Room With A View

Man oh man. have I been busy! I’ve unloaded and unpacked every box for my parts of the office, which when I think about it is all of it except my coworkers’ offices. Whew! Was I glad to have an excuse to leave early yesterday. I had to go pick up some materials with which to hang all the pictures. Guess what we’ll be doing today.

I have to tell you – I love this new office. It’s 10 minutes closer to home, I have a lot more privacy in this space and I have a wall of windows that looks onto a pretty view. See?
Here are Hoops and Yoyo bobble heads gazing out into the sunshiny view.  Ahhh. Sun!

And do you see what I have just across the way? 

A Panera! Woo hoo! I was really hoping that the internet connection from Panera would reach our office, but alas – no. I’m going to have to hang out there a bit when lunch time rolls around. Oh the glory of being able to comment on Blogger blogs in the daytime! (Stupid work filter!)

And this picture is just for Kelli. Thanks for helping me to start the first day in the office in style. That Mocha was just what the caffeine addict ordered.

Guess who sits by the thermostat? Ha ha ha! No more freezing for me! Well until there’s a meeting and all the stuffed shirts come in and get all hot around the collar. I’ll turn it down on those days and then turn on my illegal space heater. Shhh! Don’t tell!

Last night, Mr. Right and I watched I Am Legend. Oh. My. Lands. Why Will Smith did not get an Oscar nod is beyond me. It was so well acted that one could not help but imagine what it would be like to be alone in the vastness of the world while trying to make it better. If you haven’t seen it, I highly, highly recommend that you do. It’s a cross genre film: part drama, part sci-fi, part suspense, part scary (without much gore) with a dash of love and a very visible belief in God. Just go see it for yourself and then let me know what you thought of it.

Oh, and y’all aren’t putting any pressure or anything on me with the reviews. Fonda, you totally made my day with your comment yesterday! (I’d have written you personally, but you’re a “no-reply” commenter. You should change that!) Knowing that I can bring some goodness to the reading populace fills me with a giddy, “that’s what I’m talking about!” response. And for the record, I have to review the sucky ones too. How else would you know to avoid drivel like this? (That particular book makes me sick and angry just thinking it – no only was it pure c**p, it was also a waste of good trees to put it on the shelf. Okay, I’m stopping now.)

I’m going to finish eating the pizza that the office brought into the office yesterday. I’d never tried Pizza Shoppe before now. It’s pretty good. But I have to say that I’m not digging the fungus on top. Yuck. I’m eating it cold, so it’s not as easy to remove it as you would think. 

What topping would you like to see removed permanently from the world of pizza?

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Spring Reading Thing 2008

Oh my… Time really has been flying if I can’t remember to join into the fray of one of my favorite things ever!  It’s time for the Spring Reading Thing 2008, hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days.  (There she is with that catchy title again…  That girl, she should be in marketing!)

So here are the books on my list for this Spring:

1. Cold Sassy Tree
2. Citizen Girl
3. The Companion
4. Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt
5. Anna’s Book
6. Brave New World
7. Water For Elephants
8. All the PD James books (Mr. Right calls them PaJama books.) Cover Her Face
9. A Mind To Murder
10. Unnatural Causes
11. Shroud for a Nightingale
12. An Unsuitable Job for a Woman
13. The Black Tower
14. Death of an Expert Witness
15. The Skull Beneath the Skin
16. A Taste For Death
17. Devices and Desires
18. Original Sin
19. A Certain Justice
20. Death in Holy Orders
21. The Murder Room
22. The Lighthouse
23. The Bible (Isaiah and Jeremiah)

Whew… That’s a lot of books!  Well, my eyes are usually bigger than my stomach…  It might as well work the same for my brain!  We’ll see how I do with the reviews this time.  Last time?  Not so much…

Happy Reading everyone!

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The Good Guy

You know what helps to get someone back into reading? I mean besides no internet access. That’s a given.

What I need is A. Really. Good. Book. Something that will pick me up, throw me over its shoulder and say caveman-style, “Hold on, woman. We go on adventure. Make you not stop reading til end.”

