Kingdom of the Golden Dragon by Isabel Allende

 

Don't you love the cover of this book? I received this story on loan from a friend. I wondered if I would like this book because I had previously tried to read two other books by this person, also given to me by the same friend, and I was leary about its' magnetism. But I didn't have to worry long. As I began to read I kept turning the pages and wanted to keep turning the pages. I wanted to sit longer in the morning with my cup of coffee or in the late afternoons with a cup of tea. I wanted to turn the TV off earlier at night so that I could go to my bedroom and read under the warm covers in the quiet of the winter night.

 

Now I will have to go out and find the two other books which go with this tale as they form a trilogy.

 

This is the second book. It is about a grandmother who takes her grandson and eventually a young friend of his as well on a journey to the Kingdom of the Golden Dragon. You learn that there are such things as Yetis and that you can transport yourself, by concentrated meditation, outside your body in order to fly among the wind. Is that really true? I do not know. You will have to make up your own mind. I do know that there are things that have been done as old as time and an open mind allows one to "see". It's a bit scary I think. What do you think?

 

At any rate, you will enter a Forbidden Kingdom in the Himalayas where a King has ruled for centuries and only he and his heir can know how to unlock the Golden Dragon's secrets. Who doesn't like that idea? But there are those who want to take what is not theirs and the Kingdom may find that it is no longer at peace.

 

I think you may like this one.

Standup Guy by STUART WOODS

 

I am a little new to Stuart Woods but my Dad's bookshelf  holds just about all of his books. So when I saw this paperback at my Rite Aid store I bought it for him because I knew he didn't have this one. But before I gave it to him, I decided to read it. Why? Because I had just finished whatever I was reading and needed something to read in bed before I turned the light out.

 

I was not disappointed.

 

The action kept up but it was also not so detailed that I thought I had to figure out the Da Vinci Code before I fell asleep or before a heavy book fell on top of my eyes and startled me back into wakefulness. But that would be a fantasy because I never fall asleep holding a book. That's just not me. And anyway how much harm could a paperback do?

 

So if you like Stuart then you will have someone that could keep the light on for you as you read a Stone Barrington novel. I know once I find a character that I like then it's a good thing.

 



SKETCHES of OLD WARRENTON North Carolina

 

I bought this book in Warrenton, N.C. at a wonderful bookstore on the main street. I was on a "day trip" with my parents and my niece. Since my parents were getting older and could not make the effort for huge trips, we had come up with a plan to take little "day trips" from our home town. It couldn't be more than 45 minutes away.

 

So we drove to Warrenton and walked around on the main street and went into some shops. But mostly we drove around in order to see all the wonderful, old homes. We let our imaginations run wild as to what life had been like and who lived there and we enjoyed fabricating our own history. I took pictures and when they were developed I made copies for my parents and put them in book for them. I included the "diary" I took that day which described our adventure.

When we left Warrenton my father said we should drive home through Wake Forest. Why? Because it would be more rustic and we could then have tea at this nice, little tea shop that mom had been to previously. In that shop were hats which were fun to try on and I bought one for my niece. She looks good in hats.

 

So this book brought me back to that day in my life and I was able to read about its true history. Believe it or not I found a reference to one of my ancestors between its pages. A Blount, of course. He had moved there from Washington in order to "give his children a better education". Warrenton, in its heyday, was known for its schools for boys and girls. Not only did they board there but also the town's children could attend as day students. There was also a horse racing track built outside of town and there was also a health spa down the road. So Warrenton was a hopping place way back when and it is fascinating to read, in this book, about the houses, the people and the institutions. Included were some old pictures of the houses, etc.

 

I really enjoyed the tour. But you would enjoy visiting that town too, I think.

The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn

 

I take pictures of all the book covers for this blog but I have to admit that I returned this book back into the library drop off bin before I realized I had not done that...so this picture is a copy from the web. My apologies.

 

 

A friend of mine asked me if I had read this book and I said "No" so I went to the library and had to put my name on the waiting list. About three weeks later I got a notice that it was in and that I could pick it up. It was coming up on a weekend. A rainy weekend. So what did I do? I picked it up and started reading it and I could not put it down.

 

The author tells facts in a parable style narrative that really caught my imagination. But the facts woven through it remained clear, look uppable on the web and fascinating. (Is 'uppable' a word or did I just make it up? Either way I like it.)

 

Do you want to know more about 911 and what it means historically, biblically, spiritually, politically? Then dive in. You won't get the grass mowed or the leaves raked and you may have to call out for pizza ... you may even have to record Outlander. Why? Because you will want to know what is happening next and what everything means, how things tie in with each other, what does it mean for you and the world you live in?

 

So don't pick this book up off the Barnes and Noble shelf or from the library counter if you have a huge honey-do list because you won't get anything scratched off and your honey will get mad and then you will be sleeping on the couch which will be ok because then you will be able to stay up all night and get to the end at which point you will be wishing it kept going.

WALDEN by Henry David Thoreau

One of the things I wanted to do this Summer was to read some classics. I picked this one up at Barnes & Noble. Then I began reading it, putting it down when a more compelling book found its way into my hands, picked it up again and and so forth all summer. I finally decided to finish it today come hell or high Walden water.

I can see why it may have fascinated people of that era when it was published because it was outside the norm of what people were striving to do which was get out of the woods! To live in a more comfortable and sophisticated world where one could enjoy prosperity and lots of food at the table. To be in society and surround one's self with others of the same feathers.

Yet here was Thoreau who longed to be in solitude and was the happiest there where gossip was something he could do without or walk into town for  it if the need arose in him to suffer its appeal. But only for a short span as if to drink at a well of superficial knowledge then turn around and go back to one's own mind where questions and answers are forever battling within and the Universe is pondered continually. Simplicity was its own reward.

My goal in reading this particular classic was to have in hand an orange marker and highlight things that would tell me of the man who wrote the lines within. What was is character? Who was he inside? What made him tick? What fascinated him and why did he go to the woods?

I did find that I may have understood him more fully and I did find out about all the animals he came to know and the kind of visitors that he liked most who would come to his cabin to exchange minds.

Some books you read again, like A Prayer For Owen Meany, but I wouldn't read this one again. Perhaps a nap would be more satisfying.

The Story of EDGAR SAWTELLE by David Wroblewski

A friend handed me this book and I could not put it down. The author weaves a detailed story about a young boy, his dog and the life he lives in his unspoken world with his mother, father and uncle. This family is from a long line of dog breeders and they raise and train what they call Sawtelle Dogs. This novel takes you into the mind of Edgar and what it is like to live on this farm outside a small town during times when things were simpler but tragedy finds your door anyway.

If you are born with no voice are you heard?

I have to admit that the ending was far from satisfying. It basically stops in on itself and leaves you nowhere. It's the only thing I would change.

But I liked how the author described things in such detail and I learned from it. You could see the opened windows in the house which caught the warm summer breezes blowing the curtains out like a skirt. Feel the sweltering heat in the upper room of the barn where the dogs were kenneled. See the sun rising early in the morning when chores began and coffee was then sipped. Hear the night noises as you lay in a small bed upstairs thinking and trying to make sense of life.

So even though the ending left me hanging as over a cavern with invisible steps to take over it, caught in mid stride, it was still a great read and I think you will enjoy it. You can make up whatever ends soothes you.

Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand

 

Way to go, Elin! Another great read.

 

Folks you can't go wrong with an Elin Hilderbrand book because she always catches the subtle and not so subtle nuances that make for family functioning or non-functioning. So you are always wondering what is going to happen next.

 

In this book it is about the wedding of the youngest daughter in a family that has felt the loss of the mother who was the glue which held everything together. But can she hold this family together through this wedding even though she is no longer alive? Can the notebook she left behind replace her and get the job done?

 

You will have to pick this book up and see for yourself. I picked it up at my Rite Aid Store as I was getting a milk for my Dad. It was looming on the shelf I walked by to get to the refrigerated case and the book called my name.

 

Thanks for shouting, Elin!!

 

Read you soon.

