Books by TJBaff

My Opinion about the Furor over the Death of Jack Layton.

2011-08-24T17:44:00.002-04:00

Shame on you Canadians for jumping all over Christie Blatchford for her recent column about the semi-hysterical attitude that has become the public's reaction to Jack Layton's death. I am speaking as an average Canadian who did not vote for the NDPs in the last election. Maybe..... to be so consumed with public grief...I would need to have been one of his supporters.
Christie...Thank you very much for voicing in a thoughtful and balanced voice....the distaste that you felt and I am feeling over the crocodile tears expressed by many members of this nation. We didn't all vote for him....so why is the grief so out of proportion? Why are people grieving as they would for a close friend or family member? Likely... because he sat in many of our living rooms as he debated and courted us through the last election....I watched him.
Not all of us feel more than a fleeting sorrow over the death of a man who seemed very vital....in his personal and professional life....he was driven. My perspective on this whole affair has not been to lament loudly and publically but to speak quietly with my daughter and husband about feeling regret for another family who has to pick up the pieces of their life and rearrange and puzzle out a new "normal' for themselves. This is hard. I know this because we lost our child almost 5 years ago and are still seeking peace..
There is no question that Jack Layton captured and fired up his supporters with his vim and vigor and yes...his ambition to put the National Democratic Party as near to the top of Canadian Politics as he could. He accomplished what no other NDP leader had ever done. Against all odds...he made the NDP the official Opposition. That earns my admiration and incredulity but I personally did not know him. I believe that many Canadians were still swept up in his enthusiasm and vitality from the election and now they are so very shocked that this seemingly hale and hearty man should be struck down so quickly. It happens in the best of families.
None of us want to think that we could deteriorate so fast and die. I was frankly shocked at his appearance in late July and his frailty but if I had thought about it ...more than in passing...I was probably sure that he would defeat the cancer as he did before. That was just one short month ago.
I do believe though Ms. Blatchford ...that your timing sucked. If you had waited a week or two or a month or more....the reception to your viewpoint might not have been so harsh. No... I don't believe that either. When anyone dies....nobody wants to ever say anything bad or critical of them...even if it is the truth. It almost feels like tempting fate....like bad luck.
I also do not buy into everything that John Moore says here.

3rd Attempt at Lead Implantation to Bionic Woman

2011-08-22T14:22:00.009-04:00

Just a catch up notice....November 4th, 2010....my ICD fired with no warning. Feeling like I was kicked in the chest...my first thought.....I was electrocuted??? How? Why? Then it hit me....no....it was the defibrillator! In total shock...instead of calling 911...I attempted to reach my husband by phone at work and it took them over 15 minutes to find him hiding away in a front office.
He came rushing home and got there about 30 minutes later....so far so good....I was sitting in a chair...frightened to move. We decided to make our way to Joseph Brant hospital...a block away...and he helped me get dressed as I was too scared to do it on my own. Walking gingerly down the hall after I was dressed....the unit fired again. I screamed.
Without another incident we arrived at the emergency department at the hospital and checked in. They took me in very quickly and after taking all my vitals...hooked me up to a heart monitor as well. There wasn't anybody at the hospital familiar with ICDs so they put in a call to the defibrillator clinic at Toronto General.
Long story short...the unit fired again while I was there but not hooked up to the monitor....(in the bathroom) The on-call guy from St. Jude's....came...deactivated my defibrillator...determined that the ventricle lead had pulled out and was recording my T-wave as another heart beat??? At least the defibrillator was working properly!..Small consolation....but after 5 days in hospital I returned home after 2nd lead implantation and another 6 weeks off work and to keep my arm from any great exertion.
Everything is fine at 8 week checkup and a new appointment is made for July 5th (btw...Madeleine's birthday)
Fast forward 6 months and we arrive at the defibrillator clinic at Toronto General and hear the news that they are unable to detect the ICD properly and both wires have pulled out and the insulation has been damaged too.
Guess what>>>>they have to reimplant 2 new leads!
As I am sure that you can imagine....I am ecstatic to hear this... and the surgery is set for August 29th, 2011.
This feels like a roller coaster but as of my last checkup...we are still wired to go.

fabricated necklace

2011-08-16T16:43:00.005-04:00

Copper wire with coins flattened...pierced...dapped and riveted....labradorite beads.

A few pictures of my jewelry

2011-08-16T16:34:00.003-04:00

copper creations

silver plated wire

riveted-cold connections

verdigris patina

I'm Back

2010-10-26T23:36:00.005-04:00

Friends and Visitors,
Welcome.
I just wanted to pop in and leave a note for all. I am currently off work due to the implantation of an ICD. (Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator) I am recuperating at home as I am not allowed to lift or move my left arm strenuously and my current posting for work has me lifting,changing and almost rolling around on the floor with the kids in the class. I love it.
I am still always reading but I am also pretty involved in my jewelry design and am enjoying my anvil at home.
We are about 4 days away from the anniversary of my son Nick's death. Although we feel that we will never recover from this...we are feeling peaceful right now and for me...the feeling of dread is remarkably absent this year. So far.
Please whisper a little prayer on October 30th for us to get through that day successfully.
Cheers,
Tamara

Blog Closed

2009-08-31T13:08:00.002-04:00

Blog closed until further notice.

Miranda's Big Mistake by Jill Mansell

2009-06-02T17:10:00.003-04:00

Thank you to Danielle Jackson from Source Books

About Miranda's Big Mistake from the Source Books website:

An irresistible summer read from Jill Mansell, an international bestselling author.

Jill Mansell is one of the UK's premiere contemporary authors, with her 19th title coming out in January 2009. She has sold nearly 4 million copies of her books in the UK.

Miranda is thrilled with Greg. He's gorgeous, funny, and practically perfect. Greg thinks Miranda is great, but he hasn't told her everything about himself. After all, even the sweetest girl is likely to be put off by a man who's left his newly pregnant wife. But there's no way she'll ever find out... is there?

My Thoughts

To say that I fell in love with a book would be somewhat dramatic but “wow...” Miranda meets this perfect man and he seems to be interested in all the same things that she is...but...then she finds out that he left his wife because she got pregnant. 'Got' being the operative word here...apparently she did it all by herself...to spite him. She broke the rules.

This book recounts the journey of revenge that Miranda takes to pay back this self-centred man and how along the way she gathers up and shelters those in need...including a homeless man who is more than he seems.

This story is more than a simple revenge plot. This story celebrates women in all guises...old and forgotten...pregnant and discarded...single and desperate and Miranda herself...lost and searching. The pace of the story is perfect as each nugget of fact unfolds itself and each character evolves.

All the characters are fleshed out completely and the humour just dances off the pages. I can't wait to read more books by Jill Mansell whose style is reminiscent of Marion Keyes and Sophie Kinsella but she also has a voice that is all her own.

Bravo Jill Mansell.

Kitty Raises Hell by Carrie Vaughn Blog Tour

2009-03-24T13:18:00.013-04:00

Kitty Raises Hell

Full Description

Sometimes what happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas. ... more

About Author

Carrie Vaughn had the nomadic childhood of the typical Air Force brat, with stops in California, Florida, North Dakota, Maryland, and Colorado. She holds a Masters in English Literature and collects hobbies, fencing and sewing are currently high on the list. She lives in Boulder, Colorado. Her website is www.carrievaughn.com.

http://unmainstreammomreads.blogspot.com/

BLOG TOUR : Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly

2009-03-17T00:04:00.002-04:00

Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly

Full Description

Here at last is one Irish family's epic journey, capturing the tragedy and triumph of the Irish-American experience. In a rousing tale that echoes the myths and legends of Ireland herself, young Honora Keeley and Michael Kelly wed and start a family, inhabiting a hidden Ireland where fishermen and tenant farmers find solace in their ancient faith, songs, stories, and communal celebrations. Selling both their catch--and their crops--to survive, these people subsist on the potato crop--their only staple food. But when blight destroys the potatoes three times in four years, a callous government and uncaring landlords turn a natural disaster into The Great Starvation that will kill one million. Honora and Michael vow their children will live. The family joins two million other Irish refugees in one of the greatest rescues in human history: the Irish Emigration to America. Danger and hardship await them there. Honora and her unconventional sister Maire watch their seven sons as they transform Chicago from a frontier town to the "City of the Century", fight the Civil War, and enlist in the cause of Ireland's freedom. The Kelly clan is victorious. This heroic story sheds brilliant light on the ancestors of today's 44 million Irish Americans.

In the author's colorful and eclectic life, she has written and directed award-winning documentaries on Irish subjects, as well as the dramatic feature Proud. She's been an associate producer on Good Morning America and Saturday Night Live, written books on Martin Scorsese, World War II, and Bosnia, and a novel based on her experiences as a former nun - Special Intentions. She is a frequent contributor to Irish America Magazine and has a PhD in English and Irish literature.

http://www.marypatkelly.com/blog/index.asp

Blog Talk Radio

Upcoming Show: 3/17/2009 11:00 AM

Host Name:	grandcentralpub
Show Name:	Live St. Patrick's Day Interview with Mary Pat Kelly author of GALWAY BAY
Length:	1 hr
Description: h:27517 s:432669	Mary Pat Kelly is the author of a novel Special Intentions, and nonfiction on subjects as varied as Martin Scorcese and the rescue of Scott O'Grady from Bosnia. In her life, she has been everything from a nun to a documentary filmmaker to a producer of short films for "Saturday Night Live". She lives in New York, NY. GALWAY BAY is a novel based on her own family's immigration story from Ireland to the US.

Letter from Mary Pat Kelly

Letter

The bones of GALWAY BAY come from my own family history, a story I discovered slowly over decades of research. In the beginning tracing my roots meant cranking through reels and reels of microfilm in a fruitless search. To access the U.S. Census records I needed the address where the Kelly’s first lived in Chicago, which I did not have.

Then I realized my father’s first cousin, Sister Mary Erigina, BVM might know. She did. Born Agnella Kelly in 1889, she had in fact lived with her great grandmother Honora Kelly. Agnella lived to be 107, her mind sharp and her interest keen.

Now I found the right reel. Here were the names of Honora’s children, their ages, but nothing about where they came from in Ireland. Finally I followed the trail to Galway and discovered at last the record of the birth of Honora Keeley, September 15, 1822. And the place? A fishing village right on the shores of Galway Bay. The cottages were gone but the Bay was the same. I stood on the beach looking out, and could almost see my great-great-great-grandfather John Keeley setting out in a pucán, guided by a knowledge of winds, currents, and the patterns followed by the fish themselves that he’d learned from past generations. I went to the site of the fish market in Galway City and imagined Honora and her mother selling the catch under the Spanish Arch, bargaining and trading, handling money. Rare for women of that time. How did that shape their character? read more...

The Potato Famine: A Memorial

My Thoughts

Galway Bay is an extremely well written book. This novel may be based upon the history of Mary Pat Kelly's family and the story of their starvation in Ireland during The Potato Famine in the 19^Th century but it doesn't read like a dry-as-dust history tome. I was thoroughly caught up in the narrative and shocked, saddened and inspired by this family. This family's history is just one triumphant saga of the horrific moment in history when the Irish people were almost wiped out by the potato blight that killed off their only food source. A very enjoyable read.

Live St. Patrick's Day Interview with Mary Pat Kelly author of GALWAY BAY

2009-03-16T19:48:00.004-04:00

Time: March 17, 2009 from 11am to 12pm

Live St Patricks Day Interview with Mary Pat Kelly author of GALWAY BAY...here

Waving "Hello" to the Blogging world

2009-02-22T09:07:00.003-05:00

I am sure that most of you must have thought that I dropped off the face of the world but I have been hiding....just a little. I have been experiencing a huge wave of grief on my journey, through my life without Nick, and it has not only dried up my writing but for awhile it even dried up my reading....and that never happens. That is not supposed to happen and I will not STAND for it. LOL
I have also started a brand new full-time job at a different school and I think that the "growing pains" have calmed down a bit.
I hereby pledge that I will never let another week go by without an update at least on my life, job or the books that I am reading and I will try to post at least twice during the week.
Nice to see you all again and I am blowing you all a kiss. Mwuahhhhh

Isolation by Travis Thatcher

2009-02-22T08:46:00.004-05:00

With masterful storytelling, Travis Thrasher draws readers into a novel so gripping it cannot be put down.
James Miller is a burned-out missionary whose time on the mission field in Papua New Guinea left him exhausted and disillusioned. His wife, Stephanie, feels like she's losing her mind. After moving to North Carolina, Stephanie begins seeing strange and frightening things: blood dripping down the walls, one of her children suffocating. Premonitions, she's sure, of what's to come. As the visions and haunting images intensify, Stephanie asks her brother to come for a much-needed visit--but he's hiding secrets of his own that will prove more destructive than Stephanie can imagine.
Nine-year-old Zachary sees his family's move as an adventure, and as he explores the new house, he discovers every young boy's dream: secret passageways and hidden rooms. But what seems exciting at first quickly becomes altogether frightening. When a snowstorm traps the Millers, the supernatural dangers of their new home will test everything they thought they knew about each other, and about their faith.

My Thoughts

Thanks to Hachette Books for my copy of Isolation by Travis Thatcher. This arrived in a special win at Hallowe'en from another blog's contest.
This....was a creepy story and I enjoyed it. While not a difficult read it deals with difficult ideas. Unfortunately it glosses over the details of the Miller's past brush with evil and it seems that details are left out to add atmosphere as if the less said about the past creates tension and stirs up unease.
Some parts of it felt too slick though and the age of the son, Zachary, made me feel that his actions were not believable for his age. Despite all of this and the fact that I had guessed the climax...I still quite enjoyed it and it 'creeped' me out.

6 Things I Love & Addiction

2009-02-04T17:51:00.007-05:00

Tagged from Serena over at Savvy Verse & Wit
The rules for the tag are simple.

Link to the person who has tagged you.
Write down six things that make you happy.
Post the rules, tag six others and let them know you did it.
Then tell the person when your entry is complete.

Six Things That Make Me Happy...

1. My Husband and my daughter...the loves of my life.

2. My 4 cats...Calli, Lucy, Willow and Annie Fae

3. Books.....Books....Books.......every shape, colour, genre

4. Making things....I knit, paint, make jewelery,sew. refinish furniture

5. Chocolate...good or bad..

6. Re-Use it stores...Salvation Army, Goodwill.
bargain hunting is the best!

I Tag.....

Shelley of Knit One, Read Two ( a real life friend in town)
Rebecca of The Book Lady's Blog
Melissa of Shhh I'm Reading
Jessica of Living Between the Pages
Deirdre of Unravellings
Lorin of Arch Thinking

Fun Book Meme to Fill Out

2009-02-01T17:13:00.005-05:00

I am stealing this from Steph Sue Reads who stole it from Black-Eyed Susan but this is just FUN!

One book you’re currently reading: The Widows of Eastwick by John Updike

One book that changed your life: What Katy did by Susan Coolidge

One book you’d want on a deserted island: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

One book you’ve read more than once: The Chronicals of Narnia by C.S.Lewis but also most books

One book you’ve never been able to finish: The Bible

One book that made you laugh: The Makedown by Gitty Daneshvari

One book that made you cry: ...I cry for happiness and for sadness but Anybody Out There by Marian Keyes made me sob.

One book you keep rereading: Faery Tale by Raymond E. Feist

One book you’ve been meaning to read: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

One book you believe everyone should read: The Chronicals of Narnia by C.S. Lewis...helps the dreams come to life.

Finally, grab the nearest book. Open it to page 56. Find the fifth sentence

"You are as much of a Toothaker as any of us."

Snapshot Saturday # 2

2009-01-31T12:39:00.005-05:00

PEI

We picked out and cooked some live for my favourite supper ever!!!!

Food for Thought

2009-01-31T12:16:00.004-05:00

Has anyone else noticed the abundance of novels released lately by top selling authors....co written with an unknown?

Has anyone else noticed that some of these authors...write more than 2 books a year?