Did I find one that tossed me like a ragdoll? Oh boy did I! The Good Guy by Dean Koontz is a great ride all the way.

Koontz happens to be one of my favorite authors. Odd Thomas (and series), Lightning, Life Expectancy, Fear Nothing, Watchers: These books (and others) keep me coming back for more. More suspense. More heart-pounding scenarios. More extremely likable characters. More excellent bantering between them. All of it makes me pick up his books because I know that I’m going to be satisfied after reading one of his books.

This time was no exception. How does this scenario grab you?

A guy walks into a bar.

No Wait! It’s not a joke! It’s really how the scenario begins. Come back!

Thanks. (Whew.)

Let me rephrase it: “Good Guy” Tim Carrier is sitting in a bar. He’s a regular there because his longtime friends own it. It’s his home away from home only because he knows it’s a place where he’s welcomed, appreciated, loved. Another guy walks into the same bar, and suddenly Tim finds his ordinary, unnoticed life interrupted by a bizarre conversation, during which he’s handed an envelope full of money and kill instructions intended for a contract killer. Confused, Tim watches as the man leaves… only to be replaced, minutes later, by the real hit man. Removing the target’s photograph and address from the envelope, Tim attempts to call off the kill by posing as the “buyer” and telling the assassin that the deal is off, the killer is to keep the money as a courtesy and he is to ignore the murder request. Not wanting anyone to get hurt, he sets out to warn the intended victim – Linda Pacquette – and to keep himself alive because he knows that after deceiving the man who gave off the vibes of evil in an expensive suit, he had put himself on the killer’s to-do list.

What follows is a classic cat-and-mouse chase/thriller. Tim and Linda must use all of their stamina, experiences and intelligence to stay barely one step ahead of the arrogant, all-knowing assassin; he seems to almost magically anticipate Tim and Linda’s every move. To add to the suspense, Linda can think of no reason why she is a target for a contract killing. She has no known enemies, and she lives her quiet life as a writer, with a love for most things from the Golden Age and her 1939 Ford.

Koontz is exceptional at driving a story, giving just enough information to confuse you, yet laces with enough hope and intrigue to make you keep turning the pages. As an aside, this storyline involves no supernatural plot and no “gifted” characters. It’s good vs. evil. It’s smarts-against-smarts, with organized help on one side and fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants help on the other.

The writing is excellent, very original and detailed without being dry or overbearing. The characters are full of life and vibrancy, while appearing real and like the “person-next-door”. The humorous banter that a reader comes to expect from the mind of Koontz is top-notch. Of course, I love quirky relationships. Just look at Mr. Right and me. Enough said on that matter.

If you’re looking for a fabulous read from a gifted author, I highly recommend The Good Guy. It’s an energetic read that may just pump some much needed blood into your reading life. Oh, and I love that Linda is named Linda because the real Linda Pacquette won the honor of having a character named after her in an auction benefiting Canine Companions for Independence. I’m just so glad for her that he chose to make her one of the good guys. Knowing Koontz, he could have done all sorts of fun or wacky things with a character by that name!

How did you do yesterday? What did you read? Were you in withdrawal or were you like me reading a few blogs on the sly?

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Aha! Caught In The Act!

What are you doing here?! Did you not understand that today is the Day to Read? 

Now leave a quick comment that you’ve been properly chastised and what reading material you are picking up to peruse. Then I’ll know who to pretend not to see when I’m leaving comments at the other blogs too.

But hey, I’m still reading a book. You’ll hear all about it in my review tomorrow…

Happy reading (and incognito surfing)!

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What A Perfect Week For This Cause – Fixed!

Jen at Something to Say: Life in the Netherlands and Allison at Soccer Mom in Denial are launching this wonderful reading cause. Click here to find out how you too can sharpen your mind while still ignoring housework.

It’s all about priorities here people. It’s all about priorities.

I’m in. How about you?

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Since Judi Asked…

So Judi already asked the first question of the new year. “Now my very important question is what are you reading now, and what do you plan to read in 2008?”

Well Judi, I only have a few books that I’m in presently. They are Proverbs, The Late Hector Kiplinger, Calpurnia, Peter and the Starcatcher (reading it with my daughter) and Sweetie Pies.

