The Aviator's Wife

Historical fiction is a very interesting genre of writing.  The author writes the book incorporating factual information on the subject but takes greater liberties with dialogue and the interactions of the characters. The word embellishment comes to mind.

The Aviator’s Wife is the perfect example. The book is written about Charles and Anne Lindbergh. They met in 1927.  Anne's father was a self made success story who had just become Ambassador to Mexico.  Lindbergh had been the first solo pilot to cross the Atlantic and land in Paris.  He was adored.  He saw Anne and it seems he asked her to marry him not because he loved her but because he thought she would make a good partner for him.  And she did.

I found the period of time that the book covers extremely interesting.  My Grandmother was born at the turn of the century and when you think about that, Lindbergh was just three years younger.  So both of them grew up in a world where the telephone was invented and becoming more available to people in their homes, electricity was more commonplace and air travel was a possibility.  The sky was truly the limit.  Think how crowded the sky is now and how empty it use to be.  My Grandmother saw more changes than I will ever know.  Even though we have seen technological advances that does not compare with the automobile, airplane or travelling in  space.  I use to love to sit and listen to my Grandmother talk about the world she grew up in, I could picture it in my mind.

In my opinion and it seems like the authors as well, Lindbergh was not a great husband.  Anne was a pretty talented woman.  One of the things I did not know about her is that she was an excellent pilot.  I did however know she was an author so I will probably read one of her books that talks about her life and marriage to get what I hope is a more accurate account. 

If you like historical fiction, than give this book a try.

Sunday Notes on Monday

So if you have been reading my blog by now you know that  every Sunday I play this little game with myself. On Sunday the first section that I read of the Washington Post is the Outlook section, it contains the book section. I go to the last page and read the Washington Bestseller list. This week the bestseller list focused on Paperbacks but it alternates between paperbacks and hardcover. You can check my scoring system on the May 6th post.

I am happy to say that for the first time in a long time I have met my goal.  I have read three out of the ten books on the list starting with the number 1 book The Casual Vacancy. (see my post on November 24, 2012)  Just a brief word on this book, although the writing was great after all it is J.K. Rowling, I could never quite make a connection with the characters or the story.  I Just don't get what she is trying to say. Maybe it is a British thing. The other two books are Ender's Game (9) and Chesapeake Blue (7). 

I have to say I am really surprised about the number 7 book Chesapeake Blue because the book was the fourth book in Nora Robert's Chesapeake Bay Saga which was published awhile back.  Don't get me wrong as romance novels and Nora Roberts novels goes this was a decent book but why is only the number 4 book showing up on the bestseller list.  What happened to 1-3? If you like Nora Roberts and you haven't read this series yet please start with number 1 so you can meet all the brothers and understand the dynamics of the family. 

This past week I have been reading The Aviator's Wife about Anne Morrow and Charles Lindburgh and The Cuckoo's Calling. Look for my blog posts on these two books.  Next on my list is Lean In.  Click on any of these books for more information:


        

The Silent Wife

Unfortunately I found myself wasting my entire morning at my car dealership having my 40,000 mile tune-up.  The service writer said your car should be ready in about two hours and by the way it should cost $237 oh and please place your initials by the quote. So I thought ok I will wait, after all you know me I always have a book with me. So I sat down in the waiting area and after 3 and 1/2 hours my car was finally done and the bill a whopping $472.  I really believe they looked for things to fix and I, not knowing what is essential and what isn't took the bait hook, line and sinker.  Man am I dumb or what.  I think the next time I need to bring my car in I will remind my husband of our marriage vows where he promised to love me in sickness and in health and to take car of my car.  That is when I really fell in love with him because I feel completely stupid when talking with service writers.  Whereas he totally speaks their language.  He really has a gift.  I also require his presence when I buy a car.  He is great at car salesman speak as well. 

So I am sitting in the lounge waiting for my car to be finished and I read the whole book which is about a marriage with two extremely dysfunctional people.  The husband is a successful architect who is a serial cheater.  She is a psychologist who is completely in denial.  In fact she seriously needs therapy herself and so does he.  Of course she knows about her husband's cheating ways but puts up with them so she can maintain a well ordered life. He cheats but  comes back to her.  But some how this recent fling does not go as he anticipated.  

 It is a very interesting read.

