Just to add to the Oprah theme of my last entry...

New Favorites

Seeing as how I am going through about a book a week these days, it's a really good thing I got myself this gig at a used bookstore. There are definite days I feel as though this job was created with me in mind.
I looooove my little bookstore.

One of the beautiful things about my job is that I can read whatever I want in the store. If I'm restocking books and see something of interest, I take it home, bring it back when I'm done. It's fabulous. I have read so many new and interesting authors.
I'm getting smarter and more cultured all the time, I swear.

My latest discoveries, though, have definitely been the best. I avoided Poisonwood Bible for a while because it bore the emblem of Oprah Winfrey's bookclub. No offense to anyone who is an Oprah fan, but I definitely am not one. I have respect for the good things she has done, and props to her for trying to get people to read more, but there's a lot about her that gets under my skin. Putting her name on a book she did not have anything to do with writing being one of them. Anyway, I finally decided to read it because it came highly recommended by my well-read co-workers. It truly changed the way I think. About some things at least. Amazing, amazing writing. It's the story of a family moved to the Congo by their fanatical preacher husband/father, told from the point of view of his wife and four daughters. Reading this book made me miss writing lit papers. Rich and fat with metaphors and symbolism. It's a book about so many things--family, politics, forgiveness, culture, ignorance, humility, kindness...it's just an impressive piece of work. One of my all time favorites.

I just finished The Bean Trees yesterday. I liked this one, not as well as Poisonwood, but still very good. This one is the story of a woman travelling cross-country who ends up becoming responsible for an orphaned native american baby. Another wonderful character-driven story about people. I guess that's why I like these books. They're about real people, flaws and all. Really a great book.

Okay, so I'm officially an old woman. I'm learning how to knit and I blog about books I've read. I suppose there are more interesting things that I could have blogged, but I'm so into books right now. And Sequence. What a great game that is.

Bless You, Rent.com

I have these days where I can't even bring myself to get the mail. This is usually because I am too tired, or because I just don't want to see what could possibly be waiting for me in that dark, dank little box. One of the many reasons I have decided that after this whole school phase in our life, we need to become independently wealthy.
But I decided this evening, I would brave it. I would make the trek to my fortress of a mailbox. Does anyone else have to use a special, separate key just to get to the place where the mailboxes, secured by yet another lock and key, are kept? And do you also find yourself locked in the room that holds the mailboxes because the door locks behind you? I don't know what kind of mail my neighbors get, but apparently it's top secret high security business. That's yet another reason why it's so easy to talk myself out of getting the mail. I don't feel like playing McGyver. Anyway.
Amidst the annoyingness of bank statements and pointless paper-wasting products (that tidbit of alliteration was just off the top of my head, by the way) I found a letter from Rent.com. I'm sure you can imagine the elation felt when I realized that they were writing to inform me that they were giving ME money!! Because I used their service to find our apartment and alerted my leasing office that they were the ones who helped me to find this place, they sent me $100 bucks! I totally forgot that I had filled out all of the info and sent the emails to qualify me for that $100 bucks. It's like the feeling you get when you find a $10 bill in the pocket of the jeans you haven't worn in a while. Times ten. Literally.
So kudos to you, Rent.com. I will tell the world my story. And give copious thanks forever more. Or at least until this $100 bucks runs out.

Baby McKay

The latest addition to the Ryan Marshall (McKay's brother's) family...isn't he cute?
The name suits him. I think he looks like McKay.