tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88614155079834158312024-03-13T15:53:15.311-04:00The Book NookReadings,reviews, and discussions of contemporary, classics, mystery, and any book that sounds interesting. Not limited to fiction.Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.comBlogger90125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-65579513854082600452014-01-04T11:46:00.000-05:002014-01-04T11:46:07.168-05:00New Year, Fresh StartReading is a very personal thing on many levels. But it is also something that can be easy to share and discuss. Life often contributes to changes in our reading styles and patterns. Life has definitely been driving my reading life and especially my posting life. I am taking control of these areas again and moving forward.<br />
<br />
So here we are at the beginning of another year. I hope to revive my blog and revive my life. It has been a tough few years. It was going well here at the book nook and then a close friend died suddenly. It threw me into a tailspin. We moved a few months later and then a year almost to the day we moved again. I went back to teaching last year and well my life is consumed when I teach. This year has brought changes to that. I am not teaching but reentering the business world. This means I can spend time on personal reading and writing. Also, we are entering the third year of Savannah life. It is good to be a little more settled. I have missed that feeling.<br />
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This past fall we lost Mom. I am still working on that. The holidays were good but a little sad. I think that is to be expected. As another year begins, I do not really do New Year Resolutions, I do believe that we can try New Year goals. I am going to try to be more focused and committed to my reading and my life. I continued to read through all of the above events but my reading changed several times. I did a lot less of the Arc's and more of escape reading.<br />
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This year I am part of a Classic Reading Challenge 2014 group on facebook. This is exciting for me as I love the classics and like to share this. I am finally settling in with <i>War and Peace </i>by Tolstoy. I am about 400 pages into the unabridged version of <i>The Count of Monte Cristo</i> but put it down for the holiday season. Revenge just doesn't work with Christmas. I am reading both of those in physical book format. I am reading <i>Dr. Zhivago</i> in ebook format. That is the beginning of my classic work. I am thinking I will finish Volume II (Book II) of <i>Don Quixote </i>this spring as well. Thinking of reading another Dickens this year and of course we will have to go with Faulkner this summer. This all may change as I continue to develop my classic reading plan.<br />
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I have the new Stephanie Plum book, Takedown Twenty. I am excited about reading that but am waiting for my sister to be ready so we can read it together and discuss. Anna got me started on this series. I love it. Fun, light hearted, and set in the area where I used to work. Speaking of series, I think I want to read the Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett. If you have read these please let me know what you think. I am also reading Agatha Christie in order of publication. I started this last year. My Grandma Durkee introduced me to Agatha as a young girl. I have been a fan ever since. I love mysteries. If you have some series you love or are interested in exploring let me know and we will jump in.<br />
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I am looking at some new material as we move forward. I will pick up some Arc's again and will keep you informed. I am looking to find some new text this year. So let us begin.....<br />
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As you can see this blog is evolving a little. I hope you stick around for a while and forgive my meandering past. Love to you all. I wish you happy reading.Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-70036577652750647092012-09-24T18:03:00.004-04:002012-09-24T18:09:37.518-04:00Book Review: Gone by Cathi Hanauer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIDgOc8WchbZUIjcSbtGwjzeagwLe8hwLyySQApy93f5qFnm2PoYsTn1fFUOgvydXkR8f1kNOP5hgxhtptG-V4LdabBCFVl_A5ypvFLPiJgn4wm30ezA6PhxDwJNYRR5-CsPwhvZwwEq8k/s1600/Gone+by+Cathi+Hanauer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIDgOc8WchbZUIjcSbtGwjzeagwLe8hwLyySQApy93f5qFnm2PoYsTn1fFUOgvydXkR8f1kNOP5hgxhtptG-V4LdabBCFVl_A5ypvFLPiJgn4wm30ezA6PhxDwJNYRR5-CsPwhvZwwEq8k/s320/Gone+by+Cathi+Hanauer.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<h3 id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521190533_2257">
<span style="color: #990000;">
Product Details</span></h3>
<ul id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521190533_2269">
<li id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521190533_2275">
<span id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521190533_2274">ISBN-13:</span> 9781451626414
</li>
<li id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521190533_2276"><span id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521190533_2277">Publisher: </span>Atria Books</li>
<li id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521190533_2268">Publication date: 6/19/2012</li>
<li id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521190533_2271">Pages: 368 </li>
</ul>
<div class="box product-commentary product-commentary-meet-the-author" data-bn-widget-name="product-commentary-meet-the-author" id="product-commentary-meet-the-author-1">
<h3 id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521190533_2273">
<span style="color: #990000;">
Meet the Author</span></h3>
<aside></aside>
<section id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521190533_2338">
<div class="basic-info" id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521190533_2337">
<div class="contributor-bio has-image box" id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521190533_2336">
<div class="image" id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521190533_2643">
<img alt="Cathi Hanauer" id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521190533_2642" src="http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/177210000/177213745.JPG" /></div>
<div class="bio" id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521190533_2341">
<div class="fade-to-height box yui3-widget yui3-fadetomore yui3-fadetomore-content" id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521190533_730">
<div id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521190533_2340">
<b>Cathi Hanauer</b> is the author of the novels <i>My Sister's Bones</i> and <i id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521190533_2339">Sweet Ruin</i> and the editor of the <i>New York Times</i> bestselling essay anthology <i id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521190533_2342">The Bitch in the House: 26 Women Tell the Truth About Sex, Solitude, Work, Motherhood, and Marriage</i>. Her articles, essays, and/or criticism have appeared in <i id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521190533_2646">The New York Times<b>,</b> Elle, O, Glamour, Self, Parenting</i>, <i id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521190533_2343">Whole Living,</i> and other magazines. She lives with her family in western Massachusetts. Visit her website at <u>CathiHanauer.com</u>. </div>
<h3 id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521306312_1969">
Overview</h3>
<div id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521306312_1971">
For the past fourteen years, Eve
Adams has worked part-time while raising her two children and
emotionally supporting her sculptor husband, Eric, through his early
fame and success. Now, at forty-two, she suddenly finds herself with a
growing career of her own—a private nutritionist practice and a book
deal—even as Eric’s career sinks deeper into the slump it slipped into a
few years ago.</div>
<div id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521306312_1972">
After a dinner at a local
restaurant to celebrate Eve’s success, Eric drives the babysitter home
and, simply, doesn’t come back. Eve must now shift the family in
possibly irreparable ways, forcing her to realize that competence in one
area of life doesn’t always keep things from unraveling in another.</div>
<div id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521306312_1973">
<i id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521306312_1974">Gone</i>
is an outstanding novel about change and about redefining, in middle
age, everything from one’s marriage to one’s career to one’s role as a
best friend, parent, and spouse. It is a novel about passion and
forgiveness and knowing when to let something go and when to fight to
hold on to it, about learning to say goodbye—but, if you’re lucky, not
forever. </div>
<div id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521306312_1973">
</div>
<h3 id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521306312_1973">
Review:</h3>
<div id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521306312_1973">
While the story plot is not all that unusual; a husband running away from his family; the reactions of the family members in this story are different than one would expect. Eve seems to move through the desertion as if she is not really connected to the events. This at first glance can seem quite unbelievable but then again how can we be sure how we would react to the situation. At times I kept wanting to push her into action, to express more emotion, to react in a more expected manner. She seemed much too passive under the circumstances:</div>
<div id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521306312_1973">
a missing husband, the bank account growing smaller, a fourteen year old daughter who is difficult, and a young son who is struggling to understand what is happening. Eve is a likeable person but seems to be the type of person who needs to control her actions and emotions, she finds it difficult to express her own anger and sorrow. </div>
<div id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521306312_1973">
</div>
<div id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521306312_1973">
The father, Eric, was surprisingly likeable. The story of his flight from home, his struggle to understand himself what was going on and why he needed to be away from his family was moving. Sympathy for the person responsible for the agony of this family was quite unexpected. </div>
<div id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521306312_1973">
</div>
<div id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521306312_1973">
The story is well written and takes a different path to explore an all too typical event in this day and age. Hanauer dares to examine atypical reactions and emotions in a very dynamic situation. The book was enjoyable, unusual, and lends itself well to group discussions.</div>
<div id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521306312_1973">
</div>
<div id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521306312_1973">
I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to book clubs as it has the possibility to stimulate discussion.</div>
<div id="yui_3_5_1_1_1348521306312_1973">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>
</div>
Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com108tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-90711356613128404142012-09-23T08:13:00.001-04:002012-09-23T08:13:37.163-04:00Book Review: Sequela by MP Kollman<!--[if !mso]>
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Product Details</div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin;">·</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paperback: 306 pages </div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin;">·</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Publisher: Outskirts Press (May 8, 2012) </div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin;">·</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Language: English </div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin;">·</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ISBN-10: 1432791737 </div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin;">·</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ISBN-13: 978-1432791735</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: large;">Synopsis</span>:</span> </div>
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Jerome Grayson is dead; Wade Addams arrested; Jane Doe
identified; Jackson Nolan committed suicide, evidently to avoid the humiliation
of a trial. The entire case has been neatly wrapped up. Or so it would seem.
That case also brought Grayson back to a house he felt certain he would never
be welcome in again. He had been banished from this home ten years ago for
being silently complicit in the drug use of his brother, Jerome; and now, for
being the instrument of Jerome's death. But understanding Jerome had chosen his
own fate, his parents welcomed him back. And so, Destiny has brought him
together with Samantha Greene, but will she now rip them apart as seemingly
unrelated events occur to the residents of Jaspar? For Steven Nolan has also
come to Jaspar: His father's suicide, Jerome's death and the similarities to
his own brother's suicide twelve years earlier, drive him to take up arms
against Jaspar.</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: large;">Video Link:</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/48wd6pKKKac?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: large;">About the author:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">For MP Kollman, pages are like a blank canvas on which to wield an artistic brush and enrapture the mind with the written craft. The author's talent has been heralded by many and is matched only by an imagination that rises to the task at hand. <b><i>Sequela </i></b>is the second in a series of recent pursuits and work is progressing quickly on a follow-up.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: large;">Review:</span></span> </div>
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Sequela is the second book in a series so you come into the
story in media res. You can read it as a stand-alone book but there is a twist
at the end that is meant to draw you to the next book. The characters are likeable
if a little archetypical. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sandy Grayson
is pitted against Steven Nolan. Both are one part of a pair of twin brothers in
which the other twin has died. Jerome Grayson had died recently while Alan
Nolan had died about 12 years in the past. Both men come from well to do
families who have strong father figures. Both Emery Grayson and Jackson Nolan
care about their sons but the similarity ends there. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Sandy Grayson is restoring the lost
relationship with his father, Steven is mourning the loss of his. The question is
will both young men survive the fallout? Then of course there is Samantha
Greene a young woman caught in the middle, both men have plans for her. She is
recovering from trauma herself. She now stands in between Sandy and Steven. </div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sequela has the typical
elements of mysteries regarding plot but with a new twist. Two sets of twins
with remarkably similar relationships but very different families. The parallels
and disparities in these two men and their families is an interesting
perspective. And of course there is the idea behind the title: sequela meaning
a morbid condition following or occurring as a consequence of another condition
or event. Obviously the events in this book are simulated by prior events. Will
the next book follow suit?</div>
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The shortcomings of the novel are always the most difficult
to comment upon. In the beginning I found the story a little difficult to get
into due to the choppiness of the sifting time periods. This caused me to keep
pushing reading the book back a little. To be fair I was in the midst of
planning a trip to Greenville, SC for a book sale thus the delay was not
necessarily the fault of the book itself. </div>
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There were a few grammatical or typo errors that always
cause me to stumble but surprisingly this book was not replete with them. I
absolutely will put down a book that is so obfuscated with grammatical errors
and typos that it is distracting. There was a sentence later in the story which
had to be a typo because it made absolutely no sense. “My car is strange. Sam’s
still alive…..” pg. 217. But that was the only completely disrupting sentence
in the book. </div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The author has a very
creative mind which is both a plus and a minus. The plus side is that you have
some interesting new takes in the plot. The minus side means that a couple of
times during the reading I got a little lost because there seemed to be a jump
that I missed. I was able to figure it out and move on with only a small delay.
