Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and Stephen King (or what I read when I'm sick)

If you're going to get the stomach bug in the middle of July (and I don't recommend it), it helps if you happen to be sick when ABC Family is having a Harry Potter weekend.  At least if you are a Harry Potter fan.  It requires little effort - having read the books and seen the movies, you already know what is going to happen.  It doesn't matter if you doze off in the middle of The Order of the Phoenix. Or if you decide mid-movie to retire to your bedroom to lie in front of the fan and read.  This is a pretty accurate description of my last few days.
After a pretty miserable Thursday night, I spent the better part of Friday and Saturday alternating between bed with a book and the couch watching whatever Harry Potter movie happened to be on at the moment.
My main book at the moment is Garlic and Sapphires, by Ruth Reichl - about her experiences as a food critic for the NY Times.  As you might expect, the last thing I wanted to read about this past weekend was food.  So I put it aside in favor of others...
I've been slowly wandering through the Game of Thrones series this summer - my second (or maybe third) trip through the Seven Kingdoms.  I was horrified at the end of this season's final episode, and have been working my way through the books to refresh my memory.  (Don't worry - no spoilers here!) So I spent a better part of Thursday and Friday lying in bed with A Clash of Kings.
When that got too heavy, I swapped it out for Stephen King's Duma Key...for some reason it has been on my mind recently and happened to catch my eye as I was back in my spot on the couch on Saturday.  I got further with that than Clash of Kings because it is a faster read and there are fewer characters to keep track of.  And generally, once I start a Stephen King, I just want to keep reading until I'm done.
I'm now about halfway through both books, which isn't bad considering I've done very little else for the past few days.  Except, of course, lying on the couch watching Harry Potter.  Even as I write this, Deathly Hallows is playing in the background.  As I've mentioned a few posts back, I had started reading the Harry Potter series with my nephew Ryan.  As it turns out, we got mid-way through The Sorcerer's Stone before he went away on a family vacation. A text from my sister a few days in to their trip asked permission for him to read ahead.  Never one to discourage a kid from reading, I said absolutely.  By the time he got home, he was nine chapters into Chamber of Secrets and dying to talk about it.  So, I am letting him read the rest of the books on his own.  As soon as I put my hands on my copy of The Hobbit, we're going to start on that.  In the meantime, however, I'm enjoying watching him experience the world of Harry Potter for the first time.
Despite a miserable couple of days, I'm happy to say my fictional favorites have gotten me through and I'm back in the land of the living. With some help, of course, from my fabulous husband, who was handy with sympathy and Gatorade when I needed it!

Paperback Swap

I know I've mentioned that I have imposed a self-ban on visits to library book sales.  The problem is that I come home with a bag of books to add to the already imposing pile of books I currently have on hand.  (And that is after weeding out a bunch when we moved last October)

However, I do still find myself in search of a particular book here and there.  When that is the case, my first source is paperbackswap.com.  This site allows you to list the books you own that you are willing to part with.  (Not an easy thing, I know)

If I remember correctly, when I first signed up, I got credits after listing my first 10 books.  Every time someone requests a book from you, you simply pay the postage to ship the book, and you receive a credit.  It couldn't be easier - you can even print a label with postage and just drop the book in the nearest mailbox.  Once you have credits, you request the books you want from another member and they ship to you.

One of my favorite things about Paperback Swap is the wish list.  If there is a particular book I want, that is not available at the moment, I simply add it to my wish list.  As soon as someone posts the book, I will receive a notification indicating the book is available and giving me the option to request it.  If more than one person is wishing for the same book, you go into a queue for the book in order of request.  You can even see on your wish list where you are in the queue for a particular book, and an estimate as to how soon it might become available for you.

At the moment, I have a handful of books on my wish list, including the last five books in the Trixie Belden series (35-39).  I've got almost a full set, just missing those last five which are harder to come by.  They are pretty expensive, even "used" on Amazon, so I have not yet purchased them.  In the meantime, they are on my Paperback Swap wish list on automatic request.  So as long as I have credits in my account, I will automatically get the request when my turn comes up.

