Books, Thoughts And A Few Adventures...

Gotta Have...Gotta Make...Gotta Read...Gotta Love!

2012-05-25T05:02:00.001-07:00

I love this peasant dress from Velvet. A throw on kind of outfit!

I have to make this/these. OMG! Homemade ice cream sandwiches from the Kitchn.

I have to read this book this summer! It's the next book after Discovery Of Witches!

My fur kid...she is so sweet when she just wakes up...she looks at me as though she hasn't seen me in a long time.

What is going on with you today?

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The Newlyweds...A Review...

2012-05-24T09:00:00.001-07:00

In a nutshell...

George and Amina meet through an online dating service. George is a rather stiff American. Amina comes from Bangladesh. They meet. They marry. Confusion reigns.

My thoughts after reading...

I felt immersed in George and Amina's issues as I read this lovely book. The book is about how they came together and their efforts to stay together when Amina discovers that George has kept something from her. It is an insight into what it is like for someone from a totally different culture to come to grips with life in America. Amina's discoveries and trials are sweet and funny. I loved her relationship with her parents as she tries to earn money and get George to understand that her parents will eventually come to live with them. She does not want children until her mother is there to help her raise them. Amina is sweet, funny, likable and naive. She tries to make everyone happy. George is sort of dry and does not seem to have a sense of humor. I have a mental picture of Amina being petite and pretty while George is pale and rather dull. I had doubts about their relationship from the beginning...it seemed sort of sparkless and odd.

What I loved about this book...

Oh my gosh...I loved Amina and her parents...her father seemed like an aging juvenile delinquent. He was forever scheming get rich plans and his life and finances were always on the edge of disaster...thus making life difficult for Amina and her mom. I loved reading about the "Desh" traditions...bathing in a pond, scrubbing with clay, living in one room or with relatives. I loved getting to know the many and varied family members and all of their opinions about everything! This includes George's family, too.

What I did not love...

Not a huge fan of George...he seemed too dispassionate. I hated his secrets from Amina.
He just seemed so dull! Not a huge fan of his cousin, either...she was too dishonest and weird!

Final thoughts about this book...

This book was a total lovely surprise for me...loved the writing, loved the clash of cultures,
loved the gentle humor. Loved the ending. Loved Amina's strength, humor, and growth. Loved pretty much the entire tidy fun little book package called The Newlyweds!

Either reading this next...

Or this...

Not sure what my reading mood is...

Lucy and I are off to sit on the deck...before it rains again...if we are both really quiet...a squirrel, a bluejay, and a cardinal will eat the peanuts that we put on the railing...Lucy loves when they eat right next to her...lol...

Have you read anything really amazing this week?

Why I Love Summer...By Patty

2012-05-23T06:14:00.001-07:00

I love summer because of these...Gentle Souls sandals...so comfy...so walk able...when you buy 7 pairs of shoes...you get the 8th pair free!!!
I am on my way...

I love summer days for reading in this by the pond...

I love summer because of these from the garden...tomatoes on toast...good crusty bread and a juicy slab of fresh tomato!!! A swipe of good mayo and salt and pepper...oh me oh my!

I love summer because of these...a slightly tanned wrist...loaded with bracelets...any combo of your choice!

I love summer for tons more reasons...I could go on forever...but mostly I love it because as a teacher...whether you are teaching or not...that last day of school...is such a joy...such a feeling of "school's out for the summer" ...I can't even describe it...the staff at my school...custodians, secretaries, cafeteria ladies...all of us would stand outside and wave goodbye to the kids in the buses...it was such a fun ending...so bittersweet...and then we would go inside and dance!!! I have not taught for three years now but I still am programmed to love the start of summer!

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A Review And A Different Choice...

2012-05-22T06:11:00.001-07:00

Finished this, reviewed this, deleted this...feels so good...

In a teeny nutshell...

Lacey...detective...is mysteriously sent to work undercover at Cambridge University...circumstances are odd and secretive. She has issues from her past...not sure but I think this might have been in another book.

My thoughts after reading...

