Searching for Atlantis

Plagiarised via Sharkcrow ... thanks, Sharky ;-)

The Big Read thinks the average adult has only read six of the top 100 books they’ve printed below.

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list in your own weblog / journal so we can try and track down these people who’ve read 6 and force books upon them.

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter Series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
   
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Phillip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of William Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Attwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones' Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
    
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From a Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ranson
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Colour Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishigury
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte's Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
     

Read:  36/100

A real-life friend of mine (well, as close to a real-life friend as an internet friend can be ... we've known each other for three years, and seen each other through a myriad of life-altering events, albeit online, and we're still here now - isn't that what the true definition of friendship is?) has busted my blog :-D  So, without further ado, I want to say "Hi there, Wooly" - LOL!

I haven't time for a long post now because I've got to get to work, but I'm sure you can get the drift of what's happening from the title and forthcoming content of this entry.  I'm compiling a list of break-up songs that I really like, possibly with the view of making a mix CD for myself ... a little reminder in case I am ever tempted to go back to the misery of the last four months.

Therefore, without further ado - my favourite break-up songs thus far:

The last week has been agonising and distressing, all wrapped into one, which finally reached a climax this morning.

I mentioned last week that I had contacted my husband regarding my father's illness.  Although I had been in two minds about doing so, I decided to go ahead because he had always felt a real affection for my father and that just because there had been bad feeling between us, I wasn't going to withhold the information from him.  As I hadn't contacted him for over two months, the missive that I sent him was a stiff and somewhat terse explanation of the situation. 

Lo and behold, three days later I received a reply, and so our correspondence commenced.  As you may recall, in a moment of weakness when I found out about my dad's prognosis I blurted out my feelings, and had resigned myself never to hear from him again.

However, he proved me wrong, for this weekend I received an e-mail telling me he felt the same way about me, followed up by a phone call at the God-awful hour of 3.40am this morning.  After some introductory chit-chat, he confirmed the fact, and then stated that he wanted us to consider resuming our marriage.

For months, I've tortured myself with recriminations.  And now this. 

In some ways, my life has moved on without him.  I've got a new job, with the prospect of another in my future.  I've been accepted to do my Master's.  My dad is very ill, and regardless of anything else, he has to, and will continue to be, my first priority.  However, I know that my life has been happier since the old horse re-entered it.  The feelings I had for him are still there, despite what has happened in the past.

I don't know what to think or do.

My first tag on Vox - thanks Writebrained :-)

THE RULES

1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves. 
   
2. People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules. 
   
3. At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names. 
   
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment on their blog and tell them they’ve been tagged, and to come back and read your blog for the whole story.

So, here goes ... eight random things about me :-)

1. I have never lived in a house without a pet since I came home from the hospital.  In fact, my mother's cat used to sleep with me in my cradle, and I guess that's where my obsession with furry felines commenced.  Since that time, I've had at least forty cats, but the most I've ever had at one time was seven.  Given that I now live in a three-room apartment, two illegal aliens will have to suffice for the time being ;-)
   
2. However, my love affair with felix domesticus doesn't mean I'm opposed to canis carnivorae.  I've had two dogs, and get along with most of them, including my aunt's two maltese terriers, who are the best things since sliced bread.
3. I decided to learn how to make patchwork after reading "How to Make an American Quilt," by Whitney Otto in 2002.  I've only ever pieced by hand.  Since that time, I've finished eight quilts, having hand-pieced and quilted four of them.  However, I've probably got another half-dozen tops that are finished, but have never been quilted.
4. So far in my life, I have been a gift wrapper, telemarketer, dental receptionist, library assistant, secretary, youth worker, program administrator, teacher, leaflet distributor and care worker.  I soon hope to add disability support worker to that list.
5. Despite the ups and downs, my favourite decade of my life so far has been my thirties - and no amount of money could induce me to relive my teens.
6. Despite being very easygoing in general, I have an underlying streak of stubborness that will never be eradicated when someone gets my back up.
7. So far, I've experienced an earthquake, a mini-cyclone and a flood.  I hope not to add anymore natural disasters to that particular list.
8. The most exciting experience of my life thus far has been to take off from the tarmac at Kingsford Smith in Sydney, flying over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House on my way to the United Kingdom for the first time.

