MARCH BOOKS

March was a pretty busy month but I still managed to finish 13 books. Most of them were pretty good, but there were two stinkers. I had my first-ever book club meeting. And I spent a tough week with my daughter as she dealt with a sick kitty and a very difficult decision.

Here's what I read this month:

BETWEEN HERE AND APRIL by Deborah Copaken Kogan

BROOKLYN by Colm Tóibín (New York Challenge, Ireland Reading Challenge 2010, What's In a Name 3 Challenge)

SPRING MOON by Betty Bao Lord (2010 Reading Through the Seasons Challenge)

MUDBOUND by Hillary Jordan

A SECRET AND UNLAWFUL KILLING by Cora Harrison (Ireland Reading Challenge 2010)

ARE YOU THERE, VODKA? IT'S ME, CHELSEA by Chelsea Handler

IN SEARCH OF EDEN by Linda Nichols

THINK TWICE by Lisa Scottoline (2010 Pub Challenge)

THE LAST ILLUSION by Rhys Bowen (New York Challenge, Ireland Reading Challenge 2010, Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2010, 2010 Pub Challenge)

NO TIME TO WAVE GOODBYE by Jacquelyn Mitchard

THE MONEY GOD by Zena Livingston

WINTER GARDEN by Kristin Hannah (2010 Pub Challenge, 2010 Reading Through the Seasons Challenge)

SECRET SISTERS by Tristi Pinkston (2010 Pub Challenge)


Did you read any good books this month?

IN THE NEWS!

A few weeks ago, a reporter from our local newspaper came to our Monday bowling league and took a bunch of pictures and interviewed some of us.

Well, the article was printed this past Sunday - on the front page of the Community section.  Half of the front page and one other full page inside.  Vicki from our team had 2 pictures.  The majority of the article was about our team - Strike Force - as we're the first place team.

There were some quotes from all of us.  I swear, she took some of the strangest things that we said and put them in the story.  Like when I said I bowl on Monday since Dom is not working that day and it's my way to get away from him!  Luckily Dom knew I was kidding when he read that!

Strike Force - we've made the big time now!  And you can all say you knew me when!

WINTER GARDEN

WINTER GARDEN by Kristin Hannah was read for the 2010 Pub Challenge and the 2010 Reading Through the Seasons Challenge.

From the book jacket:

Sometimes when you open the door to your mother's past, you find your own future....


Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be.  One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family business; the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist.  But when their beloved father falls ill, these two estranged sisters will find themselves together again, standing alongside their disapproving mother, Anya, who even now offers no comfort to her daughters.  On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise:  Anya will tell her daughters a story; it is one she began years ago and never finished.  This time she will tell it all the way to the end.


The tale their mother tells them is unlike anything they've heard before - a captivating, mysterious love story that spans more than sixty years and moves from frozen, war-torn Leningrad to modern-day Alaska.  Nina's obsession to uncover the truth will send them all on an unexpected journey into their mother's past, where they will discover a secret so shocking, it shakes the foundations of their family and changes who they believe they are.

This was a really good book, the best book written by Ms. Hannah that I've read.  It was a story within a story, as Anya told her "fairy tale" to her daughters in bits and pieces.  Her story was a history lesson for me, telling about the siege of Leningrad during World War II.  I either didn't know or had forgotten how horrible a time this was for the Russian people living there.  And being told from a personal viewpoint made the history lesson more horrifying.  I could feel the cold and the hunger and the pain.

You need to know a person's history to understand why that person acts they way he or she does.  What may be coldness and aloofness on the surface could mask a lifetime of hurt and fear.  I wish my mother could have told me more of her life so I could have understood her a little more.

