I dreamed a Dream  Les Miserables

Once upon a time in the not too distant past I was an insatiable theater goer.  I grew up in a family that felt the same way.  I am not sure how old I was when my parents took me to see my first Broadway show.  Living on Long Island, Broadway was a mere forty five minute train ride on the Long Island Railroad. After seeing that very first show, I had Broadway fever and every year my parents asked me what I wanted for my birthday and every year the answer was to see a Broadway show.  In fact, the best birthday present I ever had was from my husband.  We went to New York for a three day weekend and we saw Five shows. In addition to seeing the amazing Phantom of the Opera, we caught the last performance of Present Laughter with Frank Langella.  At the end of the performance he actually come out on stage and had a discussion with the audience.  A DELIGHT to listen to him talk!

Unfortunately, in recent years I have not been to the theater as much as I would have liked and one of the shows that I actually have never seen live is Les Miz.  I heard a gasp from many of you as you read that last sentence but alas it is true.  And believe me I find it hard to believe myself.  After all Les Miz played on Broadway for an astounding 6,680 over ten years. Where the heck was I and what was I thinking.  So to right this awful wrong I will be one of the millions of people who will be racing to the theater to see the movie version.  The cast alone is reason to see it.  So as many of you out there might be thinking, I am going to try to be one of the millions that go to see it on Christmas Day.  My family and I are pumped up and ready!

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

 

 

Things are not always how they seem.  A couple is celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary.  From the outside they look to be a perfect couple, both good looking, living in a big house etc etc.  But the wife disappears on their anniversary and things don’t look too good for the husband because as it turns out he is not a stellar husband. 

Of course suspicion falls on him immediately and of course he proclaims his innocence.  The question. is he just a crappy husband and not a killer or is he a crappy husband and the killer? And if he is not the killer than who is?  This is an interesting mystery.

Notorious Nineteen  by Janet Evanovich

It’s the holiday season.  I have a lot on my plate.  With all the black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping to do it was very hard to squeeze in something too heavy. After all who can pass up on some great retail therapy.

Along comes Janet Evanovich with her nineteenth Stephanie Plum novel. The usual cast of characters are in it, the two hunkie donkeys Ranger and Morelli, Lula and of course Stephanie herself.

 What would a Stephanie Plum story be without Stephanies's car getting blown up and true to form on page 8 her clunker gets consumed by a fireball, caught in the cross fire of the bad guys.  

Stephanie once again is strapped for cash and her cousin Vinnie’s bail bond agency comes through by assigning Stephanie to find this guy Geoffrey Cubbin  who is charged with embezzling five million dollars from Cranberry Manor an assisted living facility.  My Home Health buddies I am sure know how devastating this would be to many of their patients.  Shame on you Geoffrey with a G not a J.

Anyway he got sick in the middle of the night, went to the ER, had his appendix removed and when his wife showed up to take him home he had vanished.  Puff, gone.  Vinnie put up a lot of money for this guy and if he doesn’t show up for court will lose it.  Stephanie has her assignment find Geoffrey.

Bond, James Bond

As all of you are aware, this past weekend was Thanksgiving.  Everybody has their own Thanksgiving traditions and my family’s tradition is to see a movie on the Saturday after. This year was no exception and the movie of choice was Skyfall.  All my family members were really looking forward to seeing the movie given the fact that it had gotten good reviews and people we knew had really liked the movie.

I think I can speak for all of us when I say the movie did not disappoint.  In fact it exceeded my expectations and here is why.  This is one of the few James Bond movies that did not depend on gadgets to get James out of his impossible predicaments. Oh don’t get me wrong I love the James Bond gadgets. But in this movie it focused on the technology that we have today.  Computer programs, GPS and tracking devices that are all in use today plus the agent’s ability to think and assess what to do in a situation made the movie believable.  Also Q and Moneypenny are back!

Of course I will not say more because I don’t want to spoil the movie if you haven’t seen it.  It is definitely something to put on your movie going list.

But that is not why I am writing my post.  After the movie was over and all the credits were rolling I noticed that Ian Fleming was on the list of credits.  I was pretty sure Ian Fleming had died but heck I thought that I could be wrong so I of course went home to Google him.  Just as I suspected he had died in 1962.  He wrote many James Bond novels but Skyfall was not one of them.  It seems he still gets credit because he created and developed the characters or so it seems to me.  So other people wrote the story and screen play but he still got credit in the movie. Interesting!

 

Coincidently, I was reading the Sunday Washington Post.  I like to read Walter Scott’s Personality parade the question and answer column on famous people.  One of the questions asked by a curious reader was “There seems to be a new James Patterson novel every month.  Does he take part in the writing process or just lend his name as a co-author?” I was flabbergasted by this question thinking to myself, why would a writer not write their own books?  The answer to this according to Patterson is that he creates the outline and a “cowriter’ writes the first draft and Patterson than finishes up.  As far as I am concerned he is not writing or for that matter co-writing these books.  He is merely selling his name.  Ok he looks at the first draft to make sure the co-author can write a story but what part of these books did he really write?  He is basically playing the role of an English professor or a Company with his co-writer being his student or employee.

How Many other writers are doing this and why?  To me writing means expressing your views and telling your story not letting someone else do it for you.  Each writer has their own way of using words and developing their story.  It is like their finger print and while they may write many novels with different characters and plots their own special cadence and rhythm is woven into their words.

When I find an author that I really like, I will usually read another book by that author.  Some of the things I look for when reading is consistency in the writing.   Call me old fashioned but if I was a successful author why would I let someone else write books under my name causing people to question my personal writing ability.  Some of my feelings may be my ego talking but I am not so sure.  Writing to me is sharing and communicating with people in my own style.  It is an accomplishment, a personal accomplishment.  Am I the only one out there that feels this way?    

                      

The Casual Vacancy  J.K Rowling

 

Hi Everyone.  I am back.  Work has been crazy busy and was temporarily tapping into my brain power.  Things have settled down a bit and so I am able to read again without falling asleep after a page or two.

Harry Potter, two words that have become synonymous with seven excellent books and eight movies.   These so called “children’s books “ captured both the attention and heart of children and adults alike.  I remember pre-ordering the 7^th Harry Potter book from Amazon.com and when it arrived at my house I removed it from the box and put it on my night stand.  It took me several days to start it only because I knew once I did, I would not be able to stop and once I finished there would be no more.  It was thrilling to see how it ended and sad that these were the final chapters.  I still am overwhelmed by the brilliance of everything created by Rowling in the Harry Potter series.  She created a different world with well- developed characters; places that we wish were real, new languages and lots of spells to learn.

I watched several interviews that Rowling gave.  One was with the iconic Oprah. You do not mess with Oprah! Oprah asked if she planned to write another book and Rowling gave the impression that she really didn’t have any plans for other books or for that matter any desire to write other books.  But once a writer always a writer and so there is The Casual Vacancy.

Right from the start I found the name both intriguing and confusing. Rowling I guess must have found the title unique because she defines what a Casual Vacancy is before you even start the book.  The story starts with the death of a local politician which allows her to introduce her characters to the reader.  Again Rowling is good at developing characters.  In fact, Rowling is a great writer period. 

I have a reading rule .  The rule is that I read the first fifty pages.  If the story has not captured my attention, I am done with it.  I sometimes break my fifty page rule.  I did when I read the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  I was glad then so I decided to carry on after fifty pages of this book after all it is J.K. Rowling. The problem that I had with the book is the story is very slow to develop and it doesn’t really pick up much as you get deeper into the book.  I didn't like the characters, they were dull and boring. It was certainly not Harry Potter. I guess that it is kind of unfair to judge the book this way but I can't help it.  When you have read seven books by an author that you just couldn't put down there is a certain expectation that the next book written will be as good as the previous ones.  This one just didn't have the WOW factor that I had come to expect from J.K. Rowling.  Let me know what you all think of the book and if I am being unfair by judging her on previously written books and not on the merit of this one.

 

Experts Read the Tea Leaves  by Katherine Tallmadge Washington Post 

Tea has been around for centuries. My Grandmother drank tea.  Rather unusual in a world where coffee reigned supreme.  She passed her affection for tea to my Dad who in turn passed it on to me.  But I do admit, I did not really appreciate it and enjoy it until I started working with a physical therapist.  She quickly became a good friend and I have dubbed her my Guru of Health. 

She introduced me and my office mates to some wonderful teas oh and yes some lovely “nibblies” as she calls them.  In addition to the exposure to teas, she introduced me to the concept of taking a few minutes for myself to enjoy the tea and de-stress.  OMG what a concept and it is such a simple one at that. Now I always have tea at work and I try really hard to take a few minutes for my cup of tea and my return to sanity.  I may not steep tea leaves but I do have a box of my favorite at work.

In a recent edition of Local Living in the Washington Post, which by the way is rapidly becoming my favorite section of the paper there is a wonderful article discussing the benefits of tea. Among the benefits of tea mentioned in the article are my two favorite ones De-stressing and help you to think. There are studies that L-theanine in combination with caffeine which are natural ingredients in tea reduces cortisol the stress hormone while improving mental alertness.  And the best part is tea is not a drug. I call that a win-win situation.  Read the article it is very interesting.  For those of you who might have missed the print version or live out of town I have included the link.  Oh and make yourself a cup of your favorite tea while you read it. Celestial Seasoning has all its holiday teas in stores now.  Nutcracker Sweet Black tea is my favorite.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/teas-health-benefits-seem-promising/2012/10/29/90014e06-1c5b-11e2-9cd5-b55c38388962_story.html

 

Calico Joe  by  John Grisham

Growing up in New York, baseball wasn’t a sport it was THE sport.  After all we had two teams the New York Mets and the New York Yankees.  My grandfather was a huge baseball fan and I was a huge fan of my grandfather.  In fact, as far as I was concerned the moon revolved around him.  He use to sit on the couch listening to the game on a small transistor radio and I was right next to him.  As I grew up I got the chance to see the game in person which was so much better because as many of you know the pace of a baseball game can be really slow.  But in person it really was an experience.

In those days my best friend lived right next door and it felt like I was in her house more than mine.  Therefore, I adopted her two older brothers and they would occasionally take us to Shea Stadium to watch the Mets.  I love you guys for that.  I actually got to meet Number 7 Ed Kranepool granted it was after he had left the Mets but who cares.  Even though the Mets lost more than they won it was still neat to be there.

The Yankees were a different story.  Everyone loved the Yankees in New York, even when they were not having the best season.  I remember going to a twilight double header with my youth group and when I walked into the stadium it felt so incredibly alive.  And it was not the fans that had shown up that evening. When you were in Yankee Stadium you could feel the presence of those who were there before you.  The Old Yankee Stadium was a living breathing history museum.  Baseball back then was all about the fans, the players and the game. I mourn the loss of the old stadium.

Recently I went to see the Yankees play the Orioles at Camden Yard.  Camden Yard is a beautiful venue but it just didn’t feel the same.  The spirits of the men who played and made the game great are just not there and I miss them.

Anyway John Grisham has written a book called Calico Joe that I feel captures the essence of baseball the way it was.  It is a departure from his usual legal thrillers like The Firm and the King of Torts.  The book centers on this young boy Paul, his father a pitcher for the New York Mets and a young ball player who the Cubs bring up from the minors. Joe Castle or Calico Joe as he was affectionately named became the boy wonder of baseball setting all kinds of records.   When Paul’s Dad pitches a game Calico Joe plays, things get cracking and I really can’t tell you more or I will give away the entire story.  All I can say is that I read the book in a couple of hours and liked the story. If you grew up loving baseball I think you will enjoy this book.

The Lace Reader   by Brunonia Barry

This is an intricate story that is set in the town of Salem, Mass.  Giving the setting, one immediately thinks about witches and yes this novel does delve into that subject.

Towner Whitney receives a package from her Aunt Eva with a note asking her to come home to Salem along with her lace making pillow.  Aunt Eva was very adept at making and reading lace and would not normally part with her pillow.  But she wanted Towner to come home.  Towner had not been back to Salem since the untimely death of her twin sister.  In fact, when her sister died she had suffered a nervous breakdown and was hospitalized.  When she was released she went to California where she hoped to put the past behind her and for that matter Salem as well.

The day after receiving this package she gets a call from her brother informing her that Eva was missing and presumed dead.  She is then forced to go to Salem where once again she must face painful memories and past demons.  She must find out what happened to her Aunt Eva and her sister’s death.

Luncheon of the Boating Party  by Susan Vreeland

Recently I blogged about an article published in the Washington post regarding paintings and artifacts that can be found in various museums all over the District of Columbia. One item I did not discuss that was mentioned in this article was the painting by Renoir’s entitled “Luncheon of the Boating Party”.  This is part of the Phillips Collection and is one of the paintings that are always on display.

The painting is a collection of people. Several of the subjects in the picture where friends of the artist.  One of the women in the picture was eventually to become his wife.  Seeing a picture like this makes you think who are these people? what are they like?  Apparently Susan Vreeland felt the same way because she wrote an entire book and created stories and dialogue around each of them.  So she took interpretation of the painting a couple of steps further than usual. The characters came alive under her narrative.

