 To all my current followers does this make sense?

I am really interested in your input so please feel free to comment or send me an email serendipityslibrary@gmail.com
I certainly do not want to disappoint anyone by "misrepresenting" myself.

I really think this is a solution.

Thanks I really do appreciate it!

Vintage Library Cards

I love these vintage Library Cards.

They were found in the basement of the oldest library in our town.

The patina on them is from years of sitting in wooden boxes damp from the chilly basement

Their lines left blank instead of being filled with titles like:

Ethan Frome

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Eyre

Romeo and Juliet

Actually I'm lying

I bought 500 of them for $12 from a school supply website

They look old though right?

I aged them using a very simple process

I will share the instructions in case you too would like to lie to your friends and family

telling them you own a piece of library history

Set oven to 200 degrees

Pour fresh brewed coffee into a large bowl

soak each card one at a time

place soaked cards onto cookie sheet

sprinkle with more coffee or vanilla extract

bake until dry and browned (about 2 min)

It's that simple!

My giveaway ends Wednesday

The lucky winner gets these along with the rest of the prize

 Have a Happy Monday!

Blog Hop

Blog Hop Time

This hop is hosted by Crazy-For-Books and what makes it fun is there is a question posted that all participents have to answer

The Question this week is:

"If you could physically put yourself into a book or series…which one would it be and why?"

I have two answers....I hope that is allowed

Answer #1. Pride and Prejudice - I love this book and the time period it is set in and it is no secret that I am passionately in love with Mr. Darcy in fact I refer to my MacBook as Mr. Darcy.... weird I know.

 I am seeking help for my naming affliction.

Answer # 2. Harry Potter - I am a huge Harry Potter Nerd. I love everything about the books and I would love to be a Professor at Hogwarts. I would be the Professor of Library Studies or the Professor of Technology and upgrade them from quills to iPads.

Enjoy the Hop! Thanks for stopping by.



I Love Library's

You're thinking...No really? You love libraries? I never would have guessed from the title of your blog.

And I would think.... Wow you're such a smartass. I like you.

Anyway......

My darling dear sweet OLDER (that was uncalled for) sister, my son and I went to a

Library Used Book Sale

It was incredible. There were so many books I could have spent the entire night wandering up and down the stacks reading every title.

Because it was IN a Library there was the added bonus of that wonderful Library Smell.

Scientists have proven that if the scent of a Library is appealing to you than you are destined to be a writer.

Actually that is completely untrue

It just means you are of above average intelligence

That is another lie..... sorry

You know the smell I am talking about....its a mixture of old leather and paper

I intend to figure out a way to infuse that smell into my home library.
I think this would be a great anniversary present next month

I literally could have stayed there until 9pm when it closed

but because I brought "the boy" as we call him with us I felt I had to maintain some sort of parental sense of responsibility and get him home by 8:30

Although he was enjoying himself just as much as I was. He loves books and loves to read and I encourage this passion

I ended up only spending $15

I bought 10 books

The Boy bought 4 books

How amazingly great is that?!

My sister spent a measly $3

she bought 3 Harry Potter Books, 2 recent paperback mysteries and 2 collectible children's stories

pretty darn good

As you can see I brought my camera....

Kasey over at kaseybuick.com had the wonderfully creative idea of having her family photos taken in a library

That is why I decided to bring my camera a snap a few photos although the other "shoppers" were looking at me like I was crazy...thankfully I am used to that

My sister took this one of me...I hate having my picture taken. Thankfully she is not a very good photographer

and yes that is a giant wrinkle on my forehead...I need to learn to do that airbrush thing

It was a very fun adventure and now the books are safely at home awaiting their spot amongst the rest of my collection.

I will look to feature some of my finds next week because one or two are pretty interesting!

My "Real" Job

When I am not scaring my children, dreaming of Wellies, reading or fantasizing about being a writer

I go to my real job.

I work as an IT Manager for a Hotel and Conference Center. It's a nice place to work. The people are great but it is overshadowed by my complete loathing of my job.

As the IT Manager I oversee all of the technology within the building....so if your printer stops printing, call me. You download a virus from a website you shouldn't be on, call me. The server crashes, call me.

You decide that there are too many cables under your desk so you cut a couple and then can't figure out why your computer doesn't work, call me.

And because I am so great they call me at any time day or night.

Vacations? what vacations

Maternity Leave? The baby naps right?

After throat surgery and you can't talk? Use Morse Code by tapping the phone with a pen

I also assist with the various technology problems of our guests.

 I especially enjoy when I receive a call from our concierge to assist a guest and when I approach the guest I am he/she informs me that they are waiting for the I.T. Guy.

