#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?