Too brief a conversation

The first time I saw you was a Saturday evening.

I was sitting in one of the extra cushy chairs just outside the café area in Barnes and Noble when you sat down across from me. I looked up from my usual romance novel and stared. Initially, it was because you reminded me of my next-door neighbor from back home.

But after a few seconds, it was because I thought you were cute.

You were wearing a plain blue t-shirt and gray cargo shorts. You had short brown hair, a five o’clock shadow and a nice smile. And if the glasses you had on weren’t enough—because I’m a sucker for a guy in glasses—you opened the book in your hand and began reading. You were actually reading. And I’m not talking some random magazine from the stand a couple of yards away. You were reading an actual book.

It was enough to make a girl swoon.

Which SOS Brigade member are you?

Last night I read The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya by Nagaru Tanigawa. Now, I’m not usually one for anime, manga or the like but I was reading this for my recommendations for the Northwest Asian Weekly. Surprisingly, I really liked it. It’s pretty funny. Turns out it’s a series. The next installment comes out in October and I’m actually looking forward to it.

It’s all about this tornado of a girl named Haruhi Suzumiya who hates ordinary life and all things normal. So, she starts this club at school, the SOS Brigade (standing for Save the World by Overloading it with Fun Suzumiya Haruhi’s Brigade), with a mission to seek out the extraordinary. She ends up roping in or “voluntary arresting” four other students to join the club.

After I finished the book, as I usually do with books I enjoy, I Googled it to see what else I could find. And I came across this quiz. I was curious and wanted to see which Brigade member I would be. And wouldn’t you know, I end up being Yuki Nagato, the bookworm of the club? I’m not really surprised. In fact, I would’ve been surprised if I ended up being somebody else.

There you have it. So, which member are you?

Close calls and active imaginations

As I walked out of the Barnes and Noble, I slid my sunglasses over my eyes. I heard voices behind me. I turned and saw three young men walking out as well. Courteous person that I am, I held the door open for them. But when I saw them lingering and looking at the displays by the door, I just shrugged, let go of the door and made my way back to my car.

After placing my laptop case in the passenger seat, I slid behind the steering wheel and started Doris. Music blasted from the speakers. I’d left the windows and sunroof open a crack to let in some air but the interior was still heated from the sun. I rolled the windows down the rest of the way and opened the sunroof all the way.

I shifted the car into reverse and released the emergency brake. As I slowly backed out, I looked behind me, as any good driver would. I looked right, all clear. I looked left, all clear. I continued to back out and just as I shifted the car into drive, I took one last look back. When I looked to the right, I was startled to see it was no longer all clear. I saw the side of a white car, which told me the driver had been backing out as well.

Did I hit them? Did they hit me? I didn’t think I did since I hadn’t felt anything.

Sammi’s plans on what to say

I’ve been doing some thinking about my blog and what kind of stuff I want to write about–especially with this 30-day challenge. It’s hard coming up with new stuff and I’ll admit during this challenge, I’ve used old poems and old homework assignments and have even copped out. I’m going to try to keep it to a minimum but I’ve got 17 days left in this challenge so no guarantees.

I want to do more narrative journalism/non-fiction pieces like my last one so I’m going to make it my goal to try to do one per month. I want each one to be about my experiences here in IF so hopefully this will help me get out into the community and get a life (which would accomplish one of my goals for the year).

If I had that kind of pull…

A few months ago I read this book where one of the main characters was a journalist. As the story goes on, she ends up getting fired from her job because she kept pestering this other woman for an interview and the other woman ended up complaining to her editor.

When I read this, I just thought what kind of editor is that? It’s been my experience that editors prefer it when you go for the hard-to-get interviews. Those usually end up being the best stories.

So, I stopped to think about who I’d want to interview. Here are my top picks (and yes, I do realize some of these people are fictional):

1. Author’s roundtable with J.K. Rowling, Jasper Fforde, Christopher Moore and Diana Wynne Jones - Rowling created the ultimate battle of good versus evil; Fforde takes nursery rhymes and turns them into nursery crimes; Moore wrote the story of Christ’s life; and Jones can created the Related Worlds. Can you imagine what it’d be like to have all of that creative genius in one room?
2. Harry Potter – Come on, he’s The Boy Who Lived! The Chosen One. That in itself has got to make for a fascinating interview. Although, I’ll admit it’d be a bit difficult landing one since his experiences with Rita Skeeter have probably soured him on journalists–both magical and muggle.

