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.

A Trick of the Light   by Louise Penny

I always find it interesting to read authors that are not from the United States.  It adds another dimension.  Not only do you need to orient yourself to the characters but you need to get acquainted with the setting and so it goes with this book.  The author is from Montreal and this book takes place there and in its surroundings.

A Trick of the Light is a murder mystery surrounding a solo art showing of an up and coming artist, Clara.  The day after the show and subsequent party in her honor, a woman is found murdered in her garden.  Imagine Clara's suprise when the dead woman turns out to be her former best friend Lillian.  Apparently Lillian is hated by many people so the list of suspects is long.  In fact many of the potential suspects are introduced at the art showing and party.

While the book is not face paced, the author is great at developing her characters and leading the reader along until the murderer is revealed. Overall it was an enjoyable read.

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

Hollywood, MD    Sunday Travel Section

I was reading the Washington Post last week which I try to read every Sunday.  Several sections of the Post are my favorite.  I love the travel section because I am thinking that one day soon I will get a week or more off and my husband will be able to take a break at the same time and we will go on a great vacation. The day is coming.

So I am reading the travel section and one of the articles is about Hollywood, MD.  Yes there is a Hollywood, MD.  It is located about 50 miles southeast of Washington DC off of Maryland Route 5.  Our adopted family and great friends have a house there that has been in their family for a long time and we were lucky enough to spend many weekends during the summer with them having a great time.  There is nothing like taking your morning coffee out to the dock and enjoying the peace of a summer morning.

One of the things I missed when going there was Sotterly Plantation which is apparently a living history site.  The Post did a good job talking about its owners and one of the things I found interesting was that the front of the house was facing the river.  I noticed this about Mount Vernon as well.  The reason given was that the river at that time was the road.  Much of the traffic was on the river.  Makes sense to me.  Next time I am in Hollywood, Sotterley is the first thing to see on my to do list.

One of the other things mentioned in the article was Clarke’s Landing Restaurant.  I really enjoyed eating here, casual dining with great crab cakes and great margaritas.  If you end up going, get a table on the deck facing the water.  It is a great place to watch the sun set.   www.clrestaurant.com/

Sotterly Plantation

Wicked Appetite   by Janet Evanovich

So I am planning to make a quick trip to New Jersey.  There and back in twenty four hours.  Now for all of you who have ever made this trip or one similar to it you know how ABSOLUTLEY BORING it is, especially the New Jersey Turnpike.  Solution, once again books on CD.  Since I do need to watch where I am going, because I do not want to cause any accidents, I usually try to pick something light and easy to follow.  Any of you who have read my blog before know that Janet Evanovich for me is a fun author to listen to while I drive.  Lorelei King is the actress reading the book and I think she does a great job doing the voices.  When I hear her changing from voice to voice I can’t help but remember the line in the movie Mrs Doubtfire when the social worker asks Daniel played by Robin Williams what he does and he says “I do voices”.  She looked at him like what kind of job is that but actually it’s a pretty great job if you do it well like him. Robin Williams is so out there anyway. After all he’s lived on another planet Nano Nano.

Anyway a colleague of mine lent me the CD Wicked Appetite and it did not disappoint although I must say that the humor in this book was not as good as the Stefanie Plum novels.  This one is about Lizzy a pastry chef who left Virginia to live in Massachusetts when her great Aunt dies and leaves her this very cool historic house.  The house just so happens to be close to Salem, Mass and you all know what happened there in 1692, Yup the Salem Witch Trials.  Personally I think if you have a good witch for a friend it’s a good thing not a bad thing, but people at that time didn’t share my opinion.  So of course Lizzy has special powers, but she is not actually a witch.  One day this hunky guy also with special powers comes in to ask for her help and the fun begins.  You will have to read the book to find out what happens.  The book is by no means a great work of fiction but it is fun. Another good beach read. Enjoy!

And by the way Janet Evanovich just released another book in this series  called Wicked Business.  I will keep it in mind for my next quick trip.

