10 lists of almost 12 from TwentyTwelve

This was supposed to be 20 lists of 12 but that was really hard.  Now it is 10 lists of almost 12. I will say that if I am alive in 2101 (as a robot, obvi), it will be so much easier to list 1 items in 21 categories.

1. Top Life Events

• Seeing Railsplitter at ACTF
• Going to my first (and second and third) Red Wings game ever!
• Commune with Sarah, Becky, and Emily
• Working the Fireworks with TPC
• Erin's Wedding and seeing a ton of my friends
• Taking a cake decorating class and making a decision to try and get into a pastry program
• The pirate water balloon fight on my 23rd birthday
• Taking an Italian class and feeling like I understood a foreign language for the first time in my life!
• Visiting Anna at NIU
• Tigers going to the World Series
• Go Curling for the first time!
• Not attending a single funeral all year (This is huge for me)

2. Songs I Became Obsessed With

• Andy Grammar - Fine By Me
• Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe
• Taylor Swift - Treacherous
• Victorious - Take A Hint
• Natalia Kills - Wonderland
• Jana Kramer - Why Ya Wanna
• Casey Abrams - A Boy Can Dream
• Phillip Phillips - Gone, Gone, Gone
• Hunter Hayes - Everybody's Got Somebody But Me
• Robyn - Call Your Girlfriend
• Raelynn - Boyfriend
• Wonderland - Don't Want To Fall In Love

3. Shows I Followed (Not necessarily shows that I STARTED watching)

• Pretty Little Liars
• How I Met Your Mother
• Big Bang Theory
• Real World: St. Thomas
• Dance Moms
• The Challenge: Battle Of The Seasons
• Big Rich Texas
• Project Runway Allstars
• Bunheads
• New Girl
• Once Upon A Time*
• Chicago Fire*

*The whole season is sitting in my DVR waiting for me, so I am way behind


4. Entire Albums That I Can't Stop Listening To

• Phillip Phillips - The World From The Side Of The Moon
• Taylor Swift - Red
• Casey Abrams - Casey Abrams
• Hunter Hayes - Hunter Hayes
• Wonderland The Musical

I'll be honest, these are the only full albums I have recently

5. Saddest Moments

• Tigers being swept in the world series
• NHL Lockout
• Finding out Toby was part of the A-Team (PLL)
• Ending up in the ER in August for stomach pain and still having no answers
• Getting my first (and second) IV
• Having to leave The Parade Company
• Not seeing a single performance at Carthage

6. Tweets I Favorited

• @carthagecollege: Congratulations to Carthage alumna Laura Kaeppeler, '10, Miss America 2012!
• @noahg89: @ohswan , @chelsowicz went on pintrest. I saw red wings photos and knew they were from you
• @MJCarrier: Instead of getting autographs from celebrities, I'm going to get them to sign prewritten Letters of Recommendation.
• @chris_manzo: It's not editing, they just scream "bleep" every time they are mad.#rhonj
• @lucyhale: Just caught @IANMHARDING singing @taylorswift13 no big deal
• @HonestToddler: Date night is rude and thoughtless. Why are they still dating? Are they undecided?
• @HonestToddler: Mommy just told the baby and his mom my name, age, and favorite games like identify theft isn't a thing.
• @OhSwan: Me: " Doesn't Lochte have beautiful eyes, grandma?" Grandma: "I think he's beautiful all over." #rockongrandma #teamlochte (Yes, I did favorite myself)
• @Efergz: "Libertarian: is that just a Hillsdale invention?"
• @grden_of_eden: How do we get Eminem to rap America the Beautiful during the World
• Series? #debate2012
• @bexmoy: Live every week like it's mouse week.
• @bexmoy: ABC Family is FINALLY doing Harry Potter week instead of weekend!

7. Things I Have Learned About Myself (Good and Bad)

• I am a good worker.  This is my second job that I have had since graduation that I was hired on for a season and asked to stay on.
• I have hoarding tendencies.  Cleaning my room really forced me to face this reality.  I am not holding on to trash, but I have a hard time throwing things away if they are in good condition even if I will never use them.  I am working on this though and have just thrown out/sold/given away a ton of crap.
• I fail without structure in my life.  If I feel like I have an open schedule I will dawdle all day. If I can plan out my week I get so much done.
• I need to update my wardrobe.  When I dress more adult, I feel more adult and I act more responsible.  It is hard for me to find strength in my life when I am wearing the boxers and tank I just slept in.
• I need to separate the "I need"s from the "I want"s.  (I.e. "I need to move out" versus "I want to move out".)
• That being said...I need to move out.  However, maybe I don't need to move out quite as soon as I would want to.