I then have to say I am the I.T. Guy how may I help. This honestly usually happens with men it is as if they have never seen a woman in the technology industry before.

The good thing about being an I.T. Guy is that I never have to pay for anyone to fix my computer.

The bad thing is my family thinks that it means they never have to pay anyone to fix their computer.

No one ever calls my office to say Hi! How are you? Nice Day Today!

It's always Complaint Complaint Complaint

Problem Problem Problem

Whine Whine Whine (and not the good kind without the h)

I do love technology and the many conveniences it provides.

I could not and would not live without my iPad

My daughter and I stood in line for over two hours the day the iPad 2 came out

I love my MacBook but I am a PC person

My desk is kind of like mega desk from The Office

If you watch the office it is the one where Dwight creates a desk while Jim is on vacation

he calls it mega desk here is a quote from the show:

Jim: What do we got here?
Dwight: Mega-Desk.
Jim: Of course.
Dwight: Command central.
Jim: Hm hm.
Dwight: Surveillance, gaming- and business.
Jim: Okay. [Pulls desks apart] Just gotta...
Dwight: Okay. Come on! Jim!

Dwight: Dweedle Dee and Dweedle Dumb-ass have been away on maternity leave. Now Dweedle Dumb-ass is back, and we have a problem. Yes, getting hooked on Mega-Desk was my own damn fault. But ... I don't care about assigning blame. All I care about is Mega-Desk. That is all I care about. Getting. More. Mega-Desk

It's the one good thing about my job I get to have a real mega desk and no one can take it away from me...because no one else wants this job!

see my iPad? Awesome right?

The Legend of the Black Tongue

I have mentioned in a previous post that my children believe that when they tell a lie their tongue turns black.

I started this mysterious legend when my daughter (19) was a little girl. When I had may son  (8)
I continued the tale with the added credibility that his sister firmly believed it to be true.

The legend is that when a child tells a lie their tongue turns black. Only their mother can see the blackness. So if they look in the mirror or consult with a friend or sibling it won't help because only Mom can see the black.

I will tell you how it works

The lying child, which by the way I don't care how good a person or how good a child is they will at some point tell a bold face lie, anyway where was I?

 Oh the little liar will look right at you and tell their tale. If you feel the tale is fiction and not fact.

Give them a chance to tell the truth...."are you lying to me?"

if they answer "gosh no mommy" (yes in my world my children act like the kids in leave it to beaver)

Then say "You are sure about that?"

usually this is answered with adamantly shaking the head NO

Look at them eyes squinted.....as if you are trying to decide and then you say "ok let me see your tongue"

Now comes the magic!

Two things will happen

 1. If a lie was not told the tongue will shoot out of the mouth with confidence and a smug little look will    appear on the childs face.

2. If a lie was told their lips will press firmly together and just the slightest tip of tonue will peek out. Usually the eyes are all squinted in an effort to...... will the tongue to not change color.

If they respond with option 1 I respond according to the tale...so like "you are lucky" if I asked them if they did something they weren't suppossed to do or "it must have been your sister/brother" if a guilty person must exist.

If they reposond with option 2  I usually follow with "that is the blackest tongue I have ever seen" or a simple statement "black" or " just as I suspected.....black" any of these work.

The child will then ramble off fifty reasons why they did what they did and every excuse their little brain can come up with. Punishments are handed out and you can walk away and pat yourself on the back for doing exactly what your child was just punished for......

Lying.

My daughter now 19 is the worst liar.....honestly in the world. She has so many tells that even though now she doesn't completely believe the black tongue legend, although she still has a bewildered look on her face when she hears the words "let me see your tongue", I can tell when she is lying. I will not expose her tells as she does read this blog....... but they are many!

My dad used to say "you can't bullshit a bullshitter". Which is probably why my children can not pull one over on me. I have been known to tell my own tales.

I exaggerate. I like to say for dramatic effect...like their were 10 police cars. when it was only 2.

I round down when telling people the price of something....it was $100 when it was reall $199.

So to all my fellow fibbers and their children.

Have a Black Tongue free day!

I Have Been A Bad Bad Book Blogger

"And you call yourself a book blog".

This was an email statement I received from a fellow "book blogger". Apparently I am not talking about books enough to be called a book blog and so I should stop misrepresenting myself.

Can I just say WOW. Seriously? Misrepresenting myself? Really?

And that is all I am going to say about that.

Anyway ........... I have been focusing a lot on my writing. I have set a goal to finish the YA Book I started last year. As I have no formal training I am flopping around in this process and its kind of getting on my nerves.