 

How Curators Decide What’s not on Display by John Pancake

The Washington Post dedicated an entire section to museums this past weekend as it should.  The D.C. area is home to a plethora of museums dedicated to many different interests.  And here is the best part about these museums, many have no admission fees.  I will say that again many have no admission fees.  So if you are planning to come to D.C., plan on spending a whole day museum hopping.  You will not be disappointed.

My favorite museums of all times are The National Museum of American History and the National Gallery of Art.  The National Museum of American History has 3 million artifacts in its collection. It is interesting to note that the Ruby Red slippers worn by Dorothy or Judy Garland to be more accurate in the Wizard of Oz  will be departing from the Museum to be displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London starting October 9, 2012.  But do not despair, they will return on November 21, 2012 in time for holiday visitors.  I have seen these slippers up close and personal and can’t help but remember the scene when the wicked witch makes her entrance trying to get those precious slippers off of Dorothy’s feet.  Fat chance lady!

According to the article the city’s curators have roughly 140 million things to choose from.  What is more interesting is not what they display but what they choose not to display or what to remove from display. So only about 1% of all items are displayed. The rest are packed away to preserve them for future viewings.  At the Corcoran the rule of thumb is a photograph on display for six months must go back in storage for six years.  That is a long time not to display something.

If you would like to check out the article for yourself, here is the link.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/at-washingtons-museums-theres-plenty-thats-not-on-display/2012/10/04/5527d934-09ab-11e2-a10c-fa5a255a9258_story.html

 

 

Benjamin Franklin’s waist coat use to be a deep plum but is now a brown.  It is 230 years old and is being rotated off of display.

 

 

 

 

The Next Chapter  By Patricia Sullivan Washington Post

 

TGFL.  Thank God for the Library.  I am a very heavy user of the library system.  As you know I love to read and when I am in super reading mode I read 2 – 3 books a week.  Some are worth mentioning, some are not.  I give a book around 50 pages if I can’t get past that I don’t bother to finish and I don't bother talking about them. 

As many of you know, I have an e-reader, it’s a kindle and between amazon.com and the library I am constantly downloading books.  As good as the library is with their e books I often find that I am one of many waiting for a book to download.  So I find myself turning back to the printed version of the books.  Oh how I missed the feel of books in my hands so it is nice to mix it up between digital media and an actual book.  I find between digital downloads, actual books and of course purchases made at Amazon.com and other retail establishments my book needs are very well satisfied.

Today, Thursday I read the article in the Post entitled The Next Chapter  which was all about the library and everything it has to offer.  It was a really interesting article.  As everyone well knows the library has evolved from a place that you can check out a book to one that is a source of various forms of electronic media.  The article points out that 4.4 million people used the internet and other resources at the library to help them with their job search.

The Library is the perfect partner for our public schools.  Actually in many cases it is an extension providing resources for research.  Working in the computer field and teaching end users, I have to say kudos to the librarians who are making the effort to learn the skills needed to use and show patrons how to use the various electronic media.   Marian the librarian from the Music Man days is long gone. Many librarians today train extensively in elctronic media.

For some the library is a weekly ritual.  I know it has always been that way for my parents.  Often after dinner our family room became a reading room.  My parents are so pro library that they did a public service announcement for their library.  It made it onto you tube.  It’s goofy but it is from the heart. Check it out. Here is the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGcP4i1quoI

Many kudos to the library for keeping up with the times and providing materials in some of the “newer” formats.  I know that many patrons of our library system find it difficult to physically go to a library. Downloading books or audio books is a great way for them to still enjoy reading.  I love the fact that many senior citizens I have spoken with said that their kids gave it to them during the holiday season and they like them.  It’s funny they always seem surprised. 

  New Kindle fire HD

  Kindle Fire

 

Zero Day   by David Baldacci

This is my first David Baldacci read and I don’t know how I missed reading at least some of his books.  The book’s main character is John Puller, a combat veteran recently back from the Mideast.  He now works for CID that is short for Criminal Investigation Division, a US government agency.  The work he does is similar to what they do on one of my favorite shows, NCIS.  For all of you out there that is NCIS not NCIS Los Angeles.

Puller is sent out on a solo mission to investigate the brutal murder of a high level military officer and his family.  This murder occurred in a rural, remote area of West Virginia.  Coal Mining territory where practically the whole town is owned by one man who is also getting death threats. 

