Here at Top Comments we strive to recognize and promote the talent of this community by highlighting outstanding comments found throughout the day by the diarist, and more importantly through nominations sent to TopComments at gmail dot com by your fellow Kossacks. When you send in your picks, please include your username and a word or two about why you nominated the comment, and send 'em in by 6:45 pm Pacific/9:45pm Eastern to ensure they make the final diary.
These nominations are subjective, and certainly not complete (as no one can read the complete site on a daily basis!). But we hope they will serve to shine a light where deserved, and to give the reader a good starting point in finding conversation on the site.
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Every so often, I just need to escape. I don't have to physically go anywhere, necessarily. But mentally, I need to check out. If I'm particularly wiped, I'll let someone else do the imagining for me and escape into movies, but my all time favorite method of recharging is to pop my noise canceling headphones on, turn on the iPod and pick up a good book.
Last weekend, I got a chance to do just that. By some stroke of kismet, both hubby and child had weekend-long outings, which left me utterly, blissfully alone from Friday morning through Monday afternoon. Heaven.
After tackling necessary projects (including re-covering the valance boxes in my dining and living rooms), I gave into self-indulgent pampering and spent the rest of the weekend either walking the dog or reading. Mostly reading. Only the location changed. Couch, hammock, bed.
I had several books in Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Series (which were the inspiration for the HBO series True Blood) to get through. I wanted to finish them by this weekend, since the 9th book in the series was being released this week. I love these books because the heroine is great, and doesn't end up bugging the hell out of me (very important), and the books totally poke fun at modern life. There are many moments that I laugh out loud while reading them. (Though I must say, Charlaine Harris has more problems with continuity than any author I've ever read, which is distracting.)
Deep stuff? Not hardly. Last weekend, deep was not what I needed. Entertaining and escapism was right up my alley.
Past favorites along the same vein have been pretty much anything by Katherine Neville, but my favorite is by far The Eight. She came out with a sequel (FINALLY) to that book this year.
Other escapist literature favorites:
Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. Though you've gotta be ready to commit - those books are LONG! Very entertaining, though.
Laurell K. Hamilton's Meredith Gentry series. I tried getting into her Anita Blake books, but found that Anita Blake annoys the hell out of me. She's whiny. I get enough whiny in real life, thanks.
Jennifer Weiner's books - and I really wish that she'd come out with a sequel to Goodnight Nobody because I'm DYING to know who the heroine picks. Her most recent (I think), Certain Girls is a nice sequel to the first of her books that I read. Like Charlaine Harris, Weiner tends to write main characters who are women without a perfect life but with the backbone to deal with it. We need more of these sorts of literary role models.
Laurie Novato is quite funny. Thanks to my mom for sending me a couple of her books as a Christmas gift - I probably wouldn't have found her otherwise.
Pretty much anything by Lisa Scottoline, Tami Hoag, Michael Connelly, and John Lescroart. I also like Kathy Reichs and Nevada Barr, (haven't read her as J.A. Jance yet).
I love books, I love reading. And this list is a tiny sampling of the type of reading I like to do. Everything on this list is true escapism. I read stuff like this when I want to forget about my real life for a period of time, and the authors are so good at what they do that they engage my imagination effortlessly. Many of them also have a gift for making me laugh, which is usually very needed when I get into these moods.
So who/what do you read when you need to get away mentally? What authors are your version of a couchbound trip to Tahiti? Do you prefer magazines? Non fiction? Please share in the comments - I'm always looking for new worlds to discover!
But before we do that, let's take a gander at today's top comment nominations!
NWTerriD here, appreciating this pair of insightful analogies - first the set-up by newdem1960: then the denouement by cleverblogname
MBNYC thinks that this is brilliant (and I happen to agree, since I had already selected this thread in my picks. You gotta go read it now!)
Okay, it starts with my comment, but this thread features Angry Mouse at her comedic best.
From cskendrick:
Don Enrique celebrates fresh air in the White House. (CSK - 7.8 more years! 7.8 more years!)
Lefty Coaster tells it straight about the rapid change in economic fortunes between West (us) and East (China, mainly). - It is not just that China's government acted in the best interests of China. The United States government did not do likewise on behalf of America for the past eight years.
The blogger formerly known as Orange Clouds with some good advice on improving nutrition nationwide
I concur with beltane about George Soros. For the financial conspirator behind the nefarious rise of the left wing, he sure is slow paying up. :)
my picks:
I loved St Louis Woman's take on torture.
CapitolDragoon has a good comment (in a really interesting thread, though you will need to parent up to get the entire conversation) about how unions have benefited and impacted the entire US workforce.
