Linda's Reading Blog

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party

2012-01-30T12:46:00.000-05:00

Aaaaahhhhh, it feels so good to travel to Botswana, again! I've missed Mma Remotswe, Mr. JLB Matakoni, Mma Mikutsi, and all the rest of the characters in this series.

I've actually had this book for a while, now, but had to be in the right mood to read it. And, last week was it.

In this edition, Mma Remotswe has to solve the mystery of who is cutting the legs off a man's cattle, Mma Mekutsi is preparing for her wedding to Phuti Radiphuti, and Charlie, the mechanic apprentice, must deal with the birth of twin sons.

As always, the writing is sweet and the comments about life are simple and make so much sense.

Private #1 Suspect

2012-01-24T08:44:00.002-05:00

Another predictable read from James Patterson. Jack Morgan owns Private, an investigative business. After a trip he comes home to find his ex-girlfriend dead in his bed. He's arrested for her murder and must spend the rest of the book trying to prove his innocence.

There are a couple other plotlines running through, too, but none are very memorable.

It's a good thing I decided to write about this book right away or I'd have forgotten about it entirely.

Somebody shoot me if I buy another James Patterson book, please!

Catching Up

2012-01-15T20:52:00.001-05:00

Holy cow, I've been neglecting this blog! My granddaughter ended up staying with us for almost a month and I didn't have much time to read with her around...except for her books. We've been going through the Junie B. Jones series and read about ten of them. Love that Junie B.! Sometimes I get to laughing so hard, I can't read.

But she's gone, now, and I read a book in two days after she left. But, first, Kill Alex Cross. As is usual with a James Patterson book, this was a quick read. I read it about a month and a half ago so don't remember it very well; his books tend to all blur! I do remember that Alex must solve the disappearance of the President's two children. There was another part to the plot that put Alex's family in danger, too. Very typical but I do love his family.

I read good reviews about this book so downloaded it but, for some reason, I'm having a hard time finishing it. Margo is left parent less and takes off on the river to find her mother. She's a survivor and does what she has to do to make it through the winters which includes sleeping with whomever will protect her.

It's beautifully written but I can't seem to feel too sorry for Margo. I'm pretty sure I'll finish it just to find out what happens to her, though...one of these days!

I saw that this book is being made into a movie so thought I'd read it first. It's a series of letters written by Kevin's mom to her divorced husband a couple years after Kevin murders several kids in his high school. I love epistolary novels and, being a high school English teacher for 30 years, I also love stories about teenagers.

But, OMG!, Kevin's mom is so long winded! It's a very tedious read and I might get through it some day.

I get emails from Amazon almost every day offering their best books and this one was touted as the best for January so I downloaded it....and devoured it!

Hazel and Augustus are teenagers who meet at a cancer support group. Hazel has thyroid cancer with lung complications. It is terminal but she is buying some time with a new drug. Gus had his leg amputated and is doing really well. They are both quirky and fall in love even though they know they are only going to get hurt.

This is a wonderfully-written book. I gulped it! Both main characters are likable and, yes, I blubbered at the end.

So, now, I'm not sure what to read. I've got another James Patterson, Private #1 Suspect, and will probably go on to that one even though I'm getting pretty darn bored with his books.

I miss my Kylie girl and our nightly Junie B. Jones visits!

11/22/63

2011-11-29T08:28:00.000-05:00

You know how I can tell a book was good? When I have to wait a few days after finishing it to begin a new one. I finished this one Saturday night and couldn't even think about starting something new until Monday evening.

This is vintage Stephen King. This is why I fell in love with his writing forty years ago. This is falling into a book and letting it consume me. This is talking about it to anyone who will listen.

I was in the ninth grade when Kennedy was shot so I remember it well. This book took me right back to that era because King captures the culture so well.

Jake Epping is an English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine. Al Templeton owns a diner built over an abandoned chemical plant. In his back room is a portal to September 9, 1958. Al tried staying in the past long enough to prevent Lee Harvey Oswald from assassinating President Kennedy but he developed cancer and couldn't stay. Now, he begs Jake to go through the portal to do it for him.

Besides the time travel aspect, there isn't much science fiction or scary, gory scenes. This is just a good, old-fashioned story written by an expert craftsman. It's a long book but I wanted it to be longer.

Of course, we know going into it that Jake will not be successful. So, it's fun to imagine how King will end the book. And the ending is masterful!

These Things Hidden and Daughter of Smoke and Bone

2011-11-20T08:13:00.000-05:00

It feels so good to be reading, again!

These Things Hidden was a real page turner. I gulped it in just a couple days. Alison is twenty-two and has just been released from jail for murdering her newborn five years earlier. Her parents and younger sister want nothing to do with her.

Her younger sister Brynn is trying to make a life for herself away from her hometown but can't get past the horrible events that happened the night her sister gave birth.

Now, Alison must try to find a way to go on with her life and make amends with her family.

This is a chick book, to be sure, but I liked it.

If any of you participate in Sunday Scribblings, you'll recognize the name Laini Taylor as one of the original authors of that meme. That's where I first found her. I checked out her blog just as she was getting ready to give birth to her adorable daughter Clementine Pie and keep going back to see pictures of her as she grows up.

Laini writes a genre (YA fantasy) I don't normally go for but I thought I'd give her book a try since it was getting rave reviews. I'm so glad I did. She's a wonderful writer!

Karou is a blue-haired teenager living in Prague going to art school. But she isn't like most normal teenagers; she was raised by devils and must occasionally leave her regular world to collect teeth for Brimstone, her "father."

Then she meets Akiva, an angel, and her enemy. They are drawn to one another even though Akiva is still in mourning for his lost love Madrigal.

The age-old enemies-faling-in-love theme is given a new twist in this novel. But, even more than the compelling scenario is the writing. Ahhh, the writing! It is so beautiful! Not a page goes by where there isn't a wonderful description to please my poetic heart.

And, now, I'm on to Stephen King's latest 11/22/63. More fantasy! Hmmm...what's going on with me?

The Litigators

2011-11-08T07:13:00.001-05:00

Yay! I finished a book!

I had pre-ordered this one and was thrilled when it became available for download. I started reading it right away and finished it a couple days later. It helped that we were flying to Florida for the winter. I love all the reading time I get when on an airplane.

David Zinc is fed up with the grunt work of being a lawyer in a huge law firm and one day he up and quits. He stumbles upon a flailing "boutique" firm with only two lawyers and joins them. Their first case is a class action suit against a giant pharmaceutical company.

The characters are well drawn and likable and the concept is believable. I enjoyed it. But, what this book has, that most of his others don't, is humor. At one point I had tears rolling down my cheeks!

I needed a good book like this to get me back into reading mode!

A Reading Slump

2011-10-23T15:21:00.000-04:00

I don't know what's wrong with me but I just haven't felt like reading lately.

This is a first for me.

One of the reasons could be because I'm not that invested in the novel I'm reading. The Art of Fielding is a beautifully written book but, for some reason, I can't get into the characters. I'm about half way through and hate to give up on it but...

Another reason could be because I'm watching The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Every night I get in bed and, instead of reading like normally, I stream an episode or two of this addicting show on my iPad.

And then there is the iPad, itself. I love it! And am always fiddling with it instead of reading. I mean, there are just so many apps to explore and play with.

I wish there were more hours in the day. Too bad I don't have two or three brains so I could do everything I want!

Abducted

2011-09-30T08:26:00.001-04:00

When she was in high school, Lizzy was abducted. Somehow, she managed to escape. But, she's not free. She lives in terror that it will happen again. Now, she's in her thirties and runs a private investigation business.

One day her old boyfriend, who is now a detective, calls her to consult on a missing teen. Together they must solve the mystery of who he is before any more girls go missing. And, in the process, she must solve her own mystery.

Formulaic but a real page turner!

Blood Wounds

2011-09-15T13:44:00.001-04:00

What makes a happy family?

That's one of the questions this book proposes.

Willa and her mom escaped from Texas and Willa's abusive father. In Pennsylvania, her mom met Jack, married him, and they all live together with Jack's two daughters.

And they all actually get along and like each other. Oh, there are issues, of course. Jack's ex-wife is rich so Willa's step sisters get lots of expensive clothes and trips and lessons. But Willa doesn't seem to mind. Or does she?

Maybe that is why she sneaks down to the cellar to cut herself.

When Willa's biological father murders his new wife and two of Willa's half sisters then abducts the other child and heads to Pennsylvnia to find Willa, she finds out what her present family is made of. She also finds out what she is made of.

Susan Beth Pfeffer has written a YA novel that explores the workings of a blended family and has created a memorable character in Willa who is forced to find and stand up for herself. So many teenagers, nowadays, must deal with broken families. It's nice to see a book deal with modern issues featuring a strong female character.

My own daughter and her husband have split up and I worry how that will affect Kylie. She's only five, now, but it's bound to have some repercussions on her as she gets older. This is one book I'll be recommending she read in a few years.

Jane Was Here & The Language of Flowers

2011-09-14T09:05:00.000-04:00

I've been reading such good books lately! And this one is no exception. I didn't really like the cover but I'm glad I gave it a try, anyway.

Jane has escaped from a mental hospital and is now searching for her home...not the home where her biological parents live, but the place she was born...in the 1800s. Jane has images of another existence from another era and will stop at nothing to discover who she really is.

This novel is filled with great characters and the writing is down-to-earth...until it hits us with the supernatural. Sarah Kernochan does a superb job of making the extraordinary feel ordinary.

Holy tearjerker! I haven't read a novel like this, where I had to have a box of Kleenex nearby, for quite some time.

This book flips back and forth between Victoria Jones as an angry, emancipated eighteen-year-old living on her own to ten-year-old Victoria, damaged by foster care, living with Elizabeth who wants to adopt her. We know it's not going to happen right from the get-go but what transpired to force Victoria back into the system is what keeps this story moving.

Elizabeth is the one who taught her all about the language of flowers and Victoria is able to use that knowledge to help her begin a new life. But, first, she has to learn how to live without hating everyone and everything.

I'm a sucker for flowers, anyway, so this book with its many references to them was right up my alley! I stayed up late last night reading and wiping tears away!

Maine and Good Poems: American Places

2011-09-11T07:31:00.002-04:00

I promised myself no more detours while reading this book. Luckily, it rained here most of last week so I had lots of time to finish it. And it wasn't difficult. There's just something about the characters in this novel that made me want to keep turning the pages.

The Kelleher family has beachfront property in Cape Neddick, Maine. (That's only about twenty miles from me so I'm familiar with the area.) The patriarch, Daniel, won it in a bet. For years they've enjoyed vacationing there. Now, Daniel is dead and his widow must decide what to do with it.

The book centers on four female characters: Alice, the matriarch, who was totally unsuited for motherhood and who has a devastating secret she's held inside for years; Kathleen, her daughter who has never gotten along with her; Maggie, Kathleen's daughter, pregnant and alone; and Ann Marie, Alice's son's wife, the only other family member Alice can stand.

They all gather at their summer home for a two-week period and sparks fly. These characters are so well drawn that even when you hate them, you love them. Told with humor and insight, this book and these people will stay with me for a long time.

I ordered Good Poems: American Places in the spring and have been slowly making my way cross country poem by poem.

Garrison Keillor collected poems of place about America and compiled them into this book. He's so smart! He knows how to pick poems that are easy to understand but have literary value, also.

I really enjoyed this road trip!

Blood, Bones, & Butter and Kill Me If You Can

2011-09-07T08:34:00.001-04:00

My friend, Deirdre, gave me the book Maine as a retirement gift a couple weeks ago. I love it! But I haven't finished it yet. Why? Because it's a real book and too big to take on the motorcycle with me. Instead I had my iPhone with the Kindle app on it when the bike broke down on the side of the road. While my husband was fixing it, I started reading Blood, Bones, & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef. It was a quick read so I finished it before going back to Maine.

Gabrielle Hamilton grew up with a French mother who made exotic dishes that Gabrielle loved. She never forgot them. But, it took her many years and many mishaps to actually do something productive with her love of good food. She is now the owner of Prune, a restaurant in NYCity.

She's also a great writer! Each page is filled with delicious food and metaphors. Yum!

Then I returned to Maine.

But, it happened again! This time we were at the bait shop and I was waiting. So, I found a shady spot to sit outside and started another book on my iPhone.

I knew I'd zip right through this James Patterson novel. And I did.

Matthew Bannon is an art student. One day he finds a bag full of diamonds and decides to keep it. But some really bad people want those diamonds back and will stop at nothing to get them.

This is a typical Patterson thriller complete with surprise plot twists and a satisfying but intriguing ending.

Now, I'm going back to Maine. That's the beauty of it; it's the type of book I can leave for a few days but, when I return, it's like greeting old friends again.

Before I Go to Sleep

2011-08-31T07:31:00.000-04:00

This was such a difficult book to read! I squirmed, my heart fluttered, I couldn't breathe at times. That's how effective it is.

Christine has a rare form of amnesia. She wakes up every morning not knowing anything. And we wake up with her. We see her world through her eyes. Who is she? Who can she trust? There is a man in bed with her. Who is he? Does she have friends? Does she have children?

Something doesn't feel right to Christine. Her doctor suggests she keep a journal and he calls her every morning to remind her of it so she can read about her life. But, there is a message on the first page warning her not to trust her husband. Why? What has happened? How did she lose her memory?

We see Christine's life through the fog of her brain. We are her. We have to finish this book in one gulp or we won't sleep.

The Silent Girl

2011-08-14T07:06:00.003-04:00

Good morning. Did you see the full moon last night? Two friends and I took a quick trip to the beach to watch it rise over the ocean. So beautiful!

The Silent Girl is an interesting novel because it is full of Chinese mythology. It stars two of Tess Gerritsen's most popular characters, Laura Isles and Jane Rizzoli.

In this one, they are looking for the murderer of a woman whose hand fell from a roof in Boston's Chinatown. It leads them back twenty years to a murder/suicide and the disappearance of young girls.

As usual I enjoyed Gerritsen's writing and always look forward to her books.

It's cloudy, here, on the Maine coast today. Sounds like a good reading day to me!

Think of a Number and A Stolen Life

2011-08-07T19:07:00.001-04:00

I thought for sure I'd like this book. A diabolical bad guy sends letters to someone he hates telling him to think of a number between 1 and 1000. After coming up with the first number that pops into his head, he then has to open another envelope and it reveals that very same number. My kind of book, right? Nope! I just couldn't get into it.

The writing is kind of old fashioned and I didn't like the characters. There was too much introspection by the main character, a retired detective. I don't know; maybe it was me and I just wasn't in the mood for this kind of book but I was very disappointed.

So, I moved on to this book, instead, and read it quickly. It's partly written from a young girl's point of view and partly from Jaycee as she is today twenty years after being abducted and turned into a sex slave for the demented Phillip Garrido. How Jaycee survives is an astonishing story.

I so admire her attitude and ability to endure and come out the other side fairly intact.

Her remarkable spirit shines through.

The last couple weeks have been crazy. We watched my mother-in-law's health deline quickly from independence to not even being able to walk. She ended up in the hospital twice and is in a rehab facility, now, to help her get stronger. All the tests came back negative so, hopefully, she'll recuperate. In the mean time, we have to care for my father-in-law who suffered a mild stroke last year and lost his short-term memory.

We also had a wedding in the middle of all this. My brother's son got married. It was a beautiful ceremony.

So, I haven't had an awful lot of time to read. So, I'm giving myself a kick in the butt to get off this computer and do just that!

Then Came You

2011-07-24T20:37:00.000-04:00

I zipped right through this newest novel by Jennifer Weiner. It revolves around four women, strangers to each other, who unexpectedly come together.

Jules is a college student who decides to sell her eggs to get money to help her father.

Annie is a married mother of two who agrees to be a surrogate to earn $50,000 to help her husband with expenses.

Bettina is the daughter of a rich entrepreneur. She hates her father's new wife so hires an investigator to look into her past.

And India is the new wife with a closet full of secrets.

How these four women's paths intersect makes for a quick and satisfying read.

Delirium

2011-07-18T08:11:00.001-04:00

This is the other book I read about on NPR and downloaded then and there. Boy, they were right! Excellent YA novel!

It's some time in the future. Lena is a senior in high school and can't wait to be cured. The operation can't take place until she's eighteen and her birthday is three months away. She's not sick...yet...and the operation will prevent her from contracting the disease of deliria, otherwise known as love.

Yes, they've developed an operation that quells humans from falling in love and destroying their lives. Lena lives in Portland, Maine (ten minutes up I95 from where I live!), where all the adults live in harmony...boring, predictable harmony.

After her operation and a few years in college, she'll be matched with a partner and they'll live happily every after.

But, in that last summer of freedom, she meets Alex who turns her world and thinking upside down. Now, she doesn't want the operation. But, can she find a way to stay whole?

Lauren Oliver's writing is beautiful. Her descriptions are breath taking. I especially loved her use of poetry (You know me and poetry!).

Lena is spunky and brave and human and she wants to stay that way.

Two thumbs up for this book!

Now You See Her

2011-07-15T08:08:00.001-04:00

This was a quick gulp as most Patterson books are. But, I still enjoyed it.

Nina Bloom is a successful lawyer and single mom to her sixteen-year-old daughter Emma. At a Yankees game one evening, someone from her past sees her and is determined to kill her.

Twenty years earlier, she'd been Jeanine, a college student on spring break with her boyfriend. One night, after too many drinks, she hears her boyfriend cheating on her so she steals his car and runs over a man. The cop who shows up takes pity on her and helps her dispose of the body. They fall in love and get married. But, is he who he claims to be? No, so Jeanine has to escape and begin a new life.

Now, the past has intruded into that new life and Nina must do everything she can to protect herself and her daughter.

To Be Sung Underwater, Karma, & The Heart of Haiku

2011-07-10T07:21:00.002-04:00

Well, I'm slowly settling into summer and retirement. We had lots of celebrations and company the first few weeks but things are quieting down, now, and I'm getting some much needed rest and reading done.

This book seemed to take forever to read but I liked it. It's a slow book just like the cover...like paddling lazily across a pond. It alternates back and forth between Judith Toomey's present as a dissatisfied mom, wife, and film editor to her past when she was eighteen, starry-eyed, and in love with Willy Blunt.

Tom McNeal takes his time developing his characters and writes beautifully. How many of us wish we could go back to our first loves? This book does that with surprising results.

I read two other books while in the middle of To Be Sung Underwater. I woke up in the middle of the night about four days ago and couldn't get back to sleep so I grabbed my iPad which was nearby and went to NPR to read their Arts and Literature news. There was an article about YA fiction and Karma was mentioned. It caught my attention because it's written in poetry form. So, I downloaded it right then and there and started reading. I was hooked.

Jiva Singh is part Hindu and part Sikh and lives in Canada with her parents where she's as typical as any teenager from India can be. After her mother's death, she and her father head back to India to take her ashes. While they are there, Indira Gandhi is killed and Jiva and her father get caught up in the turmoil that erupts. Somehow they get separated and Jiva is left to fend for herself.

After a horrifying incident, she is taken in by her doctor's family and their teenage son, Sandeep, helps her look for her father.

Jiva's voice is fresh and unique and the poetry is just amazing in its simplicity. Sometimes, it took my breath away! At first I was a little turned off by the title and the look of the cover but I'm so glad I gave it a try, anyway.

This is one of those Kindle Singles that are really just mini books. I bought one before because it was by Jodi Picoult and I love her writing but it was just too short...like a tease, so decided I wouldn't buy any more of them. This one caught my eye, though. Poetry? Of course I'm going to buy it!

And I'm glad I did. Jane Hirshfield writes about the most famous haiku writer, Basho. She tells the story of his life and the story of haiku and weaves them together. By the time I was done, I wanted to grab a pencil and write one, myself. It was definitely worth the ninety-nine cents!

Time to start a new book, now. Decisions, decisions!

The sun is shining and we're heading out for a motorcycle ride later with some friends. We're going to bike down the coast a ways to Flo's Hot dogs in Ogunquit, Maine for lunch. This place sells only hot dogs but what makes them so good is their secret recipe for relish. Mmmm, haven't had one for a couple years. I'm due!

But, until then, I think I'll take advantage of the quiet and read for awhile.

What's Been Going On

2011-06-27T09:45:00.001-04:00

I'm officially retired!

And we've moved. From now on we'll be spending our summers on the Maine coast and our winters in Florida.

So, not only did I have to clean out my classroom, we had to clear out our house and put it up for sale.

It's been crazy trying to squeeze a houseful of stuff into our fifth-wheel camper.

My reading time has taken a major hit!

Hopefully, now that we're more or less settled, I'll be able to get back to a normal schedule.

This is a beautiful book of poetry edited by Caroline Kennedy. All the poems are by women or about women. Caroline introduces each chapter with personal words about how certain peoms have influenced her life.

Each day I try to read a couple of these and I haven't read one that I didn't like. They are easy to understand but pack a wallop.

Really, this is one of the best anthologies I've read, lately.

I'm sorry to say that I didn't finish this novel. I really tried. It started out great but then got too technical and then just plain weird and I had to put it aside for now.

It's well written, I liked the main characters, but just got too bogged down in minor issues and, when it shifted into kind of supernatural stuff, it lost me.

I'm working on To Be Sung Underwater and I'm liking it so far. I wasn't sure at first because it seemed like all it did was tell instead of show and I hate that, but, after the first chapter, it changed and caught my interest. So, I'm giving it a chance.

The sun's out today so I think I'm going to hop on my bicycle and head to the beach to sit and read for a while.

Tenth Anniversary

2011-06-07T08:25:00.000-04:00

Yes, another James Patterson novel! I know, I know! But, I just can't resist.

This Women's Murder Club edition sees Lindsey marrying Joe but, of course, their honeymoon is interrupted by a missing baby and a beaten-up teenage mother. Lindsey's lawyer friend, Yuki, is prosecuting a heart surgeon for murdering her philandering husband. Cindy, their newspaper reporter friend, is on the trail of a man who abducts women, drugs them, rapes them, and leaves them in alleys to wake up having no memory of what has just happened.

Oh, yeah, it pulled me right in and I sucked it up and enjoyed it. Will I continue buying these novels? You can damn well bet I will! I'm so weak!

Exposure

2011-05-26T10:18:00.001-04:00

I've been reading like crazy lately! And it feels great!

I couldn't put this novel down. Amelia and Anthony are high school seniors. They've been dating secretly for a year. Amelia's father is very overprotective and won't allow her to date until she's eighteen. That doesn't stop her from seeing Anthony as often as she can.

During the summer before their senior year, Amelia and her family spend a couple months at the seashore. Because they miss each other so much, she and Anthony send naked pictures of themselves to each other.

Later that fall, Amelia forgets her laptop at home. Her father goes through it and finds the pictures of Anthony and believes that he is corrupting his daughter. He calls the police and Anthony is arrested.

That sets the dominos in motion: one consequence leading to another until the stunning climax.

Therese Fowler writes this novel from personal experience because something similar happened to her son. Teenagers have no idea how serious their sexting can become. I've told my students about the book and what can happen. Makes me glad my own kids are all grown!

Save Me

2011-05-25T18:55:00.001-04:00

I read this one pretty quickly and enjoyed it.

Rose volunteers at her daughter's school to be a lunch mom because she wants to see what's going on. Her daughter, Melly, is being bullied because she has a red birthmark on her face. While at school, Rose sees her daughter's chief tormentor take some jelly and smear it on her own face to make it look like Melly's. Melly see it and runs into the handicapped bathroom.

Just then there is an explosion from the kitchen. When Rose regains consciousness, she has to make a horrible choice: run to the handicapped bathroom to save her daughter or try to get the bulliers out safely.

Her decision results in a maelstrom of condemnation from the parents and townspeople. But something seems fishy to Rose about the explosion so she embarks on a quest to find out what was really behind it.

Nonstop action, likeable characters, a believable solution all add up to a great read.

Something Borrowed

2011-05-18T13:41:00.001-04:00

I read this book really quickly. It started out pretty well but got ho hum towards the end. I downloaded it because I saw the advertisement for the movie and it looked interesting. I should have saved my money! It was just a typical chick lit book and I usually try to steer clear of them because the ending is always so sweet. And this one was no exception. I saw it coming halfway through.

Rachel and Darcy have been best friends since grammar school. Now, Darcy is planning her wedding to Dex and Rachel is her maid of honor. A few months before the wedding, after her birthday party, Rachel sleeps with Dex and they fall in love. What to do? Continue? Break up? Tell Darcy? Like I said, ho hum.

Flavors

2011-05-18T09:15:00.000-04:00

This is a YA novel set in the South. Sadie has to spend the summer living at her grand parents' along with several of her aunts and uncles who still live at home. Her aunt is just a year older than her and they form a friendship along with the wife of one of her uncles.

But at the heart of the novel is her grandmother, a stern taskmaster who is very hard on Sadie. Sadie is twelve and experiencing all the changes grils go through at that age. She deals with them in a very mature but believable manner.

I liked the book and loved Sadie but it seemed like I kept waiting for something big to happen and it never did. I know that's more like real life but....

Horoscopes for the Dead

2011-05-10T08:25:00.003-04:00

I love getting lost in Billy Collins's poetry. Every poem is accessible on the first reading but it's on the second and third readings when the layers peel back and and I say, "Ohhh, that's what he's really talking about."

His style is so simple and ordinary. He's not interested in flowery phrases. He just looks around and uses the everyday items he sees as the backdrop for his musings.

It's real life gathered together in stanzas. Here's an example:
Good News

When the news came in over the phone
that you did not have cancer, as they first thought,

I was in the kitchen trying to follow a recipe,
glancing from cookbook to stove,
shifting my glasses from my nose to my forehead and back,

a recipe, as it turned out, for ratatouille,
a complicated vegetable dish
which you or any other dog would turn your nose at.

If you had been here, I imagine
you would have been curled up by the door
sleeping with your head resting on your tail.

And after I learned that you were not sick,
everything took on a different look
and appeared to be better than it usually is.

For example (and that's the first and last time
I will ever use those words in a poem),
I decided I should grate some cheese,

not even knowing if it was right for ratatouille,
and the sight of the cheese grater
with its red handle lying in the drawer

with all the other utensils made me marvel
at how this thing was so perfectly able and ready
to grate cheese just as you with your long smile

and your brown and white coat
are perfectly designed to be the dog you perfectly are.

Tick Tock

2011-05-05T19:11:00.000-04:00

I keep telling myself I'm not going to download any more Patterson novels since they're all pretty much the same but I did it again!

And, you know something? I enjoyed it. This one features Michael Bennett and his ten kids and I can't help but like them. Of course, he also has to solve the mystery of a man, who is going around copycatting previous serial murderers, before his own family is threatened.

It's a quick read as all his books are because he just has a way of writing that sucks me in and won't let go.

Educating Esme

2011-04-28T13:29:00.000-04:00

It's kind of ironic that I would decide to read this book just as I'm preparing for retirement. But, read it, I did, and loved it!

It's a diary of the first year Esme taught fifth grade in an inner city school in Chicago. She was quirky and exciting and she got her kids to care about education. She really stimulated their minds by giving them ownership of their own learning and they had fun doing it.

But that doesn't mean she didn't have discipline. The kids were always within her control and showed respect to her and the other students.

Esme was really big on reading to the kids and she got them interested in books that way.

I could go on and on about her unique ways of educating but I'd have to talk about the whole book. It's so worth reading!

Even though I teach high school and she was an elementary teacher, her philosophy is universal. Kind of makes me wish I wasn't retiring!

Every Last One

2011-04-24T21:37:00.001-04:00

Well, here it is the last night of my last spring vacation. It's back to school tomorrow for eight more weeks and then I'll be officially retired. It's bittersweet, of course, since I love so many things about teaching but I'm also getting tired of it all. And, just think, I'll have more reading time!

I read this book all week and finished it this morning with tears running down my cheeks. This novel is intense! It started out so normally but as I read, I could feel the momentum building. I just knew something bad was going to happen but didn't know what. And it was worse than I'd imagined.

Mary Beth Latham owns her own landscaping business. Her husband is a ophthalmologist. They have three kids: 17-year-old Ruby who is quirky and smart and was my favorite character, and 14-year-old twins: Max, who is moody and troubled, and Alex, who is an athlete. Their home is filled with lots of laughter, friends, worries, and tragedy.

It's a hard book to write about because the bad thing doesn't happen until half way through. Anna Quindlen does such a great job of setting the scene and developing the characters that when the tragedy stikes, it feels like it happened to my own family.

I'm definitely going to read something a bit lighter next! It is an excellent book and so well written but I need a break from sadness!

Love You More

2011-04-17T14:49:00.000-04:00

Spring vacation started yesterday and I've been busy cleaning out my mom's home. You wouldn't believe the things I found!

The calendar says we're almost a month into spring but it snowed last night. We woke up to a couple inches.

Stayed up late finishing this book. It's one of those where I just had to find out what was going to happen.

How far would a mother go to protect her child? That's the question in this novel. Tessa Leoni is accused of killing her husband and daughter. D.D. Warren and Bobby Dodge must find the evidence to convict her. But things aren't adding up and the more they investigate, the more they realize Tessa might need their help.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel!

Now, time to head back into the cellar!

Live wire

2011-04-12T19:50:00.001-04:00

It was fun catching up with Myron Bolitar and the quirky characters in this series. Myron is a sports agent who always gets too involved with his clients. In this book, he gets a visit from a former tennis star who is now pregnant and married. She asks Myron to investigate an upsetting posting on facebook that said, "Not his." Now her husband has disappeared and Myron has to find him.

I love a book like this that catches my attention right away and doesn't let go. A new Harlan Coben is always a treat.

As an added feature, this novel introduces Myron's nephew, Mickey, who will have his own YA novel in September. I've already pre-ordered it!

Sing You Home

2011-03-29T19:39:00.000-04:00

I tried so hard to read this book slowly but I just couldn't help myself from gulping it!

Jodi Picoult has done it again. She's created characters to love and a story that grabs hold and won't let go until you stay up late finishing it.

And this book is unique because it comes with a CD. Jodi herself wrote the lyrics to the songs and her friend, Ellen Wilbur put them to music and sings them in her beautiful voice. They add another layer to the meaning of the novel.

Zoe Baxter is a music therapist whose son is stillborn. He was conceived through IVF and the three extra embryos were frozen for further use. Her husband can't handle the idea of more tries after five attempts and leaves her. Soon after, Zoe meets a new love and they want to use the remaining embryos to have a child.

But her ex-husband has other ideas for them. What ensues is a legal fight to decide who gets them.

I like how Jodi wasn't in any hurry to tell this story. She takes her time to develop the characters and situations so that the reader is fully engaged with it. And I loved the pauses to listen to the songs; the haunting melodies stayed with me all day.

I cried in the first chapter and I cried in the last one. Doesn't get much better than that!

Fly Away Home

2011-03-27T10:29:00.000-04:00

My friend, Beth, who lives in Florida, went to a luncheon last week where Jennifer Weiner was speaking. She and I are both fans and I was so envious, being stuck up here in northern NH where authors never venture. But, I got the next best thing: a autographed copy of Fly Away Home. I read it and reviewed it last summer when it first came out. Great book!

I think it's my first ever autographed book!

It's extra meaningful for me because I associate this book with my mom since I was reading it when she died and it gave me solace to think of her flying away home to my dad.

This is the journal page I did of it.

Jennifer was kind enough to have her picture taken with Beth and they even had a little chit chat. I so wish I could have been there!

Thanks again, Beth!

The List

2011-03-24T18:50:00.000-04:00

This was a really good book! I was kind of leery because it was only $2.99 but I took a chance and downloaded it and I'm glad I did.

Tom Mankowski is a Chicago detective. While investigating a murder, he notices that the dead guy has a numbr tatooed on the bottom of his foot. This interests and scares Tom because he also had a number on his foot. As he looks into it, he discovers several others with numbers and the mystery of why they have those numbers becomes a race to save them and the world from an ambitious nut case.

The character were quirky and lively and the humor kept me chuckling.

I'm definitely going to download more of Konrath's novels.

The Book of Men

2011-03-19T07:34:00.001-04:00

Every morning I check The Writer's Almanac to read the poem of the day. Last week they featured two poems by Dorianne Laux. She's one of my favorite poets so I just had to click the "buy now" button and download her newest book to my Kindle.

I love how her poems are easy to understand but are still very poetic. She writes about ordinary things that have happened to her and I can't help but nod my head knowing I've had similar experiences.

I've already used "The Beatles" as one of my poems of the day in my classroom. It led to a very spirited conversation about the fab four. These kids are 15 and 16 years old and it's amazing how many of them are Beatles fans.

Anyway, I'm glad I downloaded this little book of poems. I've read it once but it'll be handy for whenever I want to read it again. And I will!

The Double Comfort Safari Club

2011-03-13T07:39:00.002-04:00

It had been a while since I'd visited Mma Ramotswe and her crew in Botswana. It's such a welcomed trip.

In this one she has a couple of cases. In one she is searching for a safari guide who had been very kind to an American lady. The lady had died and left him some money. In her other case she's doing a favor for her friend and trying to find out who the lady's husband is having an affair with.

Her assistant, Mma Makutsi, is having troubles of her own. Her fiance gets hit by a car and loses his leg. His overbearing aunt "kidnaps" him from the hospital and won't let Grace near him.

As usual, the novel is full of dignity and simple wisdom and is just the sweet vacation I needed to get my reading back on track.

Alone & Mockingjay

2011-03-01T19:42:00.001-05:00

What's going on with me? I can't find a book to read! I got a ways into this one and realized that I've read it before. Darn. It was good, too!

So, then, I decided to read the third book in The Hunger Games trilogy but I couldn't get into it. I tried; I really did. But this one didn't catch my interest at all. I read about a quarter of it then skipped to the epilogue to find out what happened. Sweet ending but it didn't make me want to read more of it. I bought into the fantasy in the first two books but this one just took things too far for my taste.

So, now, I've got to find something I like! I'm getting worried that my next book will be a disappointment, too. So, tonight I went to Amazon.com and bought the latest book available in the #1 Ladies Detective Agency. I've always enjoyed them and I see a new one is slated to be published at the end of this month. So, I'll try The Double Comfort Safari Club and keep my fingers crossed!

The Hangman's Daughter

2011-02-22T22:28:00.001-05:00

I've been plugging away at this book for a couple weeks, now, and finally just went to the last chapter to find out what happened. I couldn't get into it.

It takes place back in the 1600's in Austria. Jacob Kuisl is the hangman for the city. A young boy turns up dead with a devil's mark on him. The townspeople suspect witchcraft and arrest the midwife since the boy had been hanging around her. Jacob believes she is innocent and enlists the help of his daughter and the local doctor to prove her innocence.

I found there was too much about the town and the government and not enough about the hangman's daughter.

I don't give up on a book very often but, occasionally, it happens and I don't feel guilty about it. I just go on to the next one and hope it's better.

i'd know you anywhere

2011-02-11T10:41:00.001-05:00

It took me awhile to read this book and I'm not sure why. I did enjoy it but it just seems like I was busy doing other things instead of reading. We started a new semester at the beginning of last week and that means I got all new classes. It's exhausting and I pretty much just fell asleep after reading a page or two each night. Then, my husband wanted to go away for the weekend and that cut into my reading time. We did have a good time, though, and I'm glad we got out of town. It was a nice break.

This novel switches back and forth between the present and 1985. In the present, Eliza is a happy enough stay-at-home wife and mother to two kids. In the past, she is Elizabeth, a fifteen-year-old girl abducted by a serial killer. In the present, she gets a letter from her abductor who has been on death row for 22 years. He wants to meet with her. In the past, we read about her abduction with rising trepidation.

How Eliza balances these two parts of her life makes for a compelling story. If I had one complaint it would be that I found it has just a wee bit more telling than I like. I prefer books that show more. But, it isn't an awful lot too much so, overall, this is a book worth reading.

Full Dark, No Stars

2011-01-30T07:56:00.000-05:00

I have a love/hate relationship with Stephen King. I especially loved his earlier stuff. I can still remember reading Carrie when it first came out when King was an unknown. And The Stand is one of my all-time favorites. Later I tried to read Needful Things and Cell but just couldn't get into them. So, I'm always a little leery when buying one of his books. I took a chance on this one and am glad I did.

This book contains four novellas. I loved two of them and liked the other two. The ones I loved didn't have any supernatural elements and I think that's what made them better.

In the first one, a farmer in 1922 gets his son to help him murder his wife because she won't give him the 100 acres she inherited. She wants to sell it and move to the city. He loves being a farmer and wants nothing to do with the city. The aftermath of the murder is the stuff of nightmares. This was one I liked.

The second story is about a writer who gets abducted and raped on her way home from a speaking engagement. How she deals with it and gets retribution had me cheering! This was one of the ones I loved.

The third story has a bit of magic in it and I enjoyed it but...again, that supernatural stuff gets old and I guess I'm just tired of it. In this one, a man has cancer and not long to live. He meets another man who promises him life if he gives him a percentage of his wages for the rest of his career. He agrees, but the kicker is that someone else has to suffer for it.

The last story is one I loved. A woman finds out after 27 years of marriage and two kids that her husband has a secret life and was never the person she thought he was. Her solution is great!

So, this Stephen King book goes into the love pile. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it continues!

The Lover's Dictionary

2011-01-26T19:49:00.001-05:00

This was a diffferent book! It is a dictionary but the author just chose certain words. It starts with A words but instead of a definition, he describes something happening in the main character's life that relates to that word. We learn right away that the main character is just beginning a relationship with a girl (you) he meets online. Then, shortly after that, we find out she's pregnant.

The little snippets of info all combine to paint a picture of their relationship. I liked the uniqueness of this book but couldn't realy get into the characters. I guess I expected more plot and less little peeks into their lives. By the end, I was even more confused than at the beginning. So, basically, it was a disappointment but maybe I just need to read it again. It's very short so that's a possibility.

Catching Fire

2011-01-21T20:53:00.000-05:00

I plunged right into this second novel in The Hunger Games trilogy but I probably should have waited a bit because it was just too much of the same thing for me to really enjoy it as much as the first book. It was still good, but kind of boring because they go back into the arena and once was enough.

In this book Katniss is living a decent life with her mom and sister but the capitol is mad at her for outmaneuvering them in the first games that she won. So, they come up with a new twist for the quarter games. The new participants will be chosen from the past winners. Of course, Katniss and Peeta are the ones who go for District 12. It got a bit tedious.

I'll wait a bit before reading the last one in the trilogy. I've already downloaded it so I'm definitely going to read it.

Breathless and The Hunger Games

2011-01-13T10:34:00.002-05:00

This was not my favorite Koontz novel but I read it anyway. Honestly, I can't even remember the characters' names! I know there were these two unusual creatures that change the world. The ending was a real let-down, too! I just didn't get the whole thing. Very disappointing!

At Christmas, my thirteen-year-old friend, Tori, suggested I read this book. Then the following week, my junior-high-school-teacher friend, Dotty, said she'd just read it for the second time and was getting ready to teach it to her students. So, I had to download it.

And, I'm so glad I did! Wicked cool book! Yes, it's designed for young adults but the action never stops and the characters are so well drawn that I couldn't stop reading.

It's sometime in the future. America , as we know it, no longer exists. Instead, North America is divided into twelve districts each responisble for a product. The captitol is now in Colorado. Katniss Everdeen is a teenager living in District 12, the coal mining district, with her mom and younger sister Primrose. Their father was killed in a mining accident and Katniss teaches herself how to hunt illegally, with her friend Gale, to keep their families fed.

Once a year there is a lottery. All the names of kids between 12 and 18 are put into a hat and one girl and one boy are chosen to participate in the Hunger Games. What that involves is 24 teenagers put into a wilderness arena where they have to try to be the lone survivor. Yes, they have to kill each other. The victor gets riches for the rest of his or her life. The whole thing is televised to all the districts.

When twelve-year-old Prim's name is picked, Katniss volunteers to go instead and that is allowed. She and Peeta, the baker's son, embark on the most horrific journey of their lives.

This is the first of a trilogy and I can't wait to read the next two installments. I think I'll download them right now.

Cross Fire

2010-12-28T21:00:00.000-05:00

It didn't take me long to read this book. It has short chapters and moves right along, as most James Patterson novels do. I don't know why I like them since they are mostly formulaic but I keep buying them.

I love Alex Cross's family and am always anxious to read about how the kids and Nana Mama are doing. Add to that an interesting plot and cool characters and it's a book I like to gulp.

In this one Kylie Craig, Alex's former friend and co-worker, has escaped from prison and finds a way to be a part of Alex's life, again. Also, a couple of killers are targeting crooked political big wigs. And then there's the murder of homeless people who have equations written on their bodies. As usual, Alex is able to solve the mysteries and make DC safe again all while planning his wedding to Bree.

Kylie is visiting for the week so I won't have much time to read but that's okay; I'd much rather play with her.

Lipstick in Afghanistan

2010-12-26T08:24:00.000-05:00

When we go back to school after Christmas, my World Litrature students will be reading The Kite Runner. Since most of the book is set in Afghanistan, I'm always interested in reading books about that country. I saw this one in Walmart and when I got home, I downloaded it.

Elsa Murphy grew up in a poor section of Boston helping her mother take care of her drug-addict sister's special-needs child. She didn't have much but she did have lipstick that would make her feel pretty and empowered. One day at the library she reads a magazine article about the starving children in Rwanda and she vows that one day she'll find a way to help them or others in need.

Once she becomes a nurse and both her mom and niece are dead, she travels to Afghanistan to begin a year of working in a Bamiyan clinic. There she sees first hand what conditions are like under the Taliban. I found it horrifying but interesting that people really think that way and treat women so poorly.

I couldn't put this book down and will have plenty of extra info to share with my students next month.

Unbroken

2010-12-18T17:26:00.002-05:00

I can't believe how long it took me to read this book. It's not that I didn't like it because it was excellent but, for some reason, I just couldn't read it for long periods of time. Plus, we've been babysitting Kylie almost every weekend and it's really hard to read when she's around.

This is the true story of Louis Zamperini, Olympic hopeful, and POW in WWII. He went through horrors first by floating on a raft for months in the Pacific and then being captured by the Japanese and thrown into a prisoner-of-war camp where the conditions and treatment were the worst. It's a wonder he even survived at all. I found the book facinating. The info is interesting and at no point was it boring. I guess the terrible things he went through were just so bad that I could only read for a little bit before needing a break. My mind just didn't want to accept it.

The 9th Judgment & A Girl Named Mister

2010-11-21T18:21:00.004-05:00

I read two quick books this week.

I started with James Patterson's The 9th Judgment. This is the 9th book in the Women's Murder Club series. It's a page-turner albeit a bit on the formulaic side...okay, a lot on the formulaic side! But, still enjoyable. Lindsey Boxer, with the help of her friends, must solve two crimes. One is the theft of jewels and murder of a movie star's wife, and the other is the murder of mothers and children around San Francisco. I did like the original way one of the crimes was "solved" since I really liked the criminal.

This morning I downloaded A Girl Named Mister. And finished it a couple hours later! Mary Rudine, nicknamed MR, then called Mister, decides to wait for marriage before having sex. What she doesn't bargain for is Trey with his long eyelashes. Before she knows it, she has broken her vow. Then Trey breaks up with her. And she's pregnant.

Written in beautiful poetry, alternating with the story of the Virgin Mary, this story kept me turning the pages and even brought a tear to my eye. Yes, it is a little heavy on religion, for my taste, but the poetry saves it.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

2010-11-16T13:57:00.002-05:00

Carl, Cecil, Cindy, Chabot, Cane Creek, Charles, Colin, Clyde. I was so confused at first keeping all these C names straight! But, I did and I'm glad! It took me awhile to get into this book not only because of the names but because I had difficulty getting a feel for the characters. I felt like I had sunglasses on in the house. I could see but not well.

The writing is what kept me reading, though. Spare and beautiful. Every description creative and unique. The dialogue spot-on Southern.

And then I got into the story and couldn't stop reading. Larry Ott has been ostracized for 25 years because he was considered the main suspect in the disappearance of Cindy Walker. No body or evidence was ever found so he was never formally charged. However, in the eyes of his neighbors, he was guilty.

Silas Jones is a black police officer (the only officer, in fact) in the small Mississippi town where this story takes place. As a child, he was friends with Larry for a brief time. Now, another girl has disappeared and, of course, Larry is the first person everyone thinks of.

In poignant flashbacks Larry's and Silas's stories are revealed and the intertwining of their lives becomes obvious. I didn't much care for either of them at the beginning but, by the time the story ended, I was a fan.

And those C names? They all became clear.

The Confession

2010-11-07T12:49:00.000-05:00

I always look forward to a John Grisham novel. He has a way of writing that keeps me turning the pages. This one was a bit different, though. Yes, it has to do with the law like most of his others but this one is more like a documentary. I felt like I was watching a 48 Hours segment.

Travis Boyette is dying from a brain tumor. He just got out of prison and decides to take responsibility for a rape and murder he'd committed ten years earlier. He approaches Keith Schnieder, a minister, to help him.

In Texas Donte Drumm is on death row awaiting lethal injection in a few days for the crime that Travis committed. Will Travis get there in time to save Donte?

The novel looks at the death penalty from all the different angles from the governor, to the lawyers, to the families, to the convicted. It's very thought-provoking but the ending was a bit of a let down.

My granddaughter is visiting this weekend so I haven't been able to read much except her books and that's fine with me! Here's a picture of her drawing in my journal.

Play Dead

2010-10-29T12:26:00.001-04:00

I have a confession to make. Amazon now has games for the Kindle and I dowloaded a couple of them. BAD idea! Instead of reading, now I find myself sitting there playing games.

That's why it took me so long to read Play Dead by Harlan Coben. This is vintage Coben, a novel he wrote before he became famous. Even though it shows his immaturity as a writer, I still enjoyed it.

Ex-model Laura Ayars and Celtic's basketball player David Baskin are on their honeymoon in Australia when David drowns while out swimming. Laura is devastated but returns home to try to put her life back together.

The past, however, and David's death will not leave her alone. She discovers that David transferred a large sum of money to a Swiss bank just hours before his death. And why was her mother so against her marriage to David that they had to elope?

I saw the end coming but the journey to it was entertaining.

I finished this novel during Silent Reading in block two this morning. What did I do during block three? Yup, played a game!

The Postcard Killers

2010-10-19T20:42:00.000-04:00

It seemed to take me forever to get through this book. We were so busy closing up camp and dealing with my husband's parents' issues. But, now, things are settling down and I've got more time to read.

Jacob Kanon is a NYC police detective hunting for the killers of his daughter and her husband. He is tracking them all across Europe. Before each killing they send postcards to a newspaper reporter in the city of the killing-to-be. In Stockholm Dessie Larsson receives a postcard from the killers. She and Jacob join forces to find them.

This is a typical James Patterson novel with short chapters, unique antagonists, and likeable protagonists.

Room: A Novel

2010-10-03T09:39:00.001-04:00

I don't give up on a book very often, but this one just didn't hold my interest. I really thought it would because it has references to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. But, even that wasn't enough. The main character (I can't even remember her name!) is on a quest to find out what happened to her parents when they lived in Italy. The novel flips from the present to the 1300s when the original story of Romeo and Juliet is said to have begun.

I don't know...I guess I just didn't like the characters that much and the plot just lagged!

I didn't go to the end to see what happens (although, I have a pretty good idea) so I might go back to it sometime.

Then I downloaded this novel. And fell in love! Room is narrated by Jack, a five-year-old boy who has been raised in a locked room. Seven years earlier his mom had been abducted and kept by her rapist captor in a soundproofed room in his back yard.

That sounds pretty gruesome but Jack's naivete and wonder keep it from being depressing. His voice is unique. The story begins on Jack's fifth birthday. He remarks to his mother, "You were all sad till I happened in your tummy."

Jack's mother schedules each day into learning segments and Jack is way ahead of kids his age in reading and math. Room and Ma are Jack's whole world. He sleeps in Wardrobe so Old Nick won't see him when he visits his mom at night.

Then Old Nick loses his job and turns the electricity off. What Jack and his mom do makes for a nail-biting story.

School is still crazy. Our juniors have to take the state test this coming week and another teacher and I have been preparing a presentation on writing for them. So, I've been really busy during the week but am enjoying a nice, relaxing weekend here at camp. I pedaled my bike to the beach yesterday and sat in the sun for a couple hours. I needed that!

Happy Reading!

Expressive Photography

2010-09-25T15:09:00.001-04:00

I haven't actually finished this book yet but I love it. I'm taking my time and savoring it.

It's written by a group of women photographers who also contribute to the Shutter Sisters blog.

The pictures are exquisite and the suggestions for improving and being more creative are excellent.

Things have been crazy since school started two days after my mom's funeral. My father-in-law suffered a mild stroke during the summer and it messed up his short-term memory. His wife was unable to care for him so my husband flew to Florida and picked him up and he lived at camp with Gary (and me on the weekends) for almost 3 weeks before a room opened in an assisted-living facility.