SUNDAY STUFF

Dom and I have spent a nice early Sunday afternoon.  We went up to the North Georgia Outlets and roamed around for a little while.  I, of course, wound up at the Book Warehouse.  I always keep a list of books that I'm looking for with me, and I was able to find 2 of them at this store.  The Book Warehouse has discounted books, all new, but not current books.  And quite a few of the books on my list are older books, so I was glad to find some.  For $20 I got:

THE REHEARSAL by Sarah Willis (trade paperback)
THE PIANO TEACHER by Lynn York (trade paperback)
1906 by James Dalessandro (trade paperback)
LETTER FROM POINT CLEAR by Dennis McFarland (hardcover)
THE RICHEST SEASON by Maryann McFadden (hardcover)

We came back to Cumming and had lunch at Ted's Montana Grill.  We were using the last half of a gift card that Donna had given us for Christmas.  Dom had a chicken breast with peppers and onions, fries and broccoli.  I had a meatloaf sandwich and fresh asparagus.  The meatloaf had an unusual taste.  I don't know if it was beef or bison, but it was different.

Now we're back home and it's time to go next door and feed Donna's cat Cindy and then feed Maggie.  Poor Maggie has been limping for the last few days.  She's been biting her right leg and has left an open spot that has bled a few times.  I think that's what is causing the limping - I'll have to keep watch on her.

Hope you're all having a nice pleasant afternoon.

THE MONEY GOD

THE MONEY GOD by Zena Livingston

From the back of the book:

Money was a driving force in Celia's life.  With it she had everything, without it she was vulnerable and alone.  Cel allows the pursuit of money to take over her life and control every action.  She sacrifices her family and her morals for the almighty dollar.


THE MONEY GOD traces the lives of three generations of Jewish women from the rural bliss of the Catskill Mountains during the 1930s to the challenges of city life in New York in the 1960s.  Along the way, these women must face financial struggles, family rifts and the consequences of global conflict as they make their way in the world always being affected by Cel's actions and her constant drive to acquire money.

This book was sent to me by the publicist for review.  When I receive a book from a publicist or author, I try very hard to enjoy the book and write a favorable review.  Sometimes this just isn't possible - this was one of those times.

The premise of the book sounded promising, but the book failed to deliver.  The characters were wooden and one-dimensional.  Cel and her mother changed drastically in a couple of chapters from being loving women to cold-hearted, money-driven shrews.  Cel's mother was quickly written out of the story.  Cel's older daughter in one chapter was very much in love with her husband; by the end of the book she disliked him and their life together - with no explanation given at all for the change.  Cel's younger daughter at age 4 spoke and acted like an adult which was completely unbelievable.  Other characters were just suddenly dropped from the story.

I think the thing that bothered me most about this book was the lack of depth to the writing.  There was no descriptive writing - the pages contained nothing except "this happened then that happened and then this happened again."  There was no background of the characters and nothing to explain why they acted the way they did.  The dialogue was stilted and unnatural.   And I also found a big mistake that an editor should have noticed.  On one page, Cel's husband was 7 years older than Cel; twenty pages later he was 18 years older.  Mistakes like this cause me to have a negative reaction to a book.

I wish I could tell the author that she has written a good book, but in this case I can't do that.  It could have been an interesting story but I feel Ms. Livingston completely missed the mark on this one.
                            

FRIDAY IS CARD CLUB DAY

Back to playing cards on Fridays.  I've skipped a few weeks and it felt good to be back to our regular routine.

We played at my house this week, which meant time to clean the house!  My house is usually picked up so I just needed to do a quick dusting (ugh!) and vacuuming.  After a short run to Publix, I made a nice fruit mixture of pineapple, strawberries and watermelon.  We also had popcorn, chips and two kinds of onion dip, and cheese and crackers.  For a while we were making full lunches, but we've decided to get back to just snacks.

Since there were 5 of us today, we couldn't play Euchre, so we did a game of Phase 10 (with some changes that make the game more fun) and a few hands of Canasta.  The time flew by.

We have a new player in our group - another lady from our bowling league - and it has changed the dynamics of the group.  We still have fun, but the joking just isn't quite the same.  But we'll make do.  I enjoy the rest of the group too much to quit.

Have you ever had a group and then add someone new to the group?  Did it work out well?  I guess it depends on the person.  For some reason, this new person just rubs me the wrong way.  Oh well, maybe I bother her too!

