ROYAL FLUSH

ROYAL FLUSH by Rhys Bowen is the third in the Royal Spyness series.

From the book jacket:

With its posh clientele gone to the country, my fledgling housecleaning business has fizzled. Now I have to think of something useful that a young lady of my position can provide.... But my few talents only include walking with books balanced on my head and speaking passable French.

Then, my coquettish friend Belinda gives me a spiffing idea. I can hire myself out as a dinner-and-theatre companion. So I take an advert out in the Times. But on my first and only assignment, the not-so-gentle man seems to have quite the wrong idea - and Darcy, my on-again-but-usually-off-again beau, must save me. Must take note: Learn euphemisms of the masses to prevent exposing self as naive virgin...

To avoid further scandal, I'm shipped home, like a naughty schoolgirl, to Castle Rannoch, where my summer plans change to include honoring a promise to Her Majesty to keep Castle Rannoch's houseguest - divorced, American and entirely unsuitable Mrs. Simpson - from seducing the Prince of Wales. Oh, and I've also been coerced into helping Scotland Yard with a top secret mission - namely, keeping an eye on the members of the shooting party at Balmoral and preventing someone from shooting the Prince of Wales instead of quails. And I must manage all this without strangling my odious sister-in-law Fig, or my spineless brother, Binky.

Another fun book from Ms. Bowen. Poor Georgie gets herself into such trouble. First she hires herself out as an escort without realizing what is implied by that title. Later, a climbing accident, a falling tank in the loo, boulders falling on cars, a couple of dead bodies - trouble seems to follow her around. But she still can't keep the Prince of Wales away from Mrs. Simpson.

I'm caught up in this series now, so I'll have to wait for THE LAST ILLUSION (a Molly Murphy book) and ROYAL BLOOD (Georgie). Write quickly Ms. Bowen!

TODAY IS POSITIVE DAY

Jennifer at Dust Bunny Hostage has declared today to be Positive Day. A day to list the good things in our lives and dwell on them.

These last few days have been really hard on me. But I'm going to look at the good things in my life.


My family - All of them, close and far away.

My dogs - Maggie and Teddy. Teddy is waiting for us at the Rainbow Bridge.

My friends - Those I know in real life and those I've met through the internet. They've been there to offer support and love, especially through this past week.

My, and my family's, health - Sure, we have minor problems, but overall we're all in good shape.

My husband's job - It helps pay our bills and provides medical insurance for me. So many people are out of work right now - I'm so glad that Dom has the opportunity to work.

Our home - It's not a designer showcase but it's comfortable and suits us just fine. We have cool air in the summer, heat in the winter, and enough food to keep us full.


Life can't be too bad when you have loving people and pets around you, a place to live, a place to work, and good health. There are a lot of people in this world who don't have these simple and basic things. I'm thankful every day for what I have. And I'm thankful that I have the means to give so that others might have some of the comforts that we have.

Look at the bright side and make this a positive day!

NOT HAVING A GREAT DAY

I picked up Teddy's ashes today and brought him home.

A ROYAL PAIN

A ROYAL PAIN by Rhys Bowen is the second in the Royal Spyness series.

From the book jacket:

Baked beans and boiled eggs. That's what my expected houseguest, Bavarian Princess Maria Theresa Hannelore Wilhelmina Mathilda, will have to eat if I don't get help posthaste. You see, the Queen of England has concocted a plan in which I am to entertain the princess, conveniently placing her in the playboy prince's path, in the hopes he might finally marry.

But there's one thing queens never take into account: money. Of which I have little, ever since my brother, Binky, cut off my allowance. And which is why I moonlight as a maid in disguise. (How am I to hire a maid when I am a maid?) So, like Her Royal Highness, I must draw up plans:

PLAN ONE: Clean house in manner of palace, have Granddad and neighbor pretend to be staff.

PLAN TWO: Blackmail Binky and horrid sister-in-law into sending a few quid.

PLAN THREE: Unteach Princess Hanni English culled from American gangster movies and teach proper English - lest she address queen as "old broad."

PLAN FOUR: Cure said princess of embarrassing shoplifting habit.

PLAN FIVE: Keep eye on wild princess at parties, where she drinks like a fish and dances too close to Darcy O'Mara, the cad who's unfortunately stolen my heart too.

Oh, and then there's the rather more worrying matter of the body in the bookshop and Hanni's unwitting involvement with the communist party. I really don't want to be held responsible for single-handedly instigating another English-German war. It's enough to drive a girl potty...

I'm so enjoying this series by Ms. Bowen! Poor Lady Georgiana finds herself surrounded with dead bodies and she and Princess Hanni look like the most logical suspects. And then there's the Queen's project to trying to stop the love affair of the Prince of Wales - Georgie is supposed to do all she can to break up the happy couple.

Fun characters, fun plots. Ms. Bowen has a way with mysteries!

FARMER LYNNE???

