This Is My Secret: The Blog and Website of Writer Kristin Cashore

The To Be Read pile on my bedside table is the size of Mount Vesuvius -- an apt metaphor, as I believe it may be about to blow. It is 33 books high. I need to find a better way to stack it before I get brained in the night.
Here's my own variation on a meme I saw at The Longstockings the other day:

THREE BOOKS I RECENTLY FINISHED READING



1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Loved it and could not put it down. I'm a Katniss fangirl.
2. A Dictionary of the English Language, by Samuel Johnson (published in 1755). Okay, if my claim here makes you a little skeptical, I can't blame you. No, I didn't read the entire dictionary. I don't even have access to one at the moment. But I did read the Preface and then take a concentrated look at a few different modern compilations. I did this for work reasons, btw, not because I'm crazy, and the truth is, it was very unsatisfying. What I need are his definitions of ordinary words, like light and bread, but what the co…

Here's a fabulous slideshow of New Year celebrations around the world.
And now, the New Year's Meme. (Thanks, Jess!)
1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before? Good grief. SO MANY THINGS. I guess the biggest thing, encompassing most of the other things, is that I published my first book. But I also contributed to a political campaign, re-read almost all the Lord Peter Wimsey books, and bought a slow-cooker, all for the first time.
2. What are your New Year's resolutions for 2009? I'm going to spend January mulling this over, and will post about it once I've worked it out. I love the New Year; I love taking stock of time and how one fits into it; I love realistic and heartfelt resolutions. So. More to come.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Several people. And any minute now, one more is going to drop!! :o)

4. Did anyone close to you die? No.
5. What countries did you visit? I didn't leave the USA in 2008. However, while on an ill-fated tri…

The sun has gone down on the Olympics for me a tiny bit ever since Ian Thorpe retired; how I miss the battles between the Thorpedo and Pieter von den Hoogenband! And MUST they keep showing the President looking like a bored frat boy as he watches the events? Here I am, all gleefully proud of the American men's 4 x 100 freestyle relay team, and then I see that person. Go away. You have done nothing but break my heart for 8 years and you make me ashamed.
Ahem. That was not an auspicious beginning. So let me quickly distract you with a really fun movie meme, gakked from my friends Jess and Wanda. (*waves at Jess and Wanda*)
1. I picked 15 of my favorite movies. 2. I went to IMDb and found a quote from each movie. 3. I posted them here for everyone to guess. 4. NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search functions. I'm talking to you! 5. I'll strike out each quote when someone guesses correctly, and write in who guessed it and the movie. 6. If it turns out that I've been too tricky, I…