So...most of them belonged to Mom, some to Dad, one to me! Anyone other than SilverWillow and Vader's Mom, I take paypal ;-)

Faith is the winner!

Woohoo, Faith! Email me (fondofsnape AT gmail DOT com) with your address and I'll send it off on Tuesday.

Because this was fun for me...I didn't stop at pulling Faith's name out of the sake cup!

Second place goes to...SilverWillow!

Third place goes to Vader's Mom!

I have a HUGE container of books that were going to be put up for sale on half DOT com, but ... I'll let both of you choose one of those books. I'll list the titles (hahahah I kept writing "tittles") tomorrow, so check back.

Seriously, this was so much fun, I think I'll do it again!

***Saturday Photo Hunt is below :-) ***

From The Leaky Cauldron:

"UK publisher Bloomsbury has announced that the reading of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by author J. K. Rowling taking place at the Natural History Museum will be streamed LIVE online via the Bloomsbury website at midnight on July 21st."

WOW!!!

Recently, An Island Life was giving away a book...and I just happened to win it (thanks again!!!):

I tried to read at Barnes & Noble one night, but it just hit too close to home, you know? Now I can read it in the privacy of my own home (ha. more or less) and cry if I want to.

An excerpt: "So," she said, moving away, "now you know how badly someone wanted you, Charley. Children forget that sometimes. They think of themselves as a burden instead of a wish granted."

That was me...but I still think I was a burden.

Anyway, I'd like to continue what An Island Life started and pass this on when I'm done with it, so if you'd like to read it, please leave a message. I'll draw a name at random and away it'll go :-)

This challenge is from Carl; he says:

"Here's how the contest works. Simply join me in this challenge. Post an entry on your blog indicating that you are taking on the Readers Imbibing Peril (R.I.P.) Autumn Challenge (or post here if you are blogless) and pick out any 5 books that you want to read (they don't have to be from this list) that you think meet the very open, broad criteria of being scary, eerie, moody, dripping with atmosphere, gothic, unsettling, etc. and vow to read them. You may have even read one recently and want to count it. That's it! Let me know in the comments or via email (poegeek@gmail.com) that you are joining in."

If you'd like to join in this challenge, simply click on this link to Carl's post and leave him a comment!

I'm going to read:

1. Murder Most Scottish, an anthology
2. The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice
3. Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories, edited by Roald Dahl
4. A Delusion of Satan: The Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials by Frances Hill
5. Vampires: The Greatest Stories, a compilation of stories.

OMG I so want to go to this! Anyone want to go with me?

Snagged from Smoochdog who snagged it from The Noodle Incident (and modified it a bit).

I love reading, and so does Michelle, aka Smoochie. We'll meet at Barnes and Noble, grab a book or magazine and chat and flip pages.

1) Total number of books I own?: Man...alot! I have so many in storage that I said I'd stop buying any more and just get them from the library. This, of course, doesn't count for the Harry Potter books, or anything else that really catches my eye.

2) The last book I bought?: My Life In France, by Julia Child. In fact, I was with Smooch when I bought this! I was looking for a photography book, but was distracted by Julia's name...I really loved watching her cooking shows, and if you did, too? Check out this book. Well worth it!

3) The last book I read?: Same as above, sadly, just finished it last night (I hate finishing books!)

4) What I am currently reading?: Nothing at the moment, altho I have some books just waiting for me to pick them up, such as My Life by Bill Clinton; Mark Twain's Library of Humor or Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress by Susan Jane Gilman, just to name a few. Also, I haven't finished The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion yet. I pick it up, read a bit, put it down and go back to it in a few days or a week. It's about loss, and I'm not sure I want to immerse myself in that topic yet.

5) Five books that have meant a lot to me or that I loved the most:
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle : A Novel by Hiroyuki Murakami
My Year of Meats by Ruth L. Ozeki
The Good Earth by Pearl Buck
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein

If you want to play along, please do so. I'd love to know what you all are reading and what books mean alot to you! Post your answers on your blog or in the comments--just let me know, I can always use a few good book recommendations!