Students at Cambridge...idyllic lovely university...over a period of years...are committing suicide in strange and horrific ways. They appear to be drugged, confused, and violated. They disappear for a few days and upon their return...attempt to kill themselves in horrible ways...no two ways are the same.
Lacey has one person who knows her identity...Evi...other than that she is on her own. She quickly becomes one of the tortured ones. Her identity and role are very secretive and she is not aware that she is a part of a deeper investigation. At any given point she has no clue whom to trust other than Evi...and perhaps Sniffy-Dog...the lovely sweet dog she found!
The evil presence that hovers everywhere is frightening. I had no clue until the last thirty pages who the really bad guys were. At any given point I suspected everyone...and rightly so...I suspected the lovely bread baking Dr. Nick Bell and Evi...poor pain ridden Evi...and Lacey's detective friend/boyfriend who put her in this spot. As I said...I suspected them all!

What I loved about this book...

I loved the writing, the suspense, the chills, the evil...but it's easy to love the evil when you are not a part of it. I loved when Lacey found Sniffy-Dog...I could almost feel her soft buttery nose and the way she fit in right away.

What I did not love...

Nick's falcons killing the partridges...double ick on that when they get to eat the heads. I ate when animals get hurt in books. And Lacey's roommate...weird...very weird. And the rugby players...big old ruffians...mean spirited, too.

Final thoughts...

This book had a riveting plot, memorable characters and provided me with yet one more nail biting and chilling reading experience!

In spite of what I thought I would be reading...I am reading this...and really loving it!
So far it's funny, sweet, and a bit quirky.

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It's All About The Books!!!

2012-05-21T05:41:00.001-07:00

This English mystery is fast paced and intense and just really good...it has the short chapters that I sometimes love in a book...a series of horrific suicides is occurring at Cambridge...too many to be normal...so an under cover detective is sent in. She has her own issues to deal with while she gets deeper and deeper into these suicides. I will be finished later today.

I have a few choices to make this week...I want to work on my NetGalley books and I am in the mood for suspense and otherworldliness and fantasy.

So I am thinking about these...

Underworld and afterlife...oh me oh my...

The suspense I crave...

Children disappearing...

A three in one massive fantasy?

Or something Italian and more normal?

What to do...what to do...

What are you in the mood to read today?

I Totally Forgot About My Blog Today!!!

2012-05-20T18:16:00.001-07:00

It was so lovely here today. Windows were open, the sky was bright blue, and birds were singing.

We savored coffee while reading newspapers. I love reading Sunday's New York Times...the book section, the travel section, the yummy style section.

We zipped to Whole Foods. We had pizza for lunch. We grilled hot dogs for dinner. We had a lovely salad with Thousand Island Dressing...because a Sunday morning show was all about islands including the origin of that dressing. Are we influenced by tv?

Oh yes we are...and I don't think I have ever had that pinkish dressing ever until today...but this dressing was made from yogurt and didn't have the relishy bits in it...so I am not sure it really was actually real Thousand Island...oh well!!!

Any way...

Happy Sunday!!!

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Saturday's Dilemmas...

2012-05-19T05:04:00.001-07:00

We switched out our Tom Collins yesterday for Yellow Fevers! Thank you Kathy from BermudaOnion!
Lemonade, vodka, and lots of ice topped off with Sprite or Seven Up!
We sat on the deck sipping these blissfully. So refreshing with our soft shells! So refreshing with anything!

Prepare to read one long windy...pronounced wine dee...long sentence...sorry...gasp...

Here we go...

On to our dilemma...by this time of the year lots of flowers would be planted and the decks would be decked...every garden bed would be freshly mulched...but...

we are getting a new roof and the dormers and decks are getting painted and stained...

in two weeks...this is all happening in two weeks...in two weeks my life will be total chaos...outside clutter, pounding, mess, strange faces in my windows...I have to remember to close the blinds!

My neighbor said the noise from the pounding is close to unbearable...OMG!

Add to this the fact that we have never lived anywhere long enough to have to paint...let alone do all of this stuff...then later in the summer the driveway gets done, we are getting new countertops and floors...and making my island bigger and adding new shelves!

Why after a lovely peaceful time of everything being in working order do we move on to total chaos?