8. Books I Read (For The First Time) and How I Rate Them

• Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin (3/5) It was very interesting to read about the sad and serious past of such a funny person.  It is really interesting to hear her blatantly talk about she would do anything to be famous, and she basically did.
• Wife By Wednesday - Catherine Bybee (3/5) Good quick read, but not too much to the plot.
• The Back Door Of Midnight - Elizabeth Chandler (4/5) I love this "series" and this author. The books in the series are only connected by the location, and I started reading them in like middle school.  They still hold my attention and I still go back to read them
• A Hopeless Romantic - Harriet Evans (2/5) This book is told in three parts and only the middle part was interesting.  
• The American Heiress - Daisy Goodwin (2+/5) This was a really long book, and I am giving it a 2 out of 5 because I can only really remember like 2 things in it.  I gave it the + because something must have kept me reading but I would need to reread it to figure it out.
• The Fault In Our Stars - John Green (5/5) Amazing!  This was a suggestion from a friend on one of my Facebook statuses and I was not disappointed.  It was not a sad cancer book, but I did cry through the last 50 pages.  I finished it and could not read anything else for a week because I just wanted to hold onto those characters and their stories.
• The Lucky Dog Matchmaking Service - Beth Kendrick (3/5) It was good story of a woman rediscovering herself after a failed relationship, but not great.
• Stay - Allie Larkin (5/5) If you want a book that is based around a dog, I would choose this one over #7. Super sweet and funny.
• Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern (4.5/5) This was another FB suggestion.  It would get a 5/5 for description, originality, and mystery, however...it started off slow and did have moments where it dragged a bit.  Still a really good read if you like to read.
• The Boy Who Sneaks In My Bedroom Window - Kristy Moseley (1/5) AWFUL!  You would think I would learn my lesson with self-published books.  This was a book that makes me sad because the idea behind it could be a really good book, but the execution was not there.  It had to have been written by a teenager.  I'll leave it at that.
• City of Bones/Ashes/Glass/Fall Angels/Lost Souls and Clockwork Angel/Prince - Cassandra Clare (5/5) This series is really good!  If you liked Hunger Games and YA books, this could be right up your alley.  I liked the Clockwork prequels better, but all are good.  The final books in both series are coming out in 2013, and COB is going to be a movie as well (get ready for like a 15 movie series).

9.  Quotes From Some Of Those Books

• "One must always be careful of books," said Tessa, "and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us." (Clockwork Angel)
• "Only the very weak-minded refuse to be influenced by literature and poetry," said Tessa, determined not to let him run wildly off with conversation. (Clockwork Angel)
• "They were only cogs," he said softly. "Only gears. Harmless."/It was Henry, to Charlotte's surprise, who replied, with-out turning, "Inanimate objects are harmless indeed, Mr. Mortmain.  But one cannot always say the same of the men who use them." (Clockwork Angel)
• "He always says exactly what comes into his head. No filters."/"Filters are for cigarettes and coffee," Simon muttered under his breath as they went inside. (City of Bones)
• "But isn't that what love is, Clarissa? Ownership? 'I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine,' as the Song of Songs goes."/"No. And don't quote the Bible at me.  I don't think you get it." (City of Angels)
• The benefit of being in love with someone who was with someone else was that I never had to honestly face him with all those feelings.  They were hidden and secret and protected. (Stay)
• "I love things that are beautiful when you don't expect them to be."/"Like what?" He asked softly./"Oil rainbows on the road. Rain on a car windshield at night." (The Back Door Of Midnight)

10. Blog Posts I Hope To Get Out Early in 2013

• Society Has Made Christmas An Egotistical Holiday
• Growing Up Is A Team Effort
• Why I Am Not Like Most Females/Why I Don't Want To Be A Mom
• How To Talk Like An Italian

I'm going to try and be more dedicated to this blog in 2013.

