My Book Opinions

Dress Like Stephanie Plum for Halloween!

2011-10-10T09:25:00.000-07:00

Actually, you could dress like any character in the Numbers Series by Janet Evanovich! I created a cute (at least I think so) article on Squidoo about how one could have a Have a Plum Spooky Halloween!


Cool jacket, isn't it? Would look good on Stephanie Plum!

Book Care

2011-09-09T10:16:00.000-07:00

If you follow me on Squidoo you will already know that I really love the book -- as an object to hold and touch. (I do not presently own a Kindle-like device, but am considering acquiring one.)

Because my children know that my goal in life is to "Save the World--one book at a time!", I am constantly being given books to repair by my oldest daughter. She has three children, two of them little boys under the age of 6 who have not learned that one should be gentle when reading a book. Mostly I repair torn pages that appeared mysteriously in an oft read book. How they got there, no one seems to know. (LOL)

I like to keep up with my online competition so I often search the web using the terms "book care" and "book repair". Just today during such a search, I found this interesting page on AbeBooks Rare Book Room that has a few tips on caring for your real books. The information is provided by Brodart, a company that I use for my supplies. They are to be trusted. Go check it out after you visit my Book Care and Repair page.

Thanks in advance.

I think a Kindle would be easier on the eyes than an iPad. I know that my eyes get tired after I have been staring at the computer screen for too long.

Smokin' Seventeen is keeping my attention!

2011-08-07T13:52:00.000-07:00

Books that won't give you the willies!

2011-07-04T06:40:00.000-07:00

I have had trouble finding non-violent, enjoyable audio mysteries lately! I am tired of listing to books that have despicable subjects like snuff films and child abuse. I just want an intelligent mystery book to listen to that develops the characters and has a plot!

Unfortunately, I think that this trend for "shock" is permeating everything that I used to find enjoyable. Take for instance the TV series "Bones". For the last few seasons I have noticed that the gelatinous bodies have been getting more screen time than Temperance Brennan. Why do we need to see a close up of the gross decomposing body for 5 seconds more? Can't we just see the facial expressions of the actors to let us know that it is horrible? Why do the producers and writers have to imprint a gross image in our head? Maybe the story line is lacking or the actors did not come to work that day.

I remember watching the original film noir Cat People and being frightened out of my head. The movie viewer never actually sees the stalking panther, but we heard it and sensed that the person being stalked was frightened out of their gourd! The film maker used the philosophy that what is in our imagination can be more frightening that what actually is seen.

I recently created A Cozy Mystery List for like-minded readers. I like a mystery novel to be long on plot and character development and short on the gross-out factor. There are enough unpleasant things going on in the world today.

From that list, I highly recommend Murder on a Girls' Night Out (Southern Sisters Mysteries). I have read the book and listened to the audio version of this mystery novel and find Ms. George an extremely satisfying author.

Have fun finding a new author. You might consider the following books for your summer reading:

The Girl in the Green Raincoat

2011-05-08T15:02:00.000-07:00

My husband and I really enjoy listening to audiobooks when we are in the car--especially when going on a long road trip. Recently, I got my mitts on The Girl in the Green Raincoat: A Tess Monaghan Novel.

We thoroughly enjoyed listening to this short novel by Laura Lippman. It was perfect for a road trip: not too distractingly complicated yet has an intriguing plot! This novel was originally written in installments (like Dickens) in the NY Times. Now it is published in book form (and audio) for those of us non-subscribers.

Ms. Lippman is probably one of my very favorite authors and there are many reasons why. First of all, she has a great character in her female detective, Tess Monaghan. Tess definitely rivals Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone whom I absolutely adore. Both fictional women detectives are very likeable and believable, too. Thank goodness there are lots of books in the series that Lippman and Grafton write. FYI: I would recommend that one reads the Tess series in the order written. That is not so necessary with the Alphabet books by Grafton. Both authors' books have gotten better with each addition to the two series.

Lippman also writes novels that are not "Tess" books, too. Most of the books are set in or near Baltimore, Maryland. I have visited there and lived in that part of the USA, so I can identify with locations. I also enjoy reading another Baltimore fiction author, Anne Tyler. Lippman is not Ms. Tyler, but her talent grows with each and every novel she writes. I recently wrote an article on Squidoo about I'd Know You Anywhere that was published this past winter. It is an absorbing story about how a victim of a notorious childhood kidnapping faces the impending death of her abductor. This convicted murderer contacts his only surviving victim and "plays" with her emotions. A great read by any standards. The good news is, there are many more Laura Lippman novels you can read that are equally intriguing!

If you would like to read my review then click Novel Songs from "I'd Know You Anywhere".

Good reading to ya!

A Book to Read on a Lazy, Cloudy Winter Day: Fifty Grand by Adrian McKinty

2011-02-18T05:40:00.000-08:00

Today is Friday. The past few days have been a blessing of sunshine which we have used to the max. Planting and playing outside with the grandkids. But today willbe spent inside on the MacBook examining some of my articles on Squidoo. That platform is a passion of mine. I am not a top lensmaster (writer) on that site, but I have passable performance with my lenses (articles or pages).

Some of my best lenses ("best" in my opinion) are not getting the traffic that I would like. One of them is Fifty Grand: a novel of suspense, a review of a book by author Adrian McKinty. The novel is very well written (I think it reads a lot like Hemingway) but, obviously my book review is not up to par. I have made no sales from this lens, so I have not convinced anyone to read Mr. McKinty. That is a shame because I feel that he is one of the best fiction authors writing today.

I originally began reading McKinty because of his connection to Denver, Colorado. When I discovered the novel The Dead Yard, the author was living in the Mile High City. I love that town, so I read the book. I fell in love with the main character, Michael Forsythe and read the "Dead Trilogy" McKinty created using this character as its cornerstone. Read this trilogy in order they were written, please.

After finishing those three mystery books, I read another novel, Hidden River, McKinty wrote before the Michael Forsythe series; it, too, was set in Colorado. Maybe it is not a best seller, but I found it intriguing and well written. It also displayed McKinty's marvelously light, but dark, sense of humor. Here is a summary of Hidden River from the publisher:

The electrifying noir thriller from a major new talent, in which a young Irish ex-cop travels half a world away to investigate the murder of a beautiful girl he once loved, and whose peculiar sexual banter he will later have urgent reason to recall -- if he is to survive.

Sounds like a good read, doesn't it? I think it is.

When Fifty Grand: A Novel of Suspense was published I was ecstatic! I had high expectations for this read and was not disappointed. Please go check out my Squidoo Lens and give Fifty Grand a thumbs up.

New Patricia Cornwell

2010-12-10T13:57:00.000-08:00

Just got the newest Scarpetta book today at the library. I am so hoping that it is good. I was going to take my name off the "Book My Favorites" for Cornwell because I have been VERY disappointed in the last two novels. BUT I read a review of the new one and it sounds like Ms. Cornwell is back on track. We shall see.

Here is a link to the new novel mentioned:Port Mortuary (A Scarpetta Novel)

Have been busy publishing "Holiday Gift Guides" on Squidoo. Need to make one for books. So far I have 8 guides. Here is a link to the collective list for those Holiday Gift Guides: Mickie_G's Gift Guides. Go check them out. There is still time to order online!

Hot off the Book Presses!

2010-10-21T09:22:00.000-07:00

I just finished I'd Know You Anywhere: A Novel by Laura Lippman! It reinforces my opinion of Ms. Lippman as being one of the best novelists in the USA! She writes with such ease; I truly believe that she is every bit as good as Anne Tyler. There must be something in the water in Maryland!

I'd know you anywhere is a haunting story that is masterfully and naturally layered. Eliza has a past that is not so "American Dreamy"; she was kidnapped and a witness to a murder during her pre-teen years. Lippman connects Eliza with all those involved with this tragedy with a fine crochet hook. I wish I could think of a better analogy--one that involves pop music, but I cannot. Crochet links strands of yarn without actually meshing them. Each story follows its own line and crosses the others--leading to one finished item.

Lee Child also has a new book, Worth Dying For that I just picked up from the library. I won't tell you what it is about (it is related to the last Reacher novel), but just know that it is set in Kansas. I have enjoyed all of Lee Child's novels in the past and I am looking forward to digging into this one.

This novel remains on my nightstand:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Carl Hiaasen's Newest--Star Island

2010-08-10T16:55:00.000-07:00

This book was a hoot. (Hoot is actually the name another Hiaasen book)

I read the hardback edition as I do not own a Kindle as of this date. I find holding the actual book made of cardboard and paper quite satisfying. On a side note: when in the doctor's office, a lady with a Kindle asked me what I was reading. We got into a discussion of books vs. Kindle. I was surprised at the number of books she had on her device--1000. Imagine that!? I also like the tools that were on the Kindle--like a dictionary.

Similar to Law and Order on TV, this novel is ripped from the headlines. Like all of Hiaasen's novels, there are many plots to keep up with, but the main one centers around the antics of a young, no-talent singing starlet who is a "bad girl" ala Lindsey Lohan (Now, Lindsey does have talent, but she is a "bad girl") or Britney Spears. The no-talent bimbo star is pursued by a greasy, rolly-polly paparazzo who is obsessed with her. He thinks that this young lady will end up like Marilyn (dead) and he will have the money making digital images that will make her and him a legend.

Skink makes a return appearance in this novel. He is the former governor of FL who now lives life as a wild man saving Florida from the money hungry land grabbers who violate the natural beauty and wild life of this tropical paradise. (I wonder what Skink would do to BP executives if he got near them?) Somehow he gets involved with the ditzy, glitzy life of the "bad girl" and much craziness occurs. You will love it.

Easy to read. You will not be wasting you time with this fun book.

Have Not Been Reading, lately.

2010-07-17T15:24:00.000-07:00

My Basset Hound, Howie, disappeared on July 3rd. He was scared by fireworks that were being launched (illegally) in our neighborhood. We mistakenly left him outside while we were having dinner at a house nearby. By the time we got home, Howie had escaped the fenced in backyard. We searched the entire neighborhood until midnight, calling him and hoping that he would hear or see us. No luck.

The next day was July 4th and my husband and I spent the day putting up Lost Dog signs. On Monday, July 5th we posted more signs and tried to call vets and shelters. BUT it was a legal holiday and most businesses were closed. Even the newspaper had no one on their classified ads desk. By Tuesday, we were quite depressed and missing that lovable hound dog of ours.

As of today, he has still not returned home, nor have we gotten any legit sightings or replies to our ads or signs.

We live in Shelby County, Alabama. If anyone has seen our basset, please call 205 706-0420. He is a neutered male, tricolor (but mostly black) handsome basset hound.

You can visit the Facebook Page I created for him. Fave it and share it with anyone you know who lives near Hoover Alabama.A Lost Basset Hound named Howie

Finally! 61 Hours by Lee Child

2010-06-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

Summer is finally here! There are several new novels published just in time for the summer reading season. Two of those are on my night stand and calling to me even as I am typing this post.

61 Hours is author Lee Child's newest Jack Reacher novel. If you have not read any of Mr. Child's suspense fiction you have missed out on some very good reads. Not every one of the Reacher books are excellent, but any Reacher story is better than having nothing to read at all.

The other book just waiting to have the spine cracked is the latest Sookie Stackhouse tome by Charlaine Harris.

Will write more next week. I promise! By then, the Reacher novel will have been completed and Sookie and I will again become good friends.

Now, I am going to bed and read!

The Scarpetta Factor: Too much character, not enough action.

2010-03-28T07:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry, Ms. Cornwell, but I skimmed over about 50% of the words in your newest novel The Scarpetta Factor. So much of what you wrote in this long tome of yours I just did not really care about. For example, when Marino was in the RJCC viewing room watching the unknown (at that time) gentleman who was thinking about jumping off the GW Bridge, I did not need to know EVERYTHING that Pete was thinking about. I only needed to know that the fella on the bridge looked familiar to him.

I am not sure why you put so much information in this book. Suffice it to say, your last two Scarpetta novels have been disappointing for me. Please, remember that most of your readers have read the other books in this series and do not need to be reminded in detail about what has gone before. If I had just found you as an author with this current book, I just might not want to read any others.

In fact, I am recommending that your readers get the abridged audio version of this book. I wish I had.

Just my opinion.

Magazine Subscriptions for $5

2009-08-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

$5 Magazines on Amazon!

There is a great magazine sale going on until August 31st (2009). You can get a really good deal on Country Living, Parents, Seventeen, and Women's Day. Click the above link to take advantage of these great deals!

