1) Hoarders.

Is anyone else watching this brilliant show? Well, maybe 'brilliant' is a strong word, but it's downright entertaining. And interesting. And yes, parts of it may make you dry heave, but for the most part, you'll just feel like washing your dishes when it's over. I don't know if it's on TV now, but it definitely aired this year and it is about people with compulsive hoarding disease. Gone are the days where we call chronically messy people "lazy slobs". They are now classified with a mental disorder. Actually, from the few episodes I've watched, these people on the show are in a league of their own. Multiple rotten pumpkins on the dining room floor...congealed meat byproduct pooling in the fridge...10,000 teddy bears...astonishing collections of shampoo caps and broken picture frames...it is wild. What happens on the show is that you "meet" the Compulsive Hoarders, and then the show sends in a Certified Professional Organiser (who knew THAT was a job?), these Saint-like people who come in with masks and a truckload of patience (and at least 4 dumptrucks) and they work with the Compulsive Hoarder to get rid of the junk. But they can't tell them to get rid of the junk...they have to work with them to hope they make the decision on their own. Some of them don't, and the show ends with this kind of sad "update" on how they got evicted, or their children stopped speaking to them, or some other depressing ending.

I've watched 4 episodes and I'm totally hooked. It really puts my slightly untidy coffee table into perspective. Some of these people can't see the floor...in any room, hallway or stairwell of their home. Fascinating.

2) DailyLit.

Totally deserving of the 'brilliant' label, The DailyLit is a brilliant website. If you don't already know about it (I only just discovered it through a blog I read), it used to be a subscription-based service but is now free. It's kind of like an electronic library, where you go, find a book you want to read and sign up (this involves entering your e-mail address), and then they will send you the book by e-mail in segments over...well, however long it takes you to read it. For instance, I signed up today to read Little Women. I've been wanting to re-read it for awhile and lo and behold, DailyLit has a fabulous selection of classic books. So, I opted for 'longer' installments and received my first two today. I read them during my lunch hour (about the equivalent of 2-3 pages of the book) and tomorrow at Noon, they'll send me the next two. Or, if I'd had the time today, I could have asked for the next two right away.

I think this is SO smart. So many people have such limited time to read books, but this way you can read on your BlackBerry when you're in a waiting room, or like me on a lunch hour, or anytime you want, really. You can pause your book if you're going on vacation, or ask for it only to be sent on Mondays...it's very customisable. I am very impressed. I currently have three books coming to me from DailyLit: Little Women, The Count of Monte Cristo, and one which I can't remember the name of right now but it was on the homepage and looked good and Diane von Furstenberg recommended it so really, how could I go wrong?