JANUARY BOOKS

2009 is starting out OK, reading-wise. It looks like I finished 11 books and made a start on a few challenges.

TESTIMONY (Anita Shreve) - Support Your Local Library Challenge

DIVINE JUSTICE (David Baldacci) - Support Your Local Library

TEETH IN A PICKLE JAR (Helena Milligan) - What's in a Name 2 Challenge, New Author Challenge

THE NEW CENTURIANS (Joseph Wambaugh) - Celebrate the Author Challenge

LAST NIGHT AT THE LOBSTER (Stewart O'Nan) - Read Your Name Challenge, Read Your Own Books Challenge

CROSSING DELANCEY (Susan Sandler) - Jewish Literature Challenge, Read Your Own Books Challenge, New Author Challenge

SARAH'S KEY (Tatiana deRosnay) - Jewish Literature Challenge, Every Month is a Holiday Challenge, New Author Challenge

TIME AND CHANCE (Sharon Kay Penman) - Read Your Own Books Challenge, Chunkster Challenge

A MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN (Erma Bombeck) - 9 Books for 2009 Challenge, Read Your Own Books Challenge

LUMBY'S BOUNTY (Gail Fraser)

HEARTSICK (Chelsea Cain) - New Author Challenge

So that's 11 so far, 3060 pages. I was trying to finish A MERCY by Toni Morrison for this month, but I'm having a hard time getting into that one. Plus I've been working on my new puzzle and have it almost finished.

I think I'm going to change my template back to the spring-y looking one done in yellow and green. I'm so tired of cold weather - maybe seeing something new and fresh will make it seem not so cold outside.

ANOTHER SEINFELD-ESQUE POST

Yesterday at bowling - I did about OK, but we lost all 3 games. We bowled against the last place team. One lady on the team, who is usually a fair bowler, couldn't get a game over 100 last week. But this week - she pulls out of her slump and bowls 40+ pins over average.

One man on another team who is a really good bowler bowled a 763 series - 267, 262, 234. For those of you who are not familiar with bowling, a 300 game is a perfect game - 12 strikes in a row. The first 2 games, he bowled all strikes except for 2 frames, and the third all except 3 frames. This was the best bowling in our league this year. It was exciting to watch him - he was cool and calm. I would have been wetting my pants!

Do you remember when I was on the puzzle kick last year? I just started another one! It's all spread out on my dining room table. I hope to get it done by next week. Here's a picture of the puzzle - called the San Diego Zoo. See the panda on the sign??

I got my hair cut on Tuesday at Donna's fancy-schmancy salon. The girl who cut my hair is a hair wizard. It's without a doubt the best cut I've ever had. The shampoo, condition and head massage lasted 15 minutes. Then she cut for over an hour. She cuts the hair wet, dries it, then cuts it again dry. I'll try to take a picture and post it. Now Donna's fancy salon is MY salon!

Vicki tagged me for a happy meme yesterday. I'm supposed to list 6 things that make me happy then tag 6 other people.

1. Being home with Dom and the dogs
2. Bowling, even when we lose
3. Reading
4. Playing cards with my friends on Fridays
5. Spending time with my sister and brother
6. Blogging

I'm supposed to tag 6 others to play, but instead of picking out names, I'm going to tag anyone who wants to play along. It's fun!

End of episode - cue the credits!

HEARTSICK

HEARTSICK by Chelsea Cain is a book I heard about on one of the blogs that I read regularly - I just can't remember which one at this time. This book qualifies for the New Author Challenge.

From the book jacket:

Damaged Portland detective Archie Sheridan spent ten ears tracking Gretchen Lowell, a beautiful serial killer, but in the end she was the one who caught him. Two years ago, Gretchen kidnapped Archie and tortured him for ten days, but instead of killing him, she mysteriously decided to let him go. She turned herself in, and now Gretchen has been locked away for the rest of her life, which Archie is in a prison of another kind - addicted to pain pills, unable to return to his old life, powerless to get those ten horrific days off his mind. Archie's a different person, his estranged wife says, and he knows she's right. He continues to visit Gretchen in prison once a week, saying that only he can get her to confess as to the whereabouts of more of her victims, but even he knows the truth - he can't stay away.

When another killer begins snatching teenage girls off the streets of Portland, Archie has to pull himself together enough to lead the new task force investigating the murders. A hungry young newspaper reporter, Susan Ward, begins profiling Archie and the investigation, which sparks a deadly game between Archie, Susan, the new killer, and even Gretchen. They need to catch a killer, and maybe somehow then Archie can free himself from Gretchen, once and for all. Either way, HEARTSICK makes for one of the most extraordinary suspense debuts in recent memory.

This was a really strange book. Chapters would switch from the present and the investigation to scenes of Archie when he was held captive by Gretchen. She was truly an evil person, one who killed for the fun of it. She would torture her victims by surgically removing organs - while the victim was alive and awake - and making them drink drain cleaner, among other things.

I've heard of the Stockholm Syndrome, where hostages, after a time with their captors, tend to feel sympathy for the captors and defend them. This syndrome was mentioned in the book, and I guess that's a general explanation for the fascination Archie has with Gretchen.

I was able to guess the killer's identity, but not the motive behind the killings. It all came together at the end of the book. All in all, this was an interesting book to read, although strange. Definitely not for the squeamish.

CALL ME JERRY

I feel just like Jerry Seinfeld. Well, not exactly JUST like him - he's a guy, after all, and who knows how guys feel. Anyway, this is a post about nothing - just like Seinfeld.