I've been spending a lot of time over on FaceBook playing with FarmVille. If you haven't tried this, or Farm Town, come over and give it a whirl.

I always thought of myself as a city-girl. The closest I've ever been to farming has been a few tomato and pepper plants in the back yard. But now I have cows and a chicken and I'm growing all kinds of food.

It's addicting!

DOM'S NEW TOY

Dom just got a new 2009 Versa sedan. He had a 1996 Jeep that Donna had given him a few years ago. It was a great car, good for carting things around. But it was old and we had put quite a bit of money into major repairs. We really didn't know how much longer it would be before it needed more expensive work.

So with this new Cash for Clunkers program, we were able to get a $4500 rebate for it. The book value on the car (Kelly Blue Book) was $675, so we made out OK on this deal.

The Versa is a lot bigger inside than we thought it would be. It's a really comfortable riding car and looks nice. I think Dom's going to be happy with this one. He deserves a nice new car.

BENNY & SHRIMP

BENNY & SHRIMP by Katarina Mazetti

From the book cover flap:

Two middle-aged misfits and a love that should not be as complicated as it seems...

It started in a cemetery, where they begrudgingly share a bench. "Shrimp," the childless young widow and librarian with a sharp intellect and a home so tidy that her jam jars are in alphabetical order, meets Benny, the gentle, overworked milk farmer who fears becoming the village's Old Bachelor. Both driven by an enormous longing and loudly ticking biological clocks, they can't escape the powerful attraction between them.

But how will she learn to accept that he falls asleep at the opera and has a house full of his mother's cross-stitch? And how could he ever feel at home in her minimalist apartment, bare as a dentist's waiting room?

An international sensation now available for the first time in the United States, this quirky, humorous, completely readable novel breathes new life into the age-old conundrum that is love.

I received this book in the mail, and for the life of me, I can't remember from where it came. As it's not been released yet, it must have been from a publisher. Sorry about the senior moment!

From the praise on the back of the book, I was expecting something much different from what I got out of the book. I didn't like Desirée (Benny gave her the nickname Shrimp) - I thought she was cold and self-centered. I liked Benny a little more, but he was no prize either.

How these two managed to get together is a mystery to me. They had absolutely nothing in common, except sex. They had no common interests or friends. Benny was looking for a wife who would be a partner at his dairy farm. Shrimp was looking for someone to accompany her to the opera.

I was OK with the book until the end. I thought it was mostly boring, but an easy read; Shrimp and Benny narrated alternate chapters. I hated the ending of the book. To me it showed exactly how self-centered and self-serving Shrimp really was.

I'm sure there will be others who will disagree with my thoughts, but I just didn't like this book.

THANK YOU

Dom and I want to thank you all for your sweet comments yesterday concerning Teddy. They did a lot to console us.

Although we're both upset, we realize that Teddy is now in a happy place, his heart completely healed. And we'll meet again.

MY HEART IS BROKEN

TEDDY
May 31, 2002 - July 22, 2009

I love you, my little Ted E. Bear

RETURN TO SULLIVANS ISLAND

RETURN TO SULLIVANS ISLAND by Dorothea Benton Frank was read strictly for fun!

From the book jacket:

Newly graduated from college and an aspiring writer, Beth Hayes craves independence and has a world to conquer. But her notions of travel, graduate study, and writing the great American novel will have to be postponed. With her mother, Susan, leaving to fulfill her own dreams in Paris and her Aunt Maggie, Uncle Grant, and stepfather, Simon, moving to California, Beth is elected by her elders to house-sit the Island Gamble. Surrounded by the shimmering blue waters of the Atlantic, the white clapboards, silver tin roof, and confessional porch have seen and heard the stories of generations of Hamiltons. But will the ghosts of the Island Gamble be watching over Beth?

Buoyed by sentimental memories of growing up on this tiny sandbar what seems to be untouched by time, Beth vows to give herself over to the Lowcountry force and discover the wisdom it holds. She will rest, rejuvenate, and then reenter the outside world. Just as she vows she will never give into the delusional world of white picket fences, minivans, and eternal love, she meets Max Mitchell. And all her convictions and plans begin to unravel with lightning speed.

There is so much about life and her family's past that she does not know. Her ignorance and naiveté nearly cost her both her inheritance and her family's respect. But Beth finds unexpected friends to help her through the disaster she faces: her wise and charming Aunt Sophie; Cecily Singleton, the granddaughter of Livvie Singleton; and Woody Morrison, the solid young investment banker.

This wonderful ensemble of characters could be your own family, but watch what unfolds as they succumb to the island's spell. If everything happens for a reason, then Beth's return to Sullivans Island teaches her that betrayal and tragedy are most easily handled when you surround yourself with loyal family and friends in a magical place that loves you so much that it wants to claim you as its own.

I love Dorothea Benton Frank. I've read all of her books and loved them all, with the exception of one that was just OK. I had high hopes for this one.

