Do Witches and Vampires get Along? Only in certain Cases.

Do Witches and Vampires get along? They sure do if they are part of the All Souls Trilogy or at least Matthew Clarmont (Vampire) and Diana Bishop (Witch) do.  I started reading this trilogy all the way back in December 2012 when I started with   Discovery of Witches book one of three and then proceeded to read book two Shadow of Night.  You can check out my posts from December 8, 2012 and December 30, 2012.  I liked the first one.  The second one was so so. It took a while for the last book to be published and I really haven't been in a rush to read it but Amazon has the kindle edition for $3.75 so I said what the heck. I don't know about you but when I read two out of the three books in the trilogy I feel compelled to read the last book. 

Hopefully it wraps things up and is not too corny. So if you have read book one and two but have been waiting to read book three like me, join me in reading it. Book of Life

A Sudden Light

Can a house be "alive"?  Do its present and former occupants breathe life into this inanimate structure? Growing up I sometimes felt the energy of people who had lived there before. Well maybe one person that had lived there before, a woman.  My Mom felt her presence as well and we named her Fifi.  (pronounced feefee).  We even knew what she looked like because there was a charcoal sketch of her in the laundry room in the basement.  It was there from the day we moved in and was still there when we moved out.  One I asked my Mother why she never took the picture down.  She said because Fifi kept her company while she did the laundry.

In  A Sudden Light the Riddell House has a very big role in the plot.  Trevor and his Dad Jones go to Riddell house for the Summer presumably to sell it.  Jones needs the money since his business failed and so it would appear has his marriage.  Trevor is 14 and has never been to this house or met the Grandfather and Aunt living there.  Jones has not wanted to return here and there are obviously bad memories of things that happen.  It seems he may not move on with his life if he can't reconcile his feelings about events that have taken place her in the past.

Odd things are happening in the house.  Things are disappearing.  Little things that you would miss and Trevor sees and hears people.  People who he does not believe are still alive. For more info on this book follow this link A Sudden Light

 

Mr Miracle

Every year Debbie Macomber writes a Christmas novel.  Debbie Macomber is the author of the Cedar Cove series which has been turned into a series on the Hallmark channel.

 Last year her Christmas novel  was Starry Night(check my blog post from Dec. 4, 2013).  This year it is Mr. Miracle. Harry Mills is an attitudinal angel.  I didn't think angels had attitudes but this one does.  He assignment on earth is Addie Folsom. She left home at eighteen and six years later with her tail tucked between her legs, she has come back.  She is trying to turn her life around.  When the boy next door, her brother's best friend and her tormentor gets in a care accident circumstances which I will not reveal bring them together.  The Christmas Holiday is the back drop for the story.  

If you are a Debbie Macomber fan you will probably like this book.  On my Ho, ho, ho reading scale I give it a HO.

Sunday Notes on Monday

I was reading the Washington Post as I do every Sunday.  I always look at the bestseller list that now appears in the Outlook Section.  To my great surprise this weekend in the Arts and Style Section was the Best Books of 2014.  I was filled with excitement and with much anticipation opened up that section first.  Much to my chagrin, I have read exactly two books on their many lists: You Should Have Known and the Nixon Defense, What He Knew and When he Knew It.  Up until reading these lists I thought I picked books fairly well.   I mean I read at least one hundred or more books a year.  Sure I read my share of trashy books like the best of people  but two lousy books! Wow I am so losing my grip on reality. 

What I really want to know is what criteria they use to pick these books because I really want to learn this so I might choose better.  I sincerely mean it I want to be a better reader.  That doesn't diminish the fact that I read some really good books this year.  I guess many of them were not published in this year.  I hope so.  Maybe I will go back and check the publishing date or not.   Anyway I have added a few of these best books to my reading list.  So what if it is almost 2015 and I might not get them read this year. I guess I will make a New Year's resolution.  Try to read books that make it to the Best Books of 2015 list. Or maybe I will just continue picking them the way I pick them after all  I like what I read.

And just to let you know I am finishing up A Sudden Light which I will post this week.  I had mentioned this book last week but I am a little behind in finishing the book.  It could be because I picked up a two other books and started reading them as well.  I really shouldn't do that but I couldn't resist.  One was a really interesting book entitled Working Stiff Two Years, 262 Bodies and the Making of a Medical Examiner. The other book was what I call a fluff novel entitled Mr. Miracle, a Christmas Romance that I am reading as part of my holiday reading quest. 

I have a ton of books sitting on my nightstand and in my kindle.  Thank goodness I have taken the week of Thanksgiving off to try and gobble up all these books. I am looking forward to reading and relaxing and yes eating the wonderful turkey day meal.    So to all of you have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Duck The Halls

I am going to start off my holiday quest with a crazy Christmas Caper.  It all starts on December 21st.  Michael and Meg are woken from their sleep by a pager under Michael's pillow.  Michael is a professor at the local college who has become a Volunteer Fire Fighter and this is his first fire.  Meg goes along for the ride.

The fire fighters are directed to the New Life Baptist church where it turns out there is no fire.  What they find instead is a bunch of skunks who have sprayed the caretaker when he was in the church checking on something.  The church smells to high heaven and now all of their holiday events including their famous choral concert is in jeopardy.   

Although Meg is not a member of this church she steps in to coordinate the available spaces in the other Houses of Worship only to have to keep on rescheduling when an Emerald Boa ends up in the Episcopal  church and a ton of ducks are found in another  church.  While these pranks are annoying that is all they are until a body shows up.  Amateur sleuth Meg will do her part.

I give this book a rating of one Ho out of a possible Ho Ho Ho

Chocolate Lovers Be Afraid, there is a SHORTAGE!

This is not the first time I have heard that there is a potential chocolate shortage and it is becoming a little scary.   I depend on my afternoon snack size chocolate bar to get me through till I leave my office.  And if there is no chocolate what will happen to Halloween.  Will skittles, sweet tarts, twizzlers and Mike and Ike's takeover.  Thank goodness I don't Trick or Treat anymore.  It just wouldn't be worth the effort.

But seriously the world has become addicted to chocolate.  What will happen if it becomes scarce.  Check out the link to a very interesting article.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/11/15/the-worlds-biggest-chocolate-maker-says-were-running-out-of-chocolate/?tid=pm_pop

Death With Dignity

I have recently read two books that deal with the subject of death with dignity formerly known as physician assisted suicide.  Right after I read Five Days Left which I recently blogged about, the news came out about Brittany Maynard.  This is the woman with inoperable brain cancer who moved to Oregon. In Oregon it is not illegal if you decide to end your life for medical reasons.

In the book Five Days left, the main character has Huntington's Disease.  This is a disease for which there is no cure.  Over time you loose your ability to basically do everything.  This woman who has so much support and love from her family, a family that is willing to take care of her during her illness must make a very hard choice. Her choice is to live and slowly slip away from everything that makes her who she is or to end her life.

The second book is Me Before You.  Again the main character is facing a life where he can do nothing for himself having been injured in a car accident leaving him a quadriplegic.  He is in and out of hospitals where due to modern medicine he remains alive.  In the book he contemplates his choices.

A year ago my dog was diagnosed with inoperable cancer.  He was our second child, our baby, our joy.  As I watched him in pain and slowly losing his ability to be him I knew we had to make a decision.  A few days after Thanksgiving I came home from work and found him under the table breathing heavily and in pain.  I saw it in his eyes.  I felt like he was pleading with me to make the pain stop.  I gave him pain meds the vet had given us and held his head in my lap until my husband got home.  We got him in the car and drove him to the vet.  The vet told us he would only get worse and so my husband and I had the conversation on what to do.  I made it easy on my husband convincing him that allowing our baby to die peacefully in the doctors office would be the best thing we could do for him.  The vet had this room with a comfy couch and a fireplace and my husband, myself and the dog all shared the couch.  It was so peaceful and he died knowing we were there and loved him.