Last night, I cooked the best dinner. I haven't been cooking much for the two of us - we're content to have a bowl of cereal or a Lean Cuisine. But I saw this cute little sirloin tip roast - on sale - at Publix the other day. So I had the roast, done in the oven with potatoes and onions that get nice and dark and sweet. The meat was rare - just the way I like it. With some good beef gravy and soft rolls and butter. And pineapple upside down cake for dessert. Yum! Donna came and ate with us. It was a nice treat for all of us.

We bowled this morning. I had 2 decent games and one bad one. Our team lost all 3 games. We just couldn't put it together as a team. But we had fun and that's all that matters. I didn't stay for our free practice (although I really needed it today) since Dom needed the car to go to work this afternoon. He usually only works on Fridays and Saturdays, but they needed him and he needed the hours.

I've got the computer back to just about where I want it, but I'm having a couple of minor issues. On this blog, you know the little pencil thing at the bottom of a post that only shows up when you look at your own blog (on Blogger) - the quick edit thing? Well, mine has disappeared even though it's still in the HTML code. Not a big thing, but it makes editing a little more complicated. Let's see - a choice between Vista with its potential problems and the quick edit pencil or Windows XP and no problems and no quick edit pencil - I'll give up the pencil!

OK, Seinfeld usually has about 3 different "plots" in each show and I've touched upon 3 different things, so I guess it's time to end this "episode" before Kramer comes bounding through the door.

LUMBY'S BOUNTY

LUMBY'S BOUNTY by Gail Fraser is the 3rd book in this series.

From the back of the book:

Tucked into the foothills of the Rockies lies the charming village of Lumby, where quirky and tolerant townsfolk usually make the best of any situation. Not a week goes by without some humorous mayhem occurring under the watchful eyes of the mayor, the sheriff, and, of course, the town mascot, Hank, a pink flamingo who thinks he's a bald eagle....

How Lumby has come to host a hot-air balloon festival is a long story, but the town's residents are jumping right into preparations. Montis Inn owner Mark Walker assumes command with less than successful results. Lucky for Lumbians, two visitors at Saint Cross Abbey are balloon enthusiasts. As Kai and Jamar help Lumby take flight, their efforts are noticed by Caroline Ross, granddaughter of the town's recently deceased matriarch. While romance grows, cultures clash, and balloons crash in town. Pam Walker is tethered to her home with an overwhelming challenge of her own. And all are keeping their fingers crossed by blue skies and smooth sailing....

I read the first two books of this series, THE LUMBY LINES and STEALING LUMBY, and wasn't overly impressed. This one was a little better, but the stories were still very far-fetched. A town where no one knows anything about hot air balloons is chosen to host a 3-day festival. Townfolk pooling money together to buy an island in the South Pacific. Squatters descending on a small Abbey. Too strange and not really funny.

There's another book in the series being released soon - I'll have to think hard about reading that one. Even though I don't like giving up on series, I might have to do that with this one.

WELCOME BACK XP

I got my laptop back, all fixed up with Windows XP.

There were some features in Vista that I liked, but I was having trouble loading some programs that I really needed. And there was the problem of the computer crashing a few times.

So I'm back to the old standby and it's working well. Maybe not quite as fancy and showy as Vista, but at least I haven't gotten the dreaded "blue" screen. I'm still in the process of re-loading things - so far it doesn't seem like I forgot to back up anything.

It'll take me a little while to get everything the way I want it. I'll be back visiting blogs soon!

A MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN

A MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN OR TOO TIRED FOR AN AFFAIR by Erma Bombeck was read for the 9 Books for 2009 Challenge (dusty) and the Read Your Own Books Challenge.

From the book jacket:

I now pronounce you husband and wife. There are few phrases as sobering, with the possible exceptions of "We have lift-off" and "This country is at war." Yet as they have done for centuries, millions of courageous men and women continue to walk down the aisle every year, without so much as a job description. Now, in her most autobiographical book, Erma Bombeck puts it all in loving and laughing perspective, as she looks back on her own forty-three-year-but-who's-counting marriage and the timeless passages that make the honorable estate of matrimony the highest-risk, highest-reward profession of all.

A MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN ... OR TOO TIRED FOR AN AFFAIR is Erma's personal story as well as a resonant evocation of the decades that have shaped modern American matrimony - for better, for worse, and for laughs. Since the sunny day in 1949 when Erma and Bill Bombeck first plighted their troth, their marriage has weathered the advent of televised football and the dark side of Donna Reed. They've grappled with teenagers and technology, the women's movement and the sexual revolution, and have patented their own course in Creative Arguing. They've survived both the dream house from hell and the empty next, and have been there for each other through maternity, miscarriage, and mortality.

From the nervous newlywed, to the supermom who elevated guilt to a sacrament, to the steadfast partner, to the shy author on the road, here is an Erma Bombeck readers have never seen before, in a book for all those who are married, who were married, who are thinking about getting married, or who have hesitated (until now!) to take the plunge.

This is the best Erma I have ever read. It's a story of her marriage, of my marriage, of your marriage. Everyone can see herself in this book at some point. She writes of the early years just getting started as a couple. The yearning for children and the years when they've arrived. The teenage years. The years when the children leave home - and then come back again. The role reversals. The time when the mother becomes the child again. All told with laughter and tears.

There aren't too many women like Erma who can make us take a good look at ourselves and laugh at what we see. I think we all need a little Erma in our lives. She left us way too soon.

BYE BYE VISTA

Today's the day. Donna took my laptop to work with her to have the IT guys wipe out Vista and replace it with Windows XP.

I backed up all my pictures and documents onto a flash drive and then loaded them onto Dom's desktop computer. I have all our passwords and calendars in 2 places. I have a way to reload Quicken and all our banking information. I have a list of all my bookmarks and favorite sites.

I'm ready!

Then why am I getting this horrible feeling that I forgot something???