While this did detract from the smoothness of the reading it did not make me
want to put the book away completely. Also, I thought that at least one of the
subplots-Sandy’s business in San Francisco was wrapped up to quickly without
satisfactory detail. That having been said overall I enjoyed the book. MP
Kollman is talented and has potential. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-15103202270436693812012-09-15T13:52:00.000-04:002012-09-15T13:52:21.600-04:00Coming Soon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIylpienzbXPROv_CWJWy7i5933UtCAWOwLRKf00qeiBVzdo5s_mXje9TqU7F2aiDzylZWywAPI325Fg3FQphVFNpAToam91jgFmxVRJ7Alj2ZeqL43IhwKnOujNYsp537XN4_mRn1P__6/s1600/Sept+2012+Books+for+Review.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIylpienzbXPROv_CWJWy7i5933UtCAWOwLRKf00qeiBVzdo5s_mXje9TqU7F2aiDzylZWywAPI325Fg3FQphVFNpAToam91jgFmxVRJ7Alj2ZeqL43IhwKnOujNYsp537XN4_mRn1P__6/s400/Sept+2012+Books+for+Review.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Now that I am settling in from this last move it is time to get back and get active. My apologies to my followers.<br />
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Coming soon will be reviews on the new batch received this month. My weekend should be busy. While I have been in the process of a second month in two years I have not completely abandoned reading. That would never happen.<br />
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With this move I finally got to locate my boxes of books and begin unpacking them. Coming across my copy of <i>The Passage</i> by Justin Cronin I decided it was time to dive in. The sequel <i>The Twelve</i> will be coming out next month. I was not disappointed. I will post a full review closer to the release date of the second book in the trilogy.<br />
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Also, I attended "The Really Big, Really Cheap Book Sale" in Greenville, South Carolina. My sister has been trying to get me there for years. Now that I am down South again I made sure that was scheduled. Had a great time and got some great books. I will post a picture and list later on.<br />
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Last year I attended the Baltimore Book Festival and had a great time. I met Laura Lippman and got some great pics. I will share some a little later this week. I am really sorry I will be missing it this year. If you are in the area please check it out-http://www.baltimorebookfestival.com/<br />
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This past February I got down to the Savannah Book Festival for one of the evenings. I plan to get there earlier this next February and really get the feel for it. February in Savannah this year was nice and warm. The squares are lovely places to hold events.<br />
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I have been reading <i>Devices and Desires</i> by P.D. James. Nothing like sitting on the porch with a cup of English Breakfast Tea and a good book.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqFnytdbMg30ChHUOoagtLS07luGOdtEcNCdUII5ffrAEKnNUvXwnH3a4Bw8FVIvJNws_K5aJIUMYjBapDohoaaATuKl1EEKrFTpPgasPQyy79rmR7BK3yJ1nD_JxytJy6-3FKEQgTApkO/s1600/tea+and+p+d+james.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqFnytdbMg30ChHUOoagtLS07luGOdtEcNCdUII5ffrAEKnNUvXwnH3a4Bw8FVIvJNws_K5aJIUMYjBapDohoaaATuKl1EEKrFTpPgasPQyy79rmR7BK3yJ1nD_JxytJy6-3FKEQgTApkO/s320/tea+and+p+d+james.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It is so nice to have a porch again complete with old wicker rocking chairs, and a great view, screened in as well. This week we have been blessed with lower humidity so porch sitting has been great.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj79D9cF93XauUHC6BZtDqUzkfLi8ZYLOfEyH2dBoTUWTOyxo4QH83G50KGLMYej-MQJ95fwMDuDoUAWUN89XLChvAt-Vw19ZpwvdsuHaGSQz0GEmDtgZF7LtXIPMFYwZ_58EwfmvQT95W2/s1600/Our+Backyard_Deb+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj79D9cF93XauUHC6BZtDqUzkfLi8ZYLOfEyH2dBoTUWTOyxo4QH83G50KGLMYej-MQJ95fwMDuDoUAWUN89XLChvAt-Vw19ZpwvdsuHaGSQz0GEmDtgZF7LtXIPMFYwZ_58EwfmvQT95W2/s320/Our+Backyard_Deb+007.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I hope everyone enjoys the weekend. I will be back with a post soon. <br />
Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-89252913402712398892011-09-15T15:39:00.002-04:002011-09-16T21:27:23.340-04:00As I Lay Dying- William Faulkner<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggTUYtP8DG9tTIXFu2K1MezMoeiRvluj2QN1My6USYNX5F13YGjmwlhWzYIVllY3iaiJbQmcqkoMq6QI05E8L38l-KtO-GnSmz_e4LIAHc2wcjmvdKq712fKYWprIRx7UqykoOMTt-XmLc/s1600/175px-AsILayDying.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggTUYtP8DG9tTIXFu2K1MezMoeiRvluj2QN1My6USYNX5F13YGjmwlhWzYIVllY3iaiJbQmcqkoMq6QI05E8L38l-KtO-GnSmz_e4LIAHc2wcjmvdKq712fKYWprIRx7UqykoOMTt-XmLc/s1600/175px-AsILayDying.jpg" /></a>Faulkner's style is perfection itself. In <em><strong>As I Lay Dying</strong></em> Faulkner extended the experimentation with narrative that he started in the Sound and the Fury. With 59 segments and 15 narrative voices, <em><strong>As I Lay Dying</strong></em> is complex and compelling. <br />
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The story begins with an illness that leads to death, followed by the experiences of the family immediately following the death. Their incites, often differing, keep the story moving forward but with a unique quality. This is life-simplicity overlayed with complexity.<br />
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<em><strong>As I Lay Dying</strong></em> is poetic. I couldn't put the book down and finished in one day and an evening. Faulkner never disappoints me. If you have not sampled Faulkner, this is a most! Absolutely on my favorites list and will be read many times.<br />
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<span style="color: yellow; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;">5 stars!</span> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii_-D-o5gObDoqc0ezza_yFMZXRNNhrxL0Kijs7ESK8X9KZrSDu1k448wZdWmkgsLE9JieVWusUaqari2gDrT-nPwzjSI2UNDOsfFgd8SEiLQoUmoE2szJ_RINwDm-S30nAldFaGhswgs_/s1600/William+Faulkner+pipe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii_-D-o5gObDoqc0ezza_yFMZXRNNhrxL0Kijs7ESK8X9KZrSDu1k448wZdWmkgsLE9JieVWusUaqari2gDrT-nPwzjSI2UNDOsfFgd8SEiLQoUmoE2szJ_RINwDm-S30nAldFaGhswgs_/s1600/William+Faulkner+pipe.jpg" style="cursor: move;" unselectable="on" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5FiGkf2b_pRcJWKEmj_Uk1WU4h9-D2xV8Gm6gOC-jhx25gqXAifH11a8hVxz4iK-lmJETmHGwAmuC0Q3A9OsxepEzRdQdGENDp4RmL3bu_-wtGdIgnx5cVGfC8m2eh2SGSLhDFlkJOVFz/s1600/gold_star-850.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5FiGkf2b_pRcJWKEmj_Uk1WU4h9-D2xV8Gm6gOC-jhx25gqXAifH11a8hVxz4iK-lmJETmHGwAmuC0Q3A9OsxepEzRdQdGENDp4RmL3bu_-wtGdIgnx5cVGfC8m2eh2SGSLhDFlkJOVFz/s200/gold_star-850.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii_-D-o5gObDoqc0ezza_yFMZXRNNhrxL0Kijs7ESK8X9KZrSDu1k448wZdWmkgsLE9JieVWusUaqari2gDrT-nPwzjSI2UNDOsfFgd8SEiLQoUmoE2szJ_RINwDm-S30nAldFaGhswgs_/s1600/William+Faulkner+pipe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii_-D-o5gObDoqc0ezza_yFMZXRNNhrxL0Kijs7ESK8X9KZrSDu1k448wZdWmkgsLE9JieVWusUaqari2gDrT-nPwzjSI2UNDOsfFgd8SEiLQoUmoE2szJ_RINwDm-S30nAldFaGhswgs_/s1600/William+Faulkner+pipe.jpg" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 542px; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 465px;" width="82" /></a></div>
Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-58391028405445285232011-09-04T11:25:00.000-04:002011-09-04T11:25:29.269-04:00Soft Southern DreamsI have been haunted lately by dreams of warm, honeyed southern nights, and there were some, I remember them. I remember sitting out on a lounge chair in the front yard, sipping tea, listening to the cicadas. I remember gentle breezes and the bubble of the creek down the hill. <br />
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I have exiled myself from the deep south for more than half my life but it colors every inch of my life. One never truly escapes the south, not that I wanted to escape it. I just couldn't seem to find space for me there. I wasn't the pretty one, that was my older sister, I wasn't the smart one, that was my younger sister. I guess I never really had definition. I kept my soul to myself. <br />
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The south comes back to me in dreams-the graceful old house with the long front porch, two to three stories, and an enclosed porch on the back. Old comfy furniture, and plenty of books. This is often accompanied by the elderly lady wearing her old mink stole. We sip tea and talk about the past. She is obviously a cross between my mamaw and my Grandma Durkee. The two women I admire most. They were very different but equally graceful.<br />
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Last night I dreamed I was living in that house. The elderly lady owned it of course, and helped me find a beautiful, quaint building in which to open my bookstore. My dream life. The one I never had. I often think about living that life through writing the story. <br />
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All of this has gotten me in the mood for a deep, soft, southern story. I am heading off today to The Book Escape on Light Street in Baltimore to find one. Mine are still packed in boxes for the most part, either at the storage facility or still in the house in New Jersey. I have read many books since moving back to Baltimore and will be writing you about them soon. But today the south is calling me. "Carolina on my mind"Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-26340926974317948162011-05-25T13:00:00.000-04:002011-05-25T13:00:48.434-04:00Musings: Books and things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYY6F5vA7BszQyN7SD0jr7qV7nbGYA44fCsk3pwUEfuPO6wbCYhluhvg4WZH5lpIG_olJaS85LSv2DqlbmHI5bvg8abTlKIuKe3D7CLWH_vFwS1zIPVVdpiYqxMRkgQP_zaYh6aZ9kZl4m/s1600/Maryland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYY6F5vA7BszQyN7SD0jr7qV7nbGYA44fCsk3pwUEfuPO6wbCYhluhvg4WZH5lpIG_olJaS85LSv2DqlbmHI5bvg8abTlKIuKe3D7CLWH_vFwS1zIPVVdpiYqxMRkgQP_zaYh6aZ9kZl4m/s320/Maryland.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
This beautiful site is one of the many views that make my transition back to Baltimore and city living so wonderful. I love taking walks around the harbor and to the top of Federal Hill and just enjoying being outdoors in the city. So much has changed in the past year.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQe9FBh9DrEOpXEeZXHSJ6BShPTSCTKXI1-7oclOZGbI3voG2Z3XRiX3KYKxB-Wo4H8ITm3JBWqkxkSZsEYsNwFYoWP3BrWvYLAEXmhykovFNw3n0WdbPD6Uxk5knWhsK6epZHzuJxHbP/s1600/Brian.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQe9FBh9DrEOpXEeZXHSJ6BShPTSCTKXI1-7oclOZGbI3voG2Z3XRiX3KYKxB-Wo4H8ITm3JBWqkxkSZsEYsNwFYoWP3BrWvYLAEXmhykovFNw3n0WdbPD6Uxk5knWhsK6epZHzuJxHbP/s1600/Brian.bmp" t8="true" /></a>On April 30th last year I lost a very good friend. It was so unexpected and took the wind out of my sails. This year I look back on our time together and remember him with so much love. Brian was a beautiful soul and he is blessed to be with God. I will always miss him. Much love is to my dear friend Leigh and the boys! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Shortly after this there were changes in my husband's job that forced us to look at even more change. We began the long process of looking for new opportunities and facing the reality of new beginnings. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Of course our beautiful daughter gave us a beautiful gift that helped to balance out the dryness of summer last year. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Our youngest son moved on campus, our oldest son left for Marine boot camp, our daughter and her husband moved into their own home and promptly gave us our baby girl. So much change! All of this was followed by our move to Baltimore. Can you say big year?!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Now here we are a year later and we are finally beginning to settle into our new life. God has been good through all of this. I am going to start a new job next week-not teaching. The atmosphere for education has become so dismal in the US that being a teacher is well less than great. So I am moving on reluctantly. The new job is exciting and very different. I am looking forward to getting back to work.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Through all of this change I have continued to read but not really updated my blog. Sorry. I can only say that I was overwhelmed with everything going on. I have listed a few of the books I have been reading and posted a few reviews. Today I want to share some of the great reads that have seen me through the turmoil of last year.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">During the summer I sat on my deck and contemplated life a great deal while delving into the works of Proust. It was comforting and distracting to imagine a quiet life in the Provence of France. I can only describe the work as Beautiful! Slow moving and gentle.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRPIblta4Fxvt3HXULG2yEIsESpiuUhjohq9vfkzCLnqLtopQjo_OUdpVBICRR9m9TMU-QeYITvcJHwpvrLUIvzzjBDMCeVSFnMeEr4p9T8f5aTQWe4_f56mkMtFZnHB1EJCFQsiSeTDad/s1600/Kate+Carlisle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRPIblta4Fxvt3HXULG2yEIsESpiuUhjohq9vfkzCLnqLtopQjo_OUdpVBICRR9m9TMU-QeYITvcJHwpvrLUIvzzjBDMCeVSFnMeEr4p9T8f5aTQWe4_f56mkMtFZnHB1EJCFQsiSeTDad/s200/Kate+Carlisle.jpg" t8="true" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kate Carlisle</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Then I breezed through a stack of cozy mysteries for the fall. They were light and fun, easy to get in and out of while making heavy decisions about our move and packing. Kate Carlisle blessed me with an advanced copy of her fall release, as did Laura Childs. They were wonderful works. Love cozy mysteries.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> When I arrived in Baltimore early this year I began to pull some of the ARC's that I had not gotten to yet and work through those. Andrew Taylor's wonderful book <em>The Anatomy of Ghosts</em>, <em>Queen of Your Life</em>, and others. I read and posted the review for <em>Bruno, Chief of Police</em>. Good times!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFNe2p3sYGdAE52CYP7ZJ3kNhMWJN7F73yNOdrZP4bL8fEkx0LYcFFxxT60O-pNg8BCSlfQy1EfA9Z0dR6qjnVSKPmSNwMlMx_HckOZyhIC2ZnJYybDCS-g9-iOFDMgIzQ85esLK0agSiK/s1600/What+the+Dead+Know.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFNe2p3sYGdAE52CYP7ZJ3kNhMWJN7F73yNOdrZP4bL8fEkx0LYcFFxxT60O-pNg8BCSlfQy1EfA9Z0dR6qjnVSKPmSNwMlMx_HckOZyhIC2ZnJYybDCS-g9-iOFDMgIzQ85esLK0agSiK/s1600/What+the+Dead+Know.jpg" t8="true" /></a>I had a Laura Lippman book that I had bought ages ago sitting on my TBR stack that I finally pulled off the shelf. <em>What the Dead Know</em>, set in Baltimore, was a great introduction back to charm city. I had such fun keeping up with the setting. I had eaten several times at the Bel Loc Diner during our visits to Baltimore while looking for a place to live, so it was a delight when the detective went for breakfast there early in the book. This was a delightful book that made me enamored with Laura Lippman. I recently bid on a package of 10 signed copies of her newest book that included a visit to your local book club meeting. I didn't win sorry to say but I am still enjoying her books. I began reading from the beginning her Tess Monaghan series. I am on Number 7 in the series now.