Ree

I retain stuff just fine in the old knowledge sponge between my ears. That's why my friends call me the queen of useless trivia... granted, it's only useless until they need it from me.

Me, too. Just ditched the dish. Gives me more time for reading and playing video games. By the way, currently reading Dante's Divine Comedy and Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail. For some reason it seemed like a good idea, and is turning out to be. A tip if you want to read more, keep a book diary. Title, author, when you start reading, and when you finish the book or give up. It really makes you feel like you've accomplished when the pages start filling up.

My fiance has downloaded lots of books for me, and I hate to admit I never read them. I hate reading books at a computer screen. It seems unnatural. I'm a true bibliophile, and if I had the option every wall of my house would be covered from floor to ceiling in bookshelves. Every time I have to pack up a box of books for the attic because there isn't enough space I want to cry. No amount of pleading "What if I want to read it!" every stops the depressing march of books up those lonely stairs, the books forced to await me in solitude until I can find a new place to store them in plain sight. Out of sight is out of mind afterall, so I can't remember all the books crying for me to remember them. The ones on the hard-drive I never see at all, so I never remember they're there to read. And the few times I've tried I just get annoyed and fidgety staring up at the screen. Guess I'm just old-fashioned too. PS- I usually don't buy a book unless i want to read it over and over again, because there are few books that I've read that I haven't read at least twice and most I've read considerably more than that. There are only two books that I never want to read again and those are Billy Bud by Herman Melville and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. They were just horrible beyond description...

I can't remember if anyone mentioned it, but because I'm rereading it I'll throw it out there. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series (I can't remember how many books there are total, six I think) by Douglas Adams is great, funny, witty, though it can make your head ache out of downright strangeness. You have to have at least a passing interest in British comedy to like it though, so if you hate British comedy you shouldn't bother. The movie (if you're one of the six other people besides me who watched it) didn't do it justice.

Try Cunningham's Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. I know you're not Wicca (neither am I), but it is useful in creating rituals and has a chapter on symbolism. It's a bit happy-go-lucky, but nonetheless, a very useful book. I'd also suggest Sticks, Stones, Roots & Bones: Hoodoo, Mojo & Conjuring with Herbs by Stephanie Rose Bird. My fiance has a deep interest in hoodoo, and he found it very useful in his Solomon and ancient Judeo/Christian magic rituals. I'm surprised Agrippa didn't have some useful info on rituals. I'm reading it, too, but I can only read it in pieces.

The parents might just want to have a religious service recognizing her as an adult. That's basically the idea of the celebration, and the big party is usually after a mass (my only familiarity with Quincineras is through Catholic families). I kinda link it to a Bar Mitzva in Jewish tradition. MAybe you could look at it from that angle.

You must read The Dragon Reborn (aka Book Three) It's the best of the series. Come to think of it, Book Four is probably the next best because it shows us the Aiel society and it's culture in their native Waste. Fascinating people, the Aiel. Sort of like the Fremen of Dune. My bad. I meant number 3 and 4 on your list of books. I'm on book nine (I think) of the Wheel of Time. It might be ten. Looking back, I really did word that poorly. Sorry about that.

Yeah, Jason, I love Harry Potter too. I feel bad for adults who refuse to read them because they're kids' books. Tolkien and Robert Jordan are also great books, though I think I'm two behind in the Wheel of Time. Never read 3 and 4, though everyone says Dune was good. Warhammer's book Grudge Bearer by Gav Thorpe is a great read if you love dwarves (and who doesn't?).

I guess I'm the only D&D geek on here, or I missed someone mentioning R.A. Salvatore. The first Drizzt books were pretty good (I think there's about 16 of them now, but it might be 20). I suggest just the Dark Elf Trilogy and the Icewind Dale Trilogy (or the first six). They get pretty stale after that, as no one important ever dies, or at least ever STAYS dead. If you like Tolkien, you should pick up his children's story Roverandom. If you want fantasy with a bit of a steampunk feel, I'd recommend Wicked by Gregory Macguire.