TIME AND CHANCE

TIME AND CHANCE by Sharon Kay Penman was read for the Chunkster Challenge 2009 and the Read Your Own Books Challenge.

From the back of the book:

In WHEN CHRIST AND HIS SAINTS SLEPT, acclaimed historical novelist Sharon Kay Penman portrayed all the deceit, danger, and drama of Henry II's ascension to the throne. Now, in TIME AND CHANCE, she continues the ever-more-captivating tale.

It was medieval England's immortal marriage - Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, bound by passion and ambition, certain to leave a legacy of greatness. But while lust would divide them, it was friendship - and ultimately faith - that brought bloodshed into their midst. It began with Thomas Becket, Henry's closest confidant, and his elevation to be Archbishop of Canterbury. It ended with a perceived betrayal that made a royal murder seem inevitable. Along the way were enough scheming, seductions, and scandals to topple any kingdom but their own....

Only Sharon Kay Penman can re-create this truly tumultuous time - and capture the couple who loved power as much as each other ... and a man who loved God most of all.

This is the second book in the trilogy about Henry II and Eleanor. While I enjoyed this book greatly, it was a little tedious at times. I found myself skimming over some of the battle scenes. And I had some problem keeping all the names straight.

Sharon Kay Penman has a knack for making history come alive. She gives the characters depth and makes the reader care what happens to them. Most of the characters in the book are factual and the events real, although she does take a few liberties with dates and places. I know there are a few purely fictional characters but their stories fit in perfectly with the historical ones.

The last book in the trilogy, DEVIL'S BROOD, has just recently been released and I'm looking forward to reading that one.

WHAT A MONEY-MAKER!

Do you know how popular bowling has become?

For years, bowling was the sport of overweight, beer-drinking, middle-aged men - something to do to get out of the house 1 or 2 nights a week. Now, it's a sport for all.

I bowl in 2 leagues a week - a Monday morning all ladies league and on Wednesday, a mixed seniors league (55 and older). Plus we bowl an extra 2 hours on Monday afternoon - a free session for the seniors. The Monday league has 32 women; the senior league has 64 and more waiting to be put on teams.

The center where we bowl has leagues every day of the week. They have Dollar Daze (where games are only $1) twice a week, and you need to be there hours early to just hope to get a lane. Yesterday, the schools here were closed and I think every kid in town was at the bowling alley. All the lanes were filled (36 lanes) and more were waiting. And each lane had at least 4 bowlers. There were little kids there with their parents, birthday parties, groups of teenagers who were bowling then playing the video games - and a bunch of "more mature" adults too.

This center charges from $3.19-$4.59 per game and $3.99 for shoes. They just remodeled one side of the center with huge flat screen TV's to watch sports, sofas, hardwood floors and blacklights on the lanes and charge $1 more per game to bowl on that side. If you reserve a lane in advance - another $15 charge. For $30-40, you can have a full hour on the lane. Parties can run around $90 or more, depending on how many bowlers and the time needed on the lanes.

And you wouldn't believe how expensive bowling balls can be - along with all the assorted paraphernalia needed such as bags, gloves, wrist supports, shoes, towels.

Bowling is big business! I think I'm going to own a bowling center in my next life!

THE GRAY'S ALL GONE!

Around 10:30 AM yesterday, I got a call from the shop where I was supposed to get my hair colored. Oh no, not again! Yep, the colorist was out again. It seems she had had some surgery and wasn't able to work yet. BUT, another girl there said she could do my hair.

You know how a colorist will keep a file of the colors she uses on your hair? Mine kept a card, but they couldn't find it. So the new girl just decided on her own what to use. After she got it all mixed and on my hair, she found the card. But she was close - it just took a little longer to lighten. But the finished product came out OK. I went a little blonder this time, better to blend in the gray roots. I'll take a picture later.

The girl even trimmed my hair a little bit for no charge. So now I can keep my gift certificate to Donna's fancy-schmancy salon until I need a full haircut.

Going bowling shortly. Since the schools here are closed today, we don't get out free 2 hours of bowling practice (one of our senior league perks). But I have cards for 42 free games, so I'll get some practice time in anyway.

IT'S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR AGAIN

My favorite time of the year!!!

Dom is working this afternoon, until 8 tonight. I started working on the dreaded taxes. Right now it doesn't look too promising, but I still have a lot to input.

I think I'm going to take a break, fix a nice cup of tea, and read until it's time to pick him up at Home Depot. My favorite chair and a warm throw awaits - it's still cold here.

A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT

OK, I hope I'm not jinxing myself by posting the happy face, but I'm supposed to finally get my hair colored this Sunday. Keep your fingers crossed for no more migraines - for the colorist or for me. And they're going to honor my 20% off coupon that was supposed to be used only on a Tuesday or Thursday.

We played cards this afternoon. We play for 4 hours, but the time really flies. Next week we're playing at my house, so I'll need to clean next Thursday. There will be 7 of us - instead of trying to plan a lunch and what everyone should bring, we're just going to get a bunch of pizzas and maybe a little bit of cake for dessert.

Has anyone heard of Avesil? It's a pill that supposed to help weight loss. I just ordered a month's supply to try it. I think the claim is to increase metabolism and decrease appetite. I'll give it a try. It's expensive - something like $90 for a month - but I get the first month for $6. Even if it works, I won't be ordering more.

I'm starting to get tax information in the mail, so it looks like it's time to start the 2008 taxes. We're having a discussion with Susan about who can claim Shelby for last year. She lived here for over half the year and we provided a lot of money since she moved, so we feel we should be able to claim her as a dependent. Susan thinks otherwise. I guess we'll let the IRS decide.

I'm off to curl up in a chair and read.

NOT AGAIN??

Last Thursday I had an appointment for hair color. That morning, I got a call that my colorist was home with a migraine. OK, I get them too, so I could understand her not being there. I rescheduled for today.

Dom and I went out for breakfast and when we came home, there was a message on the answering machine. Yep, she's out again.

C'mon - I really need my color done! This girl is the only one in the shop that does color. And she's the only one in recent years that has done the color the way I like it. So now I'm going to have to wait for another week. And I really need a haircut, but I can't get that until the color is done. (I'm going to a fancy-schmancy shop for the cut and I refuse to go in there with gray roots!)

Oh, while Dom and I were out, we went to a local thrift shop. I've never been in this one before and they had some great deals. I found a coat, a long coat, for $9.95. It was a sorta swing style which I didn't like. But it was 100% imported Cashmere! If that coat had been a straight style- like a Chesterfield coat - I would have snatched it up in a heartbeat. I might even go back for it, just to hang it in my closet and be able to say I have a 100% imported Cashmere coat!

I bought a jacket for $5.49 for Shelby. She's so picky - I doubt that she'll like it. If not, I'll keep it for myself. She goes to work wearing just a long-sleeved sweater and freezes on cold mornings. I guess she'd rather freeze than look "not quite in fashion." Teenagers and vanity!!

I need to finish my laundry - that I've put off for a couple of days. I'll reschedule my color appointment and then settle in with a nice cuppa and a good book.

To all those with the cold temperatures today - stay warm and safe!

XI LAN - ATLANTA'S JOY

It's been a while since I've posted a panda update. Little Xi Lan is growing up so fast. He's walking and even trying to run and is on exhibit every day at the zoo.

Since the Panda Cam is not up and running yet, I've had to find other sources of information about him. The zoo posts updates every other day, but I wanted to see him in action.

If you click on this link at www.pandasliveon.com, you can see 3 cute little videos of Xi Lan and Lun Lun.

I have got to get down to the zoo!

THE JOYS OF PARENTING

Yesterday was our daughter Donna's birthday. I'm not going to post her picture, but she's a beauty - must take after her mother! HA! We went out to a Chinese restaurant for dinner, then came back here for ice cream. She's made a lot of big changes in her life in the past few months and is doing so well.

Today, the saga of the tire rim continues. Dom was able to bang out the dent in the rear rim and I think that one will be OK. He straightened out the wheel covers so no added expense there. A new rim was ordered at a Saturn dealership and should be in this morning, so we're planning to go there and get the tire fixed and mounted. I'm taking a book with me (TIME AND CHANCE) so I'll be content to wait. Then we'll take the car to Shelby. She has agreed to pay half the cost this Friday (pay day) and the rest in 2 weeks.

Hopefully, if she has to put out some money this time, she'll be more careful in the future. I really don't like taking money from her, but she has to learn to be accountable.

I'm just too old to be dealing with an 18-year-old and her problems.

WHY CAN'T THEY BE LIKE WE WERE???

Kids!
You can talk and talk till your face is blue!
Kids!
But they still just do what they want to do!
Why can't they be like we were,
Perfect in every way?
What's the matter with kids today?

Saturday night, around 9:30, we get a call from #1 daughter Susan. She's driving over a mountain in North Georgia, in the rain, and she says the lights on her car are going on and off. Then she says she has to go and hangs up. She never calls back. So we're left sitting at home, wondering where she is, how she is, if she's driven off the side of a road. We had to call her yesterday morning to find out if she were OK. She's fine and the car is fine.

Then yesterday afternoon, we get a call from Shelby. She hit a curb and "blew out a tire." So we hop in the car to go find her. Of course, she doesn't know the name of the street she's on, so we have to drive around until we find her. By the time we got there, a nice man had stopped and was changing her tire for her. Luckily for Shelby, this was a nice Christian man with his wife sitting in his truck - it could have been much worse.

The tire wasn't "blown" but she hit the curbing so hard that she destroyed the wheel cover and the tire rim, so she lost all the air in the tire. The baby spare was put on and we told Shelby to go straight home (she was on her way to her boyfriend's house) and not to drive fast. We noticed that she hit the rear tire also and dented that rim, but the tire was still hard.

We get home and get a phone call from Susan, saying Shelby had called her and the car "felt funny" and she was going to leave it in a parking lot near her boyfriend's house. We called Shelby and she told us where the car would be. So we drove out there, found the car - Shelby was long gone with her boyfriend by this time - and drove it here to our house.

Now today, Dom has to drive around looking for 2 rims for the car. Hopefully he can find some that aren't too expensive. Then he'll have to take the car somewhere to have the tires put on the rims and then back on the car.

We've told Shelby that she's going to have to pay for these rims. We've bailed her out so many times before, but she's reached the end of the line with this one.

Dom and I are going into hiding. We're going to build an invisible wall around our house, and never answer the phone again.

Kids!!

LAPTOP WOES

I'm having a major problem with my laptop right now. Donna is taking it into work on Wednesday and having someone there look at it. I'm using Dom's desktop right now, but all my files are on the laptop.

We're getting rid of Vista!

Hopefully, I'll get everything fixed and up and running again soon.

UPDATE: It's working right now, but I'm afraid to turn it off! And I still want to dump Vista!

SARAH'S KEY

SARAH'S KEY by Tatiana deRosnay was read for the Jewish Literature Reading Challenge, the New Author Challenge, and the Every Month is a Holiday Reading Challenge (January 27 is Holocaust Memorial Day).

From the back of the book:

Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten-year-old girl, is taken with her parents by the French police as they go door-to-door arresting Jewish families in the middle of the night. Desperate to protect her younger brother, Sarah locks him in a bedroom cupboard - their secret hiding place - and promises to come back for him as soon as they are released.