To date, I have shipped 149 books and received 123.  The farthest away was 3,383 miles, although my average is 1,083 miles.  You can even pull up a map of where you have shipped to and received books from, which is pretty neat!

If you are looking for an inexpensive way to pick up new books, and maybe get rid of a few of your own, paperbackswap.com is a great option.

Finders Keepers

"Wake up, genius" - the opening line of Stephen King's newest book - Finders Keepers - gave me shivers.  As part of my overactive imagination, I occasionally wake from a sound sleep thinking I've heard someone say something in my ear.  It can be scary, but is never real.

In the case of John Rothstein, however, the voice that wakes him belongs to Morris Bellamy.  Morris and his co-conspirators have broken in with the intent to rob Rothstein's safe.  They are in it for the money, yes, but in Morrie's case he is more interested in the notebooks full of unpublished Rothstein material. 

And he has a bone to pick with Rothstein. John Rothstein's "Runner" trilogy has left main character Jimmy Gold a sell-out, fading into a world of suburbia and taking a job in advertising.  Morris is furious that Rothstein has done this to his fictional idol, and exacts revenge. 

Some unforseen circumstances wind Morris back in jail, but not before he has a chance to bury a trunk full of the cash and notebooks.

Meanwhile, Pete Saubers and his family are struggling.  His dad was injured by a lunatic who drove a car into a crowd of people lined up for a job fair.  The very same lunatic who was captured by Bill Hodges and friends in Mr. Mercedes.  They are struggling, that is, until Pete discovers the trunk. Everything is great until the money runs out and Pete decides to attempt to sell the notebooks to a shady seller of rare books.

Because Morris is finally, after decades of rotting in prison, out on parole.  The only thing on his mind is digging up the trunk and reading the notebooks.  He cares less about the money and more about whether the notebooks contain additional Jimmy Gold novels.  He is beyond furious when he digs up an empty trunk.

Enter Bill Hodges, Holly Gibney, and Jerome Robinson - the heroes of Mr. Mercedes.  Now running a "recovery" firm, they are approached by Pete's sister Tina, who is concerned that Pete has a dangerous secret and quickly become embroiled in a rescue mission.  Throughout, it begins to appear that Bill is still borderline obsessed with Brady Hartsfield - Mr. Mercedes himself.

The second book in the Bill Hodges series, Finders Keepers is a good follow up to Mr. Mercedes.  Of the two, I liked Mr. Mercedes better, but that generally is the case in a series.  It's the first book that makes me want to read the second.  But Finders Keepers certainly holds its own.  The ongoing story of Morris and Pete kept me hanging on through the very end. 

I have very rarely met a Stephen King book that I didn't like. I'm happy to say that Finders Keepers did not disappoint.

One Wish

I may have said this before, but I am a sucker for a good series.  Generally, if I read the first book in a series, I will read them all. Robyn Carr, for example, hooked me with her Virgin River series.  Normally, I prefer to start a series at the beginning and read in chronological order. With Virgin River, I read them as I got my hands on them, because I liked them so much.  I want to live there, or at least visit.  I would very much like to pull up a stool at Jack's bar.

Imagine my delight, then, when I learned that Robyn Carr was starting a new series, this one set in the town of Thunder Point.  I tore my way through the first three books, and then whipped through the next three when Erin loaned them to me earlier this year.  When I spotted number 7, One Wish, on Erin's bookshelf, I grabbed it for a quick read.  I was not disappointed.

The thing I love about these books is that, while they incorporate characters from the previous books, each book focuses specifically on one couple.  One Wish tells the story of Grace Dillon, flower shop owner.  In her earlier life, Grace was better known as figure skating superstar Izzy Banks, until she unexpectedly retired from competition and disappeared from public life.  She is happily settled in Thunder Point, running a thriving business.

Meanwhile, Troy Headly is looking for someone to have fun with.  Until recently, his attentions have been focused on Grace's best friend Iris.  That is, until Iris informed him that they were better off as friends and married the man she'd been in love with since she was a child.  Recovering from a broken heart, Troy turns to Grace for companionship.  Their friendship soon turns to more.