Hands up for anyone who believes that these well known authors write their own books....or is it a multi-million dollar a year business like everything else?

I stand up and declare that I will not read and review any more of these mass-marketed formulaic novels disguised as fiction.

Comments please

Tamara

The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood

2009-01-30T15:30:00.004-05:00

Ann's Words

This novel is very special to me. A few years ago I was afraid I would never be able to write again. For my entire life, reading and writing were ways to work out what I felt, what I worried about, what I feared, what I hoped for. Then on April 18, 2002, my five year old daughter Grace died suddenly from a virulent form of strep. As an added insult, when I lost Grace I also lost my ability to use words. I couldn't read and I couldn't write. Letters didn't come together to make words; sentences did not make sense. I couldn't concentrate. I couldn't focus. Almost two years later, the literary journal Tin House sent out a request to writers for submissions for their theme issue on Lying. That night-I was unable to sleep well and was often up walking around the house at all hours-an essay came to me fully developed on the lies about grief. I sat down and wrote it and Tin House published it.

My Thoughts

When I wrote the words describing my thoughts and emotions about Ann Hood's book Comfort...I was also describing The Knitting Circle.
I am sure that this book was a very difficult one to write. Ann took the story of her family and her daughter Grace's death and she fictionalised it. It is almost the same story and well written.
More about this book though was centred on knitting as a form of therapy. a way of living through the grief ...even when you don't want to. The book also introduced a number of different characters who represented people from all walks of life who found knitting to be a solace for their troubles.

Comfort: A Journey Through Grief by Ann Hood

2009-01-30T14:39:00.006-05:00

Ann's Words

"Slowly, slowly, I began to tell my own story of loss and grief and hope. You know how that first day at the beach when the ocean water is still so cold, you dip your toes in, then run out? Next try, you get up to your ankles before you run? Then up to your calves, your thighs, until finally you are waist deep and you can dive in head first? That is how I wrote COMFORT. I wrote a little, then retreated. A little more, a little more, until I was able to dive in. "

"I did not know what to do with her Christmas stocking, the one with the angel on it and her name sewn in my crooked attempt to use a needle and thread. I did not know how to celebrate a New Year without her. And on the first anniversary of her death...."
"...My Body cannot move. I am paralysed."
... " I used to wake in a panic that I had forgotten even one detail about her, or that I would forget someday."

My Thoughts

These words above that I have quoted from Ann Hood's book or her website...I have felt them all too ever since my baby died.
I must give proper thanks to Steve Colca of W.W. Norton & Company, Inc....who offered to send me this book after I added him on Twitter. He very sweetly asked me first if this would be a welcome gesture and after I assured him that it was he sent me this book and The Knitting Circle.
Most of my blogging buddies on here know that I myself have been on a grief journey. My son Nicholas (15) died just over 2 years ago on October 30th, 2006. Ever since that day...my heart has stopped beating. Ann's book took me down that road again...she took me back to the anguish and fear and shock that I felt that day. Her book broke my heart again but it also felt cathartic to cry as I relived my own last moments with Nick.
She manages to describe almost exactly the way that I felt about losing my Nicky when she speaks about losing her Grace.
She describes in minute detail all the platitudes that people say to you as a newly bereaved mother. "She/he has gone to a better place." (Are you kidding me?)
"God must have wanted them" (Not as much as I did!)
"I understand what you must be feeling." (Unless you have lost a child lady...no you don't!) and she also speaks about the weirdness that people feel around you. I myself have experienced people ducking behind stores, displays and bushes just to avoid speaking with me. Do they really think that we don't notice?
I have also felt people's impatience with me when I can't get out of bed sometimes to go into work because I am having a really bad day about missing him and I don't want to go on anymore. They are also impatient with me because they are tired of 'being reminded of my tragedy!" I work with a woman like that.
I am never sure how to deal with people like that but as my husband reminds me...that is their problem not mine. I have enough on my plate already.
Thank you Ann Hood for writing this book about your loss. I know that you wrote it just for me...didn't you? It feels like it anyway!

Tamara

Your Blog is Fabulous! from Sheri @ A Novel Menagerie

2009-01-29T13:43:00.008-05:00

Ok....I admit it...I am absolutely and completely chuffed with this award!
Sheri from A Novel Menagerie has welcomed me so completely into this blog world, that we all circle around, and her blog is the first one that I read everyday!

Thank you Sheri! Kisses and hugs........

I think what I failed to mention though is why I love Sheri's blog....
She is sooooo real!

the details of this award are simple just write 5 things that you are addicted to and name 5 other blogs to pass it on to.

Ok...Addictions...Hmmmm...

* I am addicted to getting books through the mail! ( I love getting my 'fix' everyday when the UPS or Canada Post guy comes!)

* I am addicted to Pandora beads and bracelets ( I have been collecting for only a couple of years but I love receiving beads to celebrate or mark an important event.)

* I am addicted to receiving comments on my blog posts! (Who isn't?)

* I am addicted to watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer with my daughter everyday. (My son Nicky and I used to watch this show when it was being broadcast and we loved it...this is another way to share something about Nicky with my daughter.)

* I am addicted to chocolate! (It doesn't even have to be good chocolate!...I am ashamed to admit.)

Ok...To Pass this along............

1. Confuzzled Books by Shannon ---Your blog is so charming with your hand drawn images.

2. My Tragic Right Hip by Deanna-----I first met Deanna through the Reading Club but I have remained a follower because her blog is always so well written and she blogs about herself. I love to "meet" the person behind the blog.

3. Poisoned Rationality by Lexie----I LOVE the name of this blog!

4. Musings of a Bookish Kitty by Wendy----Hmmmm....could be the name....the picture of the cat....or the content???? But I like it.

5. Bookaholics Anonymous by Jenn----This blog is new to me and looks very intriguing.

Nick's 18th Birthday

2009-01-28T20:52:00.003-05:00

My baby was born at 01:36 am January 28th, 1991.

The happiest day of my life and I fell in love immediately, completely forever.

What's on Your Nightstand

2009-01-27T20:16:00.003-05:00

What's On Your Nightstand? is hosted by Jennifer at
5 Minutes for Books.

The Brutal Heart by Gail Bowen
Drood by Dan Simmons
The Widows of Eastwick by John Updike
Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly
Etta by Gerald Kolpan
Arctic Drift by Clive Cussler
Compulsion by Jennifer Chase
The Book of Night Women by Marlon James
The Glister by John Burnside
Joker One by Donovan Campbell
Irreplaceable by Stephen Lovely
The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran
The Survivors Club by Ben Sherwood
The Terror by Dan Simmons
Comfort -A Journey Through Grief by Ann Hood
The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood
I, Robot by Howard S. Smith
Now the Drum of War by Robert Roper

Ok...now I feel intimidated...........

Tamara

Houston, We Have a Problema by Gwendolyn Zepeda

2009-01-27T17:12:00.004-05:00

Product Description
Jessica Luna is your typical 26 year old: she has man trouble, mom trouble, and not a clue what to do with her life (though everyone else in her family seems to have plenty of suggestions!) After a lifetime of being babied by her family, Jess is incapable of trusting herself to make the right choices. So instead, she bases all of her life decisions on signs. She looks to everything for guidance, from the direction her rearview-mirror-Virgin-de-Guadalupe sways to whatever Madame Hortensia, her psychic, sees in the cards.

My Thoughts

I whipped through this book in less than a day. Of course it helps that I am home sick in bed with the flu. Thanks Madeleine!
This was such an enjoyable read. I really liked Jessica for many reasons-she was funny, endearing, vulnerable and completely clueless about her future. Jessica stumbled through her life...falling into jobs, boyfriends and falling in and out of favour with her family. She keeps going to see this local psychic who takes her $20/visit and scams her. Is she for real or isn't she?
Jessica seems to want somebody else to decide for her about her career and her love life while she hangs around waiting for........?
Gwendolyn Zepeda has a hit on her hands with this, her debut novel. There were many chuckles and giggles as I read this but also some sighs of recognition as Jessica seemed to embody many of the character traits in my own personality... the part that I will never admit to! Why is it that we all seem to need confirmation about ourselves? Why do we ask another person to tell us what we SHOULD do with our lives??? Is there a possibility that we are sometimes looking for a "fall guy"?
An easy read but very enjoyable.
Thank you Miriam and Hachette Books.

Choosing to Be by Kat Tansey

2009-01-26T19:37:00.003-05:00

Product Description
Choosing to Be centers around a Buddha-wise Maine Coon cat named Poohbear Degoonacoon, his kitten muse Catzenbear, and author Kat Tansey as they take us on a journey from the depths of depression to the true freedom of Buddha mind. Tansey has written a magical fable filled with practical information and instruction on Buddhist meditation and how to conquer its five hindrances -- clinging, anger, restlessness, sleepiness, and doubt. This book is a must read for anyone seeking respite from their ordinary mind.

My Thoughts

This was a delightful read. Kat Tansey takes us on a magical journey with her zen master cat Poohbear Decoonacoon. Poohbear and his young cohort Catzenbear are Maine Coon cats.
Written as an anthropomorphic dialogue between the author Kat Tansey and her superior being, Poohbear the Maine Coon cat, the issues and dictates of Buddhism are explored, discussed and practised. Kat was recovering from a long bout of chronic fatigue syndrome and was bogged down in depression...but learning to meditate successfully has helped her come out of her depression and recover her life.
Each chapter starts with a zen quotation and a picture of one of the cats depicting the individual philosophy. You can just feel the wisdom emanating from them.
I absolutely believe that all felines have this innate link to zen fulfillment and they practise mediation everyday. We could learn many lessons from just being around them...I have 4 cats and they bring me so much.

Ralphina, the Roly-Poly (Hardcover) by Claudia Chandler

2009-01-25T20:21:00.004-05:00

Product Description
A book that is so charming and so beautifully illustrated that it is a pleasure for every reader. Preschoolers and early readers will especially enjoy discovering the hidden world of a tiny insect. Ralphina is a young roly-poly, living in the garden of a family with a little boy. Ralphina asks her mother how she can get the little boy to be her friend. Once they meet, Ralphina tells Alec all about roly-polies. The book is both fun and educational.

About the Author
Claudia Chandler holds a master's degree in elementary education, is an artist of oil paintings, a photographer of nature and is a passionate gardener of thousands of flowers in her Olathe, Kansas home. It is this combination of creative endeavors, along with her experience and passion of educating children, that has brought her to this most exciting and rewarding career - writing and illustrating books for children.

My Thoughts

What a beautiful exuberantly illustrated storybook. The story is fine but a trifle insipid and it certainly pales in comparison to the lovely paintings of the characters and the garden.
Bugs have never been my thing but certainly as a child I used to love to find one of these and gently touch it so that it would roll up. I thought that it was the coolest bug because it rolled up. I love beautiful picture books and this book`s saving grace is the charming illustrations which is what we parents buy the books for.

Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz written by vintage griffin

2009-01-25T19:15:00.011-05:00

Saw this over at Enroute to Life and thought it looked like fun.

Take the Quiz here:

Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz

I am an Ingrid

I am an Ingrid!

You are an Ingrid -- "I am unique"

Ingrids have sensitive feelings and are warm and perceptive.

How to Get Along with Me

* Give me plenty of compliments. They mean a lot to me.
* Be a supportive friend or partner. Help me to learn to love and value myself.
* Respect me for my special gifts of intuition and vision.
* Though I don't always want to be cheered up when I'm feeling melancholy, I sometimes like to have someone lighten me up a little.
* Don't tell me I'm too sensitive or that I'm overreacting!

What I Like About Being an Ingrid

* my ability to find meaning in life and to experience feeling at a deep level
* my ability to establish warm connections with people
* admiring what is noble, truthful, and beautiful in life
* my creativity, intuition, and sense of humor
* being unique and being seen as unique by others
* having aesthetic sensibilities
* being able to easily pick up the feelings of people around me

What's Hard About Being an Ingrid

* experiencing dark moods of emptiness and despair
* feelings of self-hatred and shame; believing I don't deserve to be loved
* feeling guilty when I disappoint people
* feeling hurt or attacked when someone misundertands me
* expecting too much from myself and life
* fearing being abandoned
* obsessing over resentments
* longing for what I don't have

Ingrids as Children Often

* have active imaginations: play creatively alone or organize playmates in original games
* are very sensitive
* feel that they don't fit in
* believe they are missing something that other people have
* attach themselves to idealized teachers, heroes, artists, etc.
* become antiauthoritarian or rebellious when criticized or not understood
* feel lonely or abandoned (perhaps as a result of a death or their parents' divorce)

Ingrids as Parents

* help their children become who they really are
* support their children's creativity and originality
* are good at helping their children get in touch with their feelings
* are sometimes overly critical or overly protective
* are usually very good with children if not too self-absorbed

Snapshot Saturday

2009-01-24T19:51:00.004-05:00

Idea borrowed from the blog Write for a Reader.
My two favourite people on a recent summer vacation to PEI. My husband Paul and my daughter Madeleine.
The loves of my life! They keep me grounded and provide endless hours of amusement!
They were flying a kite and communing with each other.

Forgive the camera phone pic.

The Saga of Beowulf by R. Scot Johns

2009-01-24T09:13:00.004-05:00

"The Saga of Beowulf" is the first complete and accurate novelization of the epic 10th century Old English poem "Beowulf," chronicling the rise of the emerging Nordic nations, the tragic feuding of their clans, epic battles with mythological creatures, and the final, futile struggle of one man against the will of Fate that made of him a Legend.

"Breathtaking in scope and relentless in pace," the story follows the Nordic hero Beowulf as he embarks upon a fateful quest for vengeance against the creature that slew his father, setting in motion a sequence of events that will bring about the downfall of a nation, all the while fleeing from the woman he has sworn to love. Based on extensive historical research and steeped in Norse mythology and lore, the saga unfolds across the frozen fields of Sweden and the fetid fens of Denmark, ranging from the rocky heights of Geatland to the sprawling battlefields of ancient France.

My Thoughts

What an incredible epic story. I received this book sometime in November and it rested in my TBR pile throughout the Christmas break. I have spoken of my difficulty in reading and reviewing over the break due to my state of mind and frankly this book is a tome...not exactly conducive to light reading. A daunting 600 page novelization of the story of the Norse hero Beowulf. It is absolutely accurate to the old English poem written in the tenth century and R. Scot Johns has completely adapted this tale from the old English to a modern retelling as a piece of fiction.
I have really enjoyed it but it took forever to read. The size of the font is small and my eyes are getting quite bad so I could only concentrate on the pages for about 50 at a time. This is NOT the way that I prefer to read. I love to completely submerge myself in a story and inhale it as if enjoying the most delicious spaghetti supper. This is not a book for the fainthearted either...once you begin the story it is hard to put down. Beowulf becomes this flesh and blood man who seeks out challenges that will befit his role as a hero for his people the Geats and ensure his place in Valhalla for all eternity.
R. Scot Johns writes with great detail and describes the settings and characters as if it he was setting the stage for a movie. He originally visualized and wrote the tale as a screenplay but rethought his decision to tell the story as a novel when two other movie screenplays were sold for production at the same time. I would liked to have read the screenplay. I loved the story and it is an easy read but it is too darn long. Sometimes there is just too much story to contain it within one volume so it might be more appealing if it was divided logically into a multi volume tale.
This is a 'massively' good read!

The Lost City Of Z by David Grann

2009-01-18T14:25:00.005-05:00

ABOUT THIS BOOK

A grand mystery reaching back centuries. A sensational disappearance that made headlines around the world. A quest for truth that leads to death, madness or disappearance for those who seek to solve it. The Lost City of Z is a blockbuster adventure narrative about what lies beneath the impenetrable jungle canopy of the Amazon.

My Thoughts

This is not a fictionalized account of Percy Fawcett's adventures in the Amazon basin. This strives to recount quite accurately the information that Fawcett recorded about his explorations. It is mixed with the stories of a couple of other explorers that also attempted to find the lost city of El Dorado...and David Grann who tried to follow the footsteps exactly that Percy had travelled while searching for his mythical city of Z. It is unsure about why he even called it Z but he seems to have become obsessed with the idea of it and it had assumed an almost nirvana-like mysticism in his dreams.