JACKDAWS by KEN FOLLETT

This book came off of my Father's book shelf. He had at least two of them. We are honing down his doubles in his collection of his favorite authors. Plus the shelves are now more organized by author and hardback, etc.

So I brought this home with me and put it on my pile of "books to read next" and finally got to it.

I will admit that this one started off really slow and I was wondering if I needed to put it back down and start in on another book in my pile that may be more alluring and exciting right off the bat. But I plowed through the pages until the pace picked up. Then about 3/4's of the way through I think I realized that I may have read it already!

Anyway, this story is about the Jackdaws, a group of women who helped to plan and execute the destruction of a certain facility that ended up helping to turn the tide of the war. I won't go into any details because that is up to you to find out as you read. I will say and encourage you to hang in there so that you can get to the meat of the story.

That's it for this one but the book I am reading now will prove to be more interesting, different ... I have never read this author but I think I may like to learn more about her.

But you'll have to wait until I finish reading her book and then I'll tell you a bit about it.

Read on!

Written In My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon

Now you know why it has been so long since I have posted about the next book I have read this summer. Diana's book is 814 pages long and every page is worth it! So it took a few days to read it.

I love buying the hard backs so that they can be a presence on my book shelf. That and Harry Potter and maybe two more sequels play a big role on my shelves. They are keepers.

I don't have to tell the Jamie and Claire followers how fantastic these Gabaldon books are and I guess you also know that it will be on TV this August. Yay for all of us!!!! And Diana never disappoints us readers, does she? I like to take my time and soak up every word thus the time lapse since my last 'review'.

If YOU haven't read these books then you must start with the first one in the saga so that you can get the whole shebang effect. If you have been to Stonehenge like I have then you will love the fact that Diana has woven a love story about time travel through stones where soul mates meet from different eras. If two people know how to love one another and be there for each other, no matter what, then Jamie and Claire are IT. I want to be them!!! But maybe not want to go through some of the terrible things.

So here's to Diana ... YOU ROCK !!!



The Road to Gandolfo by Robert Ludlum

 

 

Here's an old paperback (yes ... found at Goodwill) that kept me reading. It doesn't take time to breathe so you are swept away in the movement of the scenes. I think the little bit that Ludlum writes at the beginning of the book explaining how this idea for this story came about is fun to read. We all like to know how authors get their inspiration, don't we?

 

Anyway this  is about a plot to kidnap, of all people, the pope!! How does one do that? Well it takes someone who has been in the military with four voluptuous ex-wives and the time to pull it off and the gumption to raise millions of dollars to finance the escapade.

 

Bring in a twin brother of the pope and the stage is set.

 

I'll leave you to it to read this one and see how the caper is pulled off. It would be a good read at the beach during your summer vacation. 

Divining Women by Kaye Gibbons

 

A friend gave me this book to read. I picked it up one weekend and enjoyed it. It is about a young woman who goes to her aunt's home to help her through the last stages of her pregnancy. It's back in the days when there was no air conditioning to help you struggle through the humid, hot days of summer. Then the winter arrives and one is glad for the respite if only one could get out of bed.

 

But this pregnancy is a difficult one. However the young niece not only helps her aunt physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. After all she is worth being loved even if her husband is heartless. It's time to be strong and stand up for yourself!

 

I wouldn't say that this is a happy book nor a page turner to the point where you just want to stay on the couch with a cup of tea, coffee or a cool coca-cola but it was the next book in line in my pile of three books to read. Sorry I couldn't have been more enthusiastic.

A MIDWINTER'S TALE by ANDREW M. GREELEY

 

Here we go again. Another book found at the local Goodwill when I took my Dad with me. As you know by previous blog entries, my mother loved reading this author. The allure? He writes romances and he's a priest!

 

This one starts off slow and you wonder if it will be any good but then you find yourself hooked on the characters and you want to see what happens to the main subject and his love interest. I have loaned this book to my sister so I regrettably cannot remember the character's name. Awful of me I know.

 

But he is a young Italian man growing up in N.Y. ending up being sent to war. We read about him growing up but also yearning to hear of news back home. Is that brat of a neighbor girl whom he swears he has no feelings for, but whom he rescued one night from drowning, still being good or bad? His sister can keep him updated while he falls in love with a young German girl.

 

Well you have to cut your teeth on love somehow, somewhere and with someone, right? I mean you are ten billion miles away from home and you do seem to rescue damsels in distress. It's your nature although you try to deny it. You can't just leave this starving waif of a girl stranded nor proceed not to rescue her whole family from distruction, can you?

 

So I will probably put this one on my shelf and wonder if my mother read it and if she liked it and what she would have said if we had been able to discuss it. And what a lovely cover! It makes me want to see snow.

All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot

 

I have probably read this book about three times and it is always good. Just like The Andy Griffith Show or I Love Lucy. Always entertaiing. Never going sour.

 

Mr. Herriot writes down to earth yet descriptively and you find yourself reading and reading and reading. Then when you look up from the pages you wonder where the time has flown and did the sun actually set? It's no wonder since you have been transported to Darrowby helping this country vet deliver lambs, calves, stitch up dogs and wrestle ornery cats. You feel as if you have been there with James as he placates yet another old farmer who knows better than you how to castrate his bull and tells you so while he leisurely leans up against the fence and puffs on his pipe filled with aromatic tobacco.

James weaves every story with humour and each chapter is its own tale.

 

You want to breathe the air he is breathing and have a pint at the end of the day in the nearest pub. It's a sad day or evening when you read the last page and have to close the book, putting it back on the shelf to await another good read in about a year or two.

 

Thank you, James.

LAST breath by marian STEWART

 

I accidentally reread this one! Have you ever done that? You pick a book off your shelf and begin reading the first page and at the back of your mind you are having a deja vu but putting it down to your imagination. But as you keep turning the pages you say to yourself, "Yes I do believe I have read this already". But you also remember it was good, and that you don't have another book in the wings, so you continue and enjoy it all over again.

 

This one has archaeology in it (I minored in Anthropology so Archaeology is a close second) and a lost civilization (who doesn't love that) which was found in 1908 by Dr. Daria McGowen's great-grandfather. He brought the lost treasures back to his University which he founded in the states. But the guardians of Shandihar didn't take kindly to that act so for one hundred years they have been biding their time until they can get their hands on the goods again and punish those that defiled their goddess.

 

But Dr. Daria McGowen (a renowned archaeologist), who has been asked by the president of Howe University to resurrect the collection in the abandoned museum on campus in order to garner much needed money for the school, knows nothing of the tragedy that has and will continue to befall those who have acquired the treasures. It's life and death and you are not sure who will be next or who are the guardians that have made it their life's mission to avenge Shandihar and carry out the evil punishment.

 

But an FBI agent comes to the rescue. And a dog.

 

Woof!

The Final Planet by Andrew M. Greeley

Once again, a good find at Goodwill. And what a surprise it was to me to see that Andrew Greeley had written a Sci-fi! Then I read 'about the author' at the back of the book and learned he had written God Game before this one so I may have to find it and read it as well.

As you may have read previously in one of my blog entries, I bring my Dad with me sometimes to pick out books to read. He loves going to Goodwill because "some of these books are like brand new" he declares! He likes to get hard backs. I do too. Why? I guess they feel more substantial. They have beautiful jacket covers like this one. And I love a good jacket cover. I like to see if it also matches the story inside the covers. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. Then I want to design one myself or go to the Publishing House and say, "What were you thinking? That's misleading and doesn't depict the story at all, at all." (You'll get that double wordage if you read this book).

I saw this book and nearly jumped for joy. Why again? Well because my dear mother loved this author. She liked his style of writing but most of all she was intrigued that a priest was a writer and that he wrote about women. What?!!!

She always wondered if he had experiences with women before he became a priest. She was brought up Catholic, so to have a priest write about making love to a woman was compelling. He certainly writes about women in this book. He will write "She" in referring to God as well. So as I read this book I also wonder and wish my Mom was hear so we could discuss it. I kind of do it mentally with her. Sort of like a spiritual ESP. My mom would like that notion. She had a good sense of humour and we 'got' each other. Are you smiling up there in the great beyond?