Of course, it's not all fun and flowers for Grace and Troy, as the life she thought she'd put behind her begins to rear its head.  Complications in her life, and in their relationship, keep the story moving and keep the reader rooting for things to work out for the best.

One Wish was exactly what I needed before diving head first into the new Stephen King that arrived in the mail last week.  A quick, upbeat read that is perfect for summer vacation reading.  I look forward to the next installment of this series, which happens to share the same name as my favorite Star Wars movie: A New Hope.  Stay tuned for more on the town of Thunder Point...

How many stars

In honor of the holiday weekend and the stars and stripes, here's a little bit about how I rate books, specifically on Goodreads.  The rating system on Goodreads allows for a rating of between one and five stars.  Here are my definitions for those stars:

Five stars is reserved for books that I truly love.  The ones I read over and over again and never get enough of.  Books like The Outsiders, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, To Kill A Mockingbird.  The ones that made me fall in love with reading and writing.

I have to seriously enjoy a book to even give it four stars.  The last book I gave four stars was Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, which I finished with tears streaming down my face.  If a book moves me enough to want to tell someone "You have to read this book," I will give it four stars.

My go to rating is three stars.  If I read a book and enjoy it enough to pass it on to a friend or family member, it gets three stars.  It probably didn't blow me away, but it was a decent read.

Two stars is dipping into dangerous territory.  Generally a two-star rating goes to a book that I had to force myself to finish.  I tend to give a book fifty pages before dropping it.  If I get past 50 pages, and still end up not enjoying it, that's a two-star book for me.

Like the five-star, a one-star rating is rare for me.  I have to genuinely hate a book to rate it one star. There have been a couple of book club reads that I ended up rating one star.  I actually finished one about an hour before our meeting, muttering "I hate this book," as I slogged my way through the final pages.  I won't mention the name of the book, but I will never read a book by that author again. 

Even more rare than a one-star is a book I can't finish.  I have a hard time with this, because I always want to give a book a chance to change my mind.  But in the interest of saving time, I came up with my 50 page rule.  If I get 50 pages into a book and still can't find a redeeming quality in it, I will put it down.  I don't even bother rating these, I just remove them from my Goodreads list.

Don't Say A Word

A while back, I banned myself from going to library book sales, at least until I finish reading the piles of books I've got around the house.  Many of those books were acquired at library sales...especially since you can often get a bag for a dollar or two on the last day of the sale.

But, I picked up Don't Say A Word by Barbara Freethy at a library sale.  I was intrigued by the cover photo at first.  (I often do, in fact, judge books by their covers.)  I think at first I may have confused it with the movie of the same name.  You know, the one that has Brittany Murphy saying "I'll never tell," in that creepy sing-song voice.  But I digress.

In Don't Say A Word, Julia DeMarco is in the midst of planning her wedding, albeit a tad reluctantly, when she spots a photo of a child that looks like her.  A child staring through the gates of a Russian orphanage.  And the child is wearing a necklace exactly like one Julia's mother gave her.

As far as she knows, Julia is neither Russian nor an orphan.  Raised by her mother and step-father, she is part of a big family, and has been since she was four years old.  And yet, there are no pictures of her before that time, and she has no memories before her mother's wedding.

So Julia abandons her wedding plans and goes off in search of her past.  She finds Alex Manning, the son of the photographer who took the famous orphan photo.  Julia and Alex begin a quest that takes them back through a past that they didn't know they shared.

Plenty of intrigue and plot twists kept me reading Don't Say A Word far later than I should have at night, and nearly made me late to work a morning or two.  

The Casual Vacancy

Let me start by saying that I am a big fan of J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter series.  I read the first five books straight through shortly after the fifth book came out.  I finished the series much later, and loved every bit of it.  I am currently mid-way through The Sorcerer's Stone with my nephew. (Who, by the way, is loving it just as much...despite his insistence on adding an "f" to the end of Dumbledore)

So, it was with great anticipation that I picked up The Casual Vacancy - a J.K. Rowling book for grown-ups.  I tend not to read reviews before I start a book.  I prefer to go into a new book with an open mind and no prior expectations.  I very rarely even read the foreword of a book.  (Unless of course, it is Stephen King addressing his Constant Readers.)

