Lots of Laughs and Lots of Books

What can I say about this series? Stephanie Plum is, by far, my favorite character, ever. I like to let a couple months go by between reading these books and I know that I've almost caught up, but, every time I travel to Trenton, I just enjoy myself so much.

I can't tell you how many times I actually guffawed while reading this book!

I mean, how often does that happen?

The students in my first block class asked me, today, how many books I've read over the years and if I had kept a list of them. Unfortunately, I haven't. Then I got to thinking; say I started reading at age 10 and I'm 60 now, so that's 50 years of reading. I've easily read a book a week so 50 X 50=2500. I know I've read at least that many and probably many more!

So, during my planning block, I decided to go through the book cases in my room to list the books I've read. I only had time to do one book case and here's a list of what I've read from it:

1. Coma by Robin Cook
2. Through Violet Eyes by Stephen Woodworth
3. One False Move by Harlan Coben
4. In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith
5. Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith
6. The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith
7. The Lost Years by E. V. Thompson
8. Tales of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith
9. The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith
10. Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith
11. The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith
12. Spring Fancy by LaVyrle Spencer
13. Digital Fortress by Dan Brown
14. The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks
15. High Five by Janet Evanovich
16. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
17. 4th of July by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
18. Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti
19. Mystic River by Denis Lehane
20. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
21. The Queen of Everything by Deb Caletti
22. Lovey by Mary MacCracken
23. Split Second by David Baldacci
24. The Ditches of Edison County by Ronald Richard Roberts
25. The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
26. The Last Juror by John Grisham
27. Fear Nothing by Dean Koontz
28. The Bird Artist by Howard Norman
29. Channeling Mark Twain by Carol Muske-Dukes
30. Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier
31, The Footprints of God by Greg Iles
32. Back Spin by Harlan Coben
33. Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
34. The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard
35. Scruples by Judith Krantz
36. Wish You Well by David Baldacci
37. Flashback by Michael Palmer
38. Awakening the Chrysalis by Mary Durant
39. In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
40. The Shelters of Stone by Jean Auel
41. Tangled Web by Judith Michael
42. Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen

A Couple Good Books

This was so good! Well written, likeable characters, believable situations, and a little history lesson all wrapped up in one book.








This is two books in one volume. The students in one of my classes are reading The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Ages 13 3/4 and are actually enjoying it. They "get" most of the humor.

When I was in the school library, I saw that this book contains the sequel, The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole so picked it up and finished it last night.

Adrien is just a riot. He's so naive but thinks he's an intellectual. His home life is a mess and how he keeps his nose above the fray is so entertaining.

Good Morning

Well, another week bites the dust! They are just slipping away so fast!

It's 7am here in NH, ten degrees, but the sun is hitting the mountain outside our house and the whole thing looks like a bowl of chocolate icecream with marshmello sauce dripping down over it.

I'm still wroking on The Wednesday Sisters. It starts in 1967 with five women meeting in the park on Wednesday mornings. At first they just talk and watch their kids but eventually, they begin writing. It follows these women as they traverse the changing landscape of feminism, sexuality, and politics.

I'm enjoying it especially because of the musical references and the look back at all the happenings. I remember those events like when the astronauts walked on the moon and the San Francisco Peace March, etc. so it's a walk down memory lane.

The characters are likeable and the pace moves right along. I'm about three quarters of the way through so should finish it soon.

Have a good reading day, everyone!

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Another rainy Sunday here in northern NH. Good! I can curl up with a book and not feel guilty!

I've read other Anita Shreve books and loved them but this was one I just could not get into. I honestly didn't like any of the characters and had a hard time feeling empathy for them. It is well written but...

I didn't even finish it but skipped ahead and read the last chapter. I'm glad I did that!

Now, this book was great! It is light hearted and serious at the same time. Charley is Charlotte Webb and she writes a fluff column for a Miami newspaper. A woman on death row contacts her to write a book about her crime.

The writing is fast paced and I was never bored.

Kylie "Reading" Grammy a Story

A Maisy Weekend

The clouds are hanging low here in NH but in our house it's sunny because our almost-three-year-old granddaughter, Kylie, has come to play with us.

We went to Wonderland Book Store and picked out two new Maisy books. This one has stickers that you have to place on different beach scenes. Even though Kylie loves stickers, she isn't crazy about this book. I think it's because there is no story to it. Once the stickers are put into place, there really isn't much to do with it.

This is her new favorite! Maisy and Talllulah are playing hospital. Panda is sick so they have to take his temperature then Maisy puts him to bed. On her way back downstairs, she's going too fast and crashes into Tallulah. Nurse Tallulah has to wrap her nose in a bandage.

We've read this one at least ten times. Kylie is always saying, "Can we read Maisy and the temperature?"

As far as my own reading this weekend, it's pretty much nonexistent. I'm still working on Testimony by Anita Shreve. The first chapter was riveting but after that it was kind of blah for awhile. Fortunately, it has picked up now that I'm about halfway through.

Enjoy your reading, everyone!

Made in the USA

Lutie and her brother, Fate, are on their own. They head to Las Vegas and try to survive. You can imagine what Lutie has to do!

Luckily, someone is watching over them and how they save each other makes for a very enjoyable book.