On another subject, Maggie is limping badly today.  She's been biting her right rear leg and it's been bleeding some.  It seemed hard for her to put weight on that leg.  I gave her a full dose of pain medication (I usually only give her half for her arthritis) and she seemed a little better.  Poor baby!

Anyone have any special plans for the weekend?  I'm hoping the weather here will start to warm up and turn into a real Spring.  Our Bradford Pear tree is in full bloom and looks beautiful.  I'm so tired of cold dreary days.

MY FIRST EVER BOOK CLUB MEETING

I went to my new book club meeting last night.  Remember, the one that chose ARE YOU THERE, VODKA?  IT'S ME, CHELSEA as their book for the month?

It was a rather small group - 9 including me.  I knew 3 of the ladies from my Monday bowling league.  The others all seemed to be connected through a tennis league.  It wasn't the most friendly group - one lady seemed somewhat of a snob, but one other was very nice to me.  I guess it takes time, being an outsider.

Following the "theme" of the book, different vodka martinis were prepared and served.  I just had a glass of water - I'm definitely not a martini person.  Different snacks were brought.  I just took some cheese cubes but some of the ladies went all out with fancy dips and crackers and pastries.  Note to self - take something more interesting next time.

Then on to the book.  If you remember my post, I didn't care for the book (UNDERSTATEMENT!)  I felt it was pure trash.  The other ladies found it funny.  They had all heard of Chelsea Handler and have watched her TV show.  Maybe if I had known a little about Chelsea and the type of comedy she performs, I would have thought the book was funny too.  No, I still would have thought it vulgar and crass.  I just don't think stories about the sex lives of sluts where they brag about their loose morals and where the F-bomb is dropped constantly are entertaining.  There are so many good books to read - books with a good engaging story and beautiful flowing passages - I don't like wasting time reading trash.  Call me a book snob!

The majority of the ladies are not "readers" - who devour books the way that I do.  They were using a list of current best-sellers to chose books.  I took a stack of books with me to the meeting to pass around as possible choices.  There are so many books that just don't make the best-seller lists that are great reads and can lead to good discussions.  I'm hoping that this group will be willing to branch out and read books with more substance. They have chosen the next three books - A RELIABLE WIFE, THE MIDDLE PLACE, and THE HELP.  So there is hope.

The absolute best part of the evening for me was being able to throw the book into the trash can!

NO TIME TO WAVE GOODBYE

NO TIME TO WAVE GOODBYE by Jacquelyn Mitchard

From the book jacket:

New York Times bestselling author Jacquelyn Mitchard captured the heart of a nation with THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN, her celebrated debut novel about mother Beth Cappadora, a child kidnapped, and a family in crisis.  Now, in NO TIME TO WAVE GOODBYE, the unforgettable Cappadoras are in peril once again, forced to confront an unimaginable evil.


It has been twenty-two years since Beth Cappadora's three-year-old son, Ben, was abjucted.  By some miracle he returned nine years later, and the family began to pick up the pieces of their lives.  But their peach has always been fragile:  Ben returned from the deep end, as, essentially, a stranger and has never felt entirely at ease with the family he was born into.  Now the Cappadora children are grown:  Ben is married with a baby girl, Kerry is studying to be an opera singer, and Vincent has emerged from his troubled adolescence as a fledgling filmmaker.


Vincent's new documentary, No Time to Wave Goodbye, focusing on five families caught in the tortuous web of never knowing the fate of their abducted children, shakes his own unsuspecting family to the core.  Though Beth tries to stave off a torrent of buried emotions, she is left wondering if she and her family are fated to relive the past forever.


The film earns tremendous acclaim, but just as the Cappadoras are about to celebrate the culmination of Vincent's success, what Beth fears the most occurs, and the Cappadoras are drawn back into the past, revisiting the worst moment of their lives - and with only hours to find the truth that can save a life.  High in a rugged California mountain range, their rescue becomes a desperate struggle for survival.