At any rate I picked this book off the shelf in honor of my mother and wondered if she had read it. We would talk about the books she read and I don't have a memory of a chat about a sci-fi. But she could remember the names of the characters long after she read the book and, if I had read it even recently, I would be rummaging around in my brain for the names. She had a great mind. I loved her mind.

But back to this book ... it was published in 1985, so in its day that was pretty original in itself to be written by a priest. But in the standard of sci-fis today it is mild. Nevertheless it's really a love story between Seamus Finnbar Diarmuid Brendan Tomas O'Neill (a red bearded man of the Holy Order of St. Brigid and St. Brendan who travels on a space ship called the Iona, a pilgrim vessel). But the Iona is old and crumbling so the pilgrims on board have one final trip they can make ... to find a place to land and call home. Seamus is sent down to check it out.

Enter Seamus O'Neill's 'proper woman' who he meets on the planet Zylong and falls in love with even though she is a formidable young woman by the name of Marjetta. And she's a Lieutenant. But that doesn't stop him wooing her gently as they figure out together how to save the planet from itself.

I haven't finished it but I just wanted to write about it today on this overcast, book reading/writing morning.

It feels good to write.

Here's to you, Mom. We'll discuss the ending when I get to it.

BELLA TUSCANY: The Sweet Life in Italy by Frances Mayes

 

This book should be read in the wintertime when you want to imagine the Tuscan sun on your face. Or you can read it anytime! It's up to you.

 

I read it during the ending of winter when more snows had fallen here than usual. Towards the last pages I was able to sit in my own sun and feel its warmth as spring was emerging and the tulips my daughter gave me before Christmas began to poke their greenery out of the pots on the brick patio. By the very last page the red and yellow tulips were in full bloom, the little yellow daffodils and the light blue chionodoxa joined them and the pollen made me go inside!

 

As you all know this book is the next in line after Under The Tuscan Sun which was made into a movie. This one is also about the real life of Frances Mayes but also includes her husband, Ed. They go to Bramasole in Italy, their second home, during the summer months when they have a break from teaching. How lovely! Here they can relax and live according to the rising and setting of the sun. Here they can grow olives. They can live without the television and the hustle and bustle of San Francisco where they live for the rest of the year. But during some holidays a quick trip to breathe the Tuscan air fills them until they can get back.

 

Their  life here takes on a slower tempo.They can take daily journeys to enjoy the countryside and sample the wines whether homemade or from a winery. The pace is different. The lifestyle. The food. The people. The sun.

 

You'll want to go to Tuscany but if you can't you can at least imagine yourself there with Frances and her husband Ed. It seems their door is always open to friends but don't stay too long. They need their Tuscan space.

DINNER AT THE HOMESICK RESTAURANT by ANNE TYLER

 

This book was given to me by my sister to read after she finished it. We had gone to our fabulous Goodwill one day to stock up. Where else?!?!

 

As you can see this book has been loved. The corner is gone. The binding is soft as if many have curled the pages back on themselves in order to read it  one handed in bed. I normally do not do that to a book but in this case I did. It was already broken in.

 

The picture on the front makes this book seem like it is going to be cozy. There you are with your own cup of coffee in the morning or on a rainy afternoon, picturing yourself sitting at a white and red checked table getting ready to eat home cooked food. It will fill your stomach and radiate out to your toes making you feel loved.

 

Don't get to cozy with that thought! This book evolves and revolves around a very disfunctional family. The sensitive child grows up to own a restaurant which he renames The Homesick Restaurant for he is always and has been yearning for his family to be able to sit at the dinner table and get through a whole meal without anyone arguing and leaving. At least that's my take on it.

 

It's not exactly happy. But it's real and you want to see what happens. But don't think you'll leave this dinner table happy. But you may leave thankful that your family was not like this one.

 

I know I did!

Rich Man, Poor Man by IRWIN SHAW

 

What can I say ... this book was almost falling apart in my hands as I was reading it. I had to keep it together with a blue rubber band that came off a bunch of asparagus.

