This is my last blog . . . and I forgot to post it last night. This will come as a surprise to no one. In the past two years, I think I've put up my blog late probably half the time.

And really, I have no excuse. There's a reminder in my personal calendar. There's a reminder that get's emailed to me. All the technology in the world is coming together to keep me on track, and I still somehow get behind.

Which got me thinking about excuses, and the kinds of excuses we give.

Has anybody ever come up with some excuse to escape, just to go read? Or write? I have to be honest, I regularly find myself making up excuses to leave a room or a group of people, to go read a book. I like books more than social interaction, but you can't say that to people.  "I'm sorry, I much prefer to sit alone in a room with make-believe people than talk to you any more." It just doesn't have a friendly ring to it :)

Anybody else find themselves sneaking away from groups of people to go read a book? What kind of excuses do you give? What's the best excuse you've heard? Anyone else prefer a book to people? (Hellie, I know you're with me on this one!)

And just because it's my last blog:

Outlander is VERY LONG. I have nothing new to blog about bookwise because I'm still reading it. This is the only thing I find disappointing about the book so far because I prefer to have a new book every few days, due to my commitment issues.

What about you? Do you mind reading the same book for days--or weeks at a time? What are you reading this week?

I feel a little bit like the crew and I are part of a great sitcom like FRIENDS. We’re comfortable; we’re funny; and we’ve had seasons where you were like “Alright already!”, but you tune into us every week just the same. Also, no matter how long you watch FRIENDS, not all threads tie up and some things are still left where you know there are more stories to see. Only you know that if you try to have a spin-off from this fabulous sitcom (i.e. your own blog), it’s probably going to go a lot like that tragic season of JOEY. It’s just not the same.

mind some made for TV movie of FRIENDS as a reunion. I’d love to see how the twins are doing; if Ross and Rachel are still together; and if Joey—bless his heart—actually ever made it. I also figure in ten years—and I’m sure less—I will wish the Romance Writer’s Revenge will have a “made for blog” reunion and catch everyone up on their shenanigans. But we probably won’t. Here’s why: we all saw the Dukes of Hazzard reunion movies. Exactly. And the Little House on the Prairie. And the—you get the idea. Reunions are for reliving things that happened, but the fact is we’re all quite destined to having even greater things after this blog. (And we’ll be much more successful at it, I promise, because I’m pretty sure no star from FRIENDS actually went on to another successful career in which anyone actually wants to watch the end product. We’ve only been on air for half the time—and we’re much funnier. We’re going to be okay. More than okay. We’re going to be kick-ass ninja awesome.)


 
So up for discussion: does anyone else miss FRIENDS or is it only me? (That 70s Show and The Big Bang Theory helped immensely with the loss, I must say.) Any good “reunion” shows that didn’t botch it? What is the next big thing you’ll be doing when you leave the ship?

I've been distracted, so this isn't going to be the typical review. I didn't have a "new book" to share this week. Last week, I read a book I had read before--a handful of times over the years to be honest--but had been itching for.

BEWITCHING by Jill Barnett.

I was in college when this book came out the first time: purple with gold lettering and lots of stars. (It's the copy I still have.) And I remember my friend Jackie and I shared a room, but we couldn't share the book. We wanted to read it together, then we could stop and go, "Oh my gosh, did you get to the part--" It was really a most magical book, and I'm not talking about it being about a character who isn't a very good witch. Jackie and I swooned over this book and over Alec, the proud duke who wished to control everything and had no hope of controlling his wife.

Have you ever been out in public and you see someone reading a beloved book on your keeper shelf--and you realize they're reading it for the very first time? You know, because you asked. Despite being introverts, bookworms will almost always ask: "Is it your first time reading it? Isn't it wonderful?" And if it is true; it is their first time, the bookworm will get a wistful look on her face and you know she's wishing she could read the book again for the first time. There is magic in a second reading, where you catch things you didn't see before or you relive a beloved moment (how can you not love that Alec's laugh sounds like the bark of a seal?), but there is only the first time you ever read a truly magical book.

Harry Potter--the series, but especially the last one. The Lucy Hatch books. Hush, Hush. The Secret by Julie Garwood, and Saving Grace. Texas Destiny by Lorraine Heath. I could go through my keeper shelf and pull down a score or more of books that I wish I could read again for the first time.

Yet there are books that other bookworms adore that I haven't read yet--and one in fact that I'm reading right now: OUTLANDER by Diana Gabaldon. No serious Scotland fanatic could possibly claim to have not read it, but I have not. I've had the book bought for over a year now and it's been on my TBR pile. I got it at a used book store for $2. I mean seriously, I paid full price for the other books listed above or thereabouts, but for OUTLANDER (the mecca of Scottish fiction), I didn't want to invest too heavily. *LOL*

I'm on page 152 and loving it. Can't think why I haven't read it before...except for the fact the series still hasn't finished and the first book was published in 1991. That might have something to do with it. That aside though, I know there are bookworms out there who wish they could read OUTLANDER for the first time again, to experience the magic wholly again.

Have you ever reread a book? Is there a book you wish you could read again for the first time? And are you reading anything now that is raved about everywhere that you know others wish they could read for the first time?