Goals for my 23rd year

It’s a pretty straightforward title. Here they are:

1. Finish writing that post I’ve been mentioning for months. I’ve started it but I haven’t really done much with it for two months (no joke).
2. Finish at least one piece of fiction I’m currently working on. I’ve got three in the works. One is almost done. I’m not sure why it’s taking me so long. Although, when you look at my first two goals, it just shows how I don’t seem to be the type to follow through on personal projects. Not sure what that says about me.
3. Write more poetry. It’s been awhile since I’ve written a new poem. The ones I’ve been posting have been old pieces I wrote when I was in college.
4. Read all the books on my bookshelf. I have this terrible habit of buying new books all the time but never actually reading them. Almost my entire top shelf consists of books I’ve yet to read. Damn romances!
5. Cut down on the romance novels. You know, to aid number 4.

New books, broken promises and apologies

In my last post, I said I would write more about Ken Griffey Jr.’s return to Seattle. In another post, I said I would finally, finally, finally get to a topic that’s been on my mind for months. I’ve yet to follow through.

I apologize for that.

I don’t know if my readers–which, if my hits counter is any indication, has increased exponentially (personally, I think it’s been because of this post)–feel cheated by this or if they don’t really care. But I feel bad because it gives me this feeling of letting people down.

Sex, hope and Grand Gestures

Sometimes I just have the urge to write. It’s 12:38 in the morning and my fingers are just itching to move across the keyboard. I’ve started and finished two romance novels, which I bought today after walking to B&N since Doris is out of commission, in the last 11 hours so that’s what I’ll write about. The other stuff that I’ve mentioned (and haven’t written about) doesn’t sound very appealing to me right now. I’m just typing as the words pop into my head so if it doesn’t make sense or if I’m repeating things from a previous post, which is quite likely, I apologize.

I’ve made it not secret that I like to read romance novels. I discovered them a few years back and got hooked. Initially it was just women’s literature, or “chick lit,” (and I honestly can’t remember how I got into that…I’ve always been a fantasy type of gal). I segued into romance because I was looking for more books by an author and discovered the romance novels she wrote (romances are almost always written by women). So, what’s the difference between chick lit and romance? Besides the obvious one where romance drives the plot of one and doesn’t necessarily need to be part of the formula of another, of course. In my opinion, it’s one thing: sex.

The Book of Joe: A review

“Statistically speaking, it’s damn near impossible to write a best-seller. It’s also remarkably difficult to piss off an entire town. Overachiever that I am, I managed to accomplish both feats in one fell swoop. When it comes to alienation, I’m something of a prodigy.”

-Joe Goffman

No statement better sums up the plot of Jonathan Tropper’s second novel, “The Book of Joe”, than this.

Protagonist Joe Goffman returns from Manhattan to his small Connecticut hometown of Bush Falls after trashing its inhabitants in his bestselling novel (that’s later turned into a movie…to make matters worse) that shares its name with the town. He left right after he graduated high school and has been gone for 17 years. Joe’s estranged from his family and any friends he may have had (which weren’t that many to begin with) and the only reason he’s returned to the town he never thought he’d see again is because his father–to whom he could never relate and has always felt to be a disappointment–had a stroke and is in a coma.

“The Tales of Beedle the Bard” is now on sale!

J.K. Rowling's latest book is now available!

The title of this post pretty much says it all. I didn’t have a chance to pick up my copy (on reserve at the Barnes and Noble at Grand Teton Mall but I plan on doing so as soon as I get off work.

For those of you who have no clue what the hell I’m talking about, “The Tales of Beedle the Bard” is a collection of fairy tales written by Beedle the Bard, both of which are mentioned in the last Harry Potter book. I’m not going to go into detail about how Harry and the gang come across the book because there may be some people out there (Alyssa), who haven’t read the last book and I don’t want to spoil it for them.

So, if you’ve read the entire series like me, then you’ll definitely want a copy. If you haven’t read it yet, well hurry the fuck up and finish it so you’ll know what I’m talking about! Then you will also definitely want a copy.