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXujML6Yx8dhc5BcO0iE2WI-gbKvkNrpMWKR2WSwRsdYFlx8wlrpqPUDgx14_aeKAW8olBreLe9p4YrW80ih_VQGlrMWsnCirJItifdZrf2go6ggzPCw_b-DzfjEvLwcTmNoDRwiX0huoa/s1600/room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXujML6Yx8dhc5BcO0iE2WI-gbKvkNrpMWKR2WSwRsdYFlx8wlrpqPUDgx14_aeKAW8olBreLe9p4YrW80ih_VQGlrMWsnCirJItifdZrf2go6ggzPCw_b-DzfjEvLwcTmNoDRwiX0huoa/s1600/room.jpg" t8="true" /></a>And yes I finally found a book club! It is a wine and book club which is perfect for me. The first meeting I attended we read and discussed <em>Room</em> by Emma Donoghue. Great book, quick read, only 210 pages. I read it on my Nook. I missed the May meeting where James Ellroy's <em>The Black Dahlia</em> was discussed. I read the book but am not generally drawn to the film noir novels. Next up for our club is a favorite <em>Breakfast at Tiffany's</em> by Truman Capote. It will be great to not only discuss the book but how the movie, one of my favorites, differs from the book. I love the variety of reads that are picked and discussed. It keeps you from getting stuck in one direction and missing so many other great books.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijmCBl-9TjgwWCgSvvlID4xEOLwJ7XJPC8iFzx2b40lcCN9w_lG-DC9Hbf63DNXH1H9i4WQdPjmlmRr55RzoAxtBWbpDwAhDIc7KHgdv97CThoUP6vpG9DDisiLZnqYafJU4Xx0mZbjDQp/s1600/the+black+dahlia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijmCBl-9TjgwWCgSvvlID4xEOLwJ7XJPC8iFzx2b40lcCN9w_lG-DC9Hbf63DNXH1H9i4WQdPjmlmRr55RzoAxtBWbpDwAhDIc7KHgdv97CThoUP6vpG9DDisiLZnqYafJU4Xx0mZbjDQp/s200/the+black+dahlia.jpg" t8="true" width="120" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7M9_sPNwd_mVLB2Ic2kk8eEGqeXbGv-QlCiY5EM-wH_hD3rIFLQ82iDgUwSviYrkDs6jOBid52h8HEau9yk2zgOJmG_0OQgvhhYWMvPfDR2LoAR3E5VqEYIsg5OoeH0OQpTr0q3on5Tvv/s1600/Breakfast+at+Tiffanys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7M9_sPNwd_mVLB2Ic2kk8eEGqeXbGv-QlCiY5EM-wH_hD3rIFLQ82iDgUwSviYrkDs6jOBid52h8HEau9yk2zgOJmG_0OQgvhhYWMvPfDR2LoAR3E5VqEYIsg5OoeH0OQpTr0q3on5Tvv/s200/Breakfast+at+Tiffanys.jpg" t8="true" width="126" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">And the big accomplishment, I finished the first volume or Part One of <em>Don Quixote</em>. I will be starting the second part soon. The book is a slow start, even with the windmill incident, but I am glad I kept going. It is a magnificent book. I can certainly see where Shakespeare was intrigued. Love the book.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXM0gc45dghPQpFsznlhOfYyY5YON8wTjMcNF5_RjOofylRuPZS5eNfcJh10XjQfbSpEVtCOA9rUeovyfUf24yCjJm6BaD_IMZZBu_-gY76mYIBQ9vSfV2ZtquaK3tOVE1M4VxLi_I6tzJ/s1600/Don+Quixote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXM0gc45dghPQpFsznlhOfYyY5YON8wTjMcNF5_RjOofylRuPZS5eNfcJh10XjQfbSpEVtCOA9rUeovyfUf24yCjJm6BaD_IMZZBu_-gY76mYIBQ9vSfV2ZtquaK3tOVE1M4VxLi_I6tzJ/s1600/Don+Quixote.jpg" t8="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">I am still working on my summer reading list. How about you? What are you planning to read this summer? I have added <em>Mildred Pierce</em> by James Cain. So many options! </div>Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-13956032473016919962011-03-26T13:18:00.002-04:002011-03-26T13:20:44.099-04:00Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walker<ul><ul style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY9oakEhH-dyVdRYF1n5dbEh0abvkzrTcNs6okpThxdd1LaxJobhnBJmW_0o1lKPdP9nAa36E2V5OHGm_yM4HnGATCsnNRkQipCQkYhJZ_XDnmWqgrmgnjT7OTdKZRxHmV8SIK5OUtvSro/s1600/Bruno%252C+Chief+of+Police.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY9oakEhH-dyVdRYF1n5dbEh0abvkzrTcNs6okpThxdd1LaxJobhnBJmW_0o1lKPdP9nAa36E2V5OHGm_yM4HnGATCsnNRkQipCQkYhJZ_XDnmWqgrmgnjT7OTdKZRxHmV8SIK5OUtvSro/s320/Bruno%252C+Chief+of+Police.jpg" width="206" /></a></ul></ul><em><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Bruno, Chief of Police</span></strong></em> <span style="font-size: x-small;">by Martin Walker</span><br />
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<ul><ul style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pub. Date: April 2010 </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Format: Paperback , 288pp (Also available in Nook and Kindle format)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Series: Vintage Series </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">ISBN-13: 9780307454690 </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">ISBN: 030745469X</span></li>
</ul></ul><br />
<div></div>Benoit Courréges, aka Bruno, lives in a small village in the South of France. Bruno, a policeman in the village, embraces country life, shopping at the local market, distilling his own vin de noix, and enjoying great food with great friends. His most difficult work usually involves helping local farmers avoid the E.U. inspectors and the fines they impose. <br />
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Murder interrupts the quiet paces of this simple country life. A North African man who fought for the French army is the unlikely victim. In order to restore order to this quiet village, Bruno must figure out who murdered this man. The investigation opens old wounds from the Nazi occupation and threatens to destroy the peace and tranquility of the village.<br />
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<div></div>Review: <br />
<br />
This title was a thoroughly enjoyable read. Walker does a great job of giving us a picture of life in a small village in Southern France. Bruno is a likable character, who is sympathetic and sensitive of the issues that are raised during his investigation. <br />
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The book is "gentle" in telling but engaging. The story unfolds rather then busting out. I don't remember which blog had made me aware of this book but I am grateful. I fell in love with the people and the village itself. I find myself wanting to move to this area and enjoy the quiet, elegant life of Southern France. <br />
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Mystery lovers will enjoy the quiet rhythms of this book. I plan to pick up other books in this series. Next one up <em><strong>The Dark Vineyard</strong></em>.Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-41864394826926033532011-02-02T14:51:00.001-05:002011-02-02T14:58:38.483-05:00PonderingHi everyone,<br />
<br />
I have arrived in Baltimore, Md. I met my husband here almost 30 yrs ago. We will be celebrating our 25th anniversary this month. Appropriate since we were married in Timonium. <br />
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It is hard work moving from a 4 bd house to a 2 bd apartment. Forced to get rid of stuff-good! The new place is coming along. I need to get the rest of my books here and figure out where I am putting them. I will be busy setting up at least one of my bookcases today. Some order at last. <br />
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I drove to NC on Monday and home on Tuesday. One of my sons just finished boot camp in Dec and MCT training. I went to his MCT graduation yesterday and watched him board a bus for the airport. He is heading to Missouri for his MOS. Cold and snowy there!<br />
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My new granddaughter is beautiful and growing. <br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZlgdcTvTVOqgklgGGGP_mLA_yIZaLC9ZXeECY3cSL7xbVOSvqBXRAKemsXRBqbDZdhVJVRN-0dA8cbdENTLa-rZoM67LAa0iUbCY7BxjJCYe4GLgvakNejFBZOwR2bzvOLHx-KVsFzvnJ/s1600/62941_1617016463616_1182493444_31808900_3975216_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZlgdcTvTVOqgklgGGGP_mLA_yIZaLC9ZXeECY3cSL7xbVOSvqBXRAKemsXRBqbDZdhVJVRN-0dA8cbdENTLa-rZoM67LAa0iUbCY7BxjJCYe4GLgvakNejFBZOwR2bzvOLHx-KVsFzvnJ/s320/62941_1617016463616_1182493444_31808900_3975216_n.jpg" width="213" /></a>This picture is a few months old. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">I read Bruno by Martin Walker. Barely had time to read with all of the apartment hunting trips, boot camp graduation, packing, the holidays, the move. I enjoyed the book very much. Wish I could remember which blog brought it to my attention. I am now reading Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay. I found that at Barnes and Noble. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiopx7Qe0j2bHQrd3JOvjKIm1BjUrKe3ubghRPeosuAKXpG9pIUqWnTBYMniHkvvK3h6g12-9pJ84wwusRDV8Z90NYfk9yeZRcObsA_tPReNEVPJm_fjPLoHDpshfAx2uvjk6d69uMniQK0/s1600/Russian+Winter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiopx7Qe0j2bHQrd3JOvjKIm1BjUrKe3ubghRPeosuAKXpG9pIUqWnTBYMniHkvvK3h6g12-9pJ84wwusRDV8Z90NYfk9yeZRcObsA_tPReNEVPJm_fjPLoHDpshfAx2uvjk6d69uMniQK0/s1600/Russian+Winter.jpg" /></a></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">With all of the snow, sleet, freezing rain, ice-the title sounded interesting. I will be unpacking books that I have received for review this week and getting back track. I have missed reading and posting. And I have missed all of you. I will be checking in on your blogs soon. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Also, I am looking for a book club to join in the Baltimore area. I have posted on meetup so we will see what happens.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Should I pursue teaching here in Baltimore? What do you think? I am looking to get back to work. In addition to teaching, I have worked as a bookkeeper, paraprofessional for a CPA firm, and as a controller for 5 hotels in Texas. What to do? What to do?</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Finally-----the sun. I was about to give up on that. The sun is shining. Oorah!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">What are you reading? Is it for fun? review? education? business? self-edification?</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-18971345163505501012011-01-17T20:06:00.000-05:002011-01-17T20:06:46.992-05:00MusingsLife has a way of catching up with you. This has been a difficult year. A dear friend passed away, my daughter got married, we had our first grandchild, my oldest son left for bootcamp, my youngest son moved into a dorm and so on. <br />
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In the last month my husband interviewed and accepted a position with a new company. We will be moving to Baltimore. We have been in the process of visiting there and looking for housing. The relocation is on us of course. Our oldest son just graduated bootcamp and is now a Marine. He is home for a few days before he must leave us for more training and finally assignment to a fleet. He leaves right after Christmas. Our youngest son is coming home for winter break and must be checked out by tomorrow. My niece is visiting from SC-she is awesome. And loads of help to me. <br />
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I am going through everything in our house, throwing as much as possible away, and then beginning to pack. I must decide what to do with the animals, get the house listed and ready to sale, and prepare us to move into a smaller place. We decided as empty nesters to rent an apartment in the city for a while. That will be fun but means that we are going to move from 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, walkin closets in all bedrooms, attic, full walkout basement, garage to 2 bedrooms, 2 bath apartments. Such fun!<br />
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As you can see there are many things that are distracting me at the moment and very little reading is happening. Our life has exploded. But I will be settled into Baltimore by the middle of January-we can't keep paying for my husband to stay there during the week and travel here on weekends now can we.<br />
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I will be back to positng on a more regular basis in January and hope to participate in a book tour in February so please hang in there with me.<br />
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January update:<br />
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We are moving this week. I will be back on the air next week. Thank you for hanging in with me. Love to you all.Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-9070479053434853322010-10-28T15:42:00.002-04:002010-10-28T16:03:57.373-04:00Review: Testimony by Anita Shreve<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em>Testimony </em></span><span style="font-size: small;">by Anita Shreve</span></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH1CekYtFP3NIrb5kC037ZaIdyfwlqRLoNfWvycJ9pr-AF69RC28hB77e5mAH2dUfMizRCU8d_6SieRE5fy6Sez_CYK5J2sQP2r9Cqpwn2ScJKKXnNEtHorQNEoCGrXUWyJ8re79n_xT-g/s1600/testimony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH1CekYtFP3NIrb5kC037ZaIdyfwlqRLoNfWvycJ9pr-AF69RC28hB77e5mAH2dUfMizRCU8d_6SieRE5fy6Sez_CYK5J2sQP2r9Cqpwn2ScJKKXnNEtHorQNEoCGrXUWyJ8re79n_xT-g/s320/testimony.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Publication: Little Brown</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Publication Date: 10/21/2008</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">324 pages paperback</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Jacket Synopsis:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">At an exclusive New England Boarding School, a sex scandal unleashes a storm of shame and recrimination.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The men, women, and teenagers affected--among them the headmaster, struggling to contain the incident before it destroys the school; a popular student-athlete, grappling with the consequences of his mistakes; the boys mother, confronting her own forbidden temptations; and a troubled teenage girl eager to put the past behind her--speak out to relate the events of one fateful night and its aftermath.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Enter a world upended by the repercussions of a single impulsive action.....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Review:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Shreve is very good at tearing the cover off of our hidden emotions and presumptions, making us question our judgments. This was a difficult book at times and very emotional. Working with teenagers is stressful, and precarious at times, but also a delight. As I was reading this book I kept thinking about how it speaks to the fact that most teenagers (and often adults) don't realize the significance of one little act on their lives. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In this story many lives are changed forever by one impulsive act-lives lost, dreams shattered, and innocence lost. Wouldn't it be worth it to examine this idea and maybe create some understanding that even though choices were made, everyone was a victim as well as a perpetrator? Shreve makes it very clear that there are no easy answers-and maybe that it is almost entirely impossible to examine every issue that this situation uncovered. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Recently, I came across another review where Shreve was criticized for not developing a storyline that examined the young girl's underlying issues that help lead her to act out. Shreve does not make judgment statements in her work, the book shares the perspective from several of the characters involved and opens the door into the way they have personally handled the situation, and the tragedy that ensues. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The stream of consciousness flow of some of the characters made this a little bit tougher to get into at the beginning, especially that of the young girl, Sienna. But once the story got underway it was hard to put the book down. Shreve slowly led you into an understanding of who would die, and why, so that it was not a surprise. There was only one piece of information she held until the last, with few hints. Who held the camera?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Shreve's writing is terrific as usual, her characterization is believable and well done, the story is gripping, and well you definitely walk away with much to think about. I have not always been drawn into Anita Shreve's books, but when I am I find that I really enjoy it and love the questions that she leaves me with. Reading a book that makes me question some of my own presumptions is one of my favorite past times. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is a terrific book for book clubs. So much to talk about, so much to examine. Enjoy!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am offering one copy of <em>Testimony</em> by Anita Shreve. To win please leave a comment below with an email account where I can contact you. You may substitute (at) and (dot) for actual symbols. One winner will be chosen at random.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-64279028136020111122010-10-26T11:41:00.000-04:002010-10-26T11:41:41.231-04:00Review: The Lies That Bind by Kate Carlisle<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em>The Lies That Bind </em></span><span style="font-size: small;">by Kate Carlisle</span></strong><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmimVJmJyliXM_PVyeolnpCRzhkVysZ4D9whWfi5uyShnbm_b9Yu3z6NxH8EXYiPXx2cKm1pMjMQUPzVpkUIqQo091csqrveMnTovpEG6gg8shbpCno2aEIwPIczCvfpBH4f3C9TbFLRT3/s1600/the+lie+that+binds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmimVJmJyliXM_PVyeolnpCRzhkVysZ4D9whWfi5uyShnbm_b9Yu3z6NxH8EXYiPXx2cKm1pMjMQUPzVpkUIqQo091csqrveMnTovpEG6gg8shbpCno2aEIwPIczCvfpBH4f3C9TbFLRT3/s320/the+lie+that+binds.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>Publication Date: November 2, 2010<br />
Pages: 304<br />
Publishers: Obsidian Mystery<br />
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A Bibliophile Mystery<br />
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Jacket Synopsis:<br />
One bookbinder. One bully. One beau. Looks like someone has got to go.....<br />
When it comes to rare books and antiquities, Brooklyn Wainwright is a master. That's why she has returned to San Francisco to teach a bookbinding class at Bay Area Book Arts. Unfortunately, BABA director Layla Fontaine is a horrendous host who pitches fits and lords it over her subordinates. With the help of her beau, Derek Stone, Brooklyn manages to put on a brave face and endure.<br />
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But someone else is not so forgiving. Layla is found dead from a gunshot wound, and Brooklyn is bound and determined to investigate. But when Layla's past ends up intertwined with Derek's, Brooklyn realizes that the case is much more personal than she thought--and the killer might want to close the book on her for good.<br />
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Review:<br />
I enjoy Cozy Mysteries, especially during the fall when I can curl up with a cup of hot tea, a blanket and a book. They are just plain fun. <br />
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Kate Carlisle has captured my interest with this series. I love a smart heroine. Brooklyn is smart, a little loopy at times, but fun. Although I don't really connect with the new age, guru background of her family and friends, I do find it entertaining. Brooklyn is just the right blend of likable and quirky. She stumbles into murders, worries over her karma with dead bodies, but enjoys the pursuit of the villain. Perfect match for a cozy mystery. Of course she is one lucky lady--two gorgeous men to consider. A bad boy handsome type beside a smooth, English, ex secret agent type. Yummy. Enter fun.<br />
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Carlisle includes enough details of the bookbinding process that I am intrigued. I have begun to look into taking a bookbinding class. Of course I am one of those people that can get lost in the smell of books. Love it!!!!!!!!!!!! <br />
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I read Jane Eyre every couple of years, not for the plot, but for the language. I love words. Bronte is one of those authors who draw me in with their proficiency in language. I love a book with great vocabulary-used correctly of course. Also grammar is important. Carlisle has a good handle on vocabulary. Her writing style is smart, and fluent. Perhaps this is why she is one of my favorite cozy mystery writers.<br />
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For all of the cozy mystery fans out there this series is definitely one you need to check out. It is fun, smart, and well written. Curl up and read away!Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-10622995729199743282010-10-18T00:00:00.010-04:002010-10-18T00:00:05.635-04:00It's Monday! What Are You Reading?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrLOh16hr3JzheER0ry3htjIaTiqP6dVUYahnYhp6KkyUJQsB-u9rsvzH1VoZb1e_TL5uJys_HxQvmHUfyETm0Ar_VAOs3V_nxZJPsr4ni5OXetIMAMFg81dMJX0PIHsKaoYKVd_nbKZkW/s1600/stack+of+books+in+library.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrLOh16hr3JzheER0ry3htjIaTiqP6dVUYahnYhp6KkyUJQsB-u9rsvzH1VoZb1e_TL5uJys_HxQvmHUfyETm0Ar_VAOs3V_nxZJPsr4ni5OXetIMAMFg81dMJX0PIHsKaoYKVd_nbKZkW/s320/stack+of+books+in+library.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>A book meme by Shelia at <a href="http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/">One Persons Journey Through a World of Books</a>.<br />
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It has been a while since I last posted this. Life interrupts.<br />
Last week I was reading:<br />
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1.<em><strong> Fiber & Brimstone</strong></em> by Laura Child<br />
2.<em><strong>Once Wicked Always Dead</strong></em> by T. Marie Benchley<br />
3. <strong><em>everything lovely, effortless, safe</em></strong> by jenny hollwell<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This week I am reading:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1. <strong><em>The Lie That Binds</em></strong> by Kate Carlisle</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2. <strong><em>The Dissemblers</em></strong> by Liza Campbell</div>3. <strong><em>Testimony</em></strong> by Anita Shreve<br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy6fYR5viiUC7-nQSQ0fbIZvBdzBWADmrHxeVsLd6ms9jDg2NiQfuf-sn_bCl-E0v19WG1Q9qYipU9MdXWJ9cC9EciLT2Y_vTbBkpzY9X0jjQgdxxwIlidNFGkRvdU9sDAn5GFj4sJWNPd/s1600/the+lie+that+binds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy6fYR5viiUC7-nQSQ0fbIZvBdzBWADmrHxeVsLd6ms9jDg2NiQfuf-sn_bCl-E0v19WG1Q9qYipU9MdXWJ9cC9EciLT2Y_vTbBkpzY9X0jjQgdxxwIlidNFGkRvdU9sDAn5GFj4sJWNPd/s200/the+lie+that+binds.jpg" width="123" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitt0cevNwXCAOuEgy1L3ahE1nzosT5_ThL07Z6NzRwvT5GpN0UWut2wDf5VMBFjGdzoyIK0OH10NuHJSd9hi6y-4KuqH3YmpkATprGCLDYg11QvvkKsK8erxPfBkYyR8r7ob2i-C93csEb/s1600/testimony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitt0cevNwXCAOuEgy1L3ahE1nzosT5_ThL07Z6NzRwvT5GpN0UWut2wDf5VMBFjGdzoyIK0OH10NuHJSd9hi6y-4KuqH3YmpkATprGCLDYg11QvvkKsK8erxPfBkYyR8r7ob2i-C93csEb/s1600/testimony.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizOe9Pxbap8QvPrwg8nVTyiidMtmlirCGdOpy-lytwYhd0yLjIjrlaGoWxB92vMLD3qVFUXvZAOTYIvtekPctuPeOc58qpftc3KO3C8zmb4ONU2nqaLjw5jGFGxVxaJmVc7VVYtgnOFptH/s1600/the+dissemblers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizOe9Pxbap8QvPrwg8nVTyiidMtmlirCGdOpy-lytwYhd0yLjIjrlaGoWxB92vMLD3qVFUXvZAOTYIvtekPctuPeOc58qpftc3KO3C8zmb4ONU2nqaLjw5jGFGxVxaJmVc7VVYtgnOFptH/s200/the+dissemblers.jpg" width="125" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-87520455391187694682010-10-17T23:08:00.040-04:002010-10-17T23:43:21.571-04:00In My Mailbox<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzOcnGkJaG081NXpSwQL5QGm9BK6m6jcXxFUHP9yhOG0Aay9PaldgLxKSubtddmvEurdmXofp9wXiigeLeDAGq3KHhMgVkXQyA6psO8HIPWuHHCSnMbqIJKREGctYIh4qVJqiO_xObZtio/s1600/mailbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzOcnGkJaG081NXpSwQL5QGm9BK6m6jcXxFUHP9yhOG0Aay9PaldgLxKSubtddmvEurdmXofp9wXiigeLeDAGq3KHhMgVkXQyA6psO8HIPWuHHCSnMbqIJKREGctYIh4qVJqiO_xObZtio/s200/mailbox.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>This weekly meme is hosted by Kristi at <a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/">The Story Siren</a>! Check out her blog to see what others are reading.<br />
<br />
My summer kind of fell a part on me and it has been a very long time since I participated. I have received many books since then but I will stick to some of the more recent.<br />
<br />
I received <strong><em><span style="font-size: large;">Testimony</span></em> by Anita Shreve</strong> courtesy of Hachette Books<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjot_sJI5Xr_NQnwlwqDzRQ_cX9-G-zlG4In54bMFn_gWBtbyirR94gc7KuNCf6boFz6R6BwyUwg8xluDbH97ujt4efASe31Khv7EZs9BmWUafxTLI-zyOvTBGqK-aKyM8ZWG_YYnQsZ6Sm/s1600/testimony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjot_sJI5Xr_NQnwlwqDzRQ_cX9-G-zlG4In54bMFn_gWBtbyirR94gc7KuNCf6boFz6R6BwyUwg8xluDbH97ujt4efASe31Khv7EZs9BmWUafxTLI-zyOvTBGqK-aKyM8ZWG_YYnQsZ6Sm/s320/testimony.jpg" width="206" /></a>Pub. Date: October 2008<br />
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company<br />
Sold By: HACHETTE BOOK GROUP <br />
<br />
Synopsis (B&N):<br />
At a New England boarding school, a sex scandal is about to break. Even more shocking than the sexual acts themselves is the fact that they were caught on videotape. <br />
<br />
A Pandora's box of revelations, the tape triggers a chorus of voices--those of the men, women, teenagers, and parents involved in the scandal--that details the ways in which lives can be derailed or destroyed in one foolish moment.<br />
<br />
Writing with a pace and intensity surpassing even her own greatest work, Anita Shreve delivers in <em>TESTIMONY</em> a gripping emotional drama with the impact of a thriller. No one more compellingly explores the dark impulses that sway the lives of seeming innocents, the needs and fears that drive ordinary men and women into intolerable dilemmas, and the ways in which our best intentions can lead to our worst transgressions.<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">From Librarything Earlier Reviewers I have received the following</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><strong><span style="font-size: large;">The Dissemblers</span></strong></em> <strong>by Liza Campbell</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnikicpcoptEZOgMnTorPclrpATX6nhsHB3hqEsvr0yKgv1ol3Dx1bVM8YprMGmTGicabtmlnj1I5smOdNkVXgfaHfFmPIpXK9b45qBZTQxC0gy4Wqdfm3Id2RMJv1oBQITEuFo9pEO5mC/s1600/the+dissemblers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnikicpcoptEZOgMnTorPclrpATX6nhsHB3hqEsvr0yKgv1ol3Dx1bVM8YprMGmTGicabtmlnj1I5smOdNkVXgfaHfFmPIpXK9b45qBZTQxC0gy4Wqdfm3Id2RMJv1oBQITEuFo9pEO5mC/s1600/the+dissemblers.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Paperback 200 pp<br />
Publisher: The Permanent Press<br />
Publication Date: October 2010<br />
<br />
Synopsis (LT):<br />
The Dissemblers is the story of a woman searching for greatness and beauty, only to find that neither greatness nor beauty are exactly what she thought. Ivy Wilkes always assumed she would achieve greatness as a painter. She moves to Santa Fe in search of the light and landscape that inspired her idol, Georgia O’Keeffe. At first, Ivy embraces life in the artsy desert town, working in the O’Keeffe museum by day and spending her evenings with Omar, the seductive cousin of her upstairs neighbors. But when Ivy’s own painting stagnates, she finds herself paralyzed by the fear that she will never paint anything of worth. Unable to create anything original, she begins imitating Georgia O’Keeffe’s work and is enticed by an offer to create O’Keeffe forgeries to sell on the black market. The paintings sell, but Ivy’s secrets isolate her from those she loves, who have secrets of their own. When a mysterious man appears at the museum, asking questions about O’Keeffe forgeries, Ivy’s bonds of love and friendship are tested. In her struggle to find her own artistic voice, she navigates the space between pride and guilt, love and selfishness, with devastating consequences. Rendered in concentrated prose, The Dissemblers explores themes of isolation and misunderstanding. The emotions are subtle, and the characters continually thwart their own best intentions while harboring mutually exclusive desires.<br />
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and<br />
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<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkJTCVGXq_vO5xzObbIHKc3U6RW4P3KyAhWNC3xyBw2e3gRurck77-8UNehRJ-VIQzubwww4QLPEpSTrRM85ujzc8o_RaCh8cs_mOkn3nAHLF75624la-ZflFVhvqpdFccsm0-Ck1trq1z/s1600/mistress+of+abha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkJTCVGXq_vO5xzObbIHKc3U6RW4P3KyAhWNC3xyBw2e3gRurck77-8UNehRJ-VIQzubwww4QLPEpSTrRM85ujzc8o_RaCh8cs_mOkn3nAHLF75624la-ZflFVhvqpdFccsm0-Ck1trq1z/s320/mistress+of+abha.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><strong><span style="font-size: large;">The Mistress of Abha</span></strong></em> <strong>by William Newton</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
Paperback: 320 pages </div>Publisher: Bloomsbury USA <br />
(August 31, 2010) <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Synopsis(LT): <br />
The year is 1930 and the British are in Arabia. Ivor Willoughby, a young orientalist, embarks on an ambitious quest to find his father, an officer abroad with the British Army. In all Ivor's life, Robert has returned to England only once, bedraggled and wild-eyed with tales of As'ir, a land of sheikhs and white-turbaned bandits, where he is fighting alongside Captain Lawrence and is known by the name Ullobi.<br />
<br />
After that single meeting, Robert is never heard from again. Ten years on, Ivor must find out what became of him. So he sets out on the journey of a lifetime. Traveling to Cairo to join the Locust Bureau, then circuitously to Abha, Yemen, and along the Red Sea coast, Ivor searches everywhere for clues about Ullobi, but no one appears to remember him. Or perhaps they are afraid to admit to it. Along the way Ivor hears whispers of a woman warrior called Na'ema who was once a slave. Her story seems tantalizingly connected with his father's, and Ivor finds himself in the misty heights of Ayinah looking for an Abyssinian seer who was carried on the same slave ship as Na'ema in 1914 and might unlock the mystery.<br />
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<br />
I purchased the following books:<br />
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<em><strong><span style="font-size: large;">The Weight of Silence</span></strong></em> <strong>by Heather Gudenkauf</strong><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcs7YONOighZbQXmyJ3WG4FlQ7KOVFKwV1bTNLYVOMDpGPUmroCjofT-wETh6WhdnhVMKhj_mzRehpBC5lI4XNvTJHlUT1m45O-BthUcslT61ALxgGAv9Db2AZIFVrpMVQMv5W_CvYBLqB/s1600/weight+of+silence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcs7YONOighZbQXmyJ3WG4FlQ7KOVFKwV1bTNLYVOMDpGPUmroCjofT-wETh6WhdnhVMKhj_mzRehpBC5lI4XNvTJHlUT1m45O-BthUcslT61ALxgGAv9Db2AZIFVrpMVQMv5W_CvYBLqB/s1600/weight+of+silence.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Pub. Date: July 2009 <br />
Paperback: 384pp <br />
Publisher: MIRA<br />
<br />
Synopsis (B&N): <br />
It happens quietly one August morning. As dawn's shimmering light drenches the humid Iowa air, two families awaken to find their little girls have gone missing in the night.<br />
<br />
Seven-year-old Calli Clark is sweet, gentle, a dreamer who suffers from selective mutism brought on by tragedy that pulled her deep into silence as a toddler.<br />
<br />
Calli's mother, Antonia, tried to be the best mother she could within the confines of marriage to a mostly absent, often angry husband. Now, though she denies that her husband could be involved in the possible abductions, she fears her decision to stay in her marriage has cost her more than her daughter's voice.<br />
<br />
