Thirst for Historical Knowledge

My youngest daughter has a thirst for historical knowledge like no other 16 year old I've ever met. She must have inherited this gene from her dad, because despite the random knowledge crowding my brain, I've never had an intense desire for history.

Last night she came home from a shopping trip to Lexington with a friend and she literally bounced through the front door.

"You'll never believe what book I found!" Well, of course, I could have guessed all night because her wish list of books is probably twice as long as mine.

"I found "Mein Kampf" - can you believe it?" For those of you who don't know, "Mein Kampf" is a book dictated by Adolf Hitler. The title translates to "my struggle" and it is an autobiography of Hitler's political ideology. She has been wanting this book for over a year now.

"You don't think I'm a Nazi, do you?" I had to laugh because she was so serious.

"No, I don't think you're a Nazi. I know you just want to learn more. What did ******'s mom say when you bought it?"

"Oh, I told her I wasn't a Nazi, but she did look at me funny."

My daughter, she is truly a unique individual.

Try-It Tuesdays - Goodreads.com

Because I'm participating in a Buy Nothing Challenge this month, it has been difficult for me to "buy" a new object for Try-It Tuesday. So, in order to not cheat on my challenge, for this week's Try-It Tuesday, I'm going to be reviewing a new website for avid book readers.



Goodreads is a wonderful network that brings readers together with other readers. Free of charge, this website allows you to add books to your on-line bookshelf and review these books on a scale of 1 to 5. Then you can be matched with other readers who share your same interest.

Functions of the website:

Your Bookshelf - this window allows you to see all the books on your bookshelf, the rating score you assigned the book and the average score for all readers.

My Friends - this window shows all your reader friends and allows you to add friends at will. You can see at a glance how many books your friends have read.

Explore - this window shows you the latest books that have been rated. You can read reviews as well as comments by other readers.

Meet People - this window allows you to meet other readers who are on the site at the current moment. You are able to find readers close to your own hometown or across the ocean.

Authors - this window allows you to see the huge number of authors who are signed up on the site. It is really cool to see what some of your favorite authors are reading.

Groups - is the last window on this site and it shows you the number of reading groups participating on Goodreads. You can join groups from this page, or see what other groups are reading.

So, if you're an avid reader or just enjoy reading books reviews, check out Goodreads - you'll be glad you did!

Live from Harrodsburg, it's Saturday Night

Here I am on a beautiful Saturday night - sitting in front of my computer. How pathetic is that? Actually, as boring as it may sound, I'm doing just what I want to be doing and I'm enjoying every minute of it.

My husband and my daughter are both working tonight, so I have the house to myself. For the next four hours I can do anything I want. As soon as I finish this blog, I have a short story I need to edit and a new story I want to "flesh out." I'll spend the evening with my computer in my lap, the television on and a stack of books and notebooks at my side; not to mention the ice-cold glass of Coke and last slice of pizza.

At 10 o'clock I'll watch this week's episode of Robin Hood on the BBC. This is one of my favorite television shows and it keeps getting better every week. It actually comes on at 9, but I hate commericals, so I'll wait and use the DVR to fast forward through all the ads; this way I can get some writing in before hand.

I'm currently writing a children's book, so I have several character sketches I need to work on. I have already done some research, but I haven't had time to sit down and work on it, so I'm looking forward to doing this. I have notebooks full of words and doodles; tonight I'll open computer files and start organizing all the information.

I also want to do some reading tonight. I've started on a new series of books by Charlaine Harris called The Southern Vampire Mysteries, so I'm half-way through the first book. I'm also reading a series of children's books called Percy Jackson and the Olympians, by Rick Riordan; I'm on the second book. To complicate matters, I'm also reading on a third series of books by John Sanford called the Prey series. It drives my husband crazy when I'm reading more than one book at a time. There are some books I can read straight through, like Stephenie Meyer's new book The Host, but there are many books that I will literally only read three or four chapters before skipping ahead to the next book and then back again. That's just the way my brain works.

So while most people are out on the town or socializing on a Saturday night, I'm home with three of my favorite things: my computer, the televison and my books. And I'm waiting for my top two favorite things to come home: my hubby and my daughter.

It's my Saturday and I'll do as I like!