MBNYC has some foreshadowing on potential SNL episodes in a few years. The entire thread is lol funny.
Oh, JVolvo made me giggle with this one. If you've been around these parts for a bit, it'll make you giggle too.
This is a thread from last night, started by metal prophet but there are some great and funny comments in here about people's pet peeves while driving or taking public transit.
I seem to be on a thread roll (or would that be spool?) today. The conversation that bherner starts out is both amusing and accurate in the FreeRepublic.com is Dying diary.
As so many on this site are awesome at doing, Lefty Coaster highlights the hypocrisy of the minority party.
Someone who wishes to remain nameless (though I know who they are) tipped me off to this comment about the state of our educational system and the disaster that is NCLB by earicicle
Top mojo provided by cskendrick, king of heh, using ye olde methodology and sardonyx's 2009 search protocols. :)
Top Mojo! With tip jars and other exclusions
1 - Thanks, MB......geomoo.....144
2 - Thank you for this......llbear.....103
3 - ha, thanks.....AdamGreen.....82
4 - Introducing my new Woozle!.....kkbDIA.....81
5 - I appreciate IGTNT so much......Ab2kgj.....71
6 - Migranes are the worst, my sympathies......jwinIL14.....70
7 - To me, IGTNT diaries are like.....Ekaterin.....67
8 - There's no leopard like Snow Leopard.....LaughingPlanet.....67
9 - It is the way of civilized people.....Otteray Scribe.....66
10 - Well, I love her because they love her......Angry Mouse.....66
11 - Thank you.....zukesgirl64.....64
12 - Caturday - Only one thing to do then........mlharges.....64
13 - The health care professional are taking great.....Jane Lew.....62
14 - My woozle Emma.....Ellinorianne.....61
15 - I think even the revamped screen.....klnb1019.....60
16 - i hope you-all enjoy this diary.....jlms qkw.....60
17 - Cat-sitting Caturday!.....LaughingPlanet.....59
18 - Who is that handsome devil?.....jwinIL14.....58
19 - The elginwoozles say hai.....elginblt.....58
20 - I visit IGTNT,.....rb137.....57
21 - I had an html itch that I could not scratch......lineatus.....57
22 - I've said before.....anotherCt Dem.....56
23 - IGTNT serves a noble purpose......BentLiberal.....55
24 - Daily Doll - Doll in a Basket.....funluvn1.....55
25 - Greeting from the May Day Parade.....Kayakbiker.....54
26 - Well.....mem from somerville.....54
27 - here.....noweasels.....53
28 - To get your check from Soros.....blue aardvark.....53
29 - My hope is that the IGTNT series gets published......The BBQ Chicken Madness.....52
30 - People have questioned why I get so.....llbear.....52
Top Mojo! No Exclusions, all comments eligible
1 - Tip Jar.....gjohnsit.....353
2 - Tips for following 5 years of Freepathons.....The Red Pen.....333
3 - tipjar........AdamGreen.....252
4 - It's........Mark H.....188
5 - tips for critters.....jlms qkw.....155
6 - Thanks, MB......geomoo.....144
7 - Tips for Majority Signup!.....CapitolDragoon.....142
8 - tip jar.....geomoo.....138
9 - Tips for General George Washington and history.....MinistryOfTruth.....130
10 - also.....Pinko Elephant.....118
11 - Thank you for this......llbear.....103
12 - TGIF tip jar.....Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse.....102
13 - This means YOU!.....buhdydharma.....100
14 - In honor of my wonderful mother.....noweasels.....98
15 - Glad your house (and you) survived. n/t.....Meteor Blades.....92
16 - Good morning!.....Frankenoid.....92
17 - Nice piece and ........Meteor Blades.....89
18 - ha, thanks.....AdamGreen.....82
19 - tip jar.....Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse.....82
20 - See what power you have?.....Hedwig.....80
21 - Introducing my new Woozle!.....kkbDIA.....80
22 - IGTNT diaries serve another purpose........DawnoftheRedSun.....78
23 - I appreciate IGTNT so much......Ab2kgj.....71
24 - Migranes are the worst, my sympathies......jwinIL14.....70
25 - Thank you for sharing those communications.....marykk.....69
26 - To me, IGTNT diaries are like.....Ekaterin.....67
27 - It is the way of civilized people.....Otteray Scribe.....66
28 - There's no leopard like Snow Leopard.....LaughingPlanet.....66
29 - Well, I love her because they love her......Angry Mouse.....65
30 - Thank you.....zukesgirl64.....64