I had read THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN a few years ago and enjoyed it.  And I like this one as well.  It took a little while to get into the story, but once I got past the opening chapters, I was hooked.  This wasn't a mystery, as you basically knew who-did-it.  But getting to the end of the story caused some heart-pounding moments.

Definitely a good book and one that makes you think a bit.  How would you react if a loved one was taken?  How would your family survive?

THE LAST ILLUSION

THE LAST ILLUSION by Rhys Bowen was read for the New York Challenge, the Ireland Reading Challenge 2010, the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2010, and the 2010 Pub Challenge.

From the book jacket:

Irish immigrant and PI Molly Murphy is thrilled to have a ticket to the theater to see a trio of illusionists that are all the range.  Indeed, headlining is Harry Houdini, the most sensational of them all; he has just returned from entertaining European kings and queens for a brief run on Broadway.


But before Houdini can even take the stage, the opening act goes horribly wrong, and to the crowd's shock the illusionist saws into his assistant.  In the aftermath, the stunned performer accuses Houdini of tampering with the equipment he keeps under lock and key.  And he's not the only one critical of "The King of Handcuffs."  Risking his live every night, Houdini has raised the stakes to such a perilous level that he's putting lesser acts out of business.


With everyone on edge, Houdini's wife hires Molly to be part investigator/part bodyguard, but how can she protect a man who literally risks his life every night?  And how is she going to uncover whether these masters of illusion are simply up to their tricks or if there truly is something much more treacherous going on?

This is the 8th Molly Murphy mystery by Ms. Bowen, and I've loved them all.  Molly manages to get herself into the most unusually predicaments; this time she becomes a magician's assistant.

Ms. Bowen takes the reader all around turn-of-the-century New York from Coney Island to Greenwich Village to Harlem.  You get a good feel for what the city was like in those times, and also how women were supposed to act.  Molly and her friends were, of course, just off the beaten path.

Ms. Bowen did quite a bit of research into the life of Harry Houdini for this book, and she even tells how a few of the illusionist's tricks were performed.  Now if only I could figure out how David Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear!

THINK TWICE

THINK TWICE by Lisa Scottoline was read for the 2010 Pub  Challenge.

From the book jacket:

Bennie Rosato looks exactly like her identical twin, Alice Connelly, but the darkness in Alice's soul makes them two very different women.  Or at least that's what Bennie believes, until she finds herself buried alive at the hands of her twin.


Meanwhile, Alice takes over Bennie's life, impersonating her at work and even seducing her boyfriend in order to escape the deadly mess she has made of her own life.  But Alice underestimates Bennie and the evil she has unleashed in her twin's psyche, as well as Bennie's determination to stay alive long enough to exact revenge.


Bennie must face the twisted truth that she is more like Alice than she could have ever imagined, and by the novel's shocking conclusion, Bennie finds herself engaged in a war she cannot win - with herself.

I love Lisa Scottoline's books.  I'll buy them as soon as they're released.  And not a single book has ever let me down.  THINK TWICE confirms for me why Ms. Scottoline is one of my favorite authors.

This book brought back Bennie and two of the lawyers in her firm, Mary DiNunzio and Judy Carrier, along with Mary's crazy Italian family.  They've been AWOL for a while, and I'm glad to be reunited with them.

This book brings up the question of how much good is in an evil person and how much evil is in a good person.  What would make an evil person do something good?  What would drive a good person to do an evil deed?  What little thing would make someone cross the line?  Or would they?

This book was full of non-stop action that kept me reading non-stop.  Luckily, as I wait another year for the next big book, I can read Ms. Scottoline's columns in the Philadelphia Inquirer and also her book, WHY MY THIRD HUSBAND WILL BE A DOG, a compilation of those columns.

IN SEARCH OF EDEN

IN SEARCH OF EDEN by Linda Nichols

From the back of the book:

Today is your birthday....I want you to know that you are in my heart, as you always have been.  I pray for you every day.  I pray I did the right thing....