Politics Is Not My Cup of American Tea.

It's no secret that I am not political.  I actually try really hard not to discuss politics with people (as made evident to me again when I was going through several "Who is your political match?" quizzes with my mom discussing several issues). I also want everyone to know that in no way am I trying to negate the real issues in our country that we do vote for.  That being said, here is a list of things that I think SHOULD have also been on the 2012 Ballot.

-When should we fire Gary Bettman: today or at 12:01 tomorrow? The question is when, not should we.  The answer to that is clearly "yes" if you are a hockey fan.  I just don't feel like he cares/cared about what happened to this season. He waited too long to start discussions even though he knew the current contract was ending.

-How many times a month those sad, ruin-your-whole-day Sarah McLachlan SPCA commercials are played. Self explanatory. My vote is 3-4.

-What time of night horror movie previews should stop being shown.  Nothing like getting all snuggly in your bed when a commercial for Terrifying Monsters From The Doom Return To Eat Your Jugular Part 4 comes on and the next thing you know it is 4 hours later and you are still awake.  I would even settle for a Parental Control that just gives me a black screen during these commercials.

-Can we still bring back Firefly?  I know it's been 3,609 days since the last episode aired on TV, but I think we should all vote whether or not to pull all the characters off of their current projects and reunite them. I mean, the show takes place in space, they could totally have gone through some space-time continuum thing to explain this delay, right? (Note: I do not actually know what a STC does. It just sounded right.)

-Which state me and all my friends get to live in.  I miss all my friends in other states. A LOT!  So I want everyone I know to move closer together.  Everyone start preparing your arguments for whichever state you want to back. We will reconvene at a later date.

-How many phone calls you are allowed to receive from political candidates. It is voting day and we are still getting them!  I love robots more than most, but most people I know don't even listen to the messages anyway.  If a real person calls me that I can question about a candidate, ok, but if it is just a recording telling me to vote for someone...no thank you.

-When stores are allowed to start playing Christmas music.  Personally, the only Christmas music that I truly like is the 90's throwback to Destiny's Child's and NSYNC's CDs (8 Days of Christmas and Kiss Me At Midnight, yes please!) but beyond that I will listen to it Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  I know that is unrealistic for everyone else, but can we vote to at least wait until after Thanksgiving!  Let's respect all Holidays, people.

-Should Valverde be allowed to come back as a Tiger next season?  I know that some people would probably like to reevaluate Leyland coming back as well.  I personally am ok with him coming back, but we can throw that on the ballot as well if people would like. Really though, we don't need Valverde. (Also, if something has already been published about whether or not he is returning and I missed it, I apologize.)

-What gets to be on our state quarters.  I know they are all out, but I think they should reinstate them and next time the citizens of the state should get to vote how they want their state represented on our currency.

Those are my current thoughts.  If there was something you could put on the ballot, what would it be?

Thank You

It's been 500 days since I graduated from Carthage (not that I'm counting) and during this time I have been trying to figure out who post-college Marcie is.  Then I realized that I have learned some really amazing lessons from the women in my life.  Here is what they taught me and my Thank You to them for everything.

My mom: You don't have to wear makeup to have confidence or feel beautiful.  My mom never really wore makeup during my childhood unless it was a special occasion.  I always admired that about her.  I never felt the need to "put my face on" before I went out and I don't understand when my friends would rather be late to something than go out without makeup.  I have started wearing makeup more now that I am getting older, but it's always an "if there is time" thing versus a must.  There are days when it will be 2 in the afternoon and I will realize that I haven't even looked in a mirror.

My grandma: Always bring food. Feed everyone.  Anyone who has ever been to my house knows that my grandma will try to feed you at some point.  If you say no, she will think that means she has to push harder.  It's something that I just accepted as I got older, but now I realize that I have a milder touch of the same thing.  I feel the need to bring food (more specifically desserts) when I go visit someone.  This weekend I went to WI and I brought two batches of cupcakes and was worried it wasn't enough.

Mrs. Greenia: If you don't like something, change it.  I have never met a woman who took her life into her own hands more than Mrs. Greenia.  She has done so much in the past few years from working multiple jobs to dedicating herself to healthy living to still finding time to be involved in the community.  AND she does it all with a smile on her face.  Every time I see her she is like the light in the room, just glowing.  She is my inspiration to really look at my life and make positive changes.

