Kiosk
Thank you to everyone who commented on this Interview, Thank you Diane for Interviewing Robert Scott, and Thank you Robert Scott for sharing with us and for providing a copy of your book to give as this prize!
My name is Geri. I’ve been with PBS since September 2008. I’m a MoM, TG, BDA and BIA. MoM is Member of the Month. That’s something very special to me since other members voted for me to have that honor. TG is Tour Guide. People write with questions and problems they have a PBS. Most are new members and just need a bit of help over a bump in the road. BDA and BIA mean Book Data Approver and Book Image Approver. That’s looking at edits and images that have been submitted by members and saying yeah, good job or oh, no that needs to be fixed and then fixing it. Those two things are earned positions. You actually take a test to become a Tour Guide. I wasn’t sure I’d pass but did with no trouble. A proud day for me!
I actually stumbled on to PBS when I was looking at my book recommendations on Amazon. Someone was singing the praises of PBS there, I found the site and never looked back. When I joined I had almost 1,000 books on the shelves to read! I’m different than most members in that I’ve managed to get rid of about half the books I had. The majority of folks bemoan the fact that they have more books than ever. Now, instead of buying a new series, an author I’ve never read before I ‘ll order the first book in the series and if I like it keep going. Don’t like it, no problem someone at PBS will want the book. Maybe not today but eventually. And I don’t have a series of books that I’m sorry I bought.
My reading days began when my aunt taught me to read around two years old. I remember reading the newspaper when FDR died. At that time there weren’t many children’s books available. I did read comic books. Donald Duck and Little Lulu were my favorites with a host of others. Then a library was opened within walking distance of our house! Oh the joy! Oh the wonder the first time I ever went to the main Detroit Public Library. At the time you walked in the door and saw shelves and shelves, stacks and stacks of books, floors of books!
When I was in grade school I read every book in the library from aardvark to zoology. I loved the biographies and history! I regretted not living during the Revolutionary War. I was ready to fight for freedom. Never thinking about taking a bath of course.
Currently I’m reading Laced by Carol Higgins Clark, Kingsbridge Plot by Maan Meyer. Embers by Laura Bickle and rereading The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie. I’m reading that on my Kindle. Something new for me.
We have a Kindle discussion forum on PBS and even have a way to trade a book with other members of the PBS Kindle group.
The great thing about PBS is that if you have a book preference be it hardcover, paperback, audio or eBook you can find something here!
If you have any nominations for Member of the Month, submit them to us here. Your nomination will not “expire”–anyone you nominate will have a chance at getting Member of the Month if enough nominations accumulate over time. Each month the person who has the most votes accumulated when the Newsletter goes to press gets to be Member of the Month and gets a newsletter mention and a nifty MoM icon to wear on profile and forum posts with pride. So go for it! Tell us who’s helped you in the Forums, who’s been a great swapper, who in your opinion is a credit to PBS. We are keeping a list of all the nominated members. Who knows–one of them might be YOU!
Yes — it was October, when the woman with the octuplets had just been in the news. So someone nicknamed me OctoMoM.
So… who else here sat through Dick and Jane books in first grade, reading ahead to discover the thrilling denouement — will Rex run fast?… will Mother be wearing that same dress and apron? — and getting into trouble for not being on the right page? I’m sure I’m not alone.
Some of my favorite books are still children’s books — as a toddler, I felt understood by the author of The Pokey Little Puppy. The first chapter book I read to myself was called The Oregon Trail. It was five or six inches thick at the time. (It has since shrunk.) I didn’t want to come to the last page, and spent some time that summer trying unsuccessfully to design a circular book that would never end.
One of my nicknames growing up was Patty-First-Lemme-Just.
“Turn off the light now.”
“Okay, but first lemme just finish this chapter.”
Two hours later someone would think to check on me. I hadn’t noticed the end of the chapter. Really.
