readermouse books

Final Post

2006-04-27T13:22:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all have passed by my site. I however have decided that this will be my final quote. You see even thought I have enjoyed every book I talked about here, reading was becoming a means to post to the blog. This is not the reason that I read. I just love to read. To read a book in a day or in a week. To discuss it if I want if I indeed want to. My last words to you are to love reading and read because you want to, unless you are in school. Read, read and read so more. Good day.

The Cat Who went Bananas

2006-03-22T23:15:00.000-08:00

Ok I know that Ms Braun turns 90 years old this year but this books something. Oh yes it is missing a plot. We had Qwill running all over town going to shows, getting ready for the bookstore opening, the park opening, moving from the barn to the winter condo and so forth. The cats didn't even have alot to do. As to mystery it was hard to find. There was the actor who died by auto accident and the book that got stolen but in the book nothing really was made much about them.

I have not read her latest because I buy all her book in paperback. So since the newest one isn't out in pb yet I have not read it. (this writing has about much plot as the book. sorry) I will buy it since I do have all her Cat Who books. Won't want to break a set.

Memory in Death

2006-03-06T20:03:00.000-08:00

It is a few days before Christmas and Eve's past comes back to haunt her. Waiting at Police Central is the woman,Trudy, that fostered her for about 18 months. The encounter rattles Eve like we have not seen before. Trudy shows up at Roarke's wanting money for not releasing to the press record's of Eve's past. A couple of days later Eve and Roarke go to visit Trudy at her hotel and find her murdered. So as Eve deals with more junk from her past she search's for the murderer. So nice interaction between characters through out the book. Nice to Eve relax.

JD Robb aka Nora Roberts does it again in this latest book of the In Death series.

I'll be back soon

2006-02-17T17:28:00.000-08:00

Hubby is writing this for me as my sight is not quiet back to snuff. They tell me that in about a week I can get fitted for glasses. See you soon.

What I have been reading

2006-01-09T14:45:00.000-08:00

I always hate to say this but the stuff that I have been reading has been junk. I have picked up 5 different books and made to the end of just 1. Immoral, the one that I finished, is a first time novel for the writer. In my mind he needs to go back to his day job. In that book I had the whole thing figured out by page 35 and just finished it to see if I was right. I was right. I trying to read one right now that is ok but my eyes are giving me problems so I only get about tow chapters read a night. I have gotten in a audio book so I will be listening to it. My ears are open to some different authors or at least a favorite book.

Happy New Year

2005-12-31T16:14:00.000-08:00

Re-Reading

2005-12-15T19:05:00.000-08:00

I finished up the books that I had in reserve and am waiting on books to come in from the library, so I am taking some time to do something that I like to every now and again. I am going back to series that I have read everything up to date and know that new ones are coming out in the beginning of 2006. I find this a fun thing to do because even though I know the outcome of the book, I get to reacquaint myself with the main characters. I am able to see the characters grow from the first book to where they are now. It is nice to be able to go back.

I have received a notice tonight that I do have something ready for pickup at the library so we will go from there.

The Camel Club

2005-12-10T13:40:00.000-08:00

Four gentlemen who love this country have formed the Camel Club. An easy description of the club is that they look for conspiracies happening within the government and set out to help expose them. One night as the club meets on Teddy Roosevelt Island the four of them witness a murder of a member of the intelligence community. From this point on we are taken into the world of the intelligent network, terrorist movement and the kidnapping of the President of the US. The book is kind of scary in the fact of – are we looking at out future. David Baldacci has written another book that gives us a look at what is behind the scenes of the government of the US. The Camel Club is a good read and you get to meet some very interesting people along the way.

Tagged

2005-12-08T09:53:00.000-08:00

5) Since it is Christmas time I think this one really fits. I eat the crook of the cane first. That way it doesn't get in the way when I am doing some serious work on the rest.

4) I love to beat people to the punch when I have done something before they can. Just hate to let someone get the best of me when I have sone something.

3) The way I take care of my books. Ohters think that I have never read them. You understand, no breaks in the spine, wash my hands before I read, no bent pages. Oh yes I always by the book at the back of the stack.

2) Love the B movie "Revenge of the Killer Tomatoes".

1) The smell of a cat right after they have taking a bath. Nothing like a fresh kitty.

I tag Emmie, Ev, hubby, Rodney and Randy.

I'm Back

2005-12-05T14:00:00.000-08:00

Picked up a book for the first time in a few days last night. Amazing isn't it that when you are under the weather, you just don't do certain things. One of those things for me is reading. So I am working on a book right now and hope to have a post on it soon.

2005-12-01T17:47:00.000-08:00

Mary, Mary

2005-11-29T18:08:00.000-08:00

Alex Cross tries to go vacation. Notice the word tries! He and his family go across the country to visit Disneyland but during their first day there Alex gets a call from his boss at the FBI, there are killings in L.A. A writer at a local paper begins to get emails from the supposed killer. Question is if Mary is a woman or a man. During the middle of all of this Alex get caught up in a custody fight for Little Alex, his love life takes some turns.
Mary, Mary is the 11th in the Alex Cross series and James Patterson has once again done a great job of writing. You are able to see this book evolve from Cross’s point of view, Mary’s point of view and the view of storyteller. Job well done. Looking forward to book 12.

Predator

2005-11-27T11:30:00.000-08:00

Kay Scarpetta, now with the National Forensic Academy in Florida, works a case of a missing two sisters and the boys that they are taking care of. Before this case is solved it takes her to Boston where she has been trying to get to on vacation.
Predator we find out is a study of the mind of killers yet we find that there is a Predator running around at work in Florida. The clues that have been left take her and her team down a trial that they must follow. A mind that is not being studied in a lab but on that is having to be studied on the fly.
Scarpetta and Wesley’s romance is on the everlasting rollercoster ride. Marino is his not obnoxious self and Lucy as normal is off in her own world. Yet all of these things lead to the conclusion on the book. You might think you know who did the horrible acts but are you sure?
This book is better than the last couple but still is not quite up to Cornwell’s earlier works.

Harms Way

2005-11-18T15:47:00.000-08:00

In this book of Stephen White’s series we find that Alan and Lauren are married and also that they have a new dog named Emily, thus a happy little family. When Dr. Alan Gregory's good friend Peter Arvin is found dead things get interesting. There is talk of a serial killer, killing people in theatres. Alan is recruited to act as ‘profiler’ in the murders, something new for him. The book takes him and Lauren from Boulder to Denver to a up and coming gambling town to Jackson Hole, Wyoming in search of the killer and also in the quest to learn just who their friend Peter was.
The book got old for me as it seemed to plod along. Perhaps the reason for this is that I did not like the fact that Peter was killed off. Peter is a character that appeared in several of the books in the series. The ending had a nice twist though nothing unexpected.

Remains Silent

2005-11-14T17:18:00.000-08:00

Remains Silent is a wonderful first novel by the husband and wife Team of Michael Baden and Linda Kenney. Baden is a former chief examiner for New York City and chief forensic pathologist for the New York State Police and Kenney a civil rights lawyer bring us the team of Jake Rosen, deputy chief ME for New York and Philomena Manfreda, a crusading lawyer. Philomena better known as Manny and her poodle Mycroft, named for Sherlock Holmes’ brother bring a interesting character to the mix making this more than just a novel about a forensic ME.
The book begins by Jake getting a call from his former boss to come help when some bones are found at the construction site upstate New York. Just whose bones are these? Are there people getting kickbacks thus wanting the construction to continue? Why are people being murdered because of the bones? And just who is calling the shots?
Remains Silent is a page-turner with some good twist and turns. At the end of the book you are ready for more adventures with Jake, Manny and Mycroft and I believe that we will see more from this husband and wife author team is the near future.

At First Sight

2005-11-10T22:43:00.000-08:00

I have spent most of the night trying to think about what to say about this book. In At First Sight, a follow up book to True Believer, Nicholas Sparks has written an interesting and sometimes disturbing book. The book is full of love, of changes – both because of others and for oneself, of good times and dark times, of life and death but most of all what a person becomes. The book, like all of Sparks’s books, is a fast read. I don’t want to call it a page-turner it is just a fast read. With what is written in these pages the book is not fluff in any way. You will laugh and you will cry and you will learn a bit about yourself, if you will allow it.

Dead Wrong

2005-11-07T14:25:00.000-08:00

If your name is M. Douglas and you are a female then you better watch out because there is someone out to get you. There is a serial killer going through the phone book in Lyndon and killing these ladies but the reason behind why he is doing it very strange. You see one day as three men awaiting a hearing in court they are thrust together. As they spend time together and as they talk the movie, Strangers on a Train comes up and each chose three people that they would like to see killed. Curtis Alan Channing takes what is said to heart and starts on the list from one of the other men. The person that he is killing for is in prison for killing his wife and two sons after the testimony of the children’s rights advocates and the ruling of the judge. He would like to see the judge, the children’s right advocate, by the way named Mara Douglas, and the judge. Channing takes things serious and begins killing, problem is that he thinks the name is Mary Douglas so he just starts going down the list in the phone book. Mara’s sister is a profiler with the FBI and asks Aiden Shields another FBI agent but who is on medical leave after a bust goes bad and he is shot up and his brother killed, to come stay with Mara. As the story moves on the pieces fall into place as do the feeling that Mara and Aiden have for each other.
This book is a real page-turner and it was fun to know the killer and how he works from the beginning. For the first book in a series, Dead Wrong by Mariah Stewart, it sets up for what I hope will be good books to follow.

Eragon

2005-11-04T13:51:00.000-08:00

Young Eragon is from Carvhall in Alagaesia. At 15 years of age he will not be a man until he turns 16 however it is Eragon who goes into The Spine to hunt for the family, which consist of his uncle and cousin. See he knows nothing of his father and just that his mother came to his uncle to leave Eragon with him. On this hunting trip Eragon finds a blue stone that he brings home with him. He and his uncle try to sell the stone for money but no one wants to buy it. In the middle of the night the stone begins to make strange sounds and as Aragon’s watching it on the floor, the stone begins to crack open and out comes a baby dragon. As Eragon touches the dragon a shock goes up his arm and a silverish oval appears on his hand. Now Eragon and the dragon can speak to each other through their minds. Thus begins the adventures of a boy and his dragon. Eragon tries too the dragon secret keeping him in the woods and being him food. He goes to visit Broom to find out as much as he can about dragons, even names that one might name a dragon. Taking these names back he talks with the dragon and they decide on the name of Sapphire. One day he gets on the Sapphire and they take a long ride into The Spine where they stay over night. He comes back to the farm, which is in ruins, and his uncle is dying. He and Saphira take off to avenge his uncle’s death and are joined by Brom. From Brom Eragon learns the ways of a rider, which he finds out that he is, fighting, magic and even reading. Their travels take them from the northwestern part of Alagaesia to outside of Alagaesia south into the Beor Mountains to the final battle of the book.
Christopher Paolini, who began writing this first book of the trilogy at age 15, writes Eragon. At age 19 he has written the second of the series called Eldest. I have not as yet become acquainted with this book. I listened to Eragon on CD, all 14 of them, and loved it very much. I have found that I prefer to listen to fantasy rather read it. Just one of those things. The series is said to be for ages 12 to 16 but that is way off the mark. Any adult of any age would love this tale of boys and dragons, elves and dwarfs, kings and shades and lest we forget the werecat. You must read or listen in order to find out about that one.

2005-11-01T11:08:00.000-08:00

Dead Pull Hitter

2005-10-31T11:35:00.000-08:00

Dead Pull Hitter, by Alison Gordon, is an easy flowing; light book based around a female sports writer and the Toronto Titans. The Titans win their division and the murders begin. Now understand that the it takes until about halfway through the book before the first murder happens. The beginning is a well-done setup form the series. Kate Henry, the sports writer, is plagued by deadlines and the players on the team and she finds time to get involved in the finding the answers of the mystery.
The problem that I found with the book was that I felt that I was reading a young adult book, something that my sons would have read in about the 7th grade. All in all it was a nice get away and was well written. I am looking for something more intense to read. I am about halfway through the book that I am listening to and will be ready to share it.

Better To Rest

2005-10-27T01:08:00.000-07:00

The now Sgt Liam Campbell has to make the decision about what to do with his life. Does he in stay in Newenham or does he head to Anchorage? How will his decision affect his and Wy’s relationship? This is one of the storylines that extends through Better To Rest, the fourth book in the Liam Campbell series by Dana Stabenow. As Liam tries to make this decision he is faced with the murder of 74-year-old Lydia Tompkins. Liam had met Lydia just the day before her murder when she beaned, with a jar of sun-dried tomatoes, a guy trying to get into her car. The day before her murder the wreckage of an Air Force plane is found in a glacier. This bit of news brings Liam father Charles to town. In the middle of all this is a gold coin that was found from the wreckage site. As the story progress we see that the murder, the gold coin and the downed plane are all tied together. Everything falls into place and the mystery is solved.
This is the last book written in this series and so far it has not been announced that a fifth one is going to come out. After finishing all four I would have to say that these are easy reading books, very straight forward and the time line is not such that one gets lost. On the other hand there is a lot of time reminding us who is who in the books, just in case one is picked up out of order. Will I read a fifth if it comes out? Yes, because I like those easy read to break up the more intense stuff that I read.
While waiting on something to come in, I will begin listening to a book that is 14 discs long. So I guess that for a while I will do some reading and listening.

My Reading Partner

2005-10-25T14:57:00.000-07:00

Nothing Gold Can Stay

2005-10-24T23:06:00.000-07:00

Dana Stabenow is back with the third book of the Liam Campbell Series, Nothing Gold Can Stay. The book begins with the robbery/murder of the Post Mistress in Kagati Lake. One of the items taken was a gold nugget the size of a baby’s fist. The murders don’t end there as a gold miner is murdered and his wife goes missing. Several things happen in the course of the book – the discovery of a serial killer and new strides are taken in Liam and Wy’s relationship.
There a few problems in the book for me, the biggest being that a 13-year-old boy loses his virginity. This book was filled with more sex than the first two of the series. A surprise comes for Liam at the very end, but we will have to wait to read the next book to see what happens.
I will begin to night the fourth, as so far the last, book of the series, Better To Rest.

Blue Smoke

2005-10-21T13:39:00.000-07:00

At age 11, Catarina Hale’s life changed forever. Sitting on the steps of her home early one spring morning she sees that the family owned restaurant Sirico’s is on fire. She wakes the family and goes to watch the fire. That night the fire gets into her system and she knows that she is meant to find out how fires begin. The investigators trace the fire, arson, back to Joe Pastorelli. Just the night before Renna’s father Gib had had words with Joe about his son Joey and his bullying Reena. The words had gotten heated and loud. A couple of days later Pastorelli is arrested in front of the neighbors and taken away as Joey runs to try to get to his father. It is through this series of events that Reena gets to know her mentor John Minger and the rest of her life finds its direction.
Reena, as she is know to most of those who know her, (Cat is another name she goes by), if from a large loving family that is her foundation. She grows up in Baltimore’s Little Italy, a place where everyone knows everyone else. She goes to college where her first love is killed in a fire. Reena will not accept that the fire was accidental and it haunts hers. She goes on and finishes school becomes a cop and is certified as a firefighter. Within a few years she finally reaches her goal as a member of the arson squad. Through these years she has several lovers some ending with tragedy and other just end but all end with the element of fire. She finally decides to buy her own home and meets the boys next door, Bowen Goodnight. For Bo Reena is his Dream Girl, the girl he has been chasing since he saw her across the room at a party when Reena was in college. Things are going until an obsessed, pyromaniac stalker begins to call he and setting fires just for her. Here things begin to heat up in several ways. The book ends with fire just as it began with fire,
The beginning of the book seems quite trivial until you get into the book and things all slip into place. Even though it become evident who is after Reena and setting the fires you still want to press on to the end to see how things finally come to an end. There were two things that there was a lot of in the book, fire and sex. The large loving family plays a big part and you just want to meet them. So yeah the book is good. Nora Roberts has another good one in Blue Smoke.

Proofreading

2005-10-18T23:39:00.000-07:00

Proofreading is not one of my strong suits as many of you can tell. I tend to type too fast and my mind is running even faster that I make the mistakes. Please feel free to make a comment if you come upon something that is wrong. Mistakes in writing is one of my pet peeves and I notice that I have been doing my fair share. Thanks.

Naked in Death

2005-10-17T18:53:00.000-07:00

Yep, I have gone back to read the first in the 'in Death' series by J D Robb aka Nora Roberts. I had read up everything that I had from the library, was waiting on stuff to come in and also waiting for ordered books to arrive. I decided to go back and read the first book and remember where the series began. It was good to reread how Lt Eve Dallas and Roarke got together. As I read the book I remembered what it was about the series that I loved. I love the futuristic setting, the interaction among the characters and the cases themselves. The books are not hard to read but they are not fluff.

In Naked in Death, a Licensed Companion is found naked in bed having been shot three times but a .38 cal pistol. Thing is that any gun like the .38 is now an antique. Along with the body is found a note that read 1 of 6. Oh yes, I forgot to say that this LC is the granddaughter of a US Senator who opposes LCs.

Well I got in a stash from the library today so I have reading to do.

Chill Factor

2005-10-16T21:44:00.000-07:00

Over the past two years five women have gone missing from the small North Carolina town of Cleary. The person taking the women has been dubbed as ‘Blue’ because they leave a blue ribbon where the women have been taken from. Dutch Burton is the town’s police chief taking the job after being fired from the Atlanta police. His best friend from high school Wes is the president of the town council and got him the job. Dutch and his ex-wife are closing up the cabin that they owned up on the mountain. The marriage did not survive the loss of their three-year-old daughter. Lilly convinces him to go on down the mountain before her as she finishes. Before she can leave the storm of the year sets in with freezing rain and snow. On her way down the mountain runs into Ben Tierney, literally. After hitting Tierney her car winds up face first into a tree. The only choice the two of them have is to walk back to the cabin and wait. Lilly get a voice message to Dutch about the wreck and that Tierney is hurt, thus the adventure begins. The tension rises between Lilly and Tierney since they had met on a summer outing the year before and also the fact that she begins to suspect that he is ‘Blue’.
Chill Factor by Sandra Brown is a book of interesting characters in an interesting little town. Brown introduces subplots on top of the main plot. You must pay attention to these subplots as they help in either clearing Tierney or make the case against him.
This is the first book that I have read of Sandra Brown and it is the latest that she has written. It was good enough that I will try another of her books. She does not write in a series, all of her books are stand alones.

Monster

2005-10-11T18:39:00.000-07:00

I was very disappointed in Monster by Frank Peretti. Peretti is know for his Christian suspense novels and has written several that are excellent in their reading.
Monster is about a young couple Reed and Beck. Beck is short for Rebecca because Beck has such a stutter that she could not say her own name. While going on a survival weekend, to help Beck gain some confidence in herself, they come up on the cabin where they were about to stay. Problem was that the cabin had been torn apart or ripped about might be a better term. The roof was falling in, the door was hanging by a thread, and cots were thrown about after being broken and food containers bitten into and the food gone. Reed and Beck decide to pitch camp a short ways from the cabin instead of hiking out in the middle of the night. During the night they at first hear sounds and as the sounds come closer they began to run. While running away Beck is scooped up by a big red haired something. Reed is found the next morning by the two friends that they were to share the weekend with, Cap and Sing. Thus the search begins. Everyone thinks that they are looking for a bear except Reed, he saw the thing. As the book moves one, for me slowly, we go back and forth between Beck and her captors and the search effort. We see Beck as she begins to understand the one that has her and the others of the group, even to the point of being able to talk with them. In the mean time Cap goes to the university that he has been fired from to get some answers to evidence that he has found concerning the captors. The manipulation of DNA becomes a factor.
My disappointment with the book was not as much as the basic content of the book but instead how slow the book seemed to move in places. I began to just lightly skim over parts to get through the book and I don’t feel that I missed anything by doing so. My feelings about this book will not keep me from read other Peretti books.

So Sure of Death

2005-10-09T20:12:00.000-07:00

Dana Stabenow's So Sure of Death brings to another mystry involving Cpl. Liam Campbell of the Alaskan State Troopers. Diana Prince joins Liam, fresh out of the academy and is a pilot to boot. His favorite pilot and the love of his life Wy, well they have not spoken in three months. Thus things begin with the deaths of 7 people aboard the Marybethia, five members of a family and two deckhands. The boat has been on fire and the plugs have been pulled. Then as Wy flies a charter out to an archaeological dig where thy find the assistant dead inside the tent where the dig is in progress. Add to all of this the visit by Liam’s father and we have a face paced book happening. This book really shows how hard it is for a white trooper to work in the Alaskan Native world. As this learning is taking place it add to the suspense of the book.
So Sure of Death is a keeper.

Still Life with Crows

2005-10-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's Still Life with Crows is one book that I just could not get into no matter how hard I tried. I got through about a third of the book before I just put it down and have not given it a second thought. The character of Agent Pendergast of the FBI just never developed. The agent from New Orleans that comes to a small town in Kansas because of a grizzly murder while on vacation. Guess this guy just can not get away from his job. He dresses like a funeral home director wearing black suits with a tie. He wears this while it is about 100 degrees outside and he walks all over town and further. The guy does not drive instead he enlist a young girl to do the driving for him.

This series must have a following since there are two more with the latest written in 2005. The book is not right for me however others might find it just their style.

Fire and Ice

2005-10-03T17:20:00.000-07:00

Alaska state trooper Liam Campbell was a sergeant before five people died on his watch, which resulted in his demotion and reassignment to Newenham. He is also leaving behind a wife who is in a coma after a drunk driver hit her and their son, leaving the son dead. Upon on stepping out of the plane upon his arrival to his new post there on the tarmac is his first murder case. However before he can even get the crime scene secure the mayor of the town is coming for him because someone is shooting up the local watering hole, Bill’s. Before his first 24 hours and even before he can change into his troopers uniform he on the scene of yet another shooting. In Newenham he comes face to face with the only woman he has ever loved, one Wyanet Chouinard, who also happens to be a suspect in the murder at the airport. It is also herring season and Liam who is afraid enough about flying goes up with Wy to help spot for herring to direct the boats to the right place. In figuring out the whole crime ‘spree’ that he has walked into, Liam uses what he calls the box thing to tie up the loose ends. Oh yes add to this mix Moses a local who wakes Liam the first morning that he was there to begin teaching him Tai Chi.
Fire and Ice by Dana Stabenow is a mystery with interesting characters and the back drop of the Alaskan bush. If you have ever had the pleasure of visiting Alaska, it really helps to bring things alive.If there was any one thing that I did not like about the book was the fact that the one token sex scene happened very early in the book.

2005-10-02T00:56:00.000-07:00

Hard Truth

2005-09-30T09:01:00.000-07:00

Anna Pigeon moves to a new assignment as District Ranger in the Colorado Rocky Mountain National Park, just three days after her wedding to Paul and without him. Things get interesting very fast for Anna. Before she got there three young teenage girls on a religious retreat go missing. On Anna’s first night at Rocky two of the young girls come out of the woods and happen onto Heath Jarrod. Heath is a former ice climb who in her last climb happens onto some bad ice and falls that put her in a wheelchair. With the help of Heath Anna gets the two girls to the local hospital to be checked out, however the parents have said that nothing is to be done until they get there. The girls are taken home. The search goes on for the other missing girls. Evil is felt as the search also goes on for a serial killer of which there are many suspects.
Some aspects of the book gave me problems like the killing of small animals. Putting this in perspective of a serial killer it makes sense. I also missed Anna’s three-legged dog and her big orange cat however she adds someone new to her home. Her being separated from Paul so quickly also hit me as a bit out of place. I like her new job surroundings but would have liked to seen her husband with her or either for her to come yet to be married.
Hard Truth is the 13th book in Nevada Barr’s Anna Pigeon series. Again she has given us a good thriller with a National Park as the background.

Higher Authority

2005-09-26T20:06:00.000-07:00

In Higher Authority, Stephen White put Lauren Crowder in the forefront of the story with a supporting role by soon to be husband Alan Gregory. Lauren is working with Robin Toner, a friend from Law School, on a sexual harassment suit for Lauren’s sister Teresa. At the center if the lawsuit is the Church of the Latter Day Saints. The person that the suit has been filed against is Blythe Oaks a law clerk to the first LDS Supreme Court Justice.
Soon Blythe Oaks is found dead with her throat cut and later an investigator for Robin Toner is found dead shot to dead. The deaths become linked together as things familiar to both deaths come to light. The deaths do not stop with these two and Lauren, Robin and Teresa feel in danger. Though Teresa does have a way of being away during times things get tense.
So who is behind these murders, is Blythe Oaks guilty of sexual harassment, will her former boss, Lester Horner Supreme Court Justice be tied into all of this.
White has written a good thriller that keeps you turning pages or as in my case listening to what is going to happen.

Please Remember the Gulf Coast in Your Prayers

2005-09-22T08:59:00.000-07:00

Florida was hit by several hurricanes last year. This year they have been hit again as have the Alabama, Mississippi and Eastern Louisiana Gulf Coast this year with Katrina. As of this writing, the Western Louisiana and Texas Gulf Coast are preparing to be hit with Rita. As of now my family has not been ordered to leave so we will stay so that those south of us may get out of the way of the direct hit. We are expecting up to 90mph-sustained winds with gust over 100mph and a lot of rain. Please remember the Gulf Coast and all of us who call it home in your prayers. I will let you know how things are going as long as we have power or have to leave.

Point Blank

2005-09-19T00:03:00.000-07:00

FBI agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock are back and in grand style in Catherine Coulter’s Point Blank. Point Blank is the interweaving of two stories about Savich and Sherlock going on at the same time.
First we have our agents out looking for Moses Grace who just so happens to be out to kill them. Things got off to an explosive start when Moses Grace lures them to a motel where he is holding a kidnapping victim and them leads them on to Arlington Nation Cemetery. In the mean time Ruth Warnecki, also an FBI agent goes in search for a Civil War treasure in a cave. She ends up in the woods behind the local sheriff Dixon Noble, without her memory. Just as she is being told who she is Savich and Sherlock show up in search for her. Here they get involved in a series of murders in the town and the local music school Santislaus.
The story lines work well together and lends itself to a good book to settle down with. If you haven’t discovered Catherine Coulter then give her a try. The first book in this series is The Cove.

Slow Burn

2005-09-14T22:47:00.000-07:00

Who is trying to kill Kate MacKenna?
Kate is an enterprising young woman having started her own company while in school and the business is growing. However within a week Kate survives an explosion, finds out her business may be taken away because of a loan her mother took out before she died, and her best friend Jordan Buchanan is having surgery. Enter Dylan Buchanan, Jordan’s brother, to the rescue.
In Slow Burn by Julie Garwood, we have another book in a series of books about the Buchanan family. Not all family members appear in each book. There are pluses and minuses in this. At first Slow Burn was just that – slow. But at some point it took off. Once it took off it turned into a pretty decent book.
There is cursing and sex, but who is trying to kill Kate and why?

Book Discussion Boards

2005-09-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

I am looking for Book Discussion Boards that cover a wide spread of genre. I have found a couple but there are not many people that discuss. Any ideas please let me know.

4th of July

2005-09-11T14:24:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness for the way that James Patterson writes. You know in those nice short chapters. I was back up spending time with my mother and so my reading was in bits and pieces. Having those two or three page chapters, I was able to finish a chapter before I had to get up and do something.
4th of July is the 4th in Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club series. This one was more about Lindsey Boxer than the whole ‘club’ yet they were involved. We even get a glimpse of whom filling Jill’s spot in the ‘club’ after she was killed in book 3. I enjoy this series and this book did not let me down. Boxer is taken to trail after firing her weapon in self-defense. While awaiting trail she go to Half Moon Bay to stay at her sister’s, while she is away, and get some downtime. There she gets involved in investigating a series of murders that seem to link to a cold case of hers. When Boxer first went to homicide she caught a case of a murdered young man that she could not close and also didn’t have a name other than John Doe #24.
There was more killer in this series of killings and I managed to figure out two of them both was surprised by the other. If I would have had the time I could have done this book in one night, but I will take my reading time any way I can get it.
Cursing – yes. Sex – yes. Good Book – big yes.

Hiding In The Shadows

2005-09-06T20:05:00.000-07:00

This is the first one of Kay Hooper's books that I found that I didn't care about. Hiding in the Shadows is about Faith who wakes from a coma and remembers nothing about her life. Yet she is connected to Dinah who has gone missing. Questions come up like how did they know one another, where they working on something together and why was Faith seeing flashes of Dinah in her mind. The book is centered, in my reading, on these flashes and what they mean and even what order they come in.

This is a Noah Bishop series book but has nothing to do with the FBI SCU.

Perhaps it is the fact that I was late in reading this book, I read it out of order. However I did not like the flow of this book. I still think that Hooper is a good author and I just hit on one book I didn't care for.

2005-09-04T23:45:00.000-07:00

Black Rose

2005-09-03T03:56:00.000-07:00

Black Rose is the second book in the In The Garden trilogy by Nora Robert. There are plenty of sparks flying around in this one. There are the sparks of romance between Roz and Mitch (the professor that she has hired to search the family tree to find out just who the Harper Bride ghost is). Then there are the sparks flying from the Harper Bride ghost as she has her say about the romance. And then there are the sparks that fly from Roz both towards the ghost and her ex-husband. All of the people from the first book again play a big part in this book with the addition of a couple of new folks.

I did have fun reading Black Rose because of all that was going on with the characters in the book. I guess the sparks did it. Yes there was sex and cursing. I skipped over the sex and didn't feel as though I missed a thing.

Series or Stand-alone

2005-08-29T11:52:00.000-07:00

Which do you prefer - a series of books where you can to get to know the characters and watch them grow or a stand-alone book where you only meet the characters once. I guess that the best comparison that I could make is watching a TV series, such as Without A Trace or watching a movie such as Castaway. I read alot of series books which I am sure that you have noticed but I also read stand alone books. Which do I prefer? I would have to say that I lean strongly toward the series. I do enjoy seeing characters grow, what is happening in their lives. That doesn't mean that I don't like stand-alone books. I do enjoy reading on occasion a book that you don't have a background on and that ends at the end of the book. I wonder which is harder to write for a author? I could see that both have their on set of problems. So what about you - series or stand-alone?

Amanda

2005-08-27T09:15:00.000-07:00

Amanda Daulton come home to Glory but is she who she says that she is. Two other young women have come claiming to be Amanda and weren’t, so what about this one. Glory is the home to the Daulton family who has lived in that home for over a hundred years. A family that owns a business as well as horses and even has a town named after them. So is this Amanda the Amanda that left Glory when she was just nine years old. She has no memories of her time at Glory or the reason that she left, in other words she can not prove she is who she says that she is.

Amanda by Kay Hooper is one of her Suspense Romantic novels. Like most ‘romantic’ novels this has vivid sex scenes, yet is filled with suspense. Amanda is quite different from Hopper’s Noah Bishop/FBI SCU series. I did enjoy the read but could have done with the sex but that is me. It is a light read which is good for someone whose last few days have been filled to the brim.

Cross Bones

2005-08-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

Temperance Brennan is like her writer Dr Kathy Reichs. Even though they both are forensic anthropologist they both have their roots in archaeology. In Cross Bones Reichs takes Tempe back to those roots. A Jewish man is shot to death and left in a closet with cats, Temperance Brennan is called in to so her magic in figuring out if the shooting was a suicide or a murder. Out of the blue a man gives her a photo of a skeleton and says that this is the reason for the man’s death. Thus starts a series of events that leads Tempe and Andrew Ryan to Israel where they search for the origin of the skeleton and the place where it was found.
This book may cause Christians a problem because one of the questions about the skeleton concern’s the death of Christ.
The book is based on facts concerning a real skeleton that was found a Masada. The idea for this book came from a colleague of Kathy Reichs at the University of North Carolina. Dr James Tabor is both a biblical archaeologist and an expert on modern apocalyptic religious movements. Tabor has done research into digs at Masada in the 1960’s and has been involved in other digs. He has a book coming out called The Jesus Dynasty where he writes about his findings.
The book was an interesting read and moved at a good pace that takes you on a ride.

Timelines II

2005-08-18T13:40:00.000-07:00

I found it interesting that after talking about timelines in various series, that while viewing Kay Hooper's website I found the following. Please understand that this is a cut and past job straight from her site.

"The Bishop/Special Crimes Unit series
Timeline

Each trilogy takes place within, roughly, the space of a year, regardless of when the individual titles were/are published. This is not real time, but 'book' or 'story' time — something I chose, quite frankly, so as not to age my characters too quickly. After all, if a series goes on for quite a few years — and I hope this one does — some of our favorite characters could easily reach retirement age before any of us are ready to see them go!
Which is why I chose to tinker with time and allow my characters to age more slowly than the rest of us. To show you what I mean, and beginning, arbitrarily, with the baseline year 2000:

Stealing Shadows: February, 2000

Hiding in the Shadows: October-November, 2000

Out of the Shadows: January, 2001

Touching Evil: November, 2001

Whisper of Evil: March, 2002

Sense of Evil: June, 2002

Hunting Fear: September, 2002

Chill of Fear: April, 2003

Sleeping With Fear: July, 2003

Yes, CHILL OF FEAR is published in the summer of 2005, and SLEEPING WITH FEARin 2006, but the events in the stories take place only a few months apart.
I realize this is tricky to understand, which is why I decided to include this page on the site. Because of the flashback prologues in HUNTING FEAR and CHILL OF FEAR (and the flashbacks in SLEEPING WITH FEAR) some readers have expressed confusion over the fact that in these scenes Bishop had either not yet found his Miranda — or appeared to be searching for a different woman entirely!
Sorry for the confusion. All the flashbacks to date (through the FEAR trilogy) take place at a point when Bishop was still building his Special Crimes Unit, and had not yet found Miranda — or, prior to the events in OUT OF THE SHADOWS. I hope that's a bit clearer!
I try to make references in the stories to events occurring in a previous book and note that those events took place only a few months before, but I know that sort of detail is easy to miss, especially in a first reading."

For those who read series I think that having a writer explaining the timeline is pretty neat.

Bones on Fox TV

2005-08-16T12:27:00.000-07:00

This fall on Fox TV is a new series called Bones. It is based on writer Kathy Reichs, Temperance Brennan series. The show will air on Tuesday nights at 8pm eastern/ 7pm central. On IMDB.com the plot lines reads as "A forensic anthropologist and an FBI agent partner up to solve murders." So I take this to mean that we will not be seeing any of her adventures in Canada. But it wait and see, one never knows how shows takes from books will pan out.

Chill of Fear

2005-08-15T10:35:00.000-07:00

The Lodge, a place of secrets, murder, disappearances, strange illness and of evil. FBI agent and a member of Bishop’s Special Crimes Unit and a seer, Quentin Hayes comes back to the area every year to research the murder of a young girl at the Lodge that took place 25 years ago. This year he is talked into staying at the Lodge. There he meets Diana Brisco a young woman with a past of mental illness or was she. As Quentin gets to know her he tries to convince her that she has a special talent, a talent that can catch a killer. Question is – will they catch the killer, this evil being that holds a shadow over the Lodge.
Kay Hooper has done another fine job in the writing of Chill of Fear. This is the second book of a trilogy that has to do with the FBI Special Crimes Unit head by Noah Bishop. Every one in this unit has a special talent. This trilogy is the third such that centers on member of the SCU. The book is fast paced and an easy read. Please don’t take that to mean that is a “on the light side” book. It is just put together so well that it is easy to read. There is no sex and little cursing. I really enjoyed Chill of Fear.

Timelines

2005-08-11T13:17:00.000-07:00

Do the timelines in book series ever bother you? For me they do and they don't. You have some series that move very fast and some that move slowly and some that there just doesn't seem to be a timeline, you know those where something happened in the book(s) before the one you are reading and is mentioned in that book so you know that some time has past but you don't know how much. Some examples of these are the Eve Duncan series by Iris Johansen. In 5 books over a 8 year span of writing we have Jane go from a seven or eight year old to a senior in college. In fact the time span between the fourth and fifth books is 4 years. Then there is the Eve Dallas series by J D Robb. In 22 books over a 10 year span we have moved in time only about two years. And how about the Alex Delaware series by Jonathan Kellerman (10 books over 20 years) or the Prey series by John Sandford (16 books over 15 years) that there is a timeline there only because you know that things happened in previous books because it is mentioned in the current book. There are other series that use one of these three timeline examples. I know that the ones that move to fast are the ones that really bother me because I enjoy seeing the characters grow over time. But this just MHO. Whast is yours?

CountDown

2005-08-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

I have been a faithful read of the Eve Duncan series by Iris Johansen. CountDown is the latest in the series and I very much looked forward to a good read. I personally was disappointed with what I read, as I didn’t finish reading but scanned the rest of the book. Even though Jane has been a part of the series, I was not looking forward to another book that centered on her and not the talents of Eve Duncan. I had enough of the Jane/Cira storyline in the last book and when I began reading this one, which takes place 4 years later, and see that we were going in that direction again – I lost interest. I just have to think that in those four years that Eve had to have had a good mystery to work on.
I am glad that I got this through the library and did not pay for it. I know that there are those that like the book but it just isn’t for me.
There was cursing in the book and what little I read there was some sexual tension.

Origin in Death

2005-08-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

Lt Eve Dallas is on the case again when a father and son are killed in the same way. Both are doctors of "reconstruction". The father being know as 'Dr Perfect'. As Dallas works to find out who killed the doctors, she also sees that their lives are too clean which raises red flags for her. Along with her partner - Peabody, the help of Fenny and McNabb of the electronics divison and of course her husband Roake, who works behind the scences, they are determined to close the case as Thanksgiving is nearly here.

All of the 'in Death' series are set in the future and should be read in order. There is both sex and cursing in the book. The sex can be skipped over. The curing for the most part is mild and is to not even realize that it is there but there are some times where the cursing is a bit heavy. I enjoy this series, they are easy to read and also a fast read. Who knows you just might have fun with it.

July 2005

2005-08-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

2005-08-01T14:13:00.000-07:00

What can I say? Both my brother and I have read the lastest Harry Potter book and came away with two different trains of thought when we finished. We both agreed that this book was bringing every thing together heading in to Book 7. There was love in the air for all three of our three students. This really leads to some fun times in the book. A character is killed and it was really not a surprise as to who it was because the book lead right up to it. Just as J K Rowling, I will not say if it is a major character or not. You will have to read the book to find out. One thing for sure I am ready for the final book NOW! To me this book is not as dark as I thought it would be, but that is my outlook as an adult. I found the book to be a fast read and a fun read. My brother and I compared our thoughts as to what is to come and we came up with some interesting ideas. If you read the Harry Potter series you can understand. If you have not read these books then I suggest that you start with book 1.

As you can see I am not going to give any of the book away. Happy reading!

Gone Again!

2005-07-24T05:28:00.000-07:00

I am going to be gone again to take care of my mother. We are hoping that this time will only be for a week but it depends on what the doctor said. I get in some reading time but nothing like I want. So as soon as I get Harry Potter finished, I will get a post to my hubby and he will post it here.

Thanks to all.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (Part 1)

2005-07-23T16:18:00.000-07:00

I am just beginning Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Yes I am a Harry Potter fan. My book arrived at my home on the day of release but I was not in town to get it and just got this weekend. Did you hear in a interview with J K Rowling that she has had the first chapter of this book in her mind for the last 13 years. Also interesting is the fact that no one know her plans for how this all ends in book 7. Just a bit of trivia for you.

Hour Game

2005-07-22T19:22:00.000-07:00

Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, from Split Second, team up in Hour Game as a team as PI’s. They are ask to prove a man’s innocence concerning a robbery but also get drawn into an investigation of a serial killer. This serial killer is playing a different game than others; the killer is committing murders by mimicking those of other serial killers and then writing a letter stating that he is not that person. All of this takes place in the small town of Wrightsburg. Oh yes add into this a rather well to do family that doesn’t have it all together. David Baldacci has written another bestseller. Cursing – some. Sex – no. Good read – yes!

Thanks

2005-07-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all that have had checked into my blog. I am back into town for a couple of day before I haave to leave again. Taking care of one's parent when they have surgery is a task. Again Thanks.

Blue Dahlia

2005-07-16T18:43:00.000-07:00

Roz Harper - a 40 something, widowed and divorced mother of grown boys and owner of In the Garden.
Stella Rothchild - a 30 something, widow with two young boys and the new manager of In the Garden.
Hayley Phillips - a 20 something, single mother-to -be and helps in many ways In the Garden.
Oh yes we can not leave out the Harper Bride, the Ghost that lives in Harper House, where all of these ladies live.
These and others make up the first book, Blue Dahlia, of the newest trilogy by Nora Roberts. Anyone who reads her trilogies can already see the setup for the three books. Each of these ladies will fall in love in one of the books, but if you want to find out who it is in the first book you will have to read it.
There are two steamy love scenes, which you can jump over. Curing is there. You know - you know that it there but you don't really remember it. I am not a real reader of romance books and NR is the author that I have read as far as that is concerned. If you like romance you will like the book and if not- you won't.

June

2005-07-04T19:53:00.000-07:00

RAGE

2005-06-30T19:40:00.000-07:00

A 2 year old girl is kidnapped and killed. Go forward 8 years and one of the boys convicted of the crime is killed just 3 days after getting out of the a youth facility. His partner was killed only one month into his sentence. Add to this - The Father and Mother of the girl, Mr and Mrs did not graduate seminary (who are now taken in foster girls), and a PDA who has gone wacky. Take into account multiple affairs. Now the question is: who has the rage to do the killing? And what causes the rage?
Rage by Jonathan Kellerman is the latest in the Alex Delaware series and is a wonderful read. No sex scenes describes but they are implied. The cursing in the book can be easily overlooked. This is a keeper.

Split Second

2005-06-21T10:09:00.000-07:00

Split Second mixes together the Secret Service, US Marshall, A Lawyer and a Private Investigation Company. Together they look into murder, assassination of a presidential candidate, and the kidnapping of another presidential candidate. Each member of the search team is in danger. At first you know who did it and then again you know who did it and then after a few more twist and turns you find out who did it and why. I enjoy reading the Baldacci books that I read not wanting to figure out who the ‘who done it’. There are very few books that read in such a manner because I love the chase of find out the killer before it is revealed. David Baldacci really has a style all of his own. One, which I enjoy. This is one author that I found after he had written a number books but have managed to catch up. I have in my group to read his present book Hour Game and am looking forward to The Camel Club that is scheduled to come out in November 2005.

Sorry for the Lapse

2005-06-17T20:41:00.000-07:00

So sorry about the lapse of time in my posting. My mother has surgery on the 29th and I have spent a great deal of time getting things that I need so that I can go be with her before, during and after. And yes have a about 5 books ready to be packed to go with me. I just have to start packing now. She is having knee replacement and then about three months or so after will have the other knee done. Guess I will have to be on the look out for more books for the second go around. I do plan to do some post from her computer while I am there, though they may be longer a part. Please just stick with me.

Thank You All

2005-06-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

I would like to say thank you to those of you that stop by here and take a look at what I have to say about the books that I read. Please feel free to say a word or two, even if you disagree with what I say. I would love to have the comments of others as to how they feel about the books. Thank you again for coming by. I should have a new book posted soon.

The Visitation

2005-06-11T18:39:00.000-07:00

The small town of Antioch, Washington begins to see a few miracles taking place. Answered prayer brings on results such as the weeping figure of Christ that cures an elderly man of his arthritis. Travis Jordan, a widower fells that he has let down this little town but enters into a fight to save Antioch, along with his replacement, from a false Christ, not the Antichrist. As a twist of evil and demonic mystery in the air it is up to these two to find the answer to what is behind this visitor that has come to town. Frank Peretti has done a wonderful job of showing the fight of good vs. evil. If you have read any of his books you will also enjoy this one. If you have not had the honor of reading his works, take the time to do so.

Broken Prey

2005-06-08T19:50:00.000-07:00

You either love John Sandford’s Prey Series or you don’t. I really have never talked to anyone that walks the middle road. The Prey series is a blood and guts police mystery, mostly dealing with serial killers. There is cursing in the book and a good deal of it, not for the faint of heart. Sex is always a part of the books but not in description. In Broken Prey, sex does play an important part as our killer first sexual assaults the victim before killing them. The description of the body is rather graphic. The book begins with the murder of a young woman. Lucas Davenport is called to the scene and after taking a look knows that whoever they are dealing with has a real problem with brain chemistry. Sister Elle played an important part in this book and an old friend decides to hang up his handcuffs. The only thing that I didn’t care for as much is that Weather was out of the country in London, on a fellowship. Lucas and her talked everyday but would like to see more personal interaction between them and the kids. You know a bit more about his personal life. Guess I am just a sucker that way I like to know all the sides of a character. All in all I really love this book and the whole series. It may not be for everyone but if you have not tried this series and can take what I have written about it, give it a try but begin with the first book of the series, Rules of Prey.

WHAT DO THESE AUTHORS HAVE IN COMMON

2005-06-03T20:39:00.000-07:00

Oscar Wilde; Isaac Asimov; David Baldacci; James Clavell; Roald Dahl; Nathaniel Hawthrone; Stephen King; J.K. Rowling; Nicholas Evans; Douglas Adams; Dr Seuss; Tom Clancy; James Patterson; Charles Dickens; Emily Bronte; Jack London; John Steinback; Kenneth Grahame; J.D. Robb; Steven Pressfield; Victor Hugo; Peter S Beagle all have in common besides writing. Well a thought came to me tonight as I watch the DVD of The Phantom of the Opera, the book was written by Gaston LaRoux. Phantom has had three movie made and one Broadway play done from that one book. Then the thought came to me "how many books have been made into movies". The above authors all have at least one book or story made into a movie. Stephen King has had 30. To find out more you can go to this site and look around. http://www.mcpl.lib.mo.us/readers/movies

Books Reviewed

2005-06-02T20:32:00.000-07:00

Last Man Standing

2005-05-31T10:33:00.000-07:00

David Baldacci just keeps on doing it! For a lawyer turn writer he is nothing what one would expect. Baldacci does not just write about lawyers and trials but instead shares with wide variety of worlds. As I read his works I feel that I that I am a part of the book. I love having that feeling of really being a part of the book. In the book Last Man Standing we enter the world of the FBI HRT unit. (HRT stands for Hostage Rescue Team) Take the HRT, add in drugs, a nine year old boy, a horse farm, militia group, a couple of psychiatrist, a shoot out in a alley where only one member of the Charlie HRT comes out alive and you have the making of a wonderful book. Baldacci has a way of putting twist and turns yet leaves clues if you can follow if you are good enough to follow them. I for the most part love to read series books so that I can follow the characters as they progress, but I have fallen hard for this set of non-series books. In one book we are behind the scenes of the Supreme Court, then another within the FBI, saving the president, to behind the scenes of corporate American. I still have a few of his books to go in order to get caught up. I am very serious considering going back and buying his books and adding him to my list of books that I buy. Yes there were curse words and a few that I really didn't care for but I considered the subject of the book and was alright. One 'sex' scenes where it was more referred to and not described. If want a great read try David Baldacci.

I'm still around

2005-05-29T20:35:00.000-07:00

End of the school year has had this mother running and getting ready for what the summer holds. Reading time has been cut to about a quarter of the time normally have. There is one book that I have been spending a lot of time with is The South Beach Diet by Arthur Agatston, M.D. I am at the point in my life, well really a bit past, that I must get the weight on and eat a lot healthier than I am now. I really want to be around when grandkids enter my world. Ok so I am hoping for grandkids down the line. I did a lot of research and talking with doctors before I decided to go with this one. There are other good programs out there and I have tried so some of these but they just didn't work for me because I wasn't ready. That makes a lot of difference, if you are ready or not. I have just finished the first phase of the South Beach Diet and so far it is going well. Even with hungry boys around. If you are thinking about going on a diet, you might want to look into this one.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

2005-05-21T18:11:00.000-07:00

Mitch Albom, the author of the acclaimed book Tuesdays with Morrie, has come back another hit on his hands in The Five People You Meet in Heaven. The book begins with Eddie, a wounded ware vet turn maintenance man at a seaside park. When Eddie is killed saving a little girl from a falling ride he enters afterlife. But heaven is not a destination but a place where your life is explained to you. Along the way you meet 5 people, some you know, some you don’t know. This ‘journey’ is suppose to answer the question “Why was I here?”

To be honest the book did nothing for me. It is a short book so I kept reading hoping to find something of substance. It never happened! I believe that one of the main reasons is the fact that I do not share this version of heaven. I did not enjoy this book and was very disappointed in light of Tuesdays with Morrie.

True Believer

2005-05-20T14:17:00.000-07:00

True Believer is a fitting title for this book. Do you truly believe in miracles? Do you truly believe in things that cannot be explained? Do you truly believe in true love? Can a guy from New York and a girl from a small town in North Carolina find their way to each other without ‘stuff’ getting in the way? Well I am not going to tell you. What I will tell you is that Nicholas Sparks has another hit on his hands and out in the stores and libraries now. Jeremy Marsh, of New York, is sent a letter from someone in the small town of Boone Creek, NC, about ghostly lights being seen in the local cemetery. You see that is what he does, explain the unexplainable. While there he does research in the public library where he meets Lexie Darnell. Emotions come into play here.
Here again I don’t remember cursing in the book and there is one sex scene in the book that goes by rather quickly and without much detail. If you like the writings of Nicholas Sparks then you will love this one.

A Brilliant Madness

2005-05-18T19:36:00.000-07:00

If you are Bi-Polar (Manic-Depressive), or you are a family member or friend then A Brilliant Madness is the book for you. Even though this book has been out for a few years it is still one of the best books to help one understand what this illness is all about. The book is written by Patty Duke, who lives with the illness and Gloria Hochman, a medical reporter. Between the two one reads of what it like to suffer from the illness and the other brings the facts about what the illness is and the different types of Bi-Polar that there are. Someone that has the Bi-Polar illness is not easy to live with but with an understanding of the illness it helps. The book is very well written and has been a help to myself and others that I know.

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear

2005-05-13T12:57:00.000-07:00

Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear was and is my sons favorite book. They are in their late teens now and want me to get yet another to have at the house. (We only went through 5 when they where young, see they both had to have a copy, that counted as 4 both that are no long of this world and the 1 that I read to them over and over and over again. It wore out also). It starts out as the Little Mouse finds a Red Ripe Strawberry and tries to figure out how to keep it for himself. You see there is this Big Hungry Bear that would like to have this strawberry also. The artwork in the book is wonderfully done in pastel pictures. The book teaches problem solving and then how to share. The book is written by Audrey and Don Wood. If there is a young child in your life, I suggest strongly that you get this book.

2005-05-10T20:07:00.000-07:00

A PI, a woman named Faith who is a witness for the FBI and a rogue group from the CIA all come together in Saving Faith by David Baldacci. The book talks some about the lobbyist on Capital Hill. This book by Baldacci is more a book about intrigue which is a venture away from the two pervious books that he had written. It was a nice change of pace from the mostly mystery books that I tend to read. I listened to this one on tape. From what I recall there was eluded to sex and not a lot of cursing. Chris Noth read the book and you really get to hear what kind of actor that he is. Most of us have seen his acting on the Law & Order shows but here you hear how he has to change voices from person to person as he reads. From what I understand this is not an easy thing to do.