This was a time in history when technology hadn't caught up with the dreams and needs of the adventurers in the jungle and when people went exploring they often disappeared for months and sometimes years...with no way of contacting those in the civilized world. Some never returned to their loved ones and the assumption was that they had perished in the 'green hell' that had taken over their lives. Hostile natives, disease or being the prey of carnivorous hunters was most probably the fate of all who disappeared but these mysteries just seemed to fuel the enthusiasm for hundreds of men and they all hoped to be the one to crack the mystery of The Lost City Of Z.

I was intrigued in spite of myself ( I have always enjoyed a good adventure story) and quickly read through this book although it was a little dry and I needed to read it over several nights. It required thinking about as I was reading unlike a piece of fiction. The account also felt disjointed through parts of the book and I grew to wish that David Grann had just written about Fawcett and not muddied the waters by introducing some other explorers. After all, David Grann was interested in following Mr. Fawcett's footsteps...no one else's.

I did enjoy the story and was thrilled to read the last chapter. It brought the quest for the lost city of Z to a satisfactory conclusion. This book has been sold and is presently in production for a 2010 release starring Brad Pitt as Colonel Percy Fawcett.

Booking Through Thursday

2009-01-15T19:41:00.004-05:00

Sing! Sing a Song… January 15, 2009

But, enough about books … Other things have words, too, right? Like … songs!

If you’re anything like me, there are songs that you love because of their lyrics; writers you admire because their songs have depth, meaning, or just a sheer playfulness that has nothing to do with the tunes.

So, today’s question?

What songs … either specific songs, or songs in general by a specific group or writer … have words that you love?
Why?
And … do the tunes that go with the fantastic lyrics live up to them?

You don’t have to restrict yourself to modern songsters, either … anyone who wants to pick Gilbert & Sullivan, for example, is just fine with me. Lerner & Loewe? Steven Sondheim? Barenaked Ladies? Fountains of Wayne? The Beatles? Anyone at all…

Ok...Ok....

Me....

Rainy Days and Mondays by Paul Williams

(Ever since I was a kid I have loved this ......I totally related to it as I suffered with depression)

Talkin' to myself and feelin' old
Sometimes I'd like to quit
Nothing ever seems to fit
Hangin' around
Nothing to do but frown
Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down.

What I've got they used to call the blues
Nothin' is really wrong
Feelin' like I don't belong
Walkin' around
Some kind of lonely clown
Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down.

American Pie by Don McLean (the imagery is incredible)

Now for ten years we've been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin' stone,
But that's not how it used to be.
When the jester sang for the king and queen,
In a coat he borrowed from james dean
And a voice that came from you and me,

Oh, and while the king was looking down,
The jester stole his thorny crown.
The courtroom was adjourned;
No verdict was returned.
And while lennon read a book of marx,
The quartet practiced in the park,
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died.

We were singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
And singin', "this'll be the day that I die.
"this'll be the day that I die."

Helter skelter in a summer swelter.
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter,
Eight miles high and falling fast.
It landed foul on the grass.
The players tried for a forward pass,
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast.

Oh, and there we were all in one place,
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again.
So come on: jack be nimble, jack be quick!
Jack flash sat on a candlestick
Cause fire is the devil's only friend.

Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage.
No angel born in hell
Could break that satan's spell.
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite,
I saw satan laughing with delight
The day the music died

And in the streets: the children screamed,
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed.
But not a word was spoken;
The church bells all were broken.
And the three men I admire most:
The father, son, and the holy ghost,
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died.

One Tin Soldier by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter ( I used to sing this for my children before they went to sleep)

Listen children to a story that was written long ago
'Bout a kingdom on a mountain, and the valley folk below
On the mountain was a treasure buried deep beneath a stone
And the valley people swore they'd have it for their very own.

(Chorus:)
Go ahead and hate your neighbor, go ahead and cheat a friend
Do it in the name of heaven, justify it in the end
There won't be any trumpets blowing, come the judgment day
On the bloody morning after - one tin soldier rides away.

So the people of the valley sent a message up the hill
Asking for the buried treasure, tons of gold for which they'd kill
Came an answer from the kingdom: "With our brothers we will share
All the secrets of our mountain, all the riches buried there.

Chorus

Now the valley cried with anger, mount your horses, draw your sword!
And they killed the mountain people, so they won their just reward
Now they stood beside the treasure on the mountain dark and red
Turned the stone and looked beneath it -
"Peace on Earth" was all it said.

Chorus

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

2009-01-15T18:20:00.009-05:00

Ok....I realise that I am going to unload again so folks ....prepare.
Tomorrow I get the fun job of heading 2 hours away into Toronto (rush hour) for an 8:45am appointment at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at Toronto General Hospital. I am scheduled for my semi annual cardio tests and consultation.
I guess that I never explained before...my baby Nick didn't just look like me...he inherited a lot of my genetic makeup which includes a genetic heart defect called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. HCM in other words. This is what killed him and I gave it to him.
Apparently we got it from my mom and she gave it to my brother and his son as well.
Nick is the only one in our family to die from it. We had no idea about this ticking time bomb until his first symptom...his sudden death.
My son Nick was climbing the stairs from his first period class in the basement to the third floor for his grade 10 English class. He walked into the room said hello to a bunch of friends and fell over unconscious. He quickly stopped breathing and although they immediately initiated CPR and this continued through the arrival of paramedics and the transport to the hospital...he never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The worst day of my life...and I gave it to him.

Now....I know that it wasn't my fault as in blame but the inner part of me does feel at fault and having to go and get my heart checked again (to see if the hypertrophy has increased) just brings it all to the forefront of my mind. (as if it ever leaves.)

I get to have an echo cardiogram. an ECG and the results from that delightful MRI.
Oh and guess what....I also get told to lose weight! Hold me back...I just can't wait!!!

Funnily enough...whining about it today has made me feel better.

What kind of fun things are in your future????

AWESOME!!!! Meme

2009-01-14T19:49:00.004-05:00

Borrowed from Sharon...this is HYSTERICAL!!!!

Type your name into Google with the verb that comes after in the question. Answer with your favorites from the first page of google results. Have fun!

Q: Type in "[your name] needs" in the Google search.
A: Tamara needs to consult with a fashion advisor.

Q: Type in "[your name] looks like" in Google search.
A: Tamara looks like such a sweetheart and a cool person to chill with.

Q: Type in "[your name] says" in Google search.
A: Tamara says her and Christian are well matched.

Q: Type in "[your name] wants" in Google search.
A: Tamara wants you dead.

Q: Type in "[your name] does" in Google search.
A: Tamara Does Firefighter Fran.

Q: Type in "[your name] hates" in Google search.
A: SYNOPSIS Tamara hates her life.

Q: Type in "[your name] asks" in Google search.
A: Tamara asks him to renounce the use of power for evil.

Q: Type in "[your name] likes " in Google search.
A: Tamara Likes It Rough.

Q: Type in "[your name] eats " in Google search.
A: Tamara Eats The Camera.

Q: Type in "[your name] wears " in Google search.
A: Tamara wears huge pads.

Q: Type in "[your name] was arrested for" in Google Search.
A: Tamara was arrested for "failure to disperse" on a public sidewalk as she was attempting to walk to her car to leave.

Q: Type in "[your name] loves" in Google Search.
A. Tamara loves the finer things in life: good food, great times, and regular vacations.

The Crown Conspiracy by Michael J. Sullivan

2009-01-13T10:56:00.009-05:00

Synopsis

Whether you are looking for a single novel, or a multi-book saga, The Crown Conspiracy is the place to begin. It is a heroic fantasy adventure written for a general audience and conceived as a single epic tale. This series is told through six self-contained episodes, each complete in its own right. Across the entire chronicle, mysteries build, characters deepen, and plots thicken, but none of the books end in a disappointing cliffhanger or require you to read a previous book to fully enjoy the one you are on.

My Thoughts

The Crown Conspiracy begins an epic fantasy that consists of 6 books called The Riyia Revelations.
Each of these books may be read on it's own without reading the rest of the books but they all fit together well in the telling of the tale of Elan.
The characters of Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater are skilled thieves...so skilled in fact that they are notorious for it and their fees reflect this exclusivity. Nobles and commoners alike come to this pair to retrieve stuff stolen from them or assignments that are sensitive in nature until they are framed for the murder of the king. They are the only persons to be found near his dead body...in a locked chapel.
Amid the ensuing furor they meet and help Prince Alric and Princess Arista seek the real murdering traitor and expose the treachery from within the court. They need to spirit away Prince Alric before he can also be murdered and they need to take him as far away as possible to keep him safe even if he resists.
Along the way they meet up and help a monk who was saved from execution and left behind after his abbey was burned to the ground. A kind and gentle new friend. They also seek and find a wizard magically imprisoned for the last 900 years...a secret so volatile that to know of him is to sign your own death warrant. They gather up their trusty band of cutthroats and prepare to race to the rescue of the princess and place the rightful king back upon the throne.

There is so many layers to this story that to explain it in a few words is nigh impossible. The characters are well fleshed out and the descriptions about the countryside and customs fueled my imagination and I felt that I could hardly wait to read more of this adventure. The world created by Michael J. Sullivan is intriguing and he has subtly interwoven new possibilities that may be coming in future installments of this epic tale. I am hoping that the future books will include more of the characters met along the way and I have already guessed at one of the mysteries. I can`t wait to see if I was right.
Waiting eagerly for the next chapter of this saga.
Great read!

Jolted by Arthur Slade

2009-01-10T15:26:00.001-05:00

Newton Starker's Rules for Survival

Check the weather constantly.
Check the sky before exiting a building.
When thunder roars, run indoors.
Beware of cumulo-nimbus clouds.
Do not take a bath during a lightning storm.
Do not under any circumstances become angry. Count to ten. Breathe in. Breath out.

For over two hundred years, everyone in the Starker family has died after being hit by lightning, leaving only two-- Great-Grandmother Enid, whose secret to a long life is to grumble about everything, and fourteen-year-old Newton. Determined to break the curse, he enrols in the Jerry Potts Academy of Higher Learning and Survival in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where students must navigate the outdoors, the very place Newton's mother warned him about.

Newton knows that information is power, and so he steadfastly follows his rules for survival. He obsessively checks weather reports before venturing anywhere. He never takes a bath or answers the phone during a lightning storm. But life slowly amps up, and before Newton knows it, he is weathering storms he can't control, including battling Violet Quon, who is equally resolved to get her picture up in the Hall of Heroes, and preparing for First Year Expedition, which is his chance to prove he's the ultimate survivor.

My Thoughts

What a fun book to read. I wasn't sure of what to think when I requested this book from the reading club but I always enjoy a good YA book and this was no exception.

The premise of Newton being the last surviving member of the Starker family to escape being struck by lightning is funny in it`s ghoulishness. That is such an incredibly remote concept...a whole family that somehow acts as a lightning rod and 'beckons' lightning to flow through them and killing them.

We have all been warned by our families about what to do in the event of a thunderstorm so most of these warnings are familiar but I am sure the majority of us could never envisage this strange occurrence happening to us.

Imagine.

I thought that Newton was such an interesting kid. He was so practical about his inevitable fate and he barely allowed his emotional self the room to feel sorrow and grief for the loss of his mother and his lack of friends or bemoan the increased distance between he and his father.

The time that he spends at the Jerry Pott's Academy is so eye-opening for him. he learns so much about his social self...the hidden part who actually yearned for a connection with someone.

He even forms a relationship with his Great-Grandmother Enid and creeps past her defences.

I am eager to read more of Arthur Slade's books.... he has a delightfully twisted imagination that appeals to YA and grownups alike.

Night Runner by Max Turner

2009-01-10T12:58:00.003-05:00

Product Description
For Zack Thomson, living in the Nicholls Ward isn't so bad. After his parents died, he developed strange and severe allergies, and the mental institution was the only place where he could be properly looked after. As strange as it was, it was home. He could watch as much television as he wanted; his best friend Charlie visited him often enough; and Nurse Ophelia--the prettiest no-nonsense nurse ever--sometimes took him bowling. Of course, that didn't mean he had it easy. His allergies restricted his diet to strawberry smoothies, and being the only kid at the hospital could get lonely. But it never once crossed Zack's mind to leave...until the night someone crashed through the front doors and told him to run. Now he's on a race for answers--about his past, his parents, and his strange sickness--even as every step takes him closer to the darkest of truths.

From the Inside Flap
"I need blood," I said.... Charlie was sitting in a kitchen chair. He stood up so that he was looking down at me. "Oh, blood. Right. Of course, blood. What was I thinking? Well, we just happen to have a huge barrel of it in the back. Do you want some fries with that?" --From Night Runner

My Thoughts

I obtained this book from the Harper Collins Reading Club on Facebook. It arrived and went on a stack of books about 12 deep and I resolved to get to it as soon as possible. I really wanted to read it as the description intrigued me.

My 14 year old daughter Madeleine beat me to it and she couldn't put it down until it was read. She is of the age of the target audience so it was rather fitting that she be so enthused about it. She was so excited about it that I would find her in odd corners all over the apartment curled up and reading it.

Unfortunately as soon as she finished it she stuck it on a bookshelf in the living room and I forgot all about it. Being of a rather scattered mind these days...out of sight is out of mind for me...so it was a few weeks before it became uncovered again and I read it.

I couldn't agree with my daughter more. This is a debut novel but Max Turner has a deft hand with the mind of a teenager ( after all he is a high school science teacher) and describes with gusto how he imagined a modern horror story to be. ( I also know the teenage mind well as I work with teens in a high school too.)

The ending was a bit predictable but the climax was a breathtaking surprise. I really didn't see it coming!

The character of Zack is extremely likable and you really find yourself rooting for him. Wouldn't it be great if there was a sequel to this?

Well done Max Turner!!

Through the Storm by Lynne Spears

2009-01-10T09:25:00.004-05:00

Synopsis
We all want our children to succeed. What happens when they do?
Britney Spears wanted to sing ever since she was a little girl. But the years of sacrifices, auditions, performances, albums, fame, and paparazzi left the little Louisiana family swept up and spun around, and nothing turned out the way anyone ever imagined or wanted. Now Lynne shares the inside story of the Spears family as only a mother can.
Through the Storm takes readers outside the narrow orbit of the Hollywood glitterati. Lynne shares how fame forever changed their family; her regrets letting managers, agents, and record companies direct the lives of her children; the challenges that shaped Lynne and Jamie's failed marriage and how they affected Bryan, Britney, and Jamie Lynn; the startling events that led to Britney's breakdown; the aftermath of Jamie Lynn's pregnancy; and how the family has tried pulling together to recapture a sense of hope and purpose.
Through the Storm, says Lynne, is "the story of one simple Southern woman whose family got caught in a tornado called fame, and who is still trying to sort through the debris scattered all over her life in the aftermath. It's who I am, warts and all, with some true confessions that took a long time to get up the nerve to discuss."

My Thoughts

I acquired this book through Thomas Nelson Book Review.
Through the Storm is Lynne Spears' account of her children's early years. Two of her daughters- Britney and Jamie Lynn have great celebrity now so Lynne Spears' book is very timely.
The book reads quite candidly and follows Lynne's life throughout her early marriage, financial hardship, divorce and the raising of her children. It does NOT trash her daughters nor does it get into every single detail that has been written about them in the tabloids although it does often refer to how her girls are popular subjects for the paparazzi.
Lynne's book has an easy reading style and I finished it in less than a day. I wouldn't say that it went into very much depth but I didn't expect it to. I was also sure that this memoir would do nothing to tarnish the image of her daughters...after all...they are her daughters and their livelihood depends upon a somewhat pristine public persona.
Lynne did speak some about Britney's emotional illness and her concern for her daughter rang true but she glossed over some details as she did while discussing Jamie Lynn's pregnancy and the ensuing publicity furor.
A pleasant read but with little depth.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosney

2009-01-08T20:19:00.004-05:00

Synopsis:

Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours. Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life. Tatiana de Rosnay offers us a brilliantly subtle, compelling portrait of France under occupation and reveals the taboos and silence that surround this painful episode.

