tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49709234513778139442024-03-12T19:00:33.558-07:00In Which I TypeRebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.comBlogger164125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-20051803272932356272023-12-30T12:43:00.000-08:002023-12-30T12:43:15.652-08:00What I Read in 2023<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">I meant to read more than forty eight books this year. But it turned out to be the hardest year of my life and the best we can do is all we can do. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxsz_Ea_tPuYF0TLBGLggxshXB2l9gi_IXCHhmsCjJz5rFVyYZRwBZnkuTvDBWz-qmFd5ePdrdB7HMu2ymFdvhZfL5M6jHqIn2bSnreiZcrcsGAhXsdkS7qmWchZTuKlK0OUXMGnPzUhqSnoakCZekliMscl5X3eVtz0XKpal8bj7wB99tZN-xGzGM2Rhq/s466/91v1ABXuS3L._SY466_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="303" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxsz_Ea_tPuYF0TLBGLggxshXB2l9gi_IXCHhmsCjJz5rFVyYZRwBZnkuTvDBWz-qmFd5ePdrdB7HMu2ymFdvhZfL5M6jHqIn2bSnreiZcrcsGAhXsdkS7qmWchZTuKlK0OUXMGnPzUhqSnoakCZekliMscl5X3eVtz0XKpal8bj7wB99tZN-xGzGM2Rhq/s320/91v1ABXuS3L._SY466_.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Top Ten of 2023:</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>1. November Road-- Lou Berney</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Content warning for lots of sex and violence but my god I loved this book. I cried. Can we overcome who we have been?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>2. Be Frank With Me-- Julia Claiborne Johnson</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I usually hate precocious kid characters but this one was great.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>3. Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, & the Last Trial of Harper Lee-- Casey Cep</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Did you know at one point Harper Lee was apartment neighbors with Hall & Oates?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>4. A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland-- Troy Senik</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>5. It Came From the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror-- Ed. by Jose Vallese</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>6. Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics-- Stephen Greenblatt</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>7. Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts-- Kate Racculia</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>8. 100 Places To See After You Die: A Guide to the Afterlife-- Ken Jennings</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>9. Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders-- Kathryn Miles</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>10. Answers in the Form of Questions: A Definitive History & Insider's Guide to Jeopardy!-- Claire McNear</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Honorable mentions: All Things Aside-- Iliza Shlesinger (nonfiction) and The Silent Land -- Graham Joyce (fiction)</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">And now the complete list. As always, my recommendations are bolded and sections are sorted alphabetically by author. Rereads are marked with ***. Here's to a happier 2024, and let me know what you think I should read in it!</span></p><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u>Nonfiction</u></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Black is the Body: Stories From My Grandmother's Time, My Mother's Time, & Mine-- Emily Bernard</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Born Round: The Secret History of a Fulltime Eater-- Frank Bruni</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>***Shakespeare: The World as a Stage-- Bill Bryson</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, & the Last Trial of Harper Lee-- Casey Cep</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">A Mind Spread Out on the Ground-- Alicia Elliott</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics-- Stephen Greenblatt</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Screaming on the Inside: The Unsustainability of American Motherhood-- Jessica Grose</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Comedy Sex God-- Pete Holmes</b></span></p><p><b style="font-size: large;">100 Places to See After You Die: A Travel Guide to the Afterlife-- Ken Jennings</b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>***Now I See You: A Memoir-- Nicole C Kear</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The World Deserves My Children-- Natasha Leggero</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Answers in the Form of Questions: A Definitive History & Insider's Guide to Jeopardy!-- Claire McNear</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders-- Kathryn Miles</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>***Never Cry Wolf: The Amazing True Story of Life Among Arctic Wolves-- Farley Mowat</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>The Indomitable Florence Finch: The Untold Story of a War Widow Turned Resistance Fighter & Savior of American POWs-- Robert J Mrazek</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The Impossible First: From Fire to Ice-- Crossing Antarctica Alone-- Colin O'Brady</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The Taking of Jemima Boone: Colonial Settlers, Tribal Nations, & the Kidnap That Shaped America-- Matthew Pearl</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity-- Esther Perel</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">We Thought We Knew You: A Terrifying True Story of Secrets, Betrayal, Deception, & Murder-- M William Phelps</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The Far Land: 200 Years of Murder, Mania, & Mutiny in the South Pacific-- Brandon Presser</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Brave, Not Perfect: Fear Less, Fail More, & Live Bolder-- Reshma Saujani</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life & Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland-- Troy Senik</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>All Things Aside: Absolutely Correct Opinions-- Iliza Shlesinger</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Missing, Presumed-- Susie Steiner</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">***Unfriending My Ex & Other Things I'll Never Do-- Kim Stolz</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Sitting Pretty: The View From My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body-- Rebekah Taussig</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>It Came From the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror-- Edited by Joe Vallese</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The Witches Are Coming-- Lindy West</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>O My America! Six Women & Their Second Acts in a New World-- Sara Wheeler</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u>Fiction</u></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer & Longer-- Fredrik Backman</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>November Road-- Lou Berney</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Five Little Pigs-- Agatha Christie</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Long Black Veil-- Jennifer Finney-Boylan</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>*** The Ocean at the End of the Lane-- Neil Gaiman</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>***The Wind in the Willows-- Kenneth Grahame</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor-- Hank Green</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The Thin Man-- Dashiell Hammett</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The Utterly Uninteresting & Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant-- Drew Hayes</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>The Queen of the Tearling-- Erika Johansen</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Be Frank With Me-- Julia Clairborne Johnson</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>***Howl's Moving Castle-- Diana Wynne Jones</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>The Silent Land-- Graham Joyce</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Before the Coffee Gets Cold-- Toshikazu Kawaguchi</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Interesting Times-- Terry Pratchett</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts-- Kate Racculia</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle-- Stuart Turton</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Quick Service-- PG Wodehouse</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Lemon-- Kwon Yeo-sun</span></p>Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-43543619287600589122023-11-12T13:34:00.000-08:002023-11-12T13:34:15.718-08:00she persisted<p> This has been the hardest, worst, most tumultuous year of my life. There is still a month and a half to go. But there have also been streaks of light and love and joy. Esther Perel says catastrophe has a way of propelling us into the essence of things. Well, honey, we're in the essence now. And feeling so much, all the time is so exquisite and cruel and relentless. My heart sometimes is hit by waves of pain and longing so pure it feels like I'll break into a thousand pieces. My feelings are jagged and unpredictable. My toddler exclaims, whenever I cry, "Mama has big feelings!" My baby doesn't understand anything yet. He just stares at me with his dark gray eyes as if to remind me how much I am needed, how much responsibility I carry. How can I, someone so flawed, have had a hand in creating something so beautiful? </p><p><br /></p><p>And sometimes my beloved holds me and I cry on his chest and he strokes my hair and I'm sure that if we can just make it to the new year I'll be okay. The person I was before may have died but I think who I am now has a shot at happiness, if I can play my cards right.</p><p><br /></p><p>My heart is like my newly postpartum body-- it may still be bleeding but it is doing its goddamn best.</p>Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-63325334254798989602022-12-29T23:26:00.003-08:002022-12-30T22:07:18.584-08:00A Year in Books: 2022<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Happy New Year! Almost!</span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">It's that very special time of year where I collect all the books I read this year and recommend my top ten favorites. This year's top 10 list was heavy on nonfiction, which I find myself drawn to more and more. I still like a good fantasy, but I keep finding all the best stories are true. As always I am looking for recommendations, fiction or otherwise! I've read 950 books since I started keeping track in 2011 so next year I'm on track to surpass the big 1000 :O</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Total: 73 books, 40 nonfiction / 33 fiction</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>1. <i>Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths</i> by Natalie Haynes</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I want Natalie Haynes to write about everything. This exploration of women in the Greek myths captivated me from the first page. She takes us from those viewed in a positive light like Helen to those viewed in a negative light like Medusa (are there really any villains here?) and every shade of moral grey in between. I learned so much and I cannot recommend it highly enough. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>2. <i>Just My Type: A Book About Fonts</i> by Simon Garfield</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">This is Simon Garfield's third appearance on my annual Top Ten list and I don't see that stopping anytime soon. When I saw this subtitle I felt as though it had been written just for me. I'm a huge font nerd (Georgia is the best no contest) and read this trivia filled romp through the history of typeface with delight. Serifs vs sans, face off.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>3. <i>Live Among the Savages</i> by Shirley Jackson</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I don't think I'm alone in associating Shirley Jackson with her chilling short stories that often feature evil in everyday settings. I read "The Lottery" in middle school and am still not over it. But I had no idea she'd written a couple of semiautobiographical books about raising her children in the middle of the 20th century that are full of comedy, heart, and relatability. No frights, except for the terror of raising children and wondering what to do when the furnace won't start. Lovely.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>4. <i>I'm Glad My Mom Died </i>by Jennette McCurdy</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Woooooooooof this is a tough read. One of the stars of iCarly opens up about everything. Trigger warnings for everything: Eating disorders, emotional abuse, sexual assault, really, really, really horrible parenting. I think we should abolish children acting on television, tbh. It's really well written, but skip if you're in an emotionally vulnerable place. I hope Jennette McCurdy is having a good day, god knows she deserves it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>5. <i>Travels With George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy</i> by Nathaniel Philbrick</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I haven't read any of Nathaniel Philbrick's other historical books. Maybe I'm worried I'll be let down. But this was an excellent introduction and he's on my list for the future. He and his wife (and their dog) follow the path George Washington took after he was elected president and visited the thirteen original colonies. Philbrick mixes past and present day tales and tries to find connections between the two. You know what they say, the more things change....</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>6. <i>American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes, and Trial of Patty Hearst</i> by Jeffrey Toobin</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Well this was a wild ride. I had been vaguely aware of Patty Hearst and associated her name with Stockholm Syndrome but I had no idea of the full goings on. It is frankly ridiculous that she was (spoiler alert) reintegrated into polite society with no more than a slight slap on the wrist but that's having a rich family for ya! This reads like a thriller.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>7. <i>Every Heart a Doorway</i> by Seanan McGuire </b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">There are only two fiction books on this list and they're both dark with elements of horror. Maybe next year's fiction will be lighter? When girls like Alice come back from Wonderland, how are they supposed to function in the "real world"? They go to a boarding school to help them accept their loss. But someone has started killing them.... This is a short read but an excellent job of world building.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>8. <i>The Unexpected President: The Life and Times of Chester A Arthur</i> by Scott S Greenberger</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I've said it before but in my presidential biography reading I often like best learning about the ones I knew very little about. While it's a tragedy (and an avoidable one at that) that James A Garfield died in office, Chester Arthur shocked everyone by rising above his corrupt background and following the encouragement of a letter writing spinster who told him she believed he could do better. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>9. <i>Reprieve </i>by James Han Mattson</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">A hands on, no holds barred haunted house with a charismatic CEO. A dead teenager. A trial. I will say that the ending felt a bit rushed to me, but the creepy atmosphere leading up to it for the rest of the book is spot on.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>10. </b><b><i>Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love</i> by Dani Shapiro</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">There have been a spate of the "I took a 23 and Me test and my life got turned upside down" books in the last few years, and I'm sure that craze isn't over yet. Whether through infidelity, adoption, or donor sperm, many people have learned secrets that never would have been revealed without DNA testing. Dani Shapiro ponders what makes a family in this bittersweet memoir.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Honorable Mentions: </b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b><i>Just the Funny Parts </i>by Nell Scovell (nonfiction)</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b><i>Something to Live For </i>by Richard Roper (fiction)<br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>And now, all the rest! As always, recommendations are bolded and rereads are marked with *** and books are listed alphabetically by author.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b><u>Nonfiction</u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel, & Behave -- Adam Alter</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Dirt on Clean: An Unsanitized History-- Katherine Ashenburg</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Lost Prince: The Survival of Richard of York-- David Baldwin</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Maeve's Times: In Her Own Words-- Maeve Binchy</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>The Poison Squad: One Chemist's Single Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the 20th Century-- Deborah Blum</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Wildcat: The Untold Story of Pearl Hart, the Wild West's Most Notorious Bandit-- John Boessenecker</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Too Pretty to Live: The Catfishing Murders of East Tennessee-- Dennis Brooks</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>The Great Pretender: The Undercover Mission That Changed Our Understanding of Madness-- Susannah Cahalan</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Eat the Buddha: Life & Death in a Tibetan Town-- Barbara Demick</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman -- Nora Ephron</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Secret Lives of the Tsars: Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder, & Madness From Romanov Russia-- Michael Farquhar </b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Beyond the Wand: The Magic & Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard -- Tom Felton (Excellent as an audiobook, narrated by the author)</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation -- Hannah Gadsby (Excellent as an audiobook, narrated by the author)</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">When Life Gives You Pears: The Healing Power of Family, Faith, & Funny People-- Jim Gaffigan</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Just My Type: A Book About Fonts-- Simon Garfield</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, & Murder in Queer New York-- Elon Green</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>The Unexpected President: The Life and Times of Chester A Arthur -- Scott S Greenberger</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Murder by the Book: The Crime That Shocked Dickens's London-- Claire Harman</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths -- Natalie Haynes</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Life Among the Savages-- Shirley Jackson</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Heart: A History-- Saneep Jauhar</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Women I Think About At Night: Traveling the Paths of My Heroes-- Mia Kankimaki</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim & I Created Sunday in the Park With George - James Lapine</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Walking the Bowl: A True Story of Murder & Survival Among the Street Children of Lusaka -- Chris Lockhart & Daniel Mulilo Chama</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, & the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth -- Rachel Maddow</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>I'm Glad My Mom Died-- Jennette McCurdy</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Lions of the West: Heroes & Villains of the Westward Expansion-- Robert Morgan</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>The Light We Carry-- Michelle Obama</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>This Is What America Looks Like: My Journey From Refugee to Congresswoman-- Ilhan Omar</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Travels With George: In Search of Washington & His Legacy-- Nathaniel Philbrick</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Dancing in the Mosque: An Afghan Mother's Letter to Her Son-- Homeira Qaderi</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Catch the Sparrow: A Search for a Sister & the Truth of Her Murder-- Rachel Rear</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law-- Mary Roach</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Just the Funny Parts: And a Few Hard Truths About Sneaking Into the Hollywood Boys' Club-- Nell Scovell</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>I</b></span><b style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">nheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, & Love-- Dani Shapiro</b></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Fly Trap-- Fredrik Sjoberg</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries-- Kory Stamper</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Brothers on Three: A True Story of Family, Resistance, & Hope on a Reservation in Montana-- Abe Streep </span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Year of the End: A Memoir of Marriage, Truth, & Fiction - Anne Theroux</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes, & Trial of Patty Hearst-- Jeffrey Toobin</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Sigh, Gone: A Misfit's Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, & the Fight to Fit In-- Phuc Tran</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Last Escaper: The Untold Firsthand Story of the Legendary World War II Bomber Pilot, "Cooler King," & Arch Escape Artist-- Peter Tunstall</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Instant Mom-- Nia Vardalos </span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Fixed Stars: A Memoir-- Molly Wizenberg</span></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b><u>Fiction</u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Leave <b>the </b>World <b>Behind </b>-- Rumaan Alam (For the first time in nine years of book blogging I honestly don't know if I recommend it or not. I'm so torn. The writing was pretentious and I hated the ending but the middle was so compelling. You may love it, you may hate it; it's certainly not for everyone.)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">If Beale Street Could Talk-- James Baldwin</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Immortalists-- Chloe Benjamin</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>The Postman Always Rings Twice-- James M Cain</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>The Boy on the Bridge-- MR Carey</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Highfire-- Eoin Colfer</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Absolute Certainty-- Rose Connors</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">***The Eyre Affair-- Jasper Fforde</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter-- Theodora Goss</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Cactus-- Sarah Haywood</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Perfect Girl-- Gilly Macmillan</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Reprieve-- James Han Mattson</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Every Heart a Doorway-- Seanan McGuire</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Oona Out of Order-- Margarita Montimore</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August -- Claire North</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Noor-- Nnedi Okorafor</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Listen to the Marriage-- John Jay Osborn</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Magician's Assistant-- Ann Patchett</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Soul Music-- Terry Pratchett</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>***The Lost Hero-- Rick Riordan</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>***The Son of Neptune-- Rick Riordan</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>***The Mark of Athena-- Rick Riordan</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Something to Live For-- Richard Roper</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Lizzie Bright & the Buckminster Boy-- Gary D Schmidt</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>It's Not Like It's a Secret-- Misa Sugiura</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules-- Catharina Ingelman Sundberg</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Mrs Sinclair's Suitcase-- Louise Walters</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Lum-- Libby Ware</b></span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiN8j43rGqLwUR_ZYfSbJB81lxA8joKLpbJlVL3RVmOr6VAsRB6lQvhV66l_pFgF_Hglv1k4GiOyNyUt_sINaoeBG2uEt9dnzUh81t8DHSyGbTlmLGouSypQGgy7xAEEpD44teN03JlvI0S8CfzuxaClKdesm3fulyeZSo5wwDPaajYLeyFnYOBarQIA/s4160/20221228_201816.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiN8j43rGqLwUR_ZYfSbJB81lxA8joKLpbJlVL3RVmOr6VAsRB6lQvhV66l_pFgF_Hglv1k4GiOyNyUt_sINaoeBG2uEt9dnzUh81t8DHSyGbTlmLGouSypQGgy7xAEEpD44teN03JlvI0S8CfzuxaClKdesm3fulyeZSo5wwDPaajYLeyFnYOBarQIA/w480-h640/20221228_201816.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></span></div></div>Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-31098030381248149082022-05-16T19:14:00.001-07:002022-05-16T19:14:02.943-07:00A Multiverse With Plenty of Madness<p> So Doctor Strange was real bizarre.</p><p>Truly a trippy film. Not a well put together review but man, I am glad we saw it in a basically empty theatre because I was cackling. Some parts that weren't meant to be funny (like America exploding her parents into the multiverse because she saw... a bee?) were hysterical. Also, THE SOULS OF THE DAMNED. That's when the movie really jumped the shark for me. It was not a good movie , but at least it wasn't boring.</p><p><br /></p><p>Assorted ramblings, full of spoilers:</p><p>-Christine-- surely no one can believe he actually cares about her since he hasn't mentioned her once since his standalone movie. This isn't a Peggy Carter situation; if you put a gun to my head yesterday and asked who Dr Strange's love interest was I could not have told you</p><p>- SO many candles. That combined with the constant evoking of "Christine" (because Sam Raimi believes if you mention something enough times that's the same thing as having it make sense) gives it real Phantom of the Opera vibes</p><p>- speaking of PoTO, there's a fight with piano notes?? like Marvel meets Fantasia?? And the climatic blow is struck by a single harp note that I guess is just extra special</p><p>- Dr Strange torments a man who was stolen from and it's presented as "how funny"</p><p>- There are SO MANY bad "quippy" one liners in this movie. The dialogue is atrocious. </p><p>- Did I mention THE SOULS OF THE DAMNED???? That sound like the "it's me, boy" TikTok? Does this mean there is a god in this universe? What are they damned from? Just general wtf</p><p>- The reason No Way Home worked so well is because we knew all the Spider-Men and were excited to see the actors reunited. This was just Benedict Cumberbatch with different hair</p><p>- What was up with the evil one? just a plot point I guess</p><p>- They massacred Wanda's character. I wanted to feel compelled by both sides like in Civil War but they really did her dirty. And then she couldn't actually be defeated so they just had her pull a Padme and die of sadness. What a girlboss. I also love how Vision wasn't in any of her fantasies because I guess Paul Bettany didn't want to do the movie</p><p>- Plot? Don't know her. The whole movie was running to place to place, cringey dialogue, running again. My least favorite kind of plot. Nothing really happened via logical cause and effect, there were just cool looking fight scenes Sam Raimi wanted and so they happened. Woo.</p><p>I want to sit down with Sam Raimi and watch this and pause it a lot and be like, "so let me explain to why that line is stupid. And why this isn't enjoyable to watch. You did a bad thing."</p><p>Marvel is truly sending out its C list movies now, they know the superhero movie bubble is gonna burst soon.</p>Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-13991009095170507162022-03-31T14:44:00.003-07:002022-03-31T14:44:31.653-07:00New York, New York<p> <b style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Leelawadee UI",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I
always stress about a lot of different things with trips like this and then it’s
the ones I don’t expect that pop up. But honestly today’s New York trip went about
as well as it could go, until MegaBus. I found the new stop this morning with
only a little weird driving to get into the garage. It’s on the bridge now which
is cool. The ride up was uneventful; nice to see New Jersey again. It was
chilly in New York but I had a jacket. First stop was 45 Bond because I wanted
to try something new and it was highly reviewed for brunch. Very Italian and
they had a butt statue to rub, haha. I am not sure if I needed my reservation
or not but I had one and the waiters were very fancy. I got an omelet and
breakfast potatoes. It was really good! Nice thick cheese in there and then
eggs like the place from the mill. Mmm.</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Leelawadee UI",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Then
I walked around Times Square for a while; I can’t believe it’s been two years
since I’ve been. Theatres require ID and proof of vaccination to get in, which
is all you can ask for. It’s weird feeling okay with some things and then weird
about others. This is gonna be the thing we never really get over, I think. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Leelawadee UI",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Then
I went to Westside Theatre for Little Shop of Horrors. I’ve never done Off
Broadway before so I wasn’t sure what to expect but I really loved it. In the
lobby there were several teenagers and the boys were going back and forth a
routine oh “Batman has one rule. What rule? He doesn’t kill people. It’s his
only rule. Won’t kill anyone. No other rules? Nope, only one rule.” What ‘boys
will be boys’ should mean, haha<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Leelawadee UI",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a much smaller house obviously (with a
plant in the lounge ;O) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but y’allllll
these guys blew it out of the water. I was most excited for Christian Borle and
of course he delivered. A nice surprise was that he did more than just the
dentist, he was an assortment of characters as well. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Leelawadee UI",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I
expected to like Conrad from HTGAWM because Oliver was the best non Viola Davis
character and he absolutely slayed it. So earnest and sweet and good. I am a
big fan of his more specifically now. Also I just looked it up and he’s forty three???????????