I decided at some point in my twenties that I could write formula romances as well as the next person, and read a whole bunch of them to get the feel of it. It was an overdose. The result was that I cringe at the word “Silhouette”. Kind of like when your mom lets you eat the whole bowl of frosting.
Having my own kids was a wonderful excuse to blend children’s books back into my chosen genres of general literature (a favorite is The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy), historical fiction (my first was Hawaii by Michener), biography (how about John Adams — or anything by David McCullough?), and general non-fiction (Bronowski’s The Ascent of Man fascinated me, or more recently “Before the Dawn : Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors“.)
I’ve started a list here of my favorite children’s literature. You can find it on my Profile. A number of members have added wonderful books to it. When the kids were young, we would rotate who got to choose the book, so we’d read “Treasure Island,” followed by “Mathilda” and “The Princess Bride.” I can still recite aloud the Edward Lear poem “The Jumblies”, and “Winkin’, Blinkin’ and Nod.” As the kids started to read to themselves, I told them they were only allowed to learn to read if they still let me read aloud to them. 🙂 We would read The Harry Potter books to each other, and one of our favorites was The Golden Compass. We’d always have a book in the car.
When my kids were in middle school/high school, I hated the idea of reading amazing books, maybe sharing them with family members, but then having them just sit there. So I set up a little lending library of my current favorites on a shelf near the front door. Some of the books I placed there were The Life of Pi, Water for Elephants, Angela’s Ashes, Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus, 1776 by McCullough, Like Water for Chocolate, Animals in Translation. I don’t think any of the people coming and going in the house ever took me up on it and borrowed a book, but at least my family always knew where to find a winner.
I read about PaperBackSwap somewhere in 2005, and mentioned it to my daughter when she was home for college. She joined, and as I saw her packages start to arrive, I joined. Getting that first book is a little like a first kiss. Very special. I understood the concept of this site somewhere in my gut. It was that failed little lending library on my shelf, but on a grand scale. At first it was hard to mail off a book I’d really loved, but then I told myself that I was storing my favorite books in other people’s homes.
Soon I was volunteering as a tour guide, and on the data editing and book cover image teams — what an amazing group of people. And participating in Ani’s Tea Swap. (I’m drinking some Gingerbread ice tea someone sent me right now.) I’m a lifer.
If you have any nominations for Member of the Month, submit them to us here. Your nomination will not “expire”–anyone you nominate will have a chance at getting Member of the Month if enough nominations accumulate over time. Each month the person who has the most votes accumulated when the Newsletter goes to press gets to be Member of the Month and gets a newsletter mention and a nifty MoM icon to wear on profile and forum posts with pride. So go for it! Tell us who’s helped you in the Forums, who’s been a great swapper, who in your opinion is a credit to PBS. We are keeping a list of all the nominated members. Who knows–one of them might be YOU!
Thank you everyone for your reviews and comments. More reviews with book give-aways are coming soon.
It was December 2005 and I was moving and a friend was helping. When I told her I was going to donate most of my fiction books or other books I no longer needed, she wanted them. She told me about PBS and I told her to take the books so she could post them. After I was settled into my new home, I still had too many books. So I called my friend to ask about PBS and she explained how it worked and also told me she was having a great time playing in the swaps. So really, I joined PBS because the games sounded like fun and I wanted to join and play in the same games as my friend.
During the summer of 2006, the Diva Swap was started and I joined. It was great fun and when the hostess left, I took it over in 2007. The Diva members became such an important part of my life. I had made some best friends on PBS and we had never even met! Then in 2007/08 I became a Tour Guide. I wanted to give something back to the organization that had given me so much, so I took the test, passed it and started helping other members. But what I didn’t realize at the time was what an incredible group I had joined. The Tour Guides on PBS are fabulous and I’ve made even more friends. Since then, I’ve become a Tour Guide Leader, assisting other TG’s in helping members.
Over the years I have been fortunate enough to meet some of my fellow Divas and some of my fellow TG’s and I’ve been thrilled. I look forward to meeting many more.