On top of that, there are lots of things at school going on. I have to prepare a presentation on writing for our juniors by Monday Oct. 4th. Also, our school is due for its ten-year evaluation at the end of October and there is so much to do to get ready for that.

As if all that wasn't enough, I caught a horrible cold. Fun, you bet!

So, my reading has really taken a hit. I'm working on Juliet: A Novel but am having a hard time getting into it. I don't know if it's me or the book but I'll continue trudging through it.

Think Twice

2010-09-11T10:45:00.001-04:00

I had the hardest time reading this book but I also couldn't put it down. In the beginning the main character, Bennie Rosato, is buried alive by her twin sister. I'm claustrophobic and almost couldn't breathe when reading those sections. It gives me goose bumps just remembering it!

But I really enjoyed the book! Crazy, huh? Bennie's sister, Alice, has always been the bad seed. She's jealous of Bennie and impersonates her in an attempt to embezzle all her money. It made for an intriguing read.

Things have been different around the camp because my husband's father has been staying here. He had a slight stroke earlier in the summer and his short-term memory was affected. I'm at home during the week because I have to go to work. My husband has been staying at camp with him and I join them on the weekends. Have you seen 50 First Dates ? Remember ten-second Tom? Well, it's almost like that! He's easy-going and takes care of himself pretty much with a few reminders but it's the same conversation all day. I'm telling you, it's exhausting.

Other than that, though, this, my last school year, has been going really well, knock on wood! I'd like more reading time, but...there'll be plenty time for that next year when I'm retired.

Eat, Pray, Love

2010-09-06T08:05:00.001-04:00

It took me awhile to get through this book. Part of it was because I had my mom's funeral to organize (It was absolutely beautiful!) and part of it was because school started last week. We had two days of teacher workshops and preparation then the kids came in on Wednesday for three days. And it was so hot! It was in the mid 90s and humid. Our school doesn't have air conditioning so it was sweltering.

This book is divided into three parts. It covers one year in the life of the author. She spends four months in Italy seeking pleasure, four months in India at an ashram seeking god, and four months in Bali looking for balance. I enjoyed the Italian part the most but found the Bali section the most informative. It was a very interesting look at that Muslim island in Indonesia. The middle section was a bit boring since nothing ever happens but her witty and beautiful writing kept me turning the pages.

Now, I'm curious to see the movie even though it's getting likewarm reviews. I'll wait until I can rent it. Happy reading!

Breaking Dawn

2010-08-22T07:30:00.000-04:00

Well, I finally finished this saga. My niece, Michelle, will be happy about that. Now, she won't have to worry about letting any spoilers slip out.

Surprisingly, I loved three quarters of this book. At the beginning, I just couldn't put it down. Unfortunately, the ending was a big snooze and I couldn't wait to be done with it.

I can understand why teenagers like this series. It takes them into the unknown and mysterious and forbidden. But once they're there, the excitement seems to stall, at least it did for me. I guess I've finally grown up!

Fly Away Home

2010-08-15T08:22:00.002-04:00

The title of this book is kind of ironic because my mom died a few days ago and it gives me solace to think of her flying away home to my dad, who died 13 years ago. Six years ago my mom had cancer and since that time she has suffered from multiple health issues. Finally, she's at peace and pain free.

The book itself was good! It's told from three different points of view: a mom and her two daughters. Sylvie is the wife of a US senator. When she hears of his extra-marital affair, she must come to terms with her own life.

Her older daughter, Diana, is a doctor, married to a man she doesn't love. They have a little boy and she's having an affair with a medical student. The news of her father's affair forces her to examine her own.

Sylvie's younger daughter, Lizzie, has just been released from a drug rehabilitation facility...and not for the first time. When she hears of her father's infidelity, she realizes that she's not the only screw-up in the family and that helps her as she tries to live an unaddicted life.

Jennifer Weiner knows how to tell a story that grabs the reader right from the first page and never lets go.

As I read about these three women negotiating the avenues of their lives and finding their way to truthfulness, my mom was on her own journey. Fly away home, Mom!

I Am Nujood, Private, Sizzling Sixteen, Ballistics

2010-08-03T08:49:00.004-04:00

Holy Cow, I've been lax in updating this blog! Yes, I've been busy with traveling and other things but...really, I think I just got summer lazy.

I pretty much read this book in one day. It's told through Nujood's innocent eyes and that makes it even more horrible. The young Yemeni girl is married off by her father to a 30-year-old man who promises not to touch her until she reaches puberty. Of course, he was lying and poor Nujood has to suffer his rape every night with her mother-in-law listening to her screams.

She finally escapes to the court and a kind judge and a woman lawyer help her get a divorce. Really, so chilling to know this is going on in the world and it's perfectly legal!

I downloaded this novel for my plane ride and almost read the whole thing on my flight. Love that uninterrupted reading time!

Jack Morgan, an Afghanistan veteran, inherits a couple million dollars from his father and revives his private detective agency known as Private. He only takes high-profile cases for the rich and famous. The novel moves quickly through several of his cases and at the same time unravels the mystery behind Jack's nightmares of the war.

This was the perfect read to make a plane ride fly by!

The reason I went to Florida was to visit with my mom who is in an assisted-living facility. My sister, who lives nearby, had warned me about my mom's mental deterioration and she wasn't exaggerating. My mom is now in her own world but is not in pain and is kept clean and she seems happy. Sad for me to see, though. So, I needed something light-hearted to read next. Stephanie Plum and her crew to the rescue!

In this edition of the series Vinnie has been kidnapped because he owes over a million dollars to his bookie. Stephanie, Lula, and Connie must find him and find some money to keep the bail bonds office open so they'll have jobs.

As usual the characters cracked me up and gave me the chuckles I needed.

I bought this book over a year ago and read it once, then, but needed some poetry last week so I downloaded this collection and read the whole thing, again. I love Billy Collins! His writing is simple and ordinary and speaks to me. He has an eye for the everyday little moments that make up the big emotions of our lives.

Phew! Caught up, finally! My husband is in Florida, himself, this week visiting his dad so I've got some nice, quiet time to read. I sat in bed last night reading as long as I wanted with no one bugging me to turn the light off. Such a treat!

Rules of Deception

2010-07-23T07:15:00.001-04:00

Hallelujah! I finally finished this book. It was pretty good but contained just too much complicated political intrigue for my taste.

Jonathan Ransom is a doctor working for Doctors Without Borders. His wife Emma is the director of that program. On a hiking vacation in the Alps, she falls into a crevasse and dies. Shortly thereafter Jonathan receives a package addressed to his wife and he realizes she wasn't who she appeared to be.

His quest to unravel her past involves him in an international plot involving Israel, Iran, Switzerland, the U.S., and nuclear bombs.

I liked the parts with Jonathan but got bogged down in the technical parts.

This is the first book of a trilogy. Will I read the others? Doubtful, but you never know.

I'm of to Florida tomorrow to visit my mom who is in assisted living down there. The airplance ride will give me some uninterrupted reading time. I'm almost glad they don't serve meals anymore because that was so annoyingly disruptive to my concentration.

Eclipse and Ice Cold

2010-07-14T10:42:00.004-04:00

It's been crazy around here! First I had company for three days. My MIL, son, his girlfriend, my daughter and granddaughter, Kylie, all descended on us at the campground. We had a blast eating, swimming, boating, and enjoying each other's company. There was no time to read, that's for sure!

Everyone left after 3 days except for Kylie and she stayed another 6 days. She's a great kid and never fusses or misbehaves but Grammy is just getting too old! She wants to go, go, go all the time and I don't blame her! Wish I had more energy!

A few times I let her play games on the computer so I could sit next to her and read. That was nice, quiet time for us. I managed to finish Eclipse.

It was okay. I guess this is another area where I'm just too old. I got kind of bored with it. I've downloaded the fourth book in this series but need a break before I read it. I'll tell you, I really got bogged down in this one and didn't think I'd ever get through it. I'm glad I persevered but I'm definitely not gaga over it like my niece, Michelle. It's nice to be able to discuss it with her, though. And I'm certainly going to see the movie.

I've read all of Tess Gerritsen's novels and loved them all. This one was no exception. It was a pleasant break from all that teenage angst!

This one involves Maura Isles who goes to Wyoming for a forensic pathologist convention and meets up with a former classmate. Unhappy with her present relationship, she agrees to go on a skiing adventure with him and several other people. On their way they slip off the road during a raging snowstorm and end up fighting for their lives against the elements and a group of religious fanatics.

Maura's friend Jane Rizzoli and her FBI husband search for her and try to figure out what is going on in this isolated valley.

I definitely give this one a thumbs up!

I took Kylie home yesterday, my husband has gone fishing, and, now, it's time for me to relax and recuperate!

New Moon

2010-06-30T14:37:00.001-04:00

This was a nice, quick read. I read Twilight, the first novel in this series about a year and a half ago and wasn't sure I'd read the others. But, my thirteen-year-old niece, Michelle, loves the series and convinced me that I should download the others. So, I did.

Quite a few of my students didn't care too much for this second book and even Michelle said it was her least favorite so it took me a while to start it. But, you know what? I like it! I guess I'm more of a Jacob fan than an Edward groupie so this one appealed to me.

And, I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I enjoyed Bella's suffering! There is something wrong with me, I know.

Now, I'm 35% of the way through Eclipse and am bored with it. I'll keep plugging away through it, though, so Michelle and I can discuss it.

Here's where I read most of this book!

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

2010-06-27T07:39:00.006-04:00

Good morning, fellow readers. My husband just left to go fishing for the day so I have hours of uninterrupted reading ahead of me. It's starting to get busy around this seaside area so I've been biking to the beach in the morning and staying until it gets too crowded around noon. I'm not a normal beachgoer. I usually just wear my clothes and sit and write a letter and read. There is something about the waves that is like a magnet to me. I find it so peaceful and relaxing to be there.

I finished this book a couple days ago and enjoyed my couple of weeks with these characters. I know there won't be any more in the series because the author died before publication so my reading was bittersweet.

Of the three I think my favorite is the middle book because it focuses more on Lizbeth Salander than on Mikael Bloomqvist but I still really like all three. This last one has just a tiny bit more politics than I care for but the trial scene is excellent.

The only thing that might put people off about this series is the hard-to-pronounce Sweedish names. I think he mentions every street in Stockholm! And many of the characters have similar names and that gets a little confusing. For example, there is a Holm and a Malm and lots of Bs: Berger, Blomqvist, Bjork, Bjurman, etc. Then there is Neimenen and Neiderman.

But those quibbles are minor. Overall, a great series with believable characters and a sophisticated plot.

Now, time for me to get dressed and head to the beach!

Red Sox Game

2010-06-21T08:48:00.000-04:00

This is part of the reason why I'm still reading the same book! Our son treated us to a game at Fenway for our 39th anniversary. We took Amtrak out of Saco into Boston. It was my husband's first time on a train. And it was his first live major league baseball game, too. We had great seats and loads of junk food and fun.

I actually took my Kindle with me and mananged to read a bit on the train but that was it.

This week I plan on making it to the beach a couple times and I always read there so, hopefully, will finish The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. I'm over half way, now.

Have a great reading week!

Plugging Away

2010-06-13T08:53:00.002-04:00

Another rainy Sunday here in New England. We're at camp but will be heading home this afternoon for three more days of school before summer vacation begins. Can't wait!

I'm still reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest and enjoying it. It's a long book and I'm only 29% of the way through. Seems like it's taking me forever.

I'm liking it, though. Lisbeth Salander is in the hospital recovering from bullet wounds and Michael Blomqvist is doing everything he can to keep her out of jail and prove her innocence.

This is the third novel in the trilogy and I'm glad it's taking so long to read because I'll miss these characters when I'm done. So, I'll continue poking along savoring every minute.

I won't have much time for pleasure reading today, though, because I have to read and correct 30 journal writing projects. Each one contains 12 poems written by my kids. So, I guess I'd better get my you-know-what in gear and begin.

Happy reading!

The Horse Boy

2010-06-06T16:21:00.004-04:00

My friend Regina recommended this book and I'm so glad she did. It was amazing what this dad was determined to do to heal his son. Rowan suffers from severe autism. The only times he seemed to come out of it were when he was near horses and one time when he met with a shaman. With this in mind, his father decides to take him to Mongolia where they will ride horses deep into Siberia to meet with shamens.