Literally would have bet on him being like 31. Him trying to point a gun: cinnamon
roll. The ensemble girls were also fierce and on point. It’s such a small cast but
that can also be an asset. And at bows they brought out the techies and the
plant operators and the conductor on a TV as well as the voice of Audrey II of
course.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Leelawadee UI",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Highlights:
Christian Borle’s dentist hair lol. When he was a random guy “couldn’t help but
notice that strange and interesting plant” he did a little tooch back on “I
guess I’ll just have to buy twice as many then” and it was pure chaos, I Love
it. The dewop girls throwing dollars into the audience and then demanding them
back. The sparkly red outfits and encouraging Seymour to jump onto the garbage
can. When Christian Borle comes on as three characters in a row giving Seymour
contracts, including as an old lady, and each time he takes off Seymour’s
glasses and recoils. “Nope.” “WOOF” “ugh” I was dying<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Leelawadee UI",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
plant was super cool; I’ve only seen the show once and at the Empress and their
plant was neat but this was obviously like ooooh. It could move almost to the audience
and it was huge. And at the end it sprayed blood out and I jumped. S</span></b><b style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Leelawadee UI",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">omeone’s phone went off near the beginning of act two and Connor’s line right
after was “I’ll call for you” and he gestured to the audience and smirked. “You’ll
hear it.” He also seemed to nearly break for a second when old lady Christian
was talking.</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Leelawadee UI",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For
the Broadway Cares plug Christian Borle said “just a minute here and we’ll
start act three.” “We know you paid a lot of money to be here, we’re just
asking for you to pay a little more to get out” It was great. I totally would
have stage doored if they were doing it but alas Covid has taken it. But one of
my favorite shows I’ve seen in New York even though it’s an older script.
(Definitely aged, the Audrey stuff that was originally comedy now seems much
harsher.)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Leelawadee UI",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Next
was Six. It was pretty much what I thought, more a pop concert than a musical.
Everyone was really talented it just wasn’t the same for me as something like
Little Shop. The dialogue was horrible, so cringey. It was super cool to have an all women band though and call them the
Ladies in Waiting. The outfits were awesome; I want Jane Seymour’s dress. Silver
and lovely metallic shimmer. There were definitely some bangers but I think it
still needs some work. But it is what it is, which is not a musical. But props
to those ladies because that is a ton of dancing and singing in crazy spiked
heels so damn they must all be fit as hell. (Oh and Six had a “suddenly Seymour”
reference lol)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Leelawadee UI",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My
schedule was working perfectly as I was going to get to the bus stop right on
time for the bus to take off. HOWEVER the 8:15 bus, according to the driver, “never
showed up” so we became the 9:15 bus and merged with those riders. I don’t know
if they just got lucky and had enough seats or if some people didn’t get on but
I’m just glad I a) had a seat, b) got to wait on the bus instead of outside for
an hour, which I’ve had to do for buses, and c) that it was the bus home and
not there that was vanished. Also I guess reading lights on the bus don’t work
once they leave which I think I knew but had forgotten. Oh well.</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Leelawadee UI",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It
was SO cold when I got off the bus and bitterly windy, even colder than the
first day in Philly at the Navy Yard because it was after dark. I found the parking
garage without much trouble but then trying to get out it said exit closed and
I was like “what am I gonna do, sleep here?” But there was another exit and all
was well. Then I got turned around trying to take a different exit than I usually
took to get home but I made it to Broad Street and then from there I knew where
to go from dropping off/picking up Justin all those times when we shared a car,
and also when I went to the Sixers games. All in all it was a fun and busy day
but when the radio played “Take Me Home Tonight” I agreed. In bed now. Tomorrow
home!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-72547829139843277662022-02-19T09:54:00.003-08:002022-02-19T09:54:48.445-08:00Without a Touch of Poetry<p> For what, we ask, is life without a touch of poetry in it?</p><p><br /></p><p>A favorite lyric from a favorite show. I got to go to a callback yesterday, for the first time since March 2020. The three Ps (pandemic, pregnancy, postpartum) have kept me off the stage for over two years and I would dearly love to do a show this year. Unfortunately this callback had not one but two dance combos, the latter of which was wildly out of my level, so I'm not holding my breath. But it was great to be considered. I'd never auditioned at this theatre before so it's nice to know I can get callbacks from video auditions without knowing anyone. It seemed like a neat place. Pretty far drive for me so I won't go there unless it's a dream show, which this was. But so refreshing to get called back. My last audition was a disaster so I feel a bit of redemption.</p><p><br /></p><p>Ways I am trying to find poetry in life:</p><p>Reading for pleasure every day</p><p>Watching Diana find joy in the smallest things, like grabbing a zipper, or seeing someone walking around the corner</p><p>Auditioning for things I want to be in even if I don't think I'll get cast</p><p><br /></p>Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-88347145236396062612022-01-27T00:21:00.005-08:002022-01-27T00:22:31.199-08:00Getting Back on the Horse<span style="font-size: medium;">Here are some things I want to resume (or attempt to) this year:</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">- Blogging, shoot for once a month. But I'm not going to put tons of pressure on myself for it to be wonderful, insightful essays, this short, rambling entry being a case in point. I just want it to be more than an annual book diary.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">- Theatre (I miss you, musicals) (directors I am begging you)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">- Any sort of travel, even just down to St George or Cedar City once snow stops being a risk</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">- get a Wordle in three guesses or less. This may never happen as I'm actually really bad at word scrambles. But I can dream!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">General updates? Having a baby changes everything, obviously. People ask me how I'm doing and I answer with how she's doing. Working to get back to having some "me" stuff as well. Did literally the worst audition of my life in December and had to stop myself from breaking down in the audition room. "Whyyyyyyyyyy does this pianist hate me?" So it can only go up from there, or at least not down. (She said, tempting fate.) Haha, no, I was totally humiliated. But I didn't die and life goes on!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Diana is closer to being a year old than a newborn, which blows my mind. I love her so much, but I worry so much. I worry that she'll never learn to eat anything more solid than applesauce, that she won't crawl, that she won't sleep through the night. (However if I stay up late anticipating her wake up she sleeps soundly so for now I'll keep doing that, haha!) It's not that I'm worried **she** can't do these things, I worry that **I** can't teach her, or am failing her in some way.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">She loves to go outside, even though it's so cold. Makes me wish we lived in San Diego, where she wouldn't have to be triple bundled to do her daily walk to the mailbox with daddy. Oh well, she's so cute triple bundled. (And I wouldn't want to live in San Diego anyway, but I can't wait to take her to the ocean.) She loves bathtime and the water. We were going to a baby swim class but I got nervous about the spike in Covid rates and stopped. It's so tough to be a new stay at home mom right now and not really able to go anywhere because I just want to make it through her first flu season with no sickness. Knock on wood, it's working so far. But it's tough too. I just want to go back to normal.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">So hello, blog, from me and kitty sitting on the couch (she wishes it would go back to normal too, but she hasn't seen nothing yet) and sleeping baby upstairs. (Stay sleeping, little one.) Here's to 2022, and roughly twelve blog entries. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjFd8ivL3RhVbiXY16WsA4Qcom55htldNC15mwv4AcIsHjh8O1UoTuFvMALqTYTkSTyMqrX9QwcpjGkTTaH2nKcEovtUTyGQa90ImgqUZ3PnYk12H4-9jQwxGDTXEpdTNr2_r_48GnTDUQqhs1_nvAPKY_lJ6iZBUUkIlLZMLN4dzU-LCa0gsCc_MYa5w" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img data-original-height="456" data-original-width="903" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjFd8ivL3RhVbiXY16WsA4Qcom55htldNC15mwv4AcIsHjh8O1UoTuFvMALqTYTkSTyMqrX9QwcpjGkTTaH2nKcEovtUTyGQa90ImgqUZ3PnYk12H4-9jQwxGDTXEpdTNr2_r_48GnTDUQqhs1_nvAPKY_lJ6iZBUUkIlLZMLN4dzU-LCa0gsCc_MYa5w=w640-h325" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div>Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-28331465018546018052021-12-30T01:06:00.003-08:002021-12-30T01:07:07.181-08:00Books I Read in 2021<p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Oh hey I'm alive! This blog has not seen much love this year as I spent the first half of the year busy being pregnant and the second half with a new baby. Still managed to get some reading in, though. I can't wait for Diana to get older so we can go to story time at the library, and takes stacks of books home like I did when I was a kid. At her first trip, she didn't seem that impressed...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_a1RWBS2BVhJWdlEm2zkXuDcnBMBiwmwMhuoDGz-XTsL5ftaYpFYwnRLodcfqPON5FHrKMe22NR5NdLTi9iXNCD4XZIXeCGZAXQfN6BumDYNRlE4G6b4T02tCHiQ2fZY6Wmy9oXO-4VzbQI8QUNqDX1HEyYueVvBHOrAjZibBZ_2HWhwxymiwTZRewA=s2133" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2133" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_a1RWBS2BVhJWdlEm2zkXuDcnBMBiwmwMhuoDGz-XTsL5ftaYpFYwnRLodcfqPON5FHrKMe22NR5NdLTi9iXNCD4XZIXeCGZAXQfN6BumDYNRlE4G6b4T02tCHiQ2fZY6Wmy9oXO-4VzbQI8QUNqDX1HEyYueVvBHOrAjZibBZ_2HWhwxymiwTZRewA=w300-h400" width="300" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Totals: 92 books, 47 nonfiction/45 fiction</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Page count: 13,676 nonfiction/15,675 fiction </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b><u>My Top Ten Books of 2021</u></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>1. <i>Station Eleven </i>by Emily St. John Mandel</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Stunning. A strange flu has arrived from overseas and it's very contagious... If you're not all pandemic-ed out by the last two years, this is a fantastic read. (If you are, I can't blame you.) It follows protagonists in three time periods: prepandemic, mid pandemic, and afterwards, I expected this to be depressing. It has those dark moments, but has hope as well. Overall I would describe it as full of humanity: the good, the bad, and the ugly. You never know how your life and art will affect others. And I can never resist a troupe of traveling actors. This is a book that I wanted to start over as soon as I finished.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b><i>2. The Fifth Season</i> by NK Jemisin</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I don't even know where to start with this one. Also told in three different time periods, and sort of an end of the world novel as well. It's a fantasy novel (which won the Hugo award), and the world building is impeccable. Again, chock full of humanity. (This proves to be a theme with this year's favorites.) It's the first of a trilogy, and I can wait to read the others. I won't try to offer a plot description, but the dedication sums up the theme nicely: "For all those who have to fight for the respect that everyone else is given without question."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>3. <i>Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President </i>by Candice Millard</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I've been working my way through presidential biographies, greatly enjoying most. (See Ron Chernow's <i>Grant</i> from last year's list.) This was a double biography of President James Garfield and his assassin (but maybe not killer) Charles Guiteau. I loved it. Garfield is one of those presidents I knew little about but I left the book really liking him and sad that he was killed before he could enact much legislation. Guiteau saw their fates as entwined, and this is the dark side of the "you never know how your life will affect others" coin. Also, as a tribute to the great Stephen Sondheim whom we lost this year, check out his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5QjBrcjUJE" target="_blank">musical depiction</a> of Guiteau in a lesser known musical, Assassins.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>4. <i> The Caves of Steel </i>by Isaac Asimov</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">For a long time I assumed Asimov would be boring, full of space lingo, and hard to understand, because that was my view of midcentury science fiction. But wow was I wrong, and happy to be proven so. This book was so good that I held off on formalizing my top ten list because I was only partly through it but knew it was going to be on here. 3000 years in the future, New York City, and all other major cities (I was happy to see Philadelphia get a shoutout) are now entirely underground. No one goes out into the open air except robots, who mostly look like the clunky machines humans view them to be. But a murder brings together a human detective and a new, humanoid passing robot, who work together to solve the crime, and possibly the future of humanity as well. Clever, funny, five stars.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>5. <i>This is Where You Belong: Finding Home Wherever You Are</i> by Melody Warnick</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I'm the kind of person who on a road trip will imagine who'd I be if I'd grown up in Albuquerque or Chicago or where have you. Would I have a flower garden? Play baseball? Rock climb? My cross country move in 2019 made it clear that wherever you go, there you are. It also made clear that although I'd wanted out of Utah, I missed it when I was gone. And now I miss Philadelphia. Melody Warnick has moved many times, and set out to discover if you can decide to belong somewhere. Conclusion? It takes work, but yes.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>6. </b><b><i>Mr. Humble and Dr. Butcher: A Monkey's Head, the Pope's Neuroscientist, and the Quest to Transplant the Soul </i>by Brandy Shillace</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Unrelated to the main story, but this book has the distinction of being the first time I saw "Covid-19" in a printed book. I logically knew that I was going to be reading mentions of coronavirus for the rest of my life, but this hit me. We are living through a historical event. In the style of Sam Kean's science writing, this is a medical biography of Robert White, who pushed the limits of what medicine could (and maybe should) do. If you get queasy about medical stuff, this is not the book for you. Besides just the facts of Dr White's life there are questions of morality and ethics that don't have clear answers, but left me thinking.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>7. <i>Shrill: Notes From a Loud Woman</i> by Lindy West</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Lindy West's book of essays made me literally laugh out loud. It's hard to be a woman on the internet, especially a fat woman, but Lindy has come out of it that much stronger and passing on her wisdom to the rest of us. I first heard of the author <a href="https://www.thisamericanlife.org/545/if-you-dont-have-anything-nice-to-say-say-it-in-all-caps/act-one-0" target="_blank">through her story</a> on This American Life, and it's also recounted here, but with many other essays on being fat, feminist, and funny. I haven't watched the Hulu series based on it, but if they captured the vulnerability and character growth that is here, it's probably pretty good.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>8. <i>Roots: The Saga of an American Family</i> by Alex Haley</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">A classic. I was intimidated by the size and seriousness of this story that begins with Kunta Kinte in 1750s Africa and ends with the author in 1970s America, with all the generations in between, but it moved pretty fast and packs a big punch. Obvious content warning for all the violence, rape, and inhumanity that comes with slavery. It's heartbreaking to meet people just to be ripped away from them as the narration changes and moves on. This one lingers after it's done. Also, Alex Haley wanted it to be classified as nonfiction but the consensus today is fiction. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>9. <i>How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse</i> by K Eason</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">And now for something completely different....</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Rory Thorne was blessed by a fairies at her birth. There hadn't been a girl child born to royalty in a long time, and it was assumed she'd take her father's throne. But then a brother is born, a parent dies, and an engagement emerges, as well as treacherous advisers and the threat of galactic war. Rory will have to use her wits to rescue the prince, and she's running out of time. One reviewer called it "Princess Bride meets Princess Leia" and that's captures its fun subverting of fairytales. I liked almost every character in this book, which is high praise as I'm notorious for disliking main characters. Can't wait to read the sequel.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>10. <i>A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World</i> by CA Fletcher</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">ANOTHER apocalypse novel?? It's like something happened in the world to turn our minds toward mortality. This one is simpler than the other two I've listed, but has a lot of heart. How far would you go to get a stolen dog back? The child narrator of this one would go pretty far. If this book had stuck the landing with the end it would have been higher on the list, but I still recommend it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Honorable mentions</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Nonfiction-- <i>Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero </i>by Kate Clifford Larson</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Fiction-- <i>The Big Door Prize</i> by MO Walsh</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>And now, all the rest! As always, recommendations are bolded and rereads are marked with *** and books are listed a</b></span><b style="font-family: georgia;">lphabetically by author. </b></span><div><b style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b><u>Nonfiction</u></b></span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Ghosts of Eden Park: The Bootleg King, the Women Who Pursued Him, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz Age America -- Karen Abbott</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Genius of Birds -- Jennifer Ackerman</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions -- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Good Chinese Wife: A Love Affair With China Gone Wrong -- Susan Blumberg-Kason</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Einstein's Greatest Mistake: A Biography -- David Bodanis</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir -- Nicole Chung</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">A Map is Only One Story: Twenty Writers on Immigration, Family, and the Meaning of Home -- Edited by Nicole Chung and Mensah Derrary</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Duel with the Devil: The True Story of How Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr Teamed Up to Take on America's First Sensational Murder Mystery -- Paul Collins</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>The Wright Brothers and the Invention of the Aerial Age -- Tom D Crouch and Peter L Jakab</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>American Sherlokc: Murder, Forensics, and the Birth of American CSI -- Kate Winkler Dawson</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Over the Hills and Far Away: The Life of Beatrix Potter -- Matthew Dennison</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots -- Deborah Feldman</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Foundling: The True Story of a Kidnapping, a Family Secret, and My Search for the Real Me -- Paul Joseph Fronczak</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>The View From the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction -- Neil Gaiman</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown -- Anne Glenconner</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>***Confessions of a Latter-Day Virgin -- Nicole Hardy</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>The Beauty in Breaking: A Memoir -- Michelle Harper</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Would You Rather?: A Memoir of Growing Up and Coming Out -- Katie Heaney</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">It's All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World's Family Tree -- AJ Jacobs</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Enemy of All Mankind: A True Story of Piracy, Power, and History's First Global Manhunt -- Steven Johnson</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Life of the Party: The Remarkable Story of How Brownie Wise Built, and Lost, a Tupperware Party Empire -- Bob Kealing</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero -- Kate Clifford Larson</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things -- Jenny Lawson</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Crossing the Borders of Time: A True Story of War, Exile, and Love Reclaimed -- Leslie Maitland</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Two Truths and a Lie: A Murder, a Private Investigator, and Her Search for Justice -- Ellen McGarrahan</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President -- Candice Millard</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>In the Heights: Finding Home-- Lin-Manuel Miranda, Quiara Alegria Hudes, Jeremy McCarter</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Working on a Song: The Lyrics of Hadestown -- Anais Mitchell</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>The Red Parts: Autobiography of a Trial -- Maggie Nelson</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>A Promised Land -- Barack Obama</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Rutherford B Hayes -- Steven Otfinoski</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom -- Yeonmi Park</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World -- Matt Parker</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Royal Renegades: The Children of Charles I and the English Civil Wars -- Linda Porter</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>The Social Instinct: How Cooperation Shaped the World -- Nichola Raihani</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>What's a Lemon Squeezer Doing in My Vagina?: A Memoir of Infertility -- Rohini S Rajagopal</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">One Life -- Megan Rapinoe</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Congo: The Epic History of a People -- David van Reybrouck</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">True Raiders: The Untold Story of the 1909 Expedition to Find the Legendary Ark of the Covenant -- Brad Ricca</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>*** Me Talk Pretty One Day -- David Sedaris</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Mr Humble & Dr Butcher: A Monkey's Head, the Pope's Neuroscientist, and the Quest to Transplant the Soul -- Brandy Shillace</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Hidden Figures -- Margot Lee Shetterly</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Here, Right Matters: An American Story -- Alexander Vindman</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>This is Where You Belong: Finding Home Wherever You Are -- Melody Warnick</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Persist -- Elizabeth Warren</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus -- Bill Wasik & Monica Murphy</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Shrill: Notes From a Loud Woman -- Lindy West </b></span></li></ul></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b><u>Fiction</u></b></span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Midnight Riot -- Ben Aaronovitch</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>The Goblin Emperor -- Katherine