As one would expect of a book by Barbara Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible is good. Check it out. For my part, I fell madly in love with Adah right off the bat...

I was also thrilled, if a bit surprised, to discover that somebody else out there was aware of A Slice of Saturday Night. As Kymm points out, nobody knows about this musical. Except me. And her, apparently.

Just to run through a few other things she mentioned... the various versions of "Tom's Diner" were all from Tom's Album, a wonderful little compilation put together by Suzanne Vega herself. The "Stairway to Heaven" covers were all from Stairways to Heaven, an absolutely marvelous CD from Australia, containing no less than 22 different versions of the song. The amazing thing about the latter is that all 22 versions are recognizably "Stairway to Heaven," but no two even sound similar to one another.

The "When the Saints Go Marching In" covers were from different albums, though. I'm not aware of a compilation disc devoted to this song. But if there is one, I want it. I love the song.

(I've also been lusting after a CD called Pachelbel's Greatest Hit, containing eight different versions of "Canon," but that's another story.)

I do, indeed, own the Israeli cast recording of My Fair Lady on vinyl, purchased at a moving sale for a couple of dollars. This was an exception; most of my records were picked up at a thrift shop, at 50 cents apiece. There are definite advantages to still owning a record player...

And my problem with Les Miz and mass transportation came the time I made the mistake of listening to the last disc of the musical on the bus to college one day. So I got to the last track, and there I was, tears running down my face, just hoping nobody was looking my way...

But if you're not, and you're interested, drop me a line, and we'll talk.