Sunday Serenade: Kathleen with Boarding in my Forties

I am thrilled to introduce the lovely Kathleen from Boarding in my Forties!  She lives in the beautiful state of California (of which I am so incredibly envious!), and Kathleen has some fantastic recommendations for books!  She's always so pleasant to chat with, leaves intuitive, thoughtful comments and is just an all-around quite cool lady! I hope you enjoy this Sunday serenading Kathleen!

What do you do when you're not blogging or reading?
When I'm not reading or blogging you will most likely find me doing some kind of outdoor activity.  I live in California so I can be outside year round.  I love camping, snowboarding, and going to the beach!

Describe your favorite place to read and why you love it so much.

My favorite place to read is in Hawaii...anywhere in Hawaii!  But when I am at home I love to read in my nice comfy chair on my patio.  The chair is covered with a quilt that my grandmother made for me which makes it a very special chair and reading place!

What is something we don't know about you and haven't been able to read in your "About Me" section?

One interesting bit of trivia about me is that I am the youngest of 9 girls.  When I tell people that I have 8 sisters they always look at me like they must have heard me wrong!

If you could invite 3 authors over to your home (ANY authors) for a luscious beverage and the most divine cheese and yummy chocolates, who would you invite?

Well first of all I love cheese AND chocolates so I'm pretty happy about the menu!  As far as the authors go, I would invite John Steinbeck, Stephen King, and Marcus Zusak.  I've read all of Steinbeck and would love to talk to him about California (he spent so much time living here) and also  about one of my favorite books, East of Eden.  There's so much family dysfunction in that book and I'd love to know how he came up with all of that stuff.  I'd love to meet and talk to Stephen King.  I used to love his books even though they freaked me out.  I just love how he is so up on pop culture and just gets how to tap into people's deepest fears.  I think he would be really fun to chat with.    March Zusak is the author of The Book Thief.  When I read the book in 2010 I was blown away.  I loved that he made Death be the narrator of the story.  I'd love to hear more about his process and how he ever decided to have Death be an actual character in his book.

If your bookshelves caught on fire what 5 books would you save?

I can't even stand the thought of that!  But if I could only pick 5 books they would be the Bible, East of Eden, Rebecca, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and A Separate Peace. 

Name 3 songs on your playlist right now. Do you listen to music while you read?

I don't listen to music when I read.  I generally like quiet, but oftentimes the T.V is on in the background because my son or boyfriend are watching it so I rarely get complete silence in my house!    3 songs on my playlist right now are:
Pump It by Black Eyed Peas (I run to this on the treadmill), Let it Be by the Beatles, and American Idiot by Green Day.  I have very eclectic music tastes!  I listen to EVERYTHING!

Name a quality you admire in others and a quality you admire in yourself.

I admire honesty in others and also in myself.  I'm known for being very straightforward and honest at work, in my family, and in my friendships.

Name 3 things on your bucket list. (things to accomplish in your lifetime)

1.  I want to jump out of an airplane when I turn 50 (2 short years to go)
2.  I'd like to learn how to surf in Hawaii
3.  I'd like to visit all 50 States in the U.S

Kathleen, you are truly an interesting and amazing woman! And oh my goodness! EIGHT sisters?!?  Are you sure that was not a typo? You really should share more about your experiences growing up with eight sisters! Heck you could write a whole blog about that by itself!  I hope to one day be able to meet you in real life . . . perhaps we can learn how to surf together in Hawaii!