My Thoughts:

I am having huge difficulty trying to express my thoughts on this book. I enjoyed the read although the characters didn't seem to be well fleshed out but I was aware that the urgency of the subject matter and the magnitude of the horrific event might have overshadowed the character development.

My opinion.

I don't often feel a need to excuse or label my blog discussions as being just my humble opinion but this is a highly sensitive book and I don't want to do it an injustice.

There is No question that the events around the roundup of Jews in Paris is a complete travesty of any war-treaties and the last 6 decades have been spent in trying war criminals in court for such heinous acts. The hardest realisation comes when you read of this event and understand that it was wholly the responsibility of the french police that children were also gathered up and imprisoned. Germany didn't ask this of the french people...they volunteered the children on their own.

I am not here to add my opinion about these unforgivable acts but just to comment on the novel that describes a fictionalised story about these events.

I found it to be an easy read but as I said about the characters...they did not feel real to me. Sometimes it works to the author's advantage, in telling a tale, to play off past events with the present but in this story I felt that it lost the emphasis of the imprisonment. I would have preferred a story just based upon Sarah's voice and her journey but I also understand that the author used the present day tie-in as a way of introducing the events of 1942 when the journalist Julia researched the story.

Spoiler:

It all felt a little contrived and trite to me when Julia ended up with Sarah's descendant.

Too convenient!

Writer's Block

2009-01-08T20:09:00.004-05:00

Ok....I am stuck here. I have lost my writing voice. I deliberately gave myself some healing and grieving time over the holidays and read my little head off. I currently owe myself reviews on at least 10 books but for some reason...I can't think what to say.
That is very unlike me! LOL
If anyone has any ideas about how to break this deadlock then PLEASE send them my way!!
Kiss Kiss Hug Hug
I decided tonight that I won't feel guilty about this but I will try and take each book and just start writing. When I come up with something worthy of an audience then I will post.
Thank you for all the lovely comments on my new pic.
Here is the companion to it.

Made Up pattern for Hat

2009-01-02T18:45:00.004-05:00

Keeping my hands busy by knitting a hat that I made up the pattern for. Kind of cute I think but I love the flower!

Drinkwater by Eric Hopkins

2008-12-30T20:30:00.004-05:00

From the Publisher

Drinkwater was originally an English word given to someone who abstains from drinking alcohol. As a family name it represents sobriety, dignity and self-control.
Nineteen-year-old Amber Drinkwater knows that when life presents hardships, a responsible person meets them fairly, with a clear head and the willingness to work. her plans to start a new life in Toronto with her brother Guy are interrupted when their uncle fails to meet them at the train station, but she resolves to abide until he turns up--and when it seems their caretaker is gone for good, she accepts it as an unexpected but timely call to independence and adult responsibility, in spite of her dearth of money or friends in the city.

The sprawling city of Toronto represents a shining opportunity for Amber to prove herself through an old code of grim endurance and bold resignation, but she will find her simple work ethic is no match for its modern towers, dark streets and disjointed neighbourhoods. Drinkwater is a provocative story that blurs the borders between teenage empowerment and helplessness, between experience and naivety, and between optimism and blind hope.

My Thoughts

Obtained through Mini Book Expo I picked this book because it was set in Toronto. I am a real home-grown girl.
Throughout the book the reason for Amber and Guy to be their own is just hinted at. Suddenly they are alone without parents and nobody is really that invested in helping and providing for them. Somehow they must muddle through the preparations for their life and live it without a safety net and nowhere is this more evident than when they arrive in Toronto and their uncle is supposed to be collecting them from Union Station but he never shows up.
They have no place to go and nobody to call in Toronto to help them. I think that Amber thought she could provide for the two of them but in reality a couple of teens on their own without a lot of money and their luggage in tow become lost like so much dross blowing around the city.
They are unable to even find basic accommodation for themselves and spend days eating nothing more than carbs at local donut and coffee places.
Amber also showed her age and inexperience by her pride. She had thought that she was old enough to care for them both but in reality a grown and experienced adult would be willing to admit when they didn't have any options and would use any and all resources to help themselves and their loved ones.
Well written...I could feel the despair!
I give this a 4 out of 5 stars.
I loved this book and was riveted throughout.

The Makedown by Gitty Daneshvari

2008-12-30T20:00:00.003-05:00

Product Description
Anna Norton used to be fat. Correction: Anna Norton used to be a fat, nerdy, overeater with low self esteem. When she moves from suburban Ohio to Manhattan at age 23, her life does a total 180. With guidance from her boss, an unlikely Fairy Godmother in the form of a chic caterer and excellent cook, Anna loses all the weight and--though still not quite Kate Moss--finally drops her inferiority complex, brushes the crumbs off her skirt, and enters the world of feeling good, looking good, and...finally having sex.

When Anna meets Ben, the man of her dreams (and of every other person's dreams who isn't blind) she almost can't believe she is dating the Ken Doll. Deep down, she is still the chubby nerd who wrote in a diary called Hello Fatty. But not everything is perfect; her hot boyfriend is a huge flirt, and every leggy blond who crosses his path is a threat to Anna. She just can't escape the feeling that Ben is way out of her league and that everyone thinks she is dating up and he's dating down. It gets so bad, she decides she will do anything to make these women go away.

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed this book. Not sure if it had anything to do with being an overweight ie. fatty... nerd myself throughout my formative years and being teased and bullied but this book felt like retribution on my behalf! What made this book so eminently readable for me was how real Anna and her family were. I could absolutely picture them together and all the family conversations...in jokes and embarrassing family-speak with each other. What was also classic was remembering yet again that no matter how old we become we never stop being somebody's baby...their child.
I could also picture how insecure Anna would be about dating such a "god" as Ben after being the aforementioned fat-girl but I followed every step of the 'Makedown' with horror and felt this way through to it's inevitable conclusion. Despite her incredible metamorphosis into a girl in control of her life...Anna needed to grow into believing in herself and though the story turned her life into a 'train-wreck'...she came out this experience stronger yet more resilient.
Good read!
I give this a 4 out of 5 stars.

No Time for Goodbye By Linwood Barclay

2008-12-30T19:14:00.004-05:00

The house was deathly quiet. That was the first sign that something was terribly wrong. Fourteen-year-old Cynthia Bigge woke that morning to find herself alone. Her family—mother, father, and brother—had vanished without a word, without a note, without a trace. Twenty-five years later, Cynthia is still looking for answers. Now she is about to learn the devastating truth.

From critically acclaimed author Linwood Barclay comes a new suspense thriller that strikes to the core of our most primal fear. What if you woke one day to find your entire life had changed? If everyone you loved had disappeared overnight without so much as a chance to ask why?

My Thoughts

I first encountered Linwood Barclay when my family and I were discussing different authors to try out. My husband and my mother in law had heard of Linwood Barclay and I was eager to try his books out. I have been so blessed lately with new and amazing books to read that I believe that my tastes have fined down. In other words...the bar has been raised. I enjoy a good thriller so I couldn't wait to tuck into this story.
Cynthia is a married mother of one, Grace (8), who enjoys a satisfying relationship with her schoolteacher husband. She is haunted though by an unsolved mystery from 25 years in her past when her parents and brother disappeared one night after she had gone to sleep. Cynthia being only 14 at the time had been dragged home by her irate father and subsequently passed out after arriving home drunk from her date with the 'bad boy' of town.
She woke up the next morning to find her entire family had disappeared without any sign of what had happened.
I found the book to be a good read. I enjoyed most of the story but I did find that parts of it didn't ring true. While it was obvious to see Cynthia becoming paranoid around the safety of her daughter what I did find incredible was that she wasn't completely obsessed with her child's safety all the way through. Until some very odd things started happening Cynthia didn't seem to be as overwrought as I would imagine a woman with her past would be.
Funnily enough...I enjoyed the bits of back story about her husband's relationship with a difficult student more than I enjoyed the main story.
I give this a 3 out of 5 stars.

Merry Christmas to all!!!

2008-12-27T00:16:00.003-05:00

Picture of happier times....1994
A lovely memory!

Wishing you all a loving and wonderful holiday!

Tam

Friday Fill-in

2008-12-26T23:54:00.005-05:00

1. I must __feel at peace_and travel to exotic lands__ before I die.

2. You can't stop _life ____.

3. I wish I never had to buy _pain reliever ..... ever____ again.

4. _Thinking outside of the box____ has helped me change my life.

5. I know the song _American Pie____ by heart. ( Bye Bye Miss American Pie....drove my chevy to the levee but the levee was dry.....)

6. If I weren't so afraid, I would _join a choir____.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to dreaming_____, tomorrow my plans include _shopping____ and Sunday, I want to _read and blog____!

Lost and Found by Carolyn Parkhurst

2008-12-22T20:24:00.006-05:00

Synopsis:

What do a suburban mom, her troubled daughter, divorced brothers, former child stars, born-again Christians, and young millionaires have in common? They have all been selected to compete on LOST AND FOUND, the daring new reality show. In teams of two, they will race across the globe --- from Egypt to England, from Japan to Sweden --- to battle for a million-dollar prize. They must decipher encrypted clues, recover mysterious artifacts, and outwit their opponents to stay in play.

Yet what started as a lark turns deadly serious as the number of players is whittled down, temptations beckon, and the bonds between partners strain and unravel. The question now is not only who will capture the final prize, but at what cost.

My Thoughts

What an incredible idea for a story and what a story!
Set up along the lines of The Amazing Race but with the twist of collecting found objects and carrying them with you for the rest of the journey...this includes a parrot, sequins and a ski pole.
The underlying tale speaks to family angst and an unusual mix of secrets with sexual orientation. The teams are each unique and some are more sympathetic than others and you find yourself rooting for them all through the race.
The mother and daughter team of Laura and Cassie are struggling with a family secret that is threatening to split their tiny family asunder while the young married couple Justin and Abby are struggling with their sexuality. There are two ex-child stars looking to rekindle their fame and a pair of brothers that are easy to like but also overlook.
The end of the game is uncertain as each team seems to bring with it it's own agenda and it isn't all about winning the race even though 1 million dollars is certainly compelling.
I enjoyed it immensely and found all the characters quite likable and the book very readable.
I give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Having a Hard Time

2008-12-16T12:48:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure if anyone reads my blog and might be wondering where I have disappeared to....I was quite prolific at one time...... but we are coming up to Christmas and I am just barely able to make it out of bed to go to work.
Christmas is a family time and we are missing our Nicky. Both of my children were the brightest souls around and people felt drawn to them because of their warmth and sensitivity.
I'm sorry but living without one of them right now feels absolutely unbearable.

I have two weeks off over the holidays and I plan on getting back to my reviews. I love it after all...I am still reading...just not able to put fingers to keyboard.

I hope that your holidays are EXACTLY the way that you wish them to be...........

Love,

Tam

Rachel's Holiday by Marion Keyes

2008-12-06T19:22:00.002-05:00

Summary

The fast lane is much too slow for Rachel Walsh. And Manhattan is the perfect place for a young Irish female to overdo everything. But Rachel's love of a good time is about to land her in the emergency room. It will also cost her a job and the boyfriend she adores.When her loving family hustles her back home and checks her into Ireland's answer to the Betty Ford Clinic, Rachel is hopeful. Perhaps it will be lovely -- spa treatments, celebrities, that kind of thing. Instead, she finds a lot of group therapy, which leads her, against her will, to some important self-knowledge. She will also find something that all women like herself fear: a man who might actually be good for her.

My Thoughts

Everytime I pick up a book written by Marion Keyes I have to change my mind about my favourite book. This time I am in love with Rachel's Holiday.
Rachel...a cunning, man-crazy, cocaine snorting heroine is so likeable that she just jumps out of the book and takes you by the hand and becomes your best friend immediately.
You know that she is completely messed up but she is so much fun that her little quirks seem to slip by you.
She steals from her friends though....calls in sick most of the time and is embarrassed by her boyfriend Luke's retro-rocker look so you know that she has some work to do but ...you just know that she is this wonderful vulnerable little girl underneath all the bravado.
This book is a wonderful glimpse of someone who is trying to mess up their life because they truly believe themself unworthy of a happy ending.
You find yourself rooting for Rachel because she deserves to feel some peace and find a place for herself.
The Walsh family again show themselves to be this unusual raunchy family of which Rachel is the forgotten middle child. She doesn't believe good things for herself but eventually accepts her family's caring and regard to help her along the path of beating her addiction.
I love Rachel!
This is a 4.5 out of 5 stars

Friday Fill-in

2008-12-05T13:23:00.006-05:00

1. Snow _means cold and dead____.

2. I'm looking forward to _being off for 2 weeks at Christmas____.

3. _Chocolate____ is the best comfort food_____ ever!

4. One of my favorite old tv shows is _Buffy The vampire Slayer____.

5. I'm done with _trying to make people like me____.

6. The most enjoyable thing around the holidays is _getting presents and the food____.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _relaxing with Paul and Madeleine____, tomorrow my plans include _ planning our Christmas decorations____ and Sunday, I want to _go out for breakfast with Paul's parents____!

Blog Tour of Flirting With Forty by Jane Porter

2008-12-05T05:55:00.003-05:00

Book

Full Description

He got the second home and the Porsche. She got the kids and a broken heart. Now Jackie, post-divorce and heading toward the big four-oh, is on vacation in sunny Hawaii and staring down her upcoming birthday-alone. But not for long. She's soon falling for Kai, her gorgeous, much younger surf instructor, and the wild passionate fling they have becomes the biggest surprise of Jackie's life.

Back home in Seattle, Jackie has to struggle with single parenthood...and memories of Kai. He hasn't forgotten her. Yet thousands of miles of ocean-not to mention an age difference that feels even wider-separate them. And, of course, her friends disapprove. When a choice must be made, can she, will she risk everything for her chance at happiness

Visit all sites on the blog tour to experience Hawaii from

Flirting With Forty

My Friend Amy

Bermudaonion's Weblog

Book Critiques
Sharon Loves Books and Cats
The Tome Traveller
The Printed Page
A Bookworm's World
Books,Movies and Chinese Food
Allison's Attic
S. Krishna's Books
Literarily
Booking Mama
Cheryl's Book Nook
cindysloveofbooks
B & b exlibris
Marjolein Book Blog
Bookopolis
A Novel Menagerie
Wendi's Book Corner
The Book Czar
The Book Girl
A Circle of Books
Books in Every Room
A Blog of Books For You
Book Ahoy!
Enroute to Life
At Home With Books

Movie Debut:

Saturday December 6th, 2008 at 9PM on Lifetime

Jane Porter and Heather Locklear

My Thoughts

I really enjoy linking with other blogs and discussing the same book together in a tour.
Hachette Books has enabled us to set this up and it is thrilling.
The book itself is an easy read and it flows quite well. It seems to have been semi-autobiographical with a possible few added twists.
I enjoyed the book but the story that it tells is a sad and familiar one. I frankly don`t think that this book is Jane Porter`s best story or effort but that might have been because the story has been 'done to death'! The charm of a Jane Porter novel though is in the writing and her characters which are warm and reach out to you.
Jackie is a very appealing heroine, beautiful and capable and needing a change but while I didn`t agree with all of the choices that she made I agree that it was HER right to make them. She needed to find her place in the world as a woman.....she needs to find herself after living in a cocoon and losing herself in the day to day drudgery of living with a man who doesn't appreciate her.
This is 3 out of 5 stars.

What Type is Your Blog

2008-12-03T19:30:00.006-05:00

Saw this over at J. Kayes Book Blog Here

www.typealyzer.com

I analysed and this is what my blog is:

ESFP - The Performers

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.

The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

Take the test.....the result amazed me!