It took me a little while to get into this one. I felt the character of Beth was confusing in the beginning of the book, as if Ms. Frank didn't know how she wanted to portray Beth. After a little while, though, Beth the character seemed to find herself and settle into the story.

Beth's relationship with Max was predictable from the beginning, as was her relationship with Woody. But that was OK. The ending of the book seemed to have too much going on all at the same time. And I would have liked to have a little more information as to what happened to some of the characters.

Overall, not my favorite Ms. Frank book, but not a bad one.

EYE EXAM

This is a rough idea of what my eyes look like right now. The pupils have actually gone down in size a little.

Anyway, the eye exam went well. No signs of a detached or torn retina, though I do have floaters and could possibly have a retina problem in the future.

I also have cataracts, which I knew about. The doctor said he could remove them whenever I wanted. I'll have to think about that one a little while - check the costs vs my insurance coverage.

I also have a condition in my eyes called corneal dystrophy. I was told about this problem around 20 years ago when I was still wearing contacts. At that time I had been told to wear contacts 24/7, which was supposed to help the problem. It didn't help and my eyes got worse. So then I was told I could never wear contacts again. The doctor took pictures of my left eye and the dystrophy showed up looking something like a mosaic - neat looking except when you're on the side that has the problem! There's nothing that can be done about it and it's not causing problems right now. Maybe this doctor will let me wear contacts - I have to see him again in 6 weeks and I'll ask him then.

I feel relieved that there isn't a major problem right now. I guess I'll just have to live with this floater. The fun of getting older - it just gets better and better! LOL!

TUESDAY STUFF

I love this little panda picture!

Have you heard about Cash for Clunkers? It's a new plan where you can trade in an older, gas-guzzling car on a new car that gets much better gas mileage and the government will give you either $3500 or $4500 credit on the new car. We have a 1996 Jeep that gets about 16 miles a gallon. So yesterday, Dom and I went to a Chevy dealer in town and he looked at a little Aveo. He was told he could get $4500 for his car, plus a $1000 rebate, and a $700 credit from using our GM credit card. The plan doesn't go into effect until Friday. We put $1000 down to take the car off the lot until then, but we did not sign any contract. We rethought it last night and decided we didn't want to go into debt with a new car payment, so we called the dealer to let him know. They had already deposited my check, which they were supposed to hold until Friday. So I need to go up to the dealer this morning and have them cut me a check for $1000. I'm anticipating problems getting the money, but since there was no contract signed, I will get the money - or else! UPDATE: Got the check - it hadn't been deposited. Didn't even have to fight - darn!

Then - finally - this afternoon I can get my hair cut. Of course, this morning it looks good. Never fails. But it really needs a good shaping. DONE - going back on Thursday for color.

Tomorrow morning I have an appointment with an opthamologist. I've been having problems with my left eye. I have what's been called a floater, but I'm wondering about that. It looks like a hair on the left side of my eye; it doesn't move around the eye, but moves with the eye. And I'm getting flashes of light in the same area. I'm concerned about a torn retina. Plus I know I have a cataract in that eye and hopefully I can get that taken care of soon. My vision is starting to get blurry in that eye, like I'm looking through wax paper. So it's time for a really good exam.

Nothing much else going on down here in Atlanta. What's up in your neck of the woods?

HER ROYAL SPYNESS

HER ROYAL SPYNESS by Rhys Bowen is the first in a new series.

From the book jacket:

My ridiculously long name is Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, daughter to the Duke of Glen Garry and Rannoch. And I am, as they say, flat broke. A girl of my standing - that is, thirty-fourth in line for the throne - is good for only a few things: perfecting my curtsy, hosting fetes - oh, and marrying into a noble family for the ever-so-romantic reason of securing allies.

But my brother Binky cut off my meager allowance. So I bolted from Scotland - and a marriage to Fish-Face (I mean, Prince Siegfried of Romania) - and headed to London, where I have:

a) worked behind a Harrods cosmetics counter for all of five hours before getting sacked
b) built a fire in the hearth - entirely on my own, thank you very much
c) started to fall for a minor royal who's Catholic, Irish, and unsuitable in every way
d) made a few quid housekeeping (incognita, of course), and
e) been personally summoned by the Queen herself to spy on her playboy son

Less than thrilled with this last bit, I'm wondering what to do when an arrogant Frenchman, who - coincidentally enough - is trying to swipe the estate that's been in my family for eight hundred years, winds up dead in my bathtub. Now, my new job is to clear my very long family name.

I've read the Molly Murphy series by Ms. Bowen and loved them. I think I'm going to really like this series!

The book takes place in the 1930's. Georgie, as a minor royal, has been trained to do nothing except let others wait on her. Now she's decided to strike out on her own, and has to learn to take care of herself and earn a living. She starts a housekeeping service to open houses and "air them out" with a staff of one - herself. She also learns the art of gate-crashing parties to get a good meal. And the Queen decides to use Georgie as her personal spy. She manages all of this and is almost killed - a few times - while solving a mystery.