He enlists the help of a local sargent Sam Cole, that is Sam short for Samantha and together they start putting the pieces together to solve what initially started as one crime scene and turned into two.  Is this a murder involving a conspiracy, National Security, drugs or something altogether different?  You will have to read the book to get the answer.  It is a good thriller and a good read.  And from my research a second John Puller novel is being released in November.  So if you can’t get enough of John  stay tuned there will be more.

 

(If you are interesting in this book and wish to buy it please click on the book.)

Killing Lincoln:  The Shocking Assasination that Changed America Forever  by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard 

I am really not into politics or let’s just say I am not into discussing politics with others. It is a topic that brings out the worst in people and who needs that. That is why when I saw that this book was co-authored by Bill O’Reilly I almost passed it over. His books are usually not the ones I pick up and start reading. But it just so happens that there are a few Presidents that I find extremely interesting to read about.  They are Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Bill Clinton.  That makes two republicans and one democrat.  But it is not their politics that are the thing I find most interesting it is the man himself.

And so one Sunday morning I was reading the Washington Post and in the book section there was a write up on this book.  It peaked my curiosity and so I decided to read the book.  It truly did not disappoint.  The book although non-fiction is extremely interesting to read, not dull and boring like some history books tend to be. But as Bill O’Reilly says it is written as a thriller. The book is engaging from the beginning.  So much so that you actually feel like you are right there in the thick of things.  It starts with the battle of Petersburg and continues of course through the assassination of Lincoln. The Battle scenes were written so that I felt like I was there.  Descriptions of the men and the conditions were so real and captured the emotions, weariness, desperation and at time the elation these soldiers felt.  The authors gave great insight into the psyche and personality of General Grant and Lee as well. Their description of the movement of the conspirators and the President are so well written I felt like I was walking on the streets with them.  I must admit that it does help that I live in the DC area and have been down these streets myself.

At the end of the Civil War Lincoln was the most hated man in America. He received about three hundred pieces of mail per day and many were threats from people who wanted him dead.  In fact according to this book, Lincoln had very strong feeling that he was not going to live.  He taunted death by walking and riding through the streets of DC where anyone could come up to him and do the deed.  He was advised by many people that he was a target but he felt he needed to be close to the people.  He even dreamed of his own death.  To him it seemed it wasn’t if but rather when and somehow he made peace with this knowledge.

And of course what good would a book on the assassination of Lincoln be without going into great detail about the man who did the deed John Wilkes Booth.  This guy was a home grown terrorist.  He felt it was his duty to save the South and the Confederacy and he was the best man for the job.  Being the actor and narcissist that he was he felt this was going to be the greatest role of his life and he did everything he could to make sure that people knew it was him so that he would go down in infamy.  He certainly achieved that. 

The book also touches upon the idea that there was a conspiracy to kill Lincoln.  That aspect always has to be discussed in circumstances such as these just like those that surround the death of President Kennedy.

In closing, I highly recommend this book and when you read it, please come back and leave me your comments.

(If you are interestede in purchasing any of the books you read about in my blog please click on the book icon.)

Joy for Beginners  by Erica Bauermeister

I am on a quest to find a really good book to read.  Joy for Beginners is not the great book I was looking for but it was an interesting read.  Kate is diagnosed with cancer and finds herself on a grueling journey of surgery and chemo therapy to rid her of this disease.  Fortunately she has a great group of women, her friends, who are there for her one way or another.  Their energy and love see her through the worst of times and when her doctor declares she is cancer free they rejoice by having a dinner to celebrate.

At this dinner party she makes a deal with all of them.  To celebrate her new lease on life she will go white water rafting, something that has terrified her.  But if she goes she tells them they must do one thing that makes them uncomfortable or that they find challengingand here is the kicker she gets to choose what each of them will do,  So the author takes you on each of their journeys and the women wonder how Kate new exactly what  to choose for them.  But Kate is a good listener and all the conversations that she had with her friends during her illness gave her great insight.

The Swan Thieves by Elisabeth Kostova

As promised, I am writing about this book written by Elisabeth Kostova who, you may remember from my prior post wrote The Historian.  The Historian was a haunting and sometimes downright sinister tale of Dracula.  While reading it I often looked over my shoulder to see if I was being followed.  No worries about that when you read this book which deals with an artist who is mentally ill.