Their tale is filled with humor, trials, mytical events, and lots of poop. It had me cheering.

Bronx Masquerade & Eat Right for your Type

2010-05-27T14:16:00.001-04:00

This book was recommended as a book that our whole school could read next year. So, I figured I'd better check it out. And I'm so glad I did. This book tells the story of an English class that is studying the Harlem Renaissance and they decide to write their own poems and present them to the rest of the class on Open Mike Fridays.

I like the way the book is arranged. Each student speaks in prose, first, and that is followed by a poem reflecting his or her emotions. The poems are approachable but still contain lots of nice poetic devices.

And the stoies these kids have to tell are heartbreaking and joyous at the same time. I'm not sure it would work in our school setting just because many of our teachers and kids are not fans of poetry and might not buy into this idea. As far as I'm concerned, though, it's right up my alley.

I've seen Eat Right 4 Your Type around for years and even glanced through it a couple times but just recently heard good things about it from several different sources so decided to download it.

The author describes the four different blood types in a very easy-to-understand way and even I understood it, science being not my best subject! I actually found it fascinating. I've been plagued with excess phlegm in my throat and heard that dairy might be causing it so several months ago I cut out milk but continued with other dairy products like cheese and sour cream. My phlegm issues did get a bit better so I am convinced that diet can solve it.

I have type O blood and sure enough, dairy is not recommended nor is wheat. Now, I wasn't very happy reading that since I love homemade whole wheat bread. Can I live wheat-free?

The author explains how all men and women were type O originally. They were hunter/gatherers so their digestive system was designed to efficiently process meats and vegetables and fruits. O's have very acidic stomachs for this purpose. There was no bread.

Over time, as men moved and started living in communities, they began farming and wheat was one of the products. Eventually, a new blood type started to show up in these people and that was type A. Over thousands of years and the industrial revolution, etc. two more blood types emerged: B and AB.

Each blood type has its own unique digestive system and it's important to eat foods that agree with it. Since I'm part of the Cro Magnon clan, I've got to eat like a wild hunter/gatherer. Maybe! I'm going to try for a couple weeks to see if I can see a difference. One thing I've noticed so far, and I've only been doing this for a few days, is that I don't feel bloated and my scale says I've lost a couple pounds. Anyway, we'll see.

Going Bovine

2010-05-23T07:57:00.004-04:00

It's very foggy here along the southern Maine coast this morning. I managed to ride my bike to the beach yesterday for about an hour and a half. There was quite a cool breeze, though, coming off the water. It was beautiful, anyway. When I got back to the campground, my friend, Regina, came for a visit and brought me two books of poetry by Annie Finch. Later our son and his girlfriend arrived and we enjoyed a pleasant evening by the fire.

This book is a riot! It centers around a sixteen-year-old weed-smoking underachiever. Cameron is just floating through his days like a helium balloon doing poorly in school, acting like an outcast, and generally being miserable. Then he begins to experience tingling in his arms and legs and ends up at the doctor's being diagnosed with Mad Cow Disease. He has only a short time to live and embarks on a journey with his reluctant friend, Gonzo.

Now you are probably wondering how a book with such a serious topic could be funny but it really is. They get themselves into such ridiclous situations and seeing everything through Cameron's jaded eyes puts a unique spin on the world.

And I like the message: sometimes it takes dying to learn how to live.

Well, the fog is starting to lift a bit and the company will be stirring soon so I guess I'd better read for a bit now. Have a productive week!

Robin and Ruby

2010-05-16T08:35:00.003-04:00

We're at camp and the sun is shining through the oak and pine trees. I rode my bike to the beach yesterday afternoon and read for an hour or so and it was wonderfully peaceful. I hope to do the same today.

This was a free download from Amazon and I was a bit apprehensive about what kind of book it'd be but it turned out okay. Different, though! Robin and Ruby are siblings. Robin is gay and Ruby is defiant. It follows them during a weekend at the Jersey shore. Ruby has disappeared and Robin and his friend George are trying to find her.

This book contains quite explicit sex scenes. In fact I was reading it at school during Silent Reading and was embarrassed even though the kids didn't know what I was reading.

The plot was a little slow but the writing was surprisingly good with lots of nice similes and metaphors, etc.

We're going to have breakfast outside on the picnic table in the sun. Have a good week!

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

2010-05-09T08:12:00.001-04:00

Happy Mother's Day!

It's 36 degrees (F) here on this cloudy morning. A good day to stay in my PJs and read!

This book was something else! It's told through the eyes of a naive 9-year-old boy who is the son of a Nazi concentration camp commandant. Bruno has no idea who the people are behind the barbed wire but he's lonely and likes to explore so, one day, while he's out walking, he meets a Jewish boy. They talk to each other with the barbed wire fence between them almost every day and a friendship is formed.

Bruno's innocence makes the story that much more horrible. He calls Hitler The Fury and the concentration camp he's at Out With. It took me a page or two to figure that one out and then I was like, Oh, Oh!

I could feel the terror and horror building page by page, one simple step at a time.

I needed something totally different after that and found it in Robin and Ruby. This was a free download for my Kindle. I'm never quite sure what kind of a book I'm going to get. The last free one turned out to be very religious but this one is the opposite!

We're meeting my MIL, daughter and granddaughter later this afternoon for supper and I can't wait to see my Kylie girl!

The Girl Who Played with Fire

2010-05-02T13:29:00.002-04:00

Well, here it is the first of May already and we're back at camp in Maine for the weekend. It's a lot of work to open up but worth it. I rode my bike to the beach yeaterday and read for about an hour. It was chilly, though! I'm glad I had a jacket with me.

This is the second book in a trilogy. The third one will be available at the end of the month. I've already pre-ordered it for my Kindle. Sadly, there won't be any more "Girl" novels because the author, Stieg Larsson, died.

This one follows Lisbeth Salander as she hunts for the elusive Zala. She's accused of murdering three people and the whole of Sweden is looking for her. How she manages to elude the police and find Zala makes for non-stop action.

I'm really enjoying these books. The only problem I have is trying to figure out how to pronounce all the names! For example, one of the other main characters is Mikael Blomkvist. In my mind I pronounced it Michael Bloomquist. I don't know if that's right or not but I had to do this with most of the characters and places and sometimes found that distracting. Other than that, though, they are great and I'm looking forward to the last one, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.

I've got to head back home later this afternoon but I think I'll take a ride to the beach, first, for a little reading.

A Promise to Remember & Scenic Sunday

2010-04-25T08:24:00.005-04:00

Another vacation comes to an end. It was a mostly lazy one and I loved it. No spring cleaning got done, no porch painting, no baking. But I did manage to keep up with NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month). I have to write 30 poems in 30 days. And I'm enjoying the online photography workshop I'm participating in called Picture Spring. Reading? Some but not as much as I'd hoped.

We visited our son about 3 hours south of us for two nights and that was a nice getaway. Here's the gorgeous view I had while sitting on his deck reading:

You can see more scenic photos at Scenic Sunday.

I have to confess that I skimmed through the second half of this book. It was just too....gag-me sweet! It sounded good. Two mothers struggle to accept the deaths of their teenage sons who are killed in a head-on collision when one boy drinks and drives. The struggling, single mom of the innocent boy sues the rich parents of the responsible boy. Sounds like good fireworks, right?

Nope! Everyone gets all mushy and finds religion and, oh...I'm so glad to be done with it!

Thankfully, it was a freebie for my Kindle from Amazon.

I've moved on to The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson and it's so much better!

Back to school tomorrow for seven and a half weeks until summer! Can't wait to sit on the beach and read!

House Rules

2010-04-18T09:43:00.003-04:00

I got back from Florida on Thursday evening and woke up to snow on Friday morning. And it's been snow showering ever since. That's New England weather for you!

I started this book before my Kindle mishap and didn't finish it until I got back from my trip. It's not that I didn't enjoy it; it's just that I didn't have much time to read except on the airplane. Plus, it's a long book.

Jacob Hunt has Asperger's Syndrome and is accused of murder. The story is told through his eyes and the eyes of several characters: his mom, Emma; his brother, Theo; his lawyer, Oliver; and a detective, Rich. They are all interesting and keep the novel moving forward.

I loved all the info about Asperger's and the fact that we experience it, somewhat, through Jacob.

What I missed in this Jodi Picoult book is her exquisite style. There are very few unusual metaphors or unique similes. It reads almost like a James Patterson novel. It feels like she just wanted to tell the damn story and get her paycheck.

That said, however, I did enjoy it although I felt a bit let down by the ending. It just seemed abrupt and anticlimactic.

And that picture on the cover? Jacob is 18! Sure, it talks about him as he is growing up but the major focus of the book is the present. I found that kind of misleading.

Okay, I'll stop complaining now and move on to my next book! Will I read another Picoult novel? Absolutely! If this one had been written by anyone else, I'd have loved it and not had any problem with it. It's just that I know she can do so much better.

I'm on school vacation this week so, hopefully, will get lots of reading in. Enjoy your week!

Technical Difficulties

2010-04-11T08:45:00.001-04:00

Another cloudy Sunday. Cool, too. But the lilac leaves are about an inch long and the crocuses have popped open. The daffodils and irises are about 6 inches tall. Spring is happening even though it snowed yesterday morning.

Tragedy struck Wednesday afternoon as I was getting ready to leave school. I was rearranging my podium and it tipped over a bit and my Kindle flew onto the floor with a loud slap. I'd bought a cover for it and the cover was on and is slightly padded so I hoped it would be okay.

It wasn't. I turned it on and half the screen was fine but the other half had verticle lines all over it.

When I got home, I called Amazon and explained what happened. I knew the 1-year warranty didn't cover accidents so had my credit card ready to buy a new one. (That's how addicted I am to it!) But I just wanted to double check with the support person to see if something like this had been reported before and if there was anything I could do. He had me hold the on/off switch for 15 seconds to reset it but that didn't do anything.

"It's dead" he said. "We'll send you a new one."

"Really?"

"Yes, that shouldn't have happened with the cover on it."

Since I knew I'd be traveling to Florida on Sunday, I asked if I could pay extra to get it shipped overnight. "No," he said. "That's the way we'll ship it anyway."

And there it was Thursday afternoon! I went to my archived items and was able to download all my books.

Can you tell how much I love Amazon right now?

Anyway, I'm still reading House Rules. It's really good so far about a young man with Asperger's. I'm only 14% of the way through and am looking forward to some uninterrupted reading on my flight this afternoon!

Have a good week!

Caught and Underlife

2010-04-04T13:09:00.001-04:00

A beautiful, warm Easter Sunday for a change. Yesterday it got up to 80 degrees. Amazing for early April in northern NH. I spent some time sitting in the sun reading and trying to get a little color on my white legs.

Harlan Coben never disappoints. I sped through this one because it's that kind of book. Wendy is a TV journalist who exposes a pedophile on the air. She quickly realizes that he was set up and she is determined to make things right.

What is so cool about this book is that a couple characters from earlier Coben novels pop up in this one including Win from the Myron Bolitar series.

This is a book of poetry written by a woman I've "met" on different online poetry sites. When I saw that she has a book published, I just had to buy it. And I'm really enjoying the poems. She talks about her childhood and the things that were going on underneath the outer layer of her life.

I haven't finished it yet because I like to read a few then let them digest for awhile. It's nice having it nearby to pick up whenver I want.

The Last Song and Money to Burn

2010-03-28T09:55:00.002-04:00

Woke up to cold sunshine but, now, it's cloudy. We've got a few days of cool, rainy weather ahead of us. But, that's okay; it'll give me a chance to sit in my La Z Boy and read instead of being outdoors washing windows or raking winter from the lawn.

I finished this book last Sunday night. It was a real tearjerker and I didn't want to have to read it in school for Silent Reading. Too embarrassing!

I have a love/hate relationship with Nicholas Sparks. I've liked some of his books but, for the most part, find them too smaltzy. Many of my teenage students have been reading this book and saying how much they love it so I figured I'd give it a chance.

And it actually wasn't too bad. I got into the characters and the plot was nonstop. Ronnie and her brother must spend the summer with their father and Ronnie is furious about this. She hasn't spoken to her dad for three years ever since he and her mom got divorced. So, the prospect of spending a couple months with him has her really upset. How she deals with him, the friends she makes, and the situations that arise make for a decent read.

