A rare find in an used book shop

I bought a few books when shopping with my son on Mother's Day. We wondered in a used book store and came out with some goodies. "A Bell for Adano" by John Hersey was such a find. It was about an American Major who was put in charge of a small town in Sicily to stabilize it at the end of WWII. He proves to be just what the town needs to get back on track. The only thing missing is it's famous bell. Taken to be melted down to make rifles just weeks before he gets there, he takes on the mission to get the town another bell.

Benchmark

My son turned 40 today. Well, officially not till 11:20 tonight. WOW! I'm blown away by this benchmark. I handle getting older fairly well but when your child hits an age like this it is a rude awakening. I can barely believe that I'm not still 40 and now I have a son that age. When I woke this morning I instantly thought of it and wanted to just roll over and cover my head and go back to sleep. Let's go back.........it's Mother's Day 1969 and I'm waiting for the birth of my first child. Back then we couldn't find out what sex you were having. All I had was my grandmother who swore up and down that I was carrying a girl since that was the shape the baby and my body had formed. Hands down! Of course, two years later she swore I was carrying a boy and I had a girl. Not a good track record for grandma. I didn't get to celebrate Mother's Day of 1969. It wasn't in the cards. In the very early hours of Tuesday morning (two days later) the twinges started and since I was quite a distance from the hospital that I was going to have him in we didn't waste time and rushed there. 22 and half hours later my bundle of joy was born! What a beautiful child. A full head of blond hair and so tiny! How could this precious child be mine! Thank you, Son, for bring such joy to my life!

New Author; good read

I've never read Lisa Scottoline before but I enjoyed her novel "Look Again." Main character Ellen Gleeson checks her mail and sees a postcard with "have you seen this child." The picture is eerily like her adopted son. Instead of throwing it in the trash she is drawn to investigating since she's a reporter. She never expected what happened to her. Yes, she thought she would lose her son if he were really the child on the postcard but she never expected the danger.

Mother's Day was wonderful! The only downside was not seeing my daughter on the day but I got to spend hours with my son, one on one. We went to the farmer's market in Baltimore, had lunch in a French Bistro, snooped around some antique shops and then some old book shops (yippee). We went back to his place and planted the flowers and in the huge pot I got him for his 40th birthday coming up this week. Yes, flowers for my son. He lives in a house with sidewalk and patio pavers and no ground to plant in. He and his wife like to cheer up the neighborhood with flowers. Anyway, we planted the "planter" and then had an afternoon of conversation. It was lovely! Today I had lunch with my daughter and even though it wasn't for as long a period of time it was very nice to have her to myself! Thanks to both my children for making my Mother's Day special!!

Limping again

I've really done the old heel spur in now. It's erupted into an even more painful situation than I originally suffered from when I started this new job. I've been so busy that I can't sit at all and all these hours on my feet have taken their toll. I have to get back to the podiatrist. Now I just have to try to fit that into my schedule.



I finished "Boneman's Daughters" by Ted Dekker. On the nightmare scale, I'd give him an 8 out of 10. Started out with Ryan Evans, intelligence officer, captured in Iraq and suffering torture until his escape. It's a life altering time and he's determined to come home and make it up to his daughter and wife for all the time he's spent away from them. Home is Austin, Texas where a serial killer had been disrupting their peaceful existence by kidnapping young women and killing them in a most unusual way. The Boneman is looking for the perfect daughter! Do we see a connection here? The book is filled with manipulation and control. I found Dekker good enough to read again!

Great read

I've been suffering insomnia so I got another book finished. This one was an excellent read, also. Coben Harlan's "Long Lost." This is one of his sequels to his character Myron Bolitar. Bolitar was a well known basketball star in high school and then college. His first night as a pro he suffered a knee injury that put him out of the basketball business. He became a lawyer and opened his own sports agency. That's his background but he also daubles along with his wealthy friend Win in other activities. Sometimes they get involved in things that the police wish they wouldn't. This book took him to Paris to meet up with his old girlfriend and it leads to a secret that changes not only her life but many others. The ending was very thought provoking and scary. The possibility that this could happen is the worst scenario. If you want a read that keeps you on the edge of your seat and throws in a few chuckles along the way then this is the one to read.

A day read

As typical of James Patterson's books, I finished "The 8th Confession" in one day. This was his series of the Women's Murder Club. Cindy the newspaper reporter finds a dead street person and decides to write a series of article on "Bagman Jesus" while her friends and fellow club members are working on a high profile serial killer who kills their victims with an unknown method. Both investigations turn out to be out of the norm. Throw in a strange mix of personal life for each of the women and it turns out to be a very good read.

Comfort Food

That's what it's like to read an Elizabeth Berg novel. Like having a big old plate of something that warms you up inside and makes you feel so good. Her latest is "Home Safe" and it was superb. Have I mentioned that I just love this woman? This time she gives us Helen Ames.......author of some renown but who is recently widowed and is now suffering from "writer's block." She went from parents who did everything for her to a husband who did the same. She's trying hard not to make her daughter her next victim. She's mathematically challenged so her husband took care of the finances and to her surprise she gets a call from her accountant informing her that there was a rather large unexplained withdrawal from she and her husband's retirement account prior to his sudden death. With this news and the now lack of income from writing she takes a job teaching a writing course at night to supplement her income. Her students are amazing. In addition she gets a mysterious call from a man in California that will change her life. Loved it!

Now for the latest James Patterson. Great to have the day off and with the blinds closed I can pretend it's miserable out and that I have to stay in and read. No wonder I'm Vitamin D deprived!