The Casual Vacancy begins with the unexpected death of Barry Fairbrother in the small English town of Pagford.  Barry's death leaves an open seat, or casual vacancy, on the parish council.  Soon several members of the community are vying for the seat and the expected political bickering ensues.

Multiple terrible relationships are examined.  Not one of the couples appear to have a "good" marriage.  Husbands cheat, wives fantasize about other men, and teenagers venture into unprotected sex.

The teenagers in town are a sorry lot.  Fighting with their parents, and occasionally amongst themselves, not one of these kids is likeable.  Not even Krystal Weedon, who we are led to empathize with because of her terrible home life.

To be quite honest, it took me longer to read The Casual Vacancy than I expected.  It was not a book that made me want to drop everything and read.  I didn't look forward to finding out what happened next.  And in the end, I was disgusted with just about every character.  I was truly, just glad to finish and return it to the library.

The Lost Art of Mixing

The Lost Art of Mixing, by Erica Bauermeister, centers around a restaurant owner and the people who surround her. 

Lillian, the owner herself, is in a new relationship with widower Tom, and encounters an unexpected wrinkle in her otherwise steady life.  Al, her accountant, is struggling with his marriage to Louise, who (unbeknownst to Al) harbors anger and suspicion.  Chloe, Lillian's sous chef, lives with Isabelle, who is struggling with Alzheimer's.  Chloe finds herself drawn to Finnegan, the tall dishwasher at the restaurant.

I read the first book in this series, The School of Essential Ingredients, with my book club in 2013, and we all enjoyed it.  According to Goodreads, we all gave it three or four stars.  So I was looking forward to the continuation of many of the stories introduced in The School of Essential Ingredients.

It would be too harsh to say I was disappointed in The Lost Art of Mixing.  I did enjoy the book, just not as much as the first.  The interaction of the characters and their individual stories was interesting, and I am always attracted to the next book in a series.  I'd still give it three stars and recommend it to anyone who read The School of Essential Ingredients.

Books about cooking or restaurants always make me think about taking a cooking class.  This book, as well as it's predecessor, did the same.  And then I always think again and realize that a cooking class is not for me.  I have no patience in the kitchen.  Sometimes just the thought of making a sandwich exhausts me.  I'm better than I used to be.  I can, in the right mood, throw together a decent meal (provided I have a recipe, of course).  It's just that the right mood doesn't strike me very often. Maybe one of these days I actually will take a cooking class.  But tonight it will be pasta and a jar of Trader Joe's marinara.

Bookus Interruptus

As I may have mentioned, I read pretty much anywhere.  Sitting on the couch, lying in bed, in the backseat of the car on long trips.  The beach, the pool, standing up in the kitchen waiting for the timer to go off for whatever's for dinner.  Occasionally, I must admit, even in the bathroom.

I have a bad habit of leaving a book open, face-down on a handy surface.  I know, some of you are gasping in shock right now.  It's a terrible way to treat a book.  And I am trying...

As a prolific reader, I have bookmarks everywhere.  I get them as gifts, or they come free with magazine subscriptions.  Some even come in the mail with requests for charitable donations.  I don't lack for bookmarks.  But I never seem to have one handy when I need it.

So, for your enjoyment, and in no particular order, a list of things I have used as bookmarks:
Coupons - generally expired ones
The twist tie from a loaf of bread
Drawings by one of my nieces
Kleenex  (not used!)
Requests for charitable donations (the kind that don't include bookmarks)
The business reply cards that fall out of magazines
The wrapper from whatever yarn I happen to be knitting with that day
My thumb
A paperclip
A napkin
The tear off edges of an old paycheck stub
A library receipt...handy if you don't want to forget when the book is due.
An old photo
A grocery receipt
The jacket of hardcover books - mainly the flap tucked into the page, but I have on occasion taken the jacket off and used the whole thing.

Basically, if it is handy, and won't cause damage, I will stick it in my book to hold my place.  The only thing I can say for sure that I've never used as a bookmark is cash.  My husband, when we were first dating, stuck $200 into a copy of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.  It stayed there, forgotten for years, until the book was being packed for one of our many moves.

