Barb Palar
Editorial Specialist

Movies
The last movie I saw in the theater was The Bourne Ultimatum. The week before I went, my daughter and I rented the first two Bournes to get psyched up. It's a great series. And I’m not usually an action-film kind of girl. The last movie I rented was Infamous, which came out after In Cold Blood a couple years ago, and follows the same time period of Truman Capote's life. It was interesting to see what two different screenwriters and two different directors did with basically the same story.

On my nightstand
I have just started Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett, who also wrote Bel Canto, which is a great story about a bunch of well-to-do people at a party who are kidnapped and held by terrorists.

Hobbies
I recently moved to a cute little house in Beaverdale and I’m having a great time looking for cheap ways to make it look even cuter. Paint is pretty good for that, and I’m getting really brave with color. I enjoy gardening; my AOL address is idigdirt. For years, I've envied my friends in Beaverdale for their great black dirt, and now I finally have some of my own to dig around in. I also love live music, especially when it's possible to enjoy a glass of wine while I'm listening. Some of my favorite venues are Coach's Corner when Scott Smith is playing piano; B & B in Beaverdale, Jazz in July and anywhere The Cues are playing! 

If I could live anywhere in the world for a year
…it would be in a little cottage in the countryside somewhere in England. I would have a little fenced garden and a bicycle, which I would ride into the village to pick up fresh groceries and visit the pub to discuss American politics with the locals.