Sixty years later: Sarah's story intertwines with that of Julia Jarmond, an American journalist investigating the roundup. In her research, Julia stumbles onto a trail of secrets that link her to Sarah, and to questions about her own romantic future.

In 1942, around 14,000 Jews were taken from their homes in Paris by the French Police. They were sent first to the Vélodrome d'Hiver (Vel' d'Hiv'), an enclosed bicycle track in the center of Paris. From there, the men were sent to Drancy, a transit camp, from which they were then sent to Auschwitz. The women and children were sent to Beaune-la-Rolande; the women were then separated from the children and also sent to Auschwitz. After being left alone at the camp for some time, the children were also then sent to Auschwitz. The French authorities never accepted responsibility for their actions until 50+ years later when French President Jacques Chirac made a public apology.

I had never heard of this roundup before. I'm sure there are many things about the Holocaust that have never been made public. I cannot fathom how or why these atrocities happened.

This book broke my heart. I had to keep reminding myself the story of Sarah and her brother was fiction, although the facts about the roundup were all too true. There were a few little "side" stories that were fillers and not directly related to the Sarah storyline, but these did not detract from the book and the writing.

CROSSING DELANCEY

CROSSING DELANCEY by Susan Sandler was read for the Jewish Literature Reading Challenge, the Read Your Own Books Challenge and the New Author Challenge.

I picked this book because I absolutely loved the movie Crossing Delancey with Amy Irving and Peter Riegert. When I bought this on Amazon, I didn't realize it was a play, not a novel. But I thought I'd give it a try anyway.

How do I write about a play? It was short and didn't give too much insight into the characters. It was hard to make a connection with them in that short period of time.

So I pulled out my copy of the movie and watched that again. I wanted to see how the two compared, as Susan Sandler also wrote the screenplay for the movie.

About the movie:

Single, attractive, 30-something Isabelle ("Izzy") Grossman has a rent-controlled apartment in uptown Manhattan and a burgeoning career in publishing. "I'm happy," she says. "She lives alone in a room, like a dog," counters Bubbie, her tradition-minded grandmother. So Bubbie hires a matchmaker who finds Izzy a marriage prospect: a man who runs a street-side pickle stand.

Izzy is appalled. Is the man who offers "a joke and a pickle for only a nickle" her Mr. Right? And will she somehow, someway end up Crossing Delancey - the street that divides her world from his - and find love?

As a rule, I don't like movies that are made from books. I like to read the books and form the pictures in my mind. I like to see the characters as I envision them. But in this case, I felt the movie was better, much better.

By seeing Izzy and Bubbie and Sam and seeing their expressions, I learned so much more about them. There was a character in the play, Tyler Moss, an author. In the movie, his part was fleshed out (his name was changed to Anton Moss) and the interaction between him and Izzy made so much more sense.

Would I recommend reading this play? No, unless you're really "into" reading plays. But would I recommend watching this movie? Oh YES. I reaffirmed today why this is one of my all time favorites.

LAST NIGHT AT THE LOBSTER

LAST NIGHT AT THE LOBSTER by Stewart O'Nan was read for the Read Your Own Books Challenge and the Read Your Name Challenge.

From the back of the book:

Perched in the far corner of a run-down New England mall, the Red Lobster hasn't been making its numbers and headquarters has pulled the plug. But manager Manny DeLeon still needs to navigate a tricky last shift - just four days before Christmas and in the midst of a fierce blizzard - with a near-mutinous staff and the final onslaught of hungry retirees, lunatics, and holiday office parties. All the while, he's wondering how to handle the waitress he's still in love with, his pregnant girlfriend, and where to find the present that will make everything better.

Steward O'Nan has been called "the bard of the working class," and LAST NIGHT AT THE LOBSTER is a poignant yet redemptive look at what a man does when he discovers that his best might not be good enough.

This was a little book, just 146 pages. But there was a lot packed into those pages. You get a close look at how a restaurant is run and what really goes on in the back kitchen.

But this book was more about character. Manny, even though it was the last night, still followed the same checklist for opening and closing. It was more than a store closing for him - it was also the final end of his relationship with Jacquie, his waitress-girlfriend. Even though their affair had been over for a while, his feelings for her were still alive, and this evening brought the realization that he wouldn't see her again. Manny was a man who wanted to do the right thing - he just didn't know what that was.

Quite an interesting little book.

A NEW AWARD

Beth of Beth Fish Reads just gave me this award - the Premio Dardos award. Thanks, Beth!

This award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his or her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values every day.

The rules to follow are

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.

2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Instead of trying to cut my lists down to just 15, I'm passing this award on to all the bloggers on my blogrolls. I love reading all of the blogs - you all have something special to add to my days.


Dom and I just got back from McDonald's. We like to go there in the mornings for a cup of coffee and maybe a little bit to eat. Just a chance to get out of the house for a while.

I wish I had taken a picture there this morning. Fridays are when the Coffee Club meets. This "club" is actually a group of senior citizens who meet every week and get their free coffee and socialize. Every time we go on a Friday morning, the place is packed. Dom does nothing but complain about these "old geezers who have nothing to do but sit and take up room."

You have to realize that Dom is also one of those "old geezers who have nothing to do but sit and take up room" - he cracks me up when he complains. I don't think he's fully realized yet that he's 68 years old and just about retired. In fact, the Coffee Club members are probably more active than he is! The man just loves to gripe!

THE NEW CENTURIANS

THE NEW CENTURIANS by Joseph Wambaugh was read for the Celebrate the Authors Challenge (birthday January 22).

About the book:

Ex-cop turned #1 New York Times bestselling writer Joseph Wambaugh forged a new kind of literature with his great early police procedurals. Here in his classic debut novel, Wambaugh presents a stunning, raw, and unforgettable depiction of life behind the thin blue line.