For some reason which I cannot seem to figure out at the moment I seem to be gravitating towards books with an artist as a main character.  The two others were Coming Up for Air and Trick of the Light.  Perhaps this is no coincidence.  Perhaps this is my subconscious telling me to go buy canvas and paint and create something.  Remember there are no coincidences.  Anyway back to the book.  As I mentioned the story revolves around a brilliant artist, Robert, who turns out to be mentally ill. 

The author uses this character to introduce and develop all the other characters in the book.  In fact, she also uses them to give insight into the inner workings of Robert’s mind.  So his story actually evolves through the eyes of his ex-wife, his mistress and his psychiatrist and in doing so their stories emerge as well.

The best thing about this book is how well this author writes.  You all now I read a lot.  For that matter I read a lot of fiction and I find it very refreshing to read an author is not necessarily writing “bestseller fiction for the masses”.  Don’t get me wrong, I love those books which is evident by my choice of books.  In fact one of the things on my bucket list is to write one of those books when I grow up, but nothing is more exciting than discovering a book that uses the English language well.

This is not the type of book you can breeze through rather it is one that you take your time, savor the writing and enjoy the story.  It is like a good bottle of wine that gets better after the first sip.

Hot House Orchid    by  Stuart Woods

While I have been reading lately, I have not been able to get my thoughts together to put pen to paper or should I say keystroke to keyboard.  This is due in part to it being crazy at work and crazy in my house trying to get my college student moved into an apartment.  I have made dozens of check lists tried to think about every little thing and then a voice went off in my head that said Target is only a couple of miles away.  Let it go.  So to get my creative juices flowing again I am started with some VERY Light reading.  Actually I popped another CD into my car player and listened to this one.  Having a book on CD when you are driving a lot sure helps the miles go faster or maybe it’s just that I have a heavy foot on the accelerator.  Either way the time spent in the car is more enjoyable.

If you want something with an intricate plot than this is not the book you want to choose.  But if you want something mindless while you are sitting on your deck or on that sandy beach getting in some of the last rays of summer, crack open this book or download it to your e-reader.

The setting is on or around Vero Beach in Florida.  Females are being stopped by what appears to a police in an unmarked car.  Frankly unmarked police cars scar me for just that reason and I wonder if I was alone in my car and was being pursued by an unmarked car would I stop.  My answer would probably be no.  I would whip out my cell phone, call 911 and drive to the nearest Open business or populated area or I would ask the 911 operator how I should proceed.  But that is just me.  Just curious to those of you reading this, What would you do?

Anyway, he shines a light in their eyes so they can’t see anything injects them with Rohypnol (the date rape drug) and bodies start gathering along the byways.  It just so happens that one of his first victims is Holly who happens to be an ex MP in the military and a CIA agent.  She manages not to get killed but the others are not as fortunate.  She is joined in the story by Lauren who just so happens to have served with Holly in the military.

Along with these two characters you have a list of suspects.  There is the new chief of police who by the way has not such a great history with Holly and Lauren since he was their CO when they were in the military, the former chief of police who has been promoted and heads another branch of law enforcement, the awkward detective the handsome Emergency doctor and I probably forgot a bunch.  So if mindless reading is what you want then mindless is what you will get with this book.

The Historian      by Elizabeth Kostova

I have a confession to make.  I have not just read this book, but I want to share it with you anyway because: 1) I found it fascinating and 2) I am reading this author's second book and will be sharing my thoughts about that book this week. I found this book while browsing in a bookstore, one of my favorite past times.  Sadly bookstores are rapidly becoming extinct.  I still mourn the demise of the Borders bookstore.  And while I love when a book shows up at my door step a few days after ordering it online it is just not the same as wandering through the shelves of a bookstore and finding a good book.  That is how I found The Historian.  It was lying on a table with a very unassuming cover (not the one you see in this blog) and name and yet I picked it up and bought it.  I still question why I picked the book up but I am so glad I did.

This book centers around a woman who while looking around her father’s library finds an ancient book and letters.  The letters lead this woman who has led a relatively sheltered life in academia on a quest of discovery, who is  Vlad the impaler and is there any connection to Dracula.  Interestingly the first letter opens with almost an apology for finding it because the author, her father knows that a historian that reads the letters will be compelled to follow the path he was on, one that led him into Ivy league libraries, monasteries and all over Eastern Europe.  One that he says drove those before him nearly to insanity and left him nearly ruined.