Thus wrote Miranda DeSpain on the anniversary of the day that changed her life forever, the day her heart was torn in pieces.  Ever since that wrenching event, she's been unable to settle down, embrace life.  She finds herself starting one adventure after another, trying to forget.  But she never can.  As she approaches her twenty-seventh birthday, she determines once again to reinvent her circumstances, to start anew.  But there's one loose end to tie up first....


Joseph Williams, police lieutenant in Abingdon, Virginia, has always tried to do what is right, to perform his duty and protect those he loves.  He is suspicious of the new woman in town, and checking further, discovers she is a person with seemingly no history.  Then he finds a baby picture of his niece in her possession....

I found this book, looking at the book display in a store.  I had never heard of it or the author before.  But it sounded interesting, so I brought it home.  A very wise decision.

This is a story about trying to find something that was lost and what to do when you find it.  About making choices that could affect many others.  And about finding peace in your own life.

While this book would be considered Christian fiction, it wasn't preachy or a hit-you-over-the-head-with-religion type of book.  It made me feel good after finishing.  For me, that's a perfect book.

ARE YOU THERE, VODKA? IT'S ME, CHELSEA

ARE YOU THERE, VODKA?  IT'S ME, CHELSEA by Chelsea Handler

From the back of the book:

When Chelsea Handler needs to get a few things off her chest, she appeals to a higher power - vodka.


You would too if you found out that your boyfriend was having an affair with a Peekapoo, or if you had to pretend to be honeymooning with your father in order to upgrade to first class.   Welcome to Chelsea's world, a place where absurdity reigns supreme and a quick wit is the best line of defense.


In this deliciously skewed collection, Chelsea mines her past for stories about her family, relationships, and career that are at once singular and ridiculous.  Whether she's convincing her third-grade class that she has been tapped to play Goldie Hawn's daughter in the sequel to Private Benjamin, deciding to be more egalitarian by dating a redhead, or looking out for a foulmouthed, rum-swilling little person who looks just like her...only smaller, Chelsea has a knack for getting herself into the most outrageous situations.

First off, let me set the record straight - I read this book for a new book club that I'm joining.  I do not read Chick Lit - I'm assuming that's what this book would be considered.

To say I hated the book would be an understatement.  My husband has told me that, even if I don't like a book, I should say something nice about it.  I've thought about it, and I can't think of one single thing nice to say about this book.  Wait - yes I can.  The book was a prize winner!

It wins the prize as the crudest, most vulgar, classless, tasteless, unfunny book I have ever read.  When I bought the book, I was hoping I could go through a self-checkout line so no one would see me buying it.  As soon as the book club meeting is over, I'm dumping it in the trash.  In a dumpster behind some store - I don't want it contaminating my own trash.

This book is absolutely, without question, the worst book I have ever, ever read.  I hate that I've wasted my time reading it and writing this post about it.  I'm sorry for wasting anyone's time reading this post.  I think I need to do a brain-cleansing to get all thoughts of this book out of my head.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

A SECRET AND UNLAWFUL KILLING

A SECRET AND UNLAWFUL KILLING by Cora Harrison was read for the Ireland Reading Challenge 2010.

From the back of the book:

It is 1509 and, for the people of the Burren in western Ireland, the Michaelmas Fair is a joyous time for trade and celebration, signaling the start of autumn.  It's a chance to gather, buy and sell their wares, and pay tribute to the lord of the clans.  But this year is different.  The steward of the MacNamara clan has decided to raise the amount demanded for its tribute, and it's not long before tempers are running high.


When the steward's body is found in the local churchyard, it falls upon Mara, the Burren's Brehon Judge, to piece the puzzle together.  Was it revenge, greed, or something more sinister that motivated the murder?  When another body is discovered, it is up to Mara - despite the distraction of a surprising marriage proposal - to bring the killer to justice before there can be yet another death.

This is the second book in the series, and I enjoyed it as much as the first one.  I love the characters and the way that Mara goes about getting information and solving the crimes.  As in the first book, each chapter begins with a little bit of the law from the time.

I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series, THE STING OF JUSTICE.

MERRY MONDAY

Now that the cold weather seems to have left Atlanta, I guess I should find a different Monday picture!