Fifty Grand: and worth every penny!

2009-07-29T08:56:00.000-07:00

Just finished the latest addition to author Adrian McKinty's list of outstanding suspense fiction.

I highly recommend this novel and I am delighted to know that he might be planning a series featuring Mercado. I only wish I was good enough at writing to express why!

But, I will try, anyway. Oh, and I will not spoil any part of the plot for you.

Set in Cuba and Colorado, McKinty is a master at minimal descriptions. Like Hemmingway (who he refers to in this book) this contemporary author can use few words yet make you feel like you are there. Feel the cold of the ice and snow; taste that mojito. Feel Mercado's pains. Understand the dilemmas this character faces.

You can learn more about this wonderful author by reading his blog. You can also read my Love Crime Fiction? Squidoo page that features him.

Three Audio Books added to our "Have Listened To" List

2009-07-04T05:03:00.000-07:00

Just returned from a ten day road trip.

My husband and I drove from Alabama to Colorado and back. Why drive and not fly? First of all, we like to listen to audio books and this long trip presented a perfect opportunity to expand our "have listened to" list.

What we heard:

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon -- 32 hours long
Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist by Dorothy Gilman
Endangered species by Nevada Barr

My opinions of these audio books will be forthcoming!

Second, we needed to take lots of stuff. One does not just carry on two fly fishing rods and waders and boots on a plane for free!

Third, we would need a car in Colorado that could go over dirt roads that might not be in the best of conditions. Renting an SUV is expensive.

Now that we are home, I will evaluate the costs involved and report the results in the future. It was a LONG trip--we spent three nights in motels going and three nights coming back. Also, we were both a bit "testy" toward the end of the trip. Next time, I might fly and send my hubby in the car.

I did take photos (on the iPhone) along the way so I could personally illustrate a planned lens (article) on Squidoo.

Stay tuned!

The New Sookie Stackhouse Book

2009-05-18T07:36:00.000-07:00

Dead and Gone

by Charlaine Harris

Is it just me or am I imagining that Sookie is no longer the Sookie in the first books in the Southern Vampire Series? Sookie is now the one on True Blood. No kidding. She talks like HBO Sookie, reacts like HBO Sookie, thinks like HBO Sookie.

I am not sure this is just my imagination or if Ms. Harris is now writing for the HBO series. Of course, it could be that Anna Paquin is just an incredible actress and has imposed her characterization so firmly in my head that I cannot see the original character that I created in my own mind. I kinda miss the first Sookie.

I have another len

Prayers for Sale! Probably the best book this year!

2009-05-11T07:21:00.000-07:00

I Loved This Book!

Will update this blog later, but just wanted to post this small tribute to Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas.

My Page About Nothing and Everything: Beatles Covered: You've Got to Hide Your Love Away

2009-01-31T10:00:00.000-08:00

My Page About Nothing and Everything: Beatles Covered: You've Got to Hide Your Love Away

Southern Voices at the Hoover Public Library

2009-01-30T07:55:00.001-08:00

I used to work for the Hoover Public Library in the fiction department. One of the great services of this library is the Southern Voices Conference held every year in February.

Below you can view what is going on with the conference. The information is provided by the Hoover Public Library! Thanks to all you wonderful folks at this great public library!

My Followers on Twitter!

2009-01-30T07:07:00.000-08:00

Want to grab a cool mosaic of your twitter followers? Well thanks to walterhiggins.net it is easy as 1-2-3! Simply plug in your twitter user ID, click on "Get Follower Mosaic" and that's it! You can then paste the code into your blog or web page. You can check out @walter and follow his twitter updates. Very cool! Thanks Walter.

From "Good Reads"

2009-01-06T08:24:00.001-08:00

A Greener Christmas by Sheherazade Goldsmith

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
This non-fiction book has some really neat ideas and recipes. I copied the gingerbread recipe and plan to make it very soon.

The patterns and projects, for the most part, are simple. Instructions are easy to follow.

Would not mind having this book on my shelf at home.

Mentioned it on my Squidoo page December is Read a New Book Month!

View all my reviews.

What a Disappointment!