Addison</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian -- Sherman Alexie </span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>The Caves of Steel-- Isaac Asmiov</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Falling Free -- Lois McMaster Bujold</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Swimming at Night -- Lucy Clarke</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Red Badge of Courage -- Stephen Crane</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Well Behaved Indian Women -- Saumya Dave</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Sister of My Heart -- Chitra Banerjee Divarkaruni </b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Sweeney Sisters -- Lian Dolan</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Death at Wentwater Court -- Carola Dunn</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse -- K Eason</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World -- CA Fletcher</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Motherland -- Leah Franqui</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">All the Lonely People -- Mike Gayle (This was SO CLOSE to being good but in the end it just made me want to reread A Man Called Ove)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>An Absolutely Remarkable Thing -- Hank Green</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>The Midnight Library -- Matt Haig</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Roots: The Saga of an American Family -- Alex Haley</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Etta and Otto and Russell and James -- Emma Hooper</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Never Have I Ever -- Joshilyn Jackson (content warning: child abuse)</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>The Fifth Season -- NK Jemisin </b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Searching for Sylvie Lee -- Jean Kwok</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Broken Gun -- Louis L'Amour</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>***The Never War -- DJ MacHale</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Great Believers -- Rebecca Makkai</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Station Eleven -- Emily St John Mandel</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Atonement -- Ian McEwan </span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>The Song of Achilles -- Madeline Miller</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Red House Mystery -- AA Milne</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Nine Perfect Strangers -- Lianne Moriarty</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>1984 -- George Orwell</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Crocodile on the Sandbank -- Elizabeth Peters</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>A Woman is No Man -- Etaf Rum</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Midnight Lie -- Marie Rutkoski</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe-- Benjamin Alire Saenz</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>The Power of the Dog -- Thomas Savage</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">What If It's Us -- Adam Silvera & Becky Albertalli</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes -- Elissa R Sloane</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Mr Rosenblum Dreams in English -- Natasha Solomons</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Something in the Water-- Catherine Steadman</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Roadside Picnic -- Arkady and Boris Strugatsky</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Veronica Mars & the Thousand Dollar Tan Line -- Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>The Big Door Prize -- MO Walsh</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Woman in Cabin 10 -- Ruth Ware</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>All the King's Men -- Robert Penn Warren</b></span></li></ul></div>Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-74296171564025435222020-12-30T18:33:00.004-08:002020-12-30T20:48:37.623-08:00Books to Quarantine With<p><b> <span style="font-family: georgia;">What an utterly strange year. I'm not the first nor the hundredth to say it, but this one didn't go like I anticipated. But what will go on as in other years: my annual reading recap and recommendations. </span></b></p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTUXeVFb2h6BBg62U1Nyha9xCESPcXY-6Hxk0ciN6RmH4rcYyAigH9hIWgloykt63rj6d-B_YhWuyPBEjA2LTAYTeJUS4Rd1c9FAnwNF6kxu31Ei3gl3vwlTwh7oHnGUkEYy3BVjfBzPZ_/s1016/shelf.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1016" data-original-width="713" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTUXeVFb2h6BBg62U1Nyha9xCESPcXY-6Hxk0ciN6RmH4rcYyAigH9hIWgloykt63rj6d-B_YhWuyPBEjA2LTAYTeJUS4Rd1c9FAnwNF6kxu31Ei3gl3vwlTwh7oHnGUkEYy3BVjfBzPZ_/s320/shelf.JPG" /></a></b></div><b><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></b><p></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">Totals: 77 books-- 39 nonfiction/ 38 fiction</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">Page count: 27,648 pages-- 13,322 nonfiction / 14326 fiction</span></b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia;"><u>Top Ten Reads of 2020</u></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">1. <i>The Mirage Factory: </i></span></b><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><i>Illusion, Imagination, and the Invention of Los Angeles </i>by Gary Krist</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>I loved this book. Loved it. I have tried a couple "city histories" over the years but none have really grabbed me like this one. Told mainly through the stories of three powerhouses in different segments of LA: movies (DW Griffith), infrastructure (William Mulholland), and mysticism (Aimee Semple McPherson), Gary Krist paid equal attention to each character and how they contributed to the culture Los Angeles is famous for today. I didn't want to put it down. It also made me want to visit sunny LA again.</b></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>2. <i>A Gentleman in Moscow</i> by Amor Towles</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Perhaps the perfect quarantine novel. In 1922 Count Alexander is sentenced to spend the rest of his life in one hotel in Moscow. For the next thirty years we meet the guests, staff, and politicians whirling in and out of his circle as he muses on everything from poetry to the perfect dinner menu. But don't be fooled, it's not just thinking. The Count keeps busy with work, love, and the children of the hotel that find their way into his heart. It wasn't what I thought it would be, it was better.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">3. <i>Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don't Know</i> by Malcolm Gladwell </span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">I love his podcast so it's no surprise that I greatly enjoyed this new book about communication, both what we think we're good at and what we're actually quite bad at. The audiobook version was produced in a podcast adjacent style, with interviewees reading their own sections where possible, which was also a nice touch. International espionage, alcohol and consent, and mistaking truth for lies, amid much more.</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">4. <i>Grant </i>by Ron Chernow</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">My first Ron Chernow biography! I've avoided this author throughout the years through a mix of wariness of the time commitment and the hype, but I'm glad I finally dove in. I've been working my way through presidential biographies and #18, Ulysses S (did you know the S was a clerical error? His real name was Hiram Ulysses Grant?) really impressed me as one of the greats. A deeply honest man, a master soldier, and a loyal husband and citizen. Yes, Chernow is as good as all the reviews have said.</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">5. <i>A Monster Calls </i>by Patrick Ness</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">A tiny slip of a book sandwiched on this list between two much larger tomes but it proves that it's not the size of the book that counts, but the size of the story's heart. I cried on the train reading this book. I don't want to say too much but if you're looking for a light hearted read this is not the one for you right now. (For a less loss-centric Patrick Ness book check out <i>The Rest of Us Just Live Here.)</i></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">6. <i>A Tree Grows in Brooklyn </i>by Betty Smith</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">It was January 2018 and I was in New York City for the first time, at a Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side. I had come with a group of Utah theatre lovers and my friend Corina and I were looking at books in the gift shop. "Have you read this?" she asked me, pointing to <i>A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. </i>I said no and she was aghast. "You HAVE to." I put it on my list that day but it didn't happen until this year. She was right, this book is a treasure. Francie grows up in Brooklyn in the early days of the 20th century with all the happiness, hardship, and daily life that entails. Really feels like a time capsule to another life.</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">7. </span></b><b style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Permanent Record </i>by Edward Snowden</b></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Everyone has an opinion on Edward Snowden but I really think this book is worth a read no matter what you think. I was struck by how much thought and turmoil went into Snowden's decisions. And while I rather expected it to be a dry read (and there are technical sections, don't get me wrong), Snowden's personality and humor made it go quicker than I anticipated.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>8. <i>The Queens of Animation: The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed the World of Disney and Made Cinematic History </i>by Nathalia Holt</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>If you're a Disney lover this one is a must read. Nathalia Holt takes us behind the scenes of classic films like Cinderella and Bambi all the way up through Frozen as women worked their way through the ranks of the Disney boys' club. Although these animators were often not credited in the early days of animation (common practice at the time), without their hard work and artistic talent the films would not be what they are.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>9. <i>Anxious People </i>by Fredrik Backman</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Lovely. A wonderful book that unfolds in layers with each character and plot line not quite what it seemed to be at first glance. I love Fredrik Backman and his compassionate look at humanity. Thankfully this one is not as melancholy as <i>A Man Called Ove</i>, although that is still his best work. This little puzzle box deals with an apartment viewing, a police investigation, and a bank robbery that never happened. Highly recommend.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>10. <i>Mozart's Starling </i>by Lyanda Lynn Haupt</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>I was in the midst of a reading slump this fall. Quarantine had closed everything, I needed something new, and audiobooks are just not the same. When we moved back to the Utah and got to go inside a library again, I cried. Libraries have always been my happy place and I get so excited by the prospect of learning new things. Wandering the shelves I found this book and it totally cured me. Mozart had a starling as a pet, and so does the author. A quick read on Mozart and his music and starlings in general. Did you know they can mimic human speech? And I learned what a murmuration is. </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Honorable Mentions</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Fiction: <i>We Are Okay </i>by Nina LaCour</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Nonfiction: <i>All the Wrong Moves: A Memoir About Chess, Love, and Ruining Everything </i>by Sasha Chapin</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>And now, all the rest! </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>As always, I'm always looking for recommendations for what you enjoyed, and I'm also thrilled to give more personalized recommendations or discussion on anything on the list! </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Also as always, recommendations are bolded and rereads are marked with *** and books are listed a</b></span><b style="font-family: georgia;">lphabetically by author</b></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><u>Nonfiction</u></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man-- Emmanuel Acho</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Saturday Night Widows: The Adventures of Six Friends Remaking Their Lives-- Becky Aikman</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog-- Dave Barry</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>The Grand Escape: The Greatest Prison Breakout of the 20th Century - Neal Bascomb</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>The New One: Painfully True Stories from a Reluctant Dad-- Mike Birbiglia</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Solutions and Other Problems-- Allie Brosh</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness-- Susannah Cahalan </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister: Three Women at the Heart of 20th Century China-- Jung Chang</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>All the Wrong Moves: A Memoir About Chess, Love, and Ruining Everything-- Sasha Chapin</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Grant-- Ron Chernow</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>***Mao's Last Dancer-- Li Cunxin</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea-- Barbara Demick</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don't Know-- Malcolm Gladwell</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>A Romance on Three Legs: Glenn Gould's Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano - Katie Hafner</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Mozart's Starling-- Lyanda Lynn Haupt</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reporter: A Memoir-- Seymour Hersh</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>The Queens of Animation: The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed the World of Disney and Made Cinematic History-- Nathalia Holt</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Recovering-- Leslie Jamison</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Planet Funny: How Comedy Took Over Our Culture-- Ken Jennings</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>The Mirage Factory: Illusions, Imagination, and the Invention of Los Angeles-- Gary Krist</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship-- Robert Kurson</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">After Lincoln: How the North Won the Civil War and Lost the Peace-- AJ Langguth</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin-- Erik Larson</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations-- John McCain</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly: A Physician's First Year-- Matt McCarthy</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life and Maybe the World-- William McRaven</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>The Avenger Takes His PLace: Andrew Johnson and the 45 Days That Changed a Nation-- Howard Means</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Greatest Love Story Ever Told-- Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ungovernable: The Victorian Parent's Guide to Raising Flawless Children-- Therese Oneill </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Expecting Better-- Emily Oster</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Truth & Beauty: A Friendship-- Ann Patchett</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Chasing the Devil: My Twenty Year Quest to Capture the Green River Killer-- Dave Reichert</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Is This Anything? -- Jerry Seinfeld</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>A Jury of Her Peers: American Women Writers from Ann Bradstreet to Annie Proulx-- Elaine Showalter</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Permanent Record-- Edward Snowden</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>My Beloved World-- Sonia Sotomayor</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Answer Is: Reflections on My Life-- Alex Trebek</span></p><p><b style="font-family: georgia;">A. Lincoln: A Biography - Ronald C White Jr</b></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary -- Simon Winchester</span></p><p><b style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></b></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><u>Fiction</u></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Northanger Abbey-- Jane Austen</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Anxious People-- Fredrik Backman</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Mercy Snow-- Tiffany Baker</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>World War Z-- Max Brooks</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>***</b>Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism-- Georgia Byng</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">To Capture What We Cannot Keep-- Beatrice Colin</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes-- Suzanne Collins</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>The Passage-- Justin Cronin</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse-- Louise Erdrich</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Careful What You Wish For-- Hallie Ephron</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>***Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine-- Gail Honeyman</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">An American Marriage-- Tayari Jones</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Curiosity Thrilled the Cat-- Sofie Kelly</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Institute-- Stephen King</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>We Are Okay-- Nina LaCour</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">A Star is Bored-- Byron Lane</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Is This Tomorrow?-- Caroline Leavitt</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>***The Lost City of Faar-- DJ MacHale</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Prayers the Devil Answers-- Sharyn McCrumb</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Silent Patient-- Alex Michaelides</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Anne of Windy Poplars-- Lucy Maud Montgomery</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>A Monster Calls-- Patrick Ness</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>The Rest of Us Just Live Here-- Patrick Ness</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>To Sleep in a Sea of Stars-- Christopher Paolini</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Hogfather-- Terry Pratchett</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Lords and Ladies-- Terry Pratchett</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Men at Arms-- Terry Pratchett</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>***The Titan's Curse-- Rick Riordan</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>***The Battle of the Labyrinth-- Rick Riordan</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>***The Last Olympian-- Rick Riordan</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Second Mrs Hockaday-- Susan Rivers</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>The Island of Sea Women-- Lisa See (</b>I am recommending with a caution that this does contain very graphic violence and I was not prepared)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>A Tree Grows in Brooklyn-- Betty Smith</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Warden's Daughter-- Jerry Spinelli</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>A Gentleman in Moscow-- Amor Towles</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Sing, Unburied, Sing - Jesmyn Ward</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Maisie Dobbs-- Jacqueline Winspear</span></p>Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-39606333679100621932020-07-15T18:45:00.000-07:002020-07-16T06:28:12.985-07:00"No man is a failure who has friends."Today is my birthday. I am 28. I love birthdays! I love that humans come up with all sorts of reasons to celebrate and one of them is the day we were born. Just like my favorite holiday, New Year's, it gives me an opportunity to reflect on the last year and think about my goals for the upcoming twelve months.<br />
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This year for my birthday Justin put together a favorite memory of my list gathered from many of my friends and family and it made me cry. Full on crying on the couch because I love you all. Thank you. Thank you for sharing your lives with me and letting me be a part of it. Sometimes I wonder if I have made an impact on anyone and reading all those recollections means so much to me. I'm saving it forever to read on rainy days. Thank you.<br />
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So here are some of my favorite memories of you lovelies.<br />
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Carli: I am so lucky that you made such an effort to befriend me when I honestly had no real friends in Pennsylvania. You took me under your wing and adopted me into your squad and coming to rehearsals to talk with you was a highlight! You got so excited to wear the "mermaid" wigs and then the struggle with "do I wear shoes or not." And then eating at Plaza Azteca and the mariachi band kept playing trying to get us to leave ahhahah. And of course always down for a very serious discussion of fictional universes... I remember you explaining how Kylo could maybe not be dead and were so passionate about it. I love you!<br />
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Joshua W: I remember when you were younger you would do anything to get a laugh! Such a born comedian. And one time I called you on your birthday when you were probably five and I asked how you were doing and you said, "You know, Rebecca, I'm pretty busy these days." I loved taking you to the aquarium! I love you!<br />
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Lydia: I remember when you came to Utah for your eye surgery and I got to see you. I was sorry that you had to go to surgery but was so impressed with how brave you were. When we went on our Florida adventure a few years ago I loved being your buddy for part of it and taking you on the Spiderman 3D ride-- I think I was more scared than you were! I also loved taking you to the aquarium. I love you!<br />
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Elise: When I interviewed for moving into the Bunker Hill house I was so overwhelmed and coming from a bad breakup and not ready for more rejection, which I was sure was coming. But I got the room! And from day one you were so kind and welcoming and were like "you can't sleep on the floor let's bring your mattress upstairs" hahaha. Talking with you in the house was like chicken soup for my soul and I have so many fond memories in my journal-- in one of the early ones I wrote "Elise makes it easy to be myself" and I am so blessed to know you! Also I remember you took me clothes shopping before a date once and helped me figure out things that would look good and that is a skill I do NOT have so I'm really grateful. I love you and I value your friendship so much!<br />
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Nicole: I was so impressed with your generosity and kindness to let me and Nova stay with you before our flight, and how you and your family came to help me pack up the Utah apartment before the move. You are such a great sister in law and I know if I have questions where I need "a more adult adult" I can ask you. I remember coming to your house for a singalong, around Christmas, I think? and thinking "Wow this is such a cute little house and a cute happy family and I'm glad I know them."<br />
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Emily: I loved working with you at WGU and sometimes getting lunch and giving real talk about the questionable management decisions that were being made hahaha. I remember inviting you to the preview performance of Oliver and I was so nervous because I was sick and I really wanted you to like the show. And then after you were so excited and supportive and it made me feel like I could do it. I also love your crafts and someday I am definitely going to order a blanket from you because they are simply the best!<br />
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Dad: I remember during my opera at Northwest you left a note on my door that said "Good luck with the show, I love you!" and it meant a lot to me. I also remember in middle school my math teacher jokingly said "what does your dad know?" when I said you'd helped me with my homework and I said "He is a math professor at Northwest College!" because I have always been so proud of you and wanted people to know I was your daughter. I love you!<br />
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Colette: I just love talking to you! And I love hearing you DM Justin's game in the background on Wednesdays and how much fun the boys have playing with you. You are so imaginative and quick on your feet, and also I was freaking dying when you were playing the tiefling in Carli's game and teasing Jason. I'm so glad to have met you!<br />