I know, I know. So few for me. But if you want me to be completely honest, I’m just not in a huge mood to read right now. This mood prevails over me a few times each year; it just so happens that you asked when I’m in one, Judi. Too bad for me.

But (and after this holiday eating season, I do have a big one!) I have a few books that I can’t wait to devour when the feeling hits me again.

Iceweaver

The Kite Runner (Actually I didn’t have a bit of interest to read this one until I received several comments telling me that I really need to read this book.)

Twilight

Welcome To The World, Baby Girl

The Documents in the Case

Cold Sassy Tree

Bridge of Sighs

An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers Home in New England

Another Jodi Picoult book, tbd

Those are just a few on my list, whenever my need to read kicks back in. It will be going strong soon enough, I’m sure.

So since I’m just making my list, what have you read, recent or not, that I must have on my list?  What new books have you seen that look like they just need to read?  Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi(s) – You’re my only hope (to know books that I should read.)

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Fall into Reading 2007 Wrap Up

I don’t know what happened. I was completely ready to wrap up this challenge, but then some kids threw me off with their great deeds and I wasn’t able to think straight for a while. I don’t mind at all though…

Here’s my list, but along the way I did manage to review a few. If I did post a review, I’ll link to it since you’ll have much better details on the posts; otherwise I’ll give a quick thought about the few I didn’t take the time to review.

1. The Family Tree by Carole Cadwalladr (see review)

2. The Woods by Harlan Coben (see review)

3. The Last Wife of Henry VIII by Carolly Erickson – I enjoyed the aspect of seeing Henry VIII from the view of his last wife, Catherine Parr. The author was able to base the story over the life of Parr, which included all of Henry’s previous wives. And yes, Henry is still the same womanizing, selfish man that he proved himself to be through his words and deeds.

4. Thursday Next in first among sequels by Jasper Fforde – I LOVE the quirkiness of Fforde and his series. Play on words, unlikely characters and impossible situations help to charge this storyline. But this is a series that you need to start from the beginning, so I suggest that you pick up The Eyre Affair, settle in for some fun, mind-bending reading and then get ready to pick up the next one at your library!

5. Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles by Margaret George – A very LONG, yet enjoyable read. What a troubled, misplaced queen who never knew the true meaning of home. I didn’t know much about Mary Queen of Scots except that she had the unfortunate timing of breathing in the same time as Elizabeth I.

6. The Bible (Psalms – Songs of Solomon) by God – Reading through the Bible has become one of my favorite activities. I don’t rush so that I don’t miss some things. I don’t make myself read everyday so that it doesn’t become a chore (although I should because I enjoy it when I do.) But I do feel so much better and much closer to God when I do let his words soak into me. If you haven’t read through the Bible, I suggest that you just start. One day you’ll be really glad that you did.

7. Out To Canaan by Jan Karon – Although I really like this series, sometimes they are on the calm side when I want action. I just read these when I’m ready for a relaxing read.

8. A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel (see review)

9. A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle (see review)

10. Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh (see review)

11. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffernegger (THE best work of contemporary fiction – see review)

12. The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Pachett – I loved this book despite the fact that the main character remained selfish and self-centered throughout the beginning to the end. I really wanted to reach in and smack her time and time again, but she did have moments of beauty that were astounding in actions. That’s what made me continue with the book – these acts of hope. The other surrounding characters were amazing, interesting and tried their best to make the protagonist into a better person. I’ll be picking up another one of her books in the future.

13. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart (see review)

14. Happiness Sold Separately by Lolly Winston (HATED IT! I’m still scrubbing my eyeballs to get the words out of my sight. See review to see why.)

15. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Corrected – sorry for the misspelling of his last- I was in a hurry!) (see review)

Thanks Katrina for hosting the challenge again. I love that so many are delving into books again. Head on over to Callipidder Days to see what so many others read this fall.

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WFMW or FIR #10 – A Wrinkle In Time

There’s just a few days left before Christmas, and if you’re still looking for a great gift for those hard to please tweeners, this gift may just be the answer to your search.

