Putting out Fires

I feel like I can’t turn on anything, a TV, a radio, my computer, without being inundated with images.  And stories.  I heard last night on the TV about how its normal for us to feel helpless, and panicked, and guilty, and depressed, even if we live 1525.60 miles away.  I can deal with the people stories.  We understand what’s happening and that someone will eventually come to save us.  We know that you shouldn’t drink dirty water and that you should get out of the city.  We know that if we see a helicopter, its coming for us.

But the animals.  I can barely write it without crying.  They don’t understand where their families went.  Or that they’ll never see them again.  And that no one is coming to save them because they’re too busy telling idiots who refuse to leave that they must.  Or they just don’t care.  Dogs sitting on flooded cars waiting.  Animals left behind by crying children at shelters because they’re not allowed on the bus. 

I feel helpless.  And miserable.  And helpless….  All those loved pets lost, drowning, waiting, dying. 

Ah yes, until now I’ve been small enough in cyberspace to escape the meme.  Thanks a lot M. 

1. Number of Books you have owned. “Have owned”?  As in total?  OK, I’m addicted to books and my husband has to rip them away from my poor, pathetic, crying self just so I’ll make a pile to take to Bookmans to exchange.  We just had to turn a whole room in our house into a Reading Room to house them all.  A reader who is also a packrat is the worst combination.

2. Last book I bought. The last book I bought was Charlie and the Chocolate factory.  I read it in an afternoon before we went to see the movie.  I loved The BFG and James and the Giant Peach when I was growing up, but somehow I missed this one.  That is one twisted man, that Dahl. 

3. Last book I completed. Lamb : The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal.  This book was a gift from my friend Jen and it was HILARIOUS.  Biff has been brought back to fill in the gap in Jesus’ life not discussed in the Bible.  In the course of their travels to prepare Jesus for being The One, they check out hot chicks (Biff actually ‘takes one for the team’ by trying some out and describing the experiences to his celebate friend), learn kungfu (although Jesus learned a new form of martial arts called ‘Jew-do’, I kid you not), master yoga, fight odd demons, and other outrageous stuff.  Seriously funny.

4. Five books that mean a lot to me.

This is a hard one.  I want to talk about all the inspiring books I’ve come across, or books important in literary history, but I’m not in that kind of mood right now.  So here’s books that really affected me in some way. 

·                  Lord of the Rings.  Yes, I actually read the book.  And if you haven’t, shame on you.  This book is masterfully written, unbelievably creative, and it is the only book I have ever finished sobbing.    

·                    Madonna’s book Sex.  I didn’t even ‘read’ this book, but it had a huge impact on my life.  Because of this book I got a taste of politics, 2 days of front page state-wide coverage, top story on the news stations, a short clip of me shown on MTV, and a blurb in People.  Interested?  That’s a story for another post.

·                    Way of the Peaceful Warrior.  Ryan and I have both studied karate and I’m really interested in studying what is behind the movements.  This book, besides being a really good, very entertaining story, does just that.  You’d be hard pressed to read this book and not come away with something that will affect your life.  Maybe that’s why the actual title of the book is:  Way of the Peaceful Warrior; A Book That Changes Lives.

·                    Joy of Cooking, 1975.  Who knew that this book would be so hard to get?  Took me a few months on Ebay to find the perfect one.  This book has a special place on my shelves because it is the best cooking guide ever written, and after 1975 they revised Joy of Cooking taking out a lot of the popular recipes.  Mine’s in mint condition and if you can love a book, I love this one.

·                    Life of Pi.  This is a great book.  Not only was it totally entertaining, but I loved the turmoil  that the young main character felt over trying to understand why there are so many different religions in the world.  If for no other reason, you should read this book to see how a boy survives on a raft, in the middle of the ocean, with a wounded zebra, a spotted hyena, a seasick orangutan, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger.  This book is important to me because it is rare that Ryan gets into a book like this, but he loved it and it led to some great conversations.

If I had room for 2 more:  Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.  Truthfully I didn’t read the whole book as it was totally repetitive, but I swear to you I feel like the peace in my household is due to some of the information I got out of this book.  Also, Anthem by Ayn Rand.  Of all the books I read in high school, this is the one that I’ve gone back and read again.

5. What are you currently reading? I’m always in the middle of a few books.  Right now my main book is All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot. This is the first in a series written about his real life experiences being a vet in rural England.  He’s well-known in England and the books are supposed to be really funny, so I’m looking forward to getting into it.

6. Who are the bloggers you are passing this on to?

Well, let’s see who….

First of all, I have to say africankelli.  I’ve borrowed so many books from her, and we have very different tastes, so I’m interested to see if she can narrow down her favorites.

Dr. Charles.  I find his writing fascinating and am wondering what he’s reading.(Also, congrats on your new book!)

Has Mr. H.K. been tagged yet?  If not, I’d sure like to read that one.