Twelve Days of Christmas

This year, I haven't really stayed true to my tradition of reading holiday novels. I don't know why.  Maybe I don't feel the HO Ho Ho of the season this year. However, I was in my local library and saw Twelve Days of Christmas and decided to give it a shot.

I have read a lot of Debbie Macomber.  She writes romances and I like reading them in between the other things I read.  Her holiday novels usually end up on the Hallmark Channel and I love watching the Hallmark channel during the holiday season. One of my favorites of her that is playing this season is Trading Christmas.  Faith Ford, Tom Cavanagh and Gil Bellows are in the movie and it works.
Twelve Days of Christmas is her 2016 holiday novel and it goes something like this:

Julia and Cain live in the same apartment building.  Actually they live on the same floor, like right across from each other.  She is a perky, upbeat kind of woman and he is an unfriendly, bah humbug kind of guy.  He has no holiday spirit and no people skills.  Julia decides to kill him with kindness to see if she can win him over.  She even blogs about it so the world knows how things are going with her kill him with kindness quest.

Sparks start to fly and I can't tell you more because you need to read it for yourself.

Happy Holidays! and enjoy.

Before the Fall

Eleven passengers or should I say souls in airplane speak, board a private jet one summer evening.  About fifteen minutes into the flight something goes horribly wrong and there is a crash.  Two on-board survive.  The two survivors find themselves in the middle of the ocean and only because of pure determination do they make it to shore.

Several of the people on the plane were high profile kind of guys. Immediately, as is always the case, there is speculation about what caused the crash.  Sadly one of the first questions in any crash now a days is Was it an act of terror?  After that the usual scenarios are reviewed.

What was most interesting about this book was how the author created the story by telling all the back stories about the passengers and the crew.  His take on media coverage was interesting and frightening.  As we have seen many times once the media gets involved the story takes on a life of its own.  I am all for getting information out to the public and transparency etc, but sometimes a journalist will go a little too far and create a story.  The story may ultimately prove to be wrong and innocent people become collateral damage.

Put Before the Fall on your reading list.

French Women Don't Get Fat

I can't believe I have just become aware of this book now.  I mean it has been out since 2007! I actually listened to the audio version which I thoroughly enjoyed since the author herself narrated.  She has a lovely French accent.  More importantly, I really enjoyed the content.  It made so much sense. I used the strategy yesterday which was Thanksgiving.  I tasted everything but made sure my portions were small, no seconds and when it came to dessert, I ate a few bites of my pie than decided to save the rest for the next day.

The Pursuit

This is the new novel (June 2016) written by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg.  For those of you who don't know Janet Evanovich, she is the author of many novels but most notably the Stephanie Plum novels.  If you choose to read one of the Plum novels I highly recommend  listening to them.  The actress who reads them is very good and really developed great voices the longer she performed for the audio series.  The books have a number in each title and I admit I started the series in the teens rather than from the beginning.  I don't think I will go back to read the others.

Anyway as many published authors seem to be doing, Evanovich has teamed up with Lee Goldberg to write the Fox and O'Hare series.  It's a good writing team.  There is still the humor and character development that you see in her books but the thrill of the chase seems to be added by Goldberg.  By the way, Lee Goldberg is an author and screenwriter who has worked on different crime series.

In this book you have Kate O'Hare the FBI agent and Nick Fox the elegant thief.  They have been partnered by the FBI. If Nick refuses, he will find himself behind bars for a long time.  This time Nick gets kidnapped by the road runners a group of jewelry thieves that do a grab and go type robbery on a large scale.  They have kidnapped Nick for his expertise needed to rob a particularly impenetrable safe.  Nick gets caught and sent to jail.  Kate busts him out of jail and the fun begins because the leader of this group wants more than jewelry this time.  It is a fun read so give it a try.

Amos Decker Part Deux

By now you guys know how much I love reading David Baldacci. I can always count on him to get me engaged in the story.  Since I have been reading a lot of non-fiction lately, this was a nice break.

Once again Baldacci brings back Amos Decker. If you read Memory Man ,which I highly recommend, you would be up to speed on this new character. Just in case you didn't read the first book,  I will give you a little background on Amos just to get you interested. He was a pro football player.  His first game ever was his last.  His helmet collided with another players helmet that knocked him out.  Literally and figuratively.  His career as a pro was over.  He was left with a brain injury that effected his memory.  He can't forget anything.  Anything. He remembers everything and in great detail. I am glad I can forget certain things in my life or at least store them away in a corner.

Fast forward and he is in law enforcement.  One day he comes home to find his family brutally murdered.  Imagine never being able to forget anything and to have that scene play in your head forever.  His career goes into the toilet until by coincidence he gets dragged back into a case.  One that may ultimately help him move on.

But enough about that book.  I am talking the new book The Last Mile. Amos is now employed by the FBI.  He is assigned to a special task force that has been given a stack of cases.  He takes an interest in a case a former football player who is on death row for the brutal murder of his parents years ago. Something doesn't add up and Decker is all over it.

Give these books a try.

In the Summertime when the weather is Fine.

It is summer. It is hot.  This year we have not been able to take a beach vacation. Sad I know. My deck is a toasty 99 degrees no thank you. I thought of getting one of those kiddie pools but there are no kiddies home this summer and I don’t need a mosquito magnet. Thank you very much.

I really haven’t been in the mood to tackle anything deep or meaningful.  What I mean by meaningful is non-fiction or fiction with a heavy duty theme like death and dying.  I seemed to have gravitated towards those this past year.  I have that in real life who needs to read about it right now.  So I have been reading romances and thrillers which I have found to be extremely satisfying.

I have read some that were good and some that were ok.  I will share them with you. You make your own decision.

Me Before You

I read the book Me Before You right when it was released and I have never stopped thinking about it. On June 3 the movie was released and I was one of the first in line to see it.

The casting was brilliant.  Emilia Clark is exactly how I imagined Lou to be as I was reading the book. Sam Claflin is a perfect Will.

In case you have not read the book nor seen the movie I will give you a brief synopsis.  Will had a fantastic life.  He was a successful business man with a beautiful girlfriend.  He was very athletic and traveled all over.

Then in literally a blink of an eye his world shattered.  He needed to live in a new reality.  But could he?

Good movie and Good read.  Take your pick or choose both.

A Fine Romance

Back in the day I was a HUGE Murphy Brown fan.  I wanted to be her when I grew up.  Right now I think I am grown up and I still want to be her when I grow up.

I loved her take no prisoners attitude.  I loved he interaction with the rest of her staff. She didn't take crap from anyone and professionally she was at the top of her game. Who wouldn't want that.

Some of my favorite moments was her interaction with her secretary.  Apparently there were 93 people who played that part in the ten years the show ran.  The 93rd another one of my favorite people Bette Midler who I was lucky enough to see live.  Don't get me started on that.  I will only say Amazing!!

A while back I actually felt like Murphy Brown when it came to the secretary issue.  It seemed like we were going through that position like water. It was like a revolving door.  Either they didn't show up or they were there physically but that was about all. Finally after about 5 or 6 we finally found someone who was a great fit.

In A Fine Romance Bergen talks  very candidly about her husbands and her daughter.  I really can relate to many of her feelings.  Especially her decision to have a child.  In my head I went back and forth about bringing a child into my life.  It was great just my husband and me.  But once they put that baby into my arms it was love.

The two men she choose to marry both were difficult in their own ways.  Regardless, she dealt with the difficulties and was "very much in love".

Of course she talked about her years on Murphy Brown and the cast members who were also fantastic.

It is always surprising to me when a famous person talks about friends. Her friends were as famous as she was.  She did a lot of name dropping but why not.  They were her friends.

One thing that made this book even more enjoyable to me was listening to it read by Candace Bergen herself.  I felt like she was sitting right in my family room talking to me. 

 Read it!

Geoducks are for Lovers

The title drew me to this book.  I had no idea what a geoduck  was so I looked it up.  I will share what I found in case you share my lack of knowledge regarding this creature. First of all it is pronounced gooey-duck It is a clam with a shell that ranges from 5 to almost 8 inches and a very long siphon.  I have included a picture below and as you can see it has some resemblance to the male genitalia.  It is native to the Pacific northwest and buries itself on the beach.  Unbelievably it can live for 140 years. Oh and it is suppose to taste delicious.

Maggie is a food blogger who lives on Whidbey Island.  She went to Evergreen State where the geoduck just happens to be the mascot.  Personally I would not want a mollusk such as the geoduck or for that matter any clam be my mascot but that is just my opinion.

It seems Evergreen alums are quite content with this edible being their mascot. Anyway Maggie is expecting a visit from her best buds from college.  Amazingly they have kept in touch for twenty years.  However, she is unprepared when Gil shows up.  He was the love of her life but she freaked out and ran to Paris.She has not seen him since then.

They both married other people and are now divorced

The question is, Do they still have feelings for each other after all these years? And if they do, will they do something about it.  Read the book to find out.

This was a nice romance novel and you can find it  on Amazon

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Tricky Twenty Two

There is nothing like a Stephanie Plum novel if you want to be amused . But there is a trick to reading them.  I don't actually read them.  I listen to them on CD.  The same actor reads all of the books in this series and she has developed great voices for all the main characters.  My favorites: Stephanie, the crazy Lula, Vinny's secretary Connie and Ranger.  When Ranger calls Stephanie "Babe" I just can't help but laugh.

Stephanie is kind of a ditz. When I think of her character, I think of Lisa Kudrow and her character Phoebe from friends.  Katherine Heigl just didn't seem right for the part when they made the movie. In fact the majority of the cast just didn't seem right.  I guess it is because I formed very specific ideas of the characters in my head which did not match what Hollywood picked.

There is nothing really different about this particular book.  All of them follow the same pattern.  Stephanie is a bounty hunter and not necessarily a good one.  However, she has Ranger who just happens to be ex-military.  He is a lean mean fighting machine. He has a security company and occasionally he hires her to do a gig with him.  There relationship is not strictly business.  Sometimes they work on the "friendship"  part of the relationship.  Work buddies with benefits.

There is also Morelli who is more or less her boyfriend.  In some of the books he is more of a boyfriend and some not so much.  In this book, after having hot passionate sex, he tells her they should cool it for awhile.  That did not go well.

The characters she goes after are quirky.  In this book she is going after a college kid Gobbles and a guy name Billy Bacon. She seems to be able to find them but has a difficult time holding on to them.

If you need a laugh listen to this book on CD.

Bingo for Books

While I was browsing amazon.com I found what they were calling Book Bingo. It is a bingo card that I think is a great tool to help you mix it up a little when you are choosing books.  I read a lot of fiction but lately I have been more open to other reading possibilities.

That is why I love this form.  It is like a challenge.  I am up to the task.  I have attached the link for all of you so you can join me as I fill in all the boxes or at least some of the boxes.  Happy reading.

He's a Little Bit Country

This book qualifies as a romance novel and although it is not February anymore I thought I would continue my romance quest.

Danielle Steele wrote the book.  I haven't read a book by her in years.  According to the book jacket she has sold 650 million books.  So a lot of people like her books.

Stephanie is in a loveless marriage.  It hadn't started out that way.  But then her husband cheated on her,  things were never the same.  Every year she and her husband and two other couples would go skiing for a weekend.  Just adults, no kids.

It was on their yearly ski trip that her husband dropped dead on the slopes.  While there marriage frankly stunk it did give her life meaning,  Now she no longer had her role of wife and her kids were pretty much grown up.

Along comes a hunky country super star.  But is she willing to be his music groupie and follow him around? You will just have to read the book.

One of the themes that Steele tries to convey in this book  is that a woman should have her own identity.  She should be comfortable in her skin. I would say she did a so so job getting the point across.  But that is just my opinion.

If you are a Danielle Steele fan you will probably like this book.   Happy reading.

A Man Called Ove

The only time Ove was spontaneous was the day he met his wife.  He was finishing his shift on the train he worked on when he glanced out the window and saw her.  He stayed on that train and rode with her to her stop and he did that every day until there first date.

They were as different as night and day.  He was a rule follower.  He saw everything in black and white.  She saw everything in color.  He was quiet.  She was talkative and bubbly.  They say opposites attract.  This is definitely an example of that.

According to him, his life began on the day he met her.  Likewise, in his mind it ended when she died.  He figures the only way to move on is to join her so he meticulously plans his demise.  But fate does not allow this to happen. And so the reader is slowly introduced to Ove and his wife Sonja.

Lately I have been choosing books that have not necessarily appeared on the bestseller list.  I have really enjoyed them.  In all of them, I have loved how the author has developed the characters.  That for me is as important as a good story line.  Ove is on odd bird, an anti-social  curmudgeon and yet one can't help but become attached to him.

This book also strikes me on a personal level.  I met my husband on a train.  He was the outgoing friendly type and I was the reserved and quiet one.  We got on the train in New York City.  In Philadelphia he changed his seat to sit next to me and we were married four months later.  We are as different as night and day. But it works.

So give this book a try A Man Called Ove.  Add it to your reading list and add The Kitchens of the Great Midwest and The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend.

Prince of Tides

Pat Conroy passed away on Friday.  He was 70. The cause, Pancreatic cancer.  So, we have lost another great author.