And right now...as I type...my glass cooktop is not working still...it stopped heating on Sunday...and we don't know whether to try a repair or just get a new one since it's in the island that is being replaced...I find this all overwhelming...so what was my answer to everything this week?

I read 4 books!!!

Lucy and I are looking for a quiet home away from home...any offers?

Lol...

Or else we will spend our days in here! If we had one of these...sipping iced tea and Yellow Fevers while watching the Amish guys put up our roof!

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What Is Happening Today...

2012-05-18T06:01:00.001-07:00

Reading this...really really good...I love English mysteries...love them...this one has begun with a bang!

Got these from Vine...yummy...

This came from Lauren Bisom and St. Martin's Press via NetGalley! Sounds very different...out of my comfort zone but I kind of like that lately!

Den is finally home...tonight we are doing soft shells on the grill with baby roasted potatoes and fresh peas. We should be having ice cream for dessert...don't you agree?
Soft shells are in season here and so good...we have been grilling them...lightly basted with a butter olive oil fresh garlic tabasco sauce combo.
I know...they look kind of creepy but they taste really good.

We are experimenting with summer "cocktails"...tonight is Tom Collins night.
Really good gin, fresh lemon juice, and simple syrup topped off with club soda.

I just love Friday nights!
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So Good...So Interesting...So Yummy...

2012-05-17T09:15:00.001-07:00

This book was SO GOOD...warm, relaxing, a bit old fashioned, I loved it. My review can be seen by clicking on my Goodreads widget. I want to read more by this author.

My friend Elisabeth pinned this on Pinterest...it almost looks too pretty to drink.
I find this color so interesting...It's a blueberry lavender mojito!

And this...I am actually craving this. It looks so different but it is that broccoli salad that everyone makes...found this on Pinterest and I am still searching for the recipe.
So yummy looking...

Woe is me...today is Amazon Vine Day...I have dented my pile of review books this week but...I can't resist new offerings...I love Amazon Vine!

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And The Reading Goes On And On...

2012-05-16T09:37:00.001-07:00

Finished this...what an amazing sort of coming of age book...the sun is staying out way too long...everything is dying...and Julia...narrator...is just trying to figure out why she's quiet and alone and can't talk easily to boys. This book is so much more than that, though. It is beautifully poignantly written and it felt as though this event really could happen. Every day the sun stays out longer and longer. There are real time people and clock time people...I am not sure yet what I would be...I loved this book.

Reading this...sweet and lovely...I love the way this author writes.

I want this...I veer toward this style almost all of the time! It's me...plus I just got my nails done in an almost matching color...lol...can you see the little sparkly specks and do my fingers look wrinkled?

Lucy and I have just come in from a long walk...the rest of my day is free...I am going to spend the rest of the day figuring out what to do about my dead cooktop and reading!!!
And thinking about that dress!!! That lovely flowy summery dress...
Lucy before our walk...

Lucy after our walk...and I do all of the pushing!

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It's What's Happening...

2012-05-15T06:11:00.000-07:00

Finished this...liked it...summery...light...fun...

and this...OMG...loved this book...loved the whole Mad Men era sort of clothes, background, drinks thing going on...I had no clue that I would be drawn into this book the way I was!

Reading this...about halfway through...beautiful writing, scary premise, coming of age...what would happen if we went off of clock time and the sun stayed out longer and longer every day...

Bought this summer bag when my sister was here...at a very neat local shop that I did not know about and now that I do...yum...it is handmade out of grasses that give off this really lovely scent...in the car it smells amazing and when I walk by it...it's sitting on the dining room table...the smell is delightful...it's supposed to provide you with a wellness feeling!!! And the tag says it's an aphrodisiac? Yikes!
Isn't it too too cute?
Even Lucy likes it...but she thinks it's a new scratcher!
Bad kitty...

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Swell Swag!!!

2012-05-14T08:58:00.001-07:00

Look at this stuff! Swag...true swag from Hogarth! At first I thought it said
Hogwart's! I was looking for wands and a spell book!

Here is news from The Bookseller about Hogarth...today.

