Completely OT Meme

Okay, I am going to post a book review this evening, but I just don't have time until then. In the meantime, I've been tagged for a completely off-topic meme (thanks, Chris!)

This is the "top 100 songs from the year you graduated from high school" meme. What will you learn about me? That I'm a person easily annoyed, I think. Or, 1985 was a particularly bad year. I've got to be honest and say that most of these songs make me cringe just thinking about them.

I've put the meme behind the jump.

Here are the rules (changed slightly):

RED = I loved it!
BLACK = I liked it (meh)
Strikeout = I hated it!
Blue strike out= hated with a pure white passion


1. Careless Whisper, Wham!
2. Like A Virgin, Madonna
3. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Wham!
4. I Want To Know What Love Is, Foreigner
5. I Feel For You, Chaka Khan
6. Out Of Touch, Daryl Hall and John Oates
7. Everybody Wants To Rule The World, Tears For Fears
8. Money For Nothing, Dire Straits
9. Crazy For You, Madonna
10. Take On Me, A-Ha
11. Everytime You Go Away, Paul Young
12. Easy Lover, Phil Collins and Philip Bailey
13. Can't Fight This Feeling, REO Speedwagon
14. We Built This City, Starship
15. The Power Of Love, Huey Lewis and The News
16. Don't You (Forget About Me), Simple Minds
17. Cherish, Kool and The Gang
18. St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion), John Parr
19. The Heat Is On, Glenn Frey
20. We Are The World, U.S.A. For Africa
21. Shout, Tears For Fears
22. Part-Time Lover, Stevie Wonder (?)
23. Saving All My Love For You, Whitney Houston
24. Heaven, Bryan Adams
25. Everything She Wants, Wham!
26. Cool It Now, New Edition (?)
27. Miami Vice Theme, Jan Hammer
28. Lover Boy, Billy Ocean
29. Lover Girl, Teena Marie
30. You Belong To The City, Glenn Frey
31. Oh Sheila, Ready For The World
32. Rhythm Of The Night, Debarge
33. One More Night, Phil Collins
34. Sea Of Love, Honeydrippers
35. A View To A Kill, Duran Duran
36. The Wild Boys, Duran Duran
37. You're The Inspiration, Chicago
38. Neutron Dance, Pointer Sisters
39. We Belong, Pat Benatar
40. Nightshift, Commodores
41. Things Can Only Get Better, Howard Jones
42. All I Need, Jack Wagner
43. Freeway Of Love, Aretha Franklin
44. Never Surrender, Corey Hart
45. Sussudio, Phil Collins
46. Strut, Sheena Easton
47. You Give Good Love, Whitney Houston
48. The Search Is Over, Survivor
49. Missing You, Diana Ross
50. Separate Lives, Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin
51. Raspberry Beret, Prince and The Revolution
52. Suddenly, Billy Ocean
53. The Boys Of Summer, Don Henley
54. One Night In Bangkok, Murray Head
55. If You Love Somebody Set Them Free, Sting
56. Obsession, Animotion
57. We Don't Need Another Hero, Tina Turner
58. Material Girl, Madonna
59. Better Be Good To Me, Tina Turner
60. Head Over Heels, Tears For Fears
61. Axel F, Harold Faltermeyer (?)
62. Smooth Operator, Sade
63. In My House, Mary Jane Girls
64. Don't Lose My Number, Phil Collins
65. All Through The Night, Cyndi Lauper
66. Run To You, Bryan Adams
67. Glory Days, Bruce Springsteen
68. Voices Carry, 'Til Tuesday
69. Misled, Kool and The Gang
70. Would I Lie To You?, Eurythmics
71. Be Near Me, ABC
72. No More Lonely Nights, Paul McCartney
73. I Can't Hold Back, Survivor
74. Summer Of '69, Bryan Adams
75. Walking On Sunshine, Katrina and The Waves
76. Freedom, Wham!
77. Too Late For Goodbyes, Julian Lennon
78. Valotte, Julian Lennon (?)
79. Some Like It Hot, Power Station
80. Solid, Ashford and Simpson
81. Angel, Madonna
82. I'm On Fire, Bruce Springsteen
83. Method Of Modern Love, Daryl Hall and John Oates
84. Lay Your Hands On Me, Thompson Twins
85. Who's Holding Donna Now, Debarge
86. Lonely Ol' Night, John Cougar Mellencamp
87. What About Love, Heart
88. California Girls, David Lee Roth
89. Fresh, Kool and The Gang
90. Do What You Do, Jermaine Jackson
91. Jungle Of Love, The Time (?)
92. Born In The USA, Bruce Springsteen
93. Private Dancer, Tina Turner
94. Who's Zoomin' Who, Aretha Franklin
95. Fortress Around Your Heart, Sting
96. Penny Lover, Lionel Richie
97. All She Wants To Do Is Dance, Don Henley
98. Dress You Up, Madonna
99. Sentimental Street, Night Ranger
100. Sugar Walls, Sheena Easton