My darling daughter gave me a book called

Writing Down The Bones by Natalie Goldberg

It is filled with amazing nuggets of information on writing. It touches on everything from the kind of pen you should use to how to hold onto an idea. I am loving this book right now because it is easy to refer to when I get lost in my own process.

The writer talks about writing as a spiritual practice and something that should feel freeing. Her zen and enthusiastic approach aids in motivating the reader to do what they love. I have not finished reading this book yet but I can tell you it will become a staple in my pursuit of better writing.

Meet Charlotte

You have met Edgar now meet Charlotte. Charlotte is a lovely doll with bisque head, hands and legs. She holds court in my Mom Cave ruling over my treasures when I am not at home.

My children do not find her as lovely as I. In fact it is safe to say that they...fear her. I will admit to exacerbating this fear by ***gasp*** teasing them.

I have been known on occasion to move Charlotte into a dark room and then ask one of my dear children to retrieve something for me from that room.

Their scream of terror as they find dear Charlotte waiting in the dark sends me into a fit of giggles 

Charlotte has also found herself staring forlornly from the top of the stairs. Her sad eyes peeking from between the spindles of the railing. A child racing upstairs to retrieve a forgotten item has been known to gasp before turning and heading back down the stairs desired item forgotten. More elicit giggles from me.

Sometimes when my daughter would go out at night she would return home to Charlotte watching at the window. The moon whispering across her bisque skin making her visible from the front porch.

Knowing that she could neither race up the steps or yelp in fright, as this would wake her sleeping brother, she would instead take the stairs two at a time. Poking her head into my bedroom she would whisper "You're mean" 

The truth is Charlotte is a very nice doll. I bought her on a trip to Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. I saw her in a doll shop window and just loved her crackled aged patina. To me she looks like a well loved toy lost or given away by her original owner. I like to imagine that she belonged to a little girl who carried her to church or out shopping with her mother. Maybe they had tea parties where Charlotte ate imaginary cakes with her porcelain front teeth.

I view her as a wonderful addition to my collection of treasures.

My children view her as...........

EVIL

****Amber if you are reading this. You aren't even safe from Charlotte while you are away at school****

bwahahahahahahahaha....***that's my evil laugh*****

Top o' the Morning to ya!

Happy St Patrick's Day

In Honor of St Patrick's Day I would like you to meet my Grandparents Bernie and Anna McBride

They came to America in 1926

But they grew up in Scotland 

I did not know my Grandmom as she died a week before I was born but I remember my Pop-Pop and his voice with that incredible irish brogue.

He was proud to be irish and so am I (although I am also proud to be italian)

I have been researching my heritage and came across these photos which I will share with you. 

 This is Dumbarton castle in Scotland

aren't they so cute?

While I am in the Irish mood here is my list of favorite irish proverbs, quotes and blessing

Health and a long life to you.
Land without rent to you.
A child every year to you.
And if you can't go to heaven,
May you at least die in Ireland.

  Irish Blessing

Praise the child and you praise the mother

  Irish Quote

God made time, but man made haste.

    Irish Proverb

A son is a son till he takes him a wife, a daughter is a daughter all of her life

   Irish Proverb

Always remember to forget
The troubles that passed away.
But never forget to remember
The blessings that come each day.
Irish Drinking Toast

Saint Patrick's Day Toasts Saint Patrick was a gentleman,
Who through strategy and stealth,
Drove all the snakes from Ireland,
Here’s a toasting to his health.
But not too many toastings
Lest you lose yourself and then
Forget the good Saint Patrick
And see all those snakes again.
'Beannachtam na Feile Padraig!'
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Have a Wonderful Day! 

Vampires in Books/Movies

So at this point in my all important opinion Vampires are so over used.

It's sad because I am and have always been a huge vampire fan. Not the vampire as love interest, except Angel from Buffy but hello so hot, but Vampire as monster. When I read a book based on Vampires I like them to follow the general rules of Vampire's which are:

They drink blood

No sun! this is very important. Vampire's do not sparkle. 

Sleep in coffins or some sort of enclosed space

Have fangs! A vampire without fangs is NOT a vampire

Cannot enter a home without being invited
Cannot enter a church

Killed by stake through the heart or beheading

 I am okay with a Vampire who is remorseful or has somehow retained their soul or has a distaste for the kill. I do not however like the brooding type. 

Give me Eric Northman over Bill Compton. 

Actually give me Kurt Barlow from Salem's Lot.

I have written my fair share of Vampire related stories.

But I think its time to put them back in the coffin....... for a little while anyway.