Petra Gregory is Calli's best friend, her soul mate and her voice. But neither Petra nor Calli has been heard from since their disappearance was discovered. Desperate to find his child, Martin Gregory is forced to confront a side of himself he did not know existed beneath his intellectual, professorial demeanor.<br />
<br />
Now these families are tied by the question of what happened to their children. And the answer is trapped in the silence of unspoken family secrets.<br />
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<em><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Alice I Have Been</span></strong></em> <strong>by Melanie Benjamin</strong><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0RU_ptSVYJVETYXwvTOyw4SuXXj89_ETnaU6_pge_Ub4yIA-XJee8_RJGZuoo0DuPeE4TKS_hHhdrUNt6ONQfgoAu8qpNdxT6zqNWfdpZg2LVBvtNCo-j2ZZZzSBt-Z_dpVQHTfgrgIJG/s1600/alice+I+have+been.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0RU_ptSVYJVETYXwvTOyw4SuXXj89_ETnaU6_pge_Ub4yIA-XJee8_RJGZuoo0DuPeE4TKS_hHhdrUNt6ONQfgoAu8qpNdxT6zqNWfdpZg2LVBvtNCo-j2ZZZzSBt-Z_dpVQHTfgrgIJG/s1600/alice+I+have+been.gif" /></a></div>Pub. Date: January 2010 <br />
Hardcover: 351pp<br />
Publisher: Delacorte Press<br />
<br />
Synopsis (B&N):<br />
Few works of literature are as universally beloved as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Now, in this spellbinding historical novel, we meet the young girl whose bright spirit sent her on an unforgettable trip down the rabbit hole–and the grown woman whose story is no less enthralling.<br />
<br />
But oh my dear, I am tired of being Alice in Wonderland. Does it sound ungrateful?<br />
<br />
Alice Liddell Hargreaves’s life has been a richly woven tapestry: As a young woman, wife, mother, and widow, she’s experienced intense passion, great privilege, and greater tragedy. But as she nears her eighty-first birthday, she knows that, to the world around her, she is and will always be only “Alice.” Her life was permanently dog-eared at one fateful moment in her tenth year–the golden summer day she urged a grown-up friend to write down one of his fanciful stories.<br />
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That story, a wild tale of rabbits, queens, and a precocious young child, becomes a sensation the world over. Its author, a shy, stuttering Oxford professor, does more than immortalize Alice–he changes her life forever. But even he cannot stop time, as much as he might like to. And as Alice’s childhood slips away, a peacetime of glittering balls and royal romances gives way to the urgent tide of war. <br />
<br />
For Alice, the stakes could not be higher, for she is the mother of three grown sons, soldiers all. Yet even as she stands to lose everything she treasures, one part of her will always be the determined, undaunted Alice of the story, who discovered that life beyond the rabbit hole was an astonishing journey.<br />
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A love story and a literary mystery, Alice I Have Been brilliantly blends fact and fiction to capture the passionate spirit of a woman who was truly worthy of her fictional alter ego, in a world as captivating as the Wonderland only she could inspire.<br />
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<br />
<em><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter</span></strong></em> <strong>by Tom Franklin</strong><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7eFHHaLEVtDv9UbR9FHMzSVE66OGIDyzNMydnBse4MYUYltM7IANBzaaXCumdPIaFTrkeItMFQLeMDhEamE7VvTCU02T7OUQd2DAw8mqXxYJwGozQlzbdm2qB_mv9n0z6HVH0D0cDWXCM/s1600/crooked+letter+crooked+letter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7eFHHaLEVtDv9UbR9FHMzSVE66OGIDyzNMydnBse4MYUYltM7IANBzaaXCumdPIaFTrkeItMFQLeMDhEamE7VvTCU02T7OUQd2DAw8mqXxYJwGozQlzbdm2qB_mv9n0z6HVH0D0cDWXCM/s320/crooked+letter+crooked+letter.jpg" width="227" /></a></div><br />
Pub. Date: October 2010 <br />
Hardcover: 274pp <br />
Publisher: William Morrow<br />
<br />
Synopsis (B&N):<br />
A powerful and resonant novel from Tom Franklin—critically acclaimed author of Smonk and Hell at the Breech—Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter tells the riveting story of two boyhood friends, torn apart by circumstance, who are brought together again by a terrible crime in a small Mississippi town. An extraordinary novel that seamlessly blends elements of crime and Southern literary fiction, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter is a must for readers of Larry Brown, Pete Dexter, Ron Rash, and Dennis Lehane.<br />
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<br />
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<br />
and <strong><em><span style="font-size: large;">Freedom A Novel</span></em></strong> <strong>by Jonathan Franzen</strong><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8TT4ZeF2cK1K-WojxkmYRdAT6jck0VaOqLAZIGcWSG3lYa_FDDr5BymUD4fs7zxbahcV15_r7B5NCc-EHGIIYWhQcU1XKTmrdXfzHOFQstN6FvgwbhuMMTeKuT0ZCI3-jUUN5uo0MaX8o/s1600/Freedom+a+Novel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8TT4ZeF2cK1K-WojxkmYRdAT6jck0VaOqLAZIGcWSG3lYa_FDDr5BymUD4fs7zxbahcV15_r7B5NCc-EHGIIYWhQcU1XKTmrdXfzHOFQstN6FvgwbhuMMTeKuT0ZCI3-jUUN5uo0MaX8o/s1600/Freedom+a+Novel.jpg" /></a>Pub. Date: September 2010 <br />
Hardcover: 562pp <br />
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux<br />
<br />
Synopsis (MacMillan):<br />
Patty and Walter Berglund were the new pioneers of old St. Paul—the gentrifiers, the hands-on parents, the avant-garde of the Whole Foods generation. Patty was the ideal sort of neighbor, who could tell you where to recycle your batteries and how to get the local cops to actually do their job. She was an enviably perfect mother and the wife of Walter’s dreams. Together with Walter—environmental lawyer, commuter cyclist, total family man—she was doing her small part to build a better world.<br />
<br />
But now, in the new millennium, the Berglunds have become a mystery. Why has their teenage son moved in with the aggressively Republican family next door? Why has Walter taken a job working with Big Coal? What exactly is Richard Katz—outré rocker and Walter’s college best friend and rival—still doing in the picture? Most of all, what has happened to Patty? Why has the bright star of Barrier Street become “a very different kind of neighbor,” an implacable Fury coming unhinged before the street’s attentive eyes?<br />
<br />
In his first novel since The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen has given us an epic of contemporary love and marriage. Freedom comically and tragically captures the temptations and burdens of liberty: the thrills of teenage lust, the shaken compromises of middle age, the wages of suburban sprawl, the heavy weight of empire. In charting the mistakes and joys of Freedom’s characters as they struggle to learn how to live in an ever more confusing world, Franzen has produced an indelible and deeply moving portrait of our time.Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-60475375563615664242010-10-15T11:03:00.001-04:002010-10-17T00:34:14.096-04:00Review: everything lovely, effortless, safe by Jenny Hollowell<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>everything lovely, effortless, safe</strong></span> <strong>by jenny hollowell</strong><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKdLsn5iSrdiX-KSLa3uhLvQQKWLhnBxT87BFjxKN-YvD-ph_4KG6y3PpmqEFi_OKxpxzqWv8uWue40FPs_v47b8tKYqEWyAQ_A3QHLqJ8TPOS_V1Y-nneK5TemryGlXIjw7z-xz2dZdOj/s1600/everything+lovely,+effortless,+safe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKdLsn5iSrdiX-KSLa3uhLvQQKWLhnBxT87BFjxKN-YvD-ph_4KG6y3PpmqEFi_OKxpxzqWv8uWue40FPs_v47b8tKYqEWyAQ_A3QHLqJ8TPOS_V1Y-nneK5TemryGlXIjw7z-xz2dZdOj/s1600/everything+lovely,+effortless,+safe.jpg" /></a></div>Publisher: Holt Publishing<br />
Publication Date: June 2010<br />
Paperback: 256 pages<br />
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9119-9<br />
<br />
<em>A young woman caught at the turning point between success and failure hopes fame and fortune will finally let her leave her old life—and her old self—behind</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em><br />
</em><br />
<em>Birdie Baker has always dreamed of becoming someone else. At twenty-two, she sets off to do just that. Walking out on her pastor husband and deeply evangelical parents, she leaves behind her small-town, small-time life and gets on a bus to Los Angeles.</em><br />
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<em>Nine years later, Birdie's life in Hollywood is far from golden, and nothing in the intervening years—the brutal auditions, the tawdry commercials—has brought her any closer to the transformation she craves. Caught between success and failure, haunted by guilt about a tragedy in her long-forsaken family, Birdie is at the brink of collapse when she meets Lewis, a beautiful but naive young actor with his own troubled history, whose self-destructive impulses run dangerously parallel to her own.</em><br />
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</em><br />
<em>When her big chance finally comes, Birdie must reconcile the wide-eyed girl she once was with the jaded starlet she has become and try to find herself and her future somewhere in between. Everything Lovely, Effortless, Safe is the story of a young woman's struggle to make her own way in the Technicolor land of make-believe. </em><br />
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My Review:<br />
I was unsure at the beginning that I would enjoy this book. The description just didn't grab me so I put it off on the back burner. But finally guilt got the best of me and I decided to jump right in to the book. Good decision on my part.<br />
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The pace is slow and you are treated to morsels of information as you move along. Jenny Hollowell has great literary talent. The book is well written and touching. There is no rush to get through this novel. It is a book that is written to be drawn in sentence by sentence, word by word, to experience the emotions and feelings and desires that each carefully chosen piece evokes. <br />
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I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the book. Definitely a book that should be added to your TBR list if you haven't gotten to it yet.<br />
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This ARC was provided by Henry Holt & Co. for an honest review.Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-23513077375252349492010-10-15T10:40:00.005-04:002010-10-17T00:31:46.712-04:00Review: Once Wicked Always Dead by T. Marie Benchley<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Once Wicked Always Dead </span><span style="font-size: small;">by T. Marie Benchley</span></strong><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU9rwnAiaj_HgqgRfeTulYZD6jEqERvNUyWvFPcJPEXDd5IVgmengwkqmpUCg03SzYnH3Uqkbh_pv_cAVZhXvxkXGDQiT2qsSqKWkYY7VRh_6GTAIKfoR1ZxovdXaRjVkGA_zQ-AmjmFUV/s1600/513W4SXfBDL._SS500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU9rwnAiaj_HgqgRfeTulYZD6jEqERvNUyWvFPcJPEXDd5IVgmengwkqmpUCg03SzYnH3Uqkbh_pv_cAVZhXvxkXGDQiT2qsSqKWkYY7VRh_6GTAIKfoR1ZxovdXaRjVkGA_zQ-AmjmFUV/s320/513W4SXfBDL._SS500_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Publisher: MMWE Publishing House<br />
Publication Date: September 1, 2010<br />
Hardcover: 296 pages<br />
ISBN: 978-0984478705<br />
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<em>What happens when a family's darkest secrets put lives in jeopardy? How far would you go for love?</em> <br />
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<em>A sharp mystery that swirls with family secrets, betrayal, love and loss, Once Wicked Always Dead is a strong debut from an author with literary blood in her veins.</em><br />
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<em>The story begins with Molly Madison unaware of the Sociopath who is on the loose, creating havoc with a sense of their own justice. Her life is shattered by the sudden death of her beloved parents and the revelation of her husband Phillip's affair - with another man - Molly leaves the life of country clubs and the luxury of city life in Florida and heads west to Montana, resolved to run the family ranch, and to move on with her life. Her attraction to Clayton Leatherbe, the ranch foreman, is instant, but before a romance can blossom, the ranch falls prey to sabotage by wealthy land developers determined to drive Molly out, and Clayton learns of a family secret and collides with the Sociopath that could put the ranch - and Molly's life - in jeopardy.</em><br />
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My Review:<br />
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I would classify this as a romance thriller. The premise was good. I enjoyed the book as I began to read, it was interesting and moved at a steady pace. Since romance is not a genre that I particularly enjoy I struggled a little when the romance picked up in the story. I was uncomfortable with the gratuitous sex scenes-just not my thing. As I said romance books are not my thing but I found plenty of other points to like about the book. It was fluent, fast-paced and entertaining. Although I did not have a hard time figuring out who the murderer was, the twist at the end made it a little more interesting. Benchley is a skilled writer and can hold your interest. I appreciate a book that is not filled with grammatical errors and has a decent vocabulary.<br />
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If you are a romance/romance thriller fan you would really enjoy the book. There is a good back story to the romance and it moves well. I was entertained and it held my interest. T. Marie is a member of the Benchley family that includes Peter Benchley of <em>Jaws</em> fame and American Humorist Robert Benchley.<br />
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The ARC was provided by Newman Press for an honest review.Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-751343812584884282010-10-13T09:30:00.001-04:002010-10-17T00:34:49.727-04:00Review: Fiber & Brimstone<em><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Fiber & Brimstone by Laura Childs <span style="font-size: small;">(A Scrapbooking Mystery)</span></strong></span></em><br />
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Publication Date: 10/5/2010<br />
Pages: 336<br />
Berkley Prime Crime Hardcover<br />
Penguin Group<br />
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Halloween always draws out the ghosts and goblins in us all. New Orleans the perfect setting for the ghouls and vampires that are walking around these days, but when real corpses start making an appearance things get really scary. Carmela Bertrand and her best friend Ava Gruiex are immersed in building a monster puppet for the Monsters and Mayhem Torchlight Parade when they stumble upon the body of Brett Fowler.<br />
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Carmela's good friend Jekyl finds himself embroiled in the center of the investigation since he was heard arguing with Brett shortly before Brett's body was discovered. Having known Jekyl for years, Carmela is convinced that someone is framing him. While Brett owed Jekyl money, he owed money to many people after being indicted for his involvement in a Ponzi scheme. With so many suspects can Carmela discover the real murderer and clear Jekyl? <br />
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Review:<br />
I love the Big Easy and the flavor but I wasn't comfortable right away with the vernacular. I adjusted rather quickly and became immersed in the story. Being a southerner myself, and one who lived for a time in the deep south I can be a little picky over the way southerners are portrayed in books. Laura Childs did this well. The story is fun and perfect for a cozy Halloween. And I must admit-for a change-it took me a while to even guess who the murderer could be. <br />
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This is the first of Laura Childs cozy mysteries that I have read but I am sure it will not be the last. Carmela is a fun, stable character while her friends Ava provides the quirkiness. Halloween is the perfect setting for a mystery. And what better place than New Orleans! In addition to the mystery the book also includes some scrapping tips as well as a few recipes. I tried one of the recipes and it was delicious: Carmela's Cajun Shrimp Bake. <br />
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If you like cozy mysteries this one will be a delight. Grab a bottle of wine, fix a plate of Shrimp, and enjoy the story.<br />
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This ARC was received from the author for an honest review.Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-58854074983995398622010-10-13T08:47:00.000-04:002010-10-13T08:47:42.218-04:00Musings in OctoberI may have lost a few of my friends here with my suddenly quiet blog. Major changes tend to grab us and have the power to overwhelm us. That has been the case with me at least. A little over a year ago my teaching job was eliminated-due to the current economy I have not found a replacement position. My husband may be on the verge of changing jobs-meaning a move is probably on the horizon. A dear friend died very unexpectedly, my children moved out and moved on, and I became a grandparent.<br />
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So many changes! At times I have struggled with finding my way back into the world. I love books, have always loved books, and enjoy the shared experience of discussion and exchange about books. It is one of the primary reasons that I became a teacher-to share the joy that books can give-to hopefully mentor others into become life long readers and learners. Although I talk to my former students almost daily, I miss the class time, I miss the purpose that my life had. <br />
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While none of this is an excuse for not keeping up with my blog, it is the truth behind my recent struggles. Divided attention, loss, and major life changes. Today I am finally making the call to return to my blog and work hard. Hopefully, you can forgive me and come back to share a cup of coffee and a good book.Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-14866384550135352602010-09-28T20:55:00.000-04:002010-09-28T20:55:35.512-04:00MusingsI apologize to all of you for disappearing for a while and being sporadic. So much has been going on in our lives. My daughter got married earlier this year and gave us a grandchild last month. Our youngest moved on campus 2 weeks after that and finally, our oldest son left for Marine boot camp. We are still trying to catch up with life. Next up-new job possibilities may require a move. Life is interesting.<br />
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I will be getting reviews posted soon. I have read several books and just need to post the reviews. I am finishing up the review for Laura Childs new book: Fiber & Brimstone-coming out October 10th. That will be followed shortly by Kate Carlisle's upcoming book: The Lies That Bind coming out in November. Please hang in with me. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz24aFJTu8SzLf6NcwhJRDR7eWBOO-E2uqHKHh2LI49cfElw2j2-Wea38xUvnvPciujnbyxoKO-Oaa7AOMorIDq2BW4uoC2NJkXkS0s86I7x561fXK7YGo1Z2C52oUhxhBdyyWAZIrNjSJ/s1600/the+lie+that+binds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz24aFJTu8SzLf6NcwhJRDR7eWBOO-E2uqHKHh2LI49cfElw2j2-Wea38xUvnvPciujnbyxoKO-Oaa7AOMorIDq2BW4uoC2NJkXkS0s86I7x561fXK7YGo1Z2C52oUhxhBdyyWAZIrNjSJ/s320/the+lie+that+binds.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>Hope you all had a great summer. Can't wait to catch up with you!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmDiQC5kxLGk7Gc2CUgzSFSxq0G2Vjifv90jB75-PVHlbXRGPeh3g3VMtQ7XOFiftqqin-TaLAdhyphenhyphenoSw1E7IoMlbLvODtAIMeUg5p_yPE6cqWTP_cbSYajDLmAk20gL_RrV08cGAVGrVpz/s1600/fiber+and+brimstone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmDiQC5kxLGk7Gc2CUgzSFSxq0G2Vjifv90jB75-PVHlbXRGPeh3g3VMtQ7XOFiftqqin-TaLAdhyphenhyphenoSw1E7IoMlbLvODtAIMeUg5p_yPE6cqWTP_cbSYajDLmAk20gL_RrV08cGAVGrVpz/s1600/fiber+and+brimstone.jpg" /></a></div>Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-55111351112885270052010-08-18T12:18:00.000-04:002010-08-18T12:18:52.314-04:00Review: Based On Availability by Alix Strauss<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXSmT98CFqVCASa53lUe-QyOdp38C4TvqO2YMrXOLab056NI9NYDWuX4_nFnd-JTmFLJvOMc3Jqw99PLW_MgT-eBQyNv7chRv99iTlVbPOHOA11h9I-N5jULGuCVpa5Vedt2Hfyc_KGWIZ/s1600/based+upon+availability.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXSmT98CFqVCASa53lUe-QyOdp38C4TvqO2YMrXOLab056NI9NYDWuX4_nFnd-JTmFLJvOMc3Jqw99PLW_MgT-eBQyNv7chRv99iTlVbPOHOA11h9I-N5jULGuCVpa5Vedt2Hfyc_KGWIZ/s320/based+upon+availability.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><em>Based On Availability</em> by Alix Strauss is a haunting tale of the inner lives of eight women tenuously connected. It is dark and moving with very little light.<br />
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Morgan is one of the managers of the Four Seasons in Manhattan. Haunted by the loss of her sister, she weaves in and out of the lives of the other characters in the book. The methods that Morgan uses to cope with the void left by her loss are desperate and sad.<br />
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In a moment of desperation to connect Morgan reaches out in friendship to Trish, the owner of a new art gallery in town. Trish is obsessed with her best friend's upcoming wedding and dramatic weight loss. The two will struggle to build new connections.<br />
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The women are varied in backgrounds but all have deeply hidden inner struggles that may prove to undo them. Anne, an employee of the hotel, who struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder, Louise who is a rock star struggling with addiction, Franny, a Southerner struggling to fit into life in Manhattan, Sheila, a teacher, and Ellen who wants so badly to be a mother, and finely Robin, who is worn down by the abuse of her sister.<br />
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<em>Based On Availability</em> illuminates the inner struggles that many women face. Insecurities and low self-esteem are products of this dark abyss that haunts so many women. The book can be hard to read at times because of the cimmerian existence of these women. Their fears seem to be in control much of the time.<br />
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It is not a happy read but it will haunt you and perhaps send you inward to examine your own inner fears and insecurities. Although I struggled connecting with the book and the women at the beginning I was drawn into their stories. These women will remain with you for a while after you finish the book. Enjoyed would not be quite the right word for how I experienced this book. <em>Based On Availability</em> was an interesting book that I do find worth recommendation.Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-68136088089772146082010-08-05T08:05:00.004-04:002010-08-05T08:23:57.807-04:00Review: Thumbing Through Thoreau<strong><em>Thumbing Through Thoreau: A Book of Quotations by Henry David Thoreau</em></strong> Compiled by Kenny Luck/Illustrated by Jay Luke and Ren Adams<br />
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“…simplify the problem of life, distinguish the necessary and the real. Probe the earth to see where your main roots run.” P160<br />
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Thoreau is known for his urgings of man to live simply and honestly. So often we get so caught up in our possessions that we miss the everyday miracles that life bestows. Kenny Luck has put together a beautiful rendition of quotes both famous and less known that encourage us to pause and remember our journey and through our recognition of life around us to improve ourselves.<br />
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<strong><em>Thumbing Through Thoreau</em></strong> is a collection of quotations taken from Thoreau's journals, writings, and personal letters. Kenny Luck, a journalist, compiled the quotes to address a variety of subjects that include society & government, spirituality & nature, and love. The book is timely and relevant to today. It is beautifully crafted and easily accessible. As a teacher it is a book that I might use in conjunction with studies of Thoreau and Emerson in the classroom. As an admirer of Thoreau I found the book to be fresh and exciting. I have enjoyed reacquainting myself with these concepts. The book will sit nearby on my desk so that I might grab it at any moment and find inspiration for the day.<br />
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Excerpt from book's Introduction:<br />
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As I stood on the edge of Walden Pond, about to make a symbolic leap into what had become in my mind a scared place, Hawthorne’s poetic observation was not present in my thoughts. For a summer day, it was unusually cold; a light mist rose above the surface of the water; and having forgotten my towel and bathing suit at home in Pennsylvania, I was forced to strip down, making do with what I was wearing in that revealing moment. I hung my clothes on a nearby tree branch and began inching my way toward the water. It was a ritual Henry David Thoreau, one of America’s first literary giants, had performed countless times during his stay in the woods. <br />
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It was June 2007, and this was my second trip to Walden Pond. I had visited the previous summer but resolved only to walk along the shoreline, avoiding the seduction of the water. “This time,” I thought to myself, “I am going in.” Although I was initially reluctant, once the water rose past by waistline, I felt an extraordinary release. I made one final push off the rock where I was standing and let go. I let the water take me. Feeling free from constraints, I had transformed into one of Hawthorne’s angels, baptized by the clear, cool waters of the pond. <br />
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My experience at Walden Pond that day was emblematic. It was the culmination of a two-year journey which led me to Concord, Massachusetts, where I hoped to retrace the steps of a man who I had never met, but felt an extraordinary affinity towards. Moreover, I saw a little bit of myself in Thoreau. Here was a man who, despite the conventions of his day, shunned every comfort and convenience. Thoreau once refused to take a doormat, for instance, offered to him by an elderly woman, hoping to avoid what he called the “beginnings of evil.” It seemed like something I would have done had I not read about it first. For the first time in my young life, I met my literary and intellectual soul mate. <br />
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You might check out the book at these sites:<br />
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<a href="http://www.thumbingthroughthoreau.com/">The Book's Website</a><br />
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Purchase the book today: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098225654X?ie=UTF8&tag=tributebooks-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098225654X">Thumbing Through Thoreau</a><br />
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About the Author:<br />
Kenny Luck is a graduate student at Marywood University in Scranton, Pa., and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in History & Political Science from the same institution. He writes for The Weekender – an arts and entertainment weekly – and The Independent. He is currently working on his second book. He enjoys recording music, book browsing and travel. <br />
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<em><span style="color: #0b5394;">“If I were to be baptized it should be in this pond,” wrote Nathanial Hawthorne, reflecting upon the majesty of Walden Pond one autumn afternoon in 1843. “But then one would not wish to pollute it by washing off his sins into it. None but angels should bathe here.”</span></em><br />
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Kenny Luck Facebook:<br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=77501977&ref=ts">http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=77501977&ref=ts</a><br />
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Tribute Books website:<br />
<a href="http://www.tribute-books.com/">http://www.tribute-books.com/</a><br />
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Tribute Books Facebook:<br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Archbald-PA/Tribute-Books/171628704176">http://www.facebook.com/pages/Archbald-PA/Tribute-Books/171628704176</a><br />
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Tribute Books Twitter:<br />
<a href="http://www.twitter.com/TributeBooks">http://www.twitter.com/TributeBooks</a>Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-7703538711825070422010-07-27T20:10:00.000-04:002010-07-27T20:10:36.465-04:00Review: The Reapers Are the Angels by Alden Bell<div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><span style="font-size: large;">The Reapers Are the Angels</span></strong></em> by Alden Bell</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjru2AZHbx6SvWXU-mR1qlX3N24f0AU_nzdO6x2OzaBnFQPWwAj5YCDEBVhmS-oEvEtR-GaHIb9D4kGPBakkAnKT_zKPUNwEp5s7ZdsLFS63qnnSVSpm_d-mWVI0xi2cohMksBiyqwtHYmA/s1600/the+reapers+are+the+angels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjru2AZHbx6SvWXU-mR1qlX3N24f0AU_nzdO6x2OzaBnFQPWwAj5YCDEBVhmS-oEvEtR-GaHIb9D4kGPBakkAnKT_zKPUNwEp5s7ZdsLFS63qnnSVSpm_d-mWVI0xi2cohMksBiyqwtHYmA/s320/the+reapers+are+the+angels.jpg" /></a>Henry Holt and Company NY</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> 225pps</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> On sale August 2010</div><br />
<em>“The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.”</em> p176<br />
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<strong><em>The Reapers Are the Angels</em></strong> works a little differently from your run-of-the mill “zombie” story. It has been 25 years since the disease that brought down civilization struck. Zombies have been roaming around long enough for Temple never to have experienced a different world. At the age of 15 she has become a lone warrior, fending for herself, wise and mature beyond her years. <br />
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“She tells the woman that she has been traveling all her life that’s worth remembering, and that her mind feels almost filled up already, with people and sights and words and sins and redemptions.” P189<br />
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Humanity has managed to hang on and struggle to survive in the face of devastation. It can be found in bits and pieces, scattered throughout the world. Temple is a well rounded, mature character at the tender age of 15. She is the face of new civilization, struggling with a past that haunts every decision she makes. More afraid of herself than of the “slugs” or “meatskins” that have brought down society, she becomes a loner, certain of an evil that lurks inside. <br />
<br />
Nevertheless, when she stumbles across a helpless mute by the name of Maury, she sees her chance to right some of the wrongs that she perceives in herself. Setting off across the southern states with Maury in tow, she has bigger problems than the “slugs”. <br />
<br />
Moses Todd is hot on her trial set on revenge that can only be achieved by her death. But underlying this twist in the plot is the relationship that forms between Temple and Moses. They have an underlying affinity, understanding the new world and its code, seeing eye to eye, a shared vision. Moses is perhaps the only living person to truly understand Temple. <br />
<br />
Moses serves Temple as both her would be murderer and as a surrogate father figure. It is a strange yet inspiring relationship. Maury also plays a significant role in showcasing Temple’s iron will, her kindnesses, and at times reveals the young girl inside. <br />
<br />
The story is engaging and very different from what I expected. <strong><em>The Reapers Are the Angels</em></strong> is both well written and engaging. Strong prose mixed with unforgettable characters and an underlying sense of hope for humanity make this book a triumph. This is a book that focuses on human relationships, the struggle to create order out of chaos, and the ultimate triumph of the human spirit. I would recommend this book as both an individual read and as part of a book club.Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-60407700439525812042010-07-12T13:24:00.041-04:002010-07-12T14:01:33.781-04:00In My Mailbox, It's Monday! What Are You Reading?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">In My Mailbox is a weekly meme is hosted by Kristi at<a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/"> The Story Siren</a>! Check out her blog to see what </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWtki-fTEf7zBJSAjKV3nEG6KMCk7ritleZpFY0tMvkaUN8Mu_cgb504VLfaEBWpueJzteP9WSl3g_yredrWmfvKK4ARHH3LmTxH-zdaDzLWRWY9uRUWF4m1GxKOuaXbM3UCMcQk1jG5gc/s1600/mailbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWtki-fTEf7zBJSAjKV3nEG6KMCk7ritleZpFY0tMvkaUN8Mu_cgb504VLfaEBWpueJzteP9WSl3g_yredrWmfvKK4ARHH3LmTxH-zdaDzLWRWY9uRUWF4m1GxKOuaXbM3UCMcQk1jG5gc/s200/mailbox.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, And the History of the World From the Periodic Table of Elements</em> by Sam Kean</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKHsMn2GMw1fIeEVSkD5vRMhCZ9zfd9p9X4HSqRmlzDgwKqBx0-tovHVUuMV4oEJTBSrkPmNQMz8oUpvaYzaCtyN-Zlx4P9GrOFqSv5jzPIfHWNHGGVz74e3suPkDkHCq11-kdC7TP7Eu2/s1600/the+disappearing+spoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKHsMn2GMw1fIeEVSkD5vRMhCZ9zfd9p9X4HSqRmlzDgwKqBx0-tovHVUuMV4oEJTBSrkPmNQMz8oUpvaYzaCtyN-Zlx4P9GrOFqSv5jzPIfHWNHGGVz74e3suPkDkHCq11-kdC7TP7Eu2/s320/the+disappearing+spoon.jpg" /></a>Received from <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Hachette</span> Book Group</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Synopsis:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I,53)? Why did the Japanese kill Godzilla with missiles made of cadmium (Cd, 48)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie's reputation? And why did tellurium (Te, 52) lead to the most bizarre gold rush in history?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The periodic table is one of our crowning scientific achievements, but it's also a treasure trove of passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession. The fascinating tales in <em>The Disappearing Spoon</em> follow carbon, neon, silicon, gold, and every single element on the table as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, conflict, the arts, medicine, and the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Why did a little lithium (Li, 3) help cure poet Robert Lowell of his madness? And how did gallium (Ga, 31) become the go-to element for laboratory pranksters?* <em>The Disappearing Spoon</em> has the answers, fusing science with the classic love of invention, investigation, discovery, and alchemy, from the big bang through the end of time.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">*Though solid at room temperature, gallium is a <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">moldable</span> metal with a unique property: it melts at 84 degrees Fahrenheit. So a classic prank for scientists is to fashion gallium spoons, serve them with tea, and watch as guests recoil when the Earl Grey makes their utensil disappear.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Shadows in Summer: A Novel in Six Voices</em> by Crescent <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Varrone</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghr_7H-L7oTV_gw2U-aFznJb4Rv7v5tYn00Wz_IGGb4m6mdh1kYxYOUCMEszsYVIgr9XZCgRyvFWMD9QJeUa0ArmJSg0-o9Kie6VpcbWwyl2jmDPgvYbqH4HIjSx8YSyH1_eK2QyV96Mcu/s1600/shadows+in+summer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghr_7H-L7oTV_gw2U-aFznJb4Rv7v5tYn00Wz_IGGb4m6mdh1kYxYOUCMEszsYVIgr9XZCgRyvFWMD9QJeUa0ArmJSg0-o9Kie6VpcbWwyl2jmDPgvYbqH4HIjSx8YSyH1_eK2QyV96Mcu/s320/shadows+in+summer.jpg" width="220" /></a>Received Through <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Bostwick</span> Communications</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Synopsis (from back cover):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>The house was older than the other homes in the area, and more exposed. While they were hidden, protected by ivy, hedges, walls, #18 was on display. No gates, and not even a fence, just a few tall trees on the left-hand side and a handful of shrubs. Even its innards were laid bare in a huge picture window; though from where I was standing on the opposite sidewalk, all I could see were reflections of the gray clouds behind me.</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>The house disclosed nothing......</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">When injured ballet dancer Katrina Nielsen and her American husband, Richard, purchase Sound House, they hope that the charming home will ease their transition from New York to Copenhagen. Katrina was just nineteen when she fled gloomy Denmark, leaving behind her mother, Ingrid, and her grief over her father's death. Seven years later, she returns home to face the ghosts of the past. Yet when weird events begin to occur at Sound House--inexplicable smoke and footsteps, a ghostly face at the window--she starts to think she is being haunted by the ghost of Karl <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Damsgaard</span>, the original owner. After she's "attacked" by an unseen force, Katrina becomes convinced that something is trying to drive her out of the house...or out of her mind.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Shadows in Summer: A Novel in Six Voices</em> is told by multiple narrators who keep readers reassessing whether the haunting is real, psychological or the result of purposeful manipulation. Inspired by actual events, this deliciously scalp-prickling tale will haunt readers long after the final page.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>The Eighth Scroll</em> by Dr. Laurence B. Brown</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRnf2EIEapHjVrY3PsuehC0j2R0LNdK_3t_2NATLOsMmyYzxhbC6tqa47O1JrK7y0eQsXsT2uelHDxCSVpGppx89cxSwMSUXup2Y2_3gFtQv4umFXIH82iI0wBHp7DmD-8mUbBsKnNhdXG/s1600/the+eighth+scroll+B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRnf2EIEapHjVrY3PsuehC0j2R0LNdK_3t_2NATLOsMmyYzxhbC6tqa47O1JrK7y0eQsXsT2uelHDxCSVpGppx89cxSwMSUXup2Y2_3gFtQv4umFXIH82iI0wBHp7DmD-8mUbBsKnNhdXG/s320/the+eighth+scroll+B.jpg" width="209" /></a>Received through <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Bostwick</span> Communications</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Synopsis:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: large;">An ancient scroll has been unearthed....</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Nineteen hundred years after the Essene Jews hid their most precious scrolls in the caves at Qumran, a Catholic priest working on the Dead Sea Scrolls Project discovers a text that describes the final edict of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but hides it in fear of the heresy it contains. When a prominent archaeologist Frank Tones unearths a reference to the hidden scroll, he wonders if this scroll could be the long-lost Gospel of James, or even of Jesus himself. But before he can act, those who know of the scroll's existence become mysteriously silent or dead, leaving only a father and son team to find the scroll and tell its secrets to the world. In an epic, <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">multigenerational</span> story that spans the globe, they must outwit the <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Mossad</span>, the CIA, and the Vatican's secret weapon--the Italian Mafia--to bring the truth to light. No matter the cost.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The author of two books of comparative religion, <em><span class="goog-spellcheck-word">MisGod'ed</span></em> and <em><span class="goog-spellcheck-word">God'ed</span></em>, physician and religious scholar, Laurence B. Brown provides a thrilling read, while at the same time reviving critical religious controversies. Powerful and revealing, this book makes you think, feel, react and wonder--what if we knew the truth about Jesus.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><em>The Strange Case of the Composer and his Judge</em> by Patricia <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Duncker</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFFQECwypZBwDGkKD7gXTufdcm9fB6P7a5XOuogtw-nfNeY5USLbiDQlcX1Xhft3LQIwNBsosCAItnImEtxW5qClkaByScgTmIPHr9-0VfH8oabVpiJ0AgBS9t9j6nDyDby4XErh3qyzxc/s1600/the+strange+case+of+the+composer+and+his+judge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFFQECwypZBwDGkKD7gXTufdcm9fB6P7a5XOuogtw-nfNeY5USLbiDQlcX1Xhft3LQIwNBsosCAItnImEtxW5qClkaByScgTmIPHr9-0VfH8oabVpiJ0AgBS9t9j6nDyDby4XErh3qyzxc/s320/the+strange+case+of+the+composer+and+his+judge.jpg" /></a>Received through <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Librarything's</span> Early Reviewers</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Synopsis (Barnes and Noble):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The thrilling tale of a secret European sect and the musical mastermind at its center, from a critically acclaimed novelist at the top of her form. </div><br />
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The bodies are discovered on New Year’s Day, sixteen dead in the freshly fallen snow. The adults lie stiff in a semicircle; the children, in pajamas and overcoats, are curled at their feet. <br />
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When he hears the news, <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Commissaire</span> <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">André</span> <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Schweigen</span> knows who to call: Dominique <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Carpentier</span>, the Judge, also known as the “sect hunter.” <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Carpentier</span> sweeps into the investigation in thick glasses and red gloves, and together the <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Commissaire</span> and the Judge begin searching for clues in a nearby chalet. Among the decorations and unwrapped presents of a seemingly ordinary holiday, they find a leather-bound book, filled with mysterious code, containing maps of the stars. The book of the Faith leads them to the Composer, Friedrich Grosz, who is connected in some way to every one of the dead. Following his trail, <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Carpentier</span>, <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Schweigen</span>, and the Judge’s assistant, <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Gaëlle</span>, are drawn into a world of complex family ties, seductive music, and ancient cosmic beliefs. <br />
<br />
Hurtling breathlessly through the vineyards of Southern France to the gabled houses of <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Lübeck</span>, Germany, through cathedrals, opera houses, museums, and the cobbled streets of an Alpine village, this ferocious new novel is a metaphysical mystery of astonishing verve and power.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><em>The Passage</em> by Justin Cronin</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1OogaF5VCtvnSJtwmEadvfgGG9v9dxmBkp96MIn1ZJx_xx2luf94bSf539-P-ZXATaNN-xqRBcKK9x8AYKulWO28q4F2Kqhe7vf5kj0QLmGAdOKc6vUsU6l_1bmjsXlBKr5Nxb5J6KHtU/s1600/the+passage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1OogaF5VCtvnSJtwmEadvfgGG9v9dxmBkp96MIn1ZJx_xx2luf94bSf539-P-ZXATaNN-xqRBcKK9x8AYKulWO28q4F2Kqhe7vf5kj0QLmGAdOKc6vUsU6l_1bmjsXlBKr5Nxb5J6KHtU/s320/the+passage.jpg" /></a>Bought this at Barnes and Noble</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Synopsis (The Passage Website):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">“It happened fast. Thirty-two minutes for one world to die, another to be born.”</div><br />
First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear—of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.<br />
<br />
As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. He is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors. But for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey—spanning miles and decades—towards the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun.<br />
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With The Passage, award-winning author Justin Cronin has written both a relentlessly suspenseful adventure and an epic chronicle of human endurance in the face of unprecedented catastrophe and unimaginable danger. Its inventive storytelling, masterful prose, and depth of human insight mark it as a crucial and transcendent work of modern fiction.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">And now......</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguu5MEzJZtcC1R-KfeE8Ly-u-kJ41dsgLPI5wk5BXyjQxQ1kdpjIRNEhJzP0YHq8A9ihhQblVb3zl6n_mhFDLgSJt-AejsSOzFFFTcojs8Np2oQQdYO4gVomWy78CF-nyZNSDBAoVVL_La/s1600/Monday_What_Are_You_Reading.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguu5MEzJZtcC1R-KfeE8Ly-u-kJ41dsgLPI5wk5BXyjQxQ1kdpjIRNEhJzP0YHq8A9ihhQblVb3zl6n_mhFDLgSJt-AejsSOzFFFTcojs8Np2oQQdYO4gVomWy78CF-nyZNSDBAoVVL_La/s320/Monday_What_Are_You_Reading.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A book meme by Shelia at <a href="http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/">One Persons Journey Through a World of Books</a>.</div><br />
Last time I posted It's Monday I was reading <em>The Caliphate</em> by Andre Le Gallo and <em>Happy Hours</em> by Michele Scott both of which I have finished. I have received so many good books that it is hard to decide where to start next.<br />
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I have <em>Based on Availability</em> by Alix Strauss sitting next to me and I may start <em>The Reapers Are the Angels</em> by Alden Bell (Zombies!) just to change things up. I am also going to pick up <em>Parting River Jordan</em> by ML Barnes so I can add a little fun to the mix.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEituPSNZFZqrLgz97Vbv5ZLofH6GC1khiyrQ87PEaEYbxcATJBCXEN671f9wT6-MSPQz55h9nRjXgBWckLcMUBtzqxg7R8s9-QKZ1gsfiryXdcTu9zTbJfhwDlNADF_AzAUST1qlmQ5yQk5/s1600/based+upon+availability.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEituPSNZFZqrLgz97Vbv5ZLofH6GC1khiyrQ87PEaEYbxcATJBCXEN671f9wT6-MSPQz55h9nRjXgBWckLcMUBtzqxg7R8s9-QKZ1gsfiryXdcTu9zTbJfhwDlNADF_AzAUST1qlmQ5yQk5/s320/based+upon+availability.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVrRUHEggpl0K6M3uZ2bApaFC4En6VDii9Gc48336yclCGLz5lMbhODEQOf468ayey0bvJ6LYnUg9RQYgLXfTrD62M_f_zXvUfk5sFAWgsoFQT4MHarp20SuwhuwaLTgGgftm4lhE5x1RI/s1600/the+reapers+are+the+angels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVrRUHEggpl0K6M3uZ2bApaFC4En6VDii9Gc48336yclCGLz5lMbhODEQOf468ayey0bvJ6LYnUg9RQYgLXfTrD62M_f_zXvUfk5sFAWgsoFQT4MHarp20SuwhuwaLTgGgftm4lhE5x1RI/s320/the+reapers+are+the+angels.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl1k3jATb6JAMshT_D5tLyEo-9arRvPNZI9uNaqJGm4MFtQHFP3Lkb7nMn5bsBSN7c4ZBBI8pF0pWBAMwz_hADqM7yJGA3jY_hzdOlAhmu9xpWno2SI7J9pqGEdlVT-4eFUJxITbhMMjtc/s1600/Parting+River+Jordan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl1k3jATb6JAMshT_D5tLyEo-9arRvPNZI9uNaqJGm4MFtQHFP3Lkb7nMn5bsBSN7c4ZBBI8pF0pWBAMwz_hADqM7yJGA3jY_hzdOlAhmu9xpWno2SI7J9pqGEdlVT-4eFUJxITbhMMjtc/s320/Parting+River+Jordan.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It should be a fun week, drama, zombies, and fun! I promise to not let the projects get in the way. I am planning a beach day tomorrow weather permitting. That means some good reading! I am also going to post those reviews!</div><br />
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<span style="color: black;"></span>Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-66520791919546425252010-07-05T16:17:00.002-04:002010-07-05T16:20:32.746-04:00In My Mailbox and It's Monday! What are you Reading?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">In My Mailbox is a weekly meme is hosted by Kristi at <a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/">The Story Siren</a>! Check out her blog to see what others are reading.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8YHc3M2eRgeifHiTafdDvKP5okKhzINF5D8PYyLfplszelGAK2wI4NVOFumRuWp857ZWzseD7j3x4sPjkNwg12rsdsInsIO0LB1WT6QwEbt2BAOhYuLLKI8r_peZtH71TnyKz2FiR6MxR/s1600/mailbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8YHc3M2eRgeifHiTafdDvKP5okKhzINF5D8PYyLfplszelGAK2wI4NVOFumRuWp857ZWzseD7j3x4sPjkNwg12rsdsInsIO0LB1WT6QwEbt2BAOhYuLLKI8r_peZtH71TnyKz2FiR6MxR/s200/mailbox.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This week I received these books for review:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Vexation</em> by Elicia Clegg</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqey5Q7jvbj5mUXxw0j7wy62zFe14YCGYvLpH6cCq4QLAZU-U1xwCrmNsjriQB0VUcQJx4WFeEbXm_vGgrN-qbG1CPf6uehx6n_vGpu2-ktO14_n5kUa5M23qWwsDv5eRab_f9-Yeap9nw/s1600/vexation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqey5Q7jvbj5mUXxw0j7wy62zFe14YCGYvLpH6cCq4QLAZU-U1xwCrmNsjriQB0VUcQJx4WFeEbXm_vGgrN-qbG1CPf6uehx6n_vGpu2-ktO14_n5kUa5M23qWwsDv5eRab_f9-Yeap9nw/s320/vexation.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Synopsis:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">For him power and glory are not enough, immortality is the only possibility. His vanity consumes him, forcing his actions to capture, control, and twist her very reality. He will make her like him, in this he will not yield. Welcome to Devin Sinclair's world... A world where each move is watched, each move is carefully controlled, and trusting your eyes can be a fatal mistake. She is alone, terrified of even her own deteriorating sanity. She must find the truth which hides in the book, the book that reviles what really happened the few months she was held captive, locked in a game he directs. Devin must unravel the truth and learn to trust her mind if she is ever to find freedom for her and her fellow captives. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Duckegg & Persons of Interest</em> by NovaMelia</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Synopsis:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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A large pharmaceutical company begins operations in a small outlying community in New England. Interdependence, intrinsic distrust, confused rumors and local ethics all become part of the mix. A local school teacher leads a group of concerned citizens who are suspicious about the research being conducted by the company. Honesty and morality and a menagerie of animals become part of the debate. <br />
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There are the weak and the strong and sometimes there is bullying in the Company and among townspeople. In all of this Duckegg moves between his sense of not belonging to his often dysfunctional family and the pride of being a hero. He is honest with himself but sometimes blatantly dishonest with others. He suffers the sorrow of loss and the shame of unintentional harm done by him. <br />
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The balancing act between the Company and the Town's people, the personal conflicts and the clashing of personalities, the bullies and the bullied, the clever and the not so smart; the conniving and the innocent, ultimately culminates in a town gone mad, at least for a day. <br />
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<em><span style="color: #073763;">These books sound so interesting. I am looking forward to reading them. Yea Me! I won a book this week. <span style="color: #cc0000;">Beguiled</span> by Deeanne Gist and J. Mark Bertrand! I am excited. I will let you know when the book arrives. Thank you Lucie at <a href="http://luciesbookreview.blogspot.com/">http://luciesbookreview.blogspot.com/</a></span></em> <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLXRNh_GLt5iBBN74IpJeq_dPB_YCrRK31iC5l5un4pMAKWIIrdSPHp0HF-Fo40gCbur-w2DB0wxc6NmzHFvv8X3H1VNAFmzWRRl-GVabcIVmAyDhNlUPfxQ5Ap_ywnJp92-fDP5zBmdBN/s1600/Deb_Congrats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLXRNh_GLt5iBBN74IpJeq_dPB_YCrRK31iC5l5un4pMAKWIIrdSPHp0HF-Fo40gCbur-w2DB0wxc6NmzHFvv8X3H1VNAFmzWRRl-GVabcIVmAyDhNlUPfxQ5Ap_ywnJp92-fDP5zBmdBN/s320/Deb_Congrats.jpg" /></a></div> <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-fHZLjXu-suasSVp-lJ0gG3jb8p8u7VyOvtwEp8Vk4yM0xGOfP7vd96S8amtXbRBV2vWY9-J_sq7zCeBmWlXa6JLdugCTkPtii1AT5XZTkcs9jzOHm-hSlzxlQTnGO4jQZu2mt5Ct2mF9/s1600/Beguiled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-fHZLjXu-suasSVp-lJ0gG3jb8p8u7VyOvtwEp8Vk4yM0xGOfP7vd96S8amtXbRBV2vWY9-J_sq7zCeBmWlXa6JLdugCTkPtii1AT5XZTkcs9jzOHm-hSlzxlQTnGO4jQZu2mt5Ct2mF9/s320/Beguiled.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763;"><em>So that is my week. I haven't gotten much reading done as I was working on completing some projects: knitting a baby blanket for my first grandchild expected in August. I am too young to be a grandma but I am very excited. I also am completing a plastic canvas tote just for fun. Next up a crocheted produce bag. I love new projects and new books. I will be furiously reading over the next few weeks. I also have several completed books that I need to write up and post the reviews. Sorry for the delay. Hope your July 4th was awesome.</em></span></div> <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTverBL9Wy-ezuIOQxrXIji7m-0priEBkr9OmpKK0FFzn3V1uZWOn3WJODI0ZsSGygoH99KDZBvY4arLLFeyebaIAI5xOhRCizLqyscOuawvo5Y05Uus1u4u2Y-J4ZKjRi53a3qO_jlIZv/s1600/Monday_What_Are_You_Reading.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTverBL9Wy-ezuIOQxrXIji7m-0priEBkr9OmpKK0FFzn3V1uZWOn3WJODI0ZsSGygoH99KDZBvY4arLLFeyebaIAI5xOhRCizLqyscOuawvo5Y05Uus1u4u2Y-J4ZKjRi53a3qO_jlIZv/s320/Monday_What_Are_You_Reading.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A book meme by Shelia at <a href="http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/">One Persons Journey Through a World of Books</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Last time I posted It's Monday I was reading <em>A Great Deliverance</em> by Elizabeth George and<em> Happy Hour</em> by Michele Scott. I stated that I was getting ready to start <em>The Caliphate</em> by Andre Le Gallo.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div> I finished up <em>A Great Deliverance</em> by Elizabeth George and did started on <em>The Caliphate</em> by Andre Le Gallo. I am still working on <em>Happy Hour</em> by Michele Scott I just got distracted by projects as stated above.Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861415507983415831.post-77523895592344189162010-06-28T10:58:00.000-04:002010-06-28T10:58:19.527-04:00In My Mailbox<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>This weekly meme is hosted by Kristi at <a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/">The Story Siren</a>! Check out her blog to see what others are reading.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbx5B17cdr6szJJyWLzvxUPZgUBcfQRCwrzYTbly9Jra3UR5cWU8DbKscQlcmT8SlUOL6ot8E8ltJBuGZ4tOjYnK1kLLyhp2rnZFZtHHakx9CutwInm1E5yHCufJsu0zVgtWJxVvmKGGUz/s1600/mailbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbx5B17cdr6szJJyWLzvxUPZgUBcfQRCwrzYTbly9Jra3UR5cWU8DbKscQlcmT8SlUOL6ot8E8ltJBuGZ4tOjYnK1kLLyhp2rnZFZtHHakx9CutwInm1E5yHCufJsu0zVgtWJxVvmKGGUz/s200/mailbox.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Fishers of Men: The Gospel of an Ayahuasca Vision Quest</em> by Adam Elenbaas</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCGGmXo2nE7TSmTsS_2omiOiMpokQzo3eWMiGLYjXy_-fwhWRw7D-NHsizmTcbR73ZDhewWkluk9Aswxt5j1L1LTZUrtpNPKdAuUAnMQi7AZN5yw9oj50g0kEjsZ7gGuvfLm8UXfSIJSS/s1600/fishers+of+men.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCGGmXo2nE7TSmTsS_2omiOiMpokQzo3eWMiGLYjXy_-fwhWRw7D-NHsizmTcbR73ZDhewWkluk9Aswxt5j1L1LTZUrtpNPKdAuUAnMQi7AZN5yw9oj50g0kEjsZ7gGuvfLm8UXfSIJSS/s320/fishers+of+men.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Synopsis</div><br />
This harrowing, poignant, and deeply memorable true story of a minister's son escaping his anguished youth in the American heartland, to gain spiritual awareness through the uses of mind-expanding native plants and shamanic rituals in South America, is the most evocative tale of psychedelic experience since Jeremy Narby, Terence McKenna, and Daniel Pinchbeck. <br />
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In the tradition of memoirs like Daniel Pinchbeck's 2012 and Jim Carroll's The Basketball Diaries, Adam Elenbaas's Fishers of Men chronicles his journey from intense self-destruction and crippling depression to self-acceptance, inner awareness, and spiritual understanding, through participation in mindexpanding-and healing ayahuasca ceremonies in South America and beyond. <br />
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From his troubled and rebellious youth as a Methodist minister's son in Minnesota, to his sex and substance abuse-fueled downward spiral in Chicago and New York, culminating in a depressive breakdown, Elenbaas is plagued by a feeling of emptiness and a desperate search for meaning for most of his young life. After hitting rock bottom at his grandfather's house in rural Michigan, a chance experience with psychedelic mushrooms convinces him that he must change his ways to achieve the sense of peace that he has always desired. Several subsequent psychedelic experiences inspire him to embark on a quest to South America and take part in a shamanic ceremony, where he consumes ayahuasca, a jungle vine revered for its spiritual properties. <br />
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Over the course of nearly fifty ayahuasca ceremonies during four years, Elenbaas discovers the truth about his own life and past, and begins to mend himself from the inside out. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Wired Kingdom</em> by Rich Chesler</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7RwTv1Si5OizX1_7qFN3X4ANZs-2HjQVgN2vzOf7hxx18Mu3xL6pu8Dwo6CzYkCgAzkzQicT4jgH0oI8atAWWCcpleRIlUFGsacdM34LO8mgDq0eC-VrDK-wSMCJNDygK7bVHSqOldP-/s1600/wired+kingdom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7RwTv1Si5OizX1_7qFN3X4ANZs-2HjQVgN2vzOf7hxx18Mu3xL6pu8Dwo6CzYkCgAzkzQicT4jgH0oI8atAWWCcpleRIlUFGsacdM34LO8mgDq0eC-VrDK-wSMCJNDygK7bVHSqOldP-/s320/wired+kingdom.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Synopsis</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">When a Blue Whale tagged with a web-cam as part of a television nature program broadcasts a brutal murder at sea, an FBI agent with a fear of water finds herself in a deadly race to reach the animal before an unknown killer can destroy the digital evidence it carries. For Special Agent Tara Shores, the many possible suspects each present obstacles as unique and perilous as the sea itself. Is the murderer one of the web viewers vying for the controversial reality show’s million-dollar prizes? The extremist environmental group threatening violence unless the whale is liberated from its high-tech tracking device? The wealthy Hollywood power-couple who own the show? Or the troubled, young inventor of the whale-cam? And just who was the beautiful woman slaughtered live on the web? </div><br />
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Navigating an ocean of manipulation and deceit, the detective’s best hope for a solid piece of evidence is the original murder video, still attached to the back of the 100-ton creature which roams the Pacific tethered to its electronic leash. But when the tag’s GPS locator mysteriously fails, it seems that finding the beast will prove impossible. <br />
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As the Special Agent dives deeper into the case, what she initially dismisses as a publicity stunt for the glitzy reality series soon sweeps her out to sea in a riptide of greed, sex, and high-tech crime.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Angel of Death Row: My Life as a Death Penalty Defense Lawyer</em> by Andrea D. Lyon</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsqyXbNS5I0sFPcpGP_bWvHrvlQXpWLw_uM6TmYqc_qXt7_LEs8AnTH_AVqZLraKL4K-Et0Gc4oyy_mCmcTgUJYBCnMgsZGg3H9UmGDSqPFkTa6aoQicQhX2Hgc8ckjBI2xzJ102mCuaE3/s1600/angel+of+death+row.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsqyXbNS5I0sFPcpGP_bWvHrvlQXpWLw_uM6TmYqc_qXt7_LEs8AnTH_AVqZLraKL4K-Et0Gc4oyy_mCmcTgUJYBCnMgsZGg3H9UmGDSqPFkTa6aoQicQhX2Hgc8ckjBI2xzJ102mCuaE3/s200/angel+of+death+row.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Synopsis</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Nineteen times, death penalty defense lawyer Andrea D. Lyon has represented a client found guilty of capital murder. Nineteen times, she has argued for that individual’s life to be spared. Nineteen times, she has succeeded. </div><br />
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Dubbed the “Angel of Death Row” by the Chicago Tribune, Lyon was the first woman to serve as lead attorney in a death penalty case. Throughout her career, she has defended those accused of heinous acts and argued that, no matter their guilt or innocence, they deserved a change at redemption. <br />
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Now, for the first time, Lyon shares her story, from her early work as a Legal Aid attorney to her founding of the Center for Justice in Capital Cases. Full of courtroom drama, tragedy, and redemption, Angel of Death Row is a remarkable inside look at what drives Lyon to defend those who seem indefensible—and to win. <br />
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There was Annette who was suspected of murdering her own daughter. There was Patrick, the convicted murderer who thirsted for knowledge and shared his love of books with Lyon when she visited him in jail. There was Lonnie, whose mental illness made him nearly impossible to save until the daughter who remembered his better self spoke on his behalf. There was Deirdre, who shared Lyon’s cautious optimism that her wrongful conviction would finally be overturned, allowing her to see her grandchildren born while she was in prison. And there was Madison Hobley, the man whose name made international headlines when he was wrongfully charged with the murder of his family and sentenced to death. <br />
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These clients trusted Lyon with their stories—and their lives. Driven by an overwhelming sense of justice, fairness,and morality, she fought for them in the courtroom and in the raucous streets, staying by their sides as they struggled through real tragedy and triumphed in startling ways. Angel of Death Row is the compelling memoir of Lyon’s unusual journey and groundbreaking career.Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14494736723648584602noreply@blogger.com3