Bec Says

Attention book lovers! There are some fantastic spots to hang out online and connect with other readers.

goodreads.com is a terrific place to join reading groups, hear about (and share) recommendations, and generally network with fellow readers. (If you haven’t already, you should join the Marianne de Pierres group, by the way)… You can build your own book shelf, let your friends know what you’re reading, rate your reads, and start and join all kinds of communities. It’s a great starting point for building an online reading group.

Aussie readers will no doubt all be aware of the ABC’s very fabulous First Tuesday Book Club, hosted by the incredibly well-read Jennifer Byrne. On their website, you can find out extra info, including  Facebook, Twitter, and  SMS details, how to join the studio audience, and news about upcoming shows and comps.

Teenreads.com is info overload; this contantly updated site will keep you busy for hours on end. If you’re a teen who likes to read, this is the place for you.

The Big Book Club is an Aussie-wide initiative that features monthly reads, literary events, and giveaways.

Very helpfully, the Random House site includes suggested reads and prompter questions to kick off your reading group discussions.

If you’d like to do some good while you read, you can join the MS Readathon and take up their Novel Challenge right through until the end of August. (What a great idea).

So, there are some ideas to get you started. You can also check out your local library, favourite publisher, or just grab your friends and start your own club. A book group can enrich your reading experience, broaden your literary horizons, and just be a great excuse to hang out with like-minded people over some new reads.

Bec Says

Because I couldn’t help myself, I went looking at plastic surgery disasters sites online. Yeah yeah, before you judge me, don’t pretend you haven’t checked some of this stuff out too.

So then I Googled cosmetic surgery in my area and wa-hey!!! There are 6 places within 10 minutes’ drive of my house that can surgically enhance me.  How convenient.

While I was Googling, I found this from a Queensland Health report:

There is some evidence that there may be an increase in the number of Queensland children and young people under the age of 18 using cosmetic surgery procedures and using solariums for cosmetic tanning.

Stop it, will you! You’re wasting precious resources and setting the bar even higher for the rest of us.

Come on! UNDER 18???!!! What have they even got to work with at your delicate age? Isn’t your skin so beautifully elastic and taut that one slice would send it skimming off your head like peel off a grape? It doesn’t have to be painful, though… According to the Pond’s Institue, a few swipes with their age-defying towelettes will fight the visible signs of ageing *while you cleanse*. And who would question an *institute*?

These guys have winter specials, if anyone’s interested. And I notice you can buy gift vouchers. Surely there’s no better way to cement a friendship than to offer a voucher to a cosmetic surgeon? “Sondra…You know I love you…But those drooping lids of yours are a constant distraction…”

Seriously, though. Why is there this awful preoccupation with youthfulness? When I see these faces, I don’t think they need facelifts… I marvel at the character and wisdom in each line and fold…

These faces are like road maps of the years, that show all the joy, all the pain… Why would you want to erase any of it?

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Of course, you can reject all this twaddle and age gracefully.

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Music: The Stranglers – Skin Deep

Marilyn Manson – The Beautiful People

Bec Says

Boston mom calls 911 over over son’s video game habit

BOSTON (AP) – Police say a frustrated Boston woman called 911 to say she couldn’t get her 14-year-old son to stop playing video games and go to sleep. Police spokesman Officer Joe Zanoli said Monday the mother called for help around 2:30 a.m. Saturday to say that the teenager also walked around the house and turned on all the lights.

Two officers who responded to the house persuaded the child to obey his mother.

Zanoli says the mother’s 911 call over video game obsession “was a little unusual, but by no means is it surprising – especially in today’s day and age when these kids play video games and computer games.”

The Boston Herald first reported the 911 call, saying the boy was playing the popular “Grand Theft Auto” game.

I *SAID* I'll log off in a *MINUTE!!!!*

Only in America? Think again. In this article from The Courier-Mail, we learn this little nugget of info:

“Psychiatrists have confirmed that some players wear nappies during long sessions so they won’t have to take a toilet break.”

Yes, *NAPPIES*!!!

No sooner do parents get their kids toilet trained than WoW goes and undoes all the good work.

Video game addiction is so widespread that today’s kids are being referred to as SCREENAGERS and addiction centres are popping up around the globe.

So, fess up…  Are you too hooked on Final Fantasy to do your homework? Would you rather spend the day with Super Mario instead of your boyfriend? Crushing harder on Zelda than your girlfriend? Are you a gaming geek who can’t stay away from the console? It’s okay… Help is available. In the meantime, why don’t you change your status to AFK and g37 4 1if3.

Music: Mi-Sex – Computer Games

The Ataris – Teenage Riot

Bec Says

Do you have a favourite book illustrator? Are you like me: can you pore over picture books for hours, taking in every last detail… loving that shade of blue… that beautiful embossing? I can clearly remember the way certain characters were depicted in books I had as a child and when I see them represented differently in other versions, they just seem wrong. I had a gorgeous, illustrated hardback of Alice in Wonderland that I would lose myself in for ages; I’d dive right into Carroll’s world via the pictures as much as the text. When my (much younger) siblings inherited the book years later, they managed to destroy it and it’s always broken my heart that I’ve never been able to find that same edition since.

The Genius of Shaun Tan

How much of an impact do book illustrations have on you? How swayed are you by book cover design? Some book covers truly are the bait that lure you in… Some should never see the light of day! But all of them promote the story within, so they’re worth our consideration.

Music: Blondie – ‘Picture This’

The Cure – ‘Pictures of You’

Bec Says

Have you considered just how many imaginary lands exist out there in the literary landscape? How many of these places can you match to book titles? (Click on the links to see the answers):

Middle Earth

Eurasia

The Tert

Sutrium

Arrakis

Lower Elements

Fantastica

Midkemia

Ankh-Morpork

Rama

Avalon

Andor

Eileanan

How did you go? If you could choose any fantasy world to live in, which would it be…and why?

Which would be the most terrible?

Music:  Avalon – Roxy Music

California – Rufus Wainwright

When The Day Is Short – Martha Wainwright