Echo

My least favorite classics? Easy... The Bostonians by Henry James...I have vowed to never again read anything by Henry James. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck....I had to read this in high school, and it bored me half to death. The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne....b-o-r-I-n-g

I don't care, I totally love her! I could stare at her for hours! And yes, I'm straight. I also have a girl crush on Christina Ricci.

Dude, I like Nigella! Another weird crush of mine is Billy Joe Armstrong from Green Day, and countless anime characters.

Oh, I hate dry skin! I have it year-round. And I'm too lazy to use lotion. Yuck. Wet socks are terrible. What bugs me even more is when the bottoms of my pants get wet, especially if I'm wearing jeans. It feels so gross!

I'm still loving Bleach, even though the main storyline just ended. But Tite Kubo is going to be doing more storylines, in order to explore the histories of several characters, and hopefully to answer some questions. I'm also up to date with Black Butler and the second Darker Than Black manga. Has anyone read Pandora Hearts or D. Gray Man? Those are next on my list to try.

I haven't had a land line in years, and my older brother just has one so his DSL internet will work. It's so much easier to have just one phone to worry about (and pay for!).

Ew. I think cosplay is weird. But if you ever need a Bleach avatar, let me know!

I'm a Bleach fangirl in my heart, but GITS is one of the best!

Inver, I love yours (gotta love Calvin and Hobbes!). I also love Michelle's new one.

Mine would be a combination of books I haven't yet read and old favorites. I would definitely re-read: All six Jane Austen novels some of my favorites of Dickens' (David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby, Bleak House, etc.) The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales by Tolkien Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Jane Eyre and Shirley by Charlotte Bronte everything by Amy Tan The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, and A Moveable Feast by Hemingway Two Women, Simon's Family, and Hanna's Daughters by Marianne Fredriksson the entire Bleach series again from the beginning The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond For books I haven't read, I would want to read: The Japan series by James Clavell The rest of the Avalon series by Marion Zimmer Bradley A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens all the biographies I've never gotten around to reading histories of England, America, Japan, France, Ireland, and Scandinavia everything Haruki Murakami's ever written

Singles: A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens...I have a couple of used copies, I think. The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien...I have two copies. The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien...I used to have two, and then I gave one to my brother. Series: Harry Potter - J.K.Rowling...I have the first four in paperback, and the rest in hardcover. Berenstain Bears - Stan and Jan Berenstain...we had a ton of these growing up, and I think my parents have given them to my nephew. The Baby-sitters Club - Ann Martin....I had about 60 of these (they were my favorites when I was young) and then gave them all to my boyfriend's sister, just before she grew out of them and became a goth. Peter Rabbit - Beatrix Potter...I had a collection of four Beatrix Potter books, but I don't know what happened to them. I'm planning on getting a collection for my nephew for Christmas. Not too bad for an American, I guess!

Hmmm...maybe the antique books my boyfriend and I have collected over the years, but mostly for their cool, vintage appeal. Otherwise, I'd be happy to show off my Tolkien collection, my manga collection, or my pretty leather-bound editions of Jane Austen, Little Women, Shakespeare, etc. And once I inherit my grandfather's 100 year-old Shakespeare collection, I'll definitely want to show them off.

I heard about this on the news. So tragic, and so soon after the miraculous mine rescues in Chile and China.

In Obama's defense, I think our biggest problem has been Congress and the lack of backbone in the Democratic Party. Obama is an idealist, which is a good thing, but when faced with the realities of the political system here in America, he wasn't able to accomplish as much as he wanted. But hey, since he's been in office, we got health care reform (not everything we wanted, but it's still a HUGE improvement), an increase in the federal student loan program, more protection for consumers from unfair credit practices, stimulus spending which has done a lot for jobs and infrastructure projects around the country, huge extensions in unemployment benefits, the passage of the Lily Ledbetter Act, which allows women to sue their employers over pay inequities, and a general improvement in our relations with just about every other country in the world. When you look at it like that, he's done a lot!

Nice to see you again, Louise!

Ian, you are evil! This is an impossible question! For me, it would probably be either The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien or A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami. Or The Bell Jar.

Wow, I have so many people I admire! REAL PEOPLE: My parents, my brothers, and my boyfriend, because they're all amazing. Coco Chanel...because she overcame amazing obstacles and became an icon who changed the world. Barack Obama...come on, the first African-American president?! Also, he's intelligent, thoughtful, compassionate, and someone who really thinks deeply about everything he says and does. Jane Austen...because she wrote some of the funniest books ever written! Tite Kubo...because he's the creator of Bleach, and my life would be meaningless and empty without it. J.R.R. Tolkien...because he devoted his life to his art, developed a mythology for his beloved country, and masterfully explored issues of war, heroism, urbanization, nature and environmentalism, spirituality, and friendship. Ryunosuke Akutagawa...in my opinion, one of the all-time best Japanese authors. He dealt with horrific mental illness, both in his own life and in his family's, and was able to incorporate it all beautifully into his writing. ...every soldier who has ever fought for their country, every woman who has fought for her rights and independence, every person who has faced oppression with courage and dignity. MADE-UP PEOPLE: Aloysius Pendergast...from the Pendergast novels by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I think he's the greatest detective ever! Sebastian Michaelis...the demon butler from Black Butler. Hee hee! Sam Gamgee...in my opinion, he's the real hero of The Lord of the Rings. Frodo was a complete failure in that capacity. Pretty much every character from Bleach. I'm such a nerdy fangirl. Anne Elliot...from Persuasion by Jane Austen. She's my favorite Austen heroine, and I love her because she knows who she is, something I've never accomplished.

Honestly, I tend to read authors. Sometimes it'll start out by me wanting to read a particular book, but if I enjoy it, I'll usually just try to read everything else by that author, until I hit a book that I don't enjoy.