Today has been a good day.  Bowling this morning.  Our team took all the points again.  We came into today's game 26 points up in first place.  So that number should increase next week.  I had 3 good games - 173, 156, 173.  Our anchor bowler had two 200+ games.

There was a reporter from our local newspaper there taking pictures and doing interviews for an article to run in the paper soon.  She spent quite a bit of time with our team - after all, we ARE the best!

We have a drawing every week.  We can buy tickets for $1 each or 3 for $2.  The tickets go into a pitcher and one of the bowling center employee picks 2 numbers who then split the pot.  I've been running this drawing since the beginning of the year.  I've won the half-pot for the last 4 straight weeks and also once before that - 5 of the last 11 weeks.  Today's half-pot was small - only $14.50 - because a lot of people weren't there today, but it has been averaging over $20 each week.  Not a bad way to make a little spending money!

I've been sticking to my WW program pretty well, except for the jelly beans I've had the past few days.  I'm not much of a chocolate person - but I love me some jelly beans!  It's a good thing Easter only comes once a year!

HAVE YOU SPRUNG AHEAD?

Did you all remember to turn your clocks an hour ahead?

I still woke up at the same time this morning - no one told my "sleep center" that the time had changed, so I'm an hour short of sleep right now.  Dom didn't get up until after 9:00 - and I was waiting to have breakfast with him.  I think my stomach grumbles woke him up!

I generally don't like this spring-ahead stuff for the first week or so.  It's still too dark in the morning, especially for kids going to school.  But it is nice in the late afternoon and early evening to have daylight a little longer.

Now if only the weather would cooperate.  It's not raining right now - that's a good thing.  But the sun isn't out either.  Not what I consider a Spring day.  I guess I shouldn't complain.  The hot weather will be here in Atlanta before you know it - and when it gets hot, it gets HOT.

I'm going to take advantage of this "blah" day - read and take a little nap.

MUDBOUND

MUDBOUND by Hillary Jordan

From the back of the book:

Sometimes it's necessary to do wrong.  Sometimes it's the only way to make things right.


In this award-winning portrait of two families caught up in the blind hatred of a small Southern town, prejudice takes many forms - some subtle, some ruthless.  Mudbound is the saga of the McAllan family, who struggle to survive on a remote ramshackle farm, and the Jacksons, their black sharecroppers.  When two sons return from World War II to work the land, the unlikely friendship between these brothers-in-arms - one white, one black - arouses the passions of their neighbors.  As the men and women of each family tell their version of events, we are drawn into their lives.  Striving for love and honor in a brutal time and place, they become players in a tragedy on the grandest scale and find redemption where they least expect it.

I had read a lot of good reviews of this book, and it definitely lived up to them.  I loved how each chapter was told from a different character's viewpoint.

The book began with the digging of a grave with a hint of an unnatural death.  The remainder of the book told the story leading up to this point.  Not having lived in the South during the time of segregation, it was hard to read about the poor treatment of blacks - having to enter and leave stores by the back door, not being able to ride in a car with white people among other things.  This book was an eye-opener for me; I know racism still exists in this country, but I hope it never returns to this degree of hatred.

SICK KITTY

My daughter's cat is sick, really sick.  The vet thinks he has FIV, which is the cat equivalent to human's HIV.  He's not eating or drinking.  I've been next door watching him while Donna is at work.  I was able to get a pill into him - to increase his appetite - but then he threw up.  I'm going back over to see if I can coax him to eat a little bit of yogurt or some canned cat food.

Poor little Prince.

UPDATE:  I did get Prince to eat a little bit of canned cat food off my finger.  It's a start.

UPDATE 3/13:  Donna said goodbye to Prince yesterday.

YAY!

I got the nicest compliment today at bowling.  

Someone came over and told me my pants looked baggy!

SPRING MOON

SPRING MOON by Betty Bao Lord was read for the 2010 Reading Through the Seasons Challenge.