Tamara

Found: 1 Video of My Son's Grade 9 English Project

2008-11-30T17:18:00.004-05:00

My Son Nick Baff

Video displayed in the Sidebar------------------------->

This One is Mine by Maria Semple

2008-11-30T17:01:00.003-05:00

From the Publisher:

Violet Parry is living the quintessential life of luxury in the Hollywood Hills with David, her rock-and-roll manager husband, and her darling toddler, Dot. She has the perfect life--except that she's deeply unhappy. David expects the world of Violet but gives little of himself in return. When she meets Teddy, a roguish small-time bass player, Violet comes alive, and soon she's risking everything for the chance to find herself again. Also in the picture are David's hilariously high-strung sister, Sally, on the prowl for a successful husband, and Jeremy, the ESPN sportscaster savant who falls into her trap. For all their recklessness, Violet and Sally will discover that David and Jeremy have a few surprises of their own. This One Is Mine is a compassionate and wickedly funny satire about our need for more--and the often disastrous choices we make in the name of happiness.

My Thoughts

I read this book but I didn't really enjoy it. I felt next to no sympathy for Violet.
How does someone who is living the perfect life make such bad choices?
She was this extremely capable woman who following the birth of her child...packed up all her self confidence and threw it out with the trash.
I guess that it fits the image of a woman on the edge......someone who behaves erratically wih little regard for those around her but the book felt too contrived to me and made me uncomfortable.

I can understand some of her choices like looking outside of her marriage when David was treating her so badly but she jumped out of the fire into the frying pan with Teddy. He was treating her worse! Why would she put herself into that situation?

I enjoyed the references to Jeremy with his Aspberger's syndrome. This is a timely diagnosis that is becoming more relevent daily. Many children in the school system are currently undergoing testing for this little known type of autism.
2 out of 5 stars

The Girl in the Backseat by Norma Charles

2008-11-29T19:37:00.010-05:00

The Girl in the Backseat

In this fast-paced, on the road, YA novel, Norma Charles once again manages to include provocative social issues in an adventure story that will appeal to children from age ten and up.

The novel opens with Toby, a young girl in a Bountiful-style community, being caught secretly reading at night. The community leaders decide that she must be married at once to "the prophet," an older man. Hearing of the plan, Toby decides to escape to Winnipeg where she has a sympathetic aunt. Fortunately, at this moment she meets Jacob and Minerva Armstrong and learns they are on their way to Winnipeg in the family Mini. During the night, she steals away and hides herself in the backseat of the Mini.

Jacob and Minerva have their own set of problems, since they are black and their Caribbean mother has recently remarried, this time to a penny-pinching Englishman who has two children of his own, and who seems wholly alien to the siblings. When the two Armstrong children discover Toby hiding in the backseat, she pleads with them not to tell their parents, since they will surely call the police. As the trio make their way across the country to Winnipeg, all sorts of problems arise as Jacob and Minerva learn more about Toby’s plight and her life in the religious community.

My Thoughts

Claimed from Mini Book Expo. I always enjoy reading books that take place in Canada and this book is no exception. I haven't travelled through the western provinces though so I eagerly lapped up the descriptions of the route travelled by the family. I am reminded of the young adult genre of the book when the main story of polygamy and young girls being married off to old men is 'glossed' over. The subject is a distasteful one and aside from Toby's brief explanation of her frantic flight from her fate of being sent to Texas to marry a prophet of their faith...the details are hazy. She is running away to join an aunt of hers who had also escaped her life of drudgery and servitude and had run away to Winnipeg. What is less believable about this story though is how Toby has managed to keep her heretical thoughts and beliefs leading up to her escape.... to the age that she is now. I would assume that most young girls growing up in this environment would be thoroughly indoctrinated by the age of 14 and would willingly fall in line with the community's expectations. The book flows along well though and the characters are appealing and likable. 3 out of 5 stars

Get Positively Beautiful by Carmindy

2008-11-29T18:41:00.003-05:00

It's always best to have a positive attitude towards one's self, and whether your empowerment lies in mind or body, it's a good practice to try and nurture both. Whether it's fixing up everyday or getting ready for that special evening, let these books guide the way to a fabulous you.

In GET POSITIVELY BEAUTIFUL, makeup artist Carmindy, from TLC’s hit show What Not to Wear shows you how to change your mindset from negative fault-finding to a positive beauty philosophy. You learn how to find and focus on your best features and how to combat negative thoughts about your appearance. Carmindy demonstrates easy makeup techniques for the eyes, brows, lips, cheeks, and skin, and how to adapt looks to different weather conditions and “beauty moods.”

Completely unique, GET POSITIVELY BEAUTIFUL mixes self-help and makeup how-to in this total beauty book.

Carmindy has appeared on The Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning, CBN, as well as in The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, Elle, O, Glamour, InStyle, and many more prominent men’s and women’s fashion magazines.

Check out Carmindy’s website: www.carmindy.com

My Thoughts

I have been following makeup trends since I was old enough to wear my first aqua eyeshadow at the advanced age of 11. My mother was having a portrait painted of me and she bought me this great wool vest (the 70s) with a gradated shading of colour from pale aqua to deep teal. Mom bought me the eye shadow to match. I felt like a princess...I felt so beautiful that day that every time I see that portrait...I am transported back to that specific moment in time when I felt so special-frozen in a moment of true beauty.
What made me feel so special was the glow that I had from being utterly convinced that I was the prettiest girl in the mall that day. This was many years before the destructive power of self bashing became de rigueur in my life.
This is my long winded attempt at trying to pair a personal analogy of myself with the positive message of Carmindy's new book. We need to teach ourselves how to promote our own positive messages and mantras that will cancel out all those critical feelings about our own beauty. We need to understand that we are ALL unique in our beauty and that we don't need to look perfectly airbrushed like someone from a magazine or tv show to be truly beauteous.
Carmindy has combined this positive mantra with glossy pictures and tips that keep the book useful as well. She also shows some makeovers of women who haven't always made the best choices with their looks and how to accent what makes them uniquely appealing.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading through this book.
4 out of 5 stars

Makeup Manual by Bobbi Brown

2008-11-24T21:38:00.003-05:00

BOBBI BROWN'S MAKEUP MANUAL

Full Description

This is the book that Bobbi Brown's fans have been waiting for: her 25-plus years of makeup styling experience distilled into one complete, gorgeous book. Bobbi looks at everything from skincare basics to every aspect of facial makeup--from how to find the right color and type of foundation for any skin tone to how to apply every detail of eye makeup (Brows, Eye Liner, Eye Shadow, and Eye Lashes) no matter your eye color and shape. Of course there are never-before-seen tips on blush, bronzer, lip liners, lipstick, etc. And Bobbi looks beyond the face with informative chapters on "Hands and Feet" and "Body Skin Care." Each chapter has thorough step-by-step basic directions for makeup application and easy-to-follow photographs and line drawings, along with Bobbi's expert, yet assuring, advice. Plus, there's a groundbreaking section of the book that will be of special interest to women who've wanted to know how makeup stylists do what they do: the top beauty secrets only these artists know, essential equipment to keep on hand, how to break into the business, and how to work with photographers and celebrities.

Breathtaking photos of the finished faces-from everyday looks to exotic runway style-along with advice on putting it all together for every woman, make this a book like no other.

BOBBI BROWN'S MAKEUP MANUAL will be the only book any woman will need to look absolutely fabulous.

My Thoughts

I am the kind of woman who is in love with makeup and have been since my early teens. Back then I was crazy about aqua eyeshadow and would put it all over my eyelids and feel beautiful! It wasn't long before I tamed my look considerably and the only eyeshadow I love now is a discrete taupe and/or beige.
I haven't completely lost my artistic sensibilities ....I just now paint murals for artistic expression and not my face.
This is a beautiful book. I enjoyed leafing through it and the pictures are incredibly glossy and magazine-like but it didn't seem to have much more information in it that hasn't already been printed before....even by Bobbi Brown herself.
Beautiful book but only a 2.5 stars out of 5 for lack of originality.

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

2008-11-24T20:49:00.008-05:00

From the Publisher

Living in Toronto for a year, Elena is leading the normal life she has always dreamed of, including a stable job as a journalist and a nice apartment shared with her boyfriend. As the lone female werewolf in existence, only her secret midnight prowls and her occasional inhuman cravings set her apart. Just one year ago, life was very different. Adopted by the Pack when bitten, Elena had spent years struggling with her resentment at having her life stolen away. Torn between two worlds, and overwhelmed by the new passions coursing through her body, her only option for control was to deny her awakening needs and escape.

But now the Pack has called Elena home to help them fight an alliance of renegade werewolves who are bent on exposing and annihilating the Pack. And although Elena is obliged to rejoin her "family," she vows not to be swept up in Pack life again, no matter how natural it might feel. She has made her choice. Trouble is, she''s increasingly uncertain if it''s the right one.

My Thoughts

I won this book from Library Thing...my first yet.
I started it and was immediately intrigued with a werewolf story with the setting in Toronto. Being as I am fairly close to Toronto in distance...I knew the places that Kelley Armstrong spoke of and that made it feel more personal.
I have hardly read any adult supernatural books but I requested to read and review it because I had already read The Summoning by Ms Armstrong and enjoyed it...I was confident that I would feel the same about this book.
I read the book from start to finish in less than a day and took it to bed with me to keep reading. I enjoyed it a lot and hope to find and read the sequels and the other series that Kelley Armstrong wrote as well.
This book while not inspiring deep thought and meditation has a place in my life under escapist fiction. This fact should NEVER be undersold as I spend a great deal of time trying to run away from the realities of my own life and this story was perfect for that.
I have never liked series novels that only seem to be a continuation of each other and this one seemed to be just what I like...a story from start to finish. If I never read any more in the series then I will never feel cheated out of my enjoyment of this book.
The characters were fun and sympathetic.
A solid 3 stars out of 5

Kelley Armstrong.com

Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

2008-11-21T14:35:00.004-05:00

Product Description

OATHS SWORN . . . loyalties tested . . . forces collide.

Following the colossal battle against the Empire’s warriors on the Burning Plains, Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have narrowly escaped with their lives. Still there is more at hand for the Rider and his dragon, as Eragon finds himself bound by a tangle of promises he may not be able to keep.

owes his loyalty to others, too. The First is Eragon’s oath to his cousin Roran: to help rescue Roran’s beloved, Katrina, from King Galbatorix’s clutches. But EragonVarden are in desperate need of his talents and strength—as are the elves and dwarves. When unrest claims the rebels and danger strikes from every corner, Eragon must make choices— choices that take him across the Empire and beyond, choices that may lead to unimagined sacrifice.

Eragon is the greatest hope to rid the land of tyranny. Can this once-simple farm boy unite the rebel forces and defeat the king?

My Thoughts

I have enjoyed both of the two books previously in the Inheritance Trilogy (now 4 instead of three....so not a trilogy but a quartet) and this particular chapter of it is no exception.
Christopher Paolini has created an amazing world in Alagaesia peopled with intriguing characters both good, bad and undefined with dwarves, elves and dragons to muddy the waters.
I have found one fault in these books and that is the length...it is without a doubt...far too long and it reads quite slowly through a large chunk of the middle of the book. The style of writing though is flowing enough that I still read through even the boring bits but it was worth it and the book became more exciting again.
I would love to creep into Christopher Paolini's mind sometimes to see the progression of ideas from conception to the final product as this world is so finely crafted and all nuances seem to be fleshed out.
I give this a 4 out of 5 stars

My daughter Madeleine's blog

2008-11-21T10:34:00.005-05:00

Here be a shameless plug for my daughter. She has recently started a blog and it is cute and worth a look!

The Coloured Lady

The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenbur

2008-11-19T16:23:00.008-05:00

Eight years in the making, THE FLAVOR BIBLE is a landmark book that will inspire the greatest creations of innovative cooks and chefs by serving as an indispensable guide to creativity and flavor affinities in today's kitchen.

Cuisine is undergoing a startling historic transformation: With the advent of the global availability of ingredients, dishes are no longer based on geography but on flavor. This radical shift calls for a new approach to cooking — as well as a new genre of "cookbook" that serves not to document classic dishes via recipes, but to inspire the creation of new ones focused on imaginative and harmonious flavor combinations.

THE FLAVOR BIBLE is your guide to hundreds of ingredients along with the herbs, spices, and other seasonings that will allow you to coax the greatest possible flavor and pleasure from them. This astonishing reference distills the combined experience of dozens of America's most innovative culinarians, representing such celebrated restaurants as A Voce, Babbo, Blue Hill, Cafe Atlantico, Chanterelle, Citronelle, Gramercy Tavern, The Herbfarm, Jardiniere, Jean Georges, Le Bernardin, The Modern, Moto, and The Trellis.

You'll learn to:

* explore the individual roles played by the four basic tastes — salty, sour, bitter and sweet — and how to bring them into harmony;

* work more intuitively and effectively with ingredients by discovering which flavors have the strongest affinities for one another;

* brighten flavors through the use of acids — from vinegars to citrus juices to herbs and spices such as kaffir lime and sumac;

* deepen or intensify flavors through the layering of specific ingredients or techniques; and

* balance the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of cooking and serving an extraordinary meal.

Seasoned with tips, anecdotes, and signature dishes from the country's most respected chefs and pastry chefs, THE FLAVOR BIBLE is an essential book for every kitchen library.

My Thoughts

Thanks to Anna Balasi from Hachette for sending me this book to review and peruse.
It isn't a cookbook. What it is is a encyclopaedia of food ingredients like chicken or beef with traditional pairings of flavors that suit them and very untraditional ingredients that will enhance and challenge your taste buds.

This is not a book for the cooking challenged...nor does it give any type of step by step instructions or directions.... but for an experienced cook who is looking for ideas and exciting food flavors...then this is your answer.
Flavors such as basil for your traditional pesto but also basil for syrups and fruits and poured over icecream. This is an empowering resource for someone experienced in the kitchen who is looking for new ideas.
The book is set up with ingredients listed alphabetically and appropriate choices and pairings listed with each...the best bolded to allow easier experimentation.

Thank you for this invaluable resource...a beautiful book to add to my cooking library

Forever Lily by Beth Nonte Russell

2008-11-19T13:04:00.002-05:00

Description

"Will you take her?" she asks.

When Beth Nonte Russell travels to China to help her friend Alex adopt a baby girl from an orphanage there, she thinks it will be an adventure, a chance to see the world. But her friend, who had prepared for the adoption for many months, panics soon after being presented with the frail baby, and the situation develops into one of the greatest challenges of Russell's life.

Russell, watching in disbelief as Alex distances herself from the child, cares for the baby -- clothing, bathing, and feeding her -- and makes her feel secure in the unfamiliar surroundings. Russell is overwhelmed and disoriented by the unfolding drama and all that she sees in China, and yet amid the emotional turmoil finds herself deeply bonding with the child. She begins to have dreams of an ancient past -- dreams of a young woman who is plucked from the countryside and chosen to be empress, and of the child who is ultimately taken from her. As it becomes clear that her friend -- whose indecisiveness about the adoption has become a torment -- won't be bringing the baby home, Russell is amazed to realize that she cannot leave the baby behind and that her dreams have been telling her something significant, giving her the courage to open her heart and bring the child home against all odds.

Steeped in Chinese culture, Forever Lily is an extraordinary account of a life-changing, wholly unexpected love.

My Thoughts

I received this book last night and read through it quite quickly. It is an easy and flowing read but I had difficulty with some parts of the book.

The dream sequences seemed out of place and certainly didn't add to the story as a memoir of adopting a child in China. If this had been a fictional tale the tie in to the reincarnation dreams might have added an intriguing layer but as part of a real life tale it just felt clumsy and as if the author was trying to add another element of interest to keep the reader's attention and to flesh out the story.

I was confused a bit about why her friend Alex was not only indecisive about wanting Lily after they arrived there but then seemed to enjoy the power struggle of denying the baby to Beth. I certainly hope that Beth didn't remain friends with her after this.

