What new discoveries have you made while reading a book that you have now incorporated into your life??
I must clarify. The book(s) was/were not read with the intent to learn anything. Whatever you learned came from reading for fun.
Me first.
1) Zydeco music. Came from Sandra Hill's Cajun Men series. I looked it
up, rented a video about it's history and now I have a collection of my favorites. Being from the North, Zydeco is not known widely.2) Wine. I am not a drinker. Never was. Well, except when I worked at a bank. They were wild people and I discovered a bit of wildness inside me too, but that's
another story. In quite a few books, Merlot was mentioned. Meant nothing to me. Then comes a graduation party where wine was served and everyone was expected to order a glass (it was included, we had our choice) for the toast to the graduate. What do you order when you know nothing? Romance Books to the rescue. " Do you have Merlot?"" Yes, what kind?"
"HUH?" (they didn't specify that in the romance books) Me, frantically reading my choices ..Aha! what would a heroine do? Pick the most expensive...should be the best. Right? Yes, indeed. Turns out it was yummy. Now ," I'll have Merlot please." where ever I go.
(Don't ask me what "kind" I decided on. For some reason, I don't remember....)
3) Rennaisance Festivals. I had never gone to one. Didn't know what they were about and why they were so great. Along comes, A Hard Days Knight by Katie MacAllister. I learned about jousting, the Wenches Guild, corsets and I wanted to experience the event myself. Hence my trip to Vermont last year and my post on this blog about it. I had a GREAT time, and if it wasn't for the book, I don't think it ever would have been a blip on my radar. Now I look forward to attending further events!
So, those are my examples. I would love to hear yours.
Come and play!
OH, and so you don't think this post is way too boring,
I've included a picture of how you should see yourself when you look in the mirror.
Have a great weekend!!!
17 comments:
LOVE the picture! I did learn that a Warrant Officer could arrest the president of the US. (Nelson DeMilles "The Generals Daughter"). Katie MacAlister intereseted me in Renessiance Faires, too. And Corsets. Have looked them up, not bought or tried one, YET.Is this what you meant? Sorry to say I've been too timid to try much else. BUT, knowledge is great anyway you get it!
Congratulations on discovering merlot. My sage advice in ordering wine by the glass at a restaurant is to select the most expensive one. Most of the time, you can't go wrong. ;D
If you like merlot, you might also like Shiraz. And if you want a white wine, try Pinot Grigio. Cheers!
cj/sam
Wine lover from way back
LOL, Brandy. Yes , indeed. Knowledge IS good.
I thought that maybe you'd like the kitty with the Lion Heart *wink*....I wonder why? *grin*
Take from a "wench" I spoke to at the festival I mentioned. A good corset should cost around $300.00 and never, ever pinch..no matter how buxom you are,anywhere.
And I'll tell you, the "wench" was...Rubenesque. AND, she looked really good in it!! There's hope for me yet!
C. J.! So glad to see you here!
Ooooh, thanks for the tips on wine.
That's right! I remember now. You share advice and guidance on wines in your newsletters. Very savvy.
I'm going to place your suggestions in my checkbook cover.
Won't ever lose it that way.
(At least, I'd better not!)
And Yes, I'll take your advice on how to order a glass of wine. Sounds like I was on the right track.. :-)
All the best to you, C.J.
cheers to you too.
I remember reading a Nora Roberts book a few years ago and a character was making spaghetti, so I went out, bought some and made it. :-)
Tanya
Hmmm.....I've learned about cool areas (places which are now on my "I want to visit" list), I've learned some interesting tidbits of facts.
Michele, I'm pouting...you don't have a link to my blog! Poor, poor me! LOL
I recently read "Steppenwolf" by Hermann Hesse and being a rather impatient person, I was struck by the line "Haste makes no speed." Just a short and simple point, but so well put...and such a valuable lesson.
Mostly... When I find a setting I really enjoy in a book I often read non-fiction about the place too. I wish I could say I bought a spaceship. LOL. Love that kitty pic.
Hi Tanya! Wow, spaghetti,huh? I've never done that. I have recipies for making fresh pasta but I don't have a machine. Not going to invest in one either. Suzy Homemaker, I'm not.
Aw, Robin. don't feel bad. You're in my personal Fav's file on my computer. I'll get around to making it public soon. Template stuff seems complicated at times. I like to "save up" , if you will until I have about 3 or 4 new ones that I want, then Bam! I do them all at the same time. I've got one more to go, then I do my "whammy-link" thing. ..Sooo, of the places that are on your TBV list, which one has top spot??