I think my favorite book written by him is Prince of Tides. I will never forget the characters, brother and sister Tom and Savannah Wingo. He so vividly described  their turbulent lives and how they struggled to overcome their demons.  It is a novel that if you have not read you must put it on your must read list.

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend

Before I say anything else about this book, I just want to say I loved it! I picked it simply because I found the title appealing.  Also the book and I have a lot in common.Broken Wheel reads. I read. Peas in a pod. The irony is Broken Wheel and the inhabitants really are not big readers. More later.

The biggest surprise for me was the book turned out to be a love story.  Let me remind you that my quest for February is finding  good romance novels.  I wouldn't however, qualify this as a true romance novel which made it that much better. So it is and it isn't.

Hopefully I have whet your appetite a little and you will read the book.  It all starts when Sara from Sweden befriends Amy from Iowa. They have never actually met but start corresponding by letters about books they have read. I actually mean letters written on stationery.  No emails have ever passed between them.

They learn a lot about each other. Amy convinces Sara to visit her in the States.  As fate would have it, when Sara arrives it is the day of Amy's funeral.  Amy omitted the fact that she was ill but to be fair she didn't think her death was that imminent or at least that imminent.

Rather than take the next flight back to Sweden Sara decides to stay as planned.  This is a tremendous step for Sara who has worked in a small bookshop, lived alone and is basically a loner.  But there is something about  the town of Broken Wheel that makes her want to stay.  I should add at this point that Broken Wheel is a small town that is literally dying.

Amy left behind a collection of books which Sara wants to share with everyone so she opens a bookshop. Very few people in Broken Wheel actually read but she is the book whisperer and hands out books to the town folk.  Please keep in mind the time she has known these people are days and weeks rather than years. They actually read her suggestions.

This shy quiet young woman brings her love of reading and her warmth to the town and they in turn fall in love with her.  Along the way there are romances that start. Very interesting romances which turn into love.  It is Sara that is the catalyst for change in the town and in her own life.

I love when a book surprise me. The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend did just that.

Cold Feet at Christmas

British Bride finds out on her wedding day that her soon to be husband is a philandering pig.  Her words not mine. She flees their wedding which is in the Scottish highlands after finding out about his cheating ways, into the snow.  Now that is a crappy wedding.

Her car breaks down in the middle of nowhere.  What a shock!  But as fate has it she sees a light on in a house in the near distant meadow.  She lifts up the skirts of her now ruined wedding gown and in her bridal pumps makes her way across the field of snow.

By the time she reaches the house she is soaked to the bone and freezing.  When a handsome hunk opens the door she literally falls into his arms and blacks out.

When the wronged maiden opens up her eyes the next morning she finds herself in front of a warm, glowing fire.  Obviously there are sparks and not from the fireplace but from the handsome hunk who did I mention is an American trying to escape form a sad situation across the pond. They can't keep their hands off each other for like two hundred pages.  Romance blossoms.

This is generally not the type of romance I like to read but it was a great deal on amazon and it was the Christmas holiday.  I love reading happy Christmas novels.  I just happen to read this one after Christmas since Christmas was a blur this year.

Would I recommend this book to you.  Probably not and so I continue my search for a GOOD Romance novel. So with my first strike out on my quest, I look toward finding other books.  There has to be a good romance out there right?

Amore, Feburary is for Romace and Love

I am not much of a romantic but my husband is so I win.  He takes great pains to pick out a great valentine card and my favorite candy for valentines.

So try to get in the spirit of the month that has come to be associated with love and has a day dedicated to love I thought I would spend the month of February looking for a good romance novel.  I don’t particularly like Harlequin romances. I am sorry if offended those who do like them.  I also generally stay away from romance novels that have really sexy book covers since they usually are short on story.

Romance novels that I like have to have a good back story and good strong characters. Novels like that seem to be hard to find. Especially the good story part.  So If any of you would like to recommend one I am open to suggestions.

And will I am thinking about books I think I will be focusing on Mysteries in March. If you have read a good one let me know.

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Kitchens of the Great Midwest

Kitchens of the Great Midwest

From practically the minute Eva is born her Father a chef sets out to develop her palate.  Having raised an infant of my own who could barely keep down rice cereal, the menu Lars creates for Eva had me raising my eyebrow.  Luckily he consulted her pediatrician before adding in some of his food choices.

