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 and the Art of Character

The only time Ove was truly spontaneous was the day he met his wife. He was finishing his shift on the train when he glanced out the window and saw her. Instead of getting off, he stayed on and rode with her to her stop—and he did that every day until their first date.

They were as different as night and day. Ove was a rule follower, seeing the world in black and white. She saw everything in color. He was quiet; she was talkative and bubbly. They say opposites attract, and this was certainly proof of that.

According to Ove, his life began the day he met Sonja. Likewise, in his mind, it ended when she died. He believes the only way to move forward is to join her, so he meticulously plans his own demise. But fate has other ideas. Through this, the reader is slowly introduced to Ove and Sonja, and to the depth of their love.

Lately, I’ve been choosing books that haven’t necessarily appeared on the bestseller list, and I’ve really enjoyed them. What I love most is how the authors develop their characters—that, for me, is just as important as a strong storyline. Ove is an odd bird, an anti‑social curmudgeon, and yet you can’t help but become attached to him.

This book also resonates with me on a personal level. I met my husband on a train. He was the outgoing, friendly type, and I was the reserved, quiet one. We boarded in New York City, and by the time we reached Philadelphia, he had changed his seat to sit next to me. Four months later, we were married. 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.