I cannot imagine not having PBS in my life. It has given me so much more than I could ever describe or ever return. But it does prove the old saying, “What goes around, comes around.” The more I give to PBS, the more I receive.
If you have any nominations for Member of the Month, submit them to us here. Your nomination will not “expire”–anyone you nominate will have a chance at getting Member of the Month if enough nominations accumulate over time. Each month the person who has the most votes accumulated when the Newsletter goes to press gets to be Member of the Month and gets a newsletter mention and a nifty MoM icon to wear on profile and forum posts with pride. So go for it! Tell us who’s helped you in the Forums, who’s been a great swapper, who in your opinion is a credit to PBS. We are keeping a list of all the nominated members. Who knows–one of them might be YOU!
#1. Book Swap
Have a book swap! :0) I am an elementary school teacher, and I kicked off my “Caring for the Earth Unit” (& culminated my Dr. Seuss unit) by having a book swap with my kindergartners. Students could bring in 1 or 2 gently used books that they no longer read/wanted. I gave them a ticket for each book they turned in (the kind that can tear apart, from the dollar store), on which I had put a Dr. Seuss/ book swap label. I laid out all of the books the children brought in. As the children turned in a ticket, I tore off the smaller half, they chose a new book, & I gave back the half of the ticket that had the label. We had talked earlier about ways to recycle/reuse the ticket, and agreed that a bookmark would be the best idea. We also talked about how the children could have their own swaps with neighbors, friends, etc. (but I cautioned the children to check with their parents first!). Now my students all have “newish” books to read & “newish” book marks to use, and they had A LOT of fun!
Element: Earth
Ruling planet: Venus
Symbol: The Bull
Birthstone: Sharon
Taureans are famous for maintaining a strong grip on their public personas: “cool”, “calm” and “collected” are “three Cs” of Taurean psychology (the others are “cranky”, “crapulent” and “completely untrustworthy”). Taureans are charismatic but prefer to stay apart from the crowds they themselves inspire — many famous Taureans, including but not limited to, Candice Bergen, Annette Bening, Uma Thurman, Shirley MacLaine and Eva Peron have all sought restraining orders against me. Indeed it was a Taurean, George Boldt, who invented the “velvet rope” barrier system still in use at social clubs, and my wife’s half of the apartment, today.
Taureans try to hide the depth of their thoughts and feelings, frequently leading others to find them standoffish, distant, and guarded. Of course this generalization is the merest folly, because in reality Taureans don’t think or feel anything. But non-Taureans who find themselves in emotional relationships with members of the bull-headed group may feel like they’re losing their minds — not so far off for those who knew Taureans Lucrezia Borgia and Robespierre — and the incidence of marital strife among Taureans is somewhat high, especially during the ceremony.
Taureans, as earth signs, are highly attuned to natural, sensual experiences, and have an eye for creature comforts (except where that’s still illegal). Their homes are filled with deep carpets, soft cushions, beautiful art, and former girlfriends. Taureans love to engage all their senses, and dislike being cut off from the natural world — they prefer a walk in the woods to a 5-star hotel, though possibly that’s because as a group they have been banned for life from most major chains. They prefer a home-cooked meal to a Michelin-starred restaurant, unless there’s an easily-accessible, and unguarded, rear door. And they prefer the direct approach when it comes to romance and sex — a Taurean man or woman bent on seduction is like the bull for which they’re named: vital, strong, passionate, dirty, and powerfully rich in wild odors.
Taureans have little tolerance for pretense, and the people and things they surround themselves with are chosen without regard to whether they will please others, or have valid passports. Since they can see through even sophisticated deceptions, Taureans often find gainful employment as… ah, who are we kidding, they’re usually unemployed.
This month’s forecast: Change your ATM PIN on the 9th to avoid embarrassment. A former flame may seek help, so don’t sleep at home. Put that down.
Some Bullish books that may contain further information on Taureans:
