Book Tag

Nell (who recently received the most gorgeous cover for her July release from Little Black Dress -- see it here) has book-tagged me, so here it is...

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open it to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people and post a comment to the person who tagged you once you've posted your three sentences.

I feel like maybe I should give some sort of critical analysis of whatever I post, but I think it depends on what I get!

*looks around for the nearest book*

I've laid my hands on Barbara Erskine's Whispers in the Sand, which I haven't actually read yet. Hope I don't come across a spoiler. Anyway, here are the relevant sentences:

She slipped off the canvas folding stool upon which she had been sitting before her easel and sank cross-legged on the Persian rug, fluffing her skirts up around her. When she glanced up he was offering her a plate, his deep brown eyes grave as they rested for a moment on her face. There wasn't a trace of servitude in his manner as he smiled the slow serious smile she was growing to like so much.

This book is set in the present and when I read this paragraph I thought it sounded quite historical. A flip back through the pages revealed that this comes from a scene which is actually a flashback into the past. I'm most intrigued by who "he" is, and why his eyes are so grave when he looks at her and yet he smiles anyway.

I tag: Sue, Karen, Judy, Julie... and whoever else would like to do it.


Just finished reading: Loose Screws by Karen Templeton

The Soundtrack to My Life?

I shamelessly stole this from Liz Fenwick, who usually has some of the best meme's and tag-posts :)

If Your Life Were a Movie…What Would the Soundtrack Be?

Here’s how it works:

1. Open your music library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question/bullet-point, type the song that’s playing
5. When you go to a new question/bullet-point, press the next button
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool, because you’re not!

Opening Credits: Feelin' Good by Nina Simone

Waking Up: Save Me by Remy Zero (the theme tune to Smallville)

First Day at School: Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out by Nina Simone (??!! -- and I have over 400 songs in my library and it picks the first artist again...?)

Falling in Love: Whisper of a Thrill by Thomas Newman (from the score to Meet Joe Black, and this is a pretty good match)

Fight Song: Inertia Creeps by Massive Attack (which could work!)

Breaking Up: Respect by Train (I think this is from one of my Dawson's Creek soundtracks and the lyrics kind of fit)

Prom/Dance/Ball: Angel by Ralph Fridge (a dance tune which, bizarrely enough, was released around the time of my high-school graduation)

Life’s OK: Toca Me by Fragma (the original version, not the one that's just been re-worked)

Mental Breakdown: Times Like These by Foo Fighters (another reasonable match!)

Flashback: Smoke by Natalie Imbruglia (and this is quite good, too, because it reminds me of my dad for some reason)

Getting Back Together: Everything by Lifehouse (which you must listen to because it's gorgeous... and also sort of fits lyrics-wise... I sometimes imagine this as a first-dance-at-wedding song)

Birth of Child: Daniel's 9th Cipher by Hans Zimmer (from the Da Vinci Code origin
al score... thankfully I don't own the score for The Omen!)

Wedding: Poe Meets Larkin by Mark Mancina/Trevor Rabin (from the Con Air original score... bizarre fit movie-wise, but it is a very beautiful orchestral arrangement)

Final Battle: Deadline by Dutch Force (a dance tune... I half-hoped something from the Flash Gordon soundtrack -- yep, I own it -- would pop up here)

Funeral Song: On Hallowed Ground by Graeme Revell (from the original score of The Crow... a pretty eerie match)

End Credits: Call the Police by James Morrison (and what should I make of that?!)

Me in a Glass

Liz Fenwick had this on her blog the other day -- What's the Recipe for Your Personality? I did it for myself and came up with the following results.

For my real name:

3 parts Grace 2 parts Fascination 1 part Panache Splash of Prosperity Finish off with an olive

For Jessica Raymond:

3 parts Warmth 2 parts Sass 1 part Style Splash of Intellect Finish off with a little umbrella and straw

Interesting differences between the two!

I've also been tagged by Nell for a list of six random quirks/things about me. I'm always terrible at thinking of amusing things to put in the list, but here goes.

Rules:

• Link to the person that tagged you
• Post the rules on your blog
• Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
• Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
  

1. My toes are always more presentable than my fingernails. If I haven't got nail polish on my toes then something feels very wrong, so they are never without some decoration. My fingernails, however, are lucky if they get painted once a month and then the poor things have to cope with gradual flaking for a couple of weeks before I finally get around to removing the remains of what's left.
2. Every now and then I get inexplicably addicted to some teen-targeted schlock TV show. At the moment I have to catch every episode of The Search for the Next Pussycat Doll, even though I know who wins and I know she jacked in the job about two seconds later (what a cheek!). I've also taken to having MTV's The Hills on during the day. Save me, someone.
3. I'm very picky about how I have my tea. I need to actually taste the flavour of the tea leaves, but I also need to have enough milk for it not to be mega-strong. The balance is delicate, and not many people can achieve it.
4. There is a lamp-post almost directly outside our bedroom window and in the two and a half years that we have lived here it has never bothered me -- until Little Frog moved out of our room and into his own. After that it felt like our room was flooded with light and it really started to get on my nerves. I guess it's because sleep became such a precious commodity. So now I have to plaster on a pink silk eyemask that is embroidered with the words "In Your Dreams" (it's the only one I could find, okay?) to ensure I get to sleep quick-smart.
5. Lately I can't stop eating junk food. I know it's gross, I know it's bad for me, but almost every day I want to eat some McDonald's or a KFC or some egg fried rice. Guess what I had for dinner last night? A Big Mac. Sigh.
6. I can't have a bath without a book. I always read in the bath before I had a baby, but now a nice bath is one of very few precious periods of Me Time, and I always use it to catch up on my reading.
   

I tag: Fiona Harper, Judy Jarvie, Julie Cohen, Karen Templeton, Phillipa Ashley, and Sue aka Ms Creativity. Sorry ladies!