There is a book called Forgotten Bookmarks, by Michael Popek, which provides a collection of things that have been left behind in books.  Photos, letters, an interesting array of items.  I am always intrigued when I discover a library receipt in a book I've taken out.  I want to know what else the other person is reading.  Why that particular combination of books?  If I haven't already read it, I will sometimes add their book to my "to read" list.

How do you mark your place when you don't have a bookmark handy?

Bag of Bones

Every year around this time, I find myself rereading a Stephen King novel.  My go to books are usually The Stand or It, old favorites.  This year, however, I picked up Bag of Bones, one I've read five or six times before.  I am generally drawn to the books of his that feature writers as main characters.

Bag of Bones is set mostly on Dark Score Lake in Maine, and tells the story of Mike Noonan, who is still mourning his wife after four years and suffering from a wicked case of writer's block.  He begins to dream of Sara Laughs, their lake house on Dark Score.  Eventually, he takes himself north for the summer with plans to possibly stay longer.

Almost immediately, he meets Mattie and Kyra Devore and becomes embroiled in Mattie's custody battle against her father-in-law.  Add to that an angry spirit, a crying ghost boy, and occasionally his dead wife's ghost, and you have one of my favorite's of Stephen King's books.

The thing about rereading a book like this is that it is familiar.  The characters are like old friends.  And as events unfold, I can say to myself, "Oh, yeah, that's right," or occasionally, "Oh my God, I forgot about that."  Every time I read a book I notice something new.  For some reason, on this read, one line jumped out at me, part of a description of the court-appointed guardian ad litem in the custody case: "Durgin chuckled fatly."  I don't know why it struck me funny, but it did.  I had a little giggle in the waiting area of Ally's dance class where I was reading.

I've been staying up far too late reading all week, as I always do when a Stephen King novel is involved.  Once I get sucked in, it's all I want to do to the exclusion of all else.  I am anxiously awaiting my copy of Finders Keepers, which came out earlier this week.

The House at the End of Hope Street

Menna Van Praag's The House at the End of Hope Street first crossed my radar when my book club was trying to choose a book set on another continent.  After a hilarious discussion about how Canada is not, in fact, on another continent, we eventually settled on The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, which was set in France, and a fairly interesting historical novel about a female spy.

I was interested in The House at the End of Hope Street, however, and when I recently stumbled on it in a bargain book bin at Stop and Shop, I grabbed it.  The premise intrigued me.  Main character Alba finds herself at a loss when she suffers "the Worst Event of Her Life" and stumbles upon a house she had never noticed before.  The proprietress of the house, Peggy, tells her she can stay for ninety-nine nights, rent-free, and use the time to turn her life around.

Thousands of women have stayed there over the years, many of them famous.  Currently sharing the house with Alba and Peggy are Carmen, a singer running from a secret, and Greer, an actress desperate to get her career on track.  Stella, a ghost that only Alba seems to see, inhabits the kitchen sink.

Alba goes to bed the first night and wakes up in the morning to find her bedroom lined with shelves full of every book she's ever read.  To a confirmed bibliophile like myself, this would be paradise.  As Alba undergoes her personal transformation, the books change to fit her needs.  The house is magical, and not above sending advice in the form of mysteriously appearing notes.  Who wouldn't want to live in a house like that?

Overall, I enjoyed following the lives of the four women in the house, seeing how their interactions, as well as the house's influence, got them on to their future paths.  The characters were well developed and the little tidbits of historical facts about the photograph women, who by the way can speak to the house's residents, were interesting as well.

A Pause for the Cause

Taking a quick break from book stuff to share a little bit about a cause that is near and dear to my heart...

Last night was our comedy night fundraiser for Team Lena's Smiling PHACE and Boston Children's Hospital.  With the help of the guys from Funny 4 Funds and a lot of very generous prize donors and table sponsors, we raised more than $4000.

If you're looking for a way to raise money for a good cause, I can't say enough about Funny 4 Funds.  These guys put on a 90-minute comedy show that had us laughing the whole time.  Check them out at funny4funds.com!