I'm anxious to find out what other situations will crop up for Georgie. I have the next 2 books in the series waiting on the bookshelves.

THE WAY WE WERE

Over on Facebook, we have a group of alumni from my high school. I guess there are close to 50 that are posting there. One sweetie posted pictures from our class trip to Washington, DC in 1963. The picture above is 1/3 of the entire picture.

The entire picture is posted on Facebook. I've spent a while this morning studying the picture and trying to identify who's who. I have most of the girls, but I'm still stumped on some of the guys.

Notice all the guys are wearing coats and ties, even though it was pretty warm that day. All the girls are in dresses and some in heels. And I'll bet we were all wearing panty hose (were panty hose invented by 1963?).

I guess things have really changed in high schools. In our school, girls couldn't wear pants - had to wear skirts. Guys could wear chinos but not jeans. We all looked forward to the 3-day trip to Washington - now kids go to foreign countries for trips.

Looking at the way kids are dressed to go to school around here, I think I like our old way better.

THE YEAR THAT FOLLOWS

THE YEAR THAT FOLLOWS by Scott Lasser is a book I found on the New Releases shelf at the library. Although I'm not counting it, it would qualify for the Pub 2009 Challenge.

From the book jacket:

The story of a woman's search for her brother's lost son orphaned in the wake of his sudden death, drives Scott Lasser's riveting new novel - a work of stunning economy and momentum about a woman's quest and a family's longing for wholeness and completion.

Cat is a single mother living in Detroit when her brother is killed in New York, and she sets off in search of his child. Her search is still under way when she gets a call from her father. Sam is eighty and carrying the weight of a secret he has kept from Cat all her life. He asks her to visit him in California, intending to make his peace.

Cat's journey - toward her father, and her brother's infant son - and Sam's journey toward his daughter, his lost son, and a new relationship to both his future and his past are woven into this superbly realized novel about families and the mysteries and ambiguities that inhere in our most primal relations. The result is a deeply stirring work that explores the complexities of home and heritage, and the bonds that even death is powerless to diminish.

I was a little disappointed in this book. The action in the book takes place a full year after the son's death. I had expected to read more about the actual year and how Cat and Sam coped with the loss.

I did like the book, it just wasn't what I thought it would be. I felt it was a well-written book - the point of view changed from Cat to Sam frequently and it was a little hard to follow at first, but I liked reading how both of them handled different problems. There was a situation at the end of the book that bothered me - information was received and I disagreed with how that information was handled.

This book was probably a middle-of-the-road book for me, a little closer to the better books I've read this year than the worst.

NEW BOOKS AND A PAIN

I just got a package of books in the mail from a book club. They are by Rhys Bowen - an author whose books I've read before. I love her Molly Murphy mysteries. These are the first books in a new series about a minor member of the English royal family in the 1930's. I was able to get all three in hardcover instead of the dreaded mass-market paperback.

HER ROYAL SPYNESS

A ROYAL PAIN

ROYAL FLUSH

If these are anything like Molly Murphy, they should be fun books to read.

About the pain in this post title - I just took Dom to the doctor. He stepped off a ladder yesterday and heard a loud "pop" and his right leg started hurting. His calf was swollen and tender. Turns out to be a slight tear to his Achilles' tendon, but I wanted to be sure it wasn't a blood clot in a deep vein in his leg. If he has any further swelling or pain or it doesn't seem to be getting better, he'll need to have an ultrasound to definitely rule out a clot.

He's had a lot of trouble with his right leg - he also has a stretched nerve that has caused a great deal of pain. Getting older sure is the pits!

THERE'S ALWAYS NEXT YEAR

Number 7 - that's where my bowling team finished in the summer league.

Unfortunately - there were only 7 teams in the league!

DEAD LAST!

SWIMSUIT

SWIMSUIT by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro is a book given to me by a bowling buddy, and it could be used for the Pub 2009 Challenge, although I’m not counting this one.

From the book jacket:

A breathtakingly beautiful supermodel disappears from a swimsuit photo shoot at the most glamorous hotel in Hawaii. Only hours after Kim McDaniels goes missing, her parents receive a terrifying phone call. Fearing the worst, they board the first flight to Maui and begin the hunt for their daughter.

Ex-cop Ben Hawkins, now a reporter for the L. A. Times, gets the McDaniels assignment. The ineptitude of the local police force defies belief – Ben has to start his own investigation for Kim McDaniels to have a prayer. And for Ben to have the story of a lifetime.

All the while, a killer sets the stage for his next production. His audience expects the best – and they won’t be disappointed. SWIMSUIT is a heart-pounding story of fear and desire, transporting you to a place where beauty and murder collide and horrors are hidden within paradise.

First, I would like to give kudos to the publishers (or whomever is responsible) for FINALLY giving Maxine Paetro a little more credit on the book cover. Her name is in type almost as large as James Patterson’s. About time. Now, if “they” would only give her more than 2 lines in the About the Authors page.