"The spirit of Virginia and Leonard Woolf's literary imprint the Hogarth Press will be revived on both sides of the Atlantic after Random House announced the launch of a new fiction imprint.

Hogarth will launch in summer 2012 and will focus on "contemporary, character rich" publishing. It will publish between eight and 10 books a year in the United States. The UK wing of the imprint will publish a smaller number of titles each year, with the list comprising exclusively of titles published by its US sister.

Molly Stern, senior vice-president and publisher at Crown will lead the imprint in the US. Clara Farmer, Chatto & Windus publishing director will head it up this side of the Atlantic.

Among the lead titles in both territories is I Am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits, originally acquired by Crown's Lindsay Sagnette from Scott Moyers of the Wylie Agency, and The Watch by Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya, bought by Chatto's Hardie from Arabella Stein on behalf of Nicole Aragi.

I am Forbidden is a three-generation saga set in the secretive Hasidic Satmar sect.

The Watch is set in modern-day Kandahar, following an Afghan woman who is demanding the return of her brother's body from a US military base.

Farmer said: "This dynamic new venture marks the timely revival of the Hogarth name for a new generation, and for a transatlantic audience.

"The original Hogarth Press has been a treasured and vital part of Chatto's identity for 65 years, and its books remain distinct from the new list, which will also be housed within Chatto & Windus."

The Woolfs founded Hogarth Press in 1917 and early publications included T S Eliot's The Waste Land. It was acquired by Chatto in 1946."

I can't wait to read all of these but I am really ecstatic about The Kissing List and The Dead Do Not Improve. The Kissing List is intertwining stories about 4 women...I love this kind of book and The Dead Do not Improve is sort of a sarcastic intense mystery...I will be stretching what I normally love to read with the first two books but I really want to step out of my reading safety zone!!!

The books are so new and they smell so good...that hot off the press new paper smell!

Am I the only one who loves the smell of printed paper?

I will Always Miss Her...

2012-05-13T09:44:00.001-07:00

It's still amazing to me that my mom is no longer alive...it has been almost three years...that I have not seen or touched or talked to her. I used to keep her phone number on our phone's directory...right up there with the most called numbers...but we just got new phones and I didn't add that number. That felt like a huge step for me. When my sister was here we didn't really talk about her very much...it's as though the memories don't fade but they are less relevant? We are not adding new thoughts of her...just going over old ones.

Den said that although I probably look more like my mom my sister has more of her mannerisms...I didn't even notice this until Den mentioned them to me...she taps her fingers the way my mom did, she says things that my mom said...even her facial expressions are identical to my mom's. And her funny intolerance of certain things...are solely my mom's.

I always thought that when you no longer had a living mom you were sort of orphaned...but I read something the other day that made me truly realize that she is always here...that even without her physical presence...Mother's Day is still a day to celebrate her...
and so I will.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!!!
I had her to myself for four lovely spoiled years until she decided to unmake me an only child!!!
Darn it!!!
Just teasing Paula, John and Jim!

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Hmmm...Sheer Randomness!

2012-05-12T11:48:00.001-07:00

Other than the fact that I have long brown hair...I want my hair to look like this!!!

I can't even begin to figure it out...from Pinterest, of course. But to just be able to tumble your hair into this at night for dinner?
I will figure this one out!

The winner of The Year Of The Gadly...Ti from Bookish Chatter!!!

I just finished this...Berkshires, summer, Dragonfly Lake, Peach Bellinis, swimming,
love angst, even salted almonds! This book has everything.
Sigh!

We began planting...just a few pots...but that summer feeling is within reach!!!
Here is the front door...I always put a fern on the bench...I have to get that tomorrow!
That's me in the reflection with my pink iPad!

Another pot...I always plant pink, purple, blue and white flowers...my trademark.
See my rusted horse? I love him! Every year Den asks me if he can clean him up and every year I scream NO!

Happy Saturday!!!

We are off to dinner...we are light meat eaters but we are both craving steaks. I want a wedge salad and a little fillet and a baked potato!
And a crisp cool drink...and ice cream!

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Not Much Is Nice In Niceville! But That Is A Good Thing!