Mrs. Zembala: Everyone deserves a friend.  This is a quality I really wish I had.  I am far from perfect and I know I am a good friend when I am a friend, but sometimes getting to or staying at that point is where I fail.  If I feel like I am not a friend to someone anymore, I cut them out.  I don't feel it is fair to me or the other person if I am not willing to put anything into the friendship.  This woman, though, she is a champ. She truly sees every person for the greatness that they are and embraces that about them.  She is wonderful at being there for anyone who needs her no matter where they are in their own life compared to hers.  I was on the verge of tears when I found out they were moving to Texas.

Mrs. Moylan: How to let your child grow and lead their life.  Ok, so it is no secret that I do not want kids.  However, if I did, I would take a page from Peggy Moylan on how to raise your child to take risks and be independent.  More importantly, how to do that and still be a friend and a confidant. Letting your child be their own person does not mean neglecting them, but rather guiding them and then trusting that you did all you could. Going off of that, let's go to...

Becky Moylan: Home is wherever you make it.  I look at how Becky is not afraid to go to London or DC or Africa for months or move to a city by herself and I am just in awe.  Yes, I went to a college that I knew no one at, but...I actually had Becky (and Noah) less than an hour away.  Becky falls in love with a city and makes a connection with it.  We make fun of the fact that she will always want to be somewhere else than where she is because of this, but in reality I think that it is great that she feels like she can go anywhere and make it home for however long she is there.

Kim Instenes: There is a time to play and have fun, but you also need to get your work done.  In all of the production meetings I sat through at Carthage, this is one of the biggest things Kim taught me.  She understood we were learning and that theatre is fun but she also made sure we knew most importantly that we had to get our work done.  I try to apply this to everything in my life.  I know I struggle with time management, but I have definitely gotten better every year that has passed.  Whenever I want to slack off, part of me thinks of Kim and 19 times out of 20 I will go back to my work realizing that whatever activity I want to do will be more fun if I am not stressed about my unfinished commitments.

Valerie Richards: You are who you are when no one is watching.  For those of you who don't know, I worked with Valerie at the Parade Company and she is one of the most heartwarming people I have ever met.  She is the essence of what it means to pay it forward.  She is always doing nice things for others without recognition.  Seeing the literal glow it gives her makes me want to be a better person.  I think I am a generous person and I enjoy doing things for others, but Val just makes me realize how many little things you can do that can mean just as much.

Sarah Rogers: Opposites attract.  Sarah has been my best friend since first grade.  However, we are almost nothing alike.  She is serious; I'm a little more loosey-goosey.  She is more studious; until recently I was more fly by the handle.  She was quieter; I was outgoing.  We are so different to the point that people have flat out not believed we were friends, let alone friends for as long as we have been.  My relationship with Sarah is really one of the things that has helped me be so open-minded.  I just think about how different we are and how what matters more than having similarities is the respect you have to have for the other person.  That's what makes a friendship work.

Anna Murray: Never settle. (First let me say, the other person I have learned opposites attract from is Anna.  We literally have under 10 things that we agree on, but we respect each other enough to not let it be a factor. Ok, now let's move on...)  So many people in my life tell me things they are contemplating and all I can think is "You are settling," whether it is a job or a relationship or an apartment.  I try my hardest to support my friends in whatever they choose to do, but I am always honest.  Anna has never settled for anything in her life; or at least for as long as I have known her.  She just has so much faith that she really thinks about what she wants and goes for it.  She understands what it means to wait and be patient for the payoff. Just because one option is better than another does not mean you are still not settling.

Lizzy Whalen: Never let go of your inner child.  Ok, the thing about Lizzy is that she does have a serious side.  She is more mature than I think most people realize.  I only feel the need to put that because I think the side people see more often is her inner child.  She has always been someone who can take any situation and make it fun.  She makes a point of having a good day every day if she can.  She does something as simple as finding a smiley face in everyday objects every day.  This is something I wish I had; the ability to face each day with a childlike optimism.