This fast-paced novel was just what I needed after The Last Song. It's about a Wall Street investment specialist who checks his balance one night and sees that someone has stolen his identity and all his money. He spends the rest of the book figuring out who did it while trying to avoid the police who are looking for him for murder.

I like how the book explains everything so anyone can understand the financial shenanigans. Makes me wonder if anyone can be trusted.

So, it was a good reading week. I'm almost halfway through Caught by Harlan Coben and it's a winner.

Well, my husband is bugging me to get dressed so I can go down in the cellar to help him with the motorcycle he's building. Can't wait!

Have a great week!

The Eighth Confession

2010-03-21T08:41:00.002-04:00

We just had a week of spring-like weather so I was able to sit on the porch after school in the sun and read. Love doing that!

This is the latest installment of the Women's Murder Club. Lindsey is after the killer of rich and priviledged people. Yuki is trying to prosecute a woman who killed her father and almost killed her mother. Cindy is tracking the person who murdered Bagman Jesus, a homeless person. And Claire is doing her job of examining the bodies of the dead.

The mixture of their working lives with their personal lives makes for page-turning reading.

Now that spring has officially arrived here in New Hampshire, winter is going to return with cool temps and possibly snow. Wonderful!

Happy Reading, all!

Uglies

2010-03-13T07:46:00.000-05:00

Good morning a day early. Kylie is coming to visit overnight so I thought I'd update this blog before I'm too busy.

One of my students recommended this series to me. She said she liked it much better than the Twilight one so I downloaded Uglies. I had a preconceived notion that it would be about cliquey girls bullying less pretty ones and the message would be that true beauty is on the inside not the outside.

Well, the message was right but the premise was wrong. This YA novel is set in the future where all adolescents are considered ugly. They must live together in Uglytown until they turn 16, at which point they are given an operation to make them Pretty. They then move to New Pretty Town and finish their teenage years partying and doing whatever they please.

Tally Youngblood is only months away from her sixteenth birthday when she meets Shay who is the same age as her. Shay tells her about David and a secret settlement where Uglies, who do not want to become pretty, can escape to. Even though Tally is anxoius to become pretty, she is forced to betray her friend and lead the powers-that-be to David and the others.

Lots of adventure and fast action keep this book moving and not boring. While sci-fi is not my genre of choice, I still enjoyed this book and will read the next installment one of these days.

Have a good weekend. Time for me to get dressed and go to pick Kylie up. Can't wait to see her!

The Miracle at Speedy Motors and Alex Cross's Trial

2010-03-07T08:43:00.002-05:00

It's weird; I get more reading done during school weeks than during vacations. I finished one and read a whole other one and started one more.

I so enjoyed my visit to Botswana! Mma Ramotswe and the rest of the crew never get stale. There is such dignity and sweetness in this series that shows it's the little moments that should be honored in life: red bush tea, pumpkin, tiny white vans that keep on running, good employees, cases that turn out wrong but ironically right, and the hope for miracles.

I thought this would be a novel about a trial that Alex Cross is part of but it turns out to be a book written by Alex Cross about a trial his ancestors were involved with back at the beginning of the 1900s. So, it turned me off mometarily...but just for a moment.

Ben Corbett is a white lawyer from Mississippi now living and working in Washington D.C. He's commissioned by President Teddy Roosevelt to investigate the lynchings that have been occuring back in his hometown of Eudora, MS.

On the surface, it's a sleepy, pretty southern town but the more Ben searches, the more the rotten underbelly of the town is exposed. He befriends Abraham Cross, Alex Cross's great uncle, and his family, and takes a stand with them against the sickness spread by the KKK.

So, even though I had to go back to school this week, I still got to enjoy two good books.

2010-02-28T12:12:00.000-05:00

I just had the nicest week off. My husband worked each day so I had lots of time to myself. I decided to clean one room each day then do my own things: read, craft, walk, photography. Although, I should put "read" at the bottom of the list since I didn't do very much.

As always, I'm enjoying this newest edition of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. There is just something so soothing about these books. They're simple but deep and the characters...ah! the characters are wonderful!

Back to school tomorrow. I begin each block with about 20 minutes of silent reading. I can't tell you how many kids have admitted that, because they were forced to read, they finally completed a book on their own. And their teacher gets to read, too! It's a win-win for everyone!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2010-02-21T07:41:00.000-05:00

Ah! School vaction! I so need this! After two weekends in a row with Kylie, I'm enjoying a quiet and lazy time. I read all yesterday afternoon and finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, finally!

I really enjoyed this book. It's almost like it was two books in one. There was the outer story of how business reporter Mikael Blomkvist is convicted of libel and then there is the inner story of how he solves the mystery of a 30-year-old dissappearance/murder.

What really mkaes this novel stand out, though, are the characters. Blomkvist is flawed but ethical. I like that he's not perfect. Then there is the girl with the dragon tatto, Lisbeth Salander. She's a genius when it comes to computer hacking and Blomkvist hires her to help him solve the mystery. She's tough and brusque and will do anything to protect herself; she's had to do just that since she was a teenager.

Now, I'll have to begin a new book but it will take me a day or two. I spent such a long time with these two poeple that they feel like friends and it will take me a while to let them go.

Reading Update

2010-02-17T15:25:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I'm still reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I'm enjoying it but just can't seem to find time to read. I'm only about a third of the way through.

We went to Portland last weekend with Kylie so no reading got done, that's for sure. Lots of fun, though.

And this week there's the Olympics!

Oh, well, I'll keep plugging away.

Swimsuit

2010-02-07T08:35:00.003-05:00

I'm having a Kylie weekend so not much reading is getting done. All she wants to do is play school and I love it!

I finished this book on Friday and liked the little twist on his normal format. This one is narrated by a newspaper reporter who is "commissioned" by the killer to tell his story.

It kept me interested until the very end when it seemed a bit rushed and anti-climactic. Other than that, though, it was a pretty good quick read. (Even though it took me a week! But that was my fault, not the book's. We started a new semester at school and I've been busy with that and extra tired at night.)

I hear the pitter patter of little feet so it's back to playing school again!

A Reliable Wife

2010-01-31T17:24:00.000-05:00

I finished this novel this afternoon. It was a weird one but I liked it. It starts out innocently enough. In the early 1900s Ralph Truitt wants a wife so he places an ad in a newspaper. Catherine Land answers that ad and agrees to move to Wisconsin be his wife.

What isn't obvious, at first, is the secret agenda they both have. And that's what makes this book fascinating. That and its sensuality. Phew! I needed a cold shower after some of the scenes.

The writing is spare but beautiful. Simple but rich. Stark but warm.

I, Alex Cross, The Pioneer Woman Cooks

2010-01-24T08:13:00.003-05:00

From the deep freeze to rain! That's what is heading our way. I saw a ribbon of pink like a baby's blanket on the shoulders of the mountains this morning before the clouds covered everything.

I finished this book last night and enjoyed it as I have the other Alex Cross novels. Yes, they are predictable and formulaic but I just love his family. They make Alex so human and give the book a heart.

In this one, Alex's niece is killed and he's determined to find her killer. Unfortunately, some powerful players in Washington, DC, don't want him to. Of course, that doesn't stop Alex.

The short chapters and crisp writing make this a winner.

I finished this book last Monday and even made a couple of the recipes on my day off: Meatloaf and Creamy Rosemary Potatoes. Both were yummy!

I plan on trying more this week.

And rereading parts of the book since I gulped it the first time.

This cookbook is like a delicious meal!

I'm also still reading the poems in It's Not You, It's Me: Poems of Breakup. I like to do one or two a day so they have time to percolate in my brain a bit.

And I'm up to chapter 5 of Nikon D60 for Dummies and am learning so much!

Happy Sunday!

Lips Touch

2010-01-21T15:50:00.001-05:00

As a participant in Sunday Scribblings, I was curious about this book written by one of the moderators. Now, normally, I don't read fantasy novels very often. Heck, I haven't even read Harry Potter! But, I figured I'd give this one a try since I enjoy reading her writing on her blog.

And I was not disappointed in the writing. Laini Taylor has a sassy style that is refreshing and quirky. Her descriptions are gorgeous and easily accessible for a young adult for which this is written.

It contains three stories of first kisses. I really got into the first two but the last one was just a little too out there for my tastes. I did read all of it, and, even though it wasn't my cup of tea, I still appreciated the wonderful writing.

So, if you enjoy this genre, pick this up; you'll love it.

And if you'd like to see the cutest baby, check out The Journals of Laini Taylor to see a video of her little girl, Clementine.

Three New Books

2010-01-18T08:05:00.004-05:00

We took off Saturday morning for Portland, Maine and stayed overnight. Great time! Except I ate way too much!

When we got down there, my husband dropped me off at Ocean Park Beach just south of Old Orchard Beach while he went to a motorcycle shop. This is the beach I bike to during the summer but rarely get to see in the winter. I loved it! Very few people were around and it was quiet and peaceful. Luckily, the weather was beautiful: sunny and mid thirties.

After a half hour walk, I settled on a bench and turned my Kindle on. I can't get a signal where we live in NH, but here, it was working fine so I downloaded I, Alex Cross.

Next up was a visit to Border's Books in South Portland. I browsed for books I'd like to download and bought three I'd rather have as real books:

I've had a D60 for almost a year now and still need help figuring it out. I've read the first 28 pages and already found three things I didn't know.

It's written in language anyone can understand, even me!

Well worth the money. And, because I have a Classroom Discount for teachers I got 25% off all the books I bought!

I have a wonderful collection of over 300 poetry books so I couldn't resist buying another one to add to it.

These poems are all written by poets still living and are easy to understand on a first reading. Well, I've only read a few so far but I looked through and read snatches here and there and they all seem approachable.

I stumbled across The Pioneer Woman's blog last fall and really enjoyed reading it. At the time she had just finished publishing her cookbook and was getting ready to go on tour to promote it.

I was thrilled that the bookstore had it in stock.

It's a different kind of cookbook. Each page is full color and each recipe is illustrated. And it's funny! She tells the story of being a city girl and meeting a cowboy and falling in love and moving to the country and having four kids. She doesn't take herself too seriously and makes comments all the way through the recipes.

For example, in her recipe for Creamy Mashed Potatoes step 7 reads: Add the butter. Feel really guilty. And step 8 reads: Add the cream cheese. Feel even more guilty. Then step 9 says: Next, add the half-and-half and stir together. And let go of your guilt. Food is to be enjoyed! (At least that's what I tell myself.) See what I mean?

I've read almost the whole thing already!

So, all in all, a very nice getaway. And I've got today off so more reading will get done!

The Book Thief

2010-01-15T16:13:00.001-05:00

I picked this up quite a few times at the bookstore and read the first few pages but just couldn't get into it. Then I read really wonderful reviews of it so figured I'd try one more time. I'm so glad I did!

What turned me off at first was the fact that Death is narrating the book and the beginning is a bit weird. But, once I got past that, it was so, so good.

Death tells the story of Liesel a young girl growing up in WWII Germany. She lives with foster parents and they hide a Jewish man whom Liesel befriends.

She's called The Book Thief because at her brother's funeral, she steals a book even though she can't even read. When she gets to her foster home, her Papa teaches her how. After that she steals books because she loves them.

The writing was absolutely superb. Descriptions are simple but, somehow, they just glow. I did not want this book to end.

Ishmael

2010-01-08T16:30:00.005-05:00

My friend's daughter lent me this book (Thanks, Leah!). It's one I've looked at plenty of times but never bought. I'm really glad I read it. Normally, I just read light books for entertainment and was afraid this one would be boring with all the philosophical stuff but, it was surprisingly easy to read and interesting.

The narrator answers an ad that says, "TEACHER seeks pupil. Must have an earnest desire to change the world. Apply in person." When he gets there he sees that his teacher is a gorilla that can communicate by thought.

Through a series of questions, the "teacher" gets the narrator to look at what man has accomplished and how his place in the world is destroying it.

The book has short chapters, fairly large font, and an easy-to-understand format so that anyone can understand the important message.

The Lost Symbol

2010-01-06T19:10:00.002-05:00

This is the first book I read on my Kindle. At first I wasn't sure how I would like it but after a couple of chapters I got right into it and forgot that I wasn't reading a real book.

I enjoyed the book pretty well. There was a lot of technical stuff explaining the historical background, but, it was interesting enough. I guess there was just something missing in this novel. I'm not sure what, exactly, but I think it lacked emotional impact.