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Shelbey: I had pretty much written off making real friends in that huge First Christmas cast but then we got assigned to the same dressing room and the rest is history! I remember when you told me you were pregnant with Marius and I was almost screaming I was so excited. You are a true friend and I always know that you'll give me real talk for whatever problem I'm having. And it was so fun to see you for Christmas a couple years ago. Also I loved when you messaged me about Harry Potter house compatibility between you and Nathanael because that stuff is important! I love you!<br />
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Emma M: I loved getting to know you during Drowsy Chaperone! And how we would run around backstage raving about Hamilton and Welcome to Nightvale and everyone called us twins. I could be so silly with you and it was such a joy to find someone with the same sense of humor. I remember OF COURSE coming up with Meet the Neighbors and Shimmer, the trophy wife of Gandalf. And playing Cards Against Humanity with you and Jeremy. You are awesome!<br />
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Jeremy: I remember going to see your sci fi murder mystery at the science museum, the one where you were a robot (or android? something like that) and being impressed with how you stayed in character the whole night. I also remember me and Emma casting you in the role of "scientist bee" in our movie because you kept correcting our science and no, I can't explain it any better than that. You are a gentleman and a scholar and I'm glad to know you.<br />
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Matthew: I still haven't got to see you since your mission! But from your letters and calls I've seen you really grow up and it's crazy to me that my little brother is a real adult now, out there living life! I remember once you gave me a Valentine in code and I still have it in a memory box. Can't wait till we can see each other again, I love you!<br />
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Julia: I love being your sister! You are so funny and kind and totally get me. I remember when we went to Florida just you, me, and Beth and were flying standby on the way home because we missed our original flight. The flight attendant put us behind the door of the loading hallway and was like, "I need to tell the people that the plane has been loaded." I was so happy we all made that flight. And from that same trip I remember our bus driver, Terry, "B for best!" I remember telling you that we were changing our wedding date so that you could be there and being so happy that you were one of my bridesmaids! I love you!<br />
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Dallin: I remember playing the Harry Potter board/card game with you guys over Christmas and you were Neville and totally the healing master! I remember watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Virginia and sitting by you and we both were so excited! I love you!<br />
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David: I have loved watching you grow up and when I get to visit you! I remember a long time ago, in 2012, when we were at Disneyland me and you were on Mr Toad's Wild Ride when it shut down in the middle and we had to walk out on foot. I have never had to do that on a Disney ride before! I love you!<br />
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Bethany: Honestly one of the funniest people I know. I remember camping FOREVER ago and you coming up with a story about a failing court jester who wasn't funny, but the story was. "Haha. Ho ho. You have great potential as a jester." I remember playing paper dolls and mixing up all the clothes and Ariel looked good in everything. I treasure your book of Lord of the Rings illustrations and I remember how obsessed we were with John Dee and Niccolo Machiavelli and that we hated the series ending. I love talking to you and hearing about college and I love you so much!<br />
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Mama: I have so many memories! I remember coming home to surprise you for Thanksgiving the first year that I moved to Utah and you were so happy and surprised. I remember taking senior pictures at the church by the library and being so proud of my blonde hair. I remember when we were driving to Utah on Christmas for Joshua to be born and everything was so scary and I put my hat weaving loom around my face and said I was Padme Amidala from Episode I and you smiled and I felt good. I remember when it seemed like my wedding dress wasn't going to fit and you sewed it up perfect while I was freaking out. I loved getting to see you in Philadelphia and showing you the Navy Yard. I love you so much!<br />
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Scott: I remember you just sending the craziest memes to me after you gave your two weeks notice and I was like "I don't get these at ALL." And then I took the screenshot of The Face and you set it as your desktop hahhaha. I remember having a rough day once and we went hiking and it was a really nice thing for you to do. Also, when you came to help me pack up the Utah apartment and let us use your car to take trips back and forth to the truck. That meant a lot to me that you came to help; I appreciate your friendship. And Kylo Ren is emo.<br />
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MaryAnne: You have always been such a firecracker, MaryAnne! I remember when I came home for Christmas one year you just kept hugging me and it made me feel so good to know that I had been missed. I remember seeing YOUR play in Virginia and how good you were in it. I also remember when we stayed at the house in Florida over Christmas I found you sleeping all sprawled out across the bed like you had been dropped from the sky. It didn't look comfy at all but you were totally sound asleep! I love you!<br />
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Aaron: I loved seeing you in Philadelphia, it was such a surprise! And I remember waiting for you to be born and thinking every day, this has got to be the day! I love you!<br />
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Emma W: It was so awesome to have three days with just you visiting us last year! I was so struck by how much you have grown up since I lived at home and what a mature person you are now. You told me you wanted to try a real Philly cheesesteak and so I decided I would try again, since the first one I tried I didn't like. But the ones we got were amazing and I'm so glad that was your request! I remember walking all over that huge art museum and thinking "how could there possibly be more??" And getting lost on the subway with you in New York trying to find the Empire State building. But we found it! I love you!<br />
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Tessa: I remember the first time you came over to my house and I really wanted you to like me and we filmed "commercials" on your video camera. And that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. I remember calling you at all hours of the night to talk about whatever guy I was crushing on at the time, and how I wrote that crazy letter to Nick and you and I went and watched the ants to distract me from him reading it, hahahahha. I remember sitting in your car before/during/after seminary and drinking purple panther juice. Doing Midsummer Nights's Dream and Awesome 80s Prom and dealing with Fred, hahah. You have taught me to dream big and not to get discouraged if things don't work out the way I want them to right away. I never feel judged by you. We have so many shared experiences-- seeing "Bartholomew" throwing javelins, haha, or stalking the Catholic church. I am so lucky to have your friendship and I can't wait to see you once I get back in the west!! I love you!!<br />
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Grandma Midge: I remember when I was eight or nine winning a prize of memorizing the Articles of Faith and getting to bake cookies with you and feeling so lucky and special! You were such a wonderful teacher and role model for me! And of course I have loved spending time with your family and feeling lucky to be included with those wonderful Cozzens. I love you!<br />
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Jess and Jaden: Oh my GOSH the My Little Pony fiasco was TOO MUCH TO HANDLE. I remember when Trevor, in response to a bananas in pajamas reference, said “Do your bananas go natural?” and I had to grab Jess’s wrist to stop from completely exploding. I remember Jess and I coming up with Jaden's future food cart / tattoo shop -- Jatertots Jatertats. And Jess, I remember driving to the U with you to get our IDs and having such a great time and Matt making cryptic passive aggressive comments hahhaa. I remember you guys coming over to feed Nova while we were in the process of moving and it was so much less stressful for me knowing that she was in such good hands. I love you guys!<br />
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Amber: I don't even know where to start! You are a true kindred spirit. I was worried when you moved to Oregon that we wouldn't talk anymore but thankfully that has not been the case! I remember when we were in the ward with Sister Smith, I think her name was, and we were making chicken for something and part of it had to be vegan and I forgot and then just said, "......we're almost done." I remember watching Downton Abbey with you and making fun of almost everyone, and sitting talking late at night watching the DVD icon bounce around. I remember taking pictures at your wedding reception and a butterfly landed on your bouquet and a fly landed on me. The photographer said "maybe you'll get a butterfly on your birthday" and I said "IT IS MY BIRTHDAY." When Justin and I came out to visit you guys after Sam was born is one of my favorite memories; it was so wonderful to see you again and with a baby no less! I love you so much!<br />
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Grandma and Grandpa Sharp: I always remember how generous it was for you to take me in when I first moved to Utah and had no plan or any idea what I was doing! I remember being really unsure of what was going to happen, and you made me feel like I could figure it out, and eventually I did. I remember waiting for you at the airport after your mission and being so happy to see you. I loved coming over for so many Sunday dinners and holidays and family reunions and have always felt like I could talk to you about anything. I remember when I was younger Grandma calling me on the phone and that made me feel really special to talk to her like an "adult." I remember borrowing Grandpa's Lord of the Rings books to read and then talking about them with him. I am so grateful for you being my grandparents and I love you!!<br />
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Katie G: Oh man so many. I remember scheming with you to start fake drama at the house by leaving out my library books on the counter and you were going to group text "WHOSE ARE THESE." You planned the perfect bachelorette party and then I thought I lost my phone and you accidentally called the host of the escape room who was like five feet from us. I remember us sneakily looking at apartments together and Nova running at your door full speed to open it. I love going over to your house and playing games and telling you whatever weird neurotic anxiety I'm having at that moment. And I remember when Elise was reading us Harry Potter trivia and we were just SCREAMING the answers before she'd even give us the options. I love you!<br />
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Grandma Karan: I remember going to your house for a summer reunion the summer after I graduated high school and you giving me life advice. I have always looked up to you and all the things you've done in your life. I also remember going river rafting with you and getting sunburned but having a blast. I love you!!<br />
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<br />Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-63974282051640592862020-06-30T08:43:00.000-07:002020-06-30T08:43:08.829-07:00A Tale of Two Scanners<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And in came to pass in the year 2020, in the month of FEBRUARY, that the court Rebecca worked at moved to a new location. Verily, the managers came around in the weeks preceding the move and said, "Here are your labels. Put them on your things and they shall be moved to the new building." And Rebecca did so and put her labels upon her belongings; lo, every belonging she put her name on. And the move came to pass in the month of MARCH.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No sooner had the court moved to the new building than lo a mighty plague fell upon the land, and its name was COVID-19, and the clerks were sent to work from home. And Rebecca worked from home all the remaining days of MARCH and also APRIL and MAY passed away as a dream, all work from home. No one could tell the night time from the day except by differing pairs of pajamas. And the people wailed and gnashed their teeth and said, "Oh, remember places, and when we could go to them?" and waited, and the days of work from home were fifty five. </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And on the fifty sixth day it was declared, "Thou shalt return to work Monday, Wednesday, Friday with face-coverings and the rest of the week thou shalt stay at home." And when Rebecca returned with her face-covering to work in the new office that first Monday in JUNE, lo! Her scanner was not to be found at her desk. And Rebecca knew that she had labeled it, for she had labeled all of her belongings. She used the scanner often, yea, even every day, and she knew that it was labeled.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A scanner was at the desk, but it was not Rebecca's. And Rebecca saw that it was labeled "Crystal," and, being wise, went to the desk of Crystal to reason. "Is this not your scanner?" she asked. And Crystal looked, and saw that it was her scanner, and said, "Yea, and I have yours." And they looked and saw that the scanners had been switched, and thinking this had been done in error, went to take each their own.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just as they were about to complete the bargain, however, a Manager was passing and hearkened and said, "Halt! The scanners have been switched and thou shalt not switch them back." Rebecca questioned, "why" and also questioned Crystal "why" but the Manager said, "Only know that they have been switched and the enjoyment of your scanning shall be manifold. Now return to your desks and let it be done as I have said."</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But Rebecca doubted and thought, "Is that not my scanner? Has it not scanned for me these many months before the move? Why should it not scan for me again?" But being wary of the Manager's reproof she returned to her desk and set to work. </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the hour came that she should scan, Rebecca pushed the button and behold! Nothing happened. And she saw that the new scanner was not set up for her computer, lo, the computer could not speak to it. And IT was called and IT said, "That is not our department". And an IT guy from the other department came and he said, "The computer and the scanner speak not to each other, nay, nor is it within my power to make them." But he also spoke, "And yet I shall install this program which shall speak to both of them and perhaps they will hearken to each other." </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And the IT man did as he had said. And Rebecca saw that the new way of scanning took forever and was not good. Where before it had taken only one click, now the clicks seemed too many as to be counted. The next day she saw that it was still the same. And the next was the same, and Rebecca despaired. </span></b><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">T</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">he hours of her scanning were now seemingly as long as the day itself when before they had taken hardly a thought. </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So she said in her heart "let me go to Crystal again and reason with her," knowing that the scanner had spoken to Crystal's computer as if brother to brother. So coming again to Crystal Rebecca said, "Please let me have my scanner back" and Crystal was afraid, seeing how the scanner and caused Rebecca to have much trouble scanning, and said "will my old scanner still work?" and Rebecca promised that she would not depart from Crystal until she was assured that Crystal's scanner would work as it had in the days before. </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so the accord was struck between them.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And on that very day Rebecca arrived with the old scanner of Crystal and she hooked it up and tested a document, yea, a sample document, and it scanned as quickly as it had before. And Crystal was satisfied and released Rebecca's scanner unto her and Rebecca rejoiced mightily. Yet her rejoicings were silent lest the Manager hear her and say "Hark, is that not the scanner which I have instructed you to keep?" And yet there was no reason that she should not have her old scanner, verily, the old scanner let her work be done in a twinkling, and Crystal the same.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And Rebecca's old scanner was transported back to her desk, and hooked up and set in a place of honor, where she could look upon it easily. And Rebecca did a sample scan and the scanner and the printer spoke to each other with one voice, as though they had never been separated. And Rebecca was glad and said, "Truly I will appreciate this scanner all the days of my life, now that it has been taken from me and is returned." </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And later in the week the Manager passing by asked if each employee was happy with the new office and each in their turn said "yea." Crystal in her turn said "yea" and Rebecca also said "yea, I am pleased." Rebecca and Crystal cast their eyes upon each other and smiled, and knew that it was true.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And it came to pass that never again did the Manager mention the scanner after that first day, nor think of it at all, as the matters that concerned her were many; and though the scanner was to Rebecca as bread, to the Manager it was one of the sands of the sea. And Rebecca scanned quickly every day and was pleased. </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">******</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>A tiny victory, but these days I'll take what victories I can get!</i></span></b>Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-91868206077872671202019-12-30T16:21:00.003-08:002019-12-30T16:21:52.490-08:002019 Books<div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another year done! Another decade, even! I didn't read as many books as last year, but I visited a ton more states and moved two thousand miles, so I guess that's the trade off. Some really good finds this year. Also note that since I started keeping track in 2011 I've read 705 books. Not too shabby :) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Totals:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">65 books, 34 nonfiction/31 fiction</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Page Count: 21,820, 10,498 NF / 11,322 fiction (GoT and Chuck Wendig really boosted fiction)</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Top 10 Reads of 2019 </span></b></div>
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1. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Eleanor-Oliphant-Completely-Fine-Novel/dp/0735220697/ref=sr_1_1?crid=20K194LVXP33Y&keywords=eleanor+oliphant+is+completely+fine&qid=1577748553&s=books&sprefix=elea%2Cstripbooks%2C434&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><i>Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine</i> - Gail Honeyman</a></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The first book in a long time that I finished and immediately read again. WONDERFUL. I'm was genuinely angry to discover it was Ms Honeyman's first book, because no one has the right to be that talented right away and I needed much more to binge! It's about a lonely woman in a bleak time of her life; it's uplifting and sweet and completely human. One of the only books since <i>A Man Called Ove</i> that I actually cried while reading. Recommend to anyone who has ever felt like the world is full of rules and secrets everyone else knows but you somehow missed the class on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>2. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Girls-Murder-City-Beautiful-Inspired/dp/0143119222/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1NFVH3P1NG5EQ&keywords=girls+of+murder+city&qid=1577748581&s=books&sprefix=girls+of+m%2Cstripbooks%2C653&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><i>The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago - </i>Douglas Perry</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In my opinion there is nothing better than a good nonfiction read, and this one brings 1920s Chicago to life. All the women, both the murderesses and the reporter who couldn't believe men were being fooled by their beautiful facades, are depicted in a way that makes you feel like you know them. I was shocked at how much dialogue from <i>Chicago </i>came right out of court testimony. Highly recommend for any musical theatre or jazz age buffs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>3. </b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Bastard-Brigade-Renegade-Scientists-Sabotaged/dp/0316381683/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2786QOEKZBW4V&keywords=bastard+brigade&qid=1577748603&s=books&sprefix=bast%2Cstripbooks%2C179&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><i><b>The Bastard Brigade: The True Story of the Renegade Scientists and Spies Who Sabotaged the Nazi Atomic Bomb</b> - </i><b>Sam Kean</b></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sam Kean seems to make my list every year he puts a new book out! (And I thought that even before he responded to a fan email I sent him.) My favorite science writer, hands down. This year's book was right up my alley, detailing the struggles of World War II scientists in their race against Nazi Germany to create the atomic bomb. This was a side of the war I hadn't learned much about, Curies, Kennedys, and other famous names abound. The outcome may seem inevitable now, but when in the beginning it seemed like the Germans would seize the prize of atomic bombs first.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>4. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ambition-Desire-Dangerous-Josephine-Bonaparte/dp/0345522834/ref=sr_1_1?crid=71KTEGGQ7IOX&keywords=ambition+and+desire+the+dangerous+life+of+josephine+bonaparte&qid=1577748702&s=books&sprefix=ambit%2Cstripbooks%2C171&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><i>Ambition and Desire: The Dangerous Life of Josephine Bonaparte - </i>Kate Williams</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last year a biography of Clementine Churchill was one that stuck with me. This year, it's the wife of Napoleon, Josephine Bonaparte. While she certainly knew how to scheme and politic with the best of them, Napoleon truly did view her as his lucky charm and love of his life. There are some twists and turns in her fortune, but in the end she was inevitably tied to the general from Corsican, and certainly a lot of his success with those in power in France can be attributed to Josephine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>5. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Great-Alone-Novel-Kristin-Hannah/dp/1250229537/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+great+alone&qid=1577748734&s=books&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><i>The Great Alone</i> - Kristin Hannah</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Wow, this is quite a novel. Alaska, after the Vietnam War, a family of three in a state so wild and empty (at least in terms of humans) that most of us can't really fathom it. I also reading <i>Into the Wild </i>this year; Alaska is a dangerous and beautiful place, maybe the last real wilderness left to us. This book features young love, but also fear. Fear of missing out, fear of physical danger, both from man and nature, and fear that comes from being somewhere completely alone, where all you have is what you can do. I didn't love the ending but the rest of the book is so good that it makes the list anyway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>6.<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Poisoners-Handbook-Murder-Forensic-Medicine/dp/014311882X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3I12GBSWIM708&keywords=poisoner%27s+handbook&qid=1577748819&s=books&sprefix=poisoner%27s+h%2Cstripbooks%2C570&sr=1-1" target="_blank"> <i>The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age - </i>Deborah Blum</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is a great companion to <i>The Girls of Murder City</i>, but in the Big Apple. Until the last century, poison was an ideal murder weapon, almost impossible to detect, much less be criminally convicted for, even if the death was seen as suspicious. Until Charles Norris and Alexander Gettler were put on the case, that is. This book covers many common poisons, how they kill, real life examples, and how science was able to bring them into the light, and justice. Fascinating.