While at a Farmer's market a very tiny Eva goes straight for freshly grown tomatoes which she eats with such glee. But Eva does not have an easy life.  Abandoned by her mother at birth and raised by Lars and his family she makes her way through life.

Her palate and love for food is the driving force of her success.

What a quirky fun novel.  It reminds me of the fun I had when I read Where'd you go Bernadette. I loved the characters in this book and the writing.  When he describes Lars and Jarl's childhood growing up in St Olaf and their task of making lutefisk I could not help by smile.  It reminded me of a scene out of The Golden Girls when Rose(Betty White) talks about her days in St Olaf.

The interesting thing about this book is how it is written.  Many of the books I have read and I am sure you all have read follow the main character through their eyes.  This book does some of that but then switches to the satellite characters.  This allows you to get a good feel for Eva and her world.  If you are a Foodie you will like this book because each chapter centers around a different food and recipe.

Put this on your reading list.  I think you are going to like it!!

This Angel On My Chest

Number one: I seem to be drawn to books that are written about one of two themes, terrorists or people dying too soon.  I have lost four people since Christmas.  Two were in there 80's and two were in there 50's. One can say the two who were in their eighties lived a long life and that would be true.  But losing them does not make the pain any easier to bear. But the two  in their 50's was even harder to bear.  One was so sudden it is still hard to believe.  She went to lie down for a few minutes.  When she didn't return her kids went to check in on her and found her.

I went to see the parents of this woman and the pain in her father's eyes was overwhelming. Her Mom would not stop moving the furniture back into place.

I also went to see the husband of the 80 year old woman.  I just sat there holding his hand for the longest time.  What else could I do? There really wasn't anything I could say.

The book This Angel on My Chest is about people who lost a spouse at a young age.  Honestly I don;t know why I picked up this book.  I guess I was drawn to the title.  It really is not my type of book.  First of all it is short stories.  I am not crazy about this genre.  I like to get attached to the characters and in short stories I don;t feel like there is enough time to do that. Secondly it is all about death.  Now usually I would have put this book away but something just made me read it.  I guess it was because I could identify how these people who were left behind felt.

It really ended up being  an interesting read although I can't say I am happy to have read it.  In case you are wondering, I did finish it.

The Guilty

I am exhausted from the holidays.  New Year's week I was on 24/7 call and it was busy as usual.  So in order to rest my weary brain I decided to read one of my favorite guys David Baldacci.  The Guilty is his latest novel and it is the 4th in the Will Robie Series.

Will is a  US federal employee whose job just happens to be taking out those people who are not favorites to the world.  When I say he takes them out, I mean he kills them.  He is a professional sniper.

In the books opening pages he takes out a target but in doing so he also kills a child which everyone is calling collateral damage but not Will.  It messes with his brain and his ability to do his job.

At the same time his Dad is accused of murder.  He and his Dad never had a stellar relationship but Will decides to check out his Dad's case and also sort out his work dilemma.  The book takes some twists and turns which made it an interesting read.  If you are taking a plane ride anytime soon tuck this into your carry on or sit on the sofa  and enjoy.

After You

If I have an author that I enjoy reading then I always look forward to his or her new book. However, if they are writing  a sequel, I am always a little leery of the continuation of the story.  This is especially true if I loved the first book.  That is what happened with this book which is the sequel to Me Before You.  My expectations were extremely high.

In Me Before You Louisa(Lou) is the caretaker/companion of Will who up until his catastrophic accident was a wealthy, successful business man.  Now a quadriplegic he makes a decision that has a profound effect on those around him including Lou.

A year ago my dog was diagnosed with cancer.  It happened quickly but he was in pain and was not the active happy dog we had raised from a puppy.  The Vet said we could take him home and ply him with pain meds and try to keep him alive but ultimately he had only a short time to live.  My husband and I decided we could not stand to see him suffer and so the Vet gave him a lethal cocktail.  We sat with him as he peacefully fell asleep, never to wake up again. I was devastated.  While I knew it was the right thing to do the pain of losing him was overwhelming, he was my baby.  One can say he was only a dog but he was a family member.  The only consolation I find is that he is no longer suffering or in pain.

After You brings back all the main characters.  All of them are struggling to move forward with  the aftermath of Will's death.

I think that all of Will's loved ones ultimately supported his decision, however how they dealt with the decision and how they picked up the pieces of their life is what the author tries to convey in this sequel.  Again this is a sequel and while I was eager to see how everyone moved on, it just wasn't as good as the first book.  Still worth reading if you want to know more about the characters.  You really must read the first book before this one.