Po(sey) Sessions

The Weekend Assignment is posted each Friday at Outpost Mâvarin ; a roundup of responses goes up the following Thursday. Weekend Assignment #207 : Are you a news junkie, or not so much? Do you seek out news on tv, radio, in newspapers or online, or are you sick of the endless rehashing of the same issues? I realize it's all a continuum, from "I never watch the news" to "I keep it on all day, and read several newspapers" (or whatever). Maybe you vacillate, depending on what's going on in the world or your own life. What's your current level of interest? I sometimes watch the news all day long and other days I just can't take it. I am definitely sick of the rehashing of the same issue. Oh the days when I watch the news I start with World News on ABC and then switch to one of the other networks (NBC or CBS). I try to only watch one half an hour of the local news so I don't have to see the same story three or more times. I almost only get my n...

I went to the grocery store today. I never buy books at the grocery store because I don't pay full price for books. But today I came across a bin of discounted books. So what do you think happened? I have never heard of this author but the cover says "Winner of the Pulitzer Prize." And as much as I am a book junkie I am also a prize winner junkie. I have a hard time passing up a book that says this. This one was only $2.99. I lifted the following blurb from bookreporter.com. The legendary sportswriter Red Smith once remarked that writing was not difficult: "All you do is sit down in front of a typewriter and open up a vein." Imagine for a moment the accomplishments of Herman Wouk. Apparently not content to rest on a duly deserved reputation for such works as THE CAINE MUTINY and THE WINDS OF WAR, to name just two of his novels, he continues to publish at the age of 88. Lest anyone believe that he is living on his past, A HOLE IN TEXAS, his most recent e...

It isn't my birthday, but I am pretending it is. All month long I am celebrating my UNbirthday! On Monday, you may recall, I asked for "all the rest of the books in the world." And I am making great progress towards that goal! Yesterday I bought over 40 new to me books. But, more about that later. You know what a birthday isn't complete without? SURPRISES! The first surprise came on Monday from Brittanie . I won A Soldier's Family by Cheryl Wyatt . Next one came today. I won Sherry 's very generous 100,000 Hit Giveaway. The Book of Life: An Illustrated History of the Evolution of Life on Earth by the late Stephen Jay Gould and a nicely framed set of dinosaur stamps featuring 2 dinosaur scenes painted by famous Dinotopia author James Gurney. Now for the books I bought for myself. There are WAY TOO MANY to list here. But I will tell you that I spent about $30 total on them. 2 I gave to an 8 year old girl who lives down the street from me. She was so excited....

The first step is accepting you have a problem right? Well I wanted to tell you guys all about my adventures today, but I am just not feeling up to it. I have had a cold for over a week and have chosen not to whine about it but I can last no longer. The cold is over but now I am practically bedridden with a HORRIBLE allergy attack. I just feel quite miserable. So telling you about my new (to me) 40+ books is going to have to wait for a little bit.

Thanks to Florinda at The 3 R's: Reading, 'Riting, and Randomness for letting me know about this. The Weekend Assignment is posted each Friday at Outpost Mâvarin ; a roundup of responses goes up the following Thursday. We ekend Assignment #206: My birthday is coming up on Monday. In the grand tradition of the Beatles and my mom*, I magnanimously declare this to be your birthday, too. So, what would you like for your birthd ay? (And no, I won't actually be buying it for you. Sorry!) *My mom once bought me a parakeet on her birthday. (That would be Karen's mom, not Megan's) It is funny that the assignment involves it being my birthday today. My birthday was just two months ago, but I found it slightly disappointing and thought that maybe I would declare a new, imaginary birthday for a little pick me up. Luckily, Karen, you did it for me. Now it isn't technically still the weekend, but since I j ust found out about this today you are just going to have to for...

In honor of Rhonda's contest at A Mother's Heart , I ask " What kind of coffee are you? " Rhonda is giving away a one pound bag of Starbuck's coffee. You know you want it. Click here to enter by leaving a comment on her post. You Are a Frappacino At your best, you are: fun loving, sweet, and modern At your worst, you are: childish and over indulgent You drink coffee when: you're craving something sweet Your caffeine addiction level: low What Kind of Coffee Are You? If you do the quiz make sure to leave a note in the comments so I can stop by for a visit. And if you are bored, check this out .

In honor of Gabriel Garcia Marquez 's recent birthday, I decided to read " A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings ." Besides a half hearted attempt to start Love in the Time of Cholera I have never read any of his work. Does anyone listen to or read The Writer's Almanac ? I love the little tidbits it can always provide me with. This part of the broadcast I found particularly interesting. One day in January of 1965, the complete first chapter of One Hundred Years of Solitude came to him suddenly while he was driving his car from Mexico City to Acapulco. He came home that night and told his wife not to bother him and locked himself in a room for eight to 10 hours a day for the next 18 months and wrote the novel. Recently I have been particularly interested in first lines of books and short stories. I have been doing a little study on them exploring why and how they are successful story openers. Marquez's short story starts: On the third day of rain they had killed ...