2012-05-11T07:06:00.001-07:00

Niceville
By
Carsten Stroud

What it's mostly about...but there is so much more...

A young boy disappears on the way home from school...this seems to set the pace for about a million other odd and unexplainable things happening in the town of Niceville.

My thoughts...

This book contains a whole lot of crazy. Fabulous, fascinating, heart pounding crazy!!!
Seemingly...in the beginning...the chapters do not seem all that connected. But as I got deeper and deeper into the heart of this book...there were tons of amazing connections. The characters are all odd...some of them delightful...like Delia Cotton...lovely little bourbon sipping old lady. Others are just mean and despicable...like Tony Bock...mean and nasty wife abuser. The chapters have the most delightful names...like Merle Zane Meets The Woman In The Forest or Tony Bock Has An Epiphany. The writing is absolutely treasurable...filled with lovely words that sort of sing!

However...this is not a light fun filled book. Something dark and sinister is lurking in Niceville and has been there doing very bad things for a long long time.
I think that pretty much says tons. It seems also that anyone coming close to this sinister thing...this badness...puts themselves in the gravest of dangers. The central issue seems to have begun back in the time of the Civil War. It involves four connected old Southern families. It involves a young girl's honor...and of course it involves vengeance and perhaps even redemption. And it involves this bank robbery that has profound ramifications...dishonest cops, and the FBI, and computer geeks and pornography.

Oh my!!!

This book is scary and funny and mad all at the same time...

What I Loved...

I loved the sort of upstanding characters...especially Nick and Kate. I loved the badness of the bad guys. It was awesome! I loved the suspense and excitement of each chapter. I loved the scariness...because although it was scary...I could handle it and it sort of made sense. I loved Mildred Pierce the Maine Coone Cat and the fact that no animals were harmed in this book! I loved the horse...the huge majestic horse that added another realm of otherworldliness to this novel.

What I Did not Love...

I did not love the crows. Nor did I love the mirror. I didn't even like the weird sort of rock structure that looms over the town. I did not like any of the bad guys...especially the one who drove the yellow hummer. Scary stuff...

This was a big huge juicy scary fun novel. I can even see it as an amazing movie!
And I will never look at crows and mirrors in the same way ever again...ever...
just saying...

Sent from my iPad2 by Patty Magyar!!!

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Just Some Things To See!

2012-05-10T12:33:00.001-07:00

See this dress?
This is the kind of dress that sings to me!
It is from a store called Pip-Squeak Chapeau!

See this?
It's from another shop that I love called Nation LTD. It's a dress, it's a wrap, it's everything you want it to be! I just bought the last one. It actually has a hood that you can't see...perfection for travel, don't you think?

See this?
Lucy has a brand new all terrain stroller for Maine!
I know...ridiculously too funny!!!
You should hear the comments when we walk with her...something like...I think that's a cat in that stroller!!! And...is that a cat in a stroller?
We truly don't care because Lucy loves her afternoon power walks...lol...She loves people watching, too...lol.

See this?
I often wonder if we embarrass her by walking her in this...can a cat be embarrassed?

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A Post Of Few Words!

2012-05-09T13:01:00.001-07:00

Love...

More love...

Even more love...

Shhhh...it's a lovely peaceful quiet rainy then sunny than rainy again no dinner to make Wednesday!

Either reading this...

or this...in moments.

Or perhaps this...

momentarily...

What Does This Say About Me?

2012-05-08T09:32:00.001-07:00

I love this...

and this...

They are Grab and Go snack things from Real Simple Magazine via Pinterest. I love them. They will be in my cupboard and refrigerator tomorrow. The neatness of both of these appeals to me. No one will say...I need something to munch on...ever again...lol...

Books!!!

This book is so very good! Odd, scary, off beat characters rule throughout this one.
Chapters with titles like Merle Zane Meets The Woman In The Forest and Delia Cotton's Afternoon Was Hard To Explain...OMG...sheer deliciousness and kind of scary, too...

This is the kind of offbeat book that pulls me in...with each amazing chapter!

I will finish it later today...I just saw a little bit of buzz about it on Shelf Awareness, too.