I'm going to tag:

Robin Brande (if she does memes...)

MotherReader

Jen Robinson (same year?!?)

Jules and Eisha (those youngsters!)

This is the post in which I finally admit...

I've bitten off more than I can chew.

You all may have noticed that I love to organize. I also adore a good project. But in cleaning up my own archives, review notifications, and boxes of books this month, it's time to accept some facts about my limitations.

In a way, this sad post relates quite nicely to a meme tag from NYCTeacher: The Summer Goals Meme. So I'll be combining the two in a tidy Summer Goals/Facing the Facts list.

1. The Edge of the Forest. The Forest is my great love. And, I really wanted to avoid a June/July issue this summer. But, due to conferences and summer research/travel, I'm going to have to publish a June/July issue instead of two separate ones. The upside is that June/July and August will both be big issues. The downside is that I feel like a failure.

2. Children's Book Reviews. Children's Book Reviews is another of my pet projects. I really wanted to create a central place on the web where kids and parents can find blog reviews of books. Multiple reviews of the same books, even. I entered in the archives of about 10 blogs including my own and planned to continue down my list of 12 more blogs. But I can barely keep up with my own and the Forest's archives. I have to admit defeat here as well. However, I intend to still host Children's Book Reviews and invite anyone who'd like to enter in their reviews to send me an e-mail and I'll teach you how to do so. It's very easy, especially if you archive already. I get several hits a day from CBR, so someone is using it. (Fuse #8--I failed you most of all.)

3. Okay. So these are my big disappointed-in-self issues. Try to accept and move on to other goals.

4. Say no to all but one community/school volunteer "opportunity" for the next academic year. DO NOT agree to everything.

5. Participate in MotherReader's 48 Hour Challenge.

6. Exercise 30 minutes a day, even if it's only walking.

7. Write, write, write.

8. Enjoy hanging with the kids this summer.

9. Use the term "man flu" at least once a week for the next year.

On to more archiving, notifying, and stacking of books!

I've been tagged (I)

I've been tagged by The Magic of Books as a Thinking Blogger. (Thanks, PJ Librarian!)

Robin Brande recently mentioned that she was sure I had been tagged, but, alas, not until this point. So here's the upshot:

Origins of the award can be found at the thinking blog.

The rules are:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if golddoesn't fit your blog).

I wanted to nominate thinking bloggers I'm not sure have been nominated earlier. If you've already been nominated, feel free to pass your nomination on to another thinking blog.

My nominations are:

Michele at Scholar's Blog for always making me think and for catching my typos.

Becky at Farm School, who always writes long and thoughtful posts on a variety of topics.

Kirby Larson for her Hot Women of Children's Literature series. (Oh, and for Hattie Big Sky, too.)

Kate's Book Blog--because Kate's posts on books are thoughtful and I always find a new recommendation over at her place.

Kimberley at lectitans--a newer kid/YA book blog, but a good one.

Weekly timewaster

What's a week without a good meme? This one comes via Becky's Book Reviews. (Thanks, Becky!) I've done these tests before when they have 100 or more questions, so I was surprised a 10-question quiz garnered the same result I always get.

Your Personality is Very Rare (INTP)

Your personality type is goofy, imaginative, relaxed, and brilliant. Only about 4% of all people have your personality, including 2% of all women and 6% of all men You are Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

I've been tagged!

I love a good meme, especially when it relates to reading. Thanks to Elaine of Wild Rose Reader for the tag. This meme is simplicity itself: What are you reading?

Children's/YA

At the moment I'm reading T.K. Welsh's Resurrection Men and Nick Ruth's The Dark Dreamweaver.

ADULT FICTION

Asa Larsson's The Blood Split (Swedish mystery) and The Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai (last year's Big Book I missed).