This book is about a killer who kills for the pleasure it gives him and has no remorse at all for what’s he’s done. He’s been hired by a group he refers to as The Peepers – a group to whom he sends videos of the killings. Could people like this really exist? It’s frightening to think that they could.

Poor Ben Hawkins – he gets involved in this killer’s life and activity and can’t get out. He lives in fear for himself and his girlfriend. Too much information can be deadly.

I’ve mainly read Mr. Patterson (and Ms. Paetro) in the Women’s Murder Club series. I think this is the first of the stand-alone mysteries that I’ve read. It was a quick read, lots of action and short chapters. Maybe I’ll read more. As long as the additional author gets fair billing.

JUST ANOTHER DAY HERE IN GEORGIA

This morning I woke up and realized that I needed a haircut - right now! So promptly at 9:00 AM, I called the salon I go to, in the hopes that my stylist would have an opening. Now, this girl is good, REALLY GOOD, and is usually booked about a month or so in advance. Still, I hoped. Not to be - I have to wait until next Tuesday morning. Someone hide the scissors and razor before I do a little trim myself!

I've been playing around on Facebook a lot. There is a good sized group of fellow alumni from high school that posts there. We are trying to get more of our classmates to join. In a couple of years, we'll be having a special reunion (dare I say our 50th?) and we want to have as many there as possible. For some of us, it might be our last one. It's so much fun to reconnect with old friends, and make new ones too. We've all had such varied lives.

I need to run to the store soon and pick up a dessert to take to bowling tomorrow. It's the last day of the season and the center is providing pizzas for each team for lunch. Each team is bringing a dessert to eat while I figure up the final standings and award the prize money. Our fall league starts in 4 weeks, so we'll all have a little breather until then.

Not much else going on around here. I might do a little bit of sewing - actually fixing a dress I made a few weeks ago that I'm not thrilled with - then I might even cut out another one. Dom and I were supposed to go to a lunch meeting today, but we cancelled. When we eat a good lunch, we don't usually eat dinner. So now it looks like I'll have to cook something tonight. Or maybe I can talk him into going out - much better choice!

How's your day going?

BLOOD LIES

BLOOD LIES by Daniel Kalla was read for the Medical Mystery Madness Challenge.

From the book jacket:

Ben Dafoe, a young emergency-room doctor and part-time crime-scene consultant for the Seattle Police Department, is haunted by addiction. Two years earlier, a cocaine and crystal-meth habit claimed the life of his identical twin, Aaron. Now Ben walks onto the scene of a savage stabbing to find that the victim is his former fiancee, Emily Kenmore - another loved one who fell prey to drugs. Part of the carnage in Emily's bedroom is a single streak of blood caked on the wall.

When the DNA from that sample matches Ben's, he becomes the prime suspect.

Convinced his identical twin is still alive and somehow involved in Emily's death, Ben goes on the run, aiming to find Aaron. Working under an assumed identity at an inner-city clinic, Ben desperately searches for Aaron while playing cat-and-mouse with the authorities.

But someone is determined to thwart his hunt at any cost. In the story's final twist, the truth hits closer to home and more lethally than Ben ever imagined.

Set against the backdrop of the ER, BLOOD LIES is a medical thriller and a Fugitive-style suspense novel with a major twist. As Ben struggles to solve a tragic mystery from his past and clear his name, he might just learn that, sometimes, blood lies. . . .

I thought this book was just OK. A few times while reading it, I wanted to quit, but I hung in, wanting to find out who killed Emily. I had a good guess who the guilty party was fairly early in the book, but the motive wasn’t really revealed until close to the end. For someone without a medical background, it would not have been as obvious.

Most of the characters were unlikable – I’m not a fan of drug addicts. And the writing style was strange to me. To give background information, the author would have Ben thinking of a past time and his thoughts would be italicized. Hard to explain why this bothered me, but it did.

On the back of the book, the author was described as another Michael Crichton or Robin Cook. No, not in my eyes.

JUDGING A BOOK BY ITS COVER

Today’s Musing Monday question is about book covers:

We all know the old adage about not judging a book by its cover, but just how much sway does a book cover have when it comes to your choice of book – whether buying or borrowing? Are there any books you’ve bought based on the cover alone?

I always read the back of a book or a synopsis of the story before I borrow or buy a book. Usually I look for an author that I know or a book that has been recommended. But a pretty cover will prompt me to pick up an unfamiliar book.

I picked up a book in a bookstore one time because the cover grabbed me. The book was EVERY SUNDAY by Peter Pezzelli. There was just “something” about the cover that pulled me in. After reading the synopsis of the book, I knew I wanted to read it. I bought the book and loved it. So I went looking for more books by this author.

I’ve found 3 more books by Mr. Pezzelli and was delighted to find that the covers of these books were also paintings done by the same artist who did the EVERY SUNDAY cover – George Angelini. And I’ve loved every book.

Take a look at these covers – wouldn’t you just love to be there?