HuMp Day

 

Hump Day was always one of my favorite days of the week but now I love it even more because of the Geico commercial.  That gecko was beginning to bug me.  Actually from the moment that little lizard debut in the commercials he bugged me.  The camel is much, much better.  He makes me laugh.  He gives me hope that there is a chance that I will make it through another week.  If you haven’t seen the commercial yet here is the link.  I hope it makes you smile. If you are viewing it on Wednesday, Happy Hump Day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWBhP0EQ1lA

Back to School? Need a new laptop?

  ASUS S56CA-DH51 Click on the computer to get the detailed specs


My daughter’s sony vaio crashed for the third time.  The last time this happened I was able to restore most everything on her hard drive.  Unfortunately, third time was not a charm.  I had just restored everything and loaded the anti virus protection software and the darn thing crashed.  I thought about replacing the hard drive but just didn’t feel like it was worth it so I found myself in the market for a new computer.  Luckily I have a guy who knows a lot about laptops and he helped me make my choice. 

And the winner is, drum roll please the ASUS S56CA-DH51.  I really hoped to find the computer in Best Buys but they were out of most of the ASUS I was interested in so I went online and did a search.   I narrowed down my search to New Egg and Amazon and Amazon won.  The price, New Egg couldn’t touch it.  The computer was delivered and the great thing about Amazon was they packed it well. When I took the laptop out of the box I am happy to say that the real thing was better than the picture.  The good news about this laptop is it is a hybrid having both an SSD and a regular hard drive.  The SSD is basically just for startup but I have got to say you do not have to hum the Jeopardy song waiting for the thing to boot up. It is pretty fast booting. After working with XP and windows 7 for so long windows 8 takes a bit to get use to but after using it a little while it’s ok.  I still like 7 better but so what.

Downloading and installing software was pretty quick although I didn’t load anything to hefty.  I Just loaded the usual like virus protection, MS Office and of course itunes.  The only thing that I don't like is the touchpad.  the left and right mouse clicks are incorporated into it and I don't like the feel and response of it.  Other than that the laptop is performing well and I would recommend it if you are in the market.

 

Follow this link to see the laptop and specs:  

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009AEVMH2/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=whchrewisuc-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B009AEVMH2&adid=09BT59YX1XX3XWW8SCE0

LaCie External Hard Drive

Sunday Notes on Monday

Sunday Notes on Sunday


So if you have been reading my blog by now you know that  every Sunday I play this little game with myself. On Sunday the first section that I read of the Washington Post is the Outlook section, it contains the book section. I go to the last page and read the Washington Bestseller list. This week the bestseller list focused on Hardcovers but it alternates between paperbacks and hardcover. You can check my scoring system on the May 6th post.

Since this weeks list focuses on Hardcovers I really wasn't expecting to meet my goal.  I did come close.  I have read the number 3 book Inferno by Dan Brown (see my post from 6/25/13) and Gone Girl (see my post 12/11/12).  I am giving myself half a point for the number 1 book The Cuckoo's Calling because I have downloaded it to my kindle but haven't gotten a chance to read it yet.  So many books so little time.  I have books sitting by my bedside literally screaming at me to be read.  The good news is that I will be taking a few days off this week and because I don't have to get up early, I plan to read a little longer in the evenings than I usually do. 

I did want to go in another directions this week and discuss the New York Times Bestseller lists.  The one thing I really like about the New York Times book lists is just that, multiple lists. On the Combined Print and E book list coming in at # 10 is The Silent Wife which I will be blogging about this week so stayed tuned.  I really enjoyed it.  The paperback list had a book that I blogged about last week, ME Before You coming in at #15.  I loved this book and I still think about the characters in the book and the choices they made. 

Two non fiction books that are also worth a mention are Wild and Game Change. So I hope you have some time this week to come back to read my blog.  Happy reading!

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Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls

I am a big fan of the Harry Potter books and movies. Just a reminder owls play a minor role .  After all who can forget the Weasley’s owl that would fly into windows and not necessarily an open one?  My favorite mail delivery by an owl was the howler sent to Ron after he stole the car in The Chamber of Secrets.  I really thought the contents were a hoot.  Get it a hoot!  So I guess you can say I became vaguely interested in owls because of Harry Potter or J.K. Rowling whichever.

As I have said in previous blogs, book titles fascinate me.  I always wonder if I were to write a book what would I call it and would it make sense.  Would it capture the meaning of the book?  I don't know, I guess you will all have to wait to read my book. 