I enjoyed listening to the CDs as I folded clothes and other such activities around the house. As I have said there are ways to read. I did fall into the trap of seeming to not have the time to read very much so I got this from my local library. Try it sometime.

Private Practices

2005-05-07T17:27:00.000-07:00

Private Practices is another winner for Stephen White. It did get off to just a bit of a slow start but more than up for it. Alan Gregory, a clinical psychologist is the main character of the book. Besides seeing his patients he takes on a part time position with the coroner. All the witnesses for a Grand Jury are seeming to be killed off. But does it have anything to do with the Grand Jury or something else that they are all tied too. Oh yes and how about our main character’s dilemma over his soon to be ex-wife or his love interest? The book contains some cursing, and a lighter version of sex. The book is well worth the read. If I say much more I would be giving away the book.

Down & Dirty Tricks

2005-05-05T15:27:00.000-07:00

Do you use Photoshop? Or do you just like to play around in it to find all the neat things that you can do? I have a book that you would love either way. Photoshop Down & Dirty Tricks both for versions 7.0 and CS. You can learn or play as much as you like. In fact you can learn while you play. The picture that you see here was done from following the instructions in the book. Also if you look at the words March and April in the previous post, they also were done in Photoshop. Scott Kelly is the author of the book. A very well done tips book give it a try.

Books Reviewed So Far

2005-05-02T01:11:00.000-07:00

Have You Ever?

2005-05-01T18:39:00.000-07:00

Have you ever not had time to sit down and read? I know that I have said that you can always find a way to get some reading in and that is true. It is not that I have not found a way to read but just that it comes in spurts of 4 to 5 minutes. I am use to being able to sit down and read several hours at a time however that has not been possible for me for the past week. I will keep on reading in what time that I have. In the mean time I want to share you some of the books that have read in the past. So be on the look out for these to be coming to these pages.

Stars in Their Courses

2005-04-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

Stars in Their Courses is a great book about the 3 days of battle at Gettysburg. Foote wrote a three volumes of history The Civil War: A Narrative. It is from this narrative that Stars in Their Courses was taken. This is a excellent book for any one who loves history, esp the Civil War. One of the nice things about this book is that contains maps. I believe that this helps the reader to see things a bit better. Good book.

Maximum Ride Blog

2005-04-24T09:22:00.000-07:00

Once you read Maximum Ride, well maybe before you might want to visit the blog at http://maximumride.blogspot.com It has a link to a message board. Max, Fang and Nudge are doing the blog so it is adds to the experience of the book.

Working on a book a present and have two more waiting for me to pick up at the library in the morning.

Maximum Ride

2005-04-22T21:13:00.000-07:00

Maximum Ride is about six children who happen to be 98%human and 2% bird. They were brought up in the "school" from which they escaped with the help of a 100% human named Jeb. Our six adventurers are Max (short for Maximum), Fang, Nudge, Iggy, the Gasman and Angel. They are being pursued by Erasers, mutants: half man and half wolf. The book begins with Angel being taken by the Erasers back to the school from the mountain home where the six were living. From here they go to rescue Angel and find someone that they did not expect to see. From California they take off for New York, find their way into a secret institute, find their parents ( they were born, not test tub babies or hatched), and get around to saving the world.

Maximum Ride is James Patterson's first venture into young adult readerdom. It reminds me of the characters from When the Wind Blows and The Lake House which he does say gave him the idea for this book. This book may have been written for the young adult read but any adult would like it also. Give it a try it has adventure and drama, laughs and fears and is a pleasure to read.

Fixing Mistakes

2005-04-20T09:27:00.000-07:00

After printing out my blog, I was able to see several errors that I had made. Spell checking is great except for those times that one types "righting" and you meant "writing". Have spent some time going over my post and making changes so that one it reads how I want it to read and two the spelling is correct.

About the young man who I spoke of in a earlier post, he is head to a "school" that will help him to deal with and learn from what happened. He is doing rather well compared to that morning in the ER. This "school" that he is going to will also help to kept him up on his school work. From what his parents told me it is a good place for him to be. Say a prayer for this young man as he finds his way.

The Simple Truth

2005-04-18T18:54:00.000-07:00

Again David Baldacci hits a homerun for me. In The Simple Truth he leads us behind the scenes of The Supreme Court. This book has a bit of everything from a Army prisoner, serving time for a murder, who wants the Court to review his case, to a clerk of one of the justices being killed, a brother getting involved in the case of his brother's murder along with another clerk, to the twist and turns of who killed who and why and how all of this affects the Court. Unless you read the last chapters first, you will have a time figuring out who done it. I enjoy the writing style of Baldacci even though he is a lawyer turn writer. To me his writing is different from that of John Grisham. Even though I read a lot of Grisham when his books first came on the market, I grew tired of his writing after a while. The same could happen here as I admit that this is only the third book I have read by Baldacci. However I have already put on hold another book at my library.

I am reading Maximum Ride by James Patterson. I should finish it up rather quickly.

Off Topic

2005-04-17T20:51:00.000-07:00

I can not imagine what it must be like for a parent to have a police officer come to your door at 12:30am and tell you that you son has been taken to a local hospital because he had taken a overdose of unknown drugs. I got a call a bit before 2am telling that a young man that I know quite well was in the ER from a overdose. I was being called by his piers because they had heard and were afraid. As I got to the hospital a few minutes after that call I found myself wondering just what was I walking into. Knowing that his father would be there alone with no other family to support him, I knew I had to be there. Walking into that room and seeing that baseball player, who always had a smile and a hug for me, who had always seemed to live life to the fullest, there in that bed with a breathing tube and other tubes coming from him. With his hands tied down as were his feet and a sheet across his chest tied down and there was no color to him at all. Fear hit me right in the face but then I saw his dad and I knew that I had done the right thing in coming. I kept the young people who really cared, not the ones who gave him the drugs, informed as to what was going on. I sat by his bed holding his hand that would not squeeze back, feeling his cold skin and praying that God would bring him back to us. After about 4 and 1/2 hours he began to come around, little by little. He was taken to ICU and as I started to leave his bedside to come home, I leaned over and kissed his head and told him I had to go and I loved him and right as I turned away, he sat up straighter than he had and called my name and held out his hands for a hug. I was more than happy to give that hug. I missed church this morning but that was fine because I had been where God wanted me. Today I have hugged my boys and told them that I love them as many times as I could. I still say a prayer for this young man as he begins a road to recovery and I do selfishly thank God that it was not one of my sons that had been that ER. If you have children, please tell them that you love them and say it as often as you can.

50 Book Challenge

2005-04-16T15:24:00.000-07:00

Just about to finish up The Simple Truth by David Baldacci, will be commenting on it soon. But be prepared, I tend to love Baldacci's work. Last night I went out and pick up Maximum Ride by James Patterson and will start it as so as I finish The Simple Truth.
Have you taken the "50 Book Challenge"? This has been around for a couple of years. Simple thing to do, just read 50 books in 52 weeks, rereads count. That is less that one book a week. One should try to vary their reading so that you can experience different styles of writing. So if you haven't taken that challenge then how about starting now and reading one book a week.
Reading is more than just a form of recreation, you can learn a lot from just reading a book. Just the other night my son and I stopped to get a bite to eat. The place we stopped has a trivia game on TV monitors that you can play. As I continued to get the answers right he finally asked, "How do you know all those answers?", the answer was simple, I read.

Have a Book with you

2005-04-14T16:21:00.000-07:00

There several ways to always have a book with you for those times that find yourself waiting. Many people don't like e-books but they can serve a purpose. Most PDA's have a feature for e-books. There are several sites that you can download books for free. Now most of these books are classics but then again when do you stop to reread a classic or read one for the first time. Another option is audio books. There are different ways that you can have a audio book with you. First these are the traditional audio cassettes and that is great if you carry a cassette player with you. Second is CD's. The nice thing about those is that most people have CD players in their cars and can listen on the road. However to listen in, let's say, a doctor office you have to have as CD player with you. Third there are PDA's and a MP3 player, one like the Apple iPod. You can download books onto these devices. Both of these are easy to carry and now days a lot of folks carry them with them all ready. We don't always have that book that is made of paper with us, and I know that just about everyone would love to read a book with a cover and pages of paper that you can turn but these are just a few ways to always have a book with you.

Some days

2005-04-13T12:11:00.000-07:00

Some days just aren't the best. Yesterday I had to put one of my boys in the hospital. That is always hard for a mother to see her child sick enough to be put in. Dads I know it is not easy on you either. He will be for a few days and then be home for Mom's loving care and chicken soup. I have not forgotten about my books, in fact they are a comfort as you sit in a hospital room. There is so much that a book can do. My suggestion is never go any where with a book with you. Next post I will talk some about how to have a book with you.