Enjoy your Tuesday!!!

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What I Am Reading...

2012-05-06T20:23:00.001-07:00

Last week involved lots of maintenance appointments...nails, hair, toes...and lots of guest prep...
I will never yearn to own a bed and breakfast ever!
Plus I had an allergic reaction to my hair color!!!
I have 4 weeks to figure this out or I can never leave my house again!!!

I did not touch a book for three days. I could barely keep up with Reeder and email...I barely played Words With Friends...I barely commented on any blogs...I was pathetic!

I emptied my dishwasher twice in one day!!!

Today...I am reading this...

I have grand plans to make this a relaxing week and finish this and toy with these...from NetGalley and Amazon Vine...grand and mighty plans for sure!

Plus...our Maine road trip is getting closer and closer...so our thoughts are on yard prep...getting things in order...and Maine!!!
I want to have blueberry pancakes at the Camden diner and run into Richard Russo.
Or Stephen King?

Oh boy!

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Bye! Bye!

2012-05-05T13:18:00.001-07:00

My sister just left and I already miss her...she and her husband are off to the Outer Banks to spend a week with friends.

We bought purses, celebrated Cinco de Mayo, sat at a brew pub and watched our husbands drink beer, and went to dinner at our favorite place.

I made pancakes and frittatas.

My sister has a way of leaving her stuff all over the house...I laugh because it is so funny...shoes by the door, knitting in the sunroom, stuff she's taking to the Carolina's in the refrigerator...she fills up places with her stuff! Bags and bundles everywhere...it's what my sister Paula does.

Lucy finally jumped up into my sister's husband lap...it was too funny for words!
He was not pleased. Lucy nibbled on my sister's yarn while she was knitting and put a hole in her pattern...the paper one...not her knitting.

She is an interactive kitty!!!

When my parents were alive...my mom would either walk down the driveway and wave until we were out of site or stand on her front porch and wave until we were out of site...now my sister and I do that for each other...to sort of remind us of what we once had.

We are exhausted today...all three of us...I have not been good about comments for the last few days but I will make it up to you!

Happy Sunday!

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Cats And Guests...What Is Up With That?

2012-05-05T05:05:00.001-07:00

Lucy is a very congenial kitty. She has played with babies and toddlers. She is well traveled....lol...she will let people hold her...she is generally very well behaved...
generally.
My sister and her husband are visiting. My sister's husband is not a cat person. He can not even be charmed by the lovely Lucy Grace. He is also allergic to cats. But not to Lucy. So...when we are at my sister's house Lucy stays in our room. But when they are here...she is out and available all of the time.
Here is the thing...Lucy is obsessed with the one person who will never notice her!
She sits next to him. She watches him. When he gets up, she leaps to his chair! She slithers under his legs when they are propped on an ottoman. She even tried talking to him yesterday. She is hopelessly hooked on getting his attention...right now it is morning and she is pacing the hallway screaming in an effort to get his closed bedroom door to open!
My sweet little kitty has an unrequited crush on someone who doesn't even notice her. She loves her Uncle Bill!
Happy Saturday!

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OMG!!!

2012-05-04T08:11:00.001-07:00

I have no clue why my review of "Gadfly" is so long!
I pride myself on writing short and sweet reviews...
I don't know what happened to me!!!
I am really sorry...just read the last half?
Skim?
Speed read?
Sometimes I just talk too much?
Please do accept our apologies?

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An Amazing Giveaway For The Year Of The Gadfly!!!

2012-05-04T07:12:00.001-07:00

This book is one of those books about private school (that I love), a secret society and a girl reporter who likes to chat with Edward R. Murrow.

My thoughts...

Iris and her family have moved to a new town and a new school. I am imagining Iris as a bit on the odd side. She carries around a sort of briefcase and she styles herself as a reporter in the manner of her idol, Edward R. Murrow. She is on the school newspaper but her ideas are severely restricted by the editor. She feels a kinship, a connection to her science teacher who also attended school here years ago. There is a sort of shrouded mystery going on with acts of bullying and both Iris and her science teacher are trying to find out who is involved. There are also secrets and questions about Mr. Kaplan and what happened to him while he was at this school twelve years ago.