My Book Collection

Lesa over at baja-greenawalts-cozybooknook.blogspot.com had a post about using old books in your decorating. She had some adorable pics posted showing the ways of displaying your treasures.

I have been using books throughout my house since.....

  well forever. 

Every time I go to an antique store or thrift store I always check out the books. I buy the ones that have interesting titles or incredibly well loved covers. I wandered around today and took some pictures of my collection to share with all of you.

The eyeglasses belonged to my grandmother

I keep a few favorites on my nightstand

My foyer is home to my 1914 typewriter and some classics

In my "Mom Cave" aka "The Library" aka our living room I keep a mix of old and new

On my bookshelf I have all of my treasures books, vintage cameras, photos and vintage bottles

Someday I hope to add one of my own books to this collection.....that is if life ever allows me the time to  complete one single thought. Until then I will just enjoy the works of writers past and present.

A Confession

I have a confession to make.......I am not proud of what I am about to say. But it needs to be said.....

 I am a 38 year old Veruca Salt

Okay I said it. I am not proud. It's embarrassing!

I completely place all of the blame on my older siblings!

It's their fault really, not mine! They spoiled me. 

Now let me clarify I don't scream when I don't get what I want.....

Well maybe once but that was a long time ago....when I was in my twenties.

But if I see something that I like I automatically think I should have it. 

I will explain to myself and anyone who will listen, that I work darn hard for my money at I job I HATE!

So therefore I deserve it. 

I bring this up because I have a new obsession 

Hunter Wellies

they are so adorable!

When I told my sister  she said what do you need those for.

I thought for sure she was kidding but then when she didn't laugh or show any indication that she was I realized she was serious. I proceeded to Google Wellies and show her how cute they were. SHe still did not seem as excited as I was. 

The next time it rains I am going to step in every puddle and then catch a horrible cold. Then I will call out of work sick and she will have to do my work.

In the meantime I will just dream about how much dryer my feet would be in a pair of these.

One Lovely Blog

I received this One Lovely Blog Award from the very lovely Deborah Lawrenson over at http://deborah-lawrenson.blogspot.com/.

So now it is my duty and joy to pass it on to some blogs that I follow.

http://tinylibrary.blogspot.com/       An adorable blog filled with book reviews and more
http://bookskidslike.blogspot.com/ A great source for children's book reviews and recommendations
http://vinobaby.blogspot.com/ Funny and sweet and a terrific writer
http://deanabarnhart.blogspot.com/ I just found this blogger from She Writes and I like it already
http://www.cooperating4boys.com/ smart informative and funny

I recommend you stop by and visit these wonderfully Lovely Blogs!

Have a Joy filled Day and Happy Reading.

I am a loyal reader

I don't know about you but once an author appeals to me I stick with him/her. Sometimes its not even necessarily their writing that makes me loyal. It could be an interview I read or their own website that makes me draws me to their work. I like to get a sense of the person behind the talent.

If you are an author that has appealed to me both as a reader and as a person you can guarantee my purchase of your next book. Maybe this is not the right way to do things but I tend to ignore bad reviews of books by authors that I care about. I have mentioned that I have read all of Stephen King's work, short stories, novels, articles in Entertainment Weekly, non fiction about writing..... you name it I read it. I consider myself what King refers to as a Constent Reader. When a new novel of King's comes out I could not care less if the premier literary critic calls it a steaming pile of .....you know what I am at the store the day it comes out to pick up my copy. Now I will not say that I have loved every word he has written but when it comes to his work I like to draw my own conclusion.

 My reason for liking Stephen King? He's weird. I like weird people who don't take themselves too seriously.

There are other authors that I consider myself loyal to. I have mentioned J.K. Rowling in previous posts. I will also always give Dean Koontz a chance although I am not as loyal to him as I could be. John Saul has my purchase whenever he comes out with something new. Most recently I have been reading Sarah Addison Allen's work and I really like the way she writes. It's fun and who doesn't like fun? 

I consider myself loyal to an author if after reading their book I go back and purchase more of their past work.

I would live a rather boring reading life if all I read were novels by the same authors I am not saying that I strictly read these authors and no one else. I am just more inclined to choose their book sight unseen. If someone recommends a book to me by an author I am not familiar with I Google the authors name. Read about them and then draw my final conclusion after reading the book.

Although I tend to lean towards the horror/mystery/crime genre, if Stephen King started writing Historical Fiction I would read it or J.K. Rowling writes about fishing.....I will read it. Just because I feel they deserve my time (and money).

Do you have authors who you read loyally?