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>7. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Michelle-Obama/dp/1524763136/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=becoming&qid=1577748836&s=books&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><i>Becoming - </i>Michelle Obama</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ms Obama has no interest in running for public office, but she'll be forever associated with politics. Growing up in Chicago, meeting and marrying future president Barack Obama, her experiences with presidential campaigns and living in the White House are all recounted in her down to earth style memoir. I especially appreciated her opening up about her struggles to conceive, as fertility issues are not discussed openly enough and are nothing to be ashamed about.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>8. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Strangers-Train-Patricia-Highsmith/dp/0393321983/ref=sr_1_1?crid=17J80RF2COO9L&keywords=strangers+on+a+train&qid=1577748907&s=books&sprefix=strangers%2Cstripbooks%2C189&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><i>Strangers on a Train - </i>Patricia Highsmith</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm a sucker for a good thriller, and this one is a classic for a reason. If you met someone on a train who, after both of you indulged in a few drinks, promised to eliminate a person that was causing you problems, what would your response be? And what if that troublesome person turned up dead? And now the stranger on a train is saying, "You owe me"? Gave me shivers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>9.<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Boys-Boat-Americans-Berlin-Olympics/dp/0143125478/ref=sr_1_1?crid=G6EIBDJ2YD3R&keywords=boys+in+the+boat&qid=1577748925&s=books&sprefix=boys+in+%2Cstripbooks%2C171&sr=1-1" target="_blank"> <i>The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics </i>- Daniel James Brown</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Who doesn't love a good underdog story? Washington State was an underdog not just at the Olympics, but to get there as well, as fancy East Coast schools had the highest rating crew (rowing) teams. This book follows several of the boys destined to go to the Olympics through the Depression and beyond. I loved it-- humans are survivors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>10. </b></span><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fighting-Chance-Elizabeth-Warren/dp/125006225X/ref=sr_1_3?crid=R8TIOVPKRI4D&keywords=a+fighting+chance+elizabeth+warren&qid=1577748944&s=books&sprefix=a+fighting+%2Cstripbooks%2C154&sr=1-3" target="_blank"><i>A Fighting Chance - </i>Elizabeth Warren</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I love Elizabeth Warren and intend to vote for her in the Democratic primary. This memoir covers her early life in Oklahoma, professorship at many universities including Harvard, work with financial reform and big banks, up through her successful campaign for Massachusetts Senate. I listened to this via audiobook because it's read by Senator Warren, and she's warm and funny and passionate, delightful. And very smart.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Honorable mention: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Fiction:<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Witches-Abroad-Discworld-Terry-Pratchett/dp/0062237365/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ZS23JOPQHSB8&keywords=witches+abroad+terry+pratchett&qid=1577749048&s=books&sprefix=witches+ab%2Cstripbooks%2C581&sr=1-1" target="_blank"> <i>Witches Abroad </i>- Terry Pratchett</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Nonfiction: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sorry-Love-Your-Husband-Hilarious/dp/1624145329/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2JO57MTWB2Z77&keywords=i%27m+sorry+love+your+husband&qid=1577749069&s=books&sprefix=i%27m+sorry+lo%2Cstripbooks%2C574&sr=1-3" target="_blank"><i>I'm Sorry... Love, Your Husband: Honest, Hilarious Stories From a Father of Three Who Made All the Mistakes (And Made Up For Them)-- </i>Clint Edwards</a></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And now the full list, alphabetical by author, rereads marked with ***, recommendations bolded. I hope you enjoy!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Nonfiction</span></u><br />
<u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></u>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings -- Maya Angelou</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Don't Wait Up: Confessions of a Stay at Work Mom -- Liz Astrof </b>(this one seems light at first but be warned it gets deals with the author's abusive childhood, real heavy)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">James Buchanan-- Jean H Baker</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose -- Joe Biden</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">***Song of Spider-Man: The Inside Story of the Most Controversial Musical in Broadway History -- Glen Berger</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder & the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York-- Deborah Blum</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">***James Madison -- Richard Brookhiser</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans & Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics -- Daniel James Brown</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century-- Maureen Callahan</b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Swimming to Antarctica -- Lynne Cox</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Evicted: Poverty & Profit in the American City -- Matthew Desmond</b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Life Itself: A Memoir -- Roger Ebert</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America -- Firoozeh Dumas</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm Sorry... Love, Your Husband: Honest, Hilarious Stories From a Father of Three Who Made All the Mistakes (And Made Up For Them)-- Clint Edwards</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My Girls: A Lifetime With Carrie and Debbie - Todd Fisher</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Wallace: The Underdog Who Conquered a Sport, Saved a Marriage, & Championed Pit Bulls One Flying Disc at a Time-- Jim Gorant</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed -- Lori Gottlieb</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>A Secret Gift: How One Man's Kindness and a Trove of Letters Revealed the Hidden History of the Great Depression -- Ted Gup</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm Not a Terrorist, But I've Played One on TV: Memoirs of a Middle Eastern Funny Man -- Maz Jobrani</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The Bastard Brigade: The True Story of the Renegade Scientists and Spies Who Sabotaged the Nazi Atomic Bomb -- Sam Kean</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Into the Wild -- Jon Krakuer</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Little Demon in the City of Light: A Story of Murder and Mesmerism in Belle Epoque Paris-- Steven Livingston</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">No Happy Endings: A Memoir -- Nora McInerny </span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Becoming -- Michelle Obama</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Know Your Power: A Message to America's Daughters-- Nancy Pelosi</b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, & the Beautiful Girls Who Inspired <i>Chicago</i> -- Douglas Perry</b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On My Own-- Diane Rehm</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, and 3 RVs on Our Canine Cross Country Adventure -- David Rosenfelt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>This Land That I Love, Irving Berlin, Woody Guthrie, and the Story of Two American Anthems -- John Shaw</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Better By Mistake: The Unexpected Benefits of Being Wrong -- Alina Tugend</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen-- Jose Antonio Vargas</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>A Fighting Chance -- Elizabeth Warren</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Ambition and Desire: The Dangerous Life of Josephine Bonaparte-- Kate Williams</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>A Most Ingenious Paradox: The Art of Gilbert & Sullivan-- Gayden Wren</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></u>
<u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></u>
<u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></u>
<u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fiction</span></u><br />
<u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></u>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>***The Girl With All the Gifts -- MR Carey</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">City of Bones-- Cassandra Clare</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Boneman's Daughters-- Ted Dekker</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The Wonder -- Emma Donoghue</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Schoolgirl Missing -- Sue Fortin</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Good Omens -- Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">E is for Evidence -- Sue Grafton</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Less-- Andrew Sean Greer</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The Great Alone-- Kristin Hannah</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Strangers on a Train-- Patricia Highsmith</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine -- Gail Honeyman (read twice)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Haunting of Hill House -- Shirley Jackson</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Three Men in a Boat-- Jerome K Jerome</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The Everything Box -- Richard Kadrey</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Genuine Fraud -- E Lockhart (I would recommend it except I HATED the ending)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>A Dance With Dragons -- George RR Martin</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>***Anne of Avonlea -- Lucy Maud Montgomery</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>*** Anne of the Island -- Lucy Maud Montgomery</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Truly, Madly, Guilty-- Liane Moriarty</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sula -- Toni Morrison</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Moving Pictures -- Terry Pratchett</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Witches Abroad-- Terry Pratchett</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Reaper Man-- Terry Pratchett</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Small Gods-- Terry Pratchett</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The House of Brass-- Ellergy Queen</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>***The Lightning Thief -- Rick Riordan</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>*** The Sea of Monsters-- Rick Riordan</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Love & First Sight -- Josh Sundquist</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>***The Adventures of Tom Sawyer -- Mark Twain</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Fate of Mercy Alban -- Wendy Webb</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Wanderers-- Chuck Wendig</b></span></div>
Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-57093881390248072642019-08-04T05:54:00.002-07:002019-08-04T05:54:43.936-07:00Pursue Your HappinessWow, it's been a hot second.<br />
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Every time I visit somewhere cool I think, wow, I should blog about that.<br />
<br />
Arrested Development Narrator voice: And then she didn't.<br />
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It's been a full four months out here in Philadelphia, an overwhelming, good, hard, amazing experience. Since I haven't done proper posting, here are some highlights that I missed writing about. Pictures that I had on my phone included..... Justin is the master photo compiler. Check out his albums for a lot more awesome pictures.<br />
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<li>Fourth of July -- we went to a picnic at Valley Forge. We went to Valley Forge when we first arrived, in March, because George Washington is one of my heroes, but it was lovely to see it in summer and blooming. Complete with Revolutionary War reenactors! I don't envy those long skirts and petticoats, it's very much "hot as hell," as they since in 1776, set in Philadelphia at the time the Continental Congress was meeting about the Declaration of Independence.</li>
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<li>The PA Department of Agriculture put out a kind of ice cream bingo called Pursue Your Scoops. For every local creamery on the bingo card that you visit, you get a stamp. Collect five, and you get a t-shirt. Justin and I visited our fifth last night. It was a truly delicious trek. My favorite of the five we went to was <a href="http://www.milkywayfarm.com/" target="_blank">Chester Springs Creamery</a>. Not only was the ice cream out of this world good, each flavor is named for one of their cows. How cute is that?? We also picked up some fresh produce and have been enjoying it at home.</li>
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<li>I've been in rehearsal for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for a couple months. My goal when I moved here was to be in a show for my birthday so I would by default have some friends. And I did! I'm having a great time singing, attempting to dance, and making fun of Andrew Lloyd Webber.</li>
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<li>Went downtown twice in one weekend to see Superego podcast live, with the incredible podcaster talent that is Paul F Tompkins, and the next day to see Latin History for Morons. I also got to see Mike Birbiglia, my favorite comedian, work out some new material at a comedy club. I'd never been to a comedy club before, but I figured it out. And it was awesome to see Mike again (I've also seen him with Justin in Denver and Salt Lake.</li>
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<li>Probably the most special thing I've done since moving here was visit Mount Vernon. As I said, George Washington is one of my heroes. And to walk where he actually walked, to see his land and his home and his grave.... it was incredible. Highly recommend. Standing in front of George and Martha's tombs was a profound experience. Walking around the estate made him feel more like a man, an actual person, than a mythic figure. And I also had some heavenly French toast in the restaurant there.</li>
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<li>We visited Harrisburg and Hershey one Sunday. The capitol building at Harrisburg is breathtaking, the most ornate statehouse in the country. There's Renaissance style art and soaring domes and crystal.... it's really beautiful. I've visited a handful of capitol buildings together: Denver, Annapolis, Dover, Salt Lake, and each has a different aesthetic going on. The Hershey Museum was an interesting, quick tour. It's always nice when business leaders turn out to have actually cared about their employees and not just profits. Milton was devoted to making a city that people would actually want to live in, not a factory slumtown. And it's a real cute place! We also stopped and got a treat at Duck Donuts, must recommend. The best donut I personally have ever had.</li>
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<li>Justin and I tried to adopt a stray cat in our neighborhood who kind of looks like the cat that looks like Adam Driver. But our other cat was just not having it, and so we content ourselves with feeding him. I just want to hug all them, but you can't, can't hug every cat. (The lullaby I will sing to my future babies.)</li>
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SO there are some updates. Like I said, my husband is waaay better at taking and posting pictures. It was a beautiful spring, prettier than any I saw in the west, I have to say. And summer is beautiful too, even with the constant humidity. There's just so much life: plants and trees and vines growing and blooming everywhere you look. Lots of quick, intense thunderstorms. We've been feasting on seafood and real Italian pasta. And the bread..... mmm. </div>
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My job (judge's clerk in Wilmington) is one I enjoy. And every day when I cross the border back from Delaware, I see the "Welcome to Pennsylvania: Pursue Your Happiness" sign. What a great message for people. Moving out here has a crazy adventure, harder than I thought it would be, but man is it ever cool. I never ever thought I would get to live this close to so many historical and cultural sites. I'm going to New York again with my sister in a couple weeks, and am also planning a Boston trip over Labor Day. Life is what we make it! Pursue your happiness!</div>
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Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-49366819387039135002019-04-13T08:19:00.002-07:002019-04-13T08:19:35.337-07:00A Jaunt to Washington<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Yesterday was my last weekday without a job (my new position starts Monday), so to celebrate I drove down to Washington DC! Well, I drove to Bethesda and took the Metro in to the city. It was fantastic! I've been to the Washington Monument and walked around the National Mall, but this was my first time in the heart of downtown. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>I went to the Smithsonian American Art Museum. How incredible is it that the Smithsonians are free?? They just let us all in! I don't know much about art, but I loved being there. They have an exhibition called "Votes for Women" about the struggle of the suffragettes and it was amazing. No progress ever comes without protest. Saw the portrait gallery with all the presidents, and found Michelle Obama's portrait too. Gorgeous :) Also, this painting is called "The Justices" and the amount of women lining up to take pictures with it was huge.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCJIHNhXGCE5kQ8KbkxkF_2G2euI9YJW1qPxOMExgavQoFEpzaSyVqM1iXmy8qPGsvZ8d1lBbid9pc6uMTQ_CcdBhSBPtSBYUL8SQ6McmD2MsUCcuk6enROgiPbiU0f6_NIvDDHMWKkmz/s1600/57109945_2332266930128190_8208587555344482304_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="256" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCJIHNhXGCE5kQ8KbkxkF_2G2euI9YJW1qPxOMExgavQoFEpzaSyVqM1iXmy8qPGsvZ8d1lBbid9pc6uMTQ_CcdBhSBPtSBYUL8SQ6McmD2MsUCcuk6enROgiPbiU0f6_NIvDDHMWKkmz/s640/57109945_2332266930128190_8208587555344482304_n.jpg" width="339" /></b></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Modern art has never been my thing... I just don't get it. But there were a couple pieces that I felt I at least got what they were going for-- this is a television map of the US with each state's TVs playing a piece of media that reminded the artist of that state (Wizard of Oz for Kansas, etc).</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghDdU3LBR914Vt8nRBIg_2ethbq5NFcSnpakn4gQfRosv8lLLjav7GD_krowvEvxi6kkZWDC8pawVJ-ieZ4nwEMkjD0t090T0B-Ys0cdxBHDoSndp5EC4V-3DaUOcahhuG00myoThiS7Ok/s1600/57072617_964804243718903_4882212307456753664_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1600" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghDdU3LBR914Vt8nRBIg_2ethbq5NFcSnpakn4gQfRosv8lLLjav7GD_krowvEvxi6kkZWDC8pawVJ-ieZ4nwEMkjD0t090T0B-Ys0cdxBHDoSndp5EC4V-3DaUOcahhuG00myoThiS7Ok/s320/57072617_964804243718903_4882212307456753664_n.jpg" width="320" /></b></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>And this is a piece about the Vietnam War that kept churning out news reports constantly.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>There was just So Much Art. I could've spent the whole day there, but I was starving and wanted to get a glimpse of the rest of downtown as well.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Outside it was raining lightly and the air was muggy but the blocks are short and easy to walk around. Found this "walk of fame." (There were a lot of other stars too, haha.)</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwCli7ucBtXzr4dp7Cf5va_H5gYFqVUSDn4UyWrTyjge8XYnDor2im0M5GVw1Isv0gDKOP4XHdo9ph3tQlMUAH4PVjyyv6_92WeoGFPpTitoTygHJQ7lL8TO7-2nsq4N3zH_Koobaa7RN4/s1600/57321580_372447900029118_3412233009934368768_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="893" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwCli7ucBtXzr4dp7Cf5va_H5gYFqVUSDn4UyWrTyjge8XYnDor2im0M5GVw1Isv0gDKOP4XHdo9ph3tQlMUAH4PVjyyv6_92WeoGFPpTitoTygHJQ7lL8TO7-2nsq4N3zH_Koobaa7RN4/s640/57321580_372447900029118_3412233009934368768_n.jpg" width="355" /></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Also walked by Ford's Theatre, the National Theatre, and the Warner Theatre. Ate lunch at Shake Shack-- my first time and it was delicious! </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I'm excited to go to the other Smithsonians! It's amazing to be so close to all these cultural icons that I otherwise would have to plan whole trips around. Hoping to do a New York weekend very soon :) </span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The drive back home actually turned out to be an adventure because my GPS took me on these CRAZY back country Maryland roads instead of on the interstate?? Like, I was driving on roads with chickens wandering about. My phone battery was going to die and I don't know the area at all, obviously, so when I finally saw a sign for the I-95 I followed it and made it home. Thanks for nothing, Siri.</b></span>Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-64248276186908914722019-03-19T10:12:00.002-07:002019-03-19T10:12:50.086-07:00Week One<br />
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<span style="font-family: Century, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><b>Now with pictures!</b></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">March
15<sup>th</sup>, 2019 Friday<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Whooooo
a lot has been happening!!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">I
made it out here with Nova. She hated being at Nicole’s with Missy again, and
mostly hid under the bed. At night she did come up to sleep on my feet, though.
Poor thing has had a rough month. When we got to the airport the Delta agent
didn’t measure the carrier, which was good. We went up the escalator and I was
like, ugh this is a long security line. But a TSA lady told me a drug dog was
working and so I could cut to the front; I followed her to the front. Then the
problem became there was no female agent to do a pat down so a guy held Nova
while I went through the metal detector and then we went to a private room. (I
never even had time to think about asking for one, it was just a whirlwind
kinda day.)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Nova
was on her leash and was fine to be out of her carrier for a minute while it
was put through the x-ray. Everything came back good so we headed to our gate.
She did better while were walking because I think she was too nervous to do
anything. Once we were sitting down she started arching her back and clawing at
the carrier trying to get out. She found a zipper and pushed her head through
and luckily I noticed in time before she could get all the way out. Panic.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">We
definitely got some looks, and “what do you do with a mad cat?” comment, but
mostly people who said things were cat people. I had an empty seat and then a
nice older man who was very understanding of her distress. In the row behind me
were the people who I sat next to when I flew to Salt Lake, crazy. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">The
problem with her carrier turned out not to be the height of it, which I had
feared, but the width. It almost wouldn’t fit in the space between my seat and
the seat in front. I had to really squish her down, but we made it. For the
first few hours I could put my hand in the carrier and pet her and it would
temporarily calm her down, but by the end she was just mad and would try to
scratch me if I did that. I think the thing that scared her the most besides
when the engines started roaring for takeoff was when we landed and all of a
sudden everyone was standing up and chattering and opening the overheads and
everything. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Then
we had to go wait for our luggage and it took forever and I thought mine was
lost. But it did show up and then I went to find Justin. Nova was so happy to
be out of the carrier and seemed to get the idea that we live here now pretty
fast. She has a closet under the stairs that is her space; poor thing was so
thirsty. But we made it and it wasn’t the worst.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">When
we got home Justin ran off to the office to turn in our move in checklist and
tell them about the leaky ACs. As he left I heard a dripping sound and thought
he had left the sink on. Walked into the kitchen and there was water everywhere
dripping from the ceiling! Not ideal. Called him and luckily we were able to get an
emergency maintenance man out real fast. It was coming from the dishwasher of
the tenants above us, but it was fixed fast, and nothing important was damaged.