2009-01-04T16:52:00.000-08:00

Finished reading Scarpetta the newest novel from Patricia Cornwell. I was so hoping that the story would be a good one. Well, it was OK, but not the best Kay Scarpetta tome. I saw an interview in which Ms. Cornwell says we will be surprised by the outcome of the book (read: Who did the murders; who wrote "Gotham Gotcha".) I am not the sharpest pin in the cushion, but I sorta figured it out way too soon.

But, I must say that I read the book in less than a week. I am not a fast reader. I skipped over some of the computer techy stuff and psychoanalysis trivia. I missed out on nothing by doing so, buy the way. My motive in finishing this thick book was to get it back to the library as soon as I could. Being a former librarian, I know that there is a long waiting list on any Cornwell book, so renewing it was out of the question if I could not finish it during the check-out time.

Spoiler alert: Kay and Benton.

The are married. Not in bliss land, but that is reality. Sometimes the fun is in the hunting,trapping and taming. I am not quite convinced that their marriage will last. I hope so.

Lucy. What can one say about Lucy. I think I presently like Abby on NCIS much better.

I am glad to see Marino getting back to normal. He is much too interesting to disappear.

My recommendations:

Check the book out from the library or buy it used on Amazon, if you must.

If you are looking for a good read, try Laura Lippman. Visit my article on Squidoo, Laura Lippman & Tess Monaghan: Girls Detecting for my thoughts about this wonderful author and book series.

So you love Crime Fiction?

2008-08-27T15:50:00.000-07:00

I do. Well, I guess I do. I never knew there were so many kinds of "crime" books out there. I recently learned about "Hardboiled" crime fiction. Wiki states that "The name comes from a colloquial phrase of understatement. For an egg, to be hardboiled is to be comparatively tough. The hardboiled detective—originated by Daly's Terry Mack and Race Williams and epitomized by Hammett's Sam Spade and Chandler's Philip Marlowe—not only solves mysteries, like his "softer" counterparts, he (and often these days, she) confronts danger and engages in violence on a regular basis."

Hmmm.

I have a Squidoo lens (http://www.squidoo.com/AdrianMcKintyandLeeChild)that features 2 authors with "hardboiled" characters. I find myself recommending the books by Adrian McKinty and Lee Child over and over. I absolutely find their two creations, Michael Forsythe and Jack Reacher, fascinating.

McKinty's series about Michael Forsythe has only three titles (so far), and all are great reads. Begin with Dead I Well May Be. It can be quite violent and unsettling at times, but do not give up. What Michael goes thru is very relevant to why he becomes so "hardboiled".

Jack Reacher is also green around the yolk. Begin reading this series with Killing Floor. It may not answer all the reasons about why Reacher is so tough, but it gives you an inkling. I actually read Echo Burning first. That book got me hooked and I was ecstatic to discover that there were lots of titles in this series. I recently completed the 12th of these novels. I was somewhat disappointed in the book as a whole, but not with the series and Reacher. See my review of Nothing to Lose at (http://www.squidoo.com/nothing_to_lose).

Give these two Hardboiled Authors a looksee.

Book Blogs

2008-08-22T12:11:00.001-07:00

Just discovered Book Blogs--seems neat

View my page on Book Blogs

Nothing to Lose by Lee Child

2008-08-06T21:25:00.001-07:00

I finished reading Lee Child's 12th Jack Reacher novel a few weeks ago. I spent at least a week writing a lens (page) on Squidoo about it. Go visit Nothing to Lose by Lee Child - the 12th Jack Reacher Book.

The book was pretty good. I am a slow reader, but I finished it in a few days. Jack Reacher is such a compelling creation and I love reading about all the situations he gets stuck in. He is like a troublesome chick magnet! He usually gets a girl and gets a fight as well.

Mostly, I liked the book because it was set in my favorite state, Colorado. I lived there for three years and cannot get back there enough. Lee Child did a wonderful job creating the mood for this Colorado setting with his descriptions of the flat plains to the east of the Rockies.

While surfing the web doing "research" for my Reacher lens, I discovered quite a bit of buzz about a possible movie of one of Mr. Child's books. Who should (or Could) play Jack Reacher. Boy was this fun to contemplate! If you go to my lens mentioned above, you will find the actors I believe would do a bang up job. My personal favorite is Ray Stevenson.