I think those who choose this option are brave.  It so goes against human nature. You want to fight for life and hope you can get better.  The truth is sometimes you just can't.  You fight as long as you can and as long as your quality of life is acceptable to you.  After that it should be up to you.  I ask myself if I was faced with this decision what would I do.  Would I have the courage to make the decision.  My answer is I don't know and I hope I don't have to be in the position to make the choice.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-brittany-maynard-effect-how-she-is-changing-the-debate-on-assisted-dying/2014/10/31/efc75078-5df0-11e4-8b9e-2ccdac31a031_story.html

Cooking, No Recipe What a Blast

On my continuing journey to improve my culinary skills in the kitchen I signed up for a cooking class. The class was Everyday Cooking Without a Recipe and it was right up my alley.  I spent the entire day with Chef Jeff Olson and 7 others and we watched learned and prepared dishes using a list of ingredients and items from the school’s pantry.  It was a blast and I want to share some of my experiences and tips that I learned while there. Please go to my cooking blog for my first installment.  I have also included a gadget that I have found that has made my life so much easier so if you are looking for a reasonably priced gift for a friend or foodie on your holiday list take a look at my post.

http://tryingtocookbysuzc.blogspot.com

Sunday Notes On Monday

It has been a long time since I have played my little game using the Washington Post top ten bestseller list.  This morning while enjoying my morning coffee I decided to take a peek.

For those of you who don't about my game here is how it goes. On Sunday one of the first sections of the Washington Post that I read is the Outlook section. It contains the book section. I go to the last page and read the Washington Bestseller list. I count how many books I have read and give myself a point for each. This week the bestseller list focused on paperbacks but it alternates between paperbacks and hardcover. The top ten books are spotlighted in each category, fiction and non-fiction. The rules of my game are to have read 30% of the books on the fiction list, ten are listed. So I get one point per book  and I get a bonus point if I read any of the non-fiction. I guess it is just my way of checking to see if I am in touch with what other people are reading.

This week I read three out of the 10 books. Gone Girl was number one on the list and if you haven't read the book by now you may want to consider picking it up.  I also read Orphan Train which was one of the books chosen by my book club during the summer.  If you haven't read it yet consider adding it to your reading list as well. 

I have started the book A Sudden Light.  The book is written by the author who wrote
The Art of Racing in the Rain.  If you have not read this book I highly recommend that you do especially if you have ever owned a dog.  It is a must read.  For more info on any of these books check out my blog posts or click on the books.  


    

       

Ho Ho Ho

The holiday season is fast approaching and I have decided once again to go on a quest for holiday themed books.  If you remember I started this quest last year but did not get very far.  The books I chose where a little more sugar coated than I was looking for.  None the less I love this time of year and I love reading books with a holiday theme.  This year I am going to start with a who done it holiday caper so keep your eyes out for my posts. 

I have decided to create a rating system.

Ho Ho Ho means the book was really good

Ho Ho means the book was good

Ho means the book was ok.

Enjoy!
 

Five Days Left

First I would like to say that I am surprised that this book did not get more attention.  Maybe it was the subject matter or maybe it was because there are so many books on loss.  This book deals with two very different people who are facing loss. 

The first, Mara has Huntington's Disease.  She was adopted so her parents had no idea she carried the gene. This is what I found written by the Mayo Clinic Staff.  Huntington's disease is an inherited disease that causes the progressive breakdown (degeneration) of nerve cells in the brain. Huntington's disease has a broad impact on a person's functional abilities and usually results in movement, thinking (cognitive) and psychiatric disorders.

Most people with Huntington's disease develop signs and symptoms in their 30s or 40s, but the onset of disease may be earlier or later in life. Medications are available to help manage the symptoms of Huntington's disease, but treatments can't prevent the physical, mental and behavioral decline associated with the condition.  The bottom line is there is no cure.  Mara is no longer able to work and is having trouble managing everyday life.  She has a husband and a young child and does not want them to see her deteriorate any further.

Scott is facing a different type of loss.  He and his wife Laurie have been foster parents to this young boy whose Mom went to prison.  It has been a year, a year where Scott has become very attached to this little boy and thinks of him as a son. The Mom is being released and wants her son back.  Even though he and Laurie are expecting their own child a girl, Scott is devastated at the thought of losing Curtis.  But he has five days left or does he?  I really enjoyed this book.  It is a good read.  Give it a shot. For more information follow this link Five Days Left.