With the success of Harry Potter and the renewed interest of the Chronicles of Narnia, I thought I would read a fantasy book that paved the way to my great love of reading: A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle. What a powerful, capturing author L’Engle was!

How can you go wrong when a story starts as such?: It was a dark and stormy night.

The story surrounds three main characters: 

• Meg Murry, a volatile and stubborn ninth grade girl who is regarded as a bad-tempered underachiever by both her peers and her teachers; 
• Charles Wallace Murry, a complete genius at age five – but since he rarely speaks to anyone save his family, most of the town deems him dumb since no one takes the time to understand him; 
• Calvin O’Keefe, a junior who is unwanted at home, but accepted at school because he excels at basketball. Despite the accolades at school, he feels that he is a pretender because he can’t be who he knows himself to be – except with the Murrays, especially with Meg.

These three characters join together with some mysterious, immortal characters (Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which) to save Mr. Murry, a scientist who has gone missing. (Town rumors indicate that he left Mrs. Murray – a gorgeous, loving, brilliant scientist in her own right – for another woman, but the all know the rumor to be false on every count.) They must tesseract, or travel through space and time through the fifth dimension, to Camazotz to save Mr. Murray who has been imprisoned by an evil disembodied brain with powerful telepathic abilities, which the frightened inhabitants of Camazotz call “IT”.

This story is neither a tale where superheroes save the day, nor is it completely science fiction, although it shares elements of both. The travelers must rely on their individual and collective strengths, delving deep within themselves to find answers that will save everyone from the evil powers of IT.

I forgot what a wonderfully mind-stretching story it is. I distinctly remember the first time I read it: there was a part where the group was traveling through time and space and they kids go through a two-dimensional time/place. I recall feeling that my heart was squished just like Meg’s; my heart had the heavy, strained beat like the characters had, and I could barely breath for the pressure that I felt at becoming two dimensional in my mind.

As an adult, I loved reading the religious overtones in the book. On several occasions, scriptures were quoted in context to the story and when the children are asked to name other who fight darkness Jesus is the first to be named, among many others who were artists, leaders, teachers and philosophers. Ultimately, it is the story of individuals fighting evil so that goodness can prevail.

Another bonus is that this book starts another series, so if I can get The Girl to start on it, I’ll have a future gift-giving selection in line. So if you’re looking for another gift to give or just another series to reacquaint yourself as an adult, let me heartily recommend A Wrinkle In Time. There’s a reason it’s a classic.

Now head on over to Shannon’s for some other great Christmas ideas!  (And Merry Christmas to you all!)

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FIR #9 – Gift From The Sea

When I won Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s Gift from the Sea from Barb at A Chelsea Morning, I had no idea what a treasure it would be. It presented so many challenges to me as a person, as a woman, as a mom, as a child of God.

Who would have thought that a book written 50 years ago regarding one woman’s discoveries among the shells would be so apropos today? Although she wrote this book for her own dealings with life, her words touch deep the soul of any woman, no matter her stage of life. That a middle-aged woman in the 50’s could strike a chord with women of every stage of life shows what a talent Lindbergh really was.

Lindbergh’s timeless eloquence was laced with intellectual candor, profound insights and pools of concern and compassion that ran the depth of her soul. She touched on several issues that she struggled with in her lifetime: busy-ness or multiplicity, losing self in the giving to others, having peace in solitude, relationships, marriage, empty nests, contentment. Seeing life through the treasures of her found shells, Lindbergh correlated the discoveries to her daily life, reminding herself to treasure them to the fullest.