As for me, I wrote Lena's story up to have on the tables.  I thought I'd share it here:

 

Why We Walk

Lena's Story

 

 

Lena is the reason our family walks for Boston Children's Hospital.  Eight years ago, she was diagnosed with PHACE syndrome which is "the uncommon association between large infantile hemangiomas, usually of the face, and birth defects of the brain, heart, eyes, skin and/or arteries." (Definition from www.angelphace.com).

 

In Lena's case, she had a hemangioma in her throat and an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in her head.  The one in her throat was blocking 95% of her airway, which for an infant left her a very tiny area to breathe through.  A hemangioma is a knot of blood vessels - these were causing her heart to work overtime pumping the blood through.

 

Lena spent most of her first summer in the hospital.  Before surgery, the doctors attempted to shrink the hemangioma in her throat with steroids.  She likes to laugh at the pictures of herself with the "chubba-cheeks" that the steroids caused.  When the steroids didn't work, they surgically removed the hemangioma.  To do this, they had to remove some of the cartilage in her throat.  They repaired it with a little piece of one of her ribs.

 

In addition to that surgery, Lena has had multiple embolization procedures to close off the blood flow to the AVM in her head.  Her most recent embolization was earlier this year, hopefully her last.  She will continue to have MRIs for many years to come.

 

Thanks to the doctors and staff at Boston Children's Hospital, Lena is a happy,  healthy, and very active little girl.  She takes ballet and tap dance classes, as well as piano lessons.  She is a smart, creative second-grader who loves to draw and write stories.

 

Lena has been to (and still goes to) more doctors than most eight-year-old girls, but they don't even phase her.  In fact, this past winter, when I was complaining again about getting a flu shot, Lena said, "I don't like needles either.  But I just do what I have to d."

 

Boston Children's Hospital is near and dear to our hearts because they have made it possible for Lena to be the sweet, loving little girl that we all adore.

 

To help support Boston Children's Hospital, visit my page at http://fundraise.childrenshospital.org/site/TR/Walk/Walk?px=1018955&pg=personal&fr_id=1290.


Throwback Thursday: The Outsiders

I first saw The Outsiders when I was 10 or 11 and promptly fell head-over-heels in love with Ponyboy Curtis.  My friends and I argued for months over which of us would get to marry him.  To this day, it is still one of my all time favorite movies.

Imagine my joy when I then discovered that it was based on the book by S.E. Hinton.  I took it out of the library over and over and over.  And then to learn that it was written by a seventeen-year-old girl.  It was one of the first moments I realized that I could be a writer.

I was enthralled with the life that Pony lived with his brothers and friends.  I hated the Socs every bit as much as the greasers did.  Except, of course, Cherry Valance - the Soc cheerleader with a soft spot for Dallas Winston.

First lines can make or break a novel, and this one is fantastic: "When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home."  When my niece Allison told me she had started reading The Outsiders in English class, I quoted that line to her.  She double-checked me, but I knew I was right.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching her read it for the first time.  I was jealous of that opportunity.  I would love to be able to read it for the first time again.  Her response to the book was very similar to mine.  When they watched the movie in class, she said she understood why I used to have a crush on Ponyboy.

It's been years since my last reading of The Outsiders, but I'm feeling like I may need to reread it soon.  It has a permanent place on my shelf of favorites.  And I still cry when Johnny tells Pony to "Stay Gold."


Aside from this blog, I've been doing more writing. I'm currently working on a short story about a clown. If I finish it by Sunday, I'm submitting it to magazine for a clown related anthology. With the number of creepy clown dreams I've had in my life, I'm fairly certain I can get something finished to submit.

On a more personal note, I've also recently written a "Why We Walk" piece about Lena's journey with PHACE syndrome and the great things that Boston Children's Hospital has done for her. It will be on the tables at the comedy fundraiser this Saturday night. (Tickets are still available if you're interested.)

First Frost

I am a big fan of Sarah Addison Allen.  I've yet to read a book of hers that I didn't like.  First Frost did not disappoint.