From the back of the book:

At a time of mystery and cruelty...in an ancient land of breathtaking beauty and exotic surprise...a courageous woman triumphs over her world's ultimate tragedy.


Behind the garden walls of the House of Chang, pampered daughter Spring Moon is born into luxury and privilege.  But the tempests of change sweep her into a new world - one of hardship, turmoil, and heartbreak, one that threatens to destroy her husband, her family, and her darkest secret love.  Through a tumultuous lifetime, Spring Moon must cling to her honor, to the memory of a time gone by, and to a destiny, foretold at her birth, that has yet to be fulfilled.

I really enjoyed this book.  It was a story of family ties, tradition, honor, loyalty and betrayal.  On many levels, it reminded me of one of my favorite books, THE GOOD EARTH by Pearl Buck.

I don't remember too much about Chinese history - I had to ask my husband about the different leaders.  Each chapter began with either a Chinese story passed down through the families or a little bit of Chinese history, which set the stage for the coming chapter.

The characters were so clearly drawn.   Some clung to the traditions of the past, some moved forward, and others were torn between the two worlds.  The women were strong and did what needed to be done to protect their families and homes.

Though originally published in 1981, I had never heard of this book before.  I'm glad I had a chance to read it now.

NEW HAIRCUT AND COLOR

A few weeks ago, I met and had lunch with a Facebook friend, Mary.  She's a hair stylist and color specialist, so I decided to give her a shot as I wasn't very pleased with my last hair coloring.

Her shop is about an hour away from my house, but it was definitely worth the drive.  She managed to get all the brassy gold out of my hair and also give me a really good cut.

I'm thrilled with the way she did my hair.  But ... there's always a but ... Mary is moving in a few months to very South Georgia - almost Florida.  It's going to be a long, long drive for a haircut and touch-up!

BROOKLYN

BROOKLYN by Colm Tóibín was read for the New York Challenge, the What's in a Name 3 Challenge, and the Ireland Reading Challenge 2010.

From the back of the book:

"One of the most unforgettable characters in contemporary literature" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the hard years following World War Two.  When an Irish priest from Brooklyn offers to sponsor Eilis in America, she decides she must go, leaving her fragile mother and her charismatic sister behind.


Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, and when she least expects it, finds love.  Tony, who loves the Dodgers and his big Italian family, slowly wins her over with patient chart.  But just as Eilis begins to fall in love, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her future.

I had mixed feeling about this book.  I liked the characters, especially Eilis and Tony, and I loved how Eilis was able to make a new life for herself in Brooklyn.

But I didn't like the last part of the book.  I was disappointed in the change in Eilis - it seemed out of character.  And the very end of the book left me hanging, not knowing what was going to happen to her.  I would love to read a sequel to this book to find out more about Eilis.


The New York Challenge only required one book, so I can count this as a completed challenge.  But since the challenge runs until May 15, there's still time for at least one more book.

WEDNESDAY STUFF

Nothing special going on in my life.

Let's see - went grocery shopping this morning with Shelby.  Bowled this afternoon.  We won all 3 games and I had two good games.  We won't talk about my last game.  I won 75 cents from a teammate - we bet a quarter on high score for each game and total pins. We also play poker during the games at a quarter a game.  We get a card for each strike or spare and best hand wins.  I won 2 hands, so a total win today of $2.25.  That'll go far in this economy!

We're switching our phone service back to Vonage.  It should go into effect tomorrow.  I'll have to play with the outside wiring again so that all the phones will work.  I know how to do it this time, so hopefully we won't have any problems.

I've read that Mei Lan and Tai Shan are both doing well.  Their quarantine should end tomorrow.  It's been a month since they left.  Our little panda cub here in Atlanta, Xi Lan, has been weaned completely from his mother and they won't be together at all any more.  Hopefully Lun Lun will be able to get pregnant again this year.

Our snow is just about gone.  The roads were perfectly clear this morning, but our county had already cancelled school for today.  They probably could have gotten by with a delayed opening like the neighboring counties.  Every kid in Forsyth County was at the bowling alley this afternoon!