AUDIO BOOK

At this very moment I'm listening to Augusten Burrough's Possible Side Effects, but I only have 37 minutes left and an hour drive ahead of me soon. So...next it's another Big Book from 2006, The Road.
===========================
I tag anyone who has not yet done this meme! And, hey, if you have an extra moment, head on over to Check It Out. MsMac is seeking input on a good readaloud choice.

'Cause everyone is doing it....

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Link via the always smart Bookseller Chick.

Stolen memory meme

Gail Gauthier has a great meme up today. As she hasn't tagged anyone, I've decided to borrow it.

1. How old were you when you learned to read and who taught you?

My mom says I was two, but everyone else says that's an exaggeration. I know I was reading fluently by the time I was in school.

2. Did you own any books as a child? If so, what’s the first one that you remember owning? If not, do you recall any of the first titles that you borrowed from the library?

The first books I really remember were the Little Golden Books. They sold them at our grocery store and, if we were good, our parents would let us chose one from time to time. We also went to the library at least once a week. The Pokey Little Puppy is the first book I remember.

3. What’s the first book that you bought with your own money?

Hmmm...I'm not sure. Probably a Steven King novel when I was about 12.

4. Were you a re-reader as a child? If so, which book did you re-read most often?

Absolutely! Like Gail, I loved Little Men. (But not Little Women.) I also read The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, The Secret Language, A Wrinkle in Time, and Little House in the Big Woods many, many times each. Oh, and Enid Blyton's Malory Towers series.

5. What’s the first adult book that captured your interest and how old were you when you read it?

Agatha Christie was my gateway author. I began reading her books when I was ten. I also read Daphne Du Maurier at about that time. My Cousin Rachel was my favorite book for many years.

6. Are there children’s books that you passed by as a child that you have learned to love as an adult? Which ones?

I can think of two: Watership Down and Peter Pan. Talking animals upset me as a child, and I thought Peter was just too mean.

Steal away, my friends!

ETA: I just discovered who created this meme. The wonderful Kate S. of Kate's Book Blog wrote the meme herself (and has great answers).

The Nearest Book

Here's fun meme that allows me to make an announcement at the same time: Monster Blood Tatto rocks.

I'll explain why the annoucement after the meme. Meme via Susan at Chicken Spaghetti.

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next four sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig around for that "cool" or "intellectual" book on your shelves. (I know you were thinking about it.) Just pick up whatever is closest.

Here's what I found:

It was enough water to quench any thirst and not so far down the road that Rossamünd would have perished before he found it. This really struck him: had he pushed on, he might have been all right on his own after all. He thought life's twistings very odd.

Europe chatted gaily at first.

---------------------------------------------

Okay, why the annoucement. I received Monster Blood Tattoo from an editor, who claimed it to be very special. So, I picked it up on his recommendation, despite its cover.

It's not that the cover is badly drawn. In fact the design is quite good. But who does it appeal to? Call me gender biased, but, to me at least, it screams 15-year-old boy.

In reality, Monster Blood Tattoo is a fabulous fantasy (ages 9 and up), one I'm enjoying greatly at the moment. I'll tell you more when I post a review, but it's really, really good.

Meme: 5 Little-Known Things About Me

I've been tagged by Nancy at Journey Woman to answer this meme: 5 Little-Known Things About Me (5 Things Meme). When I realized I was tagged, my first thought was...hmmm...I'm not at all surprising. But, I'll give it a shot anyway.

1. Let's start with the most embarrassing. I've become a skatemom. My daughter talked me into ice skating lessons when she was in second grade. Three years later and I spend hours at the rink a week. Ten hours to be exact. Oh, and the rink is an hour away from our home. Audible is my saving grace. My daughter wears the dresses and everything. She's working on her axel. I never would have imagined this when she was first born. Even my son takes lessons now. Thank god the rink is in a mall and I can poach Panera's wireless. (I do buy things from them so I don't feel guilty.)


2. Some of you know this, but I speak Russian fluently.


3. If I could live anywhere in the whole wide world, I would live in London.


4. I'm deathly afraid of squirrels and, once a year or so I dream I'm attacked by one. I'm scared of mice and rats too. I prefer reptiles any day.


5. I've been a sleepwalker since I could, well, walk.

Let's see, whom can I tag? Let's go with Mother Reader, Adrienne, and Michele (I have The Edge of the Forest on the brain and I've just edited their pieces for the new issue.)