Maggie Prong: You can find a new friend anywhere.  Maggie was one of my new tour guides when I was at the Parade Company.  She always treated me like an adult, but at times when I would be so stressed or tired that I thought I was going to fall she helped me through.  Not only was she there for a hug when I needed one but she would follow up later and make sure things were going well.  I think I still have an email she sent me with a picture of a bouquet of flowers to brighten my Monday after a stressful weekend. Now we always greet each other with a loud and affectionate "BFF!!!"

Courtney Matula: You can never have too much color in your life.  I literally asked Courtney one time how she got dressed because she is always so colorful but it works.  Her response was something along the lines of just being sure she was wearing every color of the rainbow.  As someone who mainly wears black but loves to paint (granted I haven't painted in a long time) I can honestly say that Courtney is one of the few people who truly appreciates the difference between blue, sapphire, and navy.  Her love of colors goes beyond her clothing though and straight to her personality.  I wish I could explain this better.

And finally, because yes, I would consider her an instrumental person in my adolescence...

Rory Gilmore: Bring a book with you everywhere.  Season 1, Episode 9 Rory's Dance. After Dean and Rory leave the dance, they end up in Miss Patty's and Rory drops her bag.  When Dean picks it up he comments on how heavy it is and Rory reveals she has a book in it.

Dean: You thought you were going to have a lot of down time tonight?

Rory: No, I just always bring a book with me.

This is the epitome of my life because as soon as I don't have a book, that is when the forces of the universe leave me with a two hour wait somewhere and 5% battery life on my cell phone.

Beyond these women, hundreds more have taught me thousands of other things.  To them I would also like to say Thank You.

19 possible, but not probable, ways I cracked my rib and 1 real ridiculous story

Some of you may be aware that I cracked a rib about a month and a half ago on my mom's birthday.  I am completely healed now, but I have slowly been putting together a list of stories I should have told about how it happened. So here you go. Here is the list of: 19 possible, but not probable, ways I cracked my rib and 1 real ridiculous story without the full details.

1. Kicked while changing a baby's diaper.
2. Raptor fight.
3. Result from polio on the Oregon Trail.
4. Attacked by the Sourpatch Kids in those commercials...and then they took me to the doctor (First they're sour, then they're sweet).
5. Rock climbing.
6. Got excited playing Wii Tennis and swung too hard.
7. A rouge float driver at The Parade Company hit me with a giant recycling raccoon.
8. Fell off my bed reaching for the fallen clicker.
9. Mimicking the Karate Kid.
10. Fell off some Monkey Bars.
11. I twisted while sneezing.
12. Got hit with a softball playing catch with my cousin.
13. Playing True American from the show New Girl.
14. Tied a corset too tight.
15. Got a bear hug from a baby sabertooth moose lion (10 points if you can name that show! 15 points if you ignore what's in the parenthesis and still consider this a legit option, 20 points if you do both).
16. Playing Popcorn on the trampoline trying to relive my childhood.
17. Pole vaulting practicing for the Olympics.
18. Fighting with Ben Miotke in a heated debate about Phillip Phillips vs. Jessica Sanchez.
19. Puking from food poisoning from a shady but delicious foot cart.
20. Freak bumper cars accident.

25 Things I Wish I Could Put On My Resume

This is a post that is completely ripped off from Thought Catalog (which is a blog that if you are not currently reading, I highly suggest it). By ripped off I mean straight down to some of these are taken straight from the post because they applied to me as well.

1. Is a proud and loyal fan to Detroit, especially the Red Wings and Tigers.
2. Willing to be the big spoon or the little spoon.
3. Loves to bake from scratch, but doesn't like cake so more for you.
4. Learned how to moonwalk off YouTube.
5. Is almost always willing to drive on road trips.
6. Knows 80-90% of most songs when listening; knows 5-15% when not.
7. Loved by babies.
8. Sleeps well in cars.
9. Used to be able to identify the speaker, season, and episode name of any quote from Gilmore Girls seasons 1-5.
10. Always willing to play N64.
11. Loved by grandparents.
12. Puts genuine thought into Secret Santa gifts, even when not close friends.
13. Amateur gingerbread house decorator.
14. Always willing to DD if able.
15. Will talk sports with as much knowledge as possessed and none more.
16. Has only complained about service at a restaurant once.
17. Will give props for a good pun.
18. Will pet your cat even though she does not like your cat.
19. Does not understand fashion but will make an honest attempt.
20. Loves 80's movies.
21. Reads a lot of YA novels and is not (too) ashamed.
22. Enjoys watching others play video games.
23. Fills out a bracket even though she does not follow college basketball.
24. Can make a great bag of popcorn.
25. Draws great pictures in Draw Something.

