Update...Finally

Oh, I've been so neglectful of this blog! I don't know why I got so lazy. I have been reading, though. Now, if I can just remember anything about the books!


This was a sweet but harrowing coming-of-age novel about a young girl dealing with the slowing of the earth, the lengthening of days and nights, and the dissolution of her parents' marriage. It's wonderfully written with simple but beautiful language.



This is one I spent quite a bit of time on but haven't finished yet. It is about a wife who goes missing. It's told through two voices. The husband speaks and the more he says the creepier he gets. The wife's voice is heard through diary entries talking about their life together and that gets weirder and weirder.

I'm a curious soul so I'll definitely finish it but I just have to be in the right mood.



I read this one fairly quickly. It, too, is told through two voices but this time it's two half sisters. Dana's father is a bigamist. She grows up knowing he has another wife and daughter and always feels like she takes second place to his other daughter, Chaurisse.

The second half of the book is told through Chaurisse's eyes. She and her mom have no idea of her father's other family. When Chaurisse and Dana meet is when the book gets really interesting.

This is also very well written with lovely descriptions.


I just finished this one yesterday and am still freaked out. It is one scary book...not edge-of-your-seat scary but scary in the sense that, Yikes!, this could really happen and might even be happening as we speak.

Jackson Oz is a scientist who notices that there has been a worldwide increase in human deaths from animal attacks. But, no one will listen to his warnings until it's too late. He's a smart cookie and figures out what is causing the animals to act so out of character but the solution makes no one happy. This one will stay with me for quite a while.



Written by Tracey Clark, the founder of the Shutter Sisters blog, this how-to book is an ongoing read for me. I love all her simple yet effective ideas for capturing everyday life. Every time I read a section, it makes me want to pick up my camera and start snapping away. She doesn't go into the technical aspects of photography, just keeps it creative and fun.



Kylie and I are making our way through the Junie B. Jones series of books. They are a riot and we always crack up when reading about her misadventures. Junie B. is quirky and unique and we love her. Kylie started first grade last week and before I know it, she'll be reading to me!


Here she is heading into her first day. Don't you just love the welcoming look on her teacher's face? Ky will be visiting us this weekend and I'm anxious to hear all about how it's going. Just before school started I said to her, "You'll probably have homework this year." Her reply? "I know; I can't wait!"

She's just like her grandma!

The Innocent and Wheat Belly

I haven't read too many David Baldacci books because sometimes they just sound a bit too political but this one had an interesting summary so I decided to try it. Glad I did!

Robie is a hired killer, hired by our government to take out monsters. He has no problem doing that and he's excellent at it. One night he's hired to kill a woman but when he gets to her apartment and he sees her sleeping with her infant son, he can't do it. Suddenly, there is a shot. It misses Robie but kills the mom and child. Robie takes off, boards a bus, and meets Julie, a fourteen-year-old, also on the run.

Together, they must solve two mysteries: who killed the woman and child and who killed Julie's parents.




I'm a nutrition nut, always have been. I drove my kids nuts trying to make them eat right. But what is right? Well, I still don't know but this was an interesting look at wheat.

For years we ate only whole wheat bread. I used to make my own back in the seventies because it was unavailable in stores.

Then I read about blood type and, being a type O, I stopped eating wheat products...most of the time. I substituted with spelt, rice, and " gluten-free" breads.

This book made me stop that, though. I found out that the wheat produced now-a-days is not the same as ancient wheat; it's genetically modified to be bug resistant, produce larger yields, and grow faster and shorter. And it plays havoc with our systems. It has a really high glycemic index which causes spikes in our blood sugar, stores as fat, and makes us put on weight...thus, wheat belly.

So, starting a week ago today I stopped eating wheat, rice, spelt, and "gluten-free" products because they are made out of potato and rice flours which also have a high glycemic index. I feel great. I'm never hungry since the foods I'm eating digest slowly and keep me satisfied.

I'm sure I'll end up having some wheat but I'm going to make better choices overall. And if I lose a few pounds in the process, I'll be thrilled. I'm sick of my flubs! I'm not way overweight, or anything; I just have a bit of a spare tire I'd like to flatten. Maybe this will do the trick.

Here's what I had for lunch today: natural turkey breast from the grocery deli (no nitrates or nitrites) smeared with cream cheese and rolled with pepper jack cheese; raw green beans; and cottage cheese with hot pepper relish. Yum!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Guilty Wives and Come Home

Yes, I bought another James Patterson novel! And, I'm glad I did because this one was pretty good.

Four friends head to Monte Carlo for a few days of R&R from their normal lives. They meet rich people and end up on a yacht. The next morning they are arrested for murder.