Visit Just One More Page for more Musing Monday questions and answers.

AWARD TIME

Bambi Reads just gave me this pretty award. Thank you so much!

Now I need to list 7 of my favorite things and then pass the award to 7 bloggers. Here’s my list:

1. Friends and family – including my puppies
2. Reading – just about any type of book
3. Bowling – especially when I can actually hit the head pin
4. Sewing – when the clothes actually fit the way they should
5. The beach – any beach – and watching the ocean
6. My Toyota Prius – the best car I’ve ever owned
7. Blogging – of course

Instead of passing this to just 7 bloggers, I’ll pass this award to all the blogs that I read – you’re all “Kreative Bloggers” in my book!

HARVEST

HARVEST by Tess Gerritsen was read for the Medical Mystery Madness Challenge.

From the book jacket:

For Dr. Abby DiMatteo, the road to Boston's Bayside Hospital began with a tragic accident - and the desperate, awful weeks that followed as she watched her little brother, Pete, lose his battle to live. Despite her small-town roots and lack of money, Abby pushed through college and medical school, each achievement strengthening her ambition to reach higher. Now, immersed in the grinding fatigue of her second year as a surgical resident, she's elated when the hospital's elite cardiac transplant team taps her as a potential recruit.

But Abby soon makes an anguished, crucial decision that jeopardizes her entire career. A car crash victim's healthy heart is ready to be harvested; it is immediately cross-matched to a wealthy private patient, forty-six-year-old Nina Voss. Abby and chief resident Vivian Chao hatch a bold plan to make sure that the transplant goes instead to a dying seventeen-year-old boy who is also a perfect match.

The repercussions are powerful and swift; Dr. Chao resigns, bowing under the combined fury of the hospital's top staff and Nina Voss's outraged husband. Abby is shaken but unrepentant - until he meets the frail, tormented Nina. Then a new heart for Nina Voss suddenly appears, her transplant is completed, and Abby makes a terrible discovery. The doner records have been falsified - Nina's heart has not come through the proper channels.

Defying Bayside Hospital's demands for silence, Abby, with Vivian Chao's help, plunges into an investigation that reveals an intricate, and murderous, chain of deceptions. Every move Abby makes spawns a vicious backlash...and, in a ship anchored in the stagnant waters of Boston Harbor, a final, grisly discovery lies waiting....

I've been reading Tess Gerritsen books for quite a few years, and I thought I had read them all. Somehow, this one - her first book - got past me. For a first novel, this was a very good one. Full of suspense, never knowing who the "good guys" were, the action didn't end until the last few pages of the book.

I'm glad I found this one. A very impressive first book.

MOVING DAY ... AGAIN

Busy day planned!

Shelby and Mike are moving again. The apartment they rented a few months ago is just too small -I think it's only about 700 square feet. They found a nice 2 bedroom townhouse that's closer to my house and where they work. It's more expensive but they can handle it. They'll each have their own room in this one.

So they're moving this afternoon. Shelby is bringing her dog Lucky here around noon to stay while they're moving furniture. Maggie will love it - Teddy will probably be scared of him even though Lucky is a little dog. Susan is coming here around 2:00 - I'm renting the truck but she's going to drive it. We'll come back here, meet Shelby and Mike, then move a bed and TV from here onto the truck. Then they're on their own - I'm staying here! When they're finished with the truck, Shelby will come back to pick up Lucky and bring Susan back to her car after she drops off the truck.

Dom just went back to work this morning after having been off for 12 days vacation. He walked into one of our dining room chairs last night and it looks like he broke his right pinky toe. I buddy-taped it to the next toe and he said it feels a little better this morning.

I have a bunch of places to go this morning - two banks, Goodwill, the library, my friend's house to drop off a check. So I need to get moving!

Hope you all have a great day!

GOOD HOPE ROAD

GOOD HOPE ROAD by Lisa Wingate was read for the Read Your Own Books Challenge.

From the back of the book:

In a time of crisis, two women come together...and set off down a road of hope....

Twenty-one-year-old Jenilee Lane, whose dreams are as narrow as the sky is wide, is the last person to expect anything good to come out of the tornado that rips across the Missouri farmland surrounding her home. But some inner spark compels her to take action - to rescue her elderly neighbor, Eudora Gibson, from the cellar in which she's been trapped. To make her way to the nearby town of Poetry, where the townspeople have begun to gather in the only building left standing. To collect from the landscape fragments of life that have been cast about in the tornado's wake: letters, photographs - mementos that might mean something to people who have lost everything....

Eudora Gibson is the last person to expect courageous acts from Jenilee Lane. But the girl she's hardly noticed for years is now surprising her - stepping forward with a bravery that inspires Eudora to face her own bitterness over the past. Brought close by tragedy, Jenilee and Eudora will learn lessons about the resilience of the human spirit and the ties that make a community strong. They will travel to a place they once never would have imagined.