I'm still doing well with my WW program.  I've lost almost 10 pounds, but I need to exercise to speed up the loss.  When we're finally finished with Winter and this cold I can start walking outside again.  I wanted to do a Walk Away the Pounds DVD, but for some reason I can't get the DVD to show on the TV.  I probably need new wiring for it; I know it's connected correctly because it worked before.

Nothing else new around here.  How are things in your neck of the woods?

Oh - Dom still won't let me go to China.  I can't understand why not???

AND YOU GET TO PLAY WITH THE PANDAS!

I just found out about a fantastic trip to China and Tibet.  There was a link from the San Diego Zoo website.  It's a 12 day trip from San Diego to Beijing, touring throughout China and Tibet, then spending time at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Center (where Mei Lan is now living) and the Bifengxia Panda Center where Tai Shan lives.  And you get to play with the pandas!

I told Dom about this trip and he was less than impressed.  (He told me to go play with my stuffed panda.)  When he heard the cost (just a measly $5990 each plus airfare from Atlanta to San Diego and San Diego to China and back), he was even more unimpressed.  But I told him it includes all meals except 2.  And you get to play with the pandas!

I've made plans to visit Savannah for a few days in early May, but I'd be more than willing to give up that trip for this trip to China.  I don't think I can change Dom's mind though.

Even though YOU GET TO PLAY WITH THE PANDAS!

Bummer!

BETWEEN HERE AND APRIL

BETWEEN HERE AND APRIL by Deborah Copaken Kogan

From the back of the book:

When a deep-rooted memory suddenly surfaces, Elizabeth Burns becomes obsessed with the long-ago disappearance of her childhood friend April Cassidy.  Driven to investigate, Elizabeth discovers a thirty-five-year-old newspaper article revealing the details that had been hidden from her as a child - shocking revelations about April's mother, Adele.  Elizabeth, now herself a mother, tracks down, one by one, the people who knew Adele Cassidy and who might giver her the insight necessary to understand how a mother could commit that most incomprehensible of crimes.  But answers are elusive, and the questions raised lead Elizabeth deep into her own compromised life in this "provocative page-turner with brains and soul" (Heidi Julavits, author of The Uses of Enchantment).

What a depressing book.  It was nothing like what I thought it would be.  When I read the above blurb - the part about the mother committing the "most incomprehensible of crimes" - I didn't expect it to turn out like it did.  I won't tell you what the crime was - you can each use your imagination to determine what it could be.

I had thought the book would be about Elizabeth trying to find April.  Instead it was more about Elizabeth and her marriage problems that seemed to get worse the longer she worked on the story about April.

I didn't care for this book at all.  Much too deep and depressing for me.  I need to find a nice light book to read now, to get the details of this book out of my head.

FEBRUARY BOOKS

For a short month, February was a busy one for me.  I saw 2 of the sweet pandas leave Atlanta and Washington DC to go to China.  I had a birthday and welcomed my great-niece to the world on the same day.  I met 2 new people - a blogger and a Facebook friend.  We had snow here in Atlanta - almost 4 inches worth.  And a trip to Nashville to see and meet my favorite Irish tenor, John McDermott.  With all that, I was able to read 8 books:

THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE by David Wroblewski (Chunkster Challenge)

GARDENIAS by Faith Sullivan (What's in a Name 3 Challenge)

AN IRISH COUNTRY GIRL by Patrick Taylor (2010 Pub Challenge)

THE LITTLE GIANT OF ABERDEEN COUNTY by Tiffany Baker

THE LOST SYMBOL by Dan Brown (Chunkster Challenge)

CRITTERS OF MOSSY CREEK by Deborah Smith, Sandra Chastain, Martha Crockett, Debra Dixon, Susan Goggins, Maureen Hardegree, Michele Hauf, Kathleen Watson Hodges, Pam Mantovani, and Carolyn McSparren

THE LANGUAGE OF SECRETS by Dianne Dixon

MY LADY JUDGE by Cora Harrison (Ireland Reading Challenge 2010)


How was your February?