In a class of new police recruits, Augustus Plebesly is fast and scared. Roy Fehler is full of ideals. And Serge Duran is an ex-marine running away from his Chicano childhood. In a few weeks they'll put on the blue uniform of the LAPD. In months they'll know how to interpret the mad babble of the car radio, smell danger, trap a drug dealer, hide a secret, and-most of all-live with the understanding that cops are different from everyone else. But for these men, these new centurions, time is an enemy. The year is 1960. The streets are burning with rage. And before they can grow old on this job, they'll have to fight for their lives...

Back in January 1973, my husband and I had gone to the movies to see the film version of this book starring George C. Scott and Stacy Keach. I was having contractions throughout the whole movie. Yet I refused to leave as the movie was so intense. Now, I can't remember anything about the movie except the scene where George C. Scott kills himself. So I decided to read the book and see if it jogged my memory.

If I had thought the movie was intense, then this book is intense to the n-th degree. It follows the early years of three rookie policemen in Los Angeles in the early 1960's. Sitting here in my safe little suburban community, it's hard to understand what life must have been like in the poor ghettos and the dangers that the police faced. Mr. Wambaugh makes you feel the fear these men felt when faced with the race riots in Watts.

Although dated, this book paints a vivid picture of the day-to-day lives of the policemen - the struggles to maintain marriages and relationships, to remain sober, to stay alive. A deep, dark book but an exceptionally good one.

LEMONADE AWARD

Sherri of Sherri's Reading Jubilee just gave me the Lemonade Award - for blogs with great attitude and/or gratitude.

Thanks, Sherri. When life hands me lemons (that happens a lot), I try to make lemonade. Doesn't always work, but I keep trying.

THIS AND THAT

I just won this book - TOMATO GIRL by Jayne Pupek. There was a drawing over at Novels Now and my name was picked. Thanks! I'm looking forward to reading this one.

I need to get to Kroger's this morning for a little bit of grocery shopping. I'm trying a different store. The one close to me that I've been using for years is having a major problem with not having enough cashiers available. We even wrote to Kroger after my last shopping experience, and they sent us a $10 gift certificate. And I still have about $90 on a gift card, so I plan to buy some meats there today to stock my freezer. I've been going to a new Wal-Mart close by for other shopping. The prices are SO much better there. UPDATE: Just got back with 4 canvas bags full to the top with meats, Lean Cuisines ($1.88 each!) and bunches of other things - after using the gift card and certificate, I spent $0.38! That's the kind of shopping I like!

Then I have bowling this afternoon. This is our senior league and it's always fun. Our averages range from the very low 100's up to almost 200 - luckily it's a handicap league so the low average bowlers and their teams have a fighting chance. We have 16 teams of 4 each and have no problem finding bowlers to fill vacancies or bowl as subs.

Remember on Monday, when I was bowling on my ladies' league and I said I felt a 200 game coming on? And 4 Aces for the poker game? Just ignore the 200 comment! But I did have a full house, Aces over 6's, and won a pot.

My clock just chimed 7:00 AM, so I need to get moving. Hope you all have a great day!

TEETH IN A PICKLE JAR

TEETH IN A PICKLE JAR by Helena Milligan was read for the What's in a Name 2 Challenge and the New Author Challenge.

From the back of the book:

Life works in strange and unexpected ways. Just ask Megan.

Nothing was ever handed to her on a silver platter. She divorced young and raised her daughter single-handedly while trying to be a dutiful daughter herself to her quirky and wacky Italian Mamma. then, with a click of a computer mouse, her life suddenly changes: she "meets" a much younger man online. Their "IM" chats quickly morph into heart-to-heart talks and Megan discovers that the world, her world, is full of surprising twists of fate.

TEETH IN A PICKLE JAR is full of humor, sweetness, love, laughter and second chances. So much can happen if you listen to your heart, dare to take risks and answer love's unexpected call.

I was drawn to this book by the title, which wasn't explained until about half-way through the book. This was a quick, easy read about a mid-40's woman who connects with a younger man via the Internet. She has to deal with the idea of having a love interest only 8 years older than her daughter, along with her old-world Italian mother.

As I was reading this book, it seemed as if the author were reading my mind. I was thinking that Megan was an unusual name for a daughter of a woman so immersed in old-world tradition. Then, almost at the same moment, the choice of that name was explained in the book. Just as I was wondering if the title would ever be explained - there it was! Synchronicity!

I'll be looking for more books by Ms. Milligan in the future.

FEELING CHUNKY 2009

No, the post title doesn't refer to me - although it certainly could.

It means that the Chunkster Challenge for 2009 is up and running! The rules and sign-up are here.

The general rules state that you must read books of 450 or more pages. There are 4 different levels of the challenge: The Chubby Chunkster, Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big?, Mor-book-ly Obese, and Too Big to Ignore Anymore. See the challenge blog for the definitions of each level.

I'm doing Mor-book-ly Obese - I'm listing 11 chunksters that I had planned to read this year.

1. TIME AND CHANCE (Sharon Kay Penman) - 512 pages
2. THE SECRET LIFE OF CEE CEE WILKES (Diane Chamberlain) - 459 pages
3. NEFERTITI (Michelle Moran) - 457 pages
4. AS SURE AS THE DAWN (Francine Rivers) - 473 pages
5. HANDLE WITH CARE (Jodi Picoult) - 496 pages
6. THE HISTORIAN (Elizabeth Kosova) - 642 pages
7. WORLD WITHOUT END (Ken Follett) - 1014 pages
8. THE RED SCARF (Kate Furnivall) - 470 pages
9. THE HOUSE AT RIVERTON (Kate Morton) - 496 pages
10. THE KING'S GRACE (Anne Easter Smith) - 608 pages
11. BRIDGE OF SIGHS (Richard Russo) - 528 pages

I figure these should keep me busy and out of trouble for a while!