Robert Langdon is back but he is just the conduit. He doesn't really have much character. I almost didn't even like him. He seemed dumb at times. But the plot kept the story going and I read it fairly fast.

I ended up liking the Kindle more than the novel! One night it was getting late and my eyes were dry but I really wanted to continue reading so I just enlarged the font and was able to go on. Just what I need!

Julie and Julia

2010-01-01T07:58:00.005-05:00

The last couple of weeks have been so crazy busy! Not much reading got done but Christmas was great albeit tiring! First, we flew to Florida on the 24th to see our moms. It was a quick trip but worthwhile. We flew back to NH on the 27th. Then I had to get ready for our own celebration on the 30th. Our son and his grilfriend left yesterday, the tree came down, and I finally got a chance to relax.

The one good thing about flying is that I got to read. Julie and Julia was the perfect book for this. We encountered delays both coming and going but that was no problem for me! I love the concept of blogging (of course!) and cooking and Julie Powell made the story funny and interesting. I read half on the way down and the other half on the way back. When we got home, I rented the movie and was really disappointed with it. Meryl Streep was fantastic but it was just so boring. It somehow lost the quirkiness and humanness of the book.

My kids chipped in and got me a Kindle! I've downloaded The Lost Symbol and am enjoying both the book and the Kindle so far. I miss being able to rifle the pages and breathe in the wonderful smell of the book but I can see that this reader will have its uses. It would have saved me from packing 3 books in our carry-ons for our trip, for one thing, and it'll be perfect for slipping into my saddlebag when I bike to the beach all summer.

Happy New Year, eveyone! 2010 will find us with a new grandchild. My daughter is pregnant and due sometime in July. She goes to the doctor's next week to get her actual due date. Can't wait to hold the new little one in my arms!

13 1/2

2009-12-20T07:13:00.003-05:00

Cloudy, here, this morning but, at least, we will not be getting the horrendous snowstorm that battered the East coast. I'm thinking this is going to be a good reading day.

This was a pretty good book. I like her tight writing and will probably pick up more of her novels.

Eleven-year-old Dylan butchered his parents and little sister but only injured his older brother, Rich. He's spent the next 7 years in juvie but at eighteen was released into the custody of his brother. They left Minnesota and relocated in New Orleans.

Polly grew up under the worst conditions. Her mother was a drug addict and was unable and unwilling to help Polly avoid the advances of the various men who drifted in and out of her life. Finally, Polly escaped and made her way to New Orleans.

And, of course, they all meet in the present. What happens next makes for an interesting story. There is even a twist at the end that is very satisfying.

Happy reading everyone!

Homeschooling

2009-12-13T07:12:00.003-05:00

I'm sitting here watching the fog lift, hoping for a beautiful sunrise. It's 10 degrees on our back porch and we have about a foot of snow.

I'm never going to homeschool. I've got one more year of teaching high school after this year before I retire. So, why, then, am I so fascinated with homeschooling that I'd read a whole book about it?

I picked this up at the library figuring I'd just skim through it but ended up enjoying it so much that I read every single page.

When the Millman's oldest daughter was in second grade at a Catholic school, her teacher marked an answer wrong that was really right. When her parents questioned the principal about it, he agreed that it was right, but she got it wrong because it was a fourth-grade answer and it wouldn't be fair to the other kids whose parents didn't spend time helping them learn. It was then that they decided to begin homeschooling their children.

They didn't know anyone else who homeschooled so just went into it blind and learned as they went along. They ended up homeschooling all six of their children. The oldest three are now in excellent colleges and the 3 youngest are still at home.

They took a kind of middle-of-the road approach to homeschooling. They weren't extreme. Sometimes they used TV but not to excess. Sometimes they used textbooks and worksheets but not too religiously. Sometimes they had a schedule but, more often than not, they just let the day unfold and produced lessons from that. Every trip was a learning experience.

In other words, it was a wonderfully well-rounded education.

There are times when I wish I could rewind the clock and go back to when my kids were young and do it all over again. I know, I'd seriously consider homeschooling.

Best Friends Forever and this world we live in

2009-12-06T06:52:00.005-05:00

Woke up to a couple inches of snow all over everything. Pretty!

I spent the week reading this book. It was pretty good. I like Jennifer Weiner's writing. She's funny and doesn't take herself too seriously. But the underlying message is clear and easy to swallow.

Addie and Val were friends most of the way through school until an unfortunate incident in senior year tore them apart. Flash forward fifteen years. Val is now a successful weather person on TV and Addie stays at home designing greeting cards. Suddenly, Val needs Addie's help and how they rekindle their friendship while avoiding the law makes for a fun read.

I finished Best Friends Forever on Friday and was thrilled to see the ARC for this world we live in in my mailbox on Saturday. Thank you Susan for sending me one! And I finished it last night before going to bed. I had to. It was stuck to my hands. I couldn't get it off. Even my husband trying to make conversation with me couldn't penetrate.

This is the third "Moon" book by Susan Beth Pfeffer. I read the first two and just couldn't wait for this one and it didn't disappoint.

The moon is still closer to the earth causing widespread weather malfunctions and natural disasters. Miranda and her family survived the winter and are shocked when older brother Matt marries the first girl he runs into but also pleased when Dad, his new wife Lisa, and their newborn, Gabriel, arrive with three strangers, Charlie, a friend who helped them and two teenagers, Alex and Julie Morales from the dead and the gone.

How they survive and develop new relationships in such dire conditions is a testament to our human natures.

And the ending? WOW! is all I'll say. This one's going to stick with me for a long time.

But, now, I'm sad. I wish I hadn't gulped the book. I wish it was 700 pages long. I wish Susan Beth Pfeffer would get to work on a fourth one!

Run for Your Life

2009-11-29T08:42:00.004-05:00

Finally, some blue sky after several days of clouds, fog, rain, and snow. In spite of the weather, Thanksgiving was so much fun with both my kids and their families home. It's taken me a couple days to recover, though. I hate getting old!

I finished this book earlier in the week. It was another page-turner by James Patterson. I was lucky enough to win this from Dar and now, I'll put it in my classroom library for my students since they love his books with their large font and short chapters.

This one features detective Mike Bennett, a widower with ten kids, and a serial killer on the loose. It's a typical Patterson plotline but the addition of all those kids and Mike's personality make it enjoyable.

I started Best Friends Forever and so far, so good.

Have a good reading week!

Malice and Olive Kitteridge

2009-11-22T07:32:00.007-05:00

The sun just peeked over the mountain and I'm sitting here in my navy blue pajamas with stars and moons on them. Every window is bright with sunshine.

I just couldn't get into this book. It's not that it was bad; I guess I wasn't in the mood for this type of novel. This guy, who is a cop but is on disability leave, keeps seeing his ex-wife who died twelve years ago. So he starts investigating. And that's as far as I got.

Instead, I started this book and was mesmerized by Olive.

Basically, it's a series of 13 stories that revolve around Olive Kitteridge. Some of the stories involve her directly while others just touch on her peripherally. In fact, in one of the stories, she's only mentioned once.

These tales take place in Crosby, Maine, where Olive is a junior high math teacher, is married to Henry, the local pharmacist, and is the mother to Christopher.

She's brash, and insulting, and caring, and so human! I loved her and hated her and in the end, wished she was my friend.

Thanks to Dar I won a copy of Run for Your Life by James Patterson and Micahel Ledwidge and started it last night. Looks like this is one I'm going to enjoy.

Happy reading, everyone!

Against Medical Advice

2009-11-15T13:30:00.003-05:00

Here it is another Sunday. It's amazing how quickly they come around. I didn't do an awful lot of reading this week. For some reason, nothing looked good.

I finished this at the beginning of the week. It was pretty good. It's about a young boy with Tourette's syndrome and it's told through his eyes so we get an in-depth look at what was happening to his brain and body. It's the true story of Hal Friedman's son Cory.

That's it! I've started Malice by Lisa Jackson and am about 60 pages into it. So far it's okay but a bit formulaic. I guess I'm just sick of the same old, same old. My friend loaned me Olive Kitteridge so I think I'm going to try that one, instead.

Living Dead in Dallas and Push

2009-11-08T07:26:00.006-05:00

Good Morning. It's in the mid 20s and mostly cloudy but the weatherman said it's supposed to get up to almost 60 today. Balmy!

I sped through this book. It's the second in the Sookie Stackhouse series and Sookie and her vampire beau, Bill, are in Dallas to help the vampires solve a mystery. There are other things going on, too, with an interesting revelation at the end. This is a good inbetween book: light and silly but with moments of seriousness.

I had to go to Walmart on Thursday for groceries and crafting stuff and kept telling myself not to go to the book section. But, did I listen to myself? No. I only bought one book, though, since I'd just gone to the library the day before and gotten 5 books from there.

The new movie, Precious, is based on this novel Push by Sapphire. Oh. My. God. I could not stop reading it. Precious is a sixteen-year old overwieght black girl who is pregnant for the second time with her father's child. It's the mid 80s and she gets expelled from school for being pregnant. She begins attending an alternative school and her teacher helps her to change her life.

Of course there is so much more to this book including a mother who should be shot!

It's gritty, raw, painful, brutal, and hopful all at the same time.

Handle With Care and The Road

2009-11-01T06:34:00.003-05:00

Happy Sunday morning! I love this long weekend when we get an extra hour. I know it's not much but it feels like more. When I woke up I looked at my clock and it said 6:48. Then I realized that it was 5:48 and I was well rested, ready to get up and start my day.

I pretty much gulped this book. I love Jodi Picoult's writing and this one is beautiful and interesting all the way through. Sometimes it's hard for a writer to do both but she blanaced them with finesse.

Charlotte and Sean O'Keefe's second daughter is born with osteogenesis imperfecta or OI which means that she lacks collagen and her bones are very brittle and break easily. When her ultrasound showed this, poor little Willow already had 7 broken bones and she hadn't even been born yet. How they and their older daughter cope with this disease and what they are willing to do for Willow makes this a book where the pages practically turn themselves.

The second book I finished this week is The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I had heard good things about it so when a friend at school loaned it to me, I got right into it and could barely stop reading. It's about a post-apocalyptic America where there is no sun and everything is colorless with ash. Nothing grows, nothing lives except for a few stragglers, some good and some bad. Two of the good ones are a man and his son. How they survive in this bleak world and how they remain human and caring is the glue that holds this novel together.

It's cloudy here in NH so I think it's going to be a good reading day. I've got laundry to do and bread to bake and an extra hour to use any way I want!

Relentless and The Penny Pinchers Club

2009-10-24T16:10:00.008-04:00

It's Saturday afternoon. I just kneaded bread for 10 minutes and, now, am hoping it rises!

It's been pouring all day and is in the 30s. All the foliage is gone. The world is dull again. Good reading day, though! I finished a book and will start a new one later.

I finished this book earlier in the week. It took me a few days to get into it but then I couldn't put it down. I had a preconceived notion of what it was going to be about and, for the first eighth of the book, I was right and, honestly, was disappointed in it.

Then, it changed and went in a totally different direction than I was thinking and I loved it. Koontz has such a gift for creating lovable characters and he does it again here.

Cubby is a writer. His wife, Penny, is a children's book author, and their son, Milo, is a genius. The nation's leading book critic writes a scathing review of Cubby's latest book and Cubby has the audacity to try to get a look at him when he is dining. Wrong move! What follows is a nightmare. But, Cubby's humor and his wife and son's support make this a truly entertaining book.

The second book I read this week was The Penny Pincher's Club. This is a light-hearted book about a woman, Kat, who has never saved a penny in her life and all of a sudden realizes how stupid she's been with money. She joins the Penny Pinchers Club and tries to change her life.

I like a quick read like this once in a while. It was refreshing and humorous.

The Last Child

2009-10-18T08:01:00.003-04:00

Good morning. It's cloudy and 20 degrees here in northern NH. I'm thinking it's going to be a perfect day for reading!

I LOVED this book! It is so well written with believable characters. Thirteen-year-old Johnny Merrimon's twin sister disappeared a year ago. Overcome with guilt because he hadn't picked her up at school like he was supposed to, their father abandons them. That leaves Johnny and his mom who is a wreck.

Johnny believes his sister is still alive so, with the help of his only friend, Jack, they embark on a mission to find her.

The Last Child is mysterious, and mystical, and human, and wonderful! I'll be looking for John Hart's other books, for sure.

Wishing you all reading weather!