Wow! And to think I was completely clueless about blogs this time last year. I only knew I needed to write and I needed an outlet beyond personal diaries and emotional diarrhea on paper. Crude, but accurate.  This has been one of the best writing experiences of my life.  So I don't get a lot of hits. So I don't get quoted.  So I don't get blogrolled.  er...where was I going with this...Oh yeah.  I do it all for love of writing.  For the opportunity to be clever, and to justify my English degree.  wink, wink, nudge, nudge. 

• I'm an idea person. A big picture person. Writing helps me to organize all my big ideas. But I have fun tweaking details, too.
• I'm a reader. I have a hungry mind. It doesn't matter how much people knock reading, feeding my mind satisfies like few other things.  And besides, people who knock reading as valueless because "they'd rather be *doing something* are tiresome.  (Boring Things People Say about Reading)
• I'm a writing teacher.  This blog helps me to share in my students' writing experience. We share the same aggravations and I help coach them through their mental blocks. 
• I'm a professional. I believe in the teaching of writing -- as a way to help students develop a healthier, emotion-friendly way to communicate. I believe that teachers of Language Arts need to develop writing talent to make their career choice more fulfilling. (Believe it or not, I'm in a serious minority here.  Most English teachers don't write. Or read.)

It wouldn't be my anniversary special if I didn't give a big shout-out to the author who inspired me to start this blog --

Nick Hornby!

Entry #1, Sept. 29, 2007

After reading his 2 books THE POLYSYLLABIC SPREE (love the cheeky title) and HOUSEKEEPING VS. THE DIRT (Guess which one I chose this weekend!), I found the excalibur of my writing style.  I tried to adopt his Books Bought/Books Read formula, but frankly, I don't have that kind of cash laying about the place.  So I adapted instead my own formula which consists of reviewing books depending on which room they are in:  Books in the Bedroom, Books in the Living Room, etc.  Adopt/adapt.  That's what I practice.  That's what I preach.  That's what I teach. 

I'm not going to lay a lot of adjectives on you, dear reader. That's your prerogative.  So this post is a celebration of inspiration and books and writing about them because "Books are, let's face it, better than anything else."

MY TOP 5 MOST VIEWED POSTS

5. IF CATS COULD READ...

4.  CHAUCER'S FAMOUS ROAD TRIP

3.  ALL HAIL THOTH -- EGYPTIAN GOD OF SCRIBES & WRITING

2.  ELIZABETH LOWELL'S MACKENZIE-BLACKTHORN SERIES -- EARLY 90s

AND THE #1 MOST VIEWED POST -- ACCOUNTING FOR THE MAJORITY OF HITS DURING THE SUMMER AND MOST OF SEPTEMBER:

ACHERON: HALF-MAN, HALF-GOD, TWICE-BORN, ALL-CURSED

Oh My Gah! People (women, I assume) flocked and googled to this post in droves! Could have been for the yummy pics of Travis Fimmel.  Could have been for the reading order of the Dark-Hunter novels. Could have been interested in mythology.  It's been awesome! Incredible! Hijo de la Bomba Madre!

So thank you Sherrilyn Kenyon for creating such an exciting cast of characters.  Thank you Nick Hornby for being such a cool guy and a cool writer.

Speaking With the Angel : A book written by Nick Hornby, the proceeds of which go to support autism charities.

A review by Dr. John Holleman of www.oxfordbooks.com

Charity Navigator Notes Autism-Related Charities Success in Growing Revenue and Services,
The Parker Autism Foundation

(You know there's going to be a Part 2 eventually.)

I've tagged these books "CRAPFEST" over at Shelfari (www.shelfari.com).  Please just trust me.

Tainted Purity  Lorie O'Clare

I've choked this book down twice.  I'm a reader of somewhat decent skills and I still have no effing clue what it's about.  I think the "heroine" floats or something. 'TF?!

That Familiar Touch

by Dara Joy

Excrement.  A damned shame because I really liked the characters.  Unfulfilled desires, i.e. stories for Gregor and Traed.  I've read better amateur fanfiction.

Ritual of Proof

by Dara Joy

Boring, tedious, sad, tapped-out former talent.  Mostly sad.

 Promises Linger by Sarah McCarty

WAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY toooooooo looooooooooonnnnng.  Tedious. Which is a shame because I really like Asa (stupid name) and Elizabeth (boring name). I'm going against the grain here because this series is quite popular and well-liked.  Take my word for it or don't.

A Hero's Kiss by Jan Springer

Oh my freakin' Gawd! Grammatical errors out the WAZZ -- the ignorant kind. Practically on every page. Lame dialogue. No character development. Boring, bonehead hero. Massively amateurish concoction. Unfinished.  Unpolished.  Unedited. I've already given this garbage more copy time than it deserves.

Satisfaction by Thea Devine

You can't judge a book by its title.  This book contains anything but satisfaction.  The main guy - I'm sure not calling him a hero -- is a total, utter, massive gaping hole surrounded by ass.  There is absolutely NOTHING to love about this peripatetic pachyderming putz.  Completely obnoxious and without any sensitivity until the last 2 pages when it's too late and for 200+ pages, you have been wanting  to run his fleshy nozzle through a blender set on frappe.  As if he wasn't awful enough, the main girl is about as interesting as watching toast toast.  Weak and dumb and pointless.  The sex is sexy -- at first.  Then the 846th time Devine mentions the phrase "rooting in her" moist naughty bits, you are seriously considering using this paperweight as mulch.

I Love Rogues

• Bertrice Small
• Thea Devine
• Jane Bonander

I love shoving these shitty anthologies into a shredder and watching the confetti fly.  

A book that will NOT SUCK: