#88

Looks like I'm ending the year with just 88 books read. My last two were not winners. Patricia Cornwell did it again with her latest "Red Mist." Almost 500 pages and it didn't get interesting until about 450 pages. She killed off a major player. Maybe she'll continue to do that until it's just Kay Scapetta and we can bury this series. I keep hoping that Patricia will come back to her beginnings but I think she's wandering farther away.

No big plans for New Year's. I have to work since I got those 6 days off over Christmas. They close the store early on Saturday but I have the late shift on Sunday which will ruin any plans with the family on that day.

#87

I can't believe it took me 17 days to read this latest novel. It's not that it wasn't good....it just was a very slow read. "The Surrendered" by Chang-Rae Lee started in Korea during the war and ended probably at the turn of the century. Flash backs kept occurring and one minute June was a young orphan in Korea and the next she was a woman in her late 40's dying of cancer but on a quest to find her estranged son in Italy. She enlists her ex-husband to help find the son he didn't know he had. I'm so glad to be finished with it!

Had another short visit from my Colorado friend and her son. They came yesterday early afternoon and left this morning. Her mother passed away last week so she's back in Virginia trying to settle the estate. The tragedy is giving us more chances to visit.

Christmas shopping is pretty much done. Not much under the tree but I did it pretty much in an hour or two. Wrapping took longer than buying. Still wishing I didn't have to bother but it's coming whether I want it or not.

I was scheduled to work 10 days but I didn't make it the 10th. I had stomach distress and knew that if I tried to work and couldn't get someone to cover me in time, there would have been "clean up in aisle one" at the store. I took Friday off and was scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. Now I work 4 and am off for 6 over Christmas. I'm sure I'll pay the price for those 6 days off.

#86

Finished the latest James Patterson novel, "Kill Alex Cross." It is a sequel that Patterson still writes on his own. This was one of his best. The plot was two fold. Alex Cross was called to help when the President's children were kidnapped from their private school. At the same time terrorist activities were taking place in Washington. At first it was thought that the two were connected. The two stories ran simultaneously and created a good read. Scary because it could happen.

Picked up my new iPhone 4S tonight. It was great until I came home and connected it to my iTunes and suddenly it was my iPhone 4 all over again. Everything I downloaded as far as apps turned my new phone into my old one. Now I have to restore the 4S and figure out how to keep my apps. Always something.

#85

Got the latest book by Clive Cussler and his author du jour. "Devil's Gate" was a Kurt Austin sequel and was filled with lots of adventure. A whacky ruler of Sierra Leone has decided to take over the world with his latest weapon. Using electro magnetic pulse he will disable whatever he aims at. Of course Kurt and his sidekick, Joe, are caught up in the whole mess. He'll save the world, as usual. Fun read.

#84

Don't know how I missed this novel by Mary Higgins Clark and her daughter Carol. I've been reading her forever and somehow I missed this little story. "The Christmas Thief" is very typical of the Higgins Clarks. Short, non-gory, non-sexual, and no filthy language. How refreshing! Just a cute little mystery about a missing Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and a con man. That's all you get!!

Got just a few days till Thanksgiving and haven't even shopped yet. Better get my butt in gear and get that turkey and stuffing stuff. That's my contribution to this year's big doings. I'd really just like to stay home in bed with the covers over my head. Same for Christmas. I'm officially cancelling it!

#83

Finished a novel by Ariana Franklin titled "Grave Goods." It was a sequel to another novel that I've read by her and I'd forgotten about it. It took a while for me to get into the story but in the end it was okay. Set in the late 1100's, it sent the heroine on a mission by Henry II to find out if the bodies discovered at a monastary were that of King Arthur. Henry hopes the bones are Arthur's so he can put down the Celtic rebellion for good. The heroine is Adelia Aguilar and she's the Mistress of Death. Trained by her father in medicine; she has to hide her abilities and pretend to be the assistant of an mid eastern companion. She not only proves the skeleton to not be Arthur but finds the answer to numerous mysteries.

#82

I don't think I'm going to make it to 100 books this year but I guess I'm doing okay. John Grisham's "The Litigators" was an excellent read. He never disappoints. David Zinc is a small fish in the pond of 600 lawyers working for a big firm and making $300K a year but has no life. International finance is not doing it for him. One day he snaps, gets drunk and finds himself in a two man boutique law office of ambulance chasers and decides that this is what he wants. The spiral down is when one partner decides to take on a big drug company in a mass tort suite for people who are supposedly dying from a cholestoral medication. No one at the new firm has ever tried a federal case and David has never tried any case. The whole story is great!

#81

After five days without power and a night in a motel, we finally got power back. Since my Grisham novel was locked in my locker at work and I finished the last book, I grabbed another off my pile that I picked up either in NYC or Borders and got hooked on it. Antoinette van Heugten's "Saving Max" is a great read. It was as good as a Grisham novel with great twists and turns. I figured out pretty early in the novel who done it and why but that was okay. It was a great read. Max is a 15 year old autistic child whose mother is a lawyer in NYC. She's trying to do what is best for him and that is to have him checked out at the best pychiatric clinic in the country. That would be Maitland in the mid west. She jeopardizes her job to take him there and suddenly they are both involved in a battle to save Max's life. Now I must read the Grisham novel before I forget what I've already read.

#80

I was into John Grisham's latest novel when I unfortunately left it at work on Saturday. We were having a freak snow storm that left us buried in tree branches and no power. We had 8 inches of wet and heavy snow that clung to the leaf ladened trees and made a royal mess of everything. Beautiful? Yes. A nightmare? YES! We have not had power, water, or heat now for 3 days and there's no end in sight. We've been staying up during the night feeding wood to the fireplace and each of us is sleeping on a sofa as close to the fireplace as we can get. Today we let the fire go out for the first time and headed for a real meal and then to a shower at my daughter's house. It was nice and warm and comfy but we're back home now and the fire is going again and we're trying to get the chill out before night. I missed work yesterday and had the day off today but I must go back tomorrow for the late shift.

Anyway, I picked up one of my books from either NYC or the Border's closing and it was "Remarkable Creatures" by Tracy Chevalier. Very informative and historically correct. There really were such characters as Elizabeth Philpot and Mary Anning and they were important in the discovery of fossils and skeletal remains of creatures that had yet been unknown. Found along the beaches of Lyme, England these women joined forces to become some of the leaders in their field even though as women they could not get the recognition of their discoveries at the time. Great read! Back to Grisham tomorrow when I get back to work and retrieve him from my locker.

#79

James Patterson and his author du jour wrote a little novel in a cross between Nicholas Sparks (not as good by far) and Mary Higgins Clark. "The Christmas Wedding" is about a mid fifties mother who decides out of her three suitors/friends to marry on Christmas Day and have all her family come. The family hasn't all been together since she was widowed 3 years before. She won't tell anyone, including the groom which one she is picking until she is walking down the aisle. We get a little background about each of her grown kids and a little background on the three potential grooms. Cute little read.

#78

Well Nicholas Sparks has done it again! I didn't have to use a tissue since I figured out 30 some pages from the end who was going to die in this one but it was still a great read. "The Best of Me" kept me reading and I couldn't put it down. The typical boy from bad side of town meets girl from the good side of town and the parents interfere and keep them apart. She marries someone else and has a good life. He never got over her. New circumstances cause them to meet up again and the magic is still there. Of course there are other twists and turns that make it a Nicholas Sparks novel versus a Danielle steel novel. Guess we'll be seeing this one on the screen soon.

A day off on Monday, late shift on Tuesday, a day off today, and early shift tomorrow. Makes for a rotten day off. Especially when you have to wait around all day for the Fed Ex driver who never comes at the same time and you have to sign for a package or they won't deliver it. Keeps me from doing any errands or anything fun.

#77

Finally finished the afghan for the new baby of the Assistant Store Manager. The kid will be able to use this till he's in college. Got a little out of hand.

Finished reading Elizabeth Strout's "Olive Kitteridge." It was an interesting novel. All centered on a small town in Maine and the main character Olive. Once a school teacher and apparently a not great wife or mother but her husband loved her dearly and her son held whatever it was against her. The novel was about a lot of different people in the town and each chapter told a different story. Olive and her husband were laced throughout some of the chapters. Enjoyable read!

#76

Took me ages to get through this book. Not because it wasn't a good read but because I've been doing my knitting project and it hasn't given me much time to read. This was not the best Harlan Coben book that I've read but it was still okay. "Miracle Cure" was written back in the early 90's and it was about the AIDS virus and a clinic that claimed to have found a cure. Problem? Cured patients are being found murdered. Suddenly and well known basketball star finds himself with the virus from a transfusion and things get even worse. Of course it's one of the good guys that has turned bad. I was sure that I'd read all of Coben's books but found this one that had been republished. Hope there are more somewhere.

#75

Boring, boring, and most boring is all I can say about "This Beautiful Life" by Helen Schulman. Just could not get my mind wrapped around this story. Middle aged couple with a 15 year old son and a 6 year old Chinese adopted daughter. Son gets caught up in a scandal when a 13 year old girl sends him a very pornagraphic video via email and he in turn forwards it to his friend and needless to say, it is around the world in days. He gets expelled and the parents are trying to get him through this tough time. They end up fighting and even though the son is returned to school in just a couple weeks, his life is in shambles. The mother can't handle it and the father is just concerned with being the big deal bread winner. I won't even go into what the young daughter got into when she discovered her mother's computer with the infamous video on it. Guess I couldn't get lucky with all my recent purchases.

Visit

After too many years, an old friend popped up and came for a visit. She's been living in Denver and her mother suffered a stroke which brought her back to the east coast and a few days with me. Great to reconnect with old friends. The visit has kept me from reading my usual amount and then I decided to also take up the knitting needles and produce a baby gift for my Assistant Store Manager who is close to delivering a baby boy. I had three days off for the friend's visit and it just made me greedy for more.

#74

Clive Cussler and his author du jour did not hit it out of the park with "The Race." This is his Isaac Bell and the Van Dorn Detective agency series. Just didn't enjoy it. It was a airplane race back in the early 1900's when air travel was still new. The contestants set off from NYC and travel across the country to California. The winner gets $50,000. Everyone is routing for America's newest sweetheart to win. She's young, a farm girl, and her estranged husband is attempting to kill her.

#73

Another of my favorite authors has started a saga. First in the series is "Only Time Will Tell" by Jeffrey Archer. I was off for two days and I started it late yesterday and just finished it. Not a small novel, either. Young Harry Clifton is born in the early 1920's into poverty in Bristol, England. His mother is a waitress and his father a dockworker. Or was he? Mom had a little fling with the wealthy dock owner's son just weeks before her wedding to the dock worker. Little Harry was born 8 months after the wedding with no one questioning his paternity since the husband thought he was her first. Dad dies mysteriously a short time after Harry's birth. Young Harry shows great potential and ends up making his way through prestigious schools on scholarships and becoming best friends with none other than the son of the wealthy dock owner's grandson. Yep! His half brother, but, of course they don't know they are siblings. Only three people know the truth about the paternity. Loved the way Archer wrote this one and am anxious for next spring's release of the second book.

Back to the grind tomorrow for an 8 day stretch. Won't be off now until my friend shows up on the 24th for her visit. With a little luck I'll get 3 days off in a row so that we can catch up.

#72

One of my favorite authors has started a new series. It's for teens but since in the process of creating this series he eliminated my favorite series, I had to start reading it. It's a spin off of Myron Bolitar's series and it's his nephew getting into trouble now and his adventure in this novel was quite good. He's 14 and his father was recently killed in an automobile accident and his mother is a recovering drug addict. He's with his Uncle Myron who he's been estranged from for his whole life. A falling out between the uncle and his father happened many years before and now he's forced to live with that uncle. He's never had much opportunity to make friends since his parents traveled the world as volunteers. He now has a new school, two new friends, and a missing girlfriend. That's the mystery. What happened to the girlfriend? Mystery solved but a new one crops up at the end of the book so we're ready for the next adventure.

#71

Another of the great books I bought recently. Cathy Lamb's, "The First Day of the Rest of My Life" was an excellent read. If I end up staying up past my bedtime to read it then it's become a winner. Madeline O'Shea tells people what to do with their lives as a popular life coach yet she's living a lie. She and her sister were horribly abused by their step father and two other men and it's wounded them for life when it comes to their own futures. A reporter has found out about that past and is threatening to make it public. She's also found out about a hidden past concerning Madeline's grandparents and mother that even she didn't know.

The 10th anniversary of 9/11 was yesterday and it was so depressing. Once again tears flowed for the lost lives. I felt it necessary to watch all the specials and was shocked by the fact that so many were just hyped about the football game that was being played in the afternoon. They call my grandchildren's generation the 9/11 generation but I do not think that these kids are remembering it at all unless they were directly affected by the loss of a loved one. How sad!

#70

Kathy Reichs' "Flash and Bones" was not one of my favorites. I usually enjoy her Temperance Brennan series but this one just didn't thrill me. It was set around NASCAR and that's not something I have any interest in so I guess that was the problem. Lots of characters that had to be kept track of, too. Bodies found and people missing which is norm for Reichs.

Just heard that a dear friend is coming to visit soon. Hope I can take a couple days off to spend with her. Kind of late notice!

#69

James Patterson and his author du jour have written a great novel called "Kill Me If You Can." Wouldn't mind if he made a serial out of this character. Matthew Bannon is a former Marine who has decided to follow his dream and go to art school. His professor is also his girlfriend. Life is good. Matt is in Grand Central Station when a professional hit man is hired to take out another professional hit man. Matt finds the dead man and also finds his stash of millions of dollars in diamonds. Now he's on the run and the hit men are after him. With a surprising turn of events the story goes off in a different direction. Good job and good read!

#68

Emily Arsenault's "In Search of the Rose Notes" was an interesting read. Two 11 year old girls are trying to solve what happened to their 16 year old babysitter who disappeared while walking home from her job. The novel flashes back and forth between 1990 when it happened and 2006 when the body is mysteriously found and the girls reunite to help solve the mystery. Very interesting.

If the thunderstorms cease and the migraine goes away then I will get to enjoy some time with my daughter and her kids at an end of summer bash. I've been scrambling to find steamed crabs to replace the original order that was to be part of a fund raiser for our employee fund at work. Apparently no one knows what is happening with those crabs and the great price we were getting them for. I finally gave up and ordered them locally so that I could stop worrying about them even though it will cost me almost a hundred bucks more. The guy at work who organized this is going to have a lot fewer friends later today.

#67

Yannick Murphy's "The Call" is a different kind of novel. It's about a New England Veterinarian who's live is changed when his son suffers a hunting accident that leaves him in a coma. He searches for the person responsible for the shooting that has caused the turmoil in his family and in the midst of it a stranger arrives requesting a favor. Interesting read if you can get around the style and the talk of flying saucers.

#66

Got this one from Amazon recently and for some reason it gave me the worst nightmare I've had in ages. Don't really know why, but I was screaming my head off in the middle of the night. Megan Abbott's "The End of Everything" is about two young girls that are neighbors and inseparable best friends. One day one disappears and it's up to the other friend to find her. She figures out who was in the area before her friend disappeared and she discovered clues that led to finding her friend after she's been missing for 3 weeks. Not your typical kidnapping and definitely a good read.

We're prepared for hurricane Irene but I don't think it's going to amount to much. I've answered a zillion calls at work from people who want generators and we haven't had any for days. I was tempted to tell them that "no we don't have any generators, but could I interest you in a nice snow blower?" That will be the next drama!

#65

Finished Marian Keyes, "The Brightest Star in the Sky." Cute read about a townhouse in Dublin that is home to an odd assortment of neighbors. Their lives begin to intersect in an unusual way. Katie is a hard working music exec, Lydia is a streetwise cabbie, Jemima, an elderly psychic, and the newly weds Mark and Maeve who live on the first floor and who are suddenly in need of everyone's help. This was another one of my recent finds in the Strand bookstore in NYC. So far so good!

Today marks the 20th anniversary of my mother's passing. Strange to think that it's been so long. She left before seeing her grandchildren graduate from college, get married, have her great grandchildren, and become successful in their careers. I always hoped that we would have had a better relationship as she got older and maybe have less "whatever" it was that made her "whatever" she was.

#64

So I've been locked in a Jury Assembly Room all week. Monday no one from our 165 members was called. Sat there for almost 8 hours on their uncomfortable chairs waiting for a call from judges chambers. Got some reading done but it was hard to concentrate with all those people chatting. Tuesday I got called to a courtroom but wasn't picked. 30 of us went up but only 14 were picked. Once again it was a long day with no other calls for everyone. Today there were two calls for court but everyone came back since a settlement was reached. I figured I was picked once so that will be it for me for the rest of the week. Fortunately I sit next to a very interesting fellow who's been chatty. I did manage to finish my book this evening. Two more days of sitting in the jury assembly room!!

Finished Rebecca Skloot's "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks." This is a true story about Henrietta Lacks and her life and death. She was treated for cervical cancer back in 1951. Samples of her tumor were taken and her cells were the first to every continue to grow. To this day her cells are still growing and being used all over the world. They've been to the moon and blown up in a nuclear bomb. She's helped in the cure for polio and many other diseases. This all happened while her family was living in poverty and ignorance about what was happening with their mother's cells. Skloot researched the family and Henrietta's life and has written this accounting. Finally a face has been given to the HeLa cell.

#63

When I started Karen White's "The Beach Tree," I thought it was your typical boy meets girl and they don't like each other and then they'll get together story. Wrong! Lots of twists and turns that kept me wanting to not put it down. Julie is only 12 when her younger sister goes missing. She takes up her mother's obsession to find her sister when her mother passes away a few years later. Her career is established with her love of art which she gets from her great grandfather who was a well known painter. This leads to her to a friendship with Monica and her young son Beau. The death of Monica leads Julie to Louisiana's gulf coast. Monica has left her custody of Beau, a beach house in Biloxi, and a very valuable painting which was painted by Julie's great grandfather. She's left with a mystery as to why Monica ever left Louisiana and never contacted her brother and grandmother again. I was a little disappointed in the ending. Kind of expected more from all the build up, but it was a good read.

My root canal on Tuesday ended Friday with the back portion of my tooth breaking off. I called the office where I had it done and they said to hurry right in. I left work and traveled the almost 40 miles to get there expecting something to be done to take away the very sharp edge that was now driving me crazy. Wrong! The guy who did the procedure is on vacation and his associate, a real nasty, eye rolling snob, barely looks in my mouth but informs me that I should have had a permanent filling installed by now. First of all, I was still having pain in the tooth so why would I have a permanent filling installed when there was a possibility that it would need further work and secondly, when would I have had time. I had no days off until today and it's Sunday! Duh! Next week is jury duty and I have no idea when I'll be able to get to a dentist. I was told I have a month to get the permanent filling done. Now I have a broken molar, a tooth that is still aching, the tooth in front of it that I feel is the real culprit and was the one I originally went in to have done and an associate that doesn't want to help me. She has a dental assistant start smearing temporary filling all over the tooth which by now is over my tongue and the molars all around the area. The chick has no idea how to help me. I was so frustrated, I just left and told them I'd never be back! By the time I reached the parking lot the filling dropped out in a big chunk. Instead of a permanent filling, I now need a crown! Probably two crowns since I think the original molar will also need a root canal. This is the only recommendation for root canal that my dentist had to offer! Geez!

#62

So far, so good with my selection of books recently. Sandra Rodriguez Barron's "Stay With Me" was another good read. Five young children are discovered abandoned on a yacht in Puerto Rico in 1979 after a hurricane. No adults or witnesses to explain how they got there. They considered themselves siblings even though they were adopted by different families and taken to all parts of the US and Puerto Rico to live. As adults they are brought together by David, one of the siblings who has been diagnosed with brain cancer and needs his siblings to come together and to figure out the mystery surrounding their beginnings. Great read!

A root canal took me to the dentist today and many dollars went out the window with the repair. I pay big money every month for insurance and they can't even pay more than half what this procedure is costing me? Geez! I was very tempted to just have it pulled but that would have probably cost almost as much. The worst part is that it took a trip to my family dentist to discover I needed a root canal and then you have to go to a specialist to have it done and then it's back to your regular dentist to have a permanent filling put in it. This whole thing will cost me over $1100.

#61

I am so adding this author to my favorites. Colm Toibin's "Brooklyn" was an excellent read. Eilis is a young Irish girl who is encouraged to leave Ireland and head to Brooklyn to better her life. Time frame is in the 50's. She is sponsored by a priest who has relocated there and he helps her find a room, a job, and eventually schooling to become a bookkeeper. She eventually finds an Italian boyfriend and she seems to be on track until she receives bad news from Ireland and makes a trip back. The return to her homeland brings about some changes which could upset everything she has worked for in Brooklyn. Very inspiring!

#60

I hit the motherload of books. While in NYC we went to the Strand bookstore and they advertise 18 miles of books. WOW! It was great! I tried to control myself and only purchased 7 and had them shipped. Two days ago we went to the Borders Going Out of Business Sale (Hubby wanted to find some books) and I got about 10 books there. I'm set for a little while. Really, I'm set for a year or more with all that I have stashed away.

I just finished "Two Rivers" by T. Greenwood which was another freebie from Kindle. This was a excellent read. Started back in the 50's with a young boy and girl becoming best friends and their life growing up. She loses her mother to suicide after spending 5 years in a mental institution. His father is an inventor and always working on something in his basement workshop. His mother becomes an activist during the race riots in the 60's. She goes off to spend a summer in the south and ends up spending two years until she comes home after being badly beaten in a riot. What she doesn't bring home is a secret that remains hidden for many years. It's the Vietnam War and the young couple are trying to figure out how to keep him from being drafted into a war they don't believe in. Twelve years into the future he's now a man of 34 and he's carrying the burden of them all.

We decided to head to the Eastern Shore for a couple days and we ended up in Lewes, Delaware. It was a nice little town but the people in the restaurants were really nasty. You'd think that you'd get better customer service in resort communities. We were going to stay an additional day but Hubby decided to come home today. I had to twist his arm to at least let us stick our toes in the ocean while we were there. It was a pretty miserable day for it with over cast skies and drizzle but we did it and that was good. One more day off before I have to head back to work. I'm very sad about that.

#59

"Catharsis" by Jonathan Face was a freebie from Kindle. Not bad except I didn't like the ending. Really left me hanging. Kind of a Stephen King genre. Small New England town that purges it's residents every so often. Apparently the dregs of the country seem to end up in this particular town and they need to be purged. The children are innocent so they are saved.

Just returned from our 3 days in NYC. Expensive but fun! Great being with my Son, Daughter and Grandson for that time frame. Lots of food and cab rides!!

#58

Read an interesting novel by Bonnie Turner called "Face the Winter Naked." It was a freebie from Kindle and was a pretty good read. Daniel leaves home during the depression for several reasons. He's been having nightmares about the war and his old army buddies that didn't make it home and he's trying to find work to make money for his family that he abandoned back home. His wife, LaDaisy, is left at home trying to make ends meet and feed four kids, one of which her husband didn't even know about when he left a year ago. Unable to pay the rent to her brother-in-law has left her at his mercy as he decides to take payment out in rape. Their struggles are heart wrenching.

#57

I've always enjoyed Anne Rivers Siddon's novels but "Burnt Mountain" has left me somewhat in limbo. The novel starts with Crystal, growing up to want all the prestige her small town father couldn't give her as a pharmacist's daughter. She meets and marries a son of wealth but his mother doesn't like her and she's stuck in a beautiful house they give her in the same town she grew up in. She raises two daughters; one in her own image and one the image of her wealthy grandmother. Suddenly the story is about Thayer, the youngest daughter and her life. She grows up in the same town and tragedy strikes first with the death of her father and grandfather in a car accident and then later with a trip to a doctor who ruins her life. Just can't get my head around the ending.

