This week's featured blogger is someone whose blog I've read for a long time. I enjoy her reviews of an eclectic mix of books, and I have to admit that I like keeping an eye on
what her pets have been up to lately.
Those pets of hers are quite the personalities -- even her blog is named after one of them, although Lola (a nine-year-old Chihuahua) would rather terrorize the cats than read a book.
Some of you are quite familiar with this week's featured blogger: Stephanie of
Reviews by Lola. If you're visiting from Stephanie's blog and are new to Kittling: Books, Welcome! I hope you enjoy taking a look at Stephanie's creative spaces. If you'd like to see any of the photos in a larger size, all you have to do is click on them. Stephanie is ready to take us on a tour, so let's get started!
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| In Stephanie's living room |
When you walk into my house, you enter right into my living room, which has some built in shelves in the nook over the couch. There is no rhyme or reason to the books that are selected for these shelves--I just throw random books up there, along with a hodgepodge of old family photos, figurines, and other stuff.
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| Blog Central, complete with assistant on the windowsill! |
The majority of my reading and blogging takes place in my bed. My husband often makes fun of me because I love to be in bed. If I have the day off, chances are I will spend a great deal of time lounging in bed. The end table on the right is mine, but as you can tell, I have taken over my husband's end table too. What the photo doesn't show is the dresser across from the bed is piled high with stacks of books.
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| Books in the basement! |
We recently had our basement redone, and part of it was made into a library for my books. There is some organization going on, but not much. The far left shelf is modern fiction, the second bookshelf consists of classics, with the bottom shelves being modern classics. The third set of bookshelves is a mish mash that includes my Persephones and NYRBs and then the last set is my non fiction, including memoirs.
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| Who's that on your wall, Stephanie? |
My bookshelves are full, so now I have started to stack books on my desk too. You may be wondering why I have a painting of Charles Manson. It was actually painted by my youngest sister, who has a fascination with the Manson family, which was actually influenced by my obsession with the book Helter Skelter, by Vincent Bugliosi. My husband put his foot down when it came to having a painting of a notorious killer in our home, so I had to settle for propping it up on the desk.
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| Stephanie's reading buddies |
My cats are my biggest reading buddies. They love to read with me. From left to right, they are: Fiona, Charlie and Milo.
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| Lola of Reviews by Lola |
Lola is my oldest pet, and the namesake behind my blog. She is a feisty, 9 year old Chihuahua who loves playing fetch and cuddling with her sister, Georgia.
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| Georgia |
I couldn't leave out my other baby, Georgia. She is my 8 year old Pomeranian mix and she and Lola are attached at the hip.
As much as I love to peruse people's bookshelves, I also enjoy seeing family photos and other items as well, so it was a treat to look at your shelves in your living room. I would definitely like to take a look at all those books in the basement,too!
Strangely enough, your portrait of Manson on the wall doesn't bother me. I was a teenager during the years of Manson. I remember reading
Helter Skelter when it was first published and getting the chills when I read how they'd break into someone's house and creep around... purposely moving things so the homeowners would know someone had been there while they slept. By the time I read the book, I was living in Utah and shopping in the mall where Ted Bundy trolled for victims... and renting an apartment a few blocks from where Gary Gilmore went on his last rampage. I read boatloads of true crime for many years and really admire Bugliosi and Ann Rule.
And to get back to a much more pleasant note, it's so much fun to see your pets here on my blog. Thanks so much for taking the time to show us your buddies as well as your creative spaces, Stephanie. It was fun!
Don't forget to stop by next Wednesday when I'll be featuring another book blogger from our worldwide community!
love the "buddies"!
ReplyDeleteI love the photo of the cats all in a line! Your books also look very well organised - I wish I had as many book cases as you!
ReplyDeleteI love your reading and blogging buddies -- you're never alone. Love it.
ReplyDeleteYour pets are all adorable but I LOVE the cats in the window pic! I read Helter Skelter as a teen and was completely creeped out by it.
ReplyDeleteI like the buddies too, but it looks like Charlie might be getting a bit big for the windowsill. :) I think my favorite of all though is Georgia.
ReplyDeleteI read Helter Skelter one winter when we were camping in our travel trailer just north of Chicago beside the lake. It was freezing cold and my husband was at a training school nearby. The book creeped me out in that deserted campground with the wind howling.
I love it that you have stacks of books all over the place, and think that makes your house look a lot like mine! You have a wonderful little place there, and I should think about doing more of my work from the bed! I also love your pets!
ReplyDeleteLove all the photos, but especially the cat and dog pictures. OMG that one with all three cats focused on what? A squirrel? A bird? No way all of mine would be that close to each other. They hate each other.
ReplyDelete@FarmLaneBooks I need more bookcases! My desk is now covered completely with books I have no room for.
ReplyDelete@Barbara That sounds like the perfect situation in which to read Helter Skelter if you really want to scare the crap out of yourself! Charlie is definitely too big for the windowsill but I don't think he knows that ;)
@zibilee I could do everything from my bed, and often on my days off, I spend my whole day there. It drives my husband crazy because he can't understand my attachment!
@Sandy If I remember correctly, they were looking at a bird. Fiona actually hates her brothers, so I can rarely get a picture of all three together but when it comes to an open window, she sometimes ignores the fact that she has to be near them just so she can perch on the windowsill.
This was a fun post! I loved seeing all of Stephanie's pets!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! Thanks for sharing your spaces, Stephanie!
ReplyDeleteBarbara-- If I'd read Helter Skelter under those conditions, I would have been *completely* weirded out!!
ReplyDeleteI'm itching to get a look at the books in the basement! - and love those aminals ;-)
ReplyDeleteLove your blogging buddies, and that pic of the 3 cats in the window is priceless. I'm envious of all your bookshelves. It's great that you're surrounded by books.
ReplyDeleteI really like the way you organized your bookshelf, with a mix of books, souvenirs, etc.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos. The buddies are all cuties! I like the painting of Manson. The book, Helter Skelter, creeps me out, but that hasn't stopped me from reading it a number of times. Thanks for sharing your spaces.
ReplyDeleteWhat a bunch of fun pictures! Lovely to see where Stephanie hangs out. :)
ReplyDeleteMarie-- Another fan of Helter Skelter, I see!
ReplyDeleteLOVE the kitties! and of course, the pups, too. But I stop at the Manson pic. Terrifying. I think Helter Skelter was one of my first realizations that evil truly exists in the world.
ReplyDeleteLove the photos, especially the animals. :) Sounds comfy, blogging in bed, but I'd doze off too quickly to get anything done.
ReplyDeleteThe pets look like wonderful reading companions. Thanks, Stephanie, for sharing your space with us. Love those basement bookshelves. I'm limited to only three in the family room but I'm slowly expanding on to the rest of them!
ReplyDeleteI am happy to see so many people have read Helter Skelter!
ReplyDeleteIt's a classic, Stephanie!
ReplyDeleteNice to hear of someone else who likes to spend their reading time in bed! I sometimes work there too, and all my favourite books are immediately to hand. Love those cats!
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