This book describes what it is like inside a French prison and what their court system is like. I found it very interesting....sort of like that TV show Locked Up Abroad.

















Then I moved on to Come Home. This was another quick read. Jill is a pediatrician and mom. She's engaged to Sam. One night, her ex-stepdaughter appears out of nowhere asking Jill to help her solve her father's murder.

Jill has always felt guilty for not keeping in contact with Abby after her divorce from Abby's father so she reluctantly begins to help her while trying to balance her medical practice, her present family, and her past.

I'm posting this using an app called BlogPress on my iPad. I'm not sure it will work very well but it's worth a try since the more I use my tablet the less I want to use my laptop and that's why I'm always so late keeping this blog up to date. So, anyway, here goes..........
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Under the Dome

Hallelujah!  I finally finished all 1070 pages of Under the Dome!  It seemed to take me forever but I did enjoy it and never even considered quitting.

I almost didn't read it, though, since some of King's books haven't appealed to me like Cell.  I had the hardest time getting into that one.  So, when Under the Dome was first published, I read the description and didn't think it would be up my alley.

Then, just lately, I read some good things about it so decided it was time.  And I'm glad I did. 

Basically, it's about an invisible dome that descends over the small Maine town of Chester's Mill sealing everyone inside.  Some air gets through so they don't suffocate.  What makes this book so interesting is the magnifying glass through which we see the townsfolk.  King has such a gift for creating unique characters.

And there are plenty in the novel but it's really easy to keep them straight.  From the heroes like Dale Barbara, Rusty and Linda Everett, Julia Shumway, and teenager Joe McClatchey to the Hitler-like villians of Big Jim Rennie and his son Junior. 

I grew up in a small town barely sixty miles from where this novel is set and am very familiar with the area beause it's on my route to camp. But, even if I lived a thousand miles away, I would have enjoyed it just as much since King develops his characters so well.  His writing is just so darn...delicious!

Fifty Shades of Grey

Every time I watch the news, it seems this book is mentioned.  The other day I saw that it is banned in some libraries in Florida.  So, naturally, I had to download it! 

Now, I'm no prude and I like a racy story as much as the next guy, but this book has absolutely no redeeming qualities!  Well, except for the sex, of course!  But, really, I had to stop reading it because it has no literary merit whatsoever.

Basically, it's about a girl, (can't remember her name!) a virgin, who meets Christain Grey, a rich playboy and he sweeps her off her feet.  To have a relationship with him, she must agree to his bondage stipulations.

And, that's it!  There doesn't seem to be anything else to this novel.  Yes, I quit reading about a third of the way through and I didn't even get to any bondage parts so I really shouldn't judge without reading the whole thing but that is just too much punishment! 

Flat characters.  A nonexistent plot.  And a proliferation of the word "hormones"!  Give me a break!

Before I Fall

I liked Pandemonium so much that decided to read another of Lauren Oliver's books.  She wrote this one before the Delirium trilogy and it has nothing to do with that series.

Samantha Kingston is a popular high school senior who gets killed one night after a party.  But there is a glitch.  She has to relive her last day seven times. 

At first I thought this was a typical YA novel and I was a bit bored but as Sam's week goes on, I really got involved in her life and by the end, I couldn't put it down.

Even the writing gets more and more beautiful as the novel progresses. 

Stay Close and Pandemonium

I love Harlan Coben and liked this book so I have no idea why it took me almost three weeks to read it!  Okay, I guess I do know why and it has nothing to do with the book; it has to do with me.  I started playing Slotomania and got addicted!  My bad!

Anyway, this book follows a suburban soccer mom from her normal life of wife and mother of two kids to her prostitute past and her lost love.

Every year on Mardi Gras, a man goes missing.  But they were not nice men.  They were abusers and, really, no one wants them found.  But, mysteries must be solved.

This really is a page turner and if I hadn't been so involvled in playing slot games, I'd have finished it much sooner.

Then I ran out of coins!

So, I started Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver and couldn't put it down. This is the second in a trilogy and was even better than the first book. 

Lena has escaped from Portland,  Maine to avoid being cured from deliria (or Love) but her lover, Alex, got shot in the process.  Now, she is on her own in the Wilds.  She must create a new life without Alex. 

She becomes a member of the Resistance and disguises herself as a normal, cured, schoolgirl.  Her mission is to follow Julian, the son of an ardent supporter of the cure.  Julian is just hours away from his procedure.

I don't want to give too much away.  Suffice it to say that I read this book in two days.  And I won't even mention the ending...WOW!