The Gilly Salt Sisters   by Tiffany Baker

It is no surprise that this book is about the Gilly Salt sisters given the name of course.  One sister knows that her life will be spent on their farm, one knows her life will be anywhere but. The farm is located in an isolated village on Cape Cod.  Joanna, Claire and their mother live and work on their salt farm. No man seems to be able to survive on this farm.  Their brother Henry died at an early age and their father ran off never to be seen or heard from again. The salt produced on the farm has a very strong effect on these women and the people living in the village.  In fact, every December the town holds a big bonfire and one of the Gilly Girls throw salt on the fire.  The color of the flames determines a lot of what will happen in the next year. The salt has also had an effect on the economy of the businesses in town.  Those businesses that sold or used the salt seem to do well.  If they turned their back on the salt there were consequences.

I really don’t want to say too much about the book because I would give the whole thing away and then what fun would that be.  All I will say is that the story had some surprising twists.  Some of them I admit I figured out but some took me till the end of the book to see where the author was going.  It still was a great summer read.

MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search for a New Best Friend  by Rachel Bertsche

This book had me at hello so to speak.  I read the title and I couldn’t resist picking up the book.  The theme of this book is finding a gal pal, that person or persons you can call up and just talk on the phone with or make plans to do a girls night etc.  Most importantly it is someone who you trust, someone who you share a piece of yourself with. They are your people like Meredith and Christina in Grey’s Anatomy. The author takes you on her year long journey to find a new BFF.  Actually she is looking for several.  Why is she doing this?  She lived in New York and had two best friends who she had known practically forever but while in college she met a guy.  After college he ended up living in Chicago and she decided to move in with him. She ended up marrying him and lleaving her gal pals in the big NY.  While she loved her husband she felt she was missing something, a best girlfriend(s).

As she finds out and many of you out there already know, it is not easy to find friends who you connect with once you leave high school and college. In today’s world it can be even harder because women are juggling so many things at one time, relationship, motherhood, often jobs leaving little time for you. It’s not like you can walk into a bar, go up to the bartender and say I am looking for a new BFF do you know anyone who would fit the bill?  

The author discusses her strategy for identifying candidates who might be new gal pal material including advertising for MWF Seeking BFF. She goes on a yearlong quest to find new good friends.  She shares her “girl dates” with the reader.  In addition, she shares her research about how friends can have an effect your self-esteem, coping mechanisms and morale.  She also discusses the statistics on types and number of friends a person tends to have and she categorizes them into three categories.  For example, you might typically have 100 or more acquaintances.  These are people that you know through organizations, maybe work that you chat with if you see them in the grocery store or around town. That is the extent of the contact.  You really don’t interact with them socially.  So I shared one category but I will let you read the book to get the skinny on the other two.

While I sometimes found the author to be a little whiney and needy, overall I really enjoyed the book and all the research she did on friendship and its importance. I consider myself extremely fortunate for all the friends in my life.  Life would be so dull without you all. 

The Book Thief  by Marcus Zusak

This book has been on amazon’s top one hundred list for over 668 days.  There has to be a good reason and there is.  This book is fascinating to read.  It was written for young adults but I enjoyed it and as much as I wish i was a young adult, it was definitely a great read. It is well written  The most fascinating things about this book is the reader is lead through the story by “Death” who becomes a character in the book.

The setting of the book is World War II in Nazi Germany.  Europe just reeks from death and yet this character Death does not appear harsh rather it feels resigned to do its jobs in the kindest most humane way possible.  That in itself is an interesting concept after all death comes to a person and robs them of the one thing they cherish the most, life.

We meet Liesel on a train with her mother and brother.  Her brother is very ill and as mentioned Death comes to take hime away.  Liesel's mom can not take care of her and she is left with a Foster familyactually a childless couple.  The story revolves around this family and i found that the relationship between the foster Dad and Liesel to be the most interesting.  He is the one who teaches her to read and begins her path to become The Book Thief.