Return to the Shelves 2

Okay, here it is! If you've read The Book Thief here's you chance to sound off.

sniff, sniff....dear god what is that smell?

I thought it would be fun to revisit a previous blog post and do the inverse. So this shall be a list of scents I don't enjoy. Now, I'm not talking about the obvious things like port-o-potties, or skunks or anything of that nature. No one likes the way those things smell, except, perhaps another skunk. These are things that aren't obviously offensive but that make me, if not gag, at least grimace.

1. Cigars. Most right thinking people also hate these, but considering that people still make and smoke them clearly not everyone does.
2. Celery. It is a vile food.
3. Onions. All I have to do is pass through a room where they are being chopped and I can taste them for ages afterwards. Bleck.
4. Low tide. Specifically in a bay. It smells of decay.
5. Polo by Ralph Lauren. My brother spilled almost an entire bottle of this in our basement when he was in high school. On the carpet. We all hate it, even him.
6. Tuna fish. Do I really need to elaborate?
7. Beer. Nothing more than apple juice gone wrong if you ask me. And on someone's breath? Ew.
8. The generic industrial hand soap that is found in the restrooms at the local Harris Teeter and my favorite barbecue restaurant in town. It looks like Dial, but it's not. You have to wash your hands with something else and sometimes add a scented lotion too to rid your hands of its vile stench. If everyone had the same reaction as I did they wouldn't have it anymore. Alas and alack.
9. Sauerkraut.
10. Bell peppers. They overwhelm everything else in a dish with their taste and scent.
11. Cedar wood. I know that cedar repels moths and other such things, but it makes me think of a rabbit hutch.

Feel free to share the scents you secretly loathe. I know you have them. Everyone does. Come, confide in me.

I swipped this idea

from another person's blog (thanks Chad!), so despite the lack of originality in the topic, the content will be highly original. So here they are, ten weird or secretive things about me.

1. When I'm bored (which is often) I decide what my friends would be if they were a dessert, a cereal, a color...well, you get the idea.

2. I hate celery with a passion and intensity normally reserved for those who have wronged me or the people I care about.

3. I was a cheerleader in high school, which isn't weird or very secretive, but since so many people say "you were a cheerleader?" upon hearing this I included it. Plus it goes with number four.

4. I can be painfully shy and/or awkward in certain social situations. Doesn't jive with having been a cheerleader now does it? But it's true.

5.I seem to have an inexplicable attraction to men with dimples in their chins. Ask me about it and I'll elaborate. It's rather frightening if you ask me.

6.I still read children's literature for fun. Don't laugh, it's really good.

7. Michael Jackson's Thriller video scared me so much as a kid that I would hid in the linen closet when it came on. And I did this because my sister ALWAYS wanted to watch it. Always!

8.I eat my cheeseburgers plain, just bread, meat and cheese.

9. I can't sleep if my feet are hot.

10. The only restaurant I wanted to eat at when I was really little was Denny's because you could get breakfast all the time. Now, the idea of eating there makes me queasy.

Be very, very quiet......

We are going on a book hunt! Well, not exactly a hunt, but a Shelfari! And what, pray tell, is a Shelfari? Shelfari is this wonderful new website that my friend Blake shared with me. (Thanks Blake!) Essentially, it is a social networking site, but this one revolves around books, so it is not nearly as creepy as some of the other ones out there. What you do is create a free account (the whole thing is free which means everyone can use all of the features) and then you create your shelf. You can put whatever books you want on your shelf, although since they also have a "reading list" feature it helps if the books on your shelf are ones you've read. You can write reviews for all of your books, give it a star ranking, create tags for them, see other people who have that book on their shelf, see if there are any discussions going on about the book etc. Or you can just put them on your shelf and leave others to speculate about what you thought of them. A lot of people do that. I personally find that annoying.

The social networking part comes in with the discussions. You can join groups that share your interests, and if you don't see one you like you can start one of your own. You can also make groups private which means the moderator controls who can join (if you want to be all elitist about it, or if your group becomes mega popular and you need crowd control). You can leave messages on people's pages, you can send requests for friend status (although as far as I can tell the only thing that friend status does is place them on your profile page). Speaking of your profile page you can make it as descriptive or non-descriptive as you like. There is only space for one picture by the way and most of the members I have come across don't use a real photograph, or at least not one of themselves. The site also will show you the people who have the most overlap with your bookshelf.

The site is still in beta mode, which means a lot of the functionality that you would hope for isn't there, yet. For instance, the search feature does keyword only which means when you search for Kurt Vonnegut you get all of his books, but also any other books with Kurt or Vonnegut on them. However, the company responds quickly to emails that you send and even have a feedback survey where you can submit ideas for improvement. You also do that via email if you want. Since it is still in beta testing it means they are looking for ideas on how to improve their product. So suggest away!

If you enjoy books I highly recommend this site. Not only does it give you an opportunity to shout to the world how much you loved or hated a book, but you can find great recommendations for new things to read. So put on your pith helmet, bookmark the page, and go on a Shelfari. But be warned! It's addictive. If you are interested my user name is Librarianwho.

From the Shelves 2

This post comes later than I had intended, primarily because I was trying to decide if I was going to comment on this book, as it violates the original idea of these book recommendations. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is not a happy book. It isn't completely depressing either, but if you read it and don't cry the police should come for you as you are clearly a sociopath with no feelings.

The story is set in Munich during World War II. Oh god! It's one of those books? Yes and no. Yes, because it is about the horrors of war. And no, because, you see, this book is narrated by Death. The title character is a young girl named Liesel who falls in love with books and decides, as her form of protest, to steal books (and a few other things) from the oppressors in her city. Liesel, it should be noted, is not Jewish. Max, who is hidden in her basement, is though, and this is as much his story as it is Liesel's. Ostensibly, this book is for middle school students, but at 550 pages, and with phrases like "he tasted like regret in the shadows of trees" and the liberal use of the word asshole, frequently as a term of affection, it is only pretending. Not that they wouldn't enjoy it, but there is so much in this book, it is unfair to stamp it with the stigma of being young adult literature. (And I think there is much more to young adult literature than most people are aware of and I still don't want it labeled as such.)

Despite the darkness there is humor to be found in this book, as well as much sadness. Death is a very busy man throughout this novel, coming to collect those you would least expect him to, and those you do not want him to. The ending is both sad and happy, much like life itself. I highly recommend this book, but have tissues at the ready. For you too, will be "haunted by humans" just as Death is after you read The Book Thief.

Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Riding Through the Glen

Lately, people have accused me of being a little obsessed with the BBC's new show Robin Hood (the first season is airing on BBC America on Sunday's at 7:00), specifically with the actor in the leading role (Jonas Armstrong). I am however, not as obsessed as the person (or people) responsible for this blog. New Robin You see? Makes me look positively disinterested doesn't it? And they aren't just obsessed with the show, but Robin Hood in general. Interesting stuff there though. Of course, I did find this site, so there you go. But in my defense I was using stumble upon and it led me to it. If you haven't watched the show I highly recommend it, and not just because I find the lead actor to be impossibly attractive. Watch it! And suffer along with me until season 2 airs in the UK. They are filming it now, in Budapest of all places. Oh to be in Budapest this summer.

Return to the shelves

Okay, so here it is, the place to post any comments on The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie, if by any chance any of you took my advice and read this book. Or if you want to post any of your own book suggestions feel free.