Last fall, when the Twilight movie came up amidst much hype, I had no idea what the hoopla was about. All anyone could tell me was that it was a movie based on a children's book series about vampires. I was so not interested.

After the first of the year, Twitter was all abuzz about Twilight. Folks that I respected kept recommending that I read the books. I found the first one in Target for about 6 bucks, but I didn't buy it because I was expecting my Kindle in a couple weeks. I decided to read the Twilight series on my Kindle.

The Twilight series were amongst the first books that I downloaded in Kindle format. I was hooked after the first paragraph. I think I went through the 4 book series in about a week. I could have done it quicker, but I spent a lot of time staring into space after reading a chapter, letting it sink in. They are not about vampires, but rather about love and family. By the time the movie came out on video, I was ready. I got it that first day. I thought the movie was such a disappointment and was kind of glad that I hadn't seen it first. Based on the movie, I would have NEVER read the books.

Then True Blood started on HBO, based on the Sookie Stackhouse book series. Again, I was so not interested. But FOJs Lisa and Jan made me jealous by talking about it all the time. They made it seem so exciting. So late into the second season of the show, I bought the first season on DVD. Again, I went through the 12 episodes in about a week and can't wait to see the second season. I'm afraid to buy the books, though I have looked them up in Kindle format and see that I can get all 8 books for about $30. I never thought I would be into vampire books.

Have you read these books? Do you watch True Blood? Are you even interested?

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It is only fitting that September, my birth month, is Library Card Sign Up Month. I have been reading all of my life. As a child, the library was one of my favorite places. Didn't really matter what kind of library--Public library, School library--heck, I even spent time at the nearby Walter Reed Medical Library. Don't ask how I got onto Walter Reed's base--that's a post for a different time.

Anyhow, Library Card Sign Up Month has been observed since 1987 and it's the time when public libraries remind parents that a library card is the most important school supply of all. However, in these tough economic times, I would venture to say that an adult library card is a good idea as well. The cards allow you to check out books for no charge and I can get lost in a book for hours at a time.

Do you have a library card? Does it get much use? Why not? Take some time this month to introduce a young person to the public library and be sure to get a card for yourself as well!

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We ought to be ashamed of ourselves. Look what we've done! We've raised a generation of kids that are always bored, and don't really know how to have fun.

Like last week, when our power was out, my kids were at a total loss for what to do. When I was growing up, power or lack thereof, had absolutely NOTHING to do with my fun. I didn't need batteries. Heck, our televisions didn't even require remotes. My, how things have changed...

I'm certain that this factors into why so many youngsters are turning to drugs. They simply need to be stimulated. It must truly suck to be growing up in these times! In my own family, we used to have game night, where we played games as a family, complete with snacks. This was as recent as 3 or 4 years ago. Why did we stop?

When is the last time you saw a group of girls sitting on the concrete playing jacks? When did you last see, or even think of, a tetherball pole? How about the hula hoop? A deck of Old Maid cards? In the past umpteen years, have you run across folks playing Twister, or Mother May I? Or best yet, have you seen the looks on the faces of youth when you try to explain the hand/string games like "Cat's Cradle?"

What's happened to us? And more importantly, how do we fix it?

Your comments--priceless!!

I have a challenge for you today. If you had to bury a time capsule that represented your life TODAY, what would you put in it. This means that 100 years from now, someone would open it and, from the 10 items you've included, they should be able to figure out what your life was like.

I've been thinking about what I would bury. Here are my 10 items, in no particular order:

1. my laptop
2. a picture of my family
3. my business card
4. my Kindle
5. my Blackberry
6. paint swatches, all in the color pink
7. my Bible
8. Fairytale Brownies
9. iron pills
10. a thumb drive with my photo albums on them

Looking at this, I wonder what conclusions one would draw from those items. Is this really who I am--a geek? Apink, iron deficient, Christian, gadget geek? Is that who I am? Does anything speak to the fact that I'm from Washington, DC? Would you gather that I live in South Florida? Would you know that I love baseball?

