Worming my way through

It's no secret I love to read.
I read FAST and I read FURIOUSLY.
hehe
and I don't really do many memes anymore,
but I was tagged with a book one, so here we go:

The meme originated with A Striped Armchair.
but Veggie Mom tagged me with it.

A few Rules, follow them if you want or don't, no biggie:

1. Tag 3-5 people, so the fun keeps going!
2. Leave a comment at the original post at A Striped Armchair, so that Eva, the originator, can collect everyone’s answers.
3. If you leave a comment and link back to Eva as the meme’s creator, she will enter you in a book giveaway contest! She has a whole shelf devoted to giveaway books that you’ll be able to choose from, or a BookMooch Point, if you prefer.
4. Remember that this is all about enjoying books as physical objects, so feel free to describe the exact book you’re talking about, down to that warping from being dropped in the bath water…
5. Make the meme more fun with visuals! Covers of the specific edition you’re talking about, photos of your bookshelves, etc.

So, here goes:

The books that’ve been on your shelves the longest.

Actually, I got rid of most of my books when we moved a year and a half ago. It was de-cluttering time. I didn't get rid of my Harry Potter books or some old school books, like Wheelock's Latin. I also have the Bible my grandmother gave me when I was younger.

A book that reminds you of something specific in your life

(a person, a place, a time, etc.).

The Nancy Drew series was the first large series that swept me away and impressed me big time. I wanted to BE Nancy Drew.

Then, the next series that amazed me, besides Harry Potter, was a vampire/mystery series by Laurell K. Hamilton about a vampire executioner/necromancer named Anita Blake. The first book was called Guilty Pleasures, and I fell in love.

"Anita Blake may be small and young, but vampires call her the Executioner. Anita is a necromancer and vampire hunter in a time when vampires are protected by law--as long as they don't get too nasty. Now someone's killing innocent vampires and Anita agrees--with a bit of vampiric arm-twisting--to help figure out who and why."

I had just had baby Remy, Donny was five, and we were temporarily living with my mother and stepfather in Austin because my husband was in Dallas in law school. I remember being up late in the night with newborn Remy, nursing and reading this scary but exciting new series.

The series is still being written but it's gone way too erotica. Overboard. Unfortunately.

A book you acquired in some interesting way

(gift, serendipity in a used bookstore, prize, etc.).

Most books I have bought or borrowed...

but, one time, when we were on a family vacation in Jamaica, I was up really early one morning, walking the beach as the sun came up, searching for shells to collect, when I noticed there was a bottle in the sand. It was a big bottle, wine bottle size, and corked. Inside the bottle was rolled up paper, a thick wad I had trouble getting out. But, when I did, I realized it was a printed manuscript of a Tennessee Williams play I'd never heard of!

Turns out it was an original by him that he'd never shared...I made millions, and this is a total lie.

The most recent addition to your shelves.

I'm heading out this weekend to buy two new books.

The company that just hired me this week recommended I read them: The Starbucks Experience and Raving Fans.

A book that’s been with you to the most places.

My little colorful, striped blank book/journal that I keep in my purse.

So, I can take notes, jot down ideas or funny conversations I overhear, story ideas, blog ideas, lists, you name it.

A bonus book that you want to talk about but doesn’t fit into the other questions.

My cousin is a famous author (well, he's my dad's first cousin, don't know what that makes him to me...). His name is James Lee Burke, he's a mystery writer, and one of his books, Heaven's Prisoners was made into a movie with Alec Baldwin as the main character.

And the three I tag for this meme?

• Sunshine and Lemonade Kat is an avid reader and really knows books.
  
• Monogram Chick because she just hit me with another meme and she has awesome style.
  
• Two Dogs Running Mama Dawg is a fun person, and I want to see what she has to say.
  

What are you reading right now?
I need to know!