The girl, age 11.

This could be a picture of me at her age, nose stuck in a book.

I’m so glad she’s a reader, like both her parents.

Better still, is the book she’s reading, a favorite of ours. It’s such a thrill to share beloved books with our kids, and have them appreciate them, too.

We spent part of the afternoon in a coffeeshop, she with her hot chocolate, me with a mocha, pleasantly reading, quietly passing the time together, doing what we love to do best.

My friend Karen once told me that I make a really good “regret” face. I’m making it now. You would, too, because SERIOUSLY, how did I not ever notice THIS GUY in high school? Check him out as the skydiving instructor in The Bucket List, starring two guys I did NOT go to high school with, Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson.

I’ve been in love with the short story since I was a child, discovering renewed passion for it when the form allowed for the limited time I had to read when my children were small. I am a collector of short stories, particularly those found in the annual collection, The Best American Short Stories. I have nearly every volume published since the year I was born. Imagine my surprise when, upon visiting the home of a new friend two years ago, saw a bookshelf filled with the collections — it was like seeing my own bookshelf in someone else’s home. I also like the O. Henry Prize Stories and occasionally will pick up that anthology as well. For a time, I volunteered with Delmar magazine, the St. Louis literary publication, find writers, promote readings and publish its annual volume.

The 2007 edition of Best American Short Stories, (which I ordered and read hungrily, an annual tradition of mine since 1993), was edited by Stephen King. You may have heard of him. My favorite story within is Wait by Roy Kesey, originally published in The Kenyon Review. Any traveler who has had to wait will enjoy this story.

I recently added the Books application to my Facebook profile. You can follow what I’m reading there, and what I thought of it, in case you’re interested. As friends and family know, I read a ridculous amount. I read fiction, nonfiction and business books — and that’s just what I read on paper. Online, I read much more.

Some of the best gifts I recieved in 2007 were books — both boxes full and complete surprises. Danielle sent me every book in the Sweet Potato Queen’s collection and Amanda sent me a Book Box — a kind of traveling book club full of delightful novels that kept me in pages for months. I have just paid it forward, and sent the Book Box to another book-loving friend, as a surprise to her. I can’t wait to send another Book Box to an unsuspecting reader!

While I’m waiting for Dwight’s book to be available via Amazon, I’m looking for any recommendations from you. My book well is about to run dry, and I have some travel in my future. My Mistress’s Sparrow is Dead is on deck (a collection of love stories, just in time for Valentine’s Day). Any ideas?

Finally, while I await your recommendations, I share this story, written by my former writing teacher and friend, Bob Earleywine. The Lone Ranger (Abandoned Episode) was originally printed in Natural Bridge, the literary journal produced by the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Enjoy!

I know this is an old game, but I still like it.

I once worked overnight for Good Morning America when they were broadcasting live from St. Louis. I got to deliver scripts and Diet Coke to Joan Lunden. Joan briefly dated Kevin Costner. Kevin Costner and Kevin Bacon starred in JFK together.

A score of 3. To find yours, check out UVa’s Oracle of Bacon.

What’s your story? (Dad, yours oughta be good!)

Wow! What great singing!
(Except Christopher Walken)
Travolta in drag!

It’s a fun movie
Liked it better than the first
I laughed right out loud

What did you think?

With the writers’ strike, our 3x Netflix contract will be in heavy rotation. Expect more haikus (is that EVEN the plural?) in the near future.

Petey Green, DJ
James Brown was a bad, bad man
Did ALL DJ’s smoke?

Good acting all ’round
It’s a cool snapshot in time
Not a lot of laughs

I’m not going to bore you with the long list of business books I’ve been absorbing over the last few months. What I do want to tell you is that I’ve been completely waylaid by The Other Boleyn Girl. My sister sent it to me for my birthday and I have not been able to put it down. I’ll warrant that at the beginning I thought, this is the closest to a romance novel as I’ve gotten since I filched my sister’s Danielle Steele novels when I was a kid. Actually, though, it’s historical fiction and therefore a world apart from the likes of the Fabio-enhanced novels my grandmother favored.

It’s a good thing I had much time this weekend for curling up in the papasan chair with my book; at 672 pages it’s a commitment for which you want to have time for continuous reading. Or, if you like, you can just wait for the movie (starring Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson).

Sunday morning I picked up a copy of The Road. I finished it later that afternoon. It was captivating, thought-provoking and heartbreaking. If you like post-apocalyptic novels, this book’s for you. I mean, it’s not a laugh riot, to be sure, but I did get a wry smile or two out of it.

It is a good, hard-to-put-down book, my favorite kind. It did, however remind me a bit of this book, also a good post-apocalyptic treat.  

Know of any other good end of the world stories I might like? I think I’m on a kick.

Read the Wikipedia review.

Or, if you prefer, what The New York Times had to say.

P.S. I peeled of the Oprah Book Club sticker because I don’t ever want to be accused of doing something because Oprah told me to do it.

Wow! Thanks to all of you who got in touch after my second post restating my book giveaway. It makes me so happy to be passing along a good book to another avid reader.

Social Kim said, “I found [the book] excerpts on the website to be excruciating yet I was ready for more. As a social worker, it is easy to forget the story behind the broken souls and battered lives sometimes. I’d like to read more.” And so she will — Kim, your book will be on its way shortly.  

The giveaway had the added benefit of drawing a few new readers to this site, including Dana, Lacey, HomeMom and Diane. Welcome to all of you! I hope you’ll stick around for awhile, as I’m bound to be shipping off another book to one of you soon.

I tried to give away a book. I even extended the deadline a bit. But no one is interested, I guess. Maybe it was the book itself? Too heavy? Next time, I’ll try something lighter.

If you’re having second thoughts, leave me a comment and I’ll get in touch.