If Beth had written more about her struggles with feeling lost and empty before the process of adopting Lily...I might have felt more connected with her and more interested in her vivid dream recollections. I myself have incredible dreams and oftentimes would rather be dreaming than living my life now.

I did finish it though and maybe if there had been more editing done with the dream sequences...there wouldn't have been enough left of the book.

Because I finished it...I give it a 2 out of 5 stars.

Love in The Tropics… A Contest over at A Novel Menagerie

2008-11-19T12:06:00.004-05:00

Falling In Love on A Tropical Island… Watching Sexy Surfers Ride the Surf… Mai Tai’s At Sunset… Those Long Romantic Walks on the Beach… ♥ What Could Be Better?

I remember going to Mexico when I was 22. What a great time!
Too many margaritas though!!!
ME!

The iRespect Movement

2008-11-17T17:38:00.005-05:00

Nelson High School, Burlington, Ontario
-a revolution that I am extremely proud of...

Hey Everyone!

Welcome to the Revolution!

If you’ve stumbled upon this page by mistake, it is your lucky day.

We here at the iRespect Headquarters would like to wish you a very cheerful welcome, and we hope you bookmark this page in your favourites.

What is iRespect you ask?

The iRespect Campaign is a volunteer run organization focused on spreading the seven habits of being human, and a general attitude of respect in the community and eventually the world.

The Seven Habits of Being Human:

1) Make it a habit to smile and say hello to everyone you can, even a complete stranger
2) Make it a habit to open the door for someone in need
3) Make it a habit to swear as little as possible
4) Make it a habit to clean up after yourself and your friends, and respect the environment
5) Make it a habit to not spread rumors
6) Make it a habit to not just standby and witness disrespect but rather speak up and join the revolution!
7) Make it a habit to spread these habits

The Man Behind The Revolution

Most of you already know her, but for those who don't, the power behind this entire movement is one Christine Dine. Out of her creativity and passion sprang the idea for an iRespect Campaign to slowly work on changing the world. Check out the About Us page for more info on the details of the Campaign if you are unfamiliar. The Campaign is spreading like wildfire and it's effect is being seen at Nelson and soon it will be seen in and out of the community.

Ms. Dine is a dynamic person who encourages unique thought and respectful behaviour, and should be recognized for her acheivements thus far.

Pass on the respect.

Written by Maya D'Alessio for iRespect.ca

One More Pic...

2008-11-16T20:31:00.001-05:00

You guys were so kind I will bore you with one more pic....
This was in the library at the school that my children went to.

Harry Potter

Murals from Madeleine's Room...soon to be painted over.

2008-11-15T17:30:00.003-05:00

Madeleine is soon going to be painting over the murals that I painted in her room 5 years ago.
I don't blame her for painting over them...they are too young for her now and she is looking to craft a much cooler image.
Feeling nostalgic here and just wanted to post them for posterity!
The dragon is the dresser that I painted for my son when he was a little boy.
It lies hidden in the closet.

Tamara

Odd Mom Out by Jane Porter

2008-11-15T15:42:00.002-05:00

From Jane Porter’s blog:

Marta Zinsser grew up in a conservative, old Seattle suburb and couldn't wait to leave for New York, where she thrived as an independent woman with no need for men -- even when she decided to have a baby. Ten years later when her mother becomes ill, Marta realizes that this may be her daughter's last chance to get to know her grandmother and returns to Seattle, taking up residence on the affluent, technology-drenched Eastside, filled now by snobby old money families and even snobbier nouveau riche. Enrolling Eva in the local school, Marta accedes to her daughter's wishes and agrees to join the PTA despite being horrified by the fancy moms that dominate it. With wealthy husbands, massive homes, nannies, no jobs, and their own hierarchy, the fancy moms have no intention of letting a bohemian mom like Marta in to their private circle. Will Marta be able to carve a niche for both herself and Eva? And when gorgeous maverick Luke Flynn appears in Marta's line of vision, will she find love after keeping it at arm's length all this time?

My Thoughts

Reading this was quite painful at times. I knew only too well what it feels like to be the one on the outside and for me it has been a lifelong estrangement. The best thing about becoming a grownup though has been to find peace in myself and acceptance for the quirks that I am full of. Marta finds her own peace by the end of the story and the ride is a hilarious one. What is especially hard to deal with though is her daughter Eva. Eva believes that her mother needs to find acceptance by the local PTA to lead a fulfilling life and she works on trying to change and mold her mother into a coiffed clone of all the other mothers.
Thank God that Marta convinced her that to be yourself is the truest way to happiness and internal contentment and that sometimes to be accepted by the wrong people can create conflicts within yourself.
Especially poignant moments include her mother’s descent into dementia with Alzheimer’s and the struggle that the three generations have in dealing with it.
Of all of Jane Porter’s novels I enjoyed this one the most probably because I most identified with it. Maybe there is something of the Odd Mom Out in all of us.
I give this a 4 out of 5 stars.

The Frog Prince by Jane Porter

2008-11-15T15:09:00.003-05:00

From the Publisher

Jane Porter makes a delightful mainstream debut with this funny and touching story about a woman who must begin again after her fairy tale marriage falls apart. Holly Bishop is the proverbial, small-town good girl. She always follows the rules, thinks of others first, and she never, ever makes mistakes. Until she marries the man she thought was her Prince Charming, who confesses on their honeymoon that he’s not sexually attracted to her. Now, 14 months later, Holly’s marriage is in the toilet, along with her self-esteem. Determined to start over, she moves to San Francisco, where she must navigate the landmines of dating in the big city. In the shadow of the Golden Gate and amid a population of wacky Bay Area eccentrics, Holly will discover that nice girls don't always finish last. In fact, they sometimes end up with everything they'd ever wanted.

My Thoughts

I have signed up to do a blog tour of Jane Porter’s “Flirting with Forty” on December 5th, 2008 in time for the book’s rerelease and the debut of the movie of the same name.
The publishing company Hachette Books sent me all of Jane Porter’s books so that I may have a real taste of the range of her stories and I am quite impressed.
Jane Porter has been writing novels for Harlequin for a number of years and has developed quite a following which I am sure has also made the transition into more mainstream chick lit with her.
The Frog Prince is a delightful foray into female territory. Holly the heroine is recovering from a quickie marriage that had promised to be the stuff that fairy tales are made of but on her honeymoon her husband informed her that he didn’t want her sexually and didn’t really love her and he was sorry but they would never work.
What is lovely about this story is that her ex-husband never redeems himself…it just becomes easier to see what a toad he really was. I really love the play on the French husband-frog and the fairytale of ‘kiss a frog to find your prince’. Jean-Marc will never be anything but a self centered baser creature disguised as suave.
I love how Holly grows into her new self and becomes that pinnacle of female adulthood-someone who is happy within herself and confident again to trust her own instincts.
I give this a 3 out of 5 stars

Bookworm Award

2008-11-13T18:08:00.012-05:00

Beth over attagged me for The Bookworm Award!

Here’s how it goes.

Open the closest book to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, to page 56.

Write out the fifth sentence, as well as two to five sentences following there.

Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

page 56........Sentence 5

"I don't want it to fall on her."
Eragon looked back at the wretched butcher. He had no more time for mindless wanderings. He had to choose. One way or another, he had to choose....
"Eragon!"

I have to tag 5 people....I choose:

Sharon Loves Books and Cats

The Printed Page

Fresh Ink Books

J. Kaye's Book Blog

Ask Anna

Have Fun

Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke

2008-11-13T17:11:00.004-05:00

Summary

A dragon. A boy. A journey.

Firedrake, a brave young dragon, his loyal brownie friend Sorrel and a lonely boy called Ben are united as if by destiny. Together, they embark on a magical journey to find the legendary place where silver dragons can live in peace for ever. With only a curious map and the whispered memories of an old dragon to guide them, they fly across moonlit lands and seas to reach the highest mountains in the world.

Along the way, they discover extraordinary new friends in unlikely places and a courage they never knew they had. Just as well, for the greatest enemy of all is never far behind them – a heartless monster from the past who’s been waiting a very long time to destroy the last dragons on earth.

My Thoughts

This book has been kicking around our place since I bought it for Madeleine years ago before Nick died. I remember that all the teachers at her school were reading it to their classes and kids were in love with the story but for some reason I just never seemed to get around to reading it. (Unusual for me as I read everything that hasn`t been nailed down and even some books that are)
Fantasy has been enjoying a resurgence in recent years since the popularity of Harry Potter but Harry Potter can sometimes be too sophisticated for some younger children particularly the latter novels...so there was a hole to be filled.
This book fills that space perfectly. The story is full of charming characters that have you cheering plus the villain is scary enough to thrill older children but not too scary for the younger ones. The journey takes you to interesting places in the world and introduces you to some different cultures plus a few imaginary ones.
This story is a classic adventure story pitting the good against the evil with the usual results but some parts of it are quite original.
I enjoyed it and give it a 3.5 stars out of 5

Upcoming Reviews

2008-11-13T16:54:00.007-05:00

The Ark, the Reed, & the Fire Cloud by Jenny L. Cote

2008-11-09T14:21:00.003-05:00

The Ark, the Reed, & the Fire Cloud by Jenny L. Cote

Synopsis

Max, a Scottish terrier, takes his usual morning trot down to the loch where he hears a mysterious Voice humming in the reeds saying, “Come to Me . . . follow the fire cloud.” He embarks on an unknown journey from Scotland, meeting other animals along the way including Liz, a brilliant, petite black cat from France. Max and Liz become the brave leaders for their group, and eventually, for the entire ark. The mysterious journey, filled with danger, humor, trials, and triumphs, leads them across Europe to the Middle East. The moment of arrival for these animals is spectacular as the ark is miraculously transformed into the animals’ natural habitats.
Throughout the prior one hundred years, Noah and family have to endure ridicule from villagers while building the ark. Now this family must painfully witness the loss of lives and total destruction of the earth through the mighty flood.
After the journey to the ark, the voyage in the ark begins. Liz finds ways to keep the animals occupied, including daily exercise led by the flamingos and talent night where the animals entertain each other with their natural abilities. BUT a sinister plot develops. Someone is out to kill Noah and his family. Liz follows clues that lead her to discover a stowaway who has deceived them all. Max and Liz foil the plot, but at a high price. The end climaxes with unexpected twists and turns, taking the: reader from despair to hope.

My Thoughts

I received this book through Bostick Communications and it was a signed copy (which thrilled me). I started to read this and I was frankly dubious about being interested enough in it to finish it. This book is written for young adults and children and is a charming tale reworked about the story of Noah and the Ark.
The story flowed quite smoothly and the characters were endearing although not terribly fleshed out. There was a certain amount of suspended belief as I was reading this book as an adult and not it’s intended audience but I quickly read and enjoyed it.
I would recommend this book to a child and certainly it would be a cute addition to a Sunday school library.
Thank you Jenny L. Cote.

You've Been Tagged

2008-11-09T12:28:00.016-05:00

I haven't been tagged yet for a meme so I thought that I would tag myself!

6 Random/Weird Facts about myself:

* I ABSOLUTELY love to curl up in bed in the evening and have my supper there while I am reading my book...with the electric blanket on! (in fact reading in bed is my favourite)

* When I was a child....I WASN'T allowed in the adult section of the library...even though I had read everything in the children's section (my parent's had to sign a waiver)

* To celebrate our Welsh heritage my parents named my brother and sister with Welsh given names...Ceinwen and Bryn. I was NOT given a Welsh name and I was the 1st child.

* I was a total Queen fanatic when I was a teenager and not only saw them live twice but blew out my hearing listening to them at full blast on headphones.

* I do not enjoy reading the CLASSICS because although people revere them now and quote them...in the day they were written as novels and pulp fiction and I predict that our present-day novels will become future classics.

* I am a total cat freak and have 4 cats....all female...and I cuddle them and play with them as if they were dogs. Two of them actually crawl into bed (under the blankets) with us every night and sleep at our feet.

YOU HAVE BEEN TAGGED!

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

2008-11-03T16:03:00.003-05:00

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

ABOUT THIS BOOK

“ I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.” January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb…. As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all. Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever. Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.

My Thoughts

I was drawn into this story from page one when I fell in love with Dawsey. There were only a handful of characters in this book that I didn't have a fondness for and every page was a courtship for me and this novel.
I never knew very much about the island of Guernsey beyond the fact of it being a channel island off the coast of Great Britain and I never knew that it was occupied by the Germans in WW2...so close to England.
There were many shocking revelations in this story but also many examples of the courage and ingenuity shown by the islanders and how they protected their own standing straight and tall in the face of the adversity of war.
The meat of the story is written as a series of letters between all the main characters of the story to each other and Juliet, an author on the mainland. Juliet Ashton is a dream of a heroine with charm and a love of life that spills from the pages of her letters to her editor and friends and their responses seem real not contrived.
The story spills out from the letter writers as each character relates his/her own experience of the occupation and how they managed to survive and also of those family members and friends who were not so lucky.
The images were vivid and tears were shed as some of the words struck home about the losses and tragedies of each islander.. but the ending was wholly satisfying.
I give this novel a 4 out of 5 stars

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

2008-11-02T20:36:00.002-05:00

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong Summary Chloe, the 15-year-old narrator of this opener in the Darkest Powers trilogy, Armstrong's (Women of the Otherworld series) first YA novel, hasn't seen ghosts since she was a little girl-until the day she finally gets her period and starts seeing ghosts everywhere. Almost immediately Chloe is sent to a small group home, Lyle House, and diagnosed as schizophrenic. Readers will forgive these familiar and even formulaic plot devices, however, given Armstrong's well-timed revelations of paranormal activity at Lyle House. What is the eminently sane Chloe to make of her new peers, especially the antisocial Derek and his foster brother, who offer their own diagnosis-that she is "supernatural" like them? Are they psychotic or scheming to get her in trouble, or could their idea help explain why certain disruptive teens are mysteriously transferred from Lyle, never to be heard from again? Drawing on elements dear to horror lovers (secretly buried corpses, evil doctors, werewolves, telekinesis), Armstrong adds a stylish degree of suspense. The ending, while still a cliffhanger, brings with it a chilling closure. Ages 12-up.

A young girl in one of my classes loaned this book to me after she finished it. She was angry and disappointed with the ending and frankly I agreed with her. The story flowed quite nicely right up to the ending and then it seemed to abruptly stop. It is clear that the book has been put together to just be a "chapter" in a series as opposed to a complete story on its own. This is disappointing. A book should tell a complete story from beginning to end. There are many book series that are written with each book having a distinct plotline with an individual climax and then the characters move on to the next book...but this did not happen here.
The characters were likeable though and the plot flowed along seamlessly and even created a shiver or two...but the abrupt ending spoiled it.
I gave this book a 2.5 out of 5.

Stonecypher Road by Nancy and Warren Longwell

2008-11-01T19:57:00.004-04:00

Stonecypher Road by Nancy and Warren Longwell

Book Description

Ida Jo Canfield, having come from childhood poverty, has now returned to her old hometown to care for a dying mother. When her husband, Morris, returns from a week of speed racing on the Bonneville Salt Flats, he tells of a mysterious artifact found half-buried in a remote corner of the vast salt desert a replica of a human skull carved in crystal. Using a computer access at the small local public library, he searches the Internet for possible clues to the origin and history of the relic, unaware that powerful government supercomputers are at work screening Web traffic to look for the same thing. Following their own instincts and ideas, Morris and Ida Jo undertake a quest to decode information ingeniously hidden within their crystal relic, even as they try to decide on its proper disposition. They have now set themselves on a journey that will take them to the great museums of Manhattan, and deep under New York City into abandoned tunnels where the mole people give them a taste of first contact with a hidden society. Nancy and Warren Longwell have drawn on their 30 years of global travel and high-adventure exploration to write a stunning and literate debut novel that always keeps the reader wondering how much of the story might be true.