This is harder than I thought. Let me work on my list some more. In the meantime, what 10 things would represent your life today--not yesterday, not tomorrow, but who you are right now. Interesting stuff...

Your comments--priceless!!

So it's been exactly a month since I got my Kindle and the honeymoon is still going strong. I am averaging 3 or 4 books a week, and haven't bought a single book in that time (unless you count the one that I got as a blog giveway for April--hint hint!!).

I've gone through the Twilight series, which I loved, except I had trouble with a few slow spots in books 2 and 4. I've done a couple from James Patterson, a couple from Stephen King, and discovered a few new authors as well.

I still can't take it out to read in public much. I went to Starbucks once, grabbed a tea and a scone and curled up in a stuffed chair. I pulled the Kindle out of my bag and prepared to read. I only had an hour to spare. But when folks realized what it was, they started asking questions--What is that? How does it work? Where did you get it? Can I see it? A crowd gathered. The hour passed and I hadn't read a page.

After having it a month, I can't think of a single thing that I would change about it, except maybe I would prefer it in pink. I did buy a pink leather cover for it though, that will have to do for the moment.

There's been a lot of buzz about it in this month, the biggest being the new Kindle application for the iphone. My husband downloaded the app, but hasn't read anything yet. I look forward to Amazon's daily unveiling of free books, quickly grabbing them up before the price changes to 5 or 10 bucks.

What have you heard about the Kindle? Do you want one? Why or why not? Has the buzz influenced you at all? How? What do you think about the concept of electronic readers?

Your comments--priceless!

So, I've had the Kindle now for a full day and a half. And I must say, I love it! I finished my first book last night and this morning will decide what book to tackle next. I wasn't sure if it would be comfortable to read on, but it definitely is--it actually seems to disappear and I don't focus on anything but the words.

The main selling point for me was the ability to carry 1500 books with me in a gadget that weighs half a pound. I generally am reading several books at a time, and it's good to have them all with me. I also read the Washington Post daily and to have it downloaded to the Kindle before I get up is very convenient. I also like the read to me function, that's good for driving. The adjustable text size is also cool, it allows me to make every book an "easy reader." The digital dictionary is helpful, allowing me to look up at words right on the screen. And the selection of books available from Amazon is awesome--nearly 250,000 with more being added daily.

I thought the cost of the books would be worrisome, but so far I have 14 books on the new Kindle, at an average cost of 86 cents per book. This is a little misleading because 12 of the books were free and I paid $6.04 for 2 books. There are a ton of free books available and I can also download books from my local library. I was also concerned with battery life, but the battery lasts about 2 weeks. Hmmm..why can't my Blackberry battery last 2 weeks???? I have to admit that I haven't even tried out the web access or email features, as the last thing that I need is ANOTHER email to keep up with.

All in all, this may be the best Valentine's Day gift that I've ever gotten--thanks Hubby!!!

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I have always loved to read. As a child, Laura Ingalls Wilder and Louise Fitzhugh were my favorite authors. I became quite attached to the librarian at my elementary school. I went to visit her house on weekends. By the way, I've looked for her for about 10 years--I think she died. I wanted to tell her how much she shaped my life and express gratitude. But back to the story...

Almost 20 years ago, my oldest daughter started school in Montgomery County, Maryland. It was one of the best schools ever. Her principal, David Rotter, enacted something called DEAR time. It stood for DROP EVERYTHING AND READ. Once a week, he would go to the PA System and announce, "It's DEAR time." That meant that for the next 45 minutes, everyone in the school, from the janitors and cafeteria workers to the students and secretaries--even teachers, had to pick up something and read. It could be a magazine, newspaper, novel, or anything other reading material. But you had to read until he announced that DEAR time was over.

It was kind of weird the first couple times that I experienced it, seeing everyone flipping pages and engrossed in reading. But then, I got the hang of it and started bringing a book with me during my volunteer shifts, just in case Mr. Rotter called for DEAR time. After a few years, he retired and someone else took over. I'm not sure how or why, but DEAR time went away. I thought it was a great idea and I missed it. What could be better for our children than instilling a love of reading and learning?

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