Mary (who just sold her first book to Wild Rose Press, by the way; more on that in an upcoming post) tagged me, so here goes:

Total number of books I own — According to my LibraryThing account, the current number is 1,035. That includes TBR, read books, fiction and nonfiction — anything that’s a book in my house.

Last book read — Blue Noon by Scott Westerfeld

Last book bought — The Education of Mrs. Brimley by Donna MacMeans and Because of a Boy by Anna DeStefano (bought at same time)

Five meaningful books — Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (the conclusion of a series that I not only love but which got an entire generation of kids — and quite a few adults — interested in reading again); the Little House on the Prairie books (LOVED them as a child; they took me away to another place and time); The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss (introduced me to the romance genre); The Swiss Family Robinson (another childhood favorite); The Runaway Pancake (a Little Golden Book, the first book I can remember owning)

Tawny Weber tagged me with one of those games where I have to offer up 8 random things about myself. Hmm, here goes…

1. My first car was a butt-ugly brown Plymouth Fury II. Ugh. Can you say I won absolutely no popularity points with this car?

2. My first trip to Disney World was after I was married. And yes, I still acted like a kid.

3. Even though I’m the oldest, my younger sister got my mom’s name as part of hers. I love Mom, but I’m glad I didn’t get her name.

4. I like salt on my pizza.

5. When I first started college, I was in the broadcast journalism program, thinking I’d be an on-air personality. I changed to print journalism before I took the first class.

6. I always enter those sweepstakes they have to win a walk-on part in one of the Stargate TV shows. Alas, I have not yet won.

7. Similarly, I’d love to be an extra or have a small part in a movie, preferably a western or science fiction film.

8. I wish Amtrak traveled to way more destinations than it does.

Mary tagged me with this pop culture meme. Here are the rules:

1. Go to this link at Pop Culture Madness (scroll down - see the list of years on the left?)

2. Pick the year you turned 18

3. Pick five songs from that year

4. Wax nostalgic about each song and why it’s special

5. Pass it on to 5 more friends

Here goes:

Year I turned 18 — 1988

Five songs from that year:

“Hold On to the Nights” by Richard Marx — I still love this ballad as well as his “Right Here Waiting”. And as it turns out, he has a new album (his first in a decade) due out Aug. 10. Find out more at his site.

“Sweet Child of Mine” by Guns ‘n’ Roses — Classic GNR. I remember there was a guy at my high school named Dewayne who was the hugest GNR fan. He had a denim jacket with a big GNR patch on the back. When he started dating one of the prettiest, most popular girls in school, it made a lot of jaws drop.

“Love Bites” by Def Leppard — I like the rock, so sue me. These guys rock, and I admire drummer Rick Allen, who didn’t let losing his left arm in a car accident in 1984 stop him from being a great drummer.

“Bad Medicine” by Bon Jovi — My all-time favorite band. Gave one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to, though the one I went to was later on, after I was married and out of college. These guys still rock. In fact, they have a new album out right now — Lost Highway — their first No. 1 album in like a decade.

“Every Rose Has its Thorn” by Poison — A classic ballad from the age of the ’80s hair bands, groups of guys who wore more makeup and hair products than I did. I saw these guys in concert too, back during their heyday. I sat so close to the stage speakers that I could barely hear for a week and couldn’t let my parents know that or they would have had an apoplectic fit.

Other notable mentions:

“Look Away” by Chicago
“Wild, Wild West” by The Escape Club
“Kokomo” by The Beach Boys
“Red Red Wine” by UB40
“Don’t Worry Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin (perhaps the most annoying song ever)
“Roll With It” by Steve Winwood
“Together Forever” by Rick Astley
“Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car” by Billy Ocean
“Need You Tonight” by INXS (really liked them too)
“Faith” by George Micheal

Okay, I tag Jody, Y, Tanya, Tori and Teri. Tag, you’re it!

Here are the rules:

1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.

3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.

4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

8 random facts/habits about me …

1. I hate peanut butter and all forms of nuts — peanuts, cashews, almonds, doesn’t matter. I can’t even stand the smell of peanut butter. Bleh.

2. I can’t walk into a dark room, not even if I just turned off the light and had been sitting in that room for two hours. I’d so never be able to go hunting with Dean and Sam.

3. I’m a fast writer but a slow reader. I SO wish I was a faster reader.

4. When we got our very first e-mail account, my husband and I shared it. And I actually said, “E-mail? Why would I ever need e-mail?” Bwahahahahaha!

5. I have never been outside the United States.

6. I really dislike soap operas.

7. I have never gotten a traffic ticket of any kind. I’ve only been pulled over twice, both out of state. Once was in Kentucky because I had a taillight out, but the officer let us go because it was Thanksgiving. The other time, I was between Dallas and Waco, Texas, and a state trooper pulled me over because someone with a car similar to mine had driven off from a gas station without paying for their gas. I was all ready to pull out my credit card receipt from the last time I’d filled up, but when I had to consult the road atlas to figure out where I’d filled up, the officer said, “If you have to look at the map, it wasn’t you.”

8. If there is a dessert in the house, I will eat it, all in one day if possible. I have the world’s biggest sweet tooth, thus I must keep desserts out of the house or I will be as big as the house.

Okay, I tag Janice, Missy, Colleen, Tawny, Jill, Kendra, Caren, Yolanda