A follow up to her Garden Spells, it continues the story of the Waverley family.  Garden Spells introduced us to Claire and Sydney, taking us through the "Year Everything Changed."  First Frost picks up ten years later, with both Claire and Sydney married and settled in the town of Bascom, North Carolina.

The special thing about the Waverley family is that each of the women has a magical touch about her.  Claire's is with food, and Sydney's with hair.  Sydney's daughter Bay, who is a high school freshman, just "knows" where things (and people) belong. 

A stranger threatens Claire's stability and a teenaged mother throws Sydney's life into turmoil.  Meanwhile, Bay is falling for a boy she knows she belongs with, and whom her mother wants her to avoid. 

This is another story of sisterly bonds and family strength.  It seems to be a theme among the books I'm reading lately.  No surprise, really, since I have a pretty fabulous sister of my own.  We may not have always seen eye to eye, but we are closer as adults than we were in our younger days.  She's my BSF...best sister forever. 

And we have had a good example in sisterly bonding in our mother and aunts...four sisters who are very different and yet still alike in many ways.  And not just them - so many of our cousins are girls too, and each sister relationship is different but tight.  Even my nieces, who maybe haven't learned to appreciate each other as much as they will some day, share a lot, including their love for dance. 

We may not have Waverley talents, but I like to think we all have a little bit of magic in us.

The Apple Orchard

My second recent book with a main character who discovers long lost family members.  In Susan Wiggs' The Apple Orchard, Tess Delaney learns that the grandfather she never knew is in a coma.  And that he intends to leave half of his estate to Tess.  The other half will go to her half-sister, Isabel.  Tess is shocked to learn of her father's family, and journeys to the town of Archangel, CA, with her grandfather's banker, Dominic Rossi.  Tess and Isabel begin to build a sisterly relationship while digging into the family history to try and save Bella Vista, the family orchard.

Although Tess is anxious to get back to her real life and job in the city, she begins to develop attachments to her sister, to Dominic and his kids, and even to her comatose grandfather, Magnus.  Her journey to her final destination is an interesting one.

The descriptions of Isabel's cooking are mouth-watering.  I would love to spend a week at Bella Vista and sample all the tasty dishes, many of which are included along the way as recipes.  The question, of course, is whether my mediocre cooking abilities could do them justice.  Maybe I'll give one or two of them a shot.

I'm looking forward to The Beekeper's Ball, which continues the story and delves more into Isabel's life.  I'm a sucker for a series, and can't wait to move on with Tess, Isabel and their family and friends!

Rhett Butler's People

I have only two requirements for the books I read in bed:
1) Nothing scary. Thanks to my overactive imagination, I have been prone to nightmares since I was a kid.  Reading anything spooky right before I fall asleep can be a trigger, so I try to avoid it.  I keep the creepy books for daytime.
2) It has to be something that I can read in small increments and still follow.  There are nights when I can get into bed and read for an hour, but most nights I am lucky to get more than a page in before nodding off.

On Saturday and Sunday mornings, though, I love nothing more than to read in bed for a while before I start my day.  This morning, I took a little extra time and finished Rhett Butler's People by Donald McCaig.  I've been reading this one for a while - an alternate take on the events of Gone With the Wind through the eyes of Rhett Butler and the people in his life: his sister Rosemary, Belle Watling, Belle's bastard son, and Scarlett herself, to name a few.

Gone With the Wind is an old favorite, so I was hesitant to read this one.  I worry when another author takes on a classic like this.  But I enjoyed Rhett Butler's People as it gave some insight into what was going on in Rhett's life while the action in Gone With the Wind is focused on Scarlett.  The familiarity of the story made this an easy read.  Revisiting the characters was like seeing old friends after a long absence. 

I will say, however, that it makes me want to re-read Gone With the Wind to compare the two stories.  And because Rhett is one of my favorite "bad boys" in literature.  I never could understand how Scarlett could fall for mild-mannered Ashley Wilkes over Rhett Butler. 


In other news...
The family is busy planning our Funny 4 Funds Comedy Night fundraiser for Team Lena's Smiling PHACE and Boston Children's Hospital on May 30 at the West Warwick Elks Club.  We have been gathering donations and table sponsors, and selling tickets in hopes of raising a good amount for the walk this June.  Boston Children's Hospital is near and dear to all of our hearts for the care they have given to my niece Lena.  Tickets are still available for $20.  Contact me for more information.