Tag time:  Sharkcrow ... and that's all!  I don't know anyone else who hasn't done this yet - however, if you read my blog and you haven't been tagged, please feel free to jump on the wagon!

I mentioned briefly in my last entry that my dad had recently been admitted to hospital with liver and kidney failure.  Today, we found out that he has cirrhosis, and his specialist has given him a prognosis of about 12 months.  I'm devastated.

I went to a job interview today that went well, so I may soon be a member of the full-time workforce again.

I also sent my husband an e-mail to let him know that regardless of what he did, and even though I know he doesn't feel the same way about me, that I love him.  I know this won't do anything, but given this brush with mortality I wanted to tell him before it was too late to do so, just in case anything should happen. 

Wisdom gained from today?  There's no point holding on to past grievances.

Loathing:

• Flat inspections, and the resultant chaos of spring-cleaning in wintertime
• My dad's admission to hospital last Monday for liver and kidney failure
• My cat suddenly coming down with an unexpected illness that has caused him to vomit twice in the last 12 hours
• Selfish people who think that they're entitled to the pick of the best jobs at my workplace
• Having to interpret the my husband's reply to the e-mail that I sent him last week upon notification of my dad's illness
• Paying to water the garden because the rain has finally stopped
  

Loving

• My spring-cleaned flat ... it's bee-yoo-tee-ful
• My dad's upcoming discharge from hospital with hope of no long-term disability as a result of his illness
• Going to sleep with both cats faithfully cuddled up against me
• Actually having a job, and an upcoming interview for a new job
• The fact that my husband cared enough to reply to my e-mail at all
• The rain has finally stopped for the first time in three weeks, which means we're enjoying some golden winter days
  

There are many ways of breaking a heart. Stories were full of hearts broken by love, but what really broke a heart was taking away its dream - whatever that dream might be.  Pearl S. Buck

Sensitive Doers are gentle, modest and reserved persons.  They cope well with everyday life and like their privacy.  With their quiet, optimistic nature, they are also good, sought-after listeners and other people feel well in their company.  All in all, this type is the most likeable and friendliest of all personality types.  Tolerance and their regard for others distinguish their personality.  They are very caring, generous and always willing to help.  They are open to and interested in everything that is new or unknown to them.  However, if their inner value system or their sense of justice is hurt, Sensitive Doers can suddenly and surprisingly become forceful and assertive. 

Sensitive Doers enjoy the comforts life offers to the full. They are very happy in everyday life. Sensitive Doers are often gifted artists or very good craftsmen. Creativity, imagination and an especially keen perception are just a few of their strong points. Sensitive Doers are very presence-oriented; long-term planning and preparations do not appeal to them. They take life as it comes and react flexibly to daily demands. They do not like too much routine and predictability. Their talents come more to the fore when work processes are variable and there are not so many rules. Sensitive Doers like to work alone; if they are part of a team, they do not get involved in competitive or power games and prefer living and working together harmoniously and openly.

Sensitive Doers are completely satisfied with a small, close circle of friends as their need for social contacts is not very marked. Here, too, they avoid conflicts - quarrels and disputes put considerable strain on them. Sensitive Doers are often very fond of animals and are very good with small children. As partner, this type is loyal and reliable and is willing to invest a lot in a relationship. Mutual respect and tolerance are very important to Sensitive Doers. Their love of pleasure makes them a pleasant companion with whom one can experience intensive moments. They like to look after their partner with attentiveness and small gifts and are very sensitive to the partner’s needs - often more than to their own. However, should they meet the wrong person, they run the risk of being taken advantage of. They are then deeply disappointed.

ShareThis

Adjectives which describe your type

introverted, practical, emotional, spontaneous, sensitive, peace-loving, reserved, gentle, good-natured, independent, empathetic, friendly, playful, carefree, sympathetic, relaxed, quiet, modest, pleasure-loving, loyal, obliging, caring, helpful, optimistic

These subjects could interest you

art, music, craftwork, garden work, animals, nature, literature, drawing/painting, astrology, spiritual things, meditation, music, handicrafts, writing

Stolen from The Queen