I have read a few of Ms. Wingate's books before and liked them. In fact, the books that I read previously were part of a series that began with TENDING ROSES. This book is the second in the series, although it just barely touched on the characters from the first book.

This book was all about learning to forgive yourself and forgive others and move on with your life. Sometimes people get so caught up in their own problems they don't see the world around them. They don't realize that others need help and that they might be able to provide that help. Jenilee lived a life controlled by her father and didn't see any way out of that life. She was angry but couldn't see how to turn that anger into something constructive. Eudora had lived a good life, but a deep anger toward her deceased sister cast a pall over her life. Together Jenilee and Eudora found ways to forgive and make a new start.

A good lesson for all of us.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAI SHAN

Those of you who have read my blog for a while know how much I love pandas.

Tai Shan, at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, was the first panda baby I watched. I've followed him since he was just a little twerp, the size of a stick of butter. And now, today is his 4th birthday.

He's grown into a big beautiful bear. His weight is over 200 pounds. He's considered a teenager now, and will probably have to go to China soon.

Zoo Atlanta currently has 4 pandas - Lun Lun and Yang Yang (the mom and dad), Mei Lan (their 3 year-old daughter) and Xi Lan (their 10 month old son). The zoo is currently trying to raise $500,000 by the end of December so that Lun Lun and Yang Yang can stay here in Atlanta for another 5 years. Mei Lan will have to go to China soon, and Xi Lan will probably get to stay here until he's about 3 or 4. So far, $43,000 has been raised in a month. There's still a long way to go. The zoo has set up a special website for donations - www.givesotheystay.org.

The pandas aren't here in the US just for our enjoyment. The zoos (San Diego, Washington, Memphis and Atlanta) are all heavily involved in research on these beautiful animals. They are almost extinct in China because of loss of their feeding areas. The research centers in China are working on improving reproduction and trying to prepare the bears to return to the wild.

The earthquake in China last year resulted in the death of some of the pandas, but the exact number is not known. The pandas that were in the research center in the center of the quake area were sent to other locations, and even after all that trauma, there were some cubs born last year. I'd hate to see this breed die out.

DUCT TAPE - IT'S NOT JUST FOR DUCTS ANYMORE

I've been doing a lot of sewing lately, and have more that I want to finish. But I've had a hard time getting things to fit perfectly.

I told Dom that I wanted to get a dressform to use for fitting the patterns and clothes. I checked a few out online and they're pretty expensive - anywhere from $140 to $350 or so. Right now, I can't justify the expense.

Then, while Google-ing dressforms, I found an article about making your own dress form - from duct tape!

It looks fairly simple. All you need is an old T-shirt (I read somewhere else that a large trash bag could be used) and a few rolls of duct tape. I doubt that Dom would help wrap me up in duct tape, so I'll have to get someone else to help me. Sounds like something Shelby would enjoy doing.

Now should I use plain old silver or go for some color more exciting? I'll let you know how it turns out.

NEW AUTHORS CHALLENGE - COMPLETED

I'm calling the New Authors Challenge completed. I had signed up for 25 new authors this year, and I've reached that number. But I'm certain that there will be more this year.

Of the 25 new authors that I've read, there are a few I know I won't be looking for again. But there are many who I will want to read again. Just a few that come to mind are:

Tatiana deRosnay (SARAH'S KEY)
Kate Furnivall (THE RED SCARF)
Diane Chamberlain (THE SECRET LIFE OF CEECEE WILKES)
Michelle Moran (NEFERTITI)
Elizabeth Scott (LIVING DEAD GIRL)
Katrina Kittle (THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS)

I've really enjoyed this challenge to find new authors. Sometimes I feel like I'm in a reading rut, looking for books by the same authors over and over. This challenge has given me the "oomph" to find new authors and enjoy their books. Thanks to Library Escapism for hosting this fun challenge.

TO HELL AND BACK

TO HELL AND BACK by Audie Murphy was read for a number of challenges: the New Author Challenge, the 9 Books for 2009 Challenge (used), the Read Your Own Books Challenge, the Every Month is a Holiday Challenge (Freedom Week), and the Non-Fiction Five Challenge.

From the back of the book:

Originally published in 1949, TO HELL AND BACK was an enormous bestseller and later became a major motion picture starring Audie Murphy as himself. More than fifty years later, this classic wartime memoir is still as gripping as ever.

Rejected from both the marines and the paratroopers because he was too small, Murphy was desperate to see action and determined to serve his country. Eventually he found a home with the infantry and fought through campaigns in Sicily, Italy, France, and Germany. Although still under twenty-one years old on V-E Day, he was credited with having killed, captured, or wounded 240 Germans. He emerged from the was as America's most decorated soldier, having received twenty-one medals, including our highest military decoration, the Congressional Medal of Honor.

I've read books about war before, but nothing like this one. This book, in a very straight-forward manner, told what war is really about. It's about real people doing what they have to do to defeat the enemy.

