على الرف ~ on the shelf

I set a a goal to read 10 books this year, which is what I put on my Goodreads.com profile. So far, I've been doing pretty well with this goal. I finished reading two books so far -- "I am America (And So Can You!)" by Stephen Colbert and "The Ten Things You Can't Say in America" by Larry Elder. Right now I'm reading a Diana Ross Biography, "Call Her Miss Ross" by J. Randy Taraborrelli.

I borrowed "Call Her Miss Ross" from a local library. I've been wanting to read a Diana Ross bio/autobio because I'm a Ross/Supremes fan. When I found the book on the library shelf, I thought it'd take me forever to read it -- the book is over 500 pages long! Even if I wanted to learn more about Ross' life, I thought "Call Her Miss Ross" wouldn't be an easy read. However, to my surprise, I discovered that I'm almost finished with the book -- and I borrowed it last month! Of coruse, it helps that I like the book, and I poured myself into the bio every chance I got.

Next up, I'm reading a bio of Florence Ballard, Ross' former Supreme bandmate. Did I mention taht I'm a Supremes and Diana Ross fan? :D

Lost

Heathers (1989):I LOVE this movie! It's witty, cleverly written and hits the target with its commentary on peer pressure, teenage suicide and high school politics. A girl desperate to get out of the most popular (and nastiest) clique at Westerburg High teams up with a dark rebel to take out the most popular students. A lot of dialogue from the movie have some very rated-R material that can't be repeated; however, below I listed a smattering of memorable one-liners from that film:

"Corn Nuts!" -- Heather Chandler

"Transfer to Washington. Transfer to Jefferson. No one at Westerberg is going to let you play their reindeer games." -- Heather Chandler

"What is your damage, Heather?" -- Veronica Sawyer

"I say we just grow up, be adults and die." -- Veronica Sawyer

"I like it. It's got that what-a-cruel-world-let's-toss-ourselves-in-the-abyss type ambience." J.D.

"The extreme always seems to make an impression." -- J.D.

Antique German Continental Typewriter

Next week, I'll be on vacation from my full-time job. However, as any writer would know, there's no such thing as taking a break if you're passionate about putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). I'll still cook up some articles for my freelance writing gig, keeping up with this blog and reading and researching for the sake of future articles.

I'll be working on two articles for the online magazine Suite101.com. One is about the impact of cutting music education from a district's curriculum on a child'd overall education. The other article is about teaching children how to be fiscally responsible. I may even solicit a few agents for my novel manuscript.

In addition to my freelance writing duties, I'll be reading an autobiography "Dancing with Myself," written by a Wanaque woman named Mia Carr. Ms. Carr is an award-winning ballroom dancer who had her share of trials and tribulations that included four marriages, phsyical and sexual abuse and a near-death experience.

I started reading the book two weeks ago. Pages are highlighted and Post-Its line the pages with questions I want to ask Ms. Carr. It's a good read. I want to finish reading the book before Ms. Carr's April 30 book signing of her autobiography so I may interview her and write a preview story of the book signing event.

So though I won't take a break from writing next week, I'm still going to have fun on my vacation.