About the Author

Nancy and Warren Longwell have spent their lifetime together searching for new ways to expand their limits. They have paddled their own canoe down Africa's crocodile-infested Zambezi River, and climbed towering ice walls in British Columbia and Alaska. In the course of three global circumnavigations, they sailed for months at a time on working freighter ships, and once crewed on an America's Cup yacht. Travel, they decided, would be their higher education, and they spent their semesters trekking to holy shrines at Machu Picchu and Rangoon and along China's Great at allWall. Warren has raced on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, and Nancy has run the New York Marathon, and together they have gone underwater through a subterranean river in Mexico's Yucatan. Off the coast of Vanuatu (long before Vanuatu became famous on reality television) they tried their hand at underwater archeology on the submerged hulk of a steel warship, then later recovered a museum-quality artifact! in the mountains of Papua New Guinea. They have "flown" in a shuttle simulator at NASA's Houston space facility, and crossed four continents by rail. All this has given them material for numerous published magazine articles, but it has taken until now for them to realize their dream of authoring a published novel. Stonecypher Road marks their stunning and literate debut.

My Thoughts

Claimed from Mini Book Expo

The book arrived and I looked at the cover and it was awful. Not appealing at all...garish colours with childlike graphics that gave you a false negative sense of the book...but then I started to read the book and settled in.
I have had so many good books to read and review lately that I have been expecting to eventually come across one that I would have to force myself to finish. This is NOT that book. This book was an easy and interesting read and proof of the old adage to 'not judge a book by it's cover'.
The husband and wife dynamic of Ida Jo and her mate Morris epitomise the happy grounded couple who enjoy each other's company. They are best friends and continue to learn new facets to each other's personality and past which keeps the mystery alive and makes their lives more interesting. They have fun together and the story flows because of that.
The book revolves around the finding of a carved crystal skull...apparently only the 13th found ever. Morris finds this skull in a chance out of the way incident as he races at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah and he sees it glinting in the sun. Completely intrigued by this find he starts to search online for information about it and he unwittingly triggers an online policing system that is activated when certain keywords and specific sites are visited. A secret section of the government is in charge of monitoring this system.
Ida Jo was not with Morris when he found the skull as she was caring for her dying mother in her hometown but he came to be with her during her mother's last days to comfort and provide solace to her.
Their adventures take them from Boulder Colorado to Nova Scotia Canada and back down to the underground tunnels of New York City to meet the mole people before they manage to rid themselves of this dangerous artifact but not before they learn it's secret.
The dialogue is witty and clever and their relationship seems genuine and not forced or fake which makes this book a pleasure to read.
3.5 stars out of 5

Nicholas Dana Baff -January 28th, 1991-October 30th, 2006

2008-10-30T08:20:00.004-04:00

"Bereavement is a darkness impenetrable to the imagination of the unbereaved."
--Iris Murdoch

My Prayer

To my darling Nicky,
Words fail me on this 2nd anniversary of your death. I can't believe that 2 years have gone past...it feels like just blip in my life...a point at which all the joy has faded from my soul.
All that I felt good about as a grown woman was to be your and Madeleine's mother...everything else felt tainted...you two were the only purity. I must find a way to keep going and continue to feel good about being your mom even if you are not here for me to hold and hug and watch grow up.
I want to believe that we will be together again.

Life After Genius Blog Tour

2008-10-29T06:14:00.005-04:00

Life After Genius by M. Ann Jacoby

Received from Hachette Book Group to review for a blog tour. This book goes on sale today and it is well worth the buy. I found the book delightful with strong characters that move towards a meaningful climax and resolution. This book doesn't read like an author's debut...it's voice reads like a well crafted finale.
Mead, as Teddy prefers to be called now, is the epitome of the underdog. He makes every mistake in the book...pun intended, but every experience is a learning curve and he handles bullying, intimidation, alienation from his family and academic dishonesty all with the same aplomb that he handles his genius. What wouldn't he give to have it all taken away-to not be different ever again?
He tends to find out what the treasures of life are after he has lost his chance at them. Like the chance to really bond with his cousin who he never really trusted. He feels guilt about everything; he is letting his parents down...his mom wants him to conquer the world and his dad just wants him to find worthwhile work; his academic advisor and dean, they want him to publish an incredible finding to bring prestige to the college; his uncle and aunt who wish that he had been the one who died and he himself because he has never allowed himself to go after what he truly wants.
Meeting many other characters along the way, who all have their own stories to tell and agendas, Mead stumbles through his life feeling apart from others until he is due to graduate from college and the world crumbles around him.
Mead embodies a young man with visible vulnerabilities and hidden strengths but a huge resolve to find a place for himself in his own life.
I give this a 5 out of 5 stars and I recommend this book to anyone looking for a satisfying read.

Life After Genius My Space

Author Bio
I was not much of a reader as a kid preferring to live in my own make-believe world of characters and situations. Hours would go by like seconds. I didn’t want to stop playing to eat or sleep. Then in my twenties I started reading a lot of trashy romance novels. Somewhere along the line I bored of those, revisited my college edition of American Literature: The Makers and the Making Vol. II and discovered Sherwood Anderson. I went back and reread Catcher in the Rye (which I surely must have read in high school) and loved it. I read and fell in love with Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler and Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg. I decided to try Tolstoy. I read Anna Karenina and was surprised by how much I enjoyed this Russian classic. I was like a hungry person at an all-you-can-eat buffet. I tasted a lot of different books putting aside those that didn’t please the palate and going back for seconds and thirds on those that did. Throughout the process of writing Life After Genius, I often referred to Stones for Ibarra by Harriet Doerr and Death of Sweet Mister by Daniel Woodrell, reading a chapter here or a paragraph there for inspiration. Or sometimes I’d pop into the DVD player one of my favorite movies. Elling, which is a Norwegian film. Son of the Bride, which is Argentinian. Or You Can Count on Me. Or Midnight Run. Or Terms of Endearment. I love smart, observant, small moments. Heart-rending moments sprinkled with humor. Quirky characters. These are what send me running back to my computer to write. The place I go as an adult where time loses all meaning and I have to remind myself to eat.

Check out what everybody says about Life After Genius:

A Bookworm's World
Bermudaonion's Weblog
Booking Mama
Library Queue
Marjolein Book Blog
The Book Nest
Seaside Book Worm Blogger
Linus's Blanket
Diary of an Eccentric
Savvy Verse and Wit
The Optimistic Bookfool
The Printed Page
My Friend Amy
Shooting Stars Mag
Books, Pungs, and More
A Novel Menagerie
The Tome Traveller's Weblog
The Official Chikune Website
Book Critiques
B & b ex libris
Sharon Loves Books and Cats
At Home With Books

Life After Genius Blog Tour

2008-10-26T18:36:00.002-04:00

Life After genius by M. Ann Jacoby

Book Description: Theodore Mead Fegley has always been the smartest person he knows. By age 12, he was in high school, and by 15 he was attending a top-ranking university. And now, at the tender age of 18, he’s on the verge of proving the Riemann Hypothesis, a mathematical equation that has mystified academics for almost 150 years. But only days before graduation, Mead suddenly packs his bags and flees home to rural Illinois. What has caused him to flee remains a mystery to all but Mead and a classmate whose quest for success has turned into a dangerous obsession.

Equal parts academic thriller and poignant coming-of-age story, LIFE AFTER GENIUS follows the remarkable journey of a young man who must discover that the heart may know what the head hasn’t yet learned.

October 29th, 2008 the day that the
"Life After Genius" Blog Tour touches down here at Books by TJ Baff and all these participating Blogs:

A Bookworm's World
Bermudaonion's Weblog
Booking Mama
Library Queue
Marjolein Book Blog
The Book Nest
Seaside Book Worm Blogger
Linus's Blanket
Diary of an Eccentric
Savvy Verse and Wit
The Optimistic Bookfool
The Printed Page
My Friend Amy
Shooting Stars Mag
Books, Pungs, and More
A Novel Menagerie
The Tome Traveller's Weblog
The Official Chikune Website
Book Critiques
B & b ex libris
Sharon Loves Books and Cats
At Home With Books

Don't miss it....mark your calendars!

Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden

2008-10-25T19:47:00.005-04:00

Obtained through Mini Book Expo

Format:Hardcover Published:September 9, 2008 Publisher:Penguin Group Canada From the Publisher From internationally acclaimed author Joseph Boyden comes an astonishingly powerful novel of contemporary aboriginal life, full of the dangers and harsh beauty of both forest and city. When beautiful Suzanne Bird disappears, her sister Annie, a loner and hunter, is compelled to search for her, leaving behind their uncle Will, a man haunted by loss. While Annie travels from Toronto to New York, from modelling studios to A-list parties,Will encounters dire troubles at home. Both eventually come to painful discoveries about the inescapable ties of family. Through Black Spruce is an utterly unforgettable consideration of how we discover who we really are. About the Author Joseph Boyden is a Canadian with Irish, Scottish, and Métis roots. Three Day Road has received the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and the McNally Robinson Aboriginal Book of the Year Award and has also been shortlisted for the Governor General Award for Fiction and published in 10 languages. He divides his time between Northern Ontario and Louisiana, where he teaches writing at the University of New Orleans.

The novel Through Black Spruce is written by alternating chapters between Annie Bird's story, a somewhat confused loner and niece to, Will Bird, bush pilot, who lies in a coma in a hospital bed.
Annie shares her story, while seated at her uncle's bedside, about the search for her sister in the international modelling world, in an effort to interest her uncle enough in the day to day troubles that he will awaken from his coma.
Will's voice comprises the alternate chapters about his recollections of events leading up to the beating that leads him to the coma. Both stories culminate in a shared climax that has it's roots in the same sequence of events.
I loved this book. I found the style of writing easy to read and it flowed. The characters were well developed and through the tale there was shown to be a growth period for both of the main protagonists. The sequence of events leading to the climax made sense and was well planned and executed and the overwhelming theme of family was well described.
I left this book after the closing of the last page feeling as if I had read an authentic tale relating problems experienced by a few aboriginals in their native northlands and how they are fighting the the same fight of drug related gangs and violence that we are further south. Their success in this fight also depends on the few who stand up against this oppression and fight back.
A timely tale.
5 out of 5 stars.

The Mighty Queens of Freeville by Amy Dickinson

2008-10-23T11:44:00.010-04:00

Five years ago, after an exhaustive countrywide search, the Chicago Tribune announced Amy Dickinson as the next Ann Landers. They wanted a contemporary voice and they found it. Bracingly witty and honest, Amy’s voice is more Nora Ephron than Dear Abby. Readers love her for her brutal honesty, her small-town values, and for the fact that her motto is "I make the mistakes so you don’t have to." Her advice column, "Ask Amy," appears daily in more than 150 newspapers nationwide, read by more than 22 million readers.

In The Mighty Queens of Freeville, Amy Dickinson takes those mistakes and spins them into a remarkable story. This is the tale of Amy and her daughter and the women in her family who helped raise them after Amy’s husband abruptly left. It is a story of frequent failures and surprising successes, as Amy starts and loses careers, bumbles through blind dates and adult education classes, travels across country with her daughter and their giant tabby cat, and tries to come to terms with the family’s aptitude for "dorkitude." Though they live in London, D.C., and Chicago, all roads lead them back to her original hometown of Freeville (pop. 458), a tiny upstate village where Amy’s family has tilled and cultivated the land, tended chickens and Holsteins, and built houses and backyard sheds for over 200 years. Most important though, her family has made more family there, and they all still live in a ten-house radius of each other. With kindness and razor-sharp wit, they welcome Amy and her daughter back weekend after weekend, summer after summer, offering a moving testament to the many women who have led small lives of great consequence in a tiny place.

About Amy Dickinson:
Amy Dickinson is the author of the syndicated advice column "Ask Amy," which appears in more than 150 newspapers nationwide, and the host of a biweekly feature on NPR’s "Talk of the Nation." Formerly a columnist for Time magazine, she lives in Chicago.

I signed up for the Barnes and Noble First Look Club and was absolutely thrilled to receive this book. The rules of the club are that you post under their question headings and follow along chapter by chapter so as not to post spoilers of upcoming chapters. I have been sick since the book discussion started but will start posting soon.
I enjoyed the book but I wasn't overly enthused about it. The way that Amy wrote her story made her a very likeable person and someone who I would like to know... but the stories themselves were not so inspiring. I found her narrative of the events in her life to be quite scattered...nothing seemed to flow from one chapter to another and aside from how her life mirrored her mother's...how did that make her a "Mighty Queen"?
I believe that all single mothers doing their best and striving for the best life for their families are Mighty Queens but I don't believe that the women that Amy Dickinson portrayed in this memoir are shown to be Mighty Queens even if they are so in real life...not enough evidence.
Of course...this is just my humble opinion and the book was a pleasant read just not fleshed out enough for me.
3 out of 5 stars

Reading Now: Reviews Coming

2008-10-22T11:46:00.010-04:00

I feel like I have been missing in action lately as I haven't posted anything in well over a week but frankly...I have been sick.
Not the kind of sick where you are puking your guts up every half hour even though I was still making frequent calls to the B/R...hee hee....but the miserable, ache, dry cough, drippy nose, lose your voice, suffer in silence and still go to work...sick.
But I have been reading so there will be reviews to come.
The books....

The Might Queens of Freeville by
by Amy Dickinson
Life After Genius by M. Ann Jacoby
Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden

Menagerie’s Halloween Haunt

2008-10-19T20:52:00.002-04:00

Come on out to a great contest over at A Novel Menagerie>>>>>>>
Click here...
Menagerie's Halloween Haunt

Oh, My Friends….

The Time is Near….

When Gouls, Goblins & Horrors Appear!

Books Books and More Books: Spooktacular Hachette Book Group Giveaway.

2008-10-18T12:54:00.010-04:00

Over at Ruthies Book Reviews

Books Books and more Books!: Spooktacular Hachette Book Group Giveaway!!!!

Happy Birthday Cliff Richard

2008-10-14T21:09:00.001-04:00

The Dragonfly Secret by Clea and John Adams

2008-10-14T20:08:00.003-04:00

The Dragonfly Secret by Clea and John Adams
illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson
Hardcover, 32 pages, First Edition
Ages 8 to Adult

The Dragonfly Secret
A Story of Boundless Love
• A heartwarming story for family members who have lost a loved one
• A companion book to The Dragonfly Door

I received this book through Bostick Communications and the authors because I requested it. I have a particular reason for being interested in reading and reviewing this book…I was curious about it’s validity with a child’s grief as my daughter is experiencing her own grief about the death of her brother. The book may be too young for her-she is 14-but I knew that she could and would give me an unbiased opinion.
The book had gone astray through the champion efforts of our Canadian postal service and when I finally took possession of it…my daughter took the first look. All was quiet for about 15 minutes and then she looked up and told me how sweet the book was and she thought that it would really help some younger kids. I fully intend to donate this book to our local chapter of Bereaved Families of Ontario and I hope that it WILL indeed help another child going through a similar loss.
I looked through the book and enjoyed the beautiful story and illustrations myself. The story was particularly poignant and I even shed a few tears when I reached the end of the book. I found the image of the dragonfly to be very appropriate for a child’s grief but it also wasn’t too sweet. As a grieving mother who is always looking for answers to my own grief there is a distinct lack of books and resources to help us that aren’t too sickly sweet and cute. The last thing that I would want is to view my son’s death in a cutesy fashion.
5 out of 5 stars
Thank you… Clea and John Adams.

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

2008-10-13T19:56:00.003-04:00

Synopsis

Every gift has a price...
Every piece of lace has a secret...

My name is Towner Whitney, no, that's not exactly true. My real first name is Sophya. Never believe me. I lie all the time...

Towner Whitney, the self-confessed unreliable narrator of The Lace Reader, hails from a family of Salem women who can read the future in the patterns in lace, and who have guarded a history of secrets going back generations, but the disappearance of two women brings Towner home to Salem and the truth about the death of her twin sister to light. The Lace Reader is a mesmerizing, tale which spirals into a world of secrets, confused identities, lies and half-truths where the reader quickly finds it's nearly impossible to separate fact from fiction, but as Towner Whitney points out early on in the novel, "There are no accidents.