A NEW AWARD

Lezlie from Books 'N Border Collies, Dar from Peeking Between the Pages, and Mary from Book-fan Mary just gave me this award. Isn't the butterfly so pretty? Thanks ladies!

Here's what I need to do:

1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. Award up to ten other blogs.
4. Add links to those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message for your awardees on their blogs.

So I'm passing this award on to:

Sarah at Brit Gal' in the USA - I just love what she's done with her blog in a short time

Stacy at Exceedingly Mundane - I love reading about and seeing pictures of her sweet dog Beau

Kari at Just Livin' Large - for being the most honest speaking blogger I know

Barb at A Chelsea Morning - for being one of the sweetest and nicest bloggers I know

Tina at Violetlady at Home - my dearest friend, for just being Tina

Now ladies, claim your award and pass it on!

I'M HOPELESS!

Every morning I check out the blog A Novel Challenge. Wendy has all the current reading challenges listed there. Some don't interest me at all, but others ... some I can't wait to join.

So this morning, I found the Medical Mystery Madness Challenge and joined that one. I've done it before and loved reading those books. Joining again was a no brainer. And there was a post about the Chunkster Challenge 2009 which will start next month. Since I have a few (more than a few) big books planned for this year, I'm looking forward to joining that one too!

And I'm hoping that Maggie will do the Southern Reading Challenge again this year. I've loved reading books about the South written by Southern authors.

Surely someone will do a Winter Holiday Challenge again this year, so I can read some new Christmas books.

I'm hopeless!!

Right now, I'm getting ready to go bowling. We play poker while we're bowling. For every strike or spare, we get to draw a card. Best hand wins the pot - $1.00! Sometimes the poker game is more fun than the bowling! Today I feel lucky. Maybe another 200 game and 4 Aces! We'll see!

MEDICAL MYSTERY MADNESS CHALLENGE

One of my favorite challenges is back again this year. Twiga is hosting the Medical Mystery Madness Challenge, which runs from February 1-December 1.

Read 5 or more medical mysteries, and books can be cross-challenged.

Here's my list:

THE INQUISITOR (Peter Clement)
BLOOD LIES (Daniel Kalla)
FLAWLESS (Joshua Spanogle)
MIRACLE CURE (Michael Palmer)
HARVEST (Tess Gerritsen)
MARKER (Robin Cook)

Clement, Kalla, and Spanogle are all new authors to me. I haven't read a Robin Cook book in a long time, so I'll give one of his newer ones a try. I don't think I've read the Tess Gerritsen book before, but if I have, I'll substitute another Robin Cook book.

Go here to sign up for this fun challenge.

EVERY MONTH IS A HOLIDAY CHALLENGE

Kim is hosting the Every Month is a Holiday Challenge again this year. I did this one in 2008 and had a lot of fun with it.

You need to read 12 books, one for a specific holiday or birthday for each month.


Here's my list:

January - Holocaust Memorial Day - SARAH'S KEY
February - Wear Red Day - THE RED SCARF
March - Unique Names Day - NEFERTITI
April - Fresh Florida Tomatoes Month - TOMATO GIRL
May - Biographer's Day - THE HISTORIAN
June - National Go Barefoot Day - THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN
July - National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day - TO HELL AND BACK
August - Senior Citizen's Day - PROMISES OF CHANGE
September - Libraries Remember Day - THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY
October - Emergency Nurses Day - MIRACLE CURE
November - World Orphans Day - THE LAST GIRLS
December - National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day - NOTHING TO REGRET

I found a website (www.brownielocks.com) that had lists of some strange holidays for each month. Some were really funny!

Yes, some of these are really stretching it, but they all more or less fit the holiday. Again, they are all books I'm planning to read anyway, so I should be able to finish this challenge with no problems.

READ YOUR NAME CHALLENGE

Victoria is hosting the Read Your Name Challenge for 2009.

The rules are easy - just read books that start with the letters of your name. You can use your own name, your blogging name, pet's name - your choice.

Since I finally found a book that begins with Y, I'll be using the letters of my name.

Here's my list:

L - LAST NIGHT AT THE LOBSTER
Y - YOU TURN
N - NEFERTITI
N - NOTHING TO REGRET
E - 8th (EIGHTH) CONFESSION - OK, that's a stretch, but I'll try to find another "E" book

Since these are all books I've planned to read anyway, this one should be easy to finish.

802

It's hard to believe, but this is my 802nd post. This blog has been up and running for a little over 2 years now.

I've "met" quite a few great people along the way. It's amazing to know there are so many people out there with some of the same interests as I have.

Lately, it seems as if all I've been doing has been reading and doing book reviews. But I do have a life aside from books. Not much - but still there's a little more to me than reading.

I don't want this blog to be just a book blog - I want to share other parts of my life also. But to do that, I need to do things other than reading all the time.

2008 had a lot of family issues for us. Some good, some not so good. Those things have kept me occupied for quite a while although I haven't posted about a lot of them. Hopefully, the not so good things are just about over and the good ones will continue, even though I won't be dealing with those issues here.

Now that the holidays are over, it's time to get back to "normal" life. My bowling leagues start up again tomorrow and Wednesday. I'm looking forward to getting back into that groove. I really need to get out of this house! And my card group still gets together every Friday afternoon for a few hours.

I've put my little weight tracker back on the sidebar. My weight has gotten completely out of control and I have to start working seriously on the problem. I've decided to start cooking dinners again - Dom and I have been just snacking on stuff too much, especially in the evenings. We're going back to "organized" eating and walking at night. (He can stand to lose a few too!)