It's my birthday and I'm here doing what I love to do. Hanging out on my sofa, in pj's, reading. My first choice would have been to be on the boat on a lake in Canada with a book and a fishing pole surrounded by my family but that's not happening. Time for another book instead.

#56

In searching for a book titled "Pearl" that a friend recommended, I came across one by Jo Knowles. Not the one recommended but still a pretty good read. Got it on Kindle and it read really fast. Pearl aka Bean, is a 15 year old fatherless child whose best friend, Henry, is also fatherless. Henry's mother never leaves home and Bean's mother is a rotten mother who is hardly home. These best friends are in for discoveries that are a bit overwhelming. Good little read.

Vacation for me started yesterday but unfortunately hubby has to work on Tuesday so we are stuck with not enough time to do much. Just as well, money is short and three days in NYC will be expensive enough.

#55

"The House at Riverton" by Kate Morton was a great novel. The narrator was born in 1901 and at the age of 14 was sent to be a housemaid at Riverton. Her mother had been in service there when she was young and left when she got pregnant. The life at the big house was typical of the early 1900's and then the war came and took so many lives, including the heirs to the mansion. Now run by the brother that was a failure at everything he tried it was soon in trouble. One daughter married wealth and took the maid with her to London as a Lady's Maid. There they reconnected with R. S. Hunter, the famous poet and life again changed. The narrator is now 99 and a movie is being made of Riverton and the life and times leading up to the death of R. S. Hunter on the estate. Only one person knows what really happened and she's not telling. Loved this one. Have another of Morton's in my stash but I think I'll hold off a little while and read another I just got.

#54

Picked up Mary Higgins Clark's latest novel, "I'll Walk Alone." It was one of her sequels with her lottery winning adventure seeking couple. This time the subject was identity theft and kidnapping. Zan Moreland is an up and coming interior designer and two years ago her son was kidnapped from under her babysitter's nose in NYC. Suddenly a picture is discovered that leads everyone to believe that Zan kidnapped her own child. I'd figured out the ending by the first third of the book but it was still a good Clark novel.

Jury Duty

Jury Duty is something I've avoided for my whole life until now. I got my notice on Saturday to report for duty on August 15th. I remember they got my husband first time when he reached my age. I guess they figure people who reach our ages are just sitting around needing something to do and we're a good pool to draw from. I'm kind of looking forward to it but I doubt there will be anything interesting happening that will keep me tied up more than my week's worth. It will get me out of work for a week just a week after I come back from vacation. Would have been nice if it would have been a little later. Being separated from my iPhone all day long will be hard to handle. Guess they wouldn't appreciate jurers sitting there texting and playing Angry Birds while the trial is taking place. Guess reading my latest novel won't happen either. Hope it's interesting so I'm not one of those people that dozes off.

Plans are made for our family adventure to NYC. I'd much rather it was a fishing trip to Lake Ontario or somewhere in Canada but I guess those days are over. I get to have my kids and grandkids for 3 days which is better than nothing. We're taking the Amtrak and staying in a hotel in Times Square so we should be in the heart of things. We've pretty much seen the touristy stuff but we do want to see "The Lion King" since my son's student is starring in it now and it will be nice to go while he's there. Am looking forward to some Dim Sum, YUM!! Maybe a trip to ground zero would be nice to see what's happening there after all these years. I have a week off prior to the NYC trip and a few days off after we get home. Hope we can find something interesting to do in those days.

#53

Tess Gerritsen is fast becoming my favorite writer of thriller fiction. Her latest, "The Silent Girl" was excellent. She took her characters on an adventure in Chinatown in Boston that keep me on the edge of my sofa the last two days. Rizzoli was front and center in this one versus Isles who was kind of on the back burner after her adventures in the last novel. A murder in Chinatown brought back an investigation into a 19 year old murder and the disappearance of a couple of teenage girls from that time. Rizzoli got some help from a few martial arts experts to save her.

#52

"Escape" by Barbara Delinsky was an excellent read. Emily is a 32 year old lawyer who lives in NYC with her lawyer husband. Their lives are filled with their careers and they no longer have time for each other. On the spur of the moment she decides to escape and go off to find out how to relax and to salvage her marriage. Without telling anyone where she's going she heads to a small town where she spent a summer with her best friend from college. There she finds what she's looking for and a whole lot more.

Still suffering from a sore throat and actually called out sick from work yesterday. Now with three more days off I'm hoping for a complete recovery before heading back to work. Hopefully I'll get in some more reading.

#51

"Now You See Her" is James Patterson and his co-writer of the month's latest novel. It was one of his/their best. Jeanine heads to Spring Break in Florida and her life changes. In a moment of jealously she steals her boyfriend's car and goes joy riding while drunk. She hits a man. A cop shows up and changes her life. She thinks he's her hero but she finds out he's a monster. 17 years later she's recreated her life and she and her daughter are in NYC with a new career and a new name. Suddenly she's drawn back to Florida to save a man from death row and her life is in jeapordy. Excellent page turner!

Suffering from a cold or virus. Sore throat, achy, stuffy head. Went to work two days in a row with it but today I'm not going in. I need to save the vocal cords or I'll be hoarse, too. This will give me four days off in a row which is badly needed.

#50

Cute little story by John Grisham in his teen series called "Theodore Boone: The Abduction." This time lawyer wantabe Theo is helping to solve what happened to his best friend who dissapeared late one night and she was thought to have been kidnapped. With his investigative skills and his knowledge of law at the young age of 13, he is able to do what the police couldn't.

Waiting for the latest Patterson book. I think it's his 4 millionth!

#49

Dean Koontz finished his series on Frankenstein with "The Dead Town." I can't say it was one of his best. Seemed like it was rushed and the character of Victor was basically ignored and finished off so easily that it made it less interesting. The events that took place in the town of Rainbow Falls, Montana were better. Anyway, it's over and he can get on with writing something else.

We're trying to decide what to do on vacation. It's fast approaching and we've only decided on a weekend's worth of the two weeks we'll be off. I'd like to take a train ride across country. I'm not fond of train rides but I can't imagine driving anymore. Too many distractions for hubby and I'm concerned about his driving abilities. If we took the train we'd have to have a room. No way at our ages we can get any kind of rest sitting up with kids running up and down aisle in the middle of the night. Maybe we should take a shorter trip to someplace to see how it works out. Montreal?

#48

Wow! I've lucked out again with my last of my Mother's Day purchases. "22 Britannia Road" by Amanda Hodgkinson was another excellent read. I was worried that I was going to be in a funk from too much WWII, but this one had a different twist. Young Janusz and his bride, Silvana, are separated when he goes off to join the Polish Army but is attacked by Germany bombers while on the train fresh out of Warsaw. He is sidelined and is hidden and helped to get to France and eventually England where he finally becomes a soldier. His bride and young son are left to try to make their way to her husband's family and end up being bombed. Left to live in the forrest for the remainder of the war and avoid German soldiers, they have to survive eating what they can find. Six years later, Silvana is found by the British army and reunited in England with Janusz. Both burdened with secrets that are threatening to rip them apart. Now I have to delve into my stack of books and hope that there's something in there to compare to what I've recently read.

#47

Running out of the books I bought with my Mother's Day gift card. I found some real treasures though and "The Seamstress" by Sara Tuvel Bernstein is a winner. This is a true story that was co-authored by Louise Loots Thornton and Marlene Bernstein Samuels. Sara's life started in Transylvania and the majority of this novel took place during World War II. Sara was a Jew who made a pretty good living as a seamstress but as all Jews in any proximity of Germany, she had a horrible story to tell. This story was written in the 1980's but sat on a shelf in the author's home without a publisher to put it into print. Finally, after many years and Sara's death, her daughter found someone to publish it. It's a must read!