To be perfectly honest...I didn't get invested in this novel immediately. There are flashbacks...lots of them. The story alternates between school now and school then. I was reading an egalley on my iPad and constantly checking back to keep characters and events straight in my head was tricky. Soon, however, I came to a point in my reading where I felt as though I knew the characters and knew the times that everything was happening. This was my point of total and thorough immersion in this novel.

Iris is approached by masked classmates with a secret task to carry out...or else. The members of this secret society have the ability to bully, scare and manipulate. Iris has been "chosen" to work for this group but... is she really working for this group? Who actually is doing the manipulating? Mr. Kaplan is also tasked by the school's headmaster to find out who is in this secret club. The mystery just gets more and more complex and fascinating.

Added to this mystery is a tragedy that occurred while Mr. Kaplan was a student. It involved three other students...Hazel, Lily, and Mr. Kaplan's twin brother. Iris is actually living in the house that Lily lived in...in Lily's room with Lily's things. This only makes her more curious about what happened then and sort of connects her to Mr. Kaplan now.

What did I love about this novel?

Hmmm...

What I loved was the way the author connected then and now. I loved the quirky parts of Iris. I loved the surprises. Characters I thought were sweet and nice...really were just the opposite. I loved the weak parts of some of the characters as much as I loved their strong parts. I loved the slow reveal and that moment near the end when all the plot pieces and character actions fell neatly into place.

This book is different, surprising, and thought provoking. It is complicated. It drew me in slowly with its complex plot. It kept me guessing about its nice and often not so nice characters. It gave me lots to think about. It made me feel sad about what happened and it made me feel angry about wasted lives and the blindness of people. And at the end of the book...I was able to have hope for them....especially Iris and Mr. Kaplan and Lily.

I do like that from a book.

So...ultimately...should you read this book?

Should it be Kindled, Nooked, purchased, placed in a must read pile?

My answer to that would be yes!!!

The author wrote it brilliantly. There are so many things that you will learn by reading it. I can't even begin to tell you about the science part of it...the quirky parts of Iris that melted my heart. In spite of me not getting it at first...and that is just me...
it unravelled in just the right way.

I am still thinking about the complex character relationships. Still pondering the ending...

Sigh!

Thanks to Hannah and Carla at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt...

I have a lovely hard copy to give away...

Just leave your email in the comments...I will random.org a winner next Friday!

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I Just "Gotta" Post!

2012-05-03T04:48:00.001-07:00

Gotta have...
I had a store credit!!!
It covered this!!!
I just "had" to get this!
My favorite kind of shirt...oversized and slouchy...I love slouchy!!!

Gotta make?
Found this on Pinterest, of course, but it led me to this amazing blog...the Bees Knees Bungalow! This very creative person made it out of all found stuff. I would have to buy everything new and then trash the pots to make them look old and mine would then take twice as much time and cost five times more but I love this wreath. Her site is beautiful!

Gotta love...no surprises here...it never changes...
Lucy always crosses her paws like this. I truly think she is right handed. She always touches my iPad with her right paw.
She looks bored with getting her photo taken, doesn't she?
Or possessive of Den?

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Sigh...Another Rainy Day...

2012-05-02T05:13:00.001-07:00

Have you ever really loved the book that you are reading but felt as though you have been reading it forever?

That is the case with me and this puppy. It's loaded with flashbacks and I keeping going back and rereading...I am merely halfway through and finally I have the characters in my head. It's complicated...lol...but good...

I want to get to these...this one? Brothers, abuse, family issues and fighting over an inheritance? Yum!

This one sounds dystopian...the Earth's rotation slows down?
Very excited about this.

This is the way this book is described..." . .Something is wrong in Niceville, where evil lives far longer than men do."

Oh me oh my...

Today I am relaxing with a mani/pedi...it looks as though an all day rain is falling but everything outside looks clean and green...I am ready for my sister other than deciding on what to have for dinner on Friday when I am not sure when they are arriving...no grilling because it's rainy...I need a starter and something prepped and ready...
I have no clue what to serve...
ideas graciously accepted!

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