So, I'm looking forward to making this blog more "un-book" focused, even though there will still be lots of book reviews. I've joined a bunch of challenges and you'll be hearing about all of them, but I want to share more of "me" with you. I hope you'll still be interested in what I have to share!

DIVINE JUSTICE

DIVINE JUSTICE by David Baldacci was read for the Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge.

From the book jacket:

Known by his alias, "Oliver Stone," John Carr is the most wanted man in America. With two pulls of the trigger, the men who destroyed Stone's life and kept him in the shadows were finally silenced.

But his freedom comes at a steep price: The assassinations he carried out prompt the highest levels of the U.S. government to unleash a massive manhunt. Yet behind the scenes, master spy Macklin Hayes is playing a very personal game of cat and mouse. He, more than anyone else, wants Stone dead.

With their friend and unofficial leader in hiding, the members of the Camel Club risk everything to save him. Now, as the hunters close in, Stone's flight from the demons of his past will take him from the power corridors of Washington, D.C., to the small, isolated coal-mining town of Divine, Virginia - and into a world every bit as bloody and lethal as the one he left behind.

I've read every book written by Mr. Baldacci and loved them all. This book, I think, was the most intense of them all. Oliver got himself into a real predicament in this one, and I couldn't figure out how Mr. Baldacci was going to write him out of this situation. But he did.

After a never-stopping chase, not knowing which guys were the ones in the white hats, Mr. Baldacci brought the book to an unsuspected ending. And judging by the ending, it seems this might be the last book starring the Camel Club. I hope not, but if so, it's been quite a ride. Thanks, Mr. Baldacci, for the fun and the thrills.

TESTIMONY

TESTIMONY by Anita Shreve was read for the Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge.

From the book jacket:

At Avery Academy, a prestigious New England boarding school, the headmaster finds himself in possession of a videotape - a disaster in a small package. More shocking than the sexual acts recorded on the tape are the ages of the students. One girl is just fourteen.

A Pandora's box, the tape unleashes a storm of shame and recrimination throughout the small community. The men, women, and teenagers involved speak out to relate the events of that night and their aftermath. Mike Bordwin, the headmaster, struggles to contain the scandal before it destroys the school. Silas Quinney, a well-liked local boy, grapples with the tremendous consequences of his mistakes. Anna, his mother, confronts her own forbidden temptations. And Sienna, an enigmatic and troubled young woman, tries to put her past behind her.

For all the tape reveals, it provokes more questions than it answers. How did this happen? Who is to blame? And will the mistakes of one foolish moment ruin the futures of everyone involved? As the chorus of voices rises to a crescendo, it reveals the surprising truth of what occurred that night, and how the lives touched by these events will be forever transformed.

Writing with a pace and intensity surpassing even her greatest work, Anita Shreve brings us a gripping emotional drama with the impact of a thriller. No one more compellingly explores the needs and fears that drive ordinary men and women into intolerable dilemmas, or the ways in which our best intentions can lead to our worst transgressions.

Anita Shreve is not one of my favorite authors. I've read others books of hers - some I liked, one I hated so much I threw it against the wall and into the trash. So I was skeptical about reading this book.

This one, however, is one of her better books. The story is told in narrations from the various people involved - the students, the parents, and the headmaster of the school among others. Each one gave some insight into the night in question and how the events affected his or her own life. The incident, and the way it was handled by the school, caused irreparable damage to many people.

Teenagers, with their "live only in the present" mentality, need to understand how their actions can have a lifelong-effect on many lives.

TIME FOR NEW SHIRTS

I think I need new shirts.

My Villanova t-shirt - the one I wore way back in 1985 when Villanova beat Georgetown for the NCAA Championship - has lost it's charm. Nova lost their Big East opener, but there's still plenty of season left.

And I guess it's time for a new Penn State shirt too. PSU had a great season, but lost the Rose Bowl to USC. Thank goodness it wasn't a complete blow-out. On to next year!

With the holidays now solidly behind me, it's time to look to the future. I don't make New Year resolutions because I always manage to break them. But I do have some hopes for this year. I hope to be able to lose weight. I know how to do it - I just need to get moving and stick to a good eating plan, plus the dreaded exercise. Dom and I have already decided that we need to walk more, both inside (with Walk Away the Pounds) and outside.

I have hopes for my family too - but how their lives turn out is up to them. 2008 was a tough year for everyone and I'm hoping that they can all come through their problems in 2009.

2009 - I'm ready for you. Bring it on!

ANOTHER CHALLENGE!

Guess what? I found another reading challenge to join for 2009!

Literary Escapism is hosting the New Author Challenge for 2009. Follow the link to get the particulars and sign up for the challenge.

I've looked over some of the books I'm planning to read this year, and I see a lot of new authors. So I'm going to sign up for 25 new authors. I'm not listing them now, but I'll note them when I review one of their books.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Well, we made it until about 10:00 last night - I think that's a record for us (the latest we've stayed up, not the earliest). Our neighbors were shooting off fireworks at midnight and that woke us up, so I guess you could say we welcomed in the new year.

I cooked a nice breakfast for Dom, Donna and me this morning, then I took down the tree and all the decorations. The house is back to normal now.

Right now, I'm wearing my Villanova t-shirt while watching Nova vs Marquette basketball (they're losing by 4 at the half but I'm still cheering them on). Then at 5:00, I'll be changing into my Penn State shirt as we watch the Rose Bowl.

Dom goes back to work tomorrow and I'll be playing cards in the afternoon. Bowling starts again on Monday and Wednesday next week. And I've got my books all lined up for the new reading challenges. I'm ready for 2009!