Mr. Murphy didn't think of himself as a hero. He was a soldier who was in charge of a platoon, who followed orders, and who protected his men as well as he could. He told the story of the men he fought with and the men who died on the foreign shores. Throughout the book, he didn't sugar-coat the battles, nor did he embellish them. He just wrote about what they faced on a daily basis; the living conditions, the cold, the hunger, the fear.

Audie Murphy was the most decorated American soldier during World War II. He went on to a long film career, starring in The Red Badge of Courage, The Quiet American, and his own To Hell and Back. He was killed in a plane crash in 1971 at age forty-six.

THE BRASS VERDICT

THE BRASS VERDICT by Michael Connelly was read for the Celebrate the Author Challenge (birthday July 21).

From the book jacket:

Things are finally looking up for defense attorney Mickey Haller. After two years of wrong turns, he is back in the courtroom. When his famed former colleague Jerry Vincent is murdered, Haller inherits the biggest case he's ever had: defending Walter Elliot, a prominent Hollywood producer accused of murdering his wife and her lover. Haller has his hands full with Elliot, who seems more concerned about his movies than about a possible life sentence. With a key part of the defense's strategy missing, Mickey scrambles to prepare for trial, and the pressure only intensifies when he learns that Vincent's killer may be coming for him next.

Enter Harry Bosch. Determined to find Vincent's murderer, Bosch will do whatever it takes to crack the case, even if that means using Haller as bait. Flip sides of the same coin, Haller and Bosch rarely see eye to eye on the law. But as danger mounts and the stakes rise, these two loners realize their only choice is to work as a team.

I've only read one previous book by Mr. Connelly - THE LINCOLN LAWYER - which introduced Mickey Haller. I loved it and I loved Mickey. It was great to read another book about him and catch up on his life. This book had me guessing until the end. There were a few points that I could see coming, but I think they were written that way. The ending of the book was a complete surprise.

Mr. Connelly has written a series of books about Harry Bosch, the Los Angeles detective. I'll have to check them out also.

CELEBRITY MEMOIRS

Here's this week's Booking Through Thursday question:

Do you read celebrity memoirs? Which ones have you read or do you want to read? What nonexistent celebrity memoirs would you like to see?

I've read a few. Billy Crystal's 700 SUNDAYS was good, as was Alan Alda's NEVER HAVE YOUR DOG STUFFED. I even, years ago, read one by Barry Manilow - SWEET LIFE - ADVENTURES ON THE WAY TO PARADISE. But on the whole, I'm not interested in celebrity memoirs for the simple reason, I don't care about celebrities. I have no interest in people like Michael Jackson or Madonna or Brittney Spears. Don't like them, wouldn't waste my time reading about them.

What nonexistent celebrity memoirs would I like to see? I can't think of any that would interest me. Wait, I take that back. Maybe Grover from Sesame Street.

Find out how others answered these questions by checking Booking Through Thursday.

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY - THE CASTAWAYS

Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by Breaking the Spine, is a weekly listing of new, soon-to-be-released books - in other words, books I must add to my ever-growing wish list.

THE CASTAWAYS by Elin Hilderbrand

From Amazon.com:

Greg and Tess MacAvoy are one of four prominent Nantucket couples who count each other as best friends. As pillars of their close-knit community, the MacAvoys, Kapenashes, Drakes, and Wheelers are important to their friends and neighbors, and especially to each other. But just before the beginning of another idyllic summer, Greg and Tess are killed when their boat capsizes during an anniversary sail. As the warm weather approaches and the island mourns their loss, nothing can prepare the MacAvoy's closest friends for what will be revealed.

This sounds like a good one - and it's being released next week, so I won't be "waiting" too long.

Be sure to visit Breaking the Spine for some other good book recommendations.

JUNE BOOKS

June was another slow reading month for me. I was doing a lot of sewing and spent quite a few days with that. By the time I put the sewing away, my eyes were too tired to do much reading. I finished 7 books, one of which was over 1000 pages. Here's a list of the books I finished:


WORLD WITHOUT END (Ken Follett) - Chunkster Challenge, Read Your Own Books Challenge, Celebrate the Author Challenge

THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN (Mark Twain) - Read Your Own Books Challenge, Every Month is a Holiday Challenge

LOOKING FOR SALVATION AT THE DAIRY QUEEN (Susan Gregg Gilmore) - New Authors Challenge, Southern Reading Challenge

THE TORY WIDOW (Christine Blevins) - New Authors Challenge

FINGER LICKIN' FIFTEEN (Janet Evanovich) - Pub 2009 Challenge

SHANGHAI GIRLS (Lisa See) - Pub 2009 Challenge

THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS (Katrina Kittle) - New Authors Challenge


Have you noticed that I manage to include each book I read into some challenge? Some are planned, others I find just happen to fit a challenge after I've read them. I've read a total of 58 for the year. Last year I read 138 books - if I want to top that number this year, I need to get moving! I have some books planned for challenges for July, plus a bunch of new books waiting on the shelf.

Have you met your reading goals for June?