It was just like, the last thing I wanted after that really stressful day. But it
all worked out.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Century",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">A
few days again we went to see Captain Marvel. I was confused by a lot of the
first part, but once it got going I was into it. Of course I cried. Duh. But
that montage of Carol getting up after failing, from the time she was little, I
just-- unstoppable women are so important and the patriarchy is
terrified of us. Also I would die for Goose.</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">March
18<sup>th</sup>, 2019 Monday<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">The
catch up continues although I have an interview in seven minutes so we’ll see
how much I can get done. Went to my first in person interview on Friday; it was
by far the strangest interview I have ever had. It was in a hospital building,
for a real estate company, but it turns out they own the complex so that makes
sense. The two girls who interviewed me were extremely dressed down-- jeans and
tanks tops and messy hair. Like, great, although I definitely felt out of place
wearing my snazzy interview outfit. But that’s what’s expected, right? Anyway
girl number one gets right down to it and is like “what is your background?” I
explain and she says “do you have any other skill sets?” Always a good look to
answer no to that. :/ Then they go into a five or six minute explanation of the
position and the company and ask if I have any other questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m like, oh boy, the interview is about to
get going, yikes! <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Then
they go, okay well we’ll be letting people know next week. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">GIRL
what? ? I was asked two (2) questions and they weren’t even interview questions
and I feel like my skill set is a good match so saying no shouldn’t be an
instantly disqualified thing because it’s an admin position and I have admin
skills!! Are they just picking people based on their vibe? Do they already have
someone they want and the rest are courtesy interviews? Did I somehow do something
so egregious that they immediately decided the full interview would be a waste
of time??? I am baffled, folks.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">After
that I walked around and took pictures of some old churches; I love how things are just old. A mix of old and new. Obsessed. </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Then decided to
try my hand at driving downtown. The roads here are pretty crazy, especially
trying to figure out if you’re in/going to be in a turning lane or not, so that
can be terrifying. But I wanted to see if downtown was any better, so headed
there. Turns out it’s real the same and I spent most of the time driving in a
lane I’m not completely sure was a lane, and people parked in the no stopping
lanes and I never know the turning protocol. But I saw so many old buildings
and am psyched to take a bus down there and start exploring!! <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Set
the radio stations through trial and error although it’s disorienting not to
know what mood is associated with each channel. And some have static and I
think others may have been “false advertising”, as it were, ie they were
playing Taylor Swift and I immediately saved it without further listening and
now they seem to be hip hop. It was just a lovely day with a clear, sunny sky,
and I felt good about our choices. Taylor is the same everywhere.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">I
picked up Justin from work and we decided to go on a walk in the nature reserve
across the street. It’s nice, and will be nicer when the trees start to bloom.
I spotted a little curled up garter snake, which I was quite proud of. We also
saw some squirrels, one who was hiding nuts in an unused birds nest. I’m glad
of our location, it’s not downtown with the crazy parking and lanes and all
that, and it’s close to everything but in the middle of none of it. Also, this picture of us makes me think of a Renaissance artwork; I think it's the light.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Yesterday
we went to Jersey for the first time to take Justin to see the Atlantic Ocean!
It’s ninety minutes away, so close! The drive wasn’t what I expected: wooded
and farmland and we saw at least twenty five deer. Also some bird of prey:
hawk? The restaurant we’d planned to go to was seasonally closed, so we went to
the Shrimp Box right next door. Y’all know I love shrimp. We got to sit by the
window overlooking the harbor, so blue!! The sun was sparkling off the water
and it was so warm and just ahhhh! Beautiful. I got the four way shrimp and Justin got a sampler
platter and we both agreed with the shrimp was divine. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">(Also
the other day we went to an Italian place that had delicious ravioli and Justin
got some crab topped noodles that were also delicious. Good food here!!)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">After
relishing in the delicacies of four kinds of shrimp we went and found the
beach! It was minutes away. This is crazy, it hasn’t really sunk in yet that we
can just go to so many different states whenever we please. And the beach is
free yo. I took off my shoes because I didn’t want them to fill with sand. The
first stage of the beach was normal sand. Second filled with rocks and broken
seashells, and the third just the lovely fine beach sand. Justin gave me
several seashell fragments which have been worn perfectly smooth by the sea,
and I found a pearly dragon egg rock.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">It’s
been a long time since I’ve been to a sunny beach, excluding Puerto Vallarta,
which was so warm and like paradise that it is not even comparable to any other
beaches I’ve seen. Cannon Beach is gorgeous but always the weather is
imperious. Justin touched the water, and took a vide of the waves. I love the
Ocean!!</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">And Nova is settling in just fine :)</span></b></div>
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Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-44016417207367578202019-03-04T18:29:00.003-08:002019-03-04T18:29:55.252-08:00Journey Over<br />
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Can't believe that our two thousand mile road trip has come to an end. I highly recommend it; it gave me such a better sense of the country and where states are in proximity to each other and what they are like, at least to a small extent. </b></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Yesterday
we drove diagonal across Tennessee, starting in Memphis, all the way into
Virginia. We stopped in Nashville and drove past the capitol building, which
looks older than the others I’ve seen in the west. We wanted to get fried
chicken there, but the line around the chosen place was so long we couldn’t
wait. It was a ringing endorsement if I’ve ever seen one, though.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>It
rained ALL day; we had about an hour total collected time where it wasn’t pouring.
Tennessee is a gorgeous state; it’s old school and gothic and I can just see
myself getting lost in the hills of the Smoky Mountains to learn all the
stories that live there. I kept being astounded by the rocks, the trees, the flooded
riverbanks. It’s just so different than anything I’ve seen before. And the same
road that we got on in Albuquerque, the I-40, morphed into this. America is a
land of many lands.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>We
stopped for the desired fried chicken in Knoxville, Tennessee, instead. We
tried the spicy southern style and the chicken was delicious, although it is my
opinion that nothing has ever really been improved by being spicy. <o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>We
have been listening to The Boys in the Boat about the 1936 Berlin Olympics. It’s
a great read. As LeVar Burton says on his podcast, you can do it, with
audiobooks.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>We’ve
only had one major traffic holdup, and that was for construction. We crossed
into Virginia at night and the sign was dark and my hands were shaky, so that’s
the first state sign picture that’s not really clear. But you can’t have
everything in this life.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>We
collected the West Virginia license plate, so now we’re down to five missing.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>(Isn't this the cutest welcome to a state sign?) </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Later:<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Made
it all the way to Philadelphia! It was odd when Justin pointed out the Delaware
and we recognized it. We’ve been here before. <o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Today
was our most states day with Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and
Pennsylvania. The drive was quite nice; there are so many trees everywhere and
we finally had blue skies, something we haven’t had since Texas. Something else
we saw for the first time since day two was snow-- nothing crazy but there were
patches here and there from northern Virginia on up. We stopped for frozen
yogurt in WV, a state I have never much thought about but it was good frozen
yogurt. <o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>We
took a side trip through some Maryland countryside in order to avoid toll roads
because we haven’t figured that out yet. This turned out to be a great choice because
the drive was absolutely beautiful. Can’t even imagine how pretty it will be in
the spring when the trees are growing. Then we found a collection of old houses
with the gables and the porches, you know the type. Old Victorian style houses.
We saw the Susquehanna, we saw a hydroelectric plant, it was a lovely break
from the interstate traffic. It was picturesque. <o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>We
collected Vermont and Delaware license plates. At the beginning we said it would
be all right if we only got the 48 continental states. Since we had all but the
Dakotas and Rhode Island, but got Alaska and Hawaii, we decided the Dakotas
could be the outliers. That left us with the task of finding Rhode Island, and
Justin was especially dedicated. We sped up, we slowed down, we looked for that
license plate, to no avail.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>We
were so tired today and just wanted to get pizza and crash at the hotel to celebrate
our long trip being done. We pulled up to the hotel and Justin was walking towards
it when he stopped and motioned me over. A Rhode Island license plate!! Our
quest is complete!</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>I don't know if Philadelphia will be our forever home, but this will be a fun adventure for at least a few years. Lots to learn, so much to see. So many towns here have signs that they were established pre-1800. I'm loving it!! Can't wait to go downtown and see Independence Hall. And Baltimore, and Boston, and just, everything. </b></span></span></div>
Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-32701214483390449752019-03-02T18:53:00.002-08:002019-03-02T18:53:36.363-08:00Drivin' to Memphis....<br />
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Writing to you from Memphis, Tennessee, it's me, Rebecca Cook, with a quick recap of the last two days.</b></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>March
1<sup>st</sup>, 2019 Friday<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Drove
from Albuquerque to Oklahoma City on the same road-- the 40 East. It’s a long
road.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>New
Mexico and Texas seem like they should be the same, but somehow Texas is intrinsically
more interesting. I guess it’s not as desolate? Unsure. The ranches and
windmills and clear blue sky were giving me distinct cowboy vibes. Every time I
pass through a region I imagine what version of myself I would be if I lived
there. I could get back in touch with my horseback riding side… <o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>But
then we stopped for lunch and all the TVs were set to Fox News and it was like,
right. That’s why I’m not moving to Texas. However the food was delicious and the
old Catholic mission aesthetic was cool so all in all a good lunch.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>We
drove straight across the Texas panhandle and into Oklahoma. I like Oklahoma,
although the season is such that we couldn’t see the waves of wheat that sure
smell sweet when the wind comes right behind the rain. (This musical reference
reminds me that in the lunch place I heard a mariachi rendition of “If I Were a
Rich Man.”)<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>There
is not much to report on today’s drive. We did manage to collect both Alaska
and Hawaii license plates. Oklahoma City seems to be a huge city judging by the
amount of traffic that suddenly materialized (with drivers sadly similar to
that of Salt Lake), but it’s so flat that we can’t really tell how sprawling it
is.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>March
2<sup>nd</sup>, 2019 Saturday<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Our
shortest drive, seven hours, ending in Memphis. We drove straight across
Arkansas today, and it was actually a quite pretty state. I’ve never thought
much about it. SO many trees, and plentiful water. I saw plenty of falcons or
hawks, and possibly a heron? I'm no birdwatcher.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>We
stopped in Little Rock to take a picture at the capital building so we could
set foot in the state. I have pictures. I have quite a few pictures from this
trip. However all pictures are on my phone and I’m tired but someday mayhap I’ll
upload them? Life is a mystery.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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are up to forty four state license plates; we’re only missing North and South
Dakota, Delaware, Rhode Island, West Virginia, and Vermont. We’ve got pictures
of all the state signs that we’ve entered, but the Tennessee one was stressful
because it kept not appearing and we were passing into Memphis exits and still
no sign! But once we crossed the Mississippi (it’s the second time I’ve done so
in my life and I’m just awed) the sign appeared, as Justin said it would.
Success.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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went to Memphis with the intention of getting barbeque, and boy did Memphis
deliver. Corky’s was the place and ribs are their game. I usually am not a ribs
girl. I like brisket or barbeque chicken best. But ribs are their specialty and
I had to order some. Before we even got our main dish we got the most heavenly buttery
crispy rolls. Divine. Straight from heaven. I ate three and longed for more.
The ribs were the best I have ever tasted, bar none. They had wonderful
barbeque sauce with a dry rub and they were so tender and delicious and just… y’all.
I felt so bad leaving any left on my plate but I was stuffed to bursting and we
can’t take leftover ribs on the road with us.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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you ever get the chance, go to Corky’s and order ribs. Eat a roll for me.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>I'm really enjoying this road trip; it's wonderful to see the country unfold mile by mile. The regions are so distinct.... I saw actual bayous today. And we've been on the same road, the I-40 East, since Albuquerque. The world is beautiful.</b></span></span></div>
Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-32358880039607738542019-03-01T06:53:00.000-08:002019-03-01T07:43:29.754-08:00Day One: Salt Lake to Albuquerque<br />
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one down of our moving road trip down!! </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>We took the morning to do some last minute things that needed to be done before the real move on March 9th. Poor kitty Nova was so nervous when we took apart the bed.... when she gets stressed hiding there is her last resort and now she can't even do that. This is Justin's goodbye to Utah, I'll be back but for him it may be a while.</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>This is a crazy thing we are doing but we are doing it!</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Clear blue skies sent us on our way, thankfully. We drove to Moab and were stunned by the beauty of the snow on the
red rocks with the blue skies for contrast. I haven’t been to Moab in years. It
was very warm and we were fooled into thinking that would be the whole trip’s
temperature. Ate lunch at an adorable Sweet Cravings Bakery and Bistro where I
had a delicious quesadilla. Recommend. It had the kind of chatty and funny
staff that people think small towns are like because of Gilmore Girls. But this
is the real deal. Then we drove through the rest of southern Utah, which was
remarkably snowy. It’s the elevation that gets ya. But truly stunning. <o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Drove
through a bit of Colorado, past Four Corners, and into New Mexico. Snow still
abounded, but the roads were perfectly clear. Kept track of the state license
plates we saw, and are up to about twenty at last count. Saw a tiny town’s
store that advertised “Groceries! Pinto beans!” The only two things you would ever need.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>New
Mexico is the most boring state by far. (Sorry if it's your fave I just.... don't understand you. ( It’s not a fun drive. I've driven it before and I don't anticipate a third visit. Only our podcasts
sustained us…… small towns and then miles of dirt and sagebrush with not even
another car in sight. Thank you Ira Glass and Jonathan Goldstein. There were several
spots in New Mexico where we had to go on weird little highways and assumed
that my phone was just maliciously luring us into the wilderness to never be
found. The relief in my soul when we actually saw the lights of Albuquerque…..
I was made for city living. But even here, the stoplights are sideways. Very
strange. However the stars when we were in the middle of nowhere were gorgeous.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Ate
a late dinner at a cute </b></span></span><b style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Route 66 diner where Justin was craving vegetables and
I was craving grease because of course I was. We were going to take a cute
picture at the Albuquerque sign but Justin’s phone was on law battery and so
you will have to imagine it in your heart. Then back to the hotel to pass the
heck out. (It was a sold out hotel and I was glad we had reserved ahead of
time.)</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Today’s
moral: I would not live in New Mexico (even the light switches are sideways, because being flat is this state's whole thing). Also, cellphones with GPS and podcasts are the
best inventions.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<br />Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-23249031713711260342019-02-19T22:17:00.001-08:002019-02-19T22:17:56.255-08:00Moving... or Preparing To<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>It's 10:52 pm and I should be asleep but I keep thinking, "What have I forgotten? What have I forgotten? I KNOW I'VE FORGOTTEN SOMETHING HUGE AND IT'S GOING TO MESS UP OUR ENTIRE MOVE UNLESS I FIGURE IT OUT."</b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The last two weeks have been a blur of boxes and bubblewrap and trying to balance seeing people I love so much with getting my apartment ready to move two thousand miles to Philadelphia. This is what I wanted. I'm excited. But moving this far is, to say the least, a bit stressful, and it hits me most at night.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I must be forgetting something.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Everything is packed, except for clothes and toiletries and food and things we use literally every day. Everything else I can think of is in a box. But what if there's a secret closet that I've forgotten about and it's full of all the most precious things that would have somehow helped me make friends in Pennsylvania and they're going to be left behind because I haven't looked in that closet for two years!! </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Can't wait to have no friends thanks to the forgotten closet.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I know it's not logical.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Justin has to be in Philadelphia for his new job before the moving company was available, so I'll be loading the trailer without him. Thankfully my in laws are coming to help; without them I would have no chance of success. But if by chance you aren't doing anything on the morning Saturday March 9th..... ;) I will provide pizza and donuts and anything else to tempt you there.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I've never moved this far, in my life, ever. Not even close. You could probably add the mileage of all my moves together and it still wouldn't be close. I keep thinking, this is crazy! This is insane! I have never even been to Pennsylvania and now we are setting up apartment tours and I have unrefundable flight tickets and everything I own is in boxes. We're really doing this! This is what I wanted, but it terrifies me.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I've lived in Salt Lake for seven and a half years. Just about the length of the Harry Potter series. Graduating from Hogwarts? (Makes a note to scratch this geeky metaphor when I reread this in the morning.) When I came here I only knew my grandparents, and somehow I managed to scrape out a place for myself. I have met amazing kindred spirits here, people who I've laughed and cried with, people who make me feel instantly that I belong, which is such a tough thing to do. I worry that I won't be able to make friends anymore, that I left that talent in my single years, and that being in a new place will make me clam up and never say a word to anyone.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I wanted (and want) this, but boy howdy. I am scared.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I will be two hours from New York. Close to Boston, the Atlantic Ocean, the Smithsonian. A world of history I've read and loved and never been to. This is going to be an adventure. That's what I tell myself on nights like tonight to get to sleep, because it will be an adventure. But it's going to be tough, and I wish that I could take all my friends with me. What if I never get cast in any shows out there? Theatre is how I make friends!!</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What if, what if, what if. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There are so many things to do that each new things seems like the most important thing, and I've lost my sense of proportion when it comes to any crisis. Selling my car and finding a screwdriver to take the license plates off the car once it's sold seem the same level of importance: They both have to get done before I can move. And I have to move. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Justin and I start driving across the country on February 28th to get him settled for his job, and then I'm flying back on March 7th to load up the trailer on March 9th. Then I'm cleaning the house like crazy for a weekend and flying back out for good on March 12th, with our cat. I've never flown with a cat and I'm super anxious that she'll meow too loud and get us kicked off the plane and then what will I do????</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This is doable.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">People fly with cats. People move across the country. They do it every day.</span></b><br />
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<b>Right?</b><br />
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<b>I am sure I'm forgetting something.</b>Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-75896963350484581592018-12-30T11:23:00.000-08:002018-12-30T11:23:17.855-08:00The Books She Read: 2018<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What a year, y'all. I got married and went to New York City for the first time! (Separate events.) I also read over a hundred books in a year, for the first time since I started keeping track, after moving to Utah in autumn 2011. Whoo!! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
Books Read: 103<br />
Fiction: 41<br />
Nonfiction: 62<br />
<br />
Top Ten of 2018<br />
<br />
1. <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Timekeepers-World-Became-Obsessed-Time/dp/1782113193/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1546127684&sr=8-1&keywords=timekeepers" target="_blank">Timekeepers -- Simon Garfield</a>. </i><br />
I love Simon Garfield! This is the second book of his I've read, and the second year in a row he's on the top ten. He has such a way of taking a gigantic topic, such as time, and breaking it down into fascinating bits-- how time is portrayed in movies, different calendars that have been considered, the challenges of creating time zones and standardizing clocks. I hated how little time it took me to read this book, because I wanted it to keep going. Read Simon Garfield.<br />
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2. <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Incendiary-Psychiatrist-Invention-Criminal-Profiling/dp/125004894X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1546127893&sr=8-1&keywords=incendiary+michael+cannell" target="_blank">Incendiary: The Psychiatrist, the Mad Bomber, and the Invention of Criminal Profiling -- Michael Cannell</a></i><br />
The best true crime book I've read, and I have read my fair share of true crime. A bomber terrified New York for more than a decade, and a psychiatrist teamed up with the NYPD bomb squad to figure out how to narrow down their suspect list from the millions of people who live in and around New York with only a few clues. I love Criminal Minds, which deals with criminal profiling, but this was real life, which makes it so much better.<br />
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3. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Junius-Alberts-Adventures-Confederacy-Odyssey/dp/1610393791" target="_blank"><i>Junius & Albert’s Adventures in the Confederacy: A Civil War Odyssey-- Peter Carlson</i></a><br />
I found this book in a bargain bin at Barnes & Noble on my lunch break when I needed something to read on the train ride home. Best four dollars I ever spent. Two Northern journalists are captured by the Confederate army, survive multiple prisons, and finally escape and try to make their way back home. Full of humanity, heart, and tenacity, this is a five star adventure.<br />
<br />
4. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/I-Robot-Isaac-Asimov/dp/0553294385" target="_blank"><i>I, Robot by Isaac Asimov</i></a><br />
Yes, it's shameful that I haven't read any Asimov until now. But better late than never. This story collection thoroughly messed me up. Robots aren't good, they aren't spiteful, they're just extremely, painfully logical.<br />