Excerpts from Gift From The Sea:

“The world today does not understand, in either man or woman, the need to be alone.” – Chapter 3

“But it is the marriage relationship in which the changing pattern is shown up most clearly because it is the deepest one and the most arduous to maintain; and because, somehow, we mistakenly feel that failure to maintain its exact original pattern is a tragedy.” – Chapter 4

“(In the middle years of marriage) the bonds of marriage are formed. For marriage, which is always spoken of as a bond, becomes actually, in this stage, many bonds, many strands, of different texture and strength, making up a web that is taut and firm. The web is fashioned of love. Yes, but many kinds of love: romantic love first, then a slow-growing devotion and, playing through these, a constant rippling companionship. It is made of loyalties, and interdependencies, and shared experiences. It is woven of memories of meetings and conflicts; of triumphs and disappointments. It is a web of communication, a common language too; a knowledge of likes and dislikes, of habits and reactions, both physical and mental. It is a web of instincts and intuitions, and known and unknown exchanges. The web of marriage is made by propinquity, in the day-to-day6 living side by side, looking outward and working outward in the same direction. It is woven in space and in tome of the substance of life itself.” – Chapter 5

“Woman must come of age by herself. This is the essence of “coming of age” – to learn to stand alone. She must learn not to depend on another, not to feel she must prove her strength by competing with another.” – Chapter 6

“For relationships too must be like islands. One must accept them for what they are here and now, within their limits – islands, surrounded and interrupted by the se, continually visited and abandoned by the tides. One must accept the security of the wingèd life, of ebb and flow, of intermittency.” – Chapter 6

With so much to be gleaned from this hidden treasure, I can see why Barb reads it faithfully every year. We forget too often how to live life; it’s nice to have a gentle reminder nudging us to look back towards our Creator, to see the beauty that surrounds us in the here and now and to live with a content heart. I, too, will be picking this book up again and again in the years to come.

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FIR #8 – The Woods

I love Harlan Coben. I’ve read all of stand-alone novels and a few of his Myron Bolitar series. He’s a fantastic mystery writer with a witty sense of humor who knows how to captivate the reader, creating brilliant twisty-turns in thrilling stories. Sometimes far-fetched or stretching but always tantalizing with “what is going on” moments, his tales create a must-read feeling – just to know what will happen next. So it is with The Woods, Coben’s latest foray into the world of whodunits.

In The Woods, Paul Copeland is the Essex County, New Jersey prosecuter. He is in the middle of an ugly rape case when he gets the call from NY detectives; it seems they believe Copeland can help them with the details of an unsolved murder, a murder that may relate to the brutal slaying of Copeland’s sister 20 years ago.

Twenty years ago at an idealic summer camp, four teenagers were brutally murdered, including Copeland’s sister Camille. The serial killer is behind bars, and Copeland is just now getting on with his life, learning to raise his six year old daughter alone after his wife’s death from cancer. Lucy Gold, a professor at a nearby college and Copeland’s ex-girlfriend from camp days, begins receiving a journal in a creative writing class from one of her students that recreated – in vivid details – the night of those murders. Who could be writing the journal? How could they know about that night? Why after 20 years are the memories resurfacing now?

As is typical with Coben novels, much is thrown at you, and for the most part, it’s catchable. There are twists throughout the book, down to the last page, and all of the loose ends are resolved. One of the things that I love about this particular novel is that the ending is left to your imagination. Coben writes the ending in such a way that you the reader determine the outcome of the book.  Even though the ending is complete in essentials, he gives you everything and lets you decide the fate. It’s been a month since I’ve read the book, and I’m still thinking about what I think the characters did after the final words were read.

However, this book reflects the first time when Coben’s creation seems formulaic and plain.  Another concept that bothered me is that the protagonist’s young daughter and recently-deceased wife held no importance in the story.  Copeland didn’t seem to care about his family like a new widower probably would, often leaving his daughter (who was very much in need of a spanking or, at the very least, a come to Jesus meeting) in the possession of his sister-in-law for long periods of time, without ever wondering about her.  Also, the Russian/KGB angle also seemed contrived and unnecessary. Still, Coben has the knack for making the improbable plausible and having fun with even the most far-fetched scenarios.

Despite that last paragraph, I still recommend The Woods since formulaic to Coben is so much more creative, memorable and just plain better that most other mystery writers of any age. When you’re reading Coben, you just can’t go wrong.  The man has a gift for which I’m thankful he will share.

Reading list and previous reviews for the Reading Challenge:

Fall into Reading 2007

FIR #2

FIR #3

FIR #4

FIR #5

FIR #6

FIR #7

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