I need a BREAK! I'm going on STRIKE!

[Image description: a framed painting of Cosmo Kramer that was on one of the episodes of Seinfeld]

3 posts in one day is a lot for me. I'm not sure I've ever done this before, but if I have it was only once or twice. Usually I write very long posts (although not recently) and I have better things to do with my life then write a million long posts. But I need this today. I really need this. It'll bring my spasticity, heart rate, respiration, blood pressure back into normal range.

This post was originally going to be titled Books! There are books everywhere to be read and it seems as if my list keeps growing. It's getting out of hand. But I just LOVE crip lit. What can I say?

[image descriptions: All images are book covers taken straight from Amazon.com . All links lead to the book's respective Amazon page]

My first book to read was The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal, by Jonathan Mooney. It may be the best book I have ever read. At the very least it is in the top 5. I have 1 post about it so far and will hopefully get around to some more. I like it that much. Things spoke to me.

The next book I am going to read is CauseWired: Plugging In, Getting Involved, Changing the World, by Tom Watson (see image in sidebar). I feel like a fraud. When I signed up for Blog Action Day the first 100 people could get this book sent to them for free. GREAT! I'm a poor college student. I'm always up for anything free. Why I feel like a fraud is because I never ended up participating in Blog Action Day. School got in the way. Anyway I sent away for the book and completely forgot about it. It showed up here in the beginning of Jan when I was home. I picked it up yesterday which was good timing as I just finished The Short Bus Sunday. I hope it is good. It sounded good, but the cover makes it look like a textbook, and textbooks are boring. Don't judge a book by it's cover though. I am going to read the whole thing either way. I might learn something.

3rd on my list is is a book about community organizing that ADAPT uses. A dear friend lent it to me. When I go get it and remember what the title is I will list it and get a pic.

Next on the list is Nobody's Perfect, by Marlee Matlin and Doug Cooney. I just LOVE her and loved Deaf Child Crossing, the first in the series. I haven't bought Leading Ladies yet because it is only in hard cover and I don't want to spend the extra $. I do hope it comes out in paperback. Also, I heard a rumor that Marlee will be coming out with a 4th. Can anyone confirm that?

5th on the list is I Am Potential: Eight Lessons on Living Loving, and Reaching Your Dreams by Patrick Henry Hughes, Patrick John Hughes, and Bryant Stamford. Just by looking at the title, I don't think I am going to like this one either, but the cover is good. Patrick is blind and doesn't walk (can't find his diagnosis) and played trumpet in the University of Louisville Marching Band. He's been on TV a lot. His book was just recently published. I got the book because a local Borders closed and I went there a few days before hand to see the deals. The book was half price and I had a $10 coupon. It cost me $2 and change. Not a bad deal, so it won't kill me if I don't like it. And Hey, it was written by a crip.

6th (I told you there was A LOT) is not a crip book (what a shocker) but it was written by a local. The Urban Hermit: A Memoir by Sam MacDonald. I saw it a 2 weeks ago when I came into the library. Sounded interesting. I like weight loss too, and it's an interesting concept. I read 70 something pages one day when I was hiding out in the library trying not to get any work done. It's ok and worth finishing one day.

7th is That Went Well: Adventures in Caring For My Sister by Terrell Harris Dougan. I don't know how I feel about sibling of crip stories. Probably not worth buying but I found it on that same shelf on the library. I had to read Secret Girl by Molly Bruce Jacobs last spring when I took Family Law & Public Policy and I did not like it at all. Molly made her adult sister with MR seem perpetually childlike. In case you decide to disregard my review and read that book anyway, I am very happy to report that as of June Rosewood residential center will be officially closed. The last of its residents are getting moved to community placements as we speak.

8th on the list is Reading Lips and Other Ways to Overcome a Disability by Diane and Philip Schaper, even though I am totally offended by the title. I'm sorry but no one overcomes their disability. They learn to work with it, around it, but disabilities don't just go away as the word seems to imply. It seems ableist to me. I found out about the book because Diane is an English professor (who got Polio) here at Towson University and she and her book were featured on our website. One of these days I am going to email her and tell her what I think of the title as I know her email address because all faculty emails are the same. The book is currently in a glass case displayed in the library, but by the time I get to it it should be out of there I hope. I also hope I don't graduate before I get to book #8. I don't want to buy it.

*EDIT* I forgot all about Voluntary Maddness: My Year Lost And Found in the Loony Bin by Norah Vincent. I found this book through an Amazon "If you bought this book you may like" email. I like. A lot. I think... I'm either going to sit in barnes & nobel a lot and read it for free because I'm low on book buying $ or if it takes long enough, because this book list has grown to be ginormous, use Chanukah $.

Why the title off this post though? Because school has me really stressed out right now and I need to take an escape and get away from it. I get to hang out with my best friend's dog (a toy fox terrier if you are wondering) every Thursday night but that is not enough. So I think I am going to designate every Saturday as "don't get out of bed and read a book" day. It's the only way I'll get through this list, and I can forget about school while I read. Besides, do you remember the episode of Seinfeld where Kramer decided he would live in his shower? Well if I could live in bed permanently I would be a happy camper. And no, I am not depressed, I just like my feather bed and I have always loved sleeping and being lazy.

So this weekend I am going to forget all about school and get no work done. In addition to reading books I will be making dinner for the families at Johns Hopkins Children's House on Sunday and after that I will have my APhiO meeting to go to. The first of the semester.