<br />
5. <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Train-Winter-Extraordinary-Friendship-Resistance/dp/0061650706" target="_blank">A Train in Winter:An Extraordinary Story of Women, Friendship, and Resistance in Occupied France-- Caroline Moorehead</a></i><br />
Holocaust books are tough. Because it is such a horrific, evil thing. But it's critical that we not forget, not let the sickening feeling that comes when reflecting on legal genocide make the Holocaust something we put on a shelf and don't talk about. This is a book about women who fought against the Nazis, and most of them were killed for it. But to have friends, even in the darkest despair of a concentration camp, reminded me that platonic love is not to be scoffed at.<br />
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6. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Big-Little-Lies/dp/1405920556" target="_blank"><i>Big Little Lies-- Liane Moriarty</i></a><br />
What I love about Liane Moriarty is that she focuses on the disconnect between our appearance and our inner turmoil, especially when it comes to suburban women. Big Little Lies starts with a death, and then flashbacks several months. Knowing what's waiting at the end, but not who died, makes every conflict feel like a clue. The chapters alternate between the perspectives of three women at the heart of everything. Emotional and satisfying.<br />
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7. <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Emily-Post-Daughter-Mistress-American/dp/0812967410" target="_blank">Emily Post: Daughter of the Gilded Age, Mistress of American Manners-- Laura Claridge</a></i><br />
Biographies are the best, because they take a person that you maybe knew by name, had a certain association with, and shine a light into a life. Laura Claridge did a fantastic job of making Emily Post someone I deeply cared about and rooted for; she did a whole lot more than write about which fork to use at a dinner party. Her emphasis on kindness being the key to class resonated with me. She also dabbled in gardening, architectural design, and the war effort. I love Emily Post after reading this. Long, but worth it.<br />
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8. <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Thunderstruck-Erik-Larson/dp/1400080673" target="_blank">Thunderstruck-- Erik Larson</a></i><br />
I enjoyed Erik's Larson's Devil in the White City, but this one was better. The juxtaposition of creating the wireless telegraph and long distance radio with the build up to a truly gruesome murder (don't read if you're squeamish) is flawlessly done. Larson brings the time period to life vividly and fills it with energy so that it seems it could be happening now. Extremely well done.<br />
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9.<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lady-Gold-Extraordinary-Masterpiece-Bloch-Bauer/dp/0307265641" target="_blank"> <i>The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer-- Anne-Marie O'Connor</i></a><br />
Art books aren't usually my thing. I don't have an art history background and although I love having symbolism or inside jokes of artwork pointed out to me, some art authors are way too academic to make it worth it. But this book is so much more than an art book. It starts with an artist, the subject of a portrait, and her family, and follows them through World War I and II, and onward to today. I highly recommend it. Even if you don't like art books.<br />
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10. <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Orient-Express-Hercule-Mysteries/dp/0062073508" target="_blank">Murder on the Orient Express-- Agatha Christie</a></i><br />
Another classic that I hadn't read yet. Agatha Christie at her best, need I say more?<br />
<br />
Honorable mentions:<br />
<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Clementine-Life-Mrs-Winston-Churchill/dp/0143128914/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=" target="_blank">Clementine: The Life of Mrs Winston Churchill-- Sonia Purnell</a></i><br />
<br />
<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Caped-Crusade-Batman-Rise-Culture/dp/1476756732" target="_blank">The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture-- Glen Weldon</a></i><br />
<br />
<br />
Best dedication is from Carrie Fisher's book, <i>Shockaholic. </i>"For Billie and Barack, who make my world a better place. Despite the obstacles you've had to overcome-- whether posed by my antics or the uber unfortunate antics of the Tea Partiers and the rest of their distressing ilk-- long may you wave." <br />
<br />
<br />
Now on to the overall list, alphabetical by author. As always, rereads are marked with *** and recommendations are bolded. If you have any questions or recommendations, hit me up!<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Nonfiction</u><br />
<br />
Lincoln's Last Trial: The Murder Case That Propelled Him to the Presidency-- Dan Abrams<br />
<b>If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look On My Face?: My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating-- Alan Alda</b><br />
<b>***The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance-- Elna Baker</b><br />
Contagious: Why Things Catch on-- Jonah Berger<br />
<b>Sandra Day O'Connor: How the First Woman on the Supreme Court Became Its Most Influential Justice-- Joan Biskupic</b><br />
<b>A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail-- Bill Bryson</b><br />
<b>American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, and the Birth of Hollywood-- Howard Blum</b><br />
<b>Incendiary: The Psychiatrist, the Mad Bomber, and the Invention of Criminal Profiling-- Michael Cannell</b><br />
<b>In Cold Blood-- Truman Capote</b><br />
<b>Emily Post: Daughter of the Gilded Age, Mistress of American Manners-- Laura Claridge</b><br />
<b>Junius and Albert's Adventures in the Confederacy: A Civil War Odyssey-- Peter Carlson</b><br />
<b>What Happened-- Hillary Rodham Clinton</b><br />
<b>A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership-- James Comey</b><br />
<b>Madame President: The Extraordinary Journey of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf-- Helene Cooper</b><br />
<b>The First Tour de France: Sixty Cyclists and Nineteen Days of Daring on the Road to Paris-- Peter Cossins</b><br />
<b>The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion-- Meghan Daum</b><br />
<b>***Four Seasons in Roe: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World-- Anthony Doerr</b><br />
<b>There Are No Grown Ups: A Midlife Coming of Age Story-- Pamela Druckerman</b><br />
The Great Movies-- Roger Ebert<br />
Bright-sided: How Positive Thinking is Undermining America-- Barbara Ehrenreich<br />
Zachary Taylor-- John SD Eisenhower<br />
<b>American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures-- America Ferrera</b><br />
Millard Fillmore-- Paul Finkelman<br />
<b>Shockaholic-- Carrie Fisher</b><br />
<b>Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France -- Leonie Frieda</b><br />
<b>Bend, Not Break: A Life in Two Worlds-- Ping Fu</b><br />
<b>Timekeepers: How the World Became Obsessed with Time-- Simon Garfield</b><br />
The Battle of Versailles: The Night American Fashion Stumbled into the Spotlight and Made History-- Robin Givhan<br />
The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon-- David Grann<br />
Autobiography of a Face-- Lucy Grealy<br />
<b>Franklin Pierce-- Michael F Holt</b><br />
The War of the Whales: A True Story-- Joshua Horwitz<br />
<b>Because I Said So! The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales, and Warnings Every Generation Passes Down to Its Kids-- Ken Jennings </b><br />
The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History-- Boris Johnson<br />
Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World-- Steven Johnson<br />
<b>Caesar's Last Breath: Decoding the Secrets of the Air Around Us-- Sam Kean</b><br />
<b>Gone: A Girl, a Violin, a Life Unstrung-- Min Kym</b><br />
<b>Thunderstruck-- Erik Larson</b><br />
Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir-- Jenny Lawson<br />
What So Proudly We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, a Life-- Marc Leepson<br />
The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie-- Wendy McClure<br />
I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer-- Michelle McNamara<br />
Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History-- Antonio Mendez, Matt Baglio<br />
<b>A Train in Winter: An Extraordinary Story of Women, Friendship, and Resistance in Occupied France-- Caroline Moorehead</b><br />
<b>The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer-- Anne Marie O'Connor</b><br />
<b>Failing Up: How to Take Risks, Aim Higher, and Never Stop Learning-- Leslie Odom Jr</b><br />
<b>Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners-- Therese Oneill</b><br />
<b>This is the Story of a Happy Marriage-- Ann Patchett</b><br />
<b>Clementine: The Life of Mrs Winston Churchill-- Sonia Purnell</b><br />
<b>Make Trouble: Standing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding the Courage to Lead-- Cecile Richards</b><br />
Staying True-- Jenny Sanford<br />
<b>The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks-- Rebecca Skloot</b><br />
<b>Dinner With the Smileys: One Military Family, One Year of Heroes, and Lessons for a Lifetime-- Sarah Smiley</b><br />
A Wish Your Heart Makes: From the Grimm Brothers' Aschenputtel to Disney's Cinderella-- Charles Solomon<br />
<b>Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption-- Bryan Stevenson</b><br />
<b>Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail-- Cheryl Strayed</b><br />
<b>Heroines of Mercy Street: The Real Nurses of the Civil War-- Pamela D Toler</b><br />
<b>The Dragon Behind the Glass: A True Story of Power, Obsession, and the World's Most Dangerous Fish-- Emily Voigt</b><br />
How to Ruin Everything: Essays-- George Watsky<br />
<b>The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture-- Glen Weldon</b><br />
First Bite: How We Learn to Eat-- Bee Wilson<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Fiction</u><br />
<br />
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: The Pox Party-- MT Anderson<br />
The Bear and the Nightingale-- Katherine Arden<br />
<b>I, Robot-- Isaac Asimov</b><br />
<b>Britt-Marie Was Here-- Fredrik Backman</b><br />
The School of Essential Ingredients-- Erica Bauermeister<br />
The House With a Clock In Its Walls-- John Bellairs<br />
<b>***Wuthering Heights-- Emily Bronte</b><br />
Grave Peril-- Jim Butcher<br />
<b>Crooked House-- Agatha Christie</b><br />
<b>Murder on the Orient Express- Agatha Christie</b><br />
<b>Peril at End House-- Agatha Christie</b><br />
The Last Mrs Parrish-- Liv Constantine<br />
***The Maze Runner- James Dashner<br />
***The Scorch Trials-- James Dashner<br />
The Death Cure-- James Dashner<br />
<b>***Room-- Emma Donoghue</b><br />
<b>A is for Alibi-- Sue Grafton</b><br />
B is for Burglar-- Sue Grafton<br />
<b>C is for Corpse-- Sue Grafton</b><br />
D is for Deadbeat-- Sue Grafton<br />
<b>***Just Ella-- Margaret Peterson Haddix</b><br />
<b>Pictures of You-- Caroline Leavitt</b><br />
<b>***A Song of Ice and Fire-- George RR Martin</b><br />
<b>***A Clash of Kings-- George RR Martin</b><br />
<b>A Storm of Swords-- George RR Martin</b><br />
A Feast for Crows-- George RR Martin<br />
<b>Five Carat Soul-- James McBride</b><br />
<b>***Anne of Green Gables-- Lucy Maud Montgomery</b><br />
<b>Big Little Lies-- Liane Moriarty</b><br />
The Husband's Secret-- Liane Moriarty<br />
<b>What Alice Forgot-- Liane Moriarty</b><br />
Little Fires Everywhere-- Celeste Ng<b> </b><br />
<b>***Wyrd Sisters-- Terry Pratchett</b><br />
<b>Sourcery-- Terry Pratchett</b><br />
Pyramids-- Terry Pratchett<br />
<b>Guards! Guards! -- Terry Pratchett</b><br />
<b>Eric -- Terry Pratchett</b><br />
<b>***Kissing in America-- Margo Rabb</b><br />
<b>***Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince-- JK Rowling</b><br />
The Lovely Bones-- Alice Sebold<br />
<b>The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society-- Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows</b><br />
Annihilation-- Jeff VanderMeerRebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-22748714572009863862018-10-07T20:31:00.001-07:002018-10-07T20:32:36.464-07:00Snow White and the Several Dwarves<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>My littlest sister, Lydia, asked me to write her a script for a play she can do at home. I've never been so flattered. It wouldn't be me without adding snarky and feminism, so here's the result, to be done with a smaller cast than the normal number of dwarves, because that's a lot of dialogue. A short, silly thing to hopefully make her smile.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Snow White and the Several Dwarfs<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Cast List</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Narrator / Magic Mirror / Prince<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Snow White<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Evil Queen <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Huntsman (can double as Bashful)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Doc<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Grumpy<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Happy<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Bashful<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Narrator: Once upon a time, in a kingdom
far, far away, there lived a young princess named Snow White. Her father was a
good king, but his wife was more worried about being beautiful than about being
kind. The queen’s anger was stirred as she saw how lovely Snow White grew, and
she made her do many hours of chores and never let her wear new dresses. But
Snow White had a pure heart, and nothing the queen did to her could make her
give up on her dream of finding a better life.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Enter Snow White. <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: Another day of scrubbing the corridors
done. I wish that my stepmother would at least tell me I am doing a good job
now and again! She must be very busy to never come and see my work. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">She sits, tired. </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wish I could go to a place where I was
appreciated and loved and everyone did their fair share. Here the birds are my
only friends, and I’m sorry to say they are not very good at conversation. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Prince, off stage: Snow White, thou art the
fairest maiden in the land! Say that you’ll marry me, and I will take you to my
own castle.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: Umm, another day, perhaps. How can I
marry a man I do not know?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Prince: Don’t be so picky! There are many
girls in towers who would be thrilled to accept. In fact, I’m off to give the
same offer to one right now!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: (sighs) This is not the dating scene I
had hoped for.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Exit Snow White. Scene shifts
to Queen’s chambers, with hand mirror. Queen is applying makeup.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queen: That girl grows more beautiful every
day, even in rags! I must consult my mirror to make sure that she has not
surpassed me… this new brand of lipstick promised that I’d be the most
beautiful woman at any party. If it is not so…. (she glowers) (addressing
mirror) Mirror, Mirror, in my hand / who’s the fairest in the land?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Mirror: Can anyone really say who the
fairest in all the land is? There are so many types of beauty, and it’s really
a very subjective thing… <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queen: Out with it!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Mirror: Yeah, it’s Snow White. Her heart
and soul are beautiful, not just her face.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queen exclaims in anger.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queen: I will sue that lipstick brand for
false advertising!!! <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Mirror: That does take quite a bit of
paperwork, my Queen.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queen: Silence! Fetch the Huntsman.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Mirror: Huntsman, please report to the
Queen’s chambers ASAP.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">A few moments, then Huntsman
enters, out of breath.</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">HM: What is it? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queen: I have a task for you. You must take
Snow White deep into the forest and kill her! Cut out her heart and deliver it
to me in this box.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">HM: That seems super dark. Isn’t this a
kids’ show? How about I just, like, give her a bad haircut?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queen: GO!!!!!!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">End scene. New scene :
Huntsman and Snow White are alone in the forest.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">HM: Snow White, I must warn you, the Queen
is out for blood. She will stop at nothing to destroy you. This is my first job
since graduating from the hunting academy, but it seems like murder is not a
normal job request.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: I can’t say I’m too surprised. She has
been growing more and more angry these last few years.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">He hands her a bag of
supplies.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">HM: Here, take these. I know a small
cottage you can go to. The forest can be a frightening place, but I’ve spent a
lot of time in it, and no harm will come to you.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: That’s very kind. Are you sure it won’t
endanger you?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">HM: I’m a huntsman, I can take care of
myself. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Narrator: As Snow White and the Huntsman
walked through the forest, they talked of many things. The princess felt glad
to be out of the castle and with her first human friend, and the Huntsman was
happy to help. Soon they came to the cottage in the clearing.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">HM: Now, full disclosure, I have never met
the people that live here, but I’m sure they’ll be nice, living so far out here
they probably don’t get many visitors. I have to go back now and throw the
Queen off the scent, but this should be a good place for you.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: Thank you again, kind Huntsman. (she
hugs him)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Exit Huntsman. Snow White
enters the cottage and looks around.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: What funny little chairs! They must be children
here! How odd that children would live all alone in the middle of the forest,
but stranger things have happened. I’ll just tidy up for them so they’ll know
I’ll be a good houseguest. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">(optional-- “Whistle While You Work” plays
/ she sings )<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: There, that’s much better! As I always
say, a clean house is a happy house. I’m now feeling very tired, I guess it
won’t be too rude to use these little beds for a nap.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">She sleeps. Enter the
dwarves.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Grumpy: Now, I don’t mind telling you,
something is not right. This cottage hasn’t been cleaned in years and suddenly
the windows are sparkling! It’s black magic, I tell you. We ought to just go
build a new one somewhere else, or sleep in the mine tonight. Who knows what
has taken residence here?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Doc: Now Grumpy, don’t be absurd. We all
know it’s serfectly pafe, I mean, perfectly safe.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">The dwarves creep up on the
beds.</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Happy: All right, fellows, let’s let our
guest know how delighted we are to have them by waking them up and yelling,
surprise!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Bashful: No, that’s not gonna happen. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Grumpy: It could be a dragon! <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Happy: Pretty small dragon, if you ask me.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Doc: It falls to me as the brave leader to
once again take charge. (He crawls to the bed and whispers, “who are you?”)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Snow White continues to
sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Grumpy: Oh for crying out loud. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He bangs loud objects together. </i>Who are
you and what are you doing in our house??<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Snow White wakes suddenly.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: Oh! I’m terribly sorry, I was waiting
for the children to get home. (She looks around) But you’re not children,
you’re little men! Oh, my, you really have no idea how to keep a house clean.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Bashful: we do, but-- (hides face)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: (laughs) Not to worry, now we can all
enjoy this clean home.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Doc: I beg your pardon?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: I’m going to be staying for an extended
visit. My stepmother, the Queen, is envious of my beauty and my friend the
Huntsman brought me here. Otherwise, I don’t know where I’ll go. Please let me
stay.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Grumpy: No! There are plenty of other
kingdoms and cottages.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Happy: Just a minute, Grumpy! We’d be HAPPY
to have you! That’s my name, Happy!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: An unusual name, but you quite live up
to it.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Doc: All dwarves are named after their most
noticeable attitude trait.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: What’s your name?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Doc: Doc.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: ….are you a doctor? Is that a
personality trait?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Doc: You ask a lot of questions.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Bashful: Maybe we should…. (hides face)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Happy: Invite her to dinner! You’re exactly
right. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Narrator: The dwarves and Snow White ate
dinner together, and then danced and sang till late in the night. Snow White
felt very lucky to have found these new friends.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">(Optional dance sequence)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Scene: the next day<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Happy: Well, Snow White, we’re off to work!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Bashful: Have a… garsh, you know (hides
face)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Doc: And don’t open the door for anyone!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Grumpy: Bah humbug. You’ll be fine,
obviously you have no problem with taking over our house, so any other problems
will be easily dealt with.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: (Laughs) Grumpy, I will bake your
favorite kind of pie tonight and we’ll see what you say then.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Grumpy: (stomps foot)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">The dwarves exit, singing “hi
ho.” Snow White goes into cottage. Almost immediately the Queen enters, in
disguise.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queen: This is a foolproof disguise! I
boiled up a potion to make me appear completely harmless. With ingredients like
the meow of a kitten and comfy pajamas, I now appear to pose no danger to
anyone. Snow White will never recognize me. But that will be her last
mistake…..<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">She knocks on the cottage
door.</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: Hello? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queen: It is I, a harmless peddler.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: That’s strange, the dwarves said that
no one had visited this cottage in years.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queen: It’s a new route. We’re reaching out
to new customers. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: How did you find this place?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">The Magic Mirror is seen
sticking out of the Queen’s basket. We flashback to hear him say,
“recalculating…. Recalculating…. Please make a U turn at the next tree)<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queen: Umm woman’s intuition. Now, do you
want to buy some apples?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: Grumpy’s favorite pie is apple, I heard
him say so last night. Yes, of course.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queen: Oh, that was much easier than I
expected. Wouldn’t you like to taste one first, to make sure that they’re good?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: Oh, you look so kind and trustworthy,
little a cute little kitten in pajamas. I’m sure their wonderful.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queen: (to audience) Blast! My disguise has
worked too well!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queen: (to SW) But I insist! These are
wishing apples!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: Wishing apples?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queen: Yes. You must think very hard of
your dearest wish and it will come true with the first bite.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: Wow.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queen: Yup, an amazing deal. Please, try
one.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW takes an apple. </span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SW: I’m wishing…. I’m wishing that I will
be able to live here in peace and that the Queen will realize that women
shouldn’t be tearing each other down over looks, we should support each other
in sisterhood. (she takes a bite)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queen: Wait!! <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Narrator: But it is too late. The Queen’s
poisoned apple has worked the instant Snow White’s lip touched it, she falls to
the ground in an enchanted sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queen: I now realize the error of my ways!!
Snow White was right, women shouldn’t be competing over who is more or less
beautiful, we should work together to make a better world. I regret the time I
lost not connecting with my stepdaughter. (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">weeps
bitterly)<o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">The dwarves enter, having
taken a very short work day.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Grumpy: What has this kitten in pajamas
done to Snow White!??!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Happy: I am UNHAPPY about this. And that’s
not a good way to feel.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Doc: Now, hold on just a minute, you
helpless looking imposter. You must be the evil queen that Snow White ran away
from.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queen: Well, yes, that was I, but I had a
mighty change of heart, and now I am full of bitter regret.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Bashful: Gosh. (exits, bashfully)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Happy: How can we break the spell? That’s
the only way I can be happy again.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queen: The antidote to the curse is a kiss
from someone with a heart as pure as hers. My mirror kept going about how Snow
White was beautiful on the inside as well as the outside, and so I figured it
would be a nice touch of irony to make the curse about inner beauty. But how
will we ever find someone so good?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Huntsman enters.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">HM: Oh, no, Snow White! I led her here out
of the goodness of my heart, to keep her safe, at personal risk to myself and
no profit, and look what has happened.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">The dwarves and queen all
look at him like, “AH HA”<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queen: Hey! It is I, the Formerly Evil
Queen.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">HM: (does a double take) Are you sure?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queen: Yes. There’s no time to explain,
kiss her! You have a pure heart!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">HM: Umm I feel weird about this, but a peck
on the cheek won’t hurt. (kisses SW’s cheek)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Snow White sits up , yawning.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Narrator: And so it came to pass that the
Queen learned to respect her fellow women based on actions, not appearances.
Snow White said a fond farewell to her dwarven friends, although they remained
fast friends. The cottage was just a little too small for her. She went back to
the castle, and the Huntsman was promoted to Castle Greeter. (It might not seem
like a promotion, but this was a much better fit for him.) And they all lived
happily ever after.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b></b></span>Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-23525138993620802642018-09-27T10:12:00.000-07:002018-09-27T10:15:24.577-07:00Justice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh10AK3_zooGSW9eLZUn-5DvzOcCzifxY-KxRnS8zltIYL9MKnEjW1L4FDPF5iq7WHF2dFc3WTGfZM5o5bTAtBbASSIbV3nQrcv7V6WW05hQno3VEJQMHimVObdjj7D5FKjezuSh_2uyX-z/s1600/justice.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="416" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh10AK3_zooGSW9eLZUn-5DvzOcCzifxY-KxRnS8zltIYL9MKnEjW1L4FDPF5iq7WHF2dFc3WTGfZM5o5bTAtBbASSIbV3nQrcv7V6WW05hQno3VEJQMHimVObdjj7D5FKjezuSh_2uyX-z/s320/justice.PNG" width="320" /></b></a></div>
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I've been thinking a lot about justice lately, and the many sides it takes to get there. Working in a court for the last six months has been fascinating in many ways-- even though it's just class B and C misdemeanors, it's a side of life I've never been acquainted with beyond a traffic ticket or two. Let me tell you, there is a shocking amount of shoplifting going on. Wal-mart, Smith's, and all the other stores that have ever examined my receipts are not being paranoid. One lady took a birthday cake and when the judge asked her why she said, "It was my birthday."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm such a Lawful Good alignment that it can be difficult for me to imagine what would lead to a person to become a repeat offender. Some of the defendants come in and clearly have drug problems and/or mental health problems. It's really sad. It can also be frustrating trying to explain the system to them, and being yelled at for your trouble. I'm trying to help you! But in their mind I'm the face of The Law, and that has come to have a very negative connotation for them.</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sitting at the clerks' table keeping minutes for a bench trial yesterday, I was struck by how the trial is a triangle, with all three sides being crucial: the police (the state), the legal defenders (lawyers), and the judge (or jury).</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I've been pretty vocal in the past about my strong belief that the police system is flawed, and that police brutality is unfortunately still a real threat to minorities, especially black men. This is still true. But it is not now, nor has it ever been true, that I am anti-police. Working in the court you talk to a lot of officers. The overwhelming impression I've gotten is one of duty and truly trying to protect and serve the community. My stance that body cams should be much more widely used, and wrongful violence should have immediate negative consequences is not saying, "All officers are like this." It's because the vast majority aren't, and they should be protected from the bad apples. </span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Being a member of the police force is like being part of a family that literally risks their life, and that bond is tighter than anything most of us can imagine. They see the seedy, crime underbelly of the city, and that can be a jaded perspective, but I believe that most honestly want to help improve things. That may be through arresting or charging people, which obviously the defendants don't see as a positive thing.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That brings us to the second point of the triangle, the defense. Legal defenders do a lot of work in my court, because we have a lot of low income people who wouldn't be able to afford an attorney of their own. Watching Hillary, our legal defender, work is amazing. She's clearly not in law for the money, she's in it for heart. She fights for people who have no legal experience, no idea what's going on. She stands at the podium and turns into a force of nature arguing for burden of proof and chain of custody and saying, this isn't what happened. They shouldn't be convicted. She stands up for people who would otherwise not know where to start with a defense. She also sees the lowest of the low, but she doesn't see the solution in incarceration. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sometimes she wins, sometimes the state wins. But they both are crucial, two sides of the same coin. The third, deciding factor is the judge or jury. This must be a neutral position. These rulings must not be tainted by emotion or bias. The judge knows the law, and can only rule by what has been proved in court. The jury is carefully selected and given strict instructions about what can and cannot be considered. Our judge is an amazing lady, the first black judge in Utah. She doesn't allow emotion to color her rulings, she explains them all with cold, hard logic. I love her.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm in a play, 12 Angry Jurors. It's a gender mixed version of the 1957 film 12 Angry Men. A man is on trial for murder. What's a reasonable doubt? What is more important- the life of the murdered man or the life of the accused murderer? The play is set in 1963, and my job gives me a great appreciation for how much hasn't changed, in this regard. Almost everything else is radically different than it was in the sixties. But the law-- the lawyers, the prosecution, the verdict-- the process is still the same. The judicial branch is the most impartial of the three branches of government, and it is crucial to preserving law and order. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I have a lot that I could say-- about how oddly emotional I've gotten after helping someone understand what an arraignment is, or being told, "I was scared to come to court, but it wasn't so bad." We've seen tons of societies with corrupt justice systems, and the law is a joke. The Gilbert & Sullivan show Justin and I did this summer was exactly like that. Justin played a corrupt (typical for the era) judge who sings, "All thieves who could my fees afford/ Relied on my orations/ And many a burglar I've restored to his friends and his relations!" It was funny, but if that was our reality, how terrifying.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The law is not a matter of emotion, it's fact. Even on the lowest level, where I work, it has to be neutral. The state brings officers to testify for the prosecution, the legal defender cross examines and speaks for the defense, and the judge or jury rules on the matter. We HAVE to be able to trust our judges.</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's important. It's really, really important.</span></b>Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-26703208715784939282018-07-05T09:11:00.000-07:002018-07-05T09:11:20.958-07:00My Halfway Through the Year Resolution<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>I love New Year's Day, because it's a clean, fresh slate with no mistakes in it and unlimited potential. Through the year I can lose sight of that potential. January is simply a word on a calendar, there's no reason I shouldn't sit down and set goals in July. Recently I've been thinking about what I prioritize in this the latter half of my twenties. And before I buy a ticket for the grand adventure that is starting a family, I really, really, really want to get more theatre in it. A lot of theatre. It's been six months since I was in a show, and at that time I didn't appreciate it as much as I should have because I was also trying to plan a wedding.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>I don't plan on making that mistake again. (Not appreciating a show.) (Although I also don't plan on planning any more weddings.)</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>In preparation for the flurry of July auditions, I printed out new resumes for this stranger who is Rebecca Cook. I have been signing up for auditions left, right, and center, even though I don't dare type the names of the shows I'm auditioning for fear of jinxing it. Theatre gods are capricious creatures. Idk, man. I'm not superstitious, but I am a little stititious.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Auditions make me The Most Anxious™. Or maybe that honor belongs to callbacks. On second thought, it definitely belongs to callbacks. What torment could be sweeter than knowing that you're within spitting distance of getting what you want, but not at all guaranteed of a slot on the cast list? Audra McDonald said that an actor's job isn't to get cast, it's to audition well. Sometimes I don't feel I can do either. But I want to. I want to audition well! And I doubly want to get cast! (Not caring about something may be the key to success, but I've never been good at that.) </b></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG2jkTdFF6T8A4TIwGW6Eylpf_rvYZBHYPa2ok7D5M5PYWZy7T7JiIn5RBOeSaHKfsVSVB57eI_mt4H3P84c7X-ocL31sysXA3VQTqgVi2H8aaMhKUkeH4-uJxnJdqAmr-jvkf98g_tJpX/s1600/36550655_10216890081908581_1861558144572850176_n.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1199" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG2jkTdFF6T8A4TIwGW6Eylpf_rvYZBHYPa2ok7D5M5PYWZy7T7JiIn5RBOeSaHKfsVSVB57eI_mt4H3P84c7X-ocL31sysXA3VQTqgVi2H8aaMhKUkeH4-uJxnJdqAmr-jvkf98g_tJpX/s400/36550655_10216890081908581_1861558144572850176_n.png" width="240" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Mood when you realize that the director has no obligation to cast you even though you've dreamt about performing this show since you were seventeen </b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Because I care so much about auditions and I despise failing, I've been known to talk myself out of auditions because "it's not like I would make it anyway." No more! Not this year! Not this married lady! I am going to go to every audition I'm even remotely interested in until I get cast. Life belongs to those who show up, after all. And even a "failed" audition can lead to valuable experience, or connections, or maybe they have free cookies there or something.</b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Rejection, they say, doesn't necessarily mean you aren't talented. It just means you aren't right for this show. My oh my, it feels much more personal than that, and it seems like the people who say stuff like that just happen to always be right for every role.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I feel like I'm a good cast member. I think most of my directors have liked me. But the sucky thing about auditions is that everyone feels that way and everyone thinks it's their turn, and the directors don't ask for essays extrapolating on how much you want this. Quote from my 2017 journal: "I know that casting is subjective, but does it have to be subjective so many times in a row?" </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>So, if you know of any auditions, hit me up. Anticipating auditions is a strange high because you never know, you might do FANTASTIC! This could be the show that I'm a perfect fit for! Mayhap they'll even forgive my dancing because the light in my eyes is so bright, or whatever. (#SingerWhoMoves) And if you have any audition tips that have helped you, please share! Rebecca Cook is here and she's only been rejected twice and she's hungry to be onstage.</b></span></div>
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Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-17349778485800238502018-05-16T10:46:00.000-07:002018-05-16T10:46:22.747-07:00An Open Letter to Meghan Markle<b><br /></b>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Dear Ms Markle,<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>You are getting married in just three days! That’s pretty
awesome! I’m getting married in three days too. (We
picked the date first.) Along with much of the United States, I’ve been
obsessed with the royal family since William & Kate got married. Having a
royal wedding AND a royal baby in one year is almost too much goodness to bear.
(Have you met Prince Louis yet?) Sharing an anniversary with the second Royal Wedding is the best present I could ask for.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Are you nervous? Are you excited? Have you had awkward small
talk with the Queen while the corgis sat on the couch looking judgmental?<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Can I just say that I am dying to see your dress? Kate had a fairytale princess dress, but I have a feeling this one isn’t going to
be the miles long train style. Kate is a perfect bride for William, just like
he’s the ideal eldest son, heir to the throne. She’s classy, like you, but you’ve
got the edge factor. I mean, your engagement photos had one with a sheer top
and people wrote articles about its significance. What a world.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>I fell in love with my dress the second time I put it on. I
wanted to feel like a princess on my wedding day (my originality is truly
shocking) but it turns out that basically any wedding dress made me feel like a
princess so I had to give my favorites a second go around another day, and
that’s when I knew. Your dress won’t be revealed until you walk down the aisle in it. Even
the designer is a closely guarded secret. All I can wish for you is that when
you put it on you don’t ever want to take it off, because that’s how I feel.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Meghan, are you okay with giving up your career as an actress? It must have been strange to end your most recent show, Suits, with a wedding for your character. It must be surreal to enter a
world that your family will never be fully integrated into, especially with all the drama around them lately. Hopefully Kate
takes you aside and gives you some pointers on making it was a come lately royal.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8CtR5kn2_kZbIqugREpNJrJPrpXrshlyivxeUj8XbVEKdwZVitxjsjADKac-WmcwDM1HnzvADIomY2gSJeFOtwZyfISKuKpNhw4JKfhgpKddRurzFuTilgp0AnRRvcmNL9NJa_ddnD5wx/s1600/weddings-2016-02-rachel-zane-dress-3-main.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1066" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8CtR5kn2_kZbIqugREpNJrJPrpXrshlyivxeUj8XbVEKdwZVitxjsjADKac-WmcwDM1HnzvADIomY2gSJeFOtwZyfISKuKpNhw4JKfhgpKddRurzFuTilgp0AnRRvcmNL9NJa_ddnD5wx/s320/weddings-2016-02-rachel-zane-dress-3-main.jpg" width="213" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Rachel Zane's wedding dress. We can only speculate what Meghan's will be.<br />(I think this one is five stars and would have stolen it from set.)</b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Do you compare yourself to other brides? Kate’s wedding was
the spectacle of the year, and yours is on track to be the same. There are
countdowns on television to the big event (my coworkers tell me the countdowns
are for me). People are going to compare the two weddings. And that’s tough.
Because you and Kate are different women. I have to tell myself that when I see
someone completely gorgeous and poised and who also made two hundred silk
flowers by hand for wedding favors. We’re different women. Weddings aren’t a
competition.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Do you ever catch your breath at your good fortune? I’ve
never been one for gingers (although Justin does have some red in his beard),
but does looking at Harry make you feel like the luckiest lady alive? You deserve that feeling. He seems
completely smitten and anxious to start a family. (Honestly I’d hope that the
kids take after you but again I’m not one for Weasleys.) You must be someone
very special to get him straightened out and on his way to Windsor to take his
vows. He had some wild years…. And he’s inviting his exes to the wedding… but
girl after Saturday he is yours officially so grin and bear it! <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>I wonder if royal marriage is hard. I mean, I know regular
marriage is going to be hard. But do all the public events make it more or less
difficult? Does it bring you and Harry closer or farther apart? “Don’t forget
to have date night” is a bit useless when it comes to giving advice to someone
who is photographed every time she leaves the house (castle).</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Anyway I’m nervous and excited and jittery and in love and
it makes me feel better to know that there’s another woman out there who is
prepping for this life changing ritual, on the world stage, at Windsor
Palace with millions watching. I'll take my greenhouse with a gazebo. But come May 19<sup>th</sup>
we’ll both be wives. Justin calls me a princess too. Good luck, and God Save the Queen.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Much love,<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Rebecca<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<br />Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970923451377813944.post-4560715339642457062018-03-22T07:35:00.002-07:002018-03-22T07:35:50.145-07:00When You're Falling in a Forest....How do people keep friends? How do adult women make people want to keep talking to them year after year, or even month after month? I am finding that I'm..... not good at it. I'm getting ghosted by people I thought wouldn't ghost me. And I'm kind of dying.<br />
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I feel like I'm okay at making friends, especially in the confines of a theatre when we're mingling every day for three months. And then when a show ends I'm lucky if I see anyone from it ever again. I'm used to those mini friendships ending but lately it seems like some major ones are falling by the wayside too. I want to figure out what I'm doing wrong so I can knock it off.<br />
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Hopefully I'm not completely unpleasant. I try to be a good friend. Introversion is my natural state, but I thought I did a decent job at maintaining friendships via occasional lunch dates and text messages. Most of my friends are introverts too so this worked well. But now the radio silence is deafening and I'm getting scared that I just don't get to have best friends anymore, and I don't know why.<br />
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I have Justin, who is a lifesaver, and truly the love of my life, but but no man could possible be expected to fill the emotional crevices that my girlfriends do. I have cherished friends in faraway states who would be there for movie night if NASA would get around to inventing teleportation, but alas. And there are friends who definitely tolerate me but have a real circle of friends. Best friends. How do people make the jump to the real circle, and stay there?<br />
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Dealing with the loss of a best friend is hard because break ups are publicly acknowledged. But saying "Well so and so won't talk to me anymore and I really love her" doesn't seem like something people do... I am at my wit's end and maybe all my friendships are going to end with silence.<br />
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The opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference. In middle school I got the nickname "Shadow" because I followed my friends around, begging for attention. It was humiliating, because if you have to beg for attention, are you actually friends? When I reach out repeatedly only to be ignored I feel like I've been flung back to middle school, which I believe is the literal definition of hell. I'm cringing while typing this because GUESS WHAT it's another attempt at reaching out into the void of human interaction and that's just yikes<br />
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I know life isn't a popularity contest. I know that social media is a toxic wasteland that presents a carefully cultivated image of lives that are likely as chaotic and confusing as mine. I know that friendships have an ebb and flow and that getting engaged has taken up a ton of my time. But I would really love to believe I could have a girls' night with better attendance than me and a cardboard cutout of Taylor Swift. I miss venting and laughing hysterically and going out randomly. I miss being around girls who really knew me. I am scared that I'm not enough, and that for the rest of my life I'll have an amorphous circle of 'friends' who I like, and like me, but we aren't all that close. And how am I going to be a soccer mom if I don't know how to make friends with the other moms at PTA???<br />
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I am truly grateful to the people who haven't shut me down. Please keep giving me chances. I am extremely sorry if you're reading this and I've done something that made you feel like I didn't want to be friends. Please help me improve so that I don't drive more people away.<br />
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How can I be better at making and KEEPING friends? I want to fix the problem!! Ad how do you deal with women you deeply admire, who are so COOL, ignoring you? The anxiety that tells me I am the most irritating person in the world is flaring up pretty on a regular schedule these days-- like, if given the choice between me and being punched in the face, would you hang out with me?<br />
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Cuz I'm tap, tap, tapping on the glass.....<br />
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<br />Rebecca Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03497180837746521644noreply@blogger.com2