I have finished Heart Shaped Box, but will hold off on reviewing it until after book club meets in June. 

Nephew Ryan and I read the first chapter of Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone on Friday and he is intrigued.  He said, "I think you're right, I think I am going to like this book."

The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion

It's been a busy few days, with not a lot of time for reading, but I did manage to sneak in some down time on Monday night and finished The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg.  I have been a fan of hers since Fried Green Tomatoes, and this book certainly didn't disappoint. 

Imagine finding out at the age of fifty-nine, that you were adopted as an infant.  And that you are actually 60.  Sarah Jane Poole, also known as Sookie, discovers that the reason she has never been able to live up to her mother's expectations of what a Daughter of the Confederacy should be is that she is not, in fact, her mother's daughter.  According to her birth certificate, her mother's name is Fritzi Jurdabalinski.

She begins to research her birth mother's family and learns that they are a Polish family from Wisconsin who ran a gas station.  The book jumps back and forth between Sookie's story in the present day, and the Jurdabralinski family's during World War I.  She learns that her mother and aunts were female pilots during the war and eventually seeks out her "real" family.

In an interesting twist, shortly after finishing the book, this story about World War II female pilots appeared in my Facebook feed: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/92-year-old-female-world-war-ii-pilot-flies-article-1.2220910.
Although this particular article is about an English woman pilot, it helped to put a face on Fritzi and her pilot friends.  It amazes me how often I read something in a book and suddenly find it popping up everywhere in my real life.

In other book news...
I gave myself a serious case of the shivers while trying to read Heart Shaped Box late at night while the husband was out playing hockey.  I had most of the lights off in the rest of the house, and only got three chapters in before I had to put it down. I was tempted to put it in the freezer.  However, a further attempt yesterday afternoon was much easier...I'm about halfway through now.  Seriously creepy, but I generally like that kind of thing, so I'm enjoying it.

Nephew Ryan and I have decided to abandon our journey through Narnia in favor of Harry Potter.  We're starting the first book on Friday.

After giving up on Heart Shaped Box the other night, I picked up The Apple Orchard by Susan Wiggs.  Another story about a woman discovering things she didn't know about her family...in this case a grandfather and half-sister she didn't know she had.  Stay tuned...

Third time's the charm...a reintroduction

I don't remember learning how to read. According to family legend, I read my first book around the age of three. It was Put Me In the Zoo. To prove that I hadn't just memorized the words, I was handed a copy of Go Ask Alice. To the astonishment of everyone present, I was able to read from the page in front of me. From that moment on, I have pretty much always had my nose in a book. I was the kid who had to be called multiple times for dinner because I was lost in another world. And I have burned dinner more than once for the same reason.

At any given time, I'm reading a minimum of four books. Right now, I am in the middle of the following books:

The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg. This is my main book, by my chair in the living room, and the book I grab when I need some down time.

In the bedroom, I am reading Rhett Butler's People by Donald McCaig. An interesting alternate version of Gone With the Wind. It fits the bill for reading in bed - no clowns, no vampires, no murderers, and definitely no Stephen King. In the daytime, I'll gladly read a book with any of the above. I adore Stephen King's novels. But I never, ever read them in bed.

On my Kindle, as soon as I remember to charge it, I am at the start of Dear Kate by Hannah Duggan. It was a freebie from Amazon, and I did not get too far in before the battery died.

For non-fiction, I'm reading T.J. English's Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster. Interesting, but at 480 pages, I'm taking a while to get through it.

My book club is reading Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill. Definitely not one to read before bed...he is Stephen King's son.

With my nephew, we are journeying through Narnia. Currently we are stalled in the fifth book - The Horse and His Boy - and I am afraid he is going to outgrow wanting to read with his auntie before we finish the series.

Books are what I know best. The goal I set for myself in January was to read two books a week for 2015. According to Goodreads, I'm nine books behind schedule. So, I've got a lot of reading to do...hopefully you will come along with me!