National Library Week

2005-04-11T16:23:00.000-07:00

The week of April 10-16, 2005 is National Library Week. Let us all support all of our local libraries. They offer a variety of services, least of which they make it possible for those who can not afford to go out and buy books a way of being able to read the latest books out. Get to know your librarian, they can became a good friend.

I have had to put aside a book that I was attempting to read. I had gotten this book because after hearing people discussing it on a book discussion board I thought that I might like it. Malice in Maggody by Joan Hess is the first in the Ozarks Murder Mystery Series. I began reading the book and did not make it further than page 43. I know that there are lot of people that like these books but I really had problems. The second word in the book was a curse word, in fact there were in the first 16 words of the first paragraph of the book 3 curse words. I do read books that have curse words in them but this just hit me hard in the face. Within these 43 pages that I got through there was a good dealing of cussing, gutter talking and sex. It was kind of hard to find a mystery in there to read. This is one that I could not suggest to a friend to read.

Search Me, O God

2005-04-10T15:32:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for a good devotional book then Search My Heart, O God by Kay Arthur, just might be the one for you. I like what is her explanation of the book; she calls it 365 Appointments with God. Each day is on a different aspect of life, there is a Bible verse(s) that she draws from and ends with a short prayer.
I have known of Kay Arthur and the Precept Ministries for some time having been a part of the Inductive Bible Study that she has gleamed. A couple of years ago my mother gave this book to me and I have enjoyed my time in it as it starts my day with God.
There are a number of devotional books that are available as well as materials that local churches provide. If you are looking for a new one or if you have never used one, I offer this book to you.
The title comes from:
Psalm 139:23
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”

The Fall of Freddie the Leaf

2005-04-09T15:11:00.000-07:00

This little book is for anyone who has been affected by a permanent loss. The Fall of Freddie the Leaf by Leo Buscaglia, PhD is a good book that explains the story of life. It begins by talking of Freddie starting as a young bud and growing up. He has friends and learns that no two leaves are alike. But as the snow came he felt himself getting weaker and then falling from the tree. The pictures in the books are photographs not drawings, which adds a touch of reality to the story. Warning: This book should not just be given to just to read, it should be read to the child by an adult. I child will have question and there needs to be an adult there to answer them. I used this book with my boys when someone close to us died. It helped.

Books, Books, Books

2005-04-08T10:43:00.000-07:00

As you can tell this is not about just books for adults, it is about all books. The books that we read to our children and the books that children read are very important. This is main reason that I have been sharing some of the children books that my boys like when they were small. You might not agree with all the books that I write about here and that is all right. But there may be some of you that are introduced to books that you might have ever know about. Just remember that when you come here you might read about a book that is history, adult fiction, children, and even younger children. There could be Christian fiction or Christian non-fiction; books on sports, music, and biography. I just hope that you will like what you see and if you disagree with what I have said about a book, leave a comment; you might open my eyes to a different way of thinking. All I really want to do is to share the enjoyment of reading.

The Angel and the Soldier Boy

2005-04-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

"A book of love and loyalty." The Angel and the Soldier Boy by Peter Collington is a children's book in its purest form. It is the ideal picture book because there are nothing but pictures in the book. There are no words only pictures that allows for imagination to break through. One can begin with this book at an early age and as the child gets older allow them to look at the pictures and tell the story that is going on. Don't be surprised if your version and your child's version are different; or even the next time your child picks up this book they come up with yet another version of the story. So many children's books tell the story for the child, here the child can tell the story. The pictures in the book are wonderfully done and would be loved by any girl or boy.

The Little Prince

2005-04-05T19:03:00.000-07:00

The Little Prince was originally written in French by Antoine deSaint-Exupery, however since it first came out in print it has been translated into over a hundred different languages. For many years this little book has delighted both children and adults alike. Children read the book as just a simple story, while adults see the symbolism in the book and how it speaks to them. There have been several theories as to what the book really means but I believe that we each see a something different and take from the book what we need. It truly is a book for the ages as well as for all the ages.

The book is about an aviator whose plane is forced down in the Sahara Desert where he encounters a little prince from Asteroid B-612, who relates his adventures in seeking the secret of what is important in life.

My favorite line from the book is "It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important."

This book was written by Antoine deSaint-Exupery one year before his plane was shot down during a mission over the Mediterranean Sea.

Black by Ted Dekker

2005-04-05T06:22:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to describe this book and finally settled on this. Black is a book about Thomas Hunter, a man who goes to sleep in one world, wakes up in another world, goes to sleep in the that world and wakes up in the first. This goes on through out the book. One world is set in 2010 and the other is set in the future after the world of 2010 has been destroyed. A virus has destroyed the world of 2010 and Thomas is trying to stop the virus from being unleashed. In 2010 he tries to stop the virus and in the other he is getting information about the virus from the histories, which he is living in the other.

Even though there is a "Great Romance' going on there is not any sex, nor will you find any cursing. As I read the book at times I got the feel of C.S. Lewis style writing, there is a lot of symbolism going on, and then would feel that I was reading a book about International Intrigue.

This book is written by the Christian author Ted Dekker and is a nice change from some of the Christian fiction that is being written. You might want to check it out since is the first book of the Circle Series. The next two are Red and White.

O Ye Jigs & Juleps!

2005-04-03T20:49:00.000-07:00

I read several books a week but don't talk about every one of them here. A lot of these are re-reads of books that I have had for a while. Today wanting something you can read in one sitting and with a bit of humor I chose O Ye Jigs & Juleps!. This is a collections of essays written by Virginia Cary Hudson. Here is a quote from the jacket cover: "Virginia Cary Hudson was a sprite of ten back in 1904 when she wrote these essays for a very understanding teacher in her Episopal boarding school. Discovered in an attic trunk, the essays are even more entertaining today because of their distinct, early American flavor." A professor in college suggested that I get the book and read it, best thing that he every taught me. If you sit and read straight through without laughing you can read this book in about 15 to 20 minutes, it is 50 pages. She writes about such things as 'Etiquette at Church', 'Education', 'Personal Appearance" and 'An Afternoon's Stroll' to name a few. I'll share this quote from the book so you can get a taste for the writing.

"When you stroll you never hurry back, because if you had anything to do, you wouldn't be strolling in the first place. If I get a zero on this, for fighting in church, I just don't care. That Alice Coleman, insulting the saints in glory. Maybe next time I will get a 99. I never get 100. Something is always wrong. Maybe one day I will. Maybe one day the Lord will help me get 100.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Selah. Oh lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world, grant me peace and not a zero. Amen."

Ouch!

2005-04-02T19:12:00.000-08:00

Hubby here. Readermouse is nursing a broken toenail following a freak episode of "foot in wall disease." Posting should resume tomorrow.

The Birth of Evil

2005-04-01T20:29:00.000-08:00

Black is a fast paced, page turning book. Even though I am enjoying this book very much I have not gotten in the reading time that I have wanted. There comes those days where - for the lack of a better word - things get in the way of reading, no matter how much you want to get that book in your hands and read. Things have gotten in my way the past few days and I have not be able to finish Black as of yet. I am closing in on the end and will hold off on any comment until I have finish. I will say this now, find this book now and begin to read.

Oh Well

2005-03-31T21:56:00.000-08:00

No post tonight. I am having problems with my shoulder and I just can not compose my thoughts.

Black

2005-03-30T20:00:00.000-08:00

I have begun reading Black by Ted Dekker. I am about a third of a way through right now and am getting in the rhythm. Mr Dekker calls this the Circle Series and as you begin to read the book you see just how true that is. Everytime Thomas Hunter goes to sleep he wakes up in one of two worlds, one where he was grazed on the head by a bullet and the other where he had hit his head on a rock.

Stand by for further developments.

I have been trying to put together some sites for Book Discussion Boards. I hope to have some links for some of these soon.

Kay Hooper

2005-03-28T20:33:00.000-08:00

Last night I finished my eighth out of ten books in Kay Hooper's Noah Bishop Special Crimes Unit. The SCU is a FBI unit whose agents have special "abilities". It are these abilities that make this series of books refreshing to read. Hooper has written these paranormal thrillers that take place in different towns, dealing with serial killers and use different agents. Bishop, as he is referred to in the books, does not appear as the main character in all the book, but as the head of the unit he is always there. There is mild cursing and a step above sexual tension in these book. Ms Hooper has written other series which I have not read yet but hope to get to soon.

Tonight I will be reading Black by Ted Dekker. Dekker is a Christian author and this is the first book of his that I will be reading. They were refered to me by a friend. Black is the first book of three in the Circle Series.