Don't ya get a kick out of this weeks Tehachapi News poll:  When was the last time you read a book?   We need some improved poll subjects - that's what I think. Who took the poll and said "what for?"  I laughed till I cried - then I voted.  Sad.

chewin tobacco, silicone, beer, and nascar

Ok, that's 4-10 years worth of pay for our family...  I knew it would be a ludicrous amount, but wow... 

It's kind of like reading tabloids, but not as trashy :)  I'm still looking forward to the NY Housewives.  What a culture difference that should be, but there haven't been very many ads for it yet.  Wouldn't it be hilarious to see a Real Housewives of Kern County? 

Between $250,000-$500,000! The after party was lame but that is what makes it the show it is. I think Lauri is the most normal of the bunch. Jo & Slade are just friends. Ha I feel so lame myself for saying that!!!

I guess it's just nice to see how the other half lives.

Gillfish- No, I missed the after party :(  It was on at the same time as House, and my husband simply would not stand for watching Housewives over House, lol!  I can't believe they would give Jo her own show!  That sounds awful!  She drove me insane- her and Slade's constant drama.  (Is she still with him?)  I liked Lauri the best.  She seemed to be the most down-to-earth.  I finally saw the wedding episode a few days ago.  WOW!!!!!!!  What a beautiful wedding!!!!!  (BTW, did she say how much it cost??  It had to be an obscene amount of money!)

Another great true story about a "highly functional" autistic woman .... "Songs of the Gorilla Nation."  Beautifully written.

I haven't read Gone with the Wind in years but, yup, just love that story.  I married a "Rhett" type individual.  Most the time, I still love him!!!!

Didn't they make a movie about the 16 year old? I read the Bell Jar. Sam mentioned "the Jungle" by Upton Sinclair-that was a great read about the meat packing industry of the 20's. (Better then it sounds). I have read all books in the "Wicked" series. Madkow did you watch the after party of The Real Housewives of OC last night? They are giving Jo her own Bravo show.

I absolutely love used book stores. It's very rare for me to actually buy a full price book. I used to spend hours sorting through old books, long discarded, well loved and well read.........I'd find all kinds of treasures like Sylvia Plath, Leonard Cohen etc.  I found by visiting the used book stores I found so many things I would never have came across any other way. There is alot of interesting reading out there. I prefer to read non-fiction books about strange things, like Jack the Ripper and other notorious killers. I think my favourite book growing up was  I Never Promised You a Rose Garden.   I Never Promised You a Rose Garden is the story of a sixteen-year-old who retreats from reality into the bondage of a lushly imagined but threatening kingdom, and her slow and painful journey back to sanity. It is an autobiographical novel by Joanne Greenberg, written under the pen name of Hannah Green. It was made into a film in 1977 and a play in 2004.

Yes it's by him. Another snoozer-Moby Dick. I have read (I am a bit embarrassed to say) a bunch of trash novels, Harlequins and general fluff. When you have kids it really is hard to concentrate, your so tired all the time. And CharleyBird-I will continue to watch the rest of the series-Burk Devlin does look like a worm and he is supposedly the dark & handsome one in the show.I need the next in the collection.

Charley...you're obviously applying adult thinking to Dark Shadows. lol, as a 14 year old girl, I was mad for Jonathan Frid (Barnabas Collins) and the whole vampire/ghost/witch genre. I tried watching reruns on SciFi channel about a year ago and just couldn't believe I'd ever been so hooked...

I cannot finish Crime and Punishment for anything.  I have seriously tried 5 times.  Also couldn't finish Les Miserables, but I got pretty far before I got too distracted by other things.  Is Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez? (Hmm... is that what his name is?)  I have 100 Years of Solitude that I've been meaning to read- it's just so hard to concentrate on any book these days!  My mom says that having kids made her read the crappy novels because they didn't require any concentration.  I hope I don't end up like that :(

Dark Shadows ......  BORING........Burke Devlin is was creepy, Victoria, come on no one is that innocently stupid........ BORING

One book that bored me so much I couldn't finish it-Love in the time of Cholera. My sister just told me she was trying to get through it and I told her to not feel pressured-chuck it. I feel internally obligated to finish a book but that one was beyond my endurance to finish.

My girlfriend and I used to go to her house and watch Dark Shadows faithfully. Mary Coyne where are you?

I used to rush home from school to catch 'General Hospital' and 'Dark Shadows', both in black and white and both 1/2 hour long and yes, both cheesy.

I also really like all four of Dan Brown's books which include Angels and Demons and of course, The DaVinci Code. That movie SUCKED btw... It took me forever to decide to read D-Code. I thought it was some kind of spy thriller, lol, and I'm not into those.

I am currently waiting for the last in the Eldest Trilogy, due out I think this summer.

I have read a bunch of Somerset Maughams books. My fav is his East/West short stories. They are great. Jack London has a book of short stories that is really good. I saw the movie "Children of Men" and liked it but I will read the book. The Accidental Tourist, Kite Runner, Grapes of Wrath,One Flew Over the Cukoos Nest-all  were really good.  It seems I go for dark stories mostly.

I have read an old version of Jane Eyre so many times I have lost count. I love the old versions as you get a better feel for the era. White Oleander is pretty dark but like I said -I go for dark books. Speaking of dark-I just finished"Dark Shadows" the early years CD. It is so good! Cheesy bad acting, actors flubbingg lines and I swear a fly buzzing around and landing on the actors in three episodes.

Thank you for giving me new books to look up and the kids book sounds perfect for my nephew who is seven (if its not too babyish).