 

That tidbit aside, a friend of mine handed this book over to me across a restaurant table full of other High School friends meeting for our monthly get together to keep the bond alive. I told him I had never read it. Surprised and shocked he told me that he picks one up every now and then just so he can hand them out. Of course he got this one for ten cents or something. It should have come with some Elmer's Glue or a warning when he bought it. May disintegrate on contact. But it was fun seeing if I could hold on to it in bed as I was reading it before hopefully falling asleep. Sometimes I would just have to amputate a few pages from the whole and hold that sparse section up before my eyes because it was going to inevitably fall apart anyway and possibly fall on my face.

 

On  the yellowed or should I say browned page after the title page it was revealed that this book was published a Kabillion times in 1976. I bet Dell Publishing Co., Inc. loved Irwin to pieces. I don't suppose that 'portions of this book appeared in Playboy in a slightly different form' hindered its sale.

 

In tiny print, it took me awhile to read through this book and it certainly kept my attention if I could pull myself away from Candy Crush. This novel took you through the lives of the Jordache family who were poor in a small town. Three siblings. Who ends up rich and who ends up poor and do any of them end up happy? That's for you to find out when you pick this book up. Hopefully your copy will stay tactfully together without danger of crumbling in your hands as you hold it as gingerly as a newborn baby afraid of breaking it.

 

I know everyone out there has already read this one and you are probably saying, "What? You just did!"

 

Yea, I just did.

Rose's Garden by Carrie Brown



Wow! This book really catches the feelings of someone who has just lost their loved one after years and years of marriage, not to mention knowing the other person since childhood.

This book was found at Goodwill. Yes! Once again my Goodwill has provided an excellent read. I really liked the cover with the beautiful bird and I suppose you could say it called to me, "Pick me!" So I did along with some other books which I am sure will appear in this blog of mine as soon as I read them. Lucky you!

The bird on the cover made me feel peaceful but that is not the case with the main character in this book who finds himself without his beloved wife and friend of a lifetime. Did he just see her in the garden? Smell her in the room? Will see appear as an angel? She's gone. How does one go on?

Conrad faces many questions and doubts in his mind as he tries to go on from day to day. What day is it anyway? Does it matter? Yet those in his small town remind him of the day, what is going on and how his troubled wife helped them. How she may have changed their lives. He had no idea. Was his life changed too? That would be 'yes'. But how is his life changed now?

And then you begin to imagine what it will be like for you. Will it be as heart wrenching? Will you be able to cope? What will life be like for you afterwards in the silence of the spaces that are now empty but were filled only days, weeks, or months ago?

Why does life seem to have to seep out of one's existence drop by drop and end so alone?

It doesn't seem fair.

THE SPINSTER SISTERS by Stacey Ballis

Another one I picked off the shelves at my local Goodwill. Why did I pick this one? Take a look at the cover. Looks like fun plus I liked the title. Spinster sisters? Questions began to enter my mind. Why are they spinsters? How old are they? Really old? Or what? And if they are old then why did they never get married?

My curiosity made me want to find out. It didn't matter to me that it was "seen on Rachel Ray". I just thought it would be a good read. And it was.
It kept me entertained over a rainy few days and some quiet nights when I was full of the Olympics and just didn't feel like skiing down a fast and dangerous mountain nor moving a hockey puck over cold ice bundled up in ten layers of padding. Snooze.

So, am I going to tell you the answers to all the questions I had? No. Obviously. Duh. That's up to you to find out when you read this book by Stacey Ballis who also gives tidbits of advice on singlehood and how to deal with boy friends, your family and your sister. Basically life in general and you in particular.

In a nutshell?

Be honest and also spell it out what you need because no one has ESP. Well no one that you may know at any rate. Go with the notion that no one does and then you may be happier because you will get what you ask for and you wont get what you don't. It's that simple.

In other words, I CAN'T READ YOUR MIND! and no one can read yours and you can't read minds either. Can you?

Communication, communication, communication. (That word looks weird when spelled over and over as if it is a little engine that could trying to chug along a flat line. Come on, you can do it!)

