Don't Look Twice

Another week bites the dust. I can't believe how quickly the time flies!




Andrew Gross has co-authored books with James Patterson and that style is obvious in this book. Ty Hauck witnesses a drive-by killing and his investigation of it takes him to a Connecticut casino and even further to the US government.

The characters are well developed and the plot contains enough surprises to keep the reader interested. I enjoyed it even if it was slightly formulaic.

I'll be busy with the end of school and taking care of my mom who is home from Florida for the summer so I don't know how much time I'll have to read this week but I'm sure I'll squeeze some in!

Population: 485

We finally have a sunny Sunday! Of course, it's only 44 degrees but, hopefully, it will warm up by this afternoon and I can pedal to the beach on my new red bike. My old one got stolen during the week!

This is a nonfiction book written by Michael Perry about his life as an EMT and firefighter in rural Wisconsin. It is full of quirky characters and the joys and sorrows of life.

I love his writing style. He mentions all the little, unimportant details that turn out to be the most meaningful.

I'll admit it, there were tears in my eyes at the end.

Happy Memorial Day to those who celebrate it and happy reading to everyone!

The Associate by John Grisham

It's another drippy day here on the coast of Maine. I woke up early and finished my book.

I really enjoyed this book. It was an old-fashioned cloak and dagger spy type of novel and I couldn't put it down even though I wanted to read it more slowly so it would last longer.

Kyle McAvoy is blackmailed into taking a job with a big prestigious law firm in NYC so he can steal information. How he deals with this and tries to outsmart his handlers makes for an entertaining read.

Well, I hope the sun is shining in your neck of the world and that you get some reading time in today!

Ghosts and Beans

Happy Mother's Day to all moms!

We're in Maine, again, at camp. It's 50 degrees but I still hope to get to the beach this afternoon to sit and read for a bit.



I listened to this audio book on the way down to camp Friday evening. I loved the voice of the reader but the story, itself was very disturbing. Earlene is slightly retarded and it's told from her point of view. She is fascinated by the Beans who live across the right-of-way from her in rural Maine.


I was actually driving through this section on my way to camp while listening. It was easy to imagine these people living here!



Nightwalkers are people who see ghosts. It's an American Indian term and Native Americans play a major role in this book set in Las Vegas. A man with a knife sticking out of his back falls and dies on Jessy Sparhawk inside a casino. Dillon Wolf comes to help her disentangle herself from him and to help solve the mystery of who he is and why he was killed.

The ghost aspect made this book very interesting and kept me reading. What I didn't like was the gag-me love scenes. They were very unrealistic and romance novelish. They just weren't different and fresh and true to life.

Other than that, though, I really enjoyed this book.

Have a great week!

Yes!

Good morning. We're on the coast of Maine opening our camper for the summer. I pedaled to the beach yesterday and it was beautiful.


In our school system, to get recertified every three years, we have the option of getting 75 hours of workshops/classes or completing a project. I opted for the project and am trying to find a comtemporary novel for our World Literature students to study.

I read this when it first came out but it kept popping into my head so decided to read it again to see if it would be appropriate for juniors and seniors in high school and I think it would be perfect. It's told from the male point-of-view which is good. Girls are willing to read books from a male POV but guys won't read anything from a female POV.

These kids have no idea what it's like in Afghanistan so it would give them a history lesson.

It contains all the great themes in literature of friendship, betrayal, selfishness, redemption, etc.

And it's just a can't-put-down story!

I think I've found what I was looking for! Now, we just have to find the money to order a set of the novels so I can test teach it next year.

Happy reading everyone!

A Fun Week

Here it is another Sunday already. My vacation just flew!

Kylie came to visit for three days and we read this book several times. She loves it! I know there is a second book about Ladybug Girl so I hope to buy it for her soon.

Lulu is Ladybug Girl and she has to figure out a way to entertain herself. Her big brother won't let her play with him ("He's a brat!" says Kylie.) so she makes her own fun and has a great time.

In between playing with Kylie, I read snatches of The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. I'm a little late getting to this book since it's been out for awhile but it just never appealed to me. A friend lent me the book so I decided to give it a try and loved it.

Each little lesson is gently illustrated with a story. I had to wipe tears away quite a few times. I'm glad I read it a little bit at a time because it gave the ideas time to sink in.

Back to school tomorrow for 7 weeks and then it's summer vacation time!

A Good Reading Week

Good morning. The sky is an uninterrupted blue, the sun is sparkling, and I'm on April vacation. There is nothing swweter than a Sunday when I don't have to go to school the next day.



I had a good reading week and finished two books. The weather was so nice that I was able to sit on the porch each afternoon to read. I know I could read in the house, too, but, there are always so many distractions that I find it hard to settle down.

Of course, one of the books was by James Patterson and you know how quick they are to read. I really enjoyed it, though! Alex Cross has to go to Nigeria and Sierra Leone to hunt down a killer and his experiences there really opened my eyes to what is occuring there. Unbelievable!




This was a fast read, too, because I just couldn't put it down and stayed up reading in bed last night until I finished it.

Casey Marshall is in a coma from a car accident but she can hear and what she hears from her devoted husband, wayward sister, and friends scares her to death. Death being the key word here because someone wants Casey dead but how can she protect herself when she can't see or even move?

Hope everyone has a good reading week!