Nicki Minaj and the Top 8 of AI

I realize that I am one of like 5 people left on this planet watching American Idol, but as I sit here watching my DVR of last night's results I have some thoughts that I must share; first about the guest performances and then about the contestants.

So when I heard Nicki Minaj was going to be singing I admit I was not excited. I am not a Nicki fan, I don't get her. I hate that I like Super Bass, but I do. The like basically stops though. So part of me was hoping that she would sing that even if it is a bit old at this point. I would have settled for her singing anything by the end of it because she barely sang anything! They played her entire song for her and she would jump in with a line here and there but nothing significant. Then she would just jump around. At lease when Usher stops singing mid song he does really impressive dance moves. I realize that American Idol's ratings are dropping and they are probably looking for big names to bring in some viewers but this show is about finding the next big singer, so why would you bring in artists that the contestants can't learn from. Nicki has the stage presence, yes, but this performance especially had nothing to do with vocal talent. End rant.

Scotty McCreary. Oh Scotty, how I love you. Last year he was one of my picks from auditions and then quickly rose to the top of my list during the live shows. I was glad to see him back and I still love his voice. I think in a few years he will actually be one of the American Idol winners who continues to thrive.

Before I get to this year's contestants, I want to point out that if you read the Yahoo blogger Lindsay Parker's take on the shows and like what she has to say you will probably hare what I have to say. Just a head's up. I also want to point out that I think all of the contestants have talent, so I am comparing them to each other not just to the world. Ok, here we go.

Hollie and Jessica were compared by Jimmy this week. Jimmy said that Jessica showed more soul in her songs than Hollie did and because of this that Hollie could not stand up to Jessica. I disagree. I love Hollie so much more than Jessica. At first I didn't really care for either of them, but Hollie has won me over whereas I'm stilling wondering why there is even a Jessica bandwagon to jump on to. I don't have strong feelings for Carrie Underwood's Jesus Take The Wheel, but I thought Hollie's version was so powerful that I didn't understand why she was in the bottom three.

Sklyar is by far one of the best performers on the show. She brings so much energy to all of her songs and you can tell that she is having so much fun with it. I was more surprised by her ending up in the bottom three than Hollie. She's in my final two.

Joshua is another one that the judges keep raving about that I just don't see as a performer. They, along with Jimmy, always put him in the top and talk about him as if he is a guaranteed finalist. When they do use their one save I feel like it will be either on him or Jessica.

Colton however, SHOULD be a guaranteed finalist. He is my absolute favorite and my winner. His rendition of Piano Man was the best cover of any song I have ever seen on Idol. He's been getting a lot of crap for his twitter and fb posts because he is a strong Christian and proud of it. Guess what guys, he wants to go into Christian music if he wins so would you rather he show you that now or wait til he wins and then flips vibes? The joke is 'That person could sing the phone book and I'd buy it" but I'm telling you, as someone who is not religious, that boy could sing the Bible and I would happily stare at him as he did it. Uh, gorgeous and talented. Deal with it.

Phillip Phillips is this year's Casey Abrams. They've both got this weird style and presence on stage that just works for them. Phillip is his music. If Colton and Sklyar aren't both in the final two, Phillip better be.

If Phillip is this year's Casey, then Elise is this year's Haley. I mean this in the sense that both girls were in the bottom three for the first few weeks of the show but by sliding by they have earned a lot of respect and have proven to be kind of dark horses. I'm still on the fence about Elise because while she has the chops, she has the emotional equivalent to Kristen Stewart in her eyes. She never seems excited by anything and none of her performances are memorable.

DeAndre is the last one left in the top 8. This kid has a great falsetto.

...

...

And nice hair....It's just not my style. I'm sure he will go farther in the competition that I think he should (or he's going home next week because I said that) but Jimmy said, and I agree with him, that you either buy into DeAndre or you don't. I am on the latter half.