I am not Crazy A message from my 8 year old

The boy -"Mom what do you write about on your blog"

Me -"Oh just stuff about books and life"

The boy -"Can you read me something from it?"

Me -"Sure" (I read my About Me post and my Edgar post)

The boy - a concerned look on his face "You know Mom if you keep writing stuff like that people are going to think you are crazy"

Me - "No they will just think I am weird"

With this he leaves the room and I hear him say to Amber " have you been reading Mom's blog? I am worried about her."

A woman that I work with refers to my son as having an old soul. He is like a little man so sensitive to the world. If you hurt he hurts. His teacher told me that she has never seen a child his age who displays such empathy for his classmates. I worry sometimes that the world will eat him alive........

******I would normally end that sentence with my sweet boy but after seeing The Black Swan and the creepy mother in that movie I have stopped myself from saying that.*******

So for my sons sake I just wanted to let everyone know I am not crazy.....I do not think Edgar my Library Gargoyle talked to me, although I am pretty sure he winked at me once. I don't think someone is going to grab me when I walk past a dark room, I run past dark rooms because I need to exercise not because I am afraid a cold white hand is reaching through the blackness to grab me pulling me into its nightmare......Great now I just scared myself.

So just so we are clear I am not crazy.

Wouldn't want to embarrass the little guy.

More than I already have.

The Ethereal Gate

I love this photograph I took of our gate after one of the many ice storms we had this winter. It has such a haunting quality to it that it propels the imagination. The ice dripping from the scrolled iron bring forth a feeling of sadness. You can imagine it is the entrance to a long abandoned estate tears frozen at the entrance as it suffers from loss and loneliness. Or maybe it is the entrance into an enchanted frozen kingdom. Home to the ice fairies. Or it is the entrance to

a malevolent garden whose plants thrive on feeding off of the hope of those who enter through the gate causing the air to chill and freeze.

The reality is less romantic but still interesting......the original owners of our house bought this gate at an estate auction from a home in New England. According to them the gate is over 100 years old. I am not sure if that is true but it adds to the story much better than saying "Oh I bought that from the home improvement store five years ago". This is why I love vintage items as opposed to new items. Whether its something that once belonged to a member of my family or a complete stranger there is something to be said for owning a piece of someones story.

Hopefully spring with be here very soon but until then enjoy these photos from my ice and snow covered yard.

*****for those who do not know. If you click on these pics they will open in a new window where the photos enlarge and you can see more detail.************

I Love Harry Potter

Anyone who knows me in my life outside of this blog knows that I love Harry Potter. It started when my daughter borrowed the Sorcerer's Stone from the school library. I always try to read the book that my children are reading so that I can discuss it with them. I have two reasons for doing this.

1. I want to ensure they are understanding what they are reading
2. I want them to be able to articulate what they liked or didn't like about the book

I instantly fell in love with Harry and his magic world. When my son was 7 I began to read the books aloud to him. We started with just reading a few pages before bed but he became so enchanted with the story a few pages were just not enough. We made it a nightly routine that after dinner we would go up to his playroom get comfortable and together we would disappear into Hogwart's castle. We completed the 7th book in the summer he turned 8.

I think I love the books even more after seeing various interviews with the author J.K. Rowling. She has an amazing humbleness about her that just begs for your respect and admiration. I hope she writes again and I hope her readers allow her to move from Harry and create something else for us to enjoy.

My family and I were lucky to be able to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando Florida back in December 2010. I will say that even though it was FREEZING which we did not anticipate. One of the days it was only 40 (degrees) and very windy which may not sound cold but when you think of Florida you think SUNNY and WARM, not COLD and WINDY. But I digress.....even though it was freezing we had a fabulous time. The creators of this new park did a magical job capturing the essence of the books/movies. Walking through "Hogsmeade" you feel as if you have been transported into the pages of the books. The castle is a sight to behold and wandering though its rooms is a pleasure for any Potter fan. The ride that is at the end of the castle tour is an amazing example of simulation (if you have a weak stomach like me you may feel queasy afterwards). The ride allows you to fly with Harry across the Quidditch field into the Chamber of Secrets where the Basilisk waits to snap at you and Dementors attempt to drain you of your joy. Both of my kids loved this ride....like I said above I loved it but my sensitive stomach, not so much.

I am not as big a fan of the movies as I am the books, which I can say for nearly every book to movie I have seen so far. With utmost certainty I can say if you are a Potter fan you will love it.

If you have never read any of the books I suggest you do. They are an incredible example of the ability a writer has to invite readers to enter their imagination and become lost in the world they have created.

I have included some pictures from our trip. Have a Wonderful Day and Happy reading!