Kara, Hello!
I like that quote. I have a continuation though. Haste makes LOTS of typos!! LOL
Good Evening Annalee!
When you buy your spaceship, I want a ride!! *grin*
yeah, I've read up on places. Been awhile though.
The internet is great for me, you know, the regular Arm Chair Tourist?
I'm glad you liked the kitty. I've been wanted to post that forever!
Have a great night , Annalee!
Hey Tanya!
Spaghetti, huh? Well once I have had a real bad day with them since them I have had nightmares with them… what happened was I wanted to have them for dinner so I got a pack from the market came home and started cooking (stay alone so the cooking is done by me) well I wont say I am a gr8 cook but the stuff turned out to be delight full… so I am like doing some office work on my notebook and eating Spaghetti… like any normal individual… but then some thing happened which shouldn’t have happened!!! It was my 3 or 4rt experiment with chop sticks (how big a nut could I be….) I raised a strand between the chopstick and slowly trying to put it into my mouth suddenly it slipped out of the clenches of my chops and flew (fell) directly on the notebook touch pad and the keyboard.. and just then was I pressing a few keys with my other hand… guess what the thing entered into the space between the key and the body of the note book while I was slamming the space bar and the alphabets “.. nice -space- ...” THIS WAS MY 1 month old TOSHIBA NOTE BOOK!!!! I had a hard time getting it out and 1 week later one of my keys stopped responding….
I HATE Spaghetti….
Ooohh, excellent post. For me, it's places I wanted to visit. Harlequin Presents made me want to visit England and Australia and meet someone from Greece!
Never thought of New Orleans as a place to visit until I read a romance set there.
And since I've never had an interest in shoes, I can faithfully say all I ever learned about shoes, I did from a chick lit novel!
Let's see:
White Gold: I have a white gold wedding ring because of the Thomas Covenant series. Embarrassing, but true.
Filmmaking: I blame most of my love-hate relationship with independent film on Rebel Without a Crew by Robert Rodriguez. Not only is it instructional, but it's a great book, to boot.
...and I'll have to chew on this one further. This might be a blog entry of my own.
Good topic!
Hello there, Aodz! Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog. I popped on over to Tanya's site and gave her a heads-up about your comment. I'd hate to have her miss it! Have a great day!!
Thank you , Jill!
I'm tickled pink that you think my question is a good one. I SO understand about the shoes. Until I started reading MJD's "Undead" books, I'd never heard of Jimmy Choos amongst others. When I looked up the strappy little things on the internet, I had sticker shock! For the price, there's NOTHING THERE! Not even a few diamond chips thrown in. I was so naive.
As far as places to visit...Greece and Scotland are my draw. I'd be absolutely thrilled to get there one day. I hope you get your wishes too!!
Wow!, Avindair... the passion for filmmaking was inspired by a book you read? That's amazing. And I think your wedding ring story is wonderful.
Thanks so much for sharing that! And by all means, make a blog entry of your own. I would enjoy seeing what you come up with, seeing as how all your posts are lively and interesting.
TTFN!
I want to visit Hawaii after reading Colleen Coble's Aloha series...I could almost FEEL the Hawaiian breezes brushing against my face. SIGH
Weird, I made a picture like the one at the bottom from a cut-out pic of aslan (from that movie that just came out) and one of my kitty (who is named aslan).
Thank you Robin for answering my query.
Hawaii..oh Wow, what a wonderful goal! I've known a few people who lived there and they loved it. Why did they leave, you might ask? Their parents were getting up there in years and wanted to be close to them when needed. It was a good choice. Isn't that sweet?
Shoud! That sounds wonderful!
Could you post it sometime? I'd love to see how it looks.
I have a soft spot for kitties anyway. **grin**
I think that I've increased my knowledge in general. I'm such a great trivia person because of all the information I've picked up in romance novels - foreign words, facts about cities and issues, etc.
I do remember reading LOVING JACK by Nora Roberts and learning something important about following your instincts, even when all common knowledge and friends/relatives tell you differently. Romance novels have helped me become a more independent, confident woman overall. I know that might seem weird to critics of romance novels - they think the books keep us enslaved to hearts and flowers type thinking, looking for happily ever after, etc. But they don't.
So, I can't really pinpoint any one important thing - there are too many.
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