Heejun left last night and while I thought he was a funny guy in real life, he was the last one left that I was wondering how he even made it onto the top 10. I was upset when the judges wasted a spot in the top 24/25, but then shocked when he made it to the top 12 without their help.

Combining Things I Love

So I know I haven't posted in a while but I found this on Pinterest and had to share. As we all know, I love books, I love to read, and I usually have a book on me. You can look back to my post from the summer and see my bookcase in my room from when I painted this summer.

Back to the point. I also love Gilmore Girls and so I found the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge. It is a list of the books she read throughout the series. I am going to post it below and mark the ones I have started but not finished in blue and the ones I have read in red. Get it? Read, red. I'm hilarious, onto the list:

1984 by George Orwell
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll – read – July 2010
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Archidamian War by Donald Kagan
The Art of Fiction by Henry James
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Babe by Dick King-Smith
Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Beowulf: A New Verse Translation by Seamus Heaney
The Bhagava Gita
The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Built a Village in the Forest, and Saved 1,200 Jews by Peter Duffy
Bitch in Praise of Difficult Women by Elizabeth Wurtzel
A Bolt from the Blue and Other Essays by Mary McCarthy
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Brick Lane by Monica Ali
Bridgadoon by Alan Jay Lerner
Candide by Voltaire
The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer
Carrie by Stephen King
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman
Christine by Stephen King
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse
The Collected Short Stories by Eudora Welty
The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty by Eudora Welty
A Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
Complete Novels by Dawn Powell
The Complete Poems by Anne Sexton
Complete Stories by Dorothy Parker
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas père
Cousin Bette by Honor’e de Balzac
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber – started and not finished
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Cujo by Stephen King
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
David and Lisa by Dr Theodore Issac Rubin M.D
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
The Da Vinci -Code by Dan Brown
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol
Demons by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Deenie by Judy Blume
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson
The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band by Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars and Nikki Sixx
The Divine Comedy by Dante
The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
Don Quijote by Cervantes
Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhrv
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson - read – 2009
Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales & Poems by Edgar Allan Poe
Eleanor Roosevelt by Blanche Wiesen Cook
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn
Eloise by Kay Thompson
Emily the Strange by Roger Reger
Emma by Jane Austen
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Ethics by Spinoza
Europe through the Back Door, 2003 by Rick Steves
Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Extravagance by Gary Krist
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore
The Fall of the Athenian Empire by Donald Kagan
Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World by Greg Critser
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
The Fellowship of the Ring: Book 1 of The Lord of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien
Fiddler on the Roof by Joseph Stein
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Finnegan’s Wake by James Joyce
Fletch by Gregory McDonald
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger
Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers
Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut
Gender Trouble by Judith Butler
George W. Bushism: The Slate Book of the Accidental Wit and Wisdom of our 43rd President by Jacob Weisberg
Gidget by Fredrick Kohner
Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
The Godfather: Book 1 by Mario Puzo
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Alvin Granowsky
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford
The Gospel According to Judy Bloom
The Graduate by Charles Webb
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Group by Mary McCarthy
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry
Henry IV, part I by William Shakespeare
Henry IV, part II by William Shakespeare
Henry V by William Shakespeare
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
Holidays on Ice: Stories by David Sedaris
The Holy Barbarians by Lawrence Lipton
House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
How the Light Gets in by M. J. Hyland
Howl by Allen Gingsburg
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
The Iliad by Homer
I’m with the Band by Pamela des Barres
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Inferno by Dante
Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
Iron Weed by William J. Kennedy
It Takes a Village by Hillary Clinton
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
The Jumping Frog by Mark Twain
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Just a Couple of Days by Tony Vigorito
The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Lady Chatterleys’ Lover by D. H. Lawrence
The Last Empire: Essays 1992-2000 by Gore Vidal
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
The Legend of Bagger Vance by Steven Pressfield
Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them by Al Franken
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
The Little Locksmith by Katharine Butler Hathaway
The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Lottery: And Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The Love Story by Erich Segal
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