So the question is Did Dracula truly exists and did he “live” from century to century.  The main character is determined to pick up where her father left off and so the reader is guided through history to a haunting tale that is both fascinating and at times somewhat scary.  I found that if I were alone in the house by myself at night I often could not read the book.  But that is just me, I scare easily. 

I love the way this author writes.  She is not your everyday let’s throw some words on a page writer.  Rather than breezing through the book, I found myself savoring the words.  The words conveyed me into the world I was reading about and while as I mentioned before, the book scared me, I could not stop reading it.  Just not at night!  Read it! It is worth it!

Stone 588  by Gerald Browne

You would do anything for a sick child.  Wouldn’t you, which is what Springer did.  At first glance Stone 588 is a flawed gem with little value to jewelers.  But the stone is important in other ways.  It has strange powers and he is planning to use these powers to save his ill son.  But others somehow discover its magic as well and so the race begins by many people who want to possess the stone. And let’s just say the other people do not have as pure a use for the stone as Springer has.  What ensues is murder and mayhem and I loved every minute of this book.  It is a perfect summer read but it is hard to find.  Amazon has used copies for a great price so click on the book above to get the link.

King of Tort   by John Grisham

I buy books all over.  Since I bought a kindle I have been doing a lot of shopping on amazon.com.  I mean the thrill of getting a new book in 30 seconds is too hard to resist.  BUT I must admit that I like going into thrift shops for books as well.  Recently, I was in Montgomery General’s thrift shop, (whoops I mean Medstar Montgomery Medical Center) and I picked up a half a dozen books.  You just can’t beat the price and I needed my book fix. Also this particular thrift shop is run by the hospital’s women board and they do some great things for the hospital.  I feel it is my community duty to buy there.  One thing about shopping for books in a thrift shop is the books are usually not the new best sellers so you take what you can get.  I like John Grisham.  My favorites of his still are The Firm, The Rainmaker and The Runaway Jury but when I found The King of Torts I decided to read it. 

Briefly the story is about a young lawyer who when we first meet him is working for The Office of the Public Defender.  He has worked here for more years than he thought he would and as lawyers go he gets paid next to nothing.  One day he gets a phone call from a man to meet him to talk about a case.  They meet and this man offers Clay a case against a drug company. Finding the money too hard to resist he takes the case and is an overnight multimillionaire. The money definitely changes him and his decisions are influenced by this new world he fell into, sort of like falling down into the rabbit hole where there is a whole new reality.  Find out what happens to Clay.  

 

Take Your Eye Off the Ball    by Pat Kirwan

This is not my typical read but my husband is a BIG football fan and he read the book and suggested I give it a go.  I figured why not.

I grew up with baseball. My grandfather, the love of my life as a kid listened to the games on the radio and of course I listened with him.  Living on Long Island, I was close to both Shea and Yankee Stadium.  One summer I worked as a counselor at a Day Camp and #7 Ed Kranepool from the NY Mets was a special guest.  Yes he had not played for a while but still it was Ed Kranepool!  I had enough guy friends so that going to the games were not a problem.  We sat up in the nose bleed section but the seats were cheap and we were there.  So I feel comfortable enough to say that I know baseball.

Don’t get me wrong, football was on the radar but way way down almost off the screen.  My favorite Aunt and Uncle were big Jets fans and if the Jets were not at home, they were watching so were we, but it just wasn’t the same as watching baseball.

Baseball for the lay person is a much more simplistic game then football.  You have nine men on the field.  The positions never change.  While there is some strategy to the game basically the batter hits the ball and tries to round the bases to come home.  If he makes it home safely, he scores a point, ONE point. Adjustments are of course made for where the players stand on the field according to who is at bat.  And of course the pitcher has decisions to make about the type of ball to throw and where to throw it.  There are other strategies as well but still, it is fairly straight forward.  The flow of the game is slow and subtle.

By comparison, football is fast, furious and multifaceted. To me it is pure bedlam on the field to my husband it is organized chaos.  The Quarterback is either going to pass or throw and his team is going to do anything to move the ball down the field into the opposing team’s end zone.  That is why there are bodies usually strewn across the field.  Gladiators at work. 

Learning the game can be a nightmare especially if you have never played.  Boys did not want girls on their field when I was growing up. I remember I kept bugging the guys on my block to let me play flag football with them.  Finally they conceded.  On the first play I wound up on my back having just had the snot kicked out of me wondering what just happened.  Twenty minutes later when I could finally see straight and got shakily to my feet, I staggered home and NEVER played football again. My love hate relationship with the game was born on that day. Guys you know who you are!!!!

