The Woman in White

As mentioned before, I love listening to books.  When I walk my dog in the wee hours of the moring, an audio book makes a great companion.  I am still taking advantage of the books I was able to download from http://www.audiobooksync.com/ this past summer.  My current facination is with The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins.  Such a disturbing and fantastic book about the injustices of women in the 1800's, done in a multi-narrative depiction of a marriage-for-money gone wrong. SYNC paired The Woman in White with the modern ghost story, Anna Dressed in Blood, by Kendare Blake, so I have reason to believe that the connection is significant.  Since I am reading Anna Dressed in Blood concurrently with the audio selection, I cannot wait to see where they both lead me. 
The characters in The Woman in White are so believable and Collins' description of them so vivid, you will love Marian, and love to hate Count Fosco and Sir Percival Glyde.  A love story, a mystery, a thriller; this book has it all!  So much danger and intrigue has me waking each early morning with ease, as I look forward to putting in those earphones and putting on my walking shoes.  Whether it's the audiobook, the print, or the digital vesion, you will find yourself wrapped up in the mystery of Lady Glyde's life. 

Ghost story paired with The Woman in White

The dangers of Twitter

I opened my Twitter account this fall.  At first I didn't do much with it; hardly followed it, and rarely Tweeted.  Now, I'm addicted.  First of all, I mostly follow authors, publishers, and book sellers.  This is where it gets dangerous for me.  I love to read.  If I could read books, especially Young Adult books for a living, and get paid the same I do now, I would be the absolute happiest person on the planet!  However, I have to do my reading in my spare time, which considering I am a mom of two, a wife, a teacher, and all the other hats I wear, is actually not so bad.  My daughters have caught the reading bug, seeing me do my reading at home.  I guess there are worse things I could pass on to them, like my bad cleaning habits (I would rather read, than clean!). Twitter has been dangerous, because I keep buying books!  First, I would see this new series by a favorite author, or a new author, or whatever; and I would HAVE to have the books!  Now, I'm buying Kindle books on sale, for $1.99 or $2.99.  Not a big deal, but when you add them all up...!
Next, Twitter has been dangerous because I enter EVERY contest that's offered!  Of course to do so one must Tweet the offer, hence, more time on Twitter!  Kind of circular, right?  Another way that Twitter has become addictive is when someone re-Tweets me.  Especially if it's an author.  OMG, I just love that!  But I can tell you, my family is getting a bit tired of me telling them when and which of my Tweets get re-Tweeted, and by whom.  I feel like I am getting a bit boring in my dinner-time conversation when everything evolves around Twitter: which books I found/bought, who re-Tweeted me, what cool pictures I saw, etcetera, etcetera!
On a more serious note, some students have recently caused a stir in the district with their inane Tweets about fights, sex, and bullying.  What's worse is their innate ability to get disgusted by adults, teachers and administrators, for caring what they Tweet. It is so hard for teenagers to see past today into their future 5, 10 years down the road, but with Twitter's popularity and usefulness, those inane Tweets could really haunt them when they try to get into college, get a job, or even start a healthy relationship. 
Such are the dangers of Twitter.  It is so easy to say what we want, see whatever others are saying, and goodness knows, be persuaded to purchase items we don't need but sure do want!  So beware. Twitter has been fun, but I think it's time for me to cut back a bit.