Read-a-Thon Introductory Questionnaire

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

Oakville, Ontario

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Fight Club

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Spinach dip

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I have two cats: Betty and Timmy.

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

I'm looking forward to catching up on my 2012 goal of reading 50 books (hopefully - I'm about six books behind).

Dewey's Read-a-Thon

In about 15 minutes I will start participating in Dewey's Read-a-Thon. I will attempt to spend a full 24 hours reading...since I love sleep I don't know if I'll be able to do it, but I'm giving it my best shot. Here are the books I've chosen to read:

1. The Torn Skirt by Rebecca Godfrey 199 pages
2. Candy Girl by Diablo Cody 212 pages
3. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk 224 pages (on Kindle)
4. Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman 272 pages (on Kindle)
5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky 213 pages (on Kindle)
6. The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker 164 pages
7. Baxter by Jessica Hamilton 144 pages

...And the food I will be enjoying:

• S'mores Pop-tarts
• Sweet Marie Bars
• Spinach dip with pumpernickel bread
• Hot Dog Lunchable
• Homemade iced tea
• A variety of K-cups

Wish me luck!

The Lisa Simpson Book Club

A few days ago I stumbled across a really cool Tumblr blog called The Lisa Simpson Book Club. The title sums up what it's about. It features pictures of Lisa with books and a list of books and magazines she has read on the show. Anyone who loves books and Lisa Simpson must check it out.

Twist March 1999

  

Twist was a teen magazine that was popular - at least to me and my friends - when I was 11 and 12. I adored this magazine because it was fun. It actually had jokes. It wasn't all about serious teen issues (I'm looking at you Seventeen). But it wasn't completely frivolous and filled with pictures of hot guys (*cough*J-14*cough*), it had a good combination of both. There were stories about issues (see "my cybersex nightmare on the cover), pictures of hotties, love advice, fashion and stories just for fun (see palm reading cards below). Here are a few articles I found interesting when flipping through the March 1999 issue of Twist. Click to enlarge them. 

I used to be obsessed with things that could tell my future - magic 8 balls...cootie catchers...fortune cookies.... Eventually I stumbled upon palm reading. I can actually remember reading my own palm thanks to the knowledge I gleaned from these cards and a book I got from the library. I determined that I would have two children and only one - very long - relationship. I was disappointed because I had crushes on, like, 20 different guys at the time and I wanted to date more than one guy in my lifetime. If anyone is brave enough to follow these directions and read your own palm please comment and share what the future holds for you.

These are the aforementioned palm reading cards. I guess you can shove them in your pocket for a palm reading emergency.

Sorry for the big hole in the article, but you can still read most of it.

Highlights from this article:

• Selma Blair the next big thing on TV? ...Well that never happened. Sadly she never became the next big anything. Too bad, I loved her as the slutty spoiled brat in Cruel Intentions and as the chick who gets a dick stuck in her mouth in The Sweetest Thing. I honestly never even knew she was on television. 
• Alyson Hannigan's first crush was Elroy Jetson?
• Topher Grace doesn't like hanging out with people and is obsessed with Red Lobster.
• Laura Prepon is "a Jersey girl and proud of it." Really? Do you still stand behind your statement in 2012?
• Scott Baristow said that working with JTT on Wild America was "borderline too much fun." ...Like I needed anymore reasons to be depressed that I couldn't be on that set.
• Including Wendy Testaburger as one of the "underrated" TV stars in this article is just an example of why I loved Twist so much.

 

Pop Life was a regular feature in Twist. 

Highlights from this article:

• I forgot Brendan Fraser played George of the Jungle. Thanks for reminder.
• Usher vs. an usher = hilarious
• Speaking as a Backstreet Boys expert, I don't think the lyrics in the verses of "All I Have to Give" were supposed to rhyme, just the chorus was. 
• Jen caned to death by Gram when caught raiding the booze nude with two boys? I could totally see that happening. Ditto for Donna's death by brain cell evaporation. 
• The "Rent It" section of Pop Life makes me want to rent Better off Dead. Right. Now.

Pretty good suggestions on ways to get over disappointments in your life.

Teen Magazine Monday

So I've decided to add yet another feature to my blog. I think it will be bi-weekly or maybe monthly - I haven't really decided yet. Anyway, I've dubbed it Teen Magazine Monday. Each post will feature a different magazine from my pre-teen and teen years (which were around 1999-2004). I will scan a few articles from the magazine that I found interesting and post them along with my commentary.

The reason I'm doing this is because I love 90's nostalgia. I still have a huge collection of my teen magazines in a box in my room at my dad's house. I had subscriptions to YM and Fashion 18, plus I had several hand-me-down magazines from older cousins and I also bought a lot of magazines - J-14, M, Seventeen, Jump, Twist.... I hope you enjoy!

Clueless, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Daria are back on TV!

 

Breaking news! The other day I was scrolling through the guide trying to find something good in the crap that is daytime TV and I came across Daria on Much Music. Then I noticed that Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Clueless were on back-to-back later. So it turns out that on weekdays Much Music airs Daria at 3:00 pm, Sabrina the Teenage Witch at 5:00 pm and Clueless at 5:30 pm! Obviously I set up series recordings for each on my DVR immediately.

Oh, and Much Music also airs Malcolm in the Middle at 7:00 pm on weekdays, but I was less excited about it because my boyfriend recently downloaded it.

Happy Valentine's Day...90's Style!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! To celebrate, I'm going to share some Valentine's Day cards I received during my childhood (sometime in the mid-90's) and have kept all these years.