Anyhow, Pat Kirwan sets out to demystify the game by saying hey I know you have been taught to keep your eye on the ball, but for the sake of this learning experience forget about that.  Let’s instead look at the activity surrounding the snap.

And he says that football cannot be learned while it is happening.  You know that actually makes me feel so much better.  Really! I always felt a little stupid because no matter how much I watched I still didn’t really get it.  And so I welcomed the opportunity to learn more about the game mostly for myself but also so that my husband and I could have better conversations on the subject.  Bottom line, I wanted to be able to watch football and understand it better.

Many topics are discussed in this book. One of the first is know the personnel.  Unlike baseball where there are 9 players on the field and the positions are always the same, the football positions on the field change depending on the play.  Even though there should always be 11 players on the field, a team could have two running backs and a tight end or it can send out one back and two tight ends or a third options is two running backs and two tight ends.  Just as the defense reads the other teams strategy, so should you.  So it’s not enough to see guys on the field, you need to know who they are and what their job is.  As soon as the offense goes into formation, you should be able to determine what type of play it will be. So right there I was missing the bat entirely. (Woops wrong game)

The next thing discussed is down and distance.  What down it is and how far the team needs to move down field determines what play the coach calls and what personnel he will send in.  I had the down and distance part down pretty well but once I started focusing on who was playing the light bulb went on and that my friends is all I will tell you about this book since there is so much that goes into the game and I wouldn’t want you to miss anything.

If you do not really understand football, read this book.  You may not learn everything you need to know but you sure as heck will learn a lot more.  But be prepared to work and study.  If you do that then TOUCHDOWN.

The Forgotten Garden  by Kate Morton

This book had me intrigued right from the beginning.  A young child is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia.  She ends up on the dock, again alone.  The dock master sees the young girl and notices she is with no one. No one seems to be coming for her either.  Of course he can’t just leave her there so he takes her home with him.  He and his wife decide to take her in and raise her as their own.  She thrives there.  After much debate on the part of her parents, they decide on her twenty first birthday to tell her the truth.  Her whole perception of herself shatters and she becomes obsessed about where she comes from and makes it her life’s mission to find her roots.  She gets close but it takes her granddaughter to finish the task.

Not being adopted I found this very hard to believe so I would love to have feedback.  Here is a woman who has had a great life.  She has a great family that loves her and a full life in front of her.  Why then does she feel lost?  Why does she feel she no longer is who she has been all along?  Why does she feel the need to give up what she has?  Isn’t everything she has accomplished just as important?  I would love some feed back so please click on comments and let me know what you think.

Elizabeth the Queen:  The Life of a Modern Monarch    by Sally Bedell Smith

 

It is Queen Elizabeth the II's Diamond Jubilee, her 60 year anniversary as Queen of England. Authors seem to be rushing to get biographies they have written on Elizabeth out to coincide with this event. And what an interesting subject she is. I truly admire her, you have to. This is a person who at thirteen after meeting Prince Philip was determined to marry him. At age twenty five she ascended to the throne of Great Britain, the most successful monarchy, and pledged her life to her people.  She has kept her promise often at the expense of her own life and those around her. 

She is the world’s longest surviving leader and has seen many prime ministers, heads of states including Presidents of the United States come and go.  But what do we know about the real Queen Elizabeth.  We only know what she allows us to know.  This book sets out to discover the real Elizabeth and I must say I learned a lot about England and its monarchy.  And yes we do see glimpses of a real person who is intelligent, well read, and has a sense of humor, but no matter how you cut the cake all we really know about Elizabeth is what she allows us to know.  So while the author tries  to portray the “Real Elizabeth”  at the end of the day you are no closer to the essence of Elizabeth.  In fact many specials on the Queen have been airing on TV with interviews between the powerhouses of news and people who know her the best such as Prince William, Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie and you still only gain a very small insight into the woman who is Elizabeth.  It is my belief that whom Elizabeth is will only become public on her death if ever.  I am in no rush, I prefer her alive. 

While this book is easy to read and full of interesting history, she still just covers the generally known facts of Queen Elizabeth period.  She may think she is saying something new and different but she is not.  Still it is worth reading if you enjoy books on the British Monarchy. She covers the subject well.

Just a not about the author, she has written books on the Clintons and the Kennedy White House