When I saw the title of This book I immediately became curious.  Curious enough so that I decided to read the book.  The book is a collection of essays.  I have read collections before, Nora Ephron and Tina Fey immediately come to mind.  I loved their collections but this collection not so much.  I think the problem was I just didn't like his biting and maybe a little bitter writing.  He definitely has issues with his father which perhaps he has come a long way in dealing with them.  But I just can't see why he would use this title for this collection.  I just am not feeling the connection but that is just me.  If you read the book and liked it please leave a comment.  If you have read this author and liked some of his other works then please leave a comment.  It just wasn't my cup of tea.

Game Change

5

I was having dinner with my brother and sister-in-law.  It was my Dad’s birthday.  Last time my sister-in-law and I had talked I had suggested she read Living History by Hilary Clinton.  So I asked if she had read the book to which she replied yes.  Then she said that she had also read Game Change.  I had heard a lot about the book and the movie with the same name and so I decided to read it. Glad I did.  All I can say is fascinating.

I admit I hate politics.  I too often view things as black and white and no gray area.  Politics is all about the gray area.  I usually stay clear of books on politics and religion because they make me mad but this book was worth the read.  It actually takes you into the lives of the candidates of the 2008 election and the strategies they used to try and win the election. It was I'll meet you outside be prepared to put up your fists cause we are going at it 'till I am the only one standing. It confirmed that even if you think you can count on people for support or for friendship that is not the case when you are in the political arena.  It is more rockum sockum robots than I ever thought possible.   And if you haven't noticed, the ads for raising speculation that Hilary Clinton may give running for the White House another run have just started running. We still have three years before the next election!  I guess it is never too early.

Sunday Notes on Monday

So if you have been reading my blog by now you know that  every Sunday I play this little game with myself. On Sunday the first section that I read of the Washington Post is the Outlook section, it contains the book section. I go to the last page and read the Washington Bestseller list. This week the bestseller list focused on Paperbacks but it alternates between paperbacks and hardcover. You can check my scoring system on the May 6th post.

This week I read two books on the fiction list and one from the non fiction list.  Coincidently, my blog from August 10th was the book from the non fiction list.  The book is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.  Coming up this week stay tuned to my post on the book Game Change which is an eye opening non fiction book on the race for the 2008 white house. 

Happy reading.  Till next week



     

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

This is a very thought provoking book on so many levels.  Henrietta Lacks was at Johns Hopkins Hospital delivering her child.  At the time it was the only hospital in the Baltimore area that would even consider treating African Americans in the 1950’s.  After the birth Henrietta complained about abdominal pain and heavy bleeding. She was diagnosed with cervical cancer and given radiation treatments.  The tumors were biopsied.

Then a very unique thing happened.  The cells from Henrietta now to be known as HeLa cells had the amazing ability to divide at an incredibly rapid rate. They are immortal because of their longevity. This allowed researchers the opportunity to perform many different types of “experiments” that had outcomes that have literally changed medicine.  These cells lead to the development of the polio vaccine and many treatments for fighting cancer.  As with everything in life there is a positive and negative side of the story.

Henrietta died but her cells live on.  While her cells are well known little is known about the woman herself.   Researchers as they always do when excited about a new break through, injected people with this cell line without their consent causing illness and in some cases death.  Their feelings were that they were doing it for the good of mankind. These experiments that they were doing for the good of mankind looked eerily like what the Nazis had been doing barely ten years before. Many companies profited from the HeLa cell while the Lacks struggled to make ends meet.   Skoot set out to find out more the Lacks and the research.  She makes every effort to try and present the facts without interjecting emotion.  That she leaves to the reader.  It is well written.

Me Before You

For the first time in a long time I found I could not put a book down.  I read this book long into the night and only stopped reading because I fell asleep.  It is well written and very thought provoking.

What if you had everything you wanted.  In other words you were truly living the life you loved.  You were at the top of your game at work and you loved what you did, you were rich, you were a world traveler.  You had a significant other you enjoyed being with, in other words you had a BIG Full Life.  Then one day it is all gone due to a freak accident.  This is exactly the situation William Traynor found himself in.

He woke up one morning expecting to negotiate deals, ride his motorcycle, make love to his girlfriend.  He walks out of his condo on a rainy morning in London and gets ready to cross the street when he is hit.  His injuries are unfathomable and his life changes in ways that you would never think about unless it happens to you. 

The book does a great job of portraying from each of the characters perspective the changes they all need to make to cope with the new order of life.  Can they cope?  How do they cope?  Some of the great things that happens because of Will's circumstances and some of the not so great things are all covered in the book.  I finished the book three days ago and I am still mulling over everything I read.  I keep wondering how I would handle things if I were Louisa His caregiver or his mother Camilla or Will himself.  Read the book!

