A truly good meme and The L Word.

I know, I know...everyone hates memes. But...not this one. I came across this little gem at Heather's place and I decided it was one meme that I could do without frowning.

It is called The book meme.

1) One book that changed your life.

Easy. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. I know that this is not a book, but a play, but nevertheless, it changed my life. I was a freshman in high school when I read it and loved it so much that I began reading every play and sonnet he wrote. After that, I moved on to British poets and Old and Middle English works and by the time I read Chaucer, I was so smitten to the point of being one of those disgusting people who go around quoting all of the time. But...knowing all this sort of...opened me up, you know? I began to see what a huge world of books there was that surpassed my small town Iowa farm life. I went on to American classics and by the time I was in college, I had immersed myself in so much good literature that being an English major (well...for one semester) was a snap.

2) One book that you have read more than once.

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. When I read it as a child, I vowed that my first daughter would be named Francie and my first son would be named Nolan. In high school, it taught me an important social lesson about early America and the haves verses the have nots. In college, I knew that it was a brilliant piece of writing. And as an adult, I read it to Liv just a few months ago. I was stung that she wasn't as enthralled with it as I was, but acknowledge that it just isn't her kind of book. She likes adventure, was a nut for Harry Potter, The Narnia series and of The Lord of the Rings, she has loved The Hobbit so far. She was the same way about the Little House books. I loved them and she was bored silly. Isn't it odd how we are disappointed when our children don't love the same books that we do? I am that way with my friends and my sisters too. If I love a book and they don't, I feel betrayed or something....

3) One book you would want on a desert island.

Um..there must be some book out there on survival on a desert island. I would want that one.

4) Two books that made you laugh.

I am totally crazy about David Sedaris. I especially loved Me Talk Pretty One Day and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. Sedaris has this sly way of hitting your funny bone in an almost serious way. He says things, makes observations that strike me as just perfect and exactly how I feel, but he says it ten times better and with a droll tone that makes me break down and laugh. I always try to listen to his books on tape as well as read them because his voice makes everything twice as funny. I have literally had to turn into a parking lot and sit for awhile as I was driving because I was laughing so helplessly.

5) One book that made you cry.

Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons. This book is exceptionally well written and heartbreaking too. For years I tried to get my sisters to read it and when Patrice finally did, she called me up and said, "Well, I tried to get into that Ellen book, but honestly, you could have told me that the character was a little black girl. Like I want to read a book about a little trailer park trash black girl?"

I was furious, not because she got it wrong, (Ellen is actually the product of a black father and a white mother) but because she couldn't just appreciate a beautiful character rendered with such tenderness and beauty. I broke down and cried at the end. I mean, I have never rooted so hard for a book character in my entire life.

6) One book you wish you'd written.

Tending To Virginia by Jill McCorkle. I love the lyrical way McCorkle writes, love how her characters just become real right from the get go. I found myself picturing them in my mind, shaking my head at the incredible beauty of the way one word followed the other. I would love to move people like that.

7) One book you wish had never been written.

Anything by Ann Coulter. I won't even put her name in big black letters. She writes trash and loves herself for doing it in such a narcissistic way that it makes me feel nauseated.

8) Two books that you are currently reading.

I only read one book at a time. I don't understand people who read two at a time, I really don't. I am currently just beginning A Version Of The Truth by Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack. I don't know whether I like it yet or not. It takes me a few chapters to get going.

After this book, I have Orange Mint and Honey by Carleen Brice. I heard it was good. We'll see.

9) One book that you have been meaning to read.

Choke by Chuck Palahniuk.

Bing read this one and she rarely reads fiction. She loved it and read it because she loved another book by the same author called Fight Club. I watched her sitting enthralled for days on the sofa reading it and figured if it could hold her attention, it could hold mine. So, it sits on my bookshelf.

I won't tag anyone, but I would sincerely love to hear what your favorite books are. Anyone want to share? I love having a book recommended to me. Love having stacks of books just waiting for me to jump into them.....

And to those of you who asked if we are enjoying The L Word....

Yes. And no.

We watched the pilot episode last night after Liv was asleep. I was disappointed. I mean, I felt like it was silly on so many levels.

1) A straight girl (Jenny?) moves in with her boyfriend and they find that their next door neighbors are lesbians. Suddenly, Jenny is beset with strange desires and deep feelings...a need to embrace her homosexual side.

Like that happens much? How many straight women do you know who suddenly go gay simply because they are around a group of lesbians? Admittedly, these were the hottest fucking lesbians I have ever seen all together in one group at one time....but, what the fuck? It doesn't happen. And I hate it that a comment was made about lesbians hungering for straight women.

I don't hunger much for straight women. I tend to be attracted to women, yes. But, I don't sit in a group of my straight friends and daydream about fucking them. And it pisses me off that some straight women seem to think that we do this a lot.

2) The sex scenes that took place every other scene seemed to be right out of a porno movie. The only one that really worked for me was near the end when Tina and Bette got it on. There was no hair flinging, no helpless moans of strangled longing, no bed gymnastics. Just heat. Lots of heat. Jesus Christ. Bing and I kept looking guiltily towards Liv's bedroom to make sure that she wasn't getting up to get a drink of water. I mean, I honestly felt like we were watching us some porn.

3) Why were all the lesbians rich and gorgeous with bodies that were sculpted by an artist? Are all your friends rich and gorgeous? Mine aren't. But, I concede that I wouldn't want to watch sex scenes with overweight, ugly women as much as I enjoyed watching sex scenes with truly hot looking women. Now, DO NOT come yelling at me that I am slamming fat ugly women. I am not. I am not beautiful, nor do I have the perfect body. I just don't want to view fat, ugly people fucking.

4) I thought the plot lines were skimpy. And predictable.

Now, after saying all of that. I will admit this:

After Bing and I hit the sack, we were both um...in very amorous moods. AND well...yes, we are watching the next episode tonight after we get Liv to bed and after we are SURE she is asleep.....

So, call me a hypocrite...I think we might be hooked.