Sunday Notes on Monday

It has been quite a few weeks since I have played my little game using the Washington Post bestseller list.  I guess I grew tired of the uninspiring list or the same old same old of the list.  This Sunday Out of the 10 paperbacks listed I read 6. Four are definitely Beach Reads.  They are Gone Girl, The Orphan Train, Bombshell by Catherine Coulter and Deadline by Sandra Brown.  I have posts on all these books. Just look on the left side of my blog to get older posts.

Once again I decide to check out the NY Times.  They have multiple lists. Proof of Heaven has been on the NY Times bestseller list for 91 weeks and is still number 14 on the paperback non-fiction list.  I can't believe it took me so long to read it. I blogged about it this past Saturday. Also on this non fiction list is Orange is the New Black, Wild and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.  The book about Henrietta Lacks has been on the bestseller list for a whopping 170 weeks and is coming in at number 12 this week.  It is a great read if you haven't picked it up yet give it a try. The other two books are good as well.

In the number 22 slot is Devil in the White City.  This has been out for a very long time.  The book reads almost as if it were fiction.  Unfortunately this really happened.  A predator existed in Chicago during the time of the 1893 World's Fear. Scary!  I am sure many of you out there read it, but if you haven't add it to your list.

This week I hope to finish The Accident by Chris Pavone.  Perhaps you have read his first book The Expats.  You can check out my post from June 23, 2012.  I really liked his first book and can't wait to read this one. 

Till next time.  Happy reading!

Inspirational

Check out my cooking with Suz Cee blog. Read about this ten year old committed to becoming a chef.  Maybe I will be able to cook when I grow up

http://tryingtocookbysuzc.blogspot.com

Proof of Heaven

Lately the books that I have been reading have chosen me.  I have not chosen them.  Often I choose books because I like the title and the book jacket.  Sometimes I don't even read the synopsis on the book jacket.  This was the case when I chose Glitter and Glue and The Interestings. My Daughter recommended The Fault in Our Stars.  All these books deal with illness and in several cases death.  It is ironic that at the moment I seem to be surrounded by several people in my life battling some type of illness. The idea of losing them and never seeing them again is hard as I am sure it is for everyone.

This book deals with a man Eben Alexander, a neurosurgeon who has a Near Death Experience (NDE). His brain was under attack by a very virulent strain of E. Coli and he fell into a coma.  To the medical entourage taking care of him, he was brain dead remaining in a coma for seven days.  But remarkably he woke up and even more remarkable was the fact that instead of waking up a vegetable he was fine.  He was so fine that he wrote this most fascinating account of what Heaven was like.  This account is very different from the book Proof of Heaven mainly because that was an interpretation of a child's recount.

Heaven does it exist

I have always wondered about Heaven.  As a child you are told that when someone died they went to Heaven.  To me that was always a comfort knowing the person you loved was going to be ok in their new "home" in Heaven.  I might eventually see people I grew up with and loved again. But as I got older this place called Heaven became more illusive and hard to believe in.

But this book has got me thinking again because his description of Heaven is very different than what we are told elsewhere.  In the Heaven he describes you shed your body and become part of what I think of as a collective.  Meaning you are more than just yourself.  He no longer was part of a body, he was more a cosmic being.  His interpretation of the world he was in was no longer filtered by the limitations of his brain and he experienced things in a different way.  A way that was deeper than what he experienced  on earth.

Right before he came out of the coma he did "see" a few people he knew on earth.  While he was deep in coma he was guided by a "being" who stayed with him to help him through his experience.  While in coma he was unable to identify this being, but once awake and given time to process things he finally was able to identify "the person". I won't tell you who the person was you need to read the book for that answer.

The book gives you a lot to think about. It certainly gave me a lot to think about. Maybe on some type of cosmic level I will be part of the new "life" of the people I loved.  Maybe not. If you are curious about Heaven, you may want to read the book.

 

Glitter and Glue

I thought I had picked up an easy going romance novel.  I seem to be into those this summer.  They are easy to read and relaxing but that was not what this book was all about.  Turns out it is a life story, non-fiction. 

The C word, Cancer seems to be finding its way into my life lately. A friend is coping with it and it is not pretty.  For some reason I seem to be reading books with protagonists dealing with the illness.  I picked up this book because of the title thinking romance but I was surprised when I started reading the book that the author was touched by this illness.  (Just a note, I did not read the synopsis of this book before starting it.  If I had I probably would not have read it) But while the last book Fault in Our Stars was totally focused on people dealing with Cancer this book is more a reflection of the authors life and her relationships.

 She talks ALOT about her relationship with her Mom.  Mother Daughter relationships are so complex and her relationship with her Dad.  She calls her Father the glitter and her Mom the glue hence the name.  But this is so often a true analogy.  The Mom is the one who works hard to keep the family together, she is the glue.

In addition to her relationships with her family she talks about her year spent travelling through 7 countries with a stop in Australia where she finds herself short of money and works as a nanny for this family where the Mom has just died from you guessed it Cancer.

It is a more interesting read than I thought it would be.  Check it out!

Apple Cookbook

Apples, Apples, Apples

Please check out my post for this book on http://tryingtocookbysuzc.blogspot.com

My food quest

In this blog I have often included cook books that have interested me or recipes that I have found from various sources.  I decided to separate these posts in a new blog and invite you to my new blog http://tryingtocookbysuzc.blogspot.com

 I hope you check it out

The Interestings

Six teens meet in summer camp, Spirit in the Woods to be specific.  It is an artsy camp.  I am sure many of you have gone to sleep away camp and have memories of your experience with good or bad.  Some of you like the characters in this book may have kept in touch with these friends whether it has been a few years or a few decades.

These teens have big dreams and aspirations and unlike many friendships that form under certain circumstances and then fizzle, theirs remained strong.  But as everyone knows, the plans that you have as a teen do not always pan out and you must make other choices.  This book takes you through decades and you get to see how these characters change. 

One Hundred Names

Kitty Logan is a journalist who worked for a tv station but because of circumstances surrounding a story she wrote she is disgraced and fired.  To top things off her best friend and mentor Constance is dying.  Sitting by her side right before her death she asks Constance what was the one story she wanted to write but never had the chance.  Constance directs her to a list of one hundred people.  Kitty is fascinated and sets out to find out why Constance chose these people.  What do they share?  What do they have in common?  Do they have anything in common?  What was Constance trying to do or to tell Kitty. 

Kitty finds herself trying to figure out the link between these people and on her journey she finds the most interesting people.  Really interesting read.

Save The Date

I have read several of this authors books and I like her.  She is a good romance writer and I like a good romance every now and then.  So when I saw she just released a new book I just couldn't resist. The book takes place in Savannah.  That's a romantic city or at least it can be. 

A year before Cara found out that her husband had been cheating on her.  She threw him out, got a divorce and opened up a floral shop.  She is talented too and after a year of struggling she finally is building up quite a clientele.  Her specialty is weddings. 

She buys herself a dog(female) and swears off men! That is until her dog Poppy runs away and she meets Jack a real hottie! Sparks fly after that and it is not because it is hot in Savannah.  This author is fun, witty and writes well.  If you are looking for a romance novel try this one