I received my copy of this book through the Harper/Collins Reading group courtesy of Deanna Mcfadden.
Throughout the book there is a feeling of impending doom that seems to escalate as you traverse the steep slopes of Towner's memories and her life. She remembers so little of her life and seems to have substituted made up memories and dream recollections for the real ones.
All of Salem views her as crazy and in fact she was an inmate of a mental asylum after her twin sister's suicide when they were teenagers. All the women in the Whitney family have been viewed as witches for many generations because of their skill in reading lace.
I found so much of Towner's story to be alien to me starting right where her twin sister was raised by her aunt instead of their mother as Towner and her brother were. Her twin sister Lyndley would come for a visit every summer with her parents and the kids would bond and Lyndley would run half wild, free of any restrictions.
Many years have passed since Lyndley's suicide and Towner returns to Salem because her grandmother Eva has been reported missing. Eva...although her grandfather's second wife, has always been the glue that bound the Whitney family together and Towner was devastated by her disappearance but she also felt compelled to return to Salem for the first time since she had moved away.
Her sister's adopted father Cal is also living in Salem and running a ragtag group of religious fanatics and he spends his life "saving" those whose souls have lost their way.
As the novel picks up in speed there is a tremendous sence of urgency and tension and you are just waiting for a confrontation between Towner and her uncle Cal...you know it is coming. There has to be a reason that Lyndley was scared of her father and Towner was ready to face her sister's demons and her own.
I enjoyed this book and the story but the plot wasn't as fleshed out as I would have wished it to be. There is so much backstory to this book that I would have enjoyed more of that in the plot rather than just from a few of Towner's memories.
I still rate this a 4 out of 5 stars.

Massive book Giveaway

2008-10-12T09:50:00.003-04:00

Congratulations to Devourer of Books for posting her 100th review.
She is hosting a massive book giveaway there which ends on Wednesday October 15th.

Click here

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

2008-10-11T20:45:00.005-04:00

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Product Description

(When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved?
To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife have led her to the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or to pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fates of two tribes hangs.
Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating, and unfathomable, consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella's life-first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse-seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed... forever?
The astonishing, breathlessly anticipated conclusion to the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn illuminates the secrets and mysteries of this spellbinding romantic epic that has entranced millions)

Ever since the launch of this book I have heard the controversy. Some camps decry Bella's lack of independent thought and actions...others feel that this book is a fitting end to the Cullins' story.
From the first page into this fourth 'chapter' in Bella Swan's life I was spellbound. I found the continuation of the story to be every bit as satisfying as all the three works before it and I loved all the characters.
I am not of the teenage girl demographic that this story was written for but I had heard all the hype surrounding the story and I had wondered about it. I have the enviable position of working in a high school and I can borrow the books from it's library. This often works in my favour as it tends to be easier to get my hands on a copy of a book here than the public library-less people to compete against. Last year I borrowed all three of the previous Twilight books and devoured them.
I must admit that the furor over the launch of this book made me even more curious and eager to read this last book but because of it I was prepared to be more critical of the final work. I had no reason to be hesitant at all. Breaking Dawn fulfilled all of my expectations and more.
Why is everybody so upset about it?
I understand that Bella made the choices that she did but I am confused as to why her choices are considered to be anachronistic. Since when has pledging yourself to someone you love and marrying them seen to be an anachronism? Bella proves everyday in this book how her choices continue to make her a stronger woman and at no time is she ever pressured into anything...in fact the opposite is true. She forces her will upon Edward and the rest of her new family.. She doesn't sacrifice her own wants and needs for anybody else. This life that she has chosen is the life that she wants.
I admit to being surprised by some of the story but I embraced it...it all made sense to me. Stephenie Meyer created an incredible fantasy world and she set the parameters of this world.
I may be an eclectic reader in my tastes but I am still a discerning reader and I was wholly satisfied.

Made From the World Trade Center

2008-10-07T17:22:00.004-04:00

I may not be American but the day when the world was transfixed by this awful terrorist attack and stopped us all feeling safe...is burned into my memories.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
It is only fitting that something useful and good should come from the remains of the buildings.

Here SHE is, the USS New York, made from the World Trade Center !

USS New York

It was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center .

It is the fifth in a new class of warship - designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft.

Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite , LA to cast the ship's bow section. When it was poured into the molds on Sept 9, 2003, 'those big rough steelworkers treated it with total reverence,' recalled Navy Capt. Kevin Wensing, who was there. 'It was a spiritual moment for everybody there.'

Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that when the trade center steel first arrived, he touched it with his hand and the 'hair on my neck stood up.' 'It had a big meaning to it for all of us,' he said. 'They knocked us down. They can't keep us down. We're going to be back.'

The ship's motto? 'Never Forget'

Please keep this going so everyone can see what we are made of in this country!

The Gate House by Nelson DeMille

2008-10-05T15:39:00.004-04:00

I had never read any other books by Nelson DeMille so I had no warning about what was to come. Certainly his style of writing breathes life into and embodies all that is sarcastic in a protagonist and that fitted John Sutter to a T. I found John's sarcasm to be very difficult to relate to and his snideness made me feel less than sympathetic about the past events in his life. Frankly, in many ways, I am surprised that John ever had a family or friends to come back to. This book wraps up the story of the characters begun in the novel "The Gold Coast".
The book takes place on the Gold Coast on the eastern seaboard of America in the aftermath of 9/11. I only mention this because it is spoken about frequently in the book as it pertains to the changes in people's consciousness about their invincibility or lack thereof.
John has returned from London, where he has been practising law since he returned from his 3 year adventure sailing around the world. He left his home and family originally when his wife shot her lover Frank Bellarosa, a mafia don, who was testifying for the FBI. The subsequent fallout of notoriety and tabloid fame created a monster that John needed to escape from.
John returns because an old family retainer of his exwife's family, the Stanhopes, is on her deathbed and as her executor he is needed. He takes up residence in the gate house of the old family estate and is disconcerted to find that the son of the old mafia don has moved into the new housing complex that was built on the grounds of Bellarosa's estate. John knows that the son bears his exwife Susan ill will and he is worried about her despite himself. John has had very little contact with his exwife but he needs to impress upon her the seriousness of this situation but also protect himself from further reprisal.
None of the characters were very likable people throughout the entire story but I still became invested in their eventual success and the conclusion was satisfying. Despite myself, I enjoyed this novel as it appealed to the inner secret tabloid reader in me but I found the book to be too long. Reminded me of reading Harold Robbins' books in my teens.

My Library (Tongue in Cheek)

2008-10-03T16:03:00.004-04:00

As I was cruising blogs today...I noticed on the blog of B&b ex libris pictures of their library and thought I would do the same. I had to take about 10 pictures off the shelves though and dust....too bad I didn't get around to actually organizing the books! hee hee
Of course this doesn`t take into account all the books in the spare room and M`s room...let alone those sitting on my bedside table.:)

'My Daughter's Creativity' or 'Cat Torture'

2008-10-02T13:25:00.001-04:00

been sick

2008-10-02T13:16:00.006-04:00

I looked over my blog today and realized that I haven't posted anything since September 25th. I have had some weird virus thing and I am sleeping all the time and haven't made it into work. Damn...there goes the salary.
I have been reading sporadically...as I think that you would have to gouge my eyes out for me to stop....but I am only getting through a couple of pages at a time. That totally sucks...in the vernacular of my grade 9 daughter!!!!
All of last weekend I was hooked up to a Holter monitor. Now THAT was a fun experience!
Reading: "Gate House" by Nelson DeMille
Books waiting: "The Lace Reader" by Brunonia Barry

Countdown to The Anniversary of Nick's Death

2008-09-25T16:50:00.006-04:00

September 25th, 2008. Only just over two months to go...then it will be 2 years since my Nicky died. Sometimes I still feel like I am walking through mud just to go where I am supposed to go...be who I am supposed to be...and paste a smile on my face because I am not supposed to still be showing my grief.
All the joints in my body are starting to ache again...everytime I move is an excuse for something in my body to protest. They (counsellors and other bereaved moms) told me that I would still feel this way but it is like a badge that I display for all to see the pain inside. It feels as if every moment of my day is filled with thoughts of him. They aren't bad thoughts although I know that the bad, sad, helpless feelings will sink in if I allow myself to trek down that road. I don't want to forget so I am waiting until I can think of all the beautiful things about him without wanting to scream and rail at the Fates for stealing him away from me.
He was my very first baby and when I held him after his birth I felt so complete. I felt that he was the reason that I was on this earth. How can I be on this earth when he is not?
All three of us are feeling unglued right now. We are just trying to make it through.
Writing things down in my blog is cathartic to me but I hope that I am not boring too many people. Please skip over and just read my book reviews.

After River by Donna Milner

2008-09-22T20:06:00.002-04:00

I was given After River by a friend who passes along books that she has read and reviewed. I do the same for her and pass along old favourites as well. It is good to have such a friend. :)
The first page was quickly devoured and I moved right along into the story.
Brief synopsis: Natalie Ward hasn't returned home to live since she left at the age of 17 under a cloud. A draft dodger from America named Richard (River)camed to work on the family farm and affected every member of the Ward family.
Natalie is so tormented and I can feel her pain. The characters in this story feel so alive that they reach out and touch your heart. Farming families in rural Canada in the 60s were not like the families that we know nowadays. Everyone worked together for the common good of the family and to support the farm so the slightest deviation from the normal routines can have a domino effect and the whole family is forever changed.
I cannot believe that this was Donna Milner's first novel. She is supremely skilled with her plot, character development and every word feels lovingly crafted.
I believe that this novel is truly one of the best that I have read this year.
5 out of 5 stars.

A Foreign Affair by Caro Peacock

2008-09-21T18:26:00.004-04:00

Liberty Lane was convinced that her father did not die by duel. He had always adamantly maintained that the practice of dueling was barbaric and not something that he would ever have participated in. Unable to learn the truth by open means, Liberty is forced to take an undercover role as a governess to a very prestigious family of the ton and try to pierce the curtain of secrecy around her father's death.
Liberty Lane is a delightful heroine with brains and courage. She embodies all the attributes of the modern sleuth: daring, brave, intelligent, resourceful and connected. Liberty's friends assist her and help to save her when her actions embroil her in an attempt to replace the young Victoria with an usurper.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found the characters delightful and the descriptions of the background settings and the political climate, that existed in Victorian England, to be true to the time period and quite interesting.
I did find that Liberty, the character, seemed to be too modern in thinking and actions. A young woman of the period would have seemed more compliant to the wishes of her elders but she made for an intriguing read.

Submarine by Joe Dunthorne

2008-09-15T17:10:00.002-04:00

A book "claimed" from www.minibookexpo.com
Submarine by Joe Dunthorne has a strong voice. The narrator, Oliver, a 15 year old boy in Swansea Wales, only child of an eccentric couple having marital troubles, has an interesting outlook on the world and his life. Throughout a coming of age year in his life, we hear of his interactions with his school mates, his parents and the girl who he has his first sexual encounter with.
Oliver is very concerned with his parent’s marriage which he sees is failing. His mother is intrigued with a former flame who has breezed back into her life offering excitement and enlightenment. Oliver obsessively follows this budding relationship and tries to sabotage it. What he succeeds in doing is throwing more light on his parent’s marriage which shows up all the ways that the couple have been pretending that “nothing is wrong”.
When I started reading the book the style of writing grated on me. The author wrote Oliver’s thoughts as Oliver thought them and they sounded and felt jumbled and I wasn’t sure if I could finish the book. After reading and becoming involved in the story for several more chapters I finally started to enjoy Oliver’s unique way of expressing himself but I never could completely relate to him. Sometimes I liked Oliver and he charmed me and other times I could not understand his reasoning or motivations and l felt repulsed by him.
I am glad that I persevered with this book. I know that Oliver’s voice will stay with me and continue to intrigue me. I may revisit him again at a later date.

Tiger, Tiger by Galaxy Craze

2008-09-14T20:40:00.002-04:00

A book "claimed" from www.minibookexpo.com
Tiger, Tiger by Galaxy Craze is enthralling. The minute that May speaks of her life with her family, you are pulled into this consciousness of teen confusion and vulnerability. She has spent the majority of her life being blown around by the whims of her flakey mother who is always in search of her own fulfillment. She promises happiness for May and her brother Eden through every move away from home but continually comes up empty. The latest move involves transatlantic travel to an ashram in California…far away from the safety net maintained by the children’s grandfather and disillusioned father. May and Eden are thrown into this experience, looking out for each other and forced by their mother’s absence to form friendships of their own… their mother Lucy is involved in her own pursuits.
I give Tiger, Tiger four out of 5 stars. Through the book I lived May’s disillusionment with her mother and disappointment with her father but like May…I still believed in their ultimate redemption. I am convinced that they loved their children but their relationship with each other seemed to always overshadow everything, spoil it and guide them away from the reality of a functional family.

The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman

2008-09-07T18:25:00.002-04:00

After her marriage fails, Jane takes her young daughter Olivia back to the private girls academy where she attended as a scholarship student. Heart Lake School was the scene of the devastating tragedy of her life-the loss of both of her best friends to suicide. Jane hasn't been long back when history seems to repeat itself and strange yet familiarly eery events start to traumatize Jane. her daughter and some of her Latin students.
I was engrossed in the story by the second page and the pace didn't stop. I did figure out the twist fairly early on but it was still gripping and quite poignant. Somewhat Gothic in flavour I was sometimes sympathetic to Jane but then confused by her apathy to the current events and the past.
I can't wait to read another book by Carol Goodman.

my life...

2008-09-07T12:58:00.003-04:00

As much as I want this blog to be about my books and reviews, I also want to reveal more of myself. This year will be the first year that I am only working half days at school. I feel like I am skipping school when I leave at lunchtime and frankly this is the easiest transition that I have ever made into back-to-school September. Considering all the medical stuff lately and my MRI coming up on Tuesday afternoon...it is a good thing that I am only at school halftime.
My daughter had a bad experience starting grade 9 last week. She ended up having the same grade 9 English teacher that Nick had. During attendance check...he asked her if she was Nick Baff's sister. When she nodded he then laughed and asked her to "go home and slap him for me!" She was stunned and all the kids looked at each other in shock.. Nobody said a word. If it wasn't so tragic it would be comical as it was such a bizarre experience for her. It was easy enough to sort out and the teacher was so upset too...BUT he had known that Nick had died. He just forgot.
"What an idiot," is the school social worker's professional opinion. LOL
I miss him so much this week. He really loved school and would have been in grade 12 this year.
Bring on more books!!!!!

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson

2008-09-02T19:43:00.001-04:00

This book was sent to me by the publisher. It is a kid's book. a preteen novel, and the language and ideas are childlike but they are still sophisticated enough that a boy could read this and be satisfied because it is an exciting read. I can see that this is a successful attempt at creating a series that would appeal to young males who are too young to read more "exciting" literature with bad language and more adult themes. For what it is...I enjoyed it. The hero, Daniel, was quite likeable and the premise was interesting enough to keep me involved in the story and intrigued. The book was very short but that also worked in its genre's favour as a young boy would be disinclined to read a much longer book. Spoiler: I love Daniel's imagination and how he used his powers to recreate his family and friends.

I miss my Son

2008-08-27T15:26:00.001-04:00

Nick

Sometimes it feels like everyone is looking at me,

Or nobody is.

Because I scare them.

It isn't catching and I am tired of it all.

~

Sometimes I just want to scream,

"At least you can still hug your son."

Sometimes I wish that their son had died...not mine.

The emptiness is all consuming but exhausting,

I am embarrassed by all the attention....

But I feel worse if they forget.

It isn't catching and I am tired of it all.

~

My beautiful boy so full of life and joy,

Where did you go?

The loss of your vibrancy and enthusiasm

Has left a vacuum that is impossible to fill.

How can someone with so much life just be done?

It isn't catching.....and I am soooo tired of it all