Four things

Four jobs I have had in my life:

1. stuffer ~ I helped work my way through college by stuffing comics and advertising flyers into our Sunday newspaper
2. file clerk ~ making 75-cents an hour, back in 1954, when I was in junior high school and working part-time
3. editor ~ of two inhouse publications, where I took all of the photos we published and wrote nearly all of the articles
4. freelance writer ~ one who, as Robert Benchley said, "is paid per piece or per word or perhaps"

Four books I would read over and over:
(formerly "four movies I would watch over and over," but I'm a reader)

1. Time and Again ~ by Jack Finney
2. Herland ~ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
3. The book of Genesis in the Bible ~ New Revised Standard Version
4. Tao te Ching ~ by Lao Tzu ~ translated by Stephen Mitchell

Four places I have lived:

1. in an apartment with a lovable gray cat named Duchess (plus my parents and siblings)
2. in a house with a gray and white Persian cat named Jack (plus my children and a dog)
3. in a house with a gray and white Manx cat named Hobbit (plus my mother)
4. in an apartment with a tabby-point Siamese cat named Kiki (plus my friend and her cat)

Four books I would recommend:
(formerly "four TV shows that I watch," but I'm not big on watching TV)

1. My Sister's Keeper ~ by Jodi Picoult
2. The Dispossessed ~ by Ursula K. Le Guin
3. Gnostic Gospels ~ by Elaine Pagels
4. Snowflower and the Secret Fan ~ by Lisa See

Four places I have been:

1. in hot water
2. in love
3. indisposed
4. in the know

Four people who email me regularly:

1. my daughter Barbara
2. my granddaughter Cali
3. Barnes & Noble
4. some guy from Burkina Faso or Cote d'Ivoire or Ghana, who claims he'll give me millions of dollars if only I'll help him get the money out of his country

Four of my favorite foods:

1. grilled salmon with lime juice, and maybe asparagus and a baked potato
2. fried okra
3. Greek salad
4. little green olives (and did I mention fried okra like my mother used to make?)

Four of my favorite drinks:

1. a tall glass of iced tea
2. cuppa hot tea
3. peach tea
4. green tea ... these all fit me to a "tea"

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. chatting with you over tea and crumpets (whatsa crumpet? ... hmm, looks like an English muffin to me ... that'll do)
2. stretched out on top of my bed reading a book
3. sitting beside 7-year-old Cady while she reads me a book we'll review together
4. at a book-signing, with my adoring readers lined up across the lobby waiting for me to sign my bestselling book

Four things that are very special in my life:

1. books
2. grandchildren
3. a cat who loves me
4. more books ... and the friends (and granddaughter) who discuss them with me

Four things I'm looking forward to in 2008:

1. book discussions with Book Buddies
2. book discussions with the belles of Bella Novella
3. book discussions with friends in the Alternative Book Club
4. reading books to review on my blog Bonnie's Books
5. reading Banned Books
(Oops! That's five! So ya gonna sue me 'cause I can't count?)