The Manticore by Robertson Davies
Marathon Man by William Goldman
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter by Simone de Beauvoir
Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman by William Tecumseh Sherman
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
The Meaning of Consuelo by Judith Ortiz Cofer
Mencken’s Chrestomathy by H. R. Mencken
The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Miracle Worker by William Gibson
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion by Jim Irvin
Moliere: A Biography by Hobart Chatfield Taylor
A Monetary History of the United States by Milton Friedman
Monsieur Proust by Celeste Albaret
A Month Of Sundays: Searching For The Spirit And My Sister by Julie Mars
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall
My Lai 4: A Report on the Massacre and It’s Aftermath by Seymour M. Hersh
My Life as Author and Editor by H. R. Mencken
My Life in Orange: Growing Up with the Guru by Tim Guest
Myra Waldo’s Travel and Motoring Guide to Europe, 1978 by Myra Waldo
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin
Nervous System: Or, Losing My Mind in Literature by Jan Lars Jensen
New Poems of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson
The New Way Things Work by David Macaulay
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
Night by Elie Wiesel
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism by William E. Cain, Laurie A. Finke, Barbara E. Johnson, John P. McGowan
Novels 1930-1942: Dance Night/Come Back to Sorrento, Turn, Magic Wheel/Angels on Toast/A Time to be Born by Dawn Powell
Notes of a Dirty Old Man by Charles Bukowski
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Old School by Tobias Wolff
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life by Amy Tan
Oracle Night by Paul Auster
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Othello by Shakespeare
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan
Out of Africa by Isac Dineson
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition by Donald Kagan
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Peyton Place by Grace Metalious
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Pigs at the Trough by Arianna Huffington
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby
The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker
The Portable Nietzche by Fredrich Nietzche
The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O’Neill by Ron Suskind
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Property by Valerie Martin
Pushkin: A Biography by T. J. Binyon
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
Quattrocento by James Mckean
A Quiet Storm by Rachel Howzell Hall
Rapunzel by Grimm Brothers
The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe
The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Rescuing Patty Hearst: Memories From a Decade Gone Mad by Virginia Holman
The Return of the King: The Lord of the Rings Book 3 by J. R. R. Tolkien
R Is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton
Rita Hayworth by Stephen King
Robert’s Rules of Order by Henry Robert
Roman Holiday by Edith Wharton
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
A Room with a View by E. M. Forster
Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin
The Rough Guide to Europe, 2003 Edition
Sacred Time by Ursula Hegi
Sanctuary by William Faulkner
Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford
Say Goodbye to Daisy Miller by Henry James
The Scarecrow of Oz by Frank L. Baum
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette by Judith Thurman
Selected Hotels of Europe
Selected Letters of Dawn Powell: 1913-1965 by Dawn Powell
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Several Biographies of Winston Churchill
Sexus by Henry Miller
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Shane by Jack Shaefer
The Shining by Stephen King
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
S Is for Silence by Sue Grafton
Slaughter-house Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Small Island by Andrea Levy
Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway
Snow White and Rose Red by Grimm Brothers
Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World by Barrington Moore
The Song of Names by Norman Lebrecht
Song of the Simple Truth: The Complete Poems of Julia de Burgos by Julia de Burgos
The Song Reader by Lisa Tucker
Songbook by Nick Hornby
The Sonnets by William Shakespeare
Sonnets from the Portuegese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Sophie’s Choice by William Styron
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
A Streetcar Named Desiree by Tennessee Williams
Stuart Little by E. B. White
Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust
Swimming with Giants: My Encounters with Whales, Dolphins and Seals by Anne Collett
Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Tender Is The Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Term of Endearment by Larry McMurtry
Time and Again by Jack Finney
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Tragedy of Richard III by William Shakespeare
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Trial by Franz Kafka
The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson
Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Ulysses by James Joyce
The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath 1950-1962 by Sylvia Plath
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Unless by Carol Shields
Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
The Vanishing Newspaper by Philip Meyers
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
Velvet Underground’s The Velvet Underground and Nico (Thirty Three and a Third series) by Joe Harvard
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Walt Disney’s Bambi by Felix Salten
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
We Owe You Nothing – Punk Planet: The Collected Interviews edited by Daniel Sinker
What Colour is Your Parachute? 2005 by Richard Nelson Bolles
What Happened to Baby Jane by Henry Farrell
When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
Who Moved My Cheese? Spencer Johnson
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

I'm not even going to say my goal is to read the rest. But it's a nice list. We'll see what happens.