You Can Make a Twinkie or Ding Dong in Your Home

By now all of you know I am a pretty big Hostess fan.  I have blogged about it multiple times.  Well now my foodie friends you can make these tasty treats in the comfort of your own home.  I really am not a big twinkies fan but I do like Ding Dongs so I was surprised when I came across these recipes for the Hostess brand snack cakes at Delish.com.  I have used made several recipes that I found on this site and I received high marks from my family.  Two recipes I really like to make is the Balsamic Chicken and Pear and the Pumpkin Lasagna.  I have the link below so go check it out and if any of you decide to make any of these recipes, let me know how they turn out.

http://www.delish.com/recipes/cooking-recipes/hostess-brand-recipes#slide-4

Inferno? Dante's

 

Dante

I recently blogged about the book Inferno by Dan Brown.  I liked the book on so many levels.  He is a good writer.  I loved the storyline and I loved the setting for the novel, Florence, Italy.  In the Sunday August 4th Travel section Margo Hammond writes an interesting article looking at Florence but really searching for the remnants of Dante Alighieri the poet and other of Inferno the poem.  I realized that I was in Florence 30 years ago and I am reminded of the city everyday when I use my wallet which I purchased there and still use.  Italian cities are very interesting.  Each of them have a very different atmosphere  which makes sense since they were all different "states" back in the day.  After visiting Rome a chaotic and exciting city, I found that Florence was a more hushed and elegant city.  Anyway they are all good and you might find the article interesting so I am giving you the link.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/dantes-home-town-still-cherishes-his-memory/2013/08/01/413365f4-f2eb-11e2-8505-bf6f231e77b4_story.html

Sunday Notes on Sunday. What's Good to Read this Week

Sunday Notes on Sunday


So if you have been reading my blog by now you know that  every Sunday I play this little game with myself. On Sunday the first section that I read of the Washington Post is the Outlook section, it contains the book section. I go to the last page and read the Washington Bestseller list. This week the bestseller list focused on Hardcovers but it alternates between paperbacks and hardcover. You can check my scoring system on the May 6th post.

Usually I post this on Monday but I thought I would mix it up a bit and post this on Sunday.  I must admit I fell down on my reading pace last week.  Work was crazy and I came down with a summer cold.  I hate summer colds. Oh heck I hate colds altogether. After work each day I came home and fell asleep.  I hope to pick up the pace again this week.  I do have some posts in the works and I am finishing a great book now so please check back this week to read about it.  It really is well written and thought provoking.  In fact it is my favorite read of the summer. Also for all you who read and enjoyed Tailspin and The Maze check out my post on Bombshell.

I am happy to say I have met my goal this week of having read at least three books on the list. The books are Inferno, Gone Girl and Bombshell.  I found the number one book interesting.  It is The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Gaibraith.  This book if you don't know already is "ghost" written by J.K. Rowling which means she wrote it under a name other than her own. I am sure she was hoping to keep the fact that she actually wrote the book from the public a little longer but there is always someone out there who somehow finds out and then like a bat out of hell the information is all over the place. Gotta love the internet.  Gotta love social media.

I find it interesting that she would do something like this but I do understand it.  After writing a seven books that were mega hits it really is hard to repeat something like that and she didn't when she wrote The Casual Vacancy. While The Casual Vacancy was well written it was quite frankly boring but J.K. Rowling is a writer and I can understand why she would want to test the waters before jumping in first. In fact I was reading an online review and the first sentence was " A brilliant debut mystery in a classic vein.....".  That must have made her happy.  What it made me is curious and of course I will be downloading this book onto my kindle to read and I am hoping that this book is better than her other because I love J.K. Rowling's. 

Check out the books below by clicking on them

           

A Better Burger?

Check this out!!!  Just when you thought the burger could not get any more decadent someone proved us wrong.  Who would have thought our budget friendly ramen noodle would be molded and served as a burger sandwich.  I however have my own ideas about this amazing creation.  I think instead of using the molded ramen noodles to use as the “bun”, I would layer it like this, the molded ramen noodle patty, lettuce and tomato, the burger with the cheese and grilled onions all inside of a bun.  I think I just added about a thousand calories more.  What's your spin on this?  I would love to hear.

https://socialreader.com/me/content/uvpSL?chid=82835&utm_content=win20130802-614&utm_medium=email&utm_source=toppicks&utm_campaign=cl20130802&email=suz531%40msn.com