#46

Another great novel. Geraldine Brooks' "Caleb's Crossing" was excellent. She took a real character from history and wrote a fictional depiction of his life. Caleb is an American Indian born in the 1640's on what would become Martha's Vineyard. He befriends a young white girl who's father is a local minister and educator. She teaches him English and he teaches her more of his language which she had already somewhat mastered by listening to her father teach her brother. Her education stopped at the age of 9 which was typical at that time. Her thirst for knowledge kept her continually paying attention to what her brother was being taught even though she was to be doing woman's work. Caleb is taken into her home and further educated with the hope that he would be able to attend the prestigous Harvard College. Help from England is being sent to support the Indian's education and a new building has been built in anticipation of the new students. Parts of the story are documented and the rest are the author's fictional account based on what records she could uncover.

#45

Cute little novel by Sarah Addison Allen, "The Peach Keeper," made for an easy read over the last couple of days. Set in the south, it involved a third generation of society women who had lost the focus of why the original group had formed 75 years ago. The mystery was solved when a skeleton was discovered and the remaining two original members had to come clean as to what happened.

Sad to have missed the family reunion yesterday but having it on Father's Day was a negative for me. I've seen posted pictures on Facebook and I missed quite a few cousins that I haven't seen in a long time. Apparently having it on Father's Day wasn't a problem for everyone.

#44

"The Kingdom" by Clive Cussler and his author of the month was very exciting. It's the series about the Fargo's. Wealthy adventure seeking couple who spending their time looking for treasure. This time they were trying to find an old friend when they discovered they were pulled into this trip under false pretenses. Their search for the "The Golden Man" led them to Shangri-la and into danger which is usual for them. Fun read!

Was looking forward to a family reunion tomorrow for my Dad's side of the family when I realized that it was being held on Father's Day. Don't know why they did that but it ruined my plans to attend. Can't drag my hubby away from the kids on Father's Day and I'm not going to miss out on time with them either. Hope they plan better next year.

Is the world turning mean?

I've found that most of the customers that I have to deal with on a daily basis are just plain mean. I'm so tired of being abused! Just today a man couldn't understand why I couldn't just swap out his returned item for another different item that was the same price. Couldn't get the concept that we have inventory to maintain. You can bend over backward and not make a difference. It gets so difficult to give a smile when you don't get a smile in return. I've noticed that they use the least little thing to try to get a discount. Sure the economy sucks, but do you have to pretend you didn't get good service just to get a free ride. I get to hear all the sob stories about other employees that didn't treat them right and they want to be compensated for it. Put your big girl panties on and deal with it!

#43

Kathleen Grissom has written a wonderful novel. "The Kitchen House" is about life in the late 1700's in the South. A young Irish girl named Lavinia shows up on the plantation when her parents both die at sea and she's taken by the Captain to be indentured as a kitchen helper in his home. Having no one, she's taken into the life of the plantation slaves and becomes part of their family. Disruption occurs when the Captain dies and she's taken to Williamsburg to live with her insane mistress' sister when it's realized that the mistress has to be hospitalized. Her new station and refinement is not missed by the Captain's son. He takes an interest and when he inherits the plantation he marries her and brings her back to the only home she knew. Hoping to bring changes to her "family's" lives as the new mistress of the plantation, she soon realizes that she can not change the ways of her new husband and she's forced to live a nightmare. Excellent read!!

#42

"The Winter Sea" is a novel by Susanna Kearsley. She basically wrote two novels in one. The main character, Carrie McClelland, is the author of historic novels and she's researching the possible connection to her family of a young woman named Sophia Paterson who was thought to have married into the McClelland family in the early 1700's. It brought Carrie to Slain Castle in Scotland and from there she's caught up in the story and feels she's actually a recipient of Sophia's thoughts. The time frame is when King James the VIII of Scotland and the III of England. He's in exile in France while his sister rules England. The Jacobites want him to have the throne and conspiracy abounds with the effort to get him back to Scotland. Very enjoyable.

#41

The latest read was an excellent choice. Little known adventure that took place in the 1896 when Helga Estby took a wager from a group of fashion designers to walk across America. She took her eldest daughter, Clara, against the daughter's wishes and set off on the trek to New York City. The amount they were to win was $10,000 but the terms were that they had to arrive on a certain date. They money was to save their family farm and even though it meant leaving her husband and other younger children, she was determined to get to New York on time. There was a clause that covered time off for sickness but the sprained ankle that Clara suffered was not allowed and it set them back too much to arrive on time. There was no money to get back home and the women ended up having to beg for a train ticket. Arriving back home they discovered that two of the children had died of diptheria and the family had turned against them for abandoning them. The trip was never to be mentioned and Clara who found out a secret on their journey was turned out and left to make her own way. Thus the name of this novel, "The Daughter's Walk by Jane Kirkpatrick. I will be looking for the novel by Linda Lawrence Hunt which covers the walk in more detail. Kirkpatrick's account covered the walk but went on to try to cover what happened to the daughter from records she found.

#40

Had to put aside a book I was enjoying because it fell apart on me. It's on it's way back to Amazon for a replacement. I finished "Lilies in Moonlight" by Allison Pittman. Cute little novel but not an author I'll be looking to read again. 1925's and a young woman is trying to make her way in Florida selling door to door products. She stumbles into a home where the lady of the house is not playing with a full deck but develops a liking for the young woman. The son is a former baseball player who had a rotten career and went running off to war, but came home damaged by mustard gas. Get the scenario? Hoping to find something a little more meatier in my stash of books.

Spending the day tomorrow with a newly found cousin-in-law. We met through ancestry.com and we are going to do a little cemetery searching in my home town. Her husband was my third cousin on my maternal grandmother's side. She's been curious about that side of the family so we're off on our adventure in the am.

#39

Read a wonderful novel by Patricia Falvey titled "The Yellow House." Set in Ireland in the early 1900's it covers the fictional O'Neill family and Eileen in particular. Growing up in Ulster with all the tension between the Catholics and the Protestants created a great backdrop for this story. Her family is torn apart early and her goal is to bring them back together and to live once again in the yellow house. Loved it!

#38

Finished Steve Berry's "The Jefferson Key." Good book but was a little hard to follow with every couple of paragraphs changing to a different person, location and event. Started with the attempted assassination of the President and our hero, Cotton Malone, shows up in time to stop it. From there he ends up in the Oval Office along with his female companion to stop modern day pirates from continuing what has been allowed since the revolutionary times. Freedom to privateer for America and give back a portion to the country but pocket the rest, known as Letters of Marque. All presidents that have tried to interfere with them have ended up assassinated. Good read! Anxious to get into some of my new box load of books that arrived this week.

Totally tired of work and the nasty customers who can't crack a smile if their lives depended on it. If I have to be nice then it would be great if it was returned. Don't even get one day off over the holiday weekend. Good thing we weren't invited anywhere anyway.

#37

Finished James Patterson's "10th Anniversary." This was the 10th of in the series of the Women's Murder Club. Good fast read which is pretty typical of Patterson and whoever is his coauthor of the month. Several stories running side by side to help keep all the members of the club busy. We covered rape, murder, incest, and infidelity. Yep! That was it in a nut shell.

#36

I forget how I stumbled across "One Second After" by William R. Forstchen, but it was a very thought provoking read. It's been recommended as reading material for all of Congress. Electromagnetic Pulse is the reason. "They say" that it could be our country's destruction. We've apparently known about it for a long time and haven't taken precautions to prevent the consequences. In Forstchen's novel, an ex military man turned professor has moved to a small town in the mountains of the Carolinas to takes his dying wife back to her family. He's established himself and his family there when all power stops. He's aware of what has probably happened when he realizes that all cars models after 1980 have stopped dead, cell phones are dead, computers are dead, and our world as we know it is forever changed. Everything that we've put a computer chip into is now gone. Planes have fallen out of the sky. Within days martial law is enforced. No contact with the outside world is taking place to find out what has happened and who's attacked us. Now they have to figure out how to keep surviving. His daughter is a diabetic and has been given just a few vials of insulin. No means to get more. The nursing home is a mess of filth within two days. Elderly dying without help. In weeks they have people starving and fighting each other for food. Strangers are swarming the countryside in search of food so they have to form their own army to protect their residents. A trip to the grocery store while reading this book made me want to stock up on a year's worth of food and water. Definitely an interesting read.

#35

Took me ages to finish my latest book. Partly because I couldn't get into it and partly because I was working on ancestry.com. Jeffrey Deaver's "The Lesson of Her Death" is an old novel of his and not one of his Lincoln Rhyme's stories. It isn't really that it wasn't a good book; I just find that I'm feeling less moved by murder mysteries. This murder happened in a small town and it involved a college coed. She was found strangled and raped. The suspects were all over the place. Was it a professor or a local youth? Was it a cult killing? More deaths take place and finally it wraps up.

Uploaded my ancestry research onto the ancestry.com website and decided to add all the old family pictures that I have sitting in 7 albums in a trunk. Why keep them to myself when others can benefit from them. Lots of people are scuffing them up so it's a good thing. I figure I'll keep my subscription active for a couple weeks then cut it off again. Did meet (online) a wife of a distant cousin who lives locally and we've decided we'll do a cemetery walk in my home town and check out her husband's and my ancestors. I do find it interesting to read all the different names and places that my ancestors have come from.

Managed to get 6 days off. Asked for last Friday off as a vacation day and then asked off for Saturday and Sunday (Mother's Day). Was scheduled for work yesterday and scheduled off Tuesday and Wednesday. Decided that Monday was a good day to take a personal day and ended up with the time off. It's been great and much needed. Still have a week and a half of vacation to use up before the beginning of September. We can't decide what to do.

#34

If you want a good spy novel then Charles Cumming's "The Trinity Six" is a good choice. A ninety one year old character decides to spill the beans about his knowledge of a sixth member of the Cambridge Spy ring. Brits spying on Russia and crossing ranks. Big news in the 1930's but could it also cause a governmental shakeup today? Someone is killing off anyone who has knowledge of this old information. Sam Gaddis is a novelist and professor in England. His best friend is one of the one's killed and he's out to solve the mystery. Every where he goes to pursue leads finds another death. How will he avoid being a victim? Good read!

Happy Easter!

Have gotten away from reading for a bit. Reopened my ancestry.com account to see if there were any new limbs on my tree. Found that a cousin has put some of the family on there with pictures. I'm sitting on a treasure trove of old pics so I decided to upload as many as I can to put names with faces for future searchers. I've accomplished quite a bit. Still have some great aunts and uncles on my mom's side but pretty much done on my dad's. Need to do some scanning to finish up. All the information shows up for me when I go online but the other searchers will only be able to access the dead. Not the living. I guess they assume if there's no death date and you're over a 100 then your info is fair game. I've got some pretty scary looking relatives! Those old broads at the turn of the century are mean looking! Guess if you didn't have teeth or Hershey's chocolate, you'd be mean looking too. Anyway, a couple more weeks of snooping around through the generations should satisfy my sudden craving. Plus, it isn't cheap!

The house is filled with the smell of turkey and oyster stuffing. That's my contribution to today's feast at my daughter's house. She's having a big friends and family bash. She's making everything else except desserts. That's to be brought be the in-laws. Seems funny not to be cooking it all but she's taken over and I'm grateful.

#33

Finished "Silent Mercy" by Linda Fairstein. She has the sequel of Alex Cooper the Assistant D.A. who teams up with her cop buddies, Mike and Mercer to take on the NYC's worst. This time they're after a religious fanatic who wants to permanently silence woman who think they should become ministers or priests. Wasn't as taken with this book as those in her past. The edge just wasn't there this time.

Definitely feeling the need for a vacation from work. The season has brought lots of shoppers out and it's wearing me down. Lots of hours on my feet and I'm dragging home every night. Can't get hubby to make a decision on what we're doing this year. Uncle Sam hit us hard this past week with Income taxes and property taxes being due on the same day. Ouch! Might have to just stay home for vacation. Okay by me! I've got tons of books and that's good enough for me.

#32

Thrilled to get my latest book! Elizabeth Berg is my favorite and she didn't disappoint with "One Upon a Time, There Was You." Three characters: John, the ex-husband; Irene, the ex-wife; Sadie the 18 year old daughter. John lives in Minnesota, Irene and Sadie in California. John and Irene got married late in life and both came from very dysfunctional families and they were doomed from the start. Too much baggage. Sadie is just starting out and a trauma causes the reuniting of her family, temporarily, and also causes her to make a sudden decision that makes the tensions rise. Love this author so much.

#31

I feel like I've wasted good reading time in my quest to finish "The Land of Painted Caves" by Jean M. Auel. 751 pages was just way too much. The first part of the book was just a long drawn out trip to travel around viewing painted caves in an effort for the "One Who Serves" to bring her acolyte, Ayla, on a spiritual journey as part of her training to become a Zelandonia. Auel's earlier books were much better and the fact that it takes her so long to publish new books in this series is just getting ridiculous. What she started in the early 80's is now just dragging on and on. She should have wrapped up the series in this book and given it an ending.

I got my weekend off after working those long 9 days. Had a nice, but too short, lunch with my son and today I'm having lunch with my daughter and grandchildren. Sure is nice to have some family time!! Now I get to tackle my favorite author, Elizabeth Berg.

#30

"Live Wire" is Harlan Coben's latest novel and one of his Myron Bolitar series. Myron is an ex-basketball star who lost his chance at the big leagues in the first game when he was injured. He went on to become a lawyer and to become an agent with his own agency. I've chuckled through these novels and thoroughly enjoyed them. I'm feeling that this series is ending and he will be starting up a teenage version with Myron's nephew as the star. Hope I'm wrong about this one ending but he's sold off his agency and his best friend and his partner are gone. Not feeling good about that.

Enjoying two days off and then a stint of nine days on before my next time off. At my age I hope I can survive working nine days in a row without a break. The next time I'm off will be a weekend and hopefully I will get to see my family during that time.

#29

The latest Clive Cussler novel didn't disappoint. "The Jungle" was a sequel to the Oregon Files which is the old tanker ship that sails the ocean looking like it's on it's last sea leg but really it is the cover for the Corporation. A group that not only works for the US government when it doesn't want it's name to be out there but also other private individuals and countries that have a job to be done. Nothing illegal but all undercover. This time it takes the reader all over the world in search of the first quantum computer and the US doesn't have it. It has taken over control of our country and it's government and it's being blackmailed to do it's bidding. Great read and page turner.

#28

James Patterson has put his name on some interesting books but this one is bizarre! Whoever really wrote it has gone way off the beaten path. Time frame is 60 years in the future and the Elite have taken over the earth and the humans are scum. The Elite are genetically altered and born in test tubes after two years of incubation. They are trying to destroy all the humans and of course there has to be a hero to save the world. Hays Baker has spent his life thinking he was Elite to find out during an operation that he's human and now hunted by the Elite who used to consider him a hero. I wasn't overly impressed with this book and am hoping it isn't a sequel but it has the makings of it. I did read it quickly since it has the short chapters that a Patterson book is famous for. Had the day off and spent it on the couch with my jammies on.

#27

Maeve Binchy is a wonderful author and she didn't disappoint me with her latest, "Minding Frankie." She took us back to an area of Dublin that we've become familiar with since she wrote "Tara Road." Some of the same characters have come back in many of her last 5 or 6 novels. This time we got to know some new ones and they tied in nicely. Stella is dying and she's pregnant. She wants the father of the baby to raise it but he doesn't know about the baby until just a few weeks before Stella is to give birth. They were both drunk on the night of conception and he doesn't remember. The baby is a girl and her name is to be Frankie. Noel is the father and to be a good one he has to change his life. No more drinking and he must better his life by getting a better education. To do all this he needs a good support system and that comes from his newly discovered American cousin who has come to Ireland to find her roots, his parents, and his neighbors. What a great story! Hoping for many more novels that take us back to Dublin.

Tomorrow is my granddaughter's 16th birthday. Oh my! Where did the time go. Driving and her trip to Germany this summer are foremost on her mind right now. Takes me back to that time in my life. What great memories!

#26

Found an old John Saul novel that I'd missed. "All Fall Down" was written in the early 80's so it was funny to read about a time before cell phones and current technology. This one was just getting into computers and data searches. A small town has an unusual number of deaths by SIDS and young boys missing and considered runaways. Is there a link? All the births took place at the local hospital and all the mothers were treated by the same doctor. The mothers didn't want to be mothers and they were given an IUD. They all got pregnant anyway and the results are now being discovered by one of the mothers who has a background in computers and has done a little hacking to find out what really killed her baby daughter and why a young boy who was a friend of her son's has gone missing. I would not say that this was one of John Saul's best. Was rather disappointed but it was written early in his career. Maybe I'm losing my taste for this type of read.

Can't believe my granddaughter is turning 16 next Monday. It's bad enough to see your children getting older but it's much worse to watch it happen to your grandchildren.

#25

Once again Jodi Picoult wrote a great novel. She always makes it thought provoking and this time she did it again. This time she covers homosexuality, the church, in-vitro fertilization, and frozen embryoes. The extra bonus is the CD that she's included in the book. The singer is Ellen Wilber but the lyrics are written by Jodi. Thanks for the great read!! Sad that I have to wait another year for the next one.

#24

Finished a cute little read by Belva Plain titled "Heartwood." Set in the 1980's it features a family of parents and grown children who have made some interesting choices for their lives in that time frame. The only daughter has become a Martha Stewart type who out of desperation to keep the family's finances afloat has had to make a living the only way she knows how. Cooking and creating. Her husband keeps getting side tracked from finishing his doctorate program and can't seem to stay on track with his chosen career. The changes have caused a rift between she and her husband and also with her mother. Probably not one of Belva's best novels. Okay, but not a five star read.

Looking forward to two days off! Will be awhile before that happens again so I hope to take advantage of it. Still have to finish my stained glass project.

#23

A really light enjoyable read by Anita Shreve. "Rescue" was a quick story about a Rescue worker named Webster who responded to a car accident only to have his life turned upside down by the experience. That's it!!

Spent my two days in my temporary job as bookkeeper and somehow survived. Ended up with very late lunches and some overtime but I made it. Some nerve racking moments. Sure hope I don't have to wait months to be back in there or I will forget everything I've learned just when I was starting to feel comfortable. A day off tomorrow and then I'm back to my original job. Sure will miss being able to read and hide away. Now I'll be right out there with the masses again.

#22

It took me forever to read Dean Koontz's "What the Night Knows." Not that it wasn't good; it was just scary! I wanted to keep reading but found myself putting it down to avoid what I knew was coming. Thought for sure I would have nightmares but the only nightmare I had was over the upcoming stint I'm doing at work as a bookkeeper. Anyway, the novel was about a cop who 20 years ago had his entire family killed brutally by a madman. He was a 14 year old boy who came home just in time to find the killer finishing up with his sister and he killed the killer. Now the killer is back in "spirit" and taking revenge on his new family.

Will try to get some reading done today but also want to work on my other stained glass window. I like the one that is already finished and am anxious to get it's match put up to complete the front of the house.

#21

James Patterson wrote another Maximum Ride book. This one was "Angel" which is named after one of the main characters. This time the flock is out to once again save the world and they unite with another gang to help them accomplish it. Can't say anymore or it will ruin it. Good read even if it is for teenagers.

#20

I thought it would take me forever to read James Patterson's "Tick Tock." Not that it wasn't good, I just couldn't find the time to read. Being back at the old job doesn't allow for reading and then when I go on lunch it's so difficult to find a quiet place that I have to wait till evening and then I'm too tired to pick up the book. Patterson is a two day read at most and this was about a week. This book featured his latest character, Michael Bennett, NYC Detective. He's widowed and has ten adopted children. His grandfather, who is now a Catholic priest and a nanny, are helping him raise his gang. He's called in to find a bomber/killer that has been attacking what appears to be randomly in New York. Ends up that it's a killer with a motive and he's not killing at random but he has an agenda. His final victim is to be Michael.

I'm looking forward to next week when I get trained to help in bookkeeping and I'll be back for a few hours a day at my desk job. Might get to sneak in a book or two while I'm there.

#19

I finished Lauren Willig's "The Orchid Affair." It's another sequel to her series on the spies of the early 1800's in England and France. This one took us to France with a young woman known as Laura who was to become Silver Orchid. Her contact is the Pink Carnation. She is to be governess in the home of the Minister of Police and get what information she can about the return of the prince to France to take his rightful place on the throne. Always an interesting read.

My old job opened up for me on Monday when they fired the girl who replaced me. She pushed their buttons one too many times and out the door she went. Now we will pay her unemployment while she sits at home and the rest of us work. Supposedly I will get the training in the bookkeeping department before I take up my old position.

#17 and #18

First I will get rid of the sorry excuse of a book that Dean Koontz put out in his "Odd Thomas" series. "Odd is on Our Side" ended up being the biggest waste of $10.99 that I've ever spent for a book. I don't know what he was thinking. It's a great series but suddenly he's writing his books in comic book fashion and it was horrible. Don't take something that's been successful and try to change it. If it was a true Odd Thomas book it would have followed the story line in timing which it didn't. Suddenly Odd's girlfriend is back among the living. Just awful! And shame on you Dean Koontz.

I did read Kristin Hannah's "Winter Garden." I enjoyed the history portion but the ending was so far fetched that it was disappointing. I guess if you need happy endings it was okay. The author kept taking us from 2000 to WWII in Russia and Stalin's rule. Conditions were deplorable and Vera is a young woman living in Leningrad and suffering through those conditions. Move to 2000 and she's an elderly woman who's life should have been wonderful but she can't let go of what happened during the war and she's made her family suffer for it. Okay read, but I won't purposely pursue other books by this author. If I'm given one, I would read it.

#16

I lucked out with the last few books. Really good reads. Same goes for Tatiana de Rosnay's "Sarah's Key." I'm a pretty good student of history but I was totally unaware of what happened in July of 1942 in Paris. Many thousands of French Jews were rounded up and taken to an arena in Paris. It wasn't the Nazi's doing the deed; it was the Paris Police. Young Sarah locks her younger brother in a secret cabinet to keep him safe with the promise she would return for him unaware that she's about to take a journey to hell. 60 years later her story is uncovered by an American journalist living in Paris.

#15

My reading frenzy is coming to an end. One more day at my current job. I was able to finish "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand. A fabulous history of Louis Zamperini, former Olympic hopeful and POW in WWII. The tale that is told will leave you drained. A totally true account from a man who lived through the horrors of a plane crash, 47 days at sea on a raft only to be found by the Japanese and held prisoner for 2 1/2 years with torture inflicted on him daily. What an inspiration! I just want to find him and give him a hug!

#14

I just finished Abraham Verghese's "Cutting for Stone." I have to label this one as one of my favorites. Marion and Shiva Stone are twin co-joined brothers born of a secret union between an Indian nun and a British surgeon. Orphaned by their mother's death and their father's disappearance, they are raised at a hospital in Ethiopia by their adoptive parents. They share a fascination with medicine but there are definite differences in the twins. Ethiopia is on the brink of revolution and Marion is forced to leave for NYC where he finishes his internship and residency. Unforgettable story of love, betrayal, medicine, ordinary miracles and two brothers whose fates are forever intertwined.

Two glorious days off and a lovely snow fall. I'm so ready for retirement!

#13

I didn't think I'd finish another book so soon, but "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho is a short read. Only about 167 pages but full of inspiring wisdom. A Spanish Shepherd boy named Santiago travels from his homeland to Egypt in search of treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. His journey to find worldly treasure ends up showing him the treasure within himself.

#12

James Andrus' "The Perfect Woman" was another free Kindle book. Not bad for a freebie but not good enough for me to want to go in search of other books by him. I'm feeling that there will be a sequel to it since it ended rather up in the air. John Stallings is a detective working "runaways" since he's familiar with what parents of runaways go through. His own daughter ran away and has been missing for 3 years. He discovers a body in a suitcase in one of his investigations and he finds out that this is the second such incident. Serial killer? Of course. The killer is a part time teacher at a local community college and a part time worker at a local pharmacy where he helps himself to drugs to run his experiments in his own private lab in his home. Seems everyone in the story is addicted to pharmaceuticals. John's wife, his partner, the lead detective in the investigation....... Little bit of overkill!

Looks like this is my last week at this job so I need to take advantage and rack up my reading!

#11

Thanks once again to free books on Kindle, I had an enjoyable read. Oliver Potzsch's "The Hangman's Daughter" was set in the 1659 time frame and there was murder, witchcraft, and adventure. It was interesting to find out it was based on the author's family who were hangmen for generations. To be a hangman was to be a pariah in the village but a necessity. He took care of tortures, hangings, beheadings, and burnings. His family was also considered outcasts. He made a good living and on the side he was somewhat of a healer. When children in the village are found murdered and they have a witch's mark on their shoulders, then he's called in to torture the local mid-wife as the witch. He has a soft spot for her since she's delivered his children and most of the other children in town so he's determined to find out who is really behind these deaths. Very interesting!

I thought I was beyond buying books I already read but for some reason, and I can't remember at who's suggestion, I repurchased Charles Pallister's "The Quincunx". I now have two copies and hate to return it, since it was from a book seller on Amazon. You'd think I'd remember a title like that but I didn't. I'm pretty sure I read it in 1989. Should be getting a bunch of books soon from Borders. Had to use my gift card from Christmas before they go bankrupt.

My extra reading days will be ending soon. Will be leaving this current job in a couple of weeks and it will be back to reality.

#10

Very interesting novel by Anita Shreve. "The Weight of Water" was a bit different than other novels by Shreve. She combined a gruesome murder of two women that took place off the coast of Maine in 1873 and a current day storyline. Jean is a photographer who is hired to take photos of the island where this murder took place so long ago. In her search for some older photos she comes across some documents that have obviously been ignored about the murders. She sneaks them from the archives and plans to copy and return them at a later date. It's obvious that the archives aren't aware of what they have and nothing has ever been done with the box of papers she was handed. A confession to the murders is in those documents and it is not from the person that was hanged for the crime. Events that take place on the sailboat that Jean is using to get to the island for the photos completely changes her life.

#9

Thoroughly enjoyed William Gay's "The Long Home." I'd compare him to Cormac McCarthy. Set in the 1940's, Nathan Winer, a young headstrong Tennessee carpenter who lost his father years ago to an evil that is greater and closer than any boy can imagine until he learns of it first hand. The evil is named Hardin and he has taken over the Hovington place even before the owner is dead. He's also taken over his wife and daughter. William Tell Oliver is the neighbor who knows the evil and lives in guilt for not telling of it earlier.

Didn't read a whole lot today. Had to take time to watch the Steeler's and Raven's game. Tough when part of your family is fans of both. Glad the Steelers won. Great game!

#8 Barely

Does a book consisting of 76 pages really qualify as a book? Sure seems like short story status to me. Annie Dillard's "Holy the Firm" was such a book. Anything you can read in an hour or so is suspect in my mind. In 1975 Annie Dillard took up residence on an island in Puget Sound, in a wooden room furnished with "one enormous window, one cat, one spider and one person." For the next two years she asked herself questions about time, reality, sacrifice, death, and the will of God. She writes about a moth consumed in a candle flame, about a seven-year old girl burned in an airplance accident, about a baptism on a cold beach.

I think I've discovered why the world is now crazy! Don't mess with our astrology! I've been a Leo for my whole life and now I'm a Cancer. Please, I don't fit any of the description of a Cancer. Idiotic!!!! I don't care what they say; I'm staying a Leo.

#7

"The Blackstone Chronicles" by John Saul is the complete series in one complete novel. Originally written as 6 short novels about the New England town of Blackstone and the secrets and sins that lay buried there. Fascinating and page turning.

I will have to leave my current job and go to a different store to get back on the front desk when my current job is gone. I really hate how my work ethic has counted for nothing in this change. The boss doesn't seem concerned that I will have to leave to get what I want. Sure has put a damper on my whole week.

#6

Finished Tami Hoag's "Secrets to the Grave." It was a sequel to her last novel and ended up being a pretty good read. Former FBI profiler, Vince and his wife, Anne, are helping to find out who brutally murdered Marissa Fordham leaving a 4 year old daughter who got caught up in the brutality and almost died. Seems everyone is a suspect and the daughter isn't helping even though she saw the murderer. She said "Daddy killed Mommy," but that she calls everyone who ever dated her mother, Daddy. Lots of suspense but I figured it out way before the end.

Boss called me on my day off and told me my job is being cut back to a part time position and that I have to go on the floor on a face the customer job. Can't go back on the front desk so it looks like I'll be facing many hours on my feet. Just when I thought I might be getting those heel spurs calmed down. Ruined my day off and now I'm having a sleepless night worrying about it. My personal feeling is that he's trying to get rid of the older workers and put younger ones in our place. Wish retirement were a little closer.

#5

Just finished the prequel to "The Heretic's Daughter." Kathleen Kent's "The Wolves of Andover" was an excellent read and kept me reading at every available moment. It gave me the background for her first novel and threw in some history which I always enjoy. This novel covered the early days of Martha Carrier prior to her being hanged as a witch in Salem. She was taken into servitude by a cousin and was eventually attracked to a man more than twice her age that worked for the cousin's family. His background was of a former soldier to Cromwell and it was rumored that he beheaded King Charles I. There isn't anything in writing to prove this but it was passed down as family legend for centuries.

#4

If you can handle reading the "N" word multiple times then this is a good book. Anne Rivers Siddons' "Heartbreak Hotel" is about the South in the 1950's so it was a common thing to hear. (I can't believe that such classics as Huckleberry Finn are being changed because of the "N" word when it represented the accuracy of that time.) Anyway, Maggie is in her final year at a southern university. A member of all the usual environs of life at that time. She was "pinned" to a true southern guy who was from Mississippi. They didn't own slaves but it still took 50 Negroes to run the plantation. An episode that took place on a visit to the plantation opened Maggie's eyes to a different way of looking at the changes taking place around her. Siddons' is a great writer and I have always enjoyed her novels.

We celebrated 12 years in our new home yesterday. That is the longest we've ever lived anywhere. Those years have flown by! Our gift to the new home was a new hot water heater. The old one was starting to rust and we felt that it was time to change it before we had a leak and a major problem. Since our water lines are sub par we are probably going to replace them, also. Acidic water has taken it's toll on them.

Had yesterday and today off so I'm enjoying it. Hubby had to work both days so I'm reading, working stained glass and napping. Back to the grind tomorrow.

#3

I thought over the years that I had read all of John Saul's books but recently discovered that I missed "Cry for the Strangers." Way back from 1979. As usual, it was a good read and kept me glued to it for the last two days. Clark's Harbor is a small town on the Pacific Coast about 3 hours drive from Seattle. Strangers are not welcome here. The town's people are all related and their families have been around for generations. Unusual deaths seem to occur to those that don't belong and those deaths happen near Sod Beach.

#2

Another goodie from my amazon delivery was "The Heretic's Daughter" by Kathleen Kent. The author is the real life descendant of Martha Carrier who was hanged as a witch in Salem, MA in 1692. She writes this novel through Martha's daughter, Sarah's eyes. It starts a year before and covers up to and after the trial and hanging. Not only is Sarah the daughter of an accused witch but also her father is quite a well known person in English history, Thomas Carrier who fought for King Charles and later for Cromwell. The next novel from her will be a prequel covering Thomas' life prior to arriving in the colonies. I will be searching Amazon for that one later today. What a family tree!

#1

Good way to start the new year was reading Kate Morton's "The Distant Hours." Have never read her before but I may check out other books that she's written. This was a mystery that I actually didn't figure out until pretty close to the end of the novel. A letter is delivered after 50 years of being hidden in an attic by a drunken mailman. He's passed on and his daughter finds the bag of mail. The mail is delivered and it brought a shock to at least on of the recipient. This leads to a trip to the Milderhurst castle and the writer of the well known classic, "The True History of the Mud Man." The story's time frame went back and forth between 1941 and 1992.