As an after thought, since you can't read my mind, I really love going to the Goodwill. You never know what you'll find. There's a lot of Grisham and King and authors that are well known. I am trying to gravitate towards those that don't fall off my tongue as readily as Good Morning and Have A Nice Day. Trying to take the paths least trodden because sometimes they take me to very interesting places that have been spun out of interesting minds and imaginations.

It's fun. And I can't wait to tell you about the book I am reading now.



The Illustrated LARK RISE TO CANDLEFORD by Flora Thompson

 

I just finished reading this lovely book. The best thing about it? Here's the story ...

 

Let me say that I love watching Lark Rise To Candleford every Sunday at 7 p.m. on channel 4. The show takes you back to a simpler but harder life where it really is all about the people you live around and family. About working, playing and suffering together. Everyone is in the same boat financially so you pull your resources together to make a community whole. So it's a feel good show and you want to live there if only for a short time. It's so popular that you probably know what it is all about and this book is the real life account by Laura (the name Flora gives herself in the book).

 

But the good part for me? It's my story behind the story.

 

I was reorganizing my bookshelves to make them neater. I handled every book to decide if I needed to keep it, give it to Goodwill or pass it on to someone I knew whom I thought may like it. How delighted I was when I grabbed this book from the shelf and saw the title. Lark Rise To Candleford!!! Really? I had no idea I had the book. It had been there like a jewel hidden among other jewels.

 

In our family we put our names inside our book covers, and also we sign the books with a little note if we give them to someone else. In this book was my handwriting with a note to my mother telling her I loved her. It had been given to her from me in January of 1985. That was right after I had my thyroid taken out. Cancer. Maybe I gave it to her in thanks for taking care of me and my two little children during the recovery process. I lost my voice for awhile because the surgeon had to pick up my vocal chords to get them out of the way in order to chop chop. I thought I was going to have to sound like a raspy, longtime smoker of 101 years old but fortunately it passed. I cannot hit the high notes anymore nor sing for long periods but I can speak. It's all good.

 

Below my 1985 note I had also written that my mother had given the book back to me in 2009. I know she had picked it up a few times because the paper cover was slightly torn and wrinkled. It made me think of her hands holding the book, turning the pages and her eyes reading the words. Maybe she thought about me when she read it.

 

I know I thought about her.

 

I love you Mom.  Forever.

SIMPLE GENIUS by David Baldacci

 

Can you tell I got this in a used bookstore for only 25 cents? Or was it 10 cents. Well at least I didn't have to worry about preserving its cover. I could do what I don't normally do which is bend the pages back around the binding or even fold down a corner if I felt like it. But I didn't. I always use a book marker.

 

That said ... this book was a page turner as is all of David Baldacci's novels. And you also learn something along the way. Make sure you read the additional pages at the back where he will let you know what's fact or fiction. But don't read it first. That's the warning given by the author, not me.

 

The two main characters, Sean and Michelle, have teamed up again. And they make a good team if they can just get their #+*^! together emotionally. Not necessarily Sean but Michelle has some buried issues from her childhood. Don't worry, I'm not giving anything away. Except there may be more buried treasures in this plot which may have to do with a place called Camp Peary but you didn't hear it from me. Does that sound like the military or the government is involved? You hit the nail on the head.

 

So get your spy on or your psych 101 refresher course out because you are going to need both to solve what is going on across the waters.

 

Simply put though, you may have to be a genius.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Howdy folks! It's been awhile I know since I wrote about a book I have read but there was Thanksgiving, then Christmas and after Christmas and things to do in January that didn't get done in December and then it had to go on the February list.

But here we are! Phew!!

So I have read this book (and others that I cannot remember at this time because I also cleaned out my book shelves since the last blog post). And this book is good and yet different. You will ask yourself, "Do people really live like this?" And I suppose the answer is, "Yes."  Maybe it's you.

At any rate, this family of three live very differently, think differently, have high powered, creative jobs but end up having the same problems us boring folk have. So what's the deal? How you cope with your problems and differences or rather accept each other's idiosyncracies? Maybe. I don't know.

But you will find out where Bernadette went and why. So the book does answer that one problem for you. The rest? You're on your own.