Friday, December 30, 2011

My New Years Resolution

Tine is short.  Far too short to waste reading a book you aren't enjoying, regardless of the rave reviews.  I have been enjoying a fabulous little book of  'recommended reads' and the author has a great rule that she calls "The Rule of 50".  If you are under 50, then you should read 50 pages before you decide to commit yourself to reading or giving up a book.  As you get older, time gets even shorter so, once you are over 50, then she says to subtract your age from 100, and that is how many pages you should read.

As the author says, no one is getting any points in heaven for slogging through a book they aren't enjoying but think they ought to read.  I am subscribing to this new motto and have even created an "Abandoned/Did Not Finish Category" in honor of it!  I will be more ruthless and try to read only really good enjoyable books.

Did you make any New Years Resolutions?

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

The Dance of Anger: A Woman's Guide to Changing the Patterns of Intimate RelationshipsThe Dance of Anger: A Woman's Guide to Changing the Patterns of Intimate Relationships by Harriet Lerner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It has been years since I read this book and it is as good as I remember. Clear and simple in how to get to the root of issues, take responsibility (not try to change the other person) and handle things productively. It talks about how when one person over-functions, this allows the other person to under-function (any guesses on which role the woman usually has? ) and how to correct that balance. I think that every woman should read this book! Excellent.

View all my reviews

Monday, December 26, 2011

When She WokeWhen She Woke by Hillary Jordan
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This book started off with so much promise but, unfortunately didn't follow through. I absolutely LOVED Mudbound so would recommend that you check that out.

View all my reviews

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Extremely Loud and Incredibly CloseExtremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

The most precocious nine-year-old on the planet is interviewing every person with the last name of Black in NYC. Why? His father, who died in the WTC tragedy, left a blue vase in his closet. The vase held a key in a small brown envelope with the word "black" on it. The boy assumes that "black" refers to a person's last name hence the interviews. He is convinced that locating this person will lead to finding out exactly how his father really died or what the key is for.

The story line was very disjointed and felt gimmicky. As others have said, this author has a significant amount of linguistic muscle without almost no craft. The repetitive phrases were so annoying (If I hear "heavy boots" one more time - AGH!) The Sunday School platitudes are equally as grating....whenever the author writes something that he finds "beautiful" and "true", he congratulates himself on his brilliance and tells us that that thing is "beautiful" and "true." The entire book reeks of such unearned profundity. I wanted to love this book but found it Extremely Irritating and Incredibly Boring.

View all my reviews

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Book Lust

Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and ReasonBook Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason by Nancy Pearl


I got this for Christmas (I am a big girl and don't have to wait till the 25th ) A WONDERFUL book that is grouped by Sections/Topics such as: Bomb Makers, Latin America Fiction, Pawns of History, Russian Heavies, World War II Fiction etc., with each section listing a few books and a short description. Most of the sections take up <1 page so, this little gem is packed with recommendations. I love the authors advise in regards to her favorites may not be your favorites - take 100 minus your age and that is how many pages you should read of a book before you decide whether to read or toast it. This is going to be a book I refer to on an ongoing basis. WONDERFUL gift for any book lover - Thanks Luce!!!

View all my reviews

Friday, December 23, 2011

2012 Is Right Around The Corner

This is the time of year people consider to be a 'fresh start'. For me, I make various goals: financial, relationship, health and personal goals. A goal that I am making this year is that I have decided to be more cognizant of my computer time.  For me, that means making my time on the computer meaningful and to try to limit my random surfing so that I can use that time to focus on my many hobbies.  So many people told me that they missed my old blog, so I thought I would resurrect it in a slightly different format.

Starting a blog may seem contrary to a goal of spending less time on the computer but, what I am hoping is that I can post various things to keep in touch with folks about my life, my travels, my boyz, my knitting/crochet and my books and other things that are going on in life and, in return, you will either comment here on the posts or email me.  Don't worry, I still plan on emailing as well but, I thought I would try this to share various occurrences and things that are on my mind that I want to share.

I am not sure if this idea will work or not but, I figure that time will tell.  What do you think?

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

The Rapture of CanaanThe Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is narrated by 15 yo Ninah Huff and tells the story of her being raised in a commune type of environment in a cult her Grandfather started. Excellent writing and I will be reading more by Reynolds in the future.

View all my reviews

Friday, December 16, 2011

InvisibleInvisible by Paul Auster
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book is akin to a car accident that you just can't help yourself with watching....even though you know you will regret it. The book is told in 3 parts, Summer, Fall & The Ending. Summer was very good, Fall was uncomfortable and The Ending was.....it just was. I did LOVE the writing and that almost made me want to rate it higher but, the story line was lacking. I will definitely read something else by Auster in future.

View all my reviews

Friday, December 9, 2011


My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this quiet story of Rachel DuPree. Set in the early 1900's, it starts with Rachel working as a cook in a boardinghouse in Chicago and follows her life as she gets married and she and her husband stake a claim and move to the Badlands of South Dakota. It is a wonderful glimpse into the African American homesteaders and what they endured.

View all my reviews

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

The Good WifeThe Good Wife by Stewart O'Nan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Patty is pregnant when she gets a phone call in the middle of the night from her husband Tommy saying he has been arrested for being at a house where there was a murder/robbery. This is an quiet book that shows over the next 28 years how Patty's life unfolds. This is a haunting novel about enduring. It felt long but, that was the point - to capture the ordinariness of her life and how this could happen to anyone. It makes you think "how would I cope in those circumstances?" I don't know if I would recommend this book but I enjoyed it and will definitely be reading more by O'Nan.

View all my reviews

Friday, December 2, 2011

The Sky Is EverywhereThe Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an extremely enjoyable book. Lennie Walker is 17 years old when her older sister